'It seems that my strategy of attracting hyenas with corpses to kill them is no longer yielding significant results. Firstly, their numbers have decreased significantly, and secondly, they no longer offer me enough experience to sustain a level increase at the same pace as before... Hmmm, should I go deeper into the forest?' Lucy pondered as she slit the throat of the last surviving hyena from a group of 7, which she had tied to a tree trunk with Steel Wire while she took the lives of her companions.

Lucy spent half a day trying to replicate the strategy from the previous day, but unfortunately, she couldn't make much progress. Only after the last round, in which she confronted seven level 10 hyenas, did she manage to accumulate the necessary experience points to reach level 11.

After finishing this task and noticing that not even a single hyena was heading towards the pile of corpses containing approximately 400 hyenas, Lucy decided to take a well-deserved break and after buying a Cleansing Potion from the Ninja Shop which she consumed immediately, and a cappuccino milkshake, she climbed a tree located 100 meters from the battle site, settling on a branch where she had left her backpack containing all her possessions.

'Hmmm, I think I was supposed to allocate the point obtained in the Defense attribute... maybe I should note down what I did after each level increase. Wait a moment, I forgot. Now, I'll receive two points for each level increase. So, I'll put one point into Defence and the other into the Vitality attribute.'

Although increasing the Vitality attribute didn't enhance Lucy's combat abilities significantly, as her fighting style didn't rely much on endurance, she observed that it had a great influence on the parameters. Each additional point in this attribute raised the Health parameter limit by 5 points and the Stamina parameter limit by 10 points. Additionally, she noticed that this attribute also increased her stamina and mana recovery rate, probably contributing to her health recovery as well, though fortunately, she hadn't had the opportunity to test that.

'From what I've seen so far, it's quite clear that to achieve the best results, I shouldn't neglect any attribute. Besides, this world is not a video game where you can take risks; it's not a place where you can afford to have a weakness, especially when you're alone, without any teammates to watch your back...' Lucy thought as she looked over her status and remembered how her fights against the hyena groups went.

After distributing the two points, Lucy checked the description of the Nekohoshime skill and found that she could now receive two more ocular abilities, as she had advanced 10 levels.

'Hmmm, let's take an ability that would help me easily find traces of beasts to locate other opponents, and an ability to trap the opponents I can see in illusions, distracting them from my attacks and causing them to miss when they attempt to counterattack.'

After deciding which ocular abilities to acquire, they were automatically added to the Nekohoshime skill, appearing in its list of abilities as "trace identification" and "illusion creation".

Once she received the two ocular abilities, Lucy began to think about a skill that could increase the power of her attacks. Facing stronger opponents in the future, she couldn't risk her surprise attacks failing and giving them a chance to counterattack. Moreover, now that she could select or create rank D skills, she had the opportunity to obtain a skill that could truly assist her in battle.

'The list offered by the system has some interesting options, such as Fire Fists or Black Vines, the latter being a skill that immobilizes multiple opponents. However, I believe I can create something more efficient, better suited to my fighting style. A true ninja should not put on too much of a show or allow opponents time to counter. So, let's see what skill I'll create. I think I'll take advantage of the fact that I have an endless supply of weapons and create a skill that could enhance cutting power, similar to how characters in The Shadow Chronicles infused their chi energy into swords or shurikens. But here, there's no chi energy, so I'll have to use a form of magic. Hmmm, wind magic should work quite well. Additionally, I think this skill would work excellently when used in conjunction with steel wire, which doesn't have a high cutting power. Let's see, system, can you work with the ideas I've given you so far?'

[Affirmative... analysis... skill creation...]

After about five seconds, during which Lucy took another sip of her milkshake, the freshly baked skill appeared in front of her.

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[Wind Blessing (D): a skill that enhances the cutting power of weapons by infusing them with wind magic. This skill will consume 2 mana points for every 10 seconds it is activated, whether the weapon remains in contact with the user or is thrown away.]

'Great. I can't wait to test it. But first, I think it's necessary to buy some weapons from the Ninja Shop since I don't have any steel wire left, and I accidentally threw the only shuriken I bought into thorny bushes and didn't go back to retrieve it...'

After activating the Ninja Shop skill, Lucy purchased about 50 meters of Steel Wire and 5 shurikens.

'Hmmm, my points are not looking too good either. I only have 750 left. I think I'll still buy a more powerful Kunai to make the most of the new skill.'

