Noah counted down the seconds and moved as fast as he could within the shadows. His aim was simple; find the monster before it was able to attack once more, and kill it. But his plan had one simple flaw. He couldn’t find it.

It wasn’t until one of the spikes caught his shoulder did he realise he needed another plan of action. He needed to be able to sense the monster, whatever it was.

He racked his mind while rolling on the floor, which wasn’t easy. However, he was a man of conviction. Noah plucked out the spike and threw it on the floor.

I’ve got it. Noah approached the wall at high speed and smashed his spear against it. Debris fell from the impact as a hole had been punched within.

Close. A spike was approaching with a snap. Noah used [Shadow Blink] back a step, then reached into the wall. Grabbing a handful of debris, he scattered it all across the floor.

It was something he had learned during survival in the jungle. He had to always take care of the leaves on the ground if he wanted to remain stealthy. Although the debris and rocks weren’t jungle foliage, it was the same principle.

It wasn’t long before his plan actually worked. He had to admit, it was a shot in the dark, but when he heard a loose rock being kicked across the floor, Noah moved into action.

Counting down the time until the next time, he shot forward through the darkness with [Shrouded Presence] activated. Another rock tumbled, and Noah found himself face-to-face with the enemy that haunted the darkness.

Level ?? - Thornweaver

It had more legs than he liked to count, and a horn was slowly emerging from the tip of its head, from inside its body. Like a bullet moving to the top of the magazine; it was preparing to fire. As if its legs were a theme, the monster also had too many eyes. They gazed at him like an insect that was about to become prey, but Noah had teeth, and he wasn’t afraid to use them.

Like lightning, he thrust his spear forward. Using all the offensive skills he could, it pierced through the eye of the monster in an instant.

The thornweaver thrashed, and kicked loose rocks all over. Noah rushed forward, attacking again while he could. Noah aimed for its legs. Going for a kill shot was dangerous, as it could counter-attack at any time. If he extended too far, Noah risked taking damage himself. He wouldn’t allow that. So instead, it was much more effective to disable it, then whittle it down with repeated attacks.

His spear found its target, the tip disappearing into the monster's hairy flesh. He struck bone, and just as he was about to continue his attack, he could see that the horn was fully formed.

Noah used [Shadow Blink] to get behind a pillar. Then, in anger, the spike hurtled through the air, and thudded into a pillar to his side.

It’s working. Noah grinned and immediately set out for another attack, but silence remained. No matter how much he moved through the battlefield, he couldn’t hear the monster scuttling across the floor.

It’s using the walls, or the pillars now. Noah spat. He was afraid of that. He was banking on the monster being too in pain, and too angry to think properly. But it seemed he had underestimated the spider's intelligence.

With no way of hearing or seeing the monster, Noah was once again put on the defensive.

One of the spikes was even aimed at Gluttony but he managed to dodge it. He glared into the darkness.

Noah’s eyes widened. Gluttony could see. It made sense. The little monster was born into the darkness. Not only that, it had the natural body of a bat. He most likely had other senses to detect where it was.

I’m stupid. Noah spat and fueled his energy into using his Monster Shard.

It had been a while since he used it, and the strange sensation of merging with his tamed monster almost made him puke. Fighting back the urge to empty his stomach, a wave batted against his brain.

Thankfully, it wasn’t unfamiliar. Krall had the same ability, but it was a bit different to Gluttonys. Echo location. Noah remembered Peter telling him all about it. A natural ability given to a bat; it allowed them to reverberate noise in a wave, and have it bounce back to them to see.

Noah struck his spear against the wall with the flat side. A wave of sound surged forward, then bounced back to him. Unlike Krall’s tremor sense, Noah could see the outline of the spider.

There was no detail. Anything such as eyes, or hair was completely indiscernible. When it moved, it disappeared until the wave of echolocation bounced back to him.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was better than nothing. Not only that, he felt the energy in his container dissipate by the second, and it wasn’t just him either. Gluttony shivered, as if he was in pain.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Is it the level difference? Noah thought, worried. He had to finish this fast.

Noah used multiple blinks in order to arrive in front of the spider before his echolocation was too late. Using [Overpower] along with [Beastly Pike], and his Thrust Shard, his spear blurred. It penetrated through the spider's face, and then [Beastly Pike] activated.

It was a multi attack. First his spear landed, then his skill took effect. Instead of Krall’s jaws clamping down, a strange, yet familiar effect took place. A slash joined the stab in perfect harmony. One pierced, while the other scored a gash into its flesh.

