At the end of the day, Zayn didn’t bother carrying everything back to Emberfall. It was not necessary because he could auction everything via the Forsaken Auctionhouse. But then again, Zayn had to pay a much higher transfer fee for putting up goods while he was outside a safezone such as Emberfall.

Zayn didn’t mind the surcharge. It was already good that he didn’t have to leave behind the Armor Sets and Weapons of the Player Hunters. He could earn some pocket change while simultaneously ensuring that the Player Hunters would have to dig deep into their wallets to make up for the items they’d lost to him.

“You guys had potions as well? That’s sweet~” He mumbled to himself as he organized the gains he made from stripping the Player Hunters naked. Well. Almost naked.

He obtained a few potions. They were ordinary potions such as Stamina and Energy Potions, but they could fetch a small fortune even if their quality was not that great. Zayn didn’t sell them but decided to keep them on his body for emergencies.

‘Iron Bark and Root Strike were stronger than I expected. My Vitality Foundation is pretty low but with Iron Bark I should be able to block most attacks. Even if I get hit, it won’t do much damage. Root Strike is even better. It’s range of effect is large enough to take control of the entire battlefield in a battle of this scale. The power output, control of the terrain, and energy consumption give me a major advantage.’ Zayn concluded, reviewing his battle against the Player Hunters.

He could have done a few things differently, but his primary goal had been to test the prowess of the Demonic Treant Card Set. The result was good, but Zayn was not yet satisfied. He needed more samples to evaluate the true potential of his Cards.

That was what he told himself. In truth, all Zayn wanted was to continue roaming through the Arylin Forest and fight. It was nice to be outside and stretch his body for once.

It didn’t take long before Zayn was greeted by a group of monsters. A pack of Silverhorn Wolves had been lured over to the remnants of the bloody battlefield. That was not Zayn’s intention but it played in his favor.

He steadied his feet on the ground and analyzed the Silverhorn Wolf pack. Their leader was a large exemplary the size of a teenager, the rippling muscles underneath its dirt-smudged fur noticeable. Several scars covered the Silverhorn Wolf’s face, yet the gleaming 20-centimeter-long SIlverhorn jut from above its eyes was still strong and unblemished.

‘Their Foundation shouldn’t exceed 60, except the Leader. This one is a little bit trickier. His Strength and Wisdom Foundations seems quite high.’

Zayn licked his lips as he allowed the Silverhorn Wolves to surround him. He activated Root Strike, but instead of attacking right away, Zayn controlled the roots around him to gather nearby. He could manifest roots using Root Strike but that was a gross waste of energy in a terrain like the Arylin Forest. His underfoot was riddled with roots.

He retrieved the Shanyt Axe, triggered the Sharpness Enchantment with a burst of energy, and took a single step toward the Silverhorn Wolf Leader. Zayn was ready to fight, but so were the Silverhorn Wolves. They charged at him simultaneously the moment he made his move. The Silverhorn Wolves came from all sides and pounced at him; their razor-sharp claws ready to tear him apart.

The corner of Zayn’s lip tilted upward. The Silverhorn Wolves were extremely fast and highly dexterous. A single glance was enough to tell that their muscles were well-formed as well. However, the most intriguing factor about the Silverhorn Wolves was that their Perception Foundation wasn’t low either.

They sensed that something was wrong the instance Zayn’s lip curled upward. But it was already too late. A dozen roots as thick as Zayn’s arm shot through the ground around Zayn.

The Silverhorn Wolves were already at full charge when their danger sense ringed alarm. The monsters tried to change their trajectory and kicked the ground to dash in another direction before the roots could reach them, but more roots shot out of the ground. This time, however, they came from underneath.

The Silverhorn Wolves yelped as small roots pierced into their legs, but they weren’t given enough time to process the pain in their legs when the real Root Strikes impacted. Four Root Strikes pierced through the necks and chests of three Silverhorn Wolves, whereas the remaining Root Strikes were used as blunt weapons to assault the Silverhorn Wolves brutally, breaking their spines, and skull with brute force.

‘Even if your Foundation is higher than mine, you guys are still not walking Tanks!’ Zayn though, used Blink to appear behind one of the Silverhoon Wolves that didn’t sustain a lethal wound. He solved that issue with a decisive slash to the monster’s neck. Zayn didn’t even have to wait for the notification to arrive. The moment the fountain of blood gushed out of the Silverhorn Wolf’s neck, Zayn knew that it would die in the next few seconds.

Zayn used Blink to appear near another Silverhorn Wolf. He had to kick the ground and move a step closer to the monster, but his positioning was good enough to give him the time needed to cross the short distance. The pack leader saw Zayn disappear, and reappear twice and jumped into action. It was stronger and faster than the rest of its pack, yet it was too slow to rescue the pack members. Zayn slashed down, the axe blade cutting deep into the Silverhorn Wolves’ neck right before he disappeared once again.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Blink moved him next to the charging pack leader, whose focus had been on the situation ahead of him. The chaos and destruction caused by the likes of a single enemy were far more devastating than expected. Zayn’s Root Strikes were not done yet either. He continued to control the roots on the battlefield freely while he had been attacking the other Silverhorn Wolves. His energy reserves were drained, but since he didn’t have to manifest his roots for every use of Root Strike it would take a while before his reserves would hit rock-bottom.

