[Name: Kenji

  Age: 17

  Ki: 310

  Profession: None

  Innate Ability: Devour

  Heavenly Gift: None

  Skills: None]

  Looking at the updated Ki reserve, Kenji went to sleep.

  [Ancient Calendar: 20 Feb 0001]

  The next day, Kenji took one Food Pill and continued breathing in Ki.

  Growl Growl Growl

  “Why am I feeling so hungry?” As Kenji was busy increasing his