After browsing through the shop's interface for a bit, Lucy decided to buy a black steel Kunai worth 200 points, which would become her main weapon for the next period. As she looked at other displayed products, suddenly an advertisement appeared in front of Lucy for a special offer for the purchase of a ninja sword made of black adamantine.

'I didn't expect them to have advertisements too... Let's see what this offer is about.'

[Special Offer: You can now purchase a ninja sword made of black adamantine at 20% off. This sword, with an unparalleled hardness that can cut through any armor and magical power conductivity similar to a living being, can be obtained for only 800,000 points within a maximum period of 3 months from the offer's announcement. Additionally, customization is free during this period.]

'What is this? Did this ad just taunt me? Where can I get so many points... Honestly, I would love to have such a sword. But is it even possible to gather that many points? Anyway, it's not worth thinking about it now. I'll decide based on how things evolve. Besides, I should first buy a cheaper sword for around 1,000 points to see how well I can handle one...'

After Lucy took her last sip of milkshake and closed the shop's interface, she jumped out of the tree and began to test her new skill.

After cutting dozens of tree trunks using both Steel Wire and shurikens infused with wind magic, Lucy concluded that she was ready to seek out an opponent stronger than the hyenas she brought to the brink of extinction in that area.

Walking approximately two kilometers through the forest, scanning the surrounding area minute by minute using her ocular abilities, Lucy finally spotted a 4-meter-long lizard devouring a corpse about 100 meters away, paying no attention to Lucy.

'Huh, aren't those human legs? Yes, I can clearly see that the feet are wearing shoes. Damn, it's actually a human corpse...'

Lucy hid behind the trunk of a tree and activated her ocular ability, allowing her to see the opponent's level.

'It appears to be a level 22 beast. Hmmm... Considering I could fight 20 hyenas with levels ranging from 8 to 12 simultaneously, I believe I have a good chance of defeating it. In the worst case, I'll use Steps of Light and escape...'

Determined to rid the forest of a beast that was killing people, Lucy sneaked towards the spot where the giant lizard was feasting. When she reached a distance of about 20 meters, she activated both the Steps of Light and Wind Blessing skills simultaneously, teleporting behind the lizard and stabbing it in the throat with the black steel Kunai infused with wind magic.

As Lucy wasn't familiar with the lizard's anatomical structure, her strike didn't manage to kill it in one blow, and she had to leap to avoid its tail strike. While in the air, 4 meters above the ground, Lucy retrieved 6 Kunai tied with steel wires from her pockets and threw them into the tree trunks surrounding the pain-ridden lizard. Upon landing, she pulled on the wire ends, activating the Wind Blessing skill once more, ensnaring the lizard between the sharp wires like the edge of a sword, causing deep wounds down to the bone.

'It's truly resilient. Bleeding from all over but still not giving up. But it can't escape. Victory is already mine...' Lucy thought as she threw two shurikens infused with wind magic toward the lizard's head, ending its suffering.

'That was quite easy. These creatures don't have the necessary abilities to defend against attacks like mine. But that's to be expected, as I doubt many ninjas have roamed these woods... Anyway, I'm glad I managed to defeat it without resorting to explosive tags... But would those have been effective? Considering the lizard's thick skin, I don't think a few explosive tags would have brought it down like it did with the hyenas,' Lucy contemplated while examining the dead lizard's body.

[You have eliminated a level 22 whip-tailed lizard. You gained 820 experience points and 820 points for the Ninja Shop.]

After seeing the notification and realizing that the offered points weren't enough to reach the next level, Lucy redirected her attention to the human corpse that was half-devoured by the lizard.

'It seems it was a man, probably around 20 years old. Judging by the quality of his footwear, he probably wasn't very wealthy. He likely came to the forest to find food for his family and accidentally encountered the giant lizard that killed him. It's a shame. True heroes always pass away without being praised by anyone. Huh, what's that sound?'

"Jacky Dumby, where did you go? We need to get back to the camp. How long does it take to poop?"

Thanks to her cat ears, which allowed her to hear much better than human ears, Lucy heard some people shouting for someone about 200 meters away. Observing the corpse and noticing that his pants were down, not torn by the lizard's mouth as she initially thought, Lucy realized that this was probably Jacky Dumby, the person the approaching group was looking for.

"Yes, a true hero..."