That was the advantage of being in a favorable terrain with a Card that consumed less energy as the Card Level increased.

Beads of sweat trickled down Zayn’s forehead as the fight continued. Zayn used Iron Bark to defend against the pack leader’s claw but he didn’t manage to block it entirely. The Silverhorn Wolf’s pack leader was much faster, dexterous, and stronger than the rest. He miscalculated the strength and distribution of its Foundation. Now that he was in a head-on fight against the pack leader, Zayn noticed that it had a foundation closer to 90 Soul Essences. That was three times Zayn’s Foundation, and he had to deal with the ordinary Silverhorn Wolves alongside.

Fortunately, the ordinary fellas weren’t a big issue. He used Blink to disappear from the pack leader’s sigh while simultaneously piercing the stomach and hint leg of two more Silverhorn Wolves before he cleaved down the Shanyt Axe on one of them. The pack leader appeared next to him before Zayn’s victim could collapse motionlessly to the ground. Zayn responded instantly, erupting three thick roots in between him and the pack leader. The Silverhorn Wolf’s pack leader cut through the roots and shot toward Zayn. But he had already vanished.

He appeared behind another Silverhorn Wolf, executed a lethal blow, and disappeared once again. Several Root Strikes pierced through the remaining Silverhorn Wolves, restraining their movements and killing them slowly.

Zayn appeared outside the battlefield, breathing roughly. His chest heaved up and down as he retrieved two potions. They were ordinary Energy and Stamina Potions, but their use was extraordinary now that Zayn’s Stamina and Energy levels were drained. He was not on the verge of collapsing but it was pretty clear to him that the Silverhorn Wolf pack leader was angry.

The rest of its pack died against a single foe, an enemy whose Foundation indicated him as a weakling. At least, that was what Zayn was supposed to be.

[Proficiency of Blink reached 100%. Level Up!]

[Proficiency of Root Strike reached 100%. Level Up!]

Root Strike advanced to Level 10. +1 Soul Essence.

The notifications were nice to look at, and so was the feeling of power that surged through him as he made a decision.

Four Soul Essences have been integrated into the Star of Energy.

Requirements to upgrade the Star of Energy have been met. Please seek a safe place before the upgrade will commence.

Since he was still in Forgotten Lands, upgrading a Foundation Star to the next level was not as painful as it was in reality. Nonetheless, the pain was not to be underestimated.

It was better to upgrade a Foundation Star in a secure place where one was not under any pressure. The upgrade could commence slowly and safely.

However, it was also possible to rush the advance, and that was exactly what Zayn did. He grit through the tremendous pain that surged through his entire body as a flood of ice-cold energy invaded him. His skin burst open and his muscles cramped up. It was visible that his body – his vessel – was not strong enough to endure the upgrade of another Foundation Star.

Zayn would have strengthened his Vitality Foundation first, but he was in a rush. He couldn’t wait for his physique to change and grow stronger and wait until his vessel was ready for the upgrade. He was in a rush to defeat the Silverhorn Wolf pack leader.

He took a deep breath and did what everyone would do in his situation. He upgraded the Star of Energy, forcing an upgrade, which increased the quality and quantity of Energy flooding his body. Zayn made use of the massive flood of energy that invaded every pore in his body to unleash Blink next to the Silverhorn Wolf pack leader and use both Root Strike and Rapid Plant Growth together. Not only once, but several times. Dozens of times.

Root Strike. Rapid Plant Growth. Root Strike. Rapid Plant Growth.

Root Strike. Root Strike. Root Strike. Rapid Plant Growth.

Zayn used Root Strike and Rapid Plant Growth dozens of times until the flood of energy invading his body didn’t hurt anymore. He groaned in exhaustion, but the result of his suicidal action was extraordinary.

The Silverhorn Wolf pack leader whimpered weakly, blood pooling all around the miserable monster.

Dozens of roots, grown through Rapid Plant Growth and Root Strike, coiled around the Silverhorn Wolf pack leader, restraining his movements until he couldn’t move anymore. Once the Silverhorn Wolf pack leader lost the ability to move through the dozens of thigh-thick roots that coiled around it, the monster was skewered from all sides.

It was a bloody sight. The Silverhorn Wolf pack leader was skewered like a roasted pig, bleeding out miserably. Zayn decided to end the misery. He raised the gloomily glowing Shanyt Axe high above his head and cleaved down with tremendous strength.

Warm blood gushed in all directions as the Silverhorn Wolf pack leader’s head slit down its neck. The head landed on the ground with a thud, followed by a flood of notifications.

9 Silverhorn Wolves have been slain +8 Soul Essences +5 Common Card Shards

Winter Wolf(Elite) has been slain +7 Soul Essences + 1 Common Card +2 Uncommon Card Shards

Star of Energy [Inferior] has advanced to the [Novice] rank. Congratulations.

[Proficiency of Rapid Plant Growth reached 100%. Level Up!]