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23. To Learn a Skill

“Rise. I’ll teach you the sword skill.”

Ike squinted at Silver, then looked at the ground all around him. “Where’s the skill orb?” 

“After your body adapts to the mot...

22. Talking to a Monster

“Absorb!”

Light shone around Ike’s fist, but only for a moment, far shorter than the Salamander Healing orb had shone, and much, much shorter than Lightning Dash. The light poured into ...

21. Owl Hunting

Night settled slowly over the forest. Ike laid on the forest floor, buried in leaves. He watched the bone pile.

Nothing yet. The owl had yet to hunt.

Ike breathed slowly, absorbing the ...

20. Fishing Bird

Night fell. Spring peepers, crickets, and cicadas sang from the long grasses along the edge of the water. Fireflies blinked along the shoreline. Overhead, a bat swooped, snatching up mosquitoes and...

19. Likely Story

“Who are you? Why are you looking for me?”

“Orin sent me,” Ike said quickly.

Silver’s eyes narrowed. He flicked his wrist again, and the water’s pull grew stronger. A whirlp...

18. Silver

With Cara and Orin’s help, Ike carried the monster parts back to the shop and exchanged them for gold. The monster gave fewer gold than the Salamander, but he’d expected that. Walking away with...

17. Taking Down the Big Momma

The mantis swung. Its claws hurtled toward Ike’s neck from either side.

“Now!” Ike shouted. He dropped to the ground and shut his eyes.

A bright flash filled the room, so bright h...

16. A Little Help

Grumpy, Ike looked up. “What now?”

An old lady smiled down at him. Cara tilted her head, grinning a little. “Orin managed to recruit you for this one, huh? After ending up with Joseph�...

15. Praying Mantises

As he walked, Ike looked at his arms. The axe swing had only had his own strength behind it, not any mana-enhancement. The Lightning Grasp skill enhanced his hand speed, but not his arm strength. 2024-04-11 14:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post

14. A Little Bug Problem

Back in the outpost, Ike finally dared to stop. He stood, wiping his mouth, and looked behind him. The road back to the slum stood empty, save a few stray hunters.

He let out a sigh of relief...

13. Black Robes

A shrill scream cut through the silence. The bandits whirled, taken by surprise. Wraiths rushed toward them. Black robes whirled as they closed in on Ike and the bandits.

The instant the band...

12. Bring It Upon Yourself

Ike sped along the wall. The dark forms chased silently after him. He ran faster, the Salamander’s tail banging against his back. Without any visible exertion of effort, they followed. The forms ...

11. Carrying the Kill Home

At daybreak, Ike headed out. He flashed his badge at the gate, and the guards didn’t look twice. Following the path from the day before, he found his way back to the Salamander’s pit. Sandra’...

10. A Path Home

A/N: I've changed the title from "With Lightning Speed" to "Skill Hunter." Sorry for the inconvenience! The next few chapters will be tagged with both, but future chapters will only be tagged Skill...

9. Revenge

The skill orb that had rolled out of the Salamander’s mouth burst with light. A pulse of mana travelled up his arm and into his core, reinforcing it. His whole body tingled, pins and needles burs...

59. Up, Up In The Air

Back into the kitchen. Levi led Amythest out behind the kitchen, into the store room, right next to the refrigerator. He pulled up a chair and helped Amythest to a sit. She slumped in the chair, ex...

8. The Kill

Red clouded up from the Salamander’s mouth. Ike tumbled down a hot, humid tube, falling toward the Salamander’s stomach. Barely conscious, he lashed out and pressed out with all four limbs, cla...

7. Salamander

As the others closed in on the Salamander, hopping down ring after ring to rush in, the smaller ponds trembled. One after another, they erupted, but this time, more than water flew out. Small red s...

6. Beyond the Wall

Ike leaned against a wall, watching the gate. Hunters and adventurers wandered in and out, flashing their badges. He tapped his fingertips against his arm, impatient, as the faint light of dawn gre...

5. Party Up

As the sun set the next day, Ike headed into town, a fresh bag of bodies over his shoulder. Three silver clinked in his bag, the results of the previous afternoon’s and this morning’s hunting. ...

4. Out and Back Again

After selling the corpses off to a farmer and spending a night in his stables, Ike headed back toward the slums, wary of spending too long away. The danger of triggering his uncle’s suspicion was...

3. To Survive

[Welcome to the System]

The panel vanished, and aside from the filth and the lightness of his body, no evidence remained that Ike had activated the System at all.

Ike�...

2. A Lucky Man

A/N: RELATED NOTE to my pursuit of perfection: If anyone wants to be beta and get access to EVERYTHING I've written so far, lmk! This does come with a caveat: You have to have actual critical comme...

1. Dark Place

A/N: Hello, everyone! This is my new work, the one that's taking the place of GML. I wanted to get the first chapter out to you, so that you can decide if you want to stick around for the ride. I'...

109. Second Floor

Linnea clapped sarcastically. “Congrats on reaching the second floor! And it only took three hours.”

“Oh, shut it, you,” Oz murmured, too pleased to be bothered by it. He turned his h...