After almost ten minutes of walking without a specific destination, among the weeds that had grown up on the city floor, Lincoln stopped abruptly when he heard a strange sound.

"..."

As Lincoln took a quick look at his surroundings, his eyes could identify nothing but pure silence. However, he knew there was something strange there.

As I kept on the alert, I thought to myself.

(Are they getting smarter?)

Taking a quick look around, I couldn't identify anyone, but it seemed that there really wasn't anyone there. However, even if they did everything they could to try and hide, it was impossible to disguise the bloodlust they were exuding.

"They've managed to hide their presence very well, but there's no hiding the smell of a rotting corpse."

I whispered to myself as I walked cautiously. I knew there were monsters out there; the problem was that I couldn't identify where they were coming from.

"Surely they're trying to ambush me, as if I were prey."

I thought to myself as I took the sword out of my inventory.

"So, this is how you want to play?"

I whispered to myself as I turned around, sort of showing my 'fragile' side to them.

(Weren't you looking for a good opportunity to ambush and attack me? So, here's the big chance you've been waiting for).

I thought to myself, as I prepared myself for whatever was going to happen.

Lincoln, with his back already exposed, in a way showing those creatures lurking in the shadows that he was easy prey, began to walk slowly in the direction he had just come from.

I knew very well that those monsters were not much different from a predator hunting its prey. In this case, the prey was me. As I expected, it didn't take long for something to happen. As soon as I took my first step, I barely had time to think straight. Out of nowhere, a 'gray wolf' jumped in front of me. As soon as it landed on the ground and had a bit of balance, it immediately advanced towards me, but this time it was aiming for my neck.

"Road!"

As soon as the wolf came at me with that deafening roar that nearly burst my eardrums, I responded by swinging my sword with otherworldly reflex and agility.

Swish!

However, the impact of my blade against his dense fur sent such a strong vibration through my arm that for a second I ended up letting go of the sword, which resulted in my attack not being fatal enough to kill him; the most I managed was to knock him to the ground.

After coming into contact with the ground, the wolf started screaming in pain from the impact.

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*SFX for dog whimper*

"That was close."

I whispered to myself as I turned and faced that gray monster with its red eyes and big teeth that looked more like stakes ready to tear me apart at any moment. However, I ended up noticing something very different just above its head that I could have sworn wasn't there before it went out.

Not only am I able to see its name, which in itself is something new to me, but I can also see its level of danger because of the color it represents. In the case of that wolf, the color being indicated was orange - something that really caught my attention was that I had no idea what it meant.

"What the fuck happened while I was passed out?"

I asked myself, hoping that the system would answer my question. However, as always, it only answered what it wanted to answer.

[WARNING:]

[You have learned the 'Skill: Eye of Observation'].

[... ..]

[Observe (Nv. 1)]

Common skill

MP cost: 0

Description: The user can identify the danger level of their enemies, according to the color indicated in their name.

***

"Hmm, interesting. So that's why the color of his name is orange. But what does that mean? How dangerous is it?"

I asked myself again, expecting a quick answer from my system. This time, however, it took a while to answer me.

[... ..]

[.. ....]

(Did it crash?)

I thought to myself as I waited for the reply that never came.

[... ..]

[Danger level.]

Green: Docile creatures.

Yellow: Little risk

Survival rate: [100%]

Orange: Alert

Survival rate: [50%]

Red: Danger

Survival rate [30%]

Black: Mortal risk

Survival rate [5%]

[ADDITIONAL INFORMATION]

[The colors may change depending on the level of both the monster and the user using the skill.]

"So does this mean that the stronger I get, the weaker my enemies will become?"

I asked myself, hoping for an answer from the system, but at the same time keeping my attention focused on the wolf that didn't seem willing to back down at any point.

[....]

Just as the system was about to answer his question, Lincoln interrupted it a little unintentionally.

"Ah, what the hell!"

Those were the only words that came out of Lincoln's mouth. After that, he took advantage of the fact that the wolf was still a little disconcerted by the attack it had received a few minutes ago. Without giving the monster, a chance to do anything, Lincoln quickly reduced the distance between them. The beast, with no time to react, only managed to let out a small grunt of pain when it felt the impact of Lincoln's kick.

After making contact with the ground again, the wolf began to cry out in pain from the kick it had received.

*SFX for dog whimper*

Lincoln, taking advantage of the wolf's misfortune, swung his sword towards the monster's head. The cut was so fast and so precise that the beast didn't even have time to react, let alone think about escaping, and ended up having its head ripped off.

*SFX for something appearing*

[Congratulations, you've just killed a 'gray wolf'!]

Ring ~

[You've leveled up!]

Just as Lincoln was about to celebrate his hard-earned victory, another noise from a little further on caught his attention.