Noah could tell the slash was far weaker than his stab, but he attributed that to Gluttony's low level.

Unlike the first attack he landed, Noah knew this time he had to risk a little danger. The horn of the thornweaver grew to full size, yet Noah continued to push the spear further. Deeper.

Gritting his teeth, he prepared for the horn to shoot out like a javelin from a ballistae. He attempted to time it just right, and ducked his already wounded shoulder before the snapping sound was heard.

The timing wasn’t perfect. Just as he ducked, the horn shot forward, slicing a deep wound into the side of his arm.

He pushed again until the squeals and the thrashing of the hairy monster turned quiet.

You defeated a - Level 50 Thornweaver.

| Extra experience gained from fighting a higher levelled monster!

You have Levelled up!

| Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 49 -> Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 50

Krall, the Scourge of the Jungle has levelled up.

| Krall level 49 -> Krall level 50

Gluttony has Levelled up.

| Gluttony level 14 -> Gluttony level 20

I’m level fifty… Noah balled his hand into a tight fist and awaited for the next message. Was it going to be a class upgrade, or if it wasn’t that, what could it possibly be?

You have gained a World First achievement!

| You have gained a World First title - Level 50 Vanguard II: You are the first to reach level 50

| +5 to all stats.

Level 50 milestone reached.

| Level 50 missions are now available. | Bloodlines are now available.

| Bloodlines: Each Bloodline is unique to the individual. To unlock it, gain Achievements belonging to your Path.

Ekralo, the Beast Tamer, has sponsored you.

Lenid, the Monster Slayer, has sponsored you.

…

Noah puffed out a breath of disappointed air. Since he didn’t receive a class upgrade at level fifty, that meant it was pushed back to level one-hundred. It was a big jump, from twenty-five, all the way to one-hundred, but there was nothing he could do about it.

In the end, it wasn’t that bad, not to Noah, at least. It would give him more time to learn how to properly utilise his skills and class. To build a foundation before his entire fighting style was changed once more. He wondered if that was the reason why the jump was so large.

Well, at least he was getting closer to understanding what the hell a bloodline was. Although he had no way of knowing what kind of Achievements he needed to obtain.

If his Path was something akin to his class, then he assumed he had to achieve greater things with taming. Somehow. Maybe he had to tame another monster? Whatever it was, he wasn’t going to discover it by standing, thinking on the spot.

Instead, he put his brain power together to select his new mission. Well, not really as the choice was a rather easy one for him.

Tier 4 Taming Mission

| Lord of the Shadows: Kill 1 Dungeon Lord five seconds after leaving a shadow.

| Reward: Rare piece of equipment, Epic health potion.

Noah didn’t know who he had to thank that he no longer had to spend hundreds of hours on the back of Krall for a mission. He was worried for a moment, but then his worry transformed into apprehension as he thought further.

Finding dungeons was incredibly rare, and on top of that, he had to kill it with a condition. Compared to the other missions that simply just took time to complete, this was different. It was difficult. Unfathomably more, that was.

The reward was good and all, but he couldn't help but feel the difficulty was a bit much for a level fifty mission.

Could it finally be a world first title? Noah could only hope. He still hadn’t received one from his missions, and he was beginning to worry if there were any titles related to the missions.

Whatever it was, a sharp pain pricked at his shoulder. The adrenaline within his system washed away like a cool breeze, bringing with it the realisation that he had a black spike lodged into his shoulder.

Noah pulled it out with little hesitation and couldn’t help himself from reminiscing the past. When he first arrived in this world, to be more accurate. If it was him before, he would have had to be extremely careful with his wounds; making sure that the spike hadn’t ruptured any arteries. Bleeding out was a huge risk back then.

And it was only a few days ago. Noah smiled at the ridiculousness of his thoughts. So much had happened since then, and now even the wound that spurted blood, and trailed down his body, was only the least of his worries.

He bandaged it with some Uncommon bandages he had, and they instantly got to work. Constricting against his shoulder as if imbued with magic, the blood flow stopped.

Noah cracked his neck then crouched down next to Gluttony. He trailed his fingers along his surprisingly soft coat.

Let’s get a move on, shall we? At his words, Gluttony nodded, and trotted toward the door, only to stop in the next moment. Head spinning backward like an owl, he waited for Noah.

That’s a good boy. Noah chuckled.

Heading through the door, he had levels to gain, and a wolf humanoid to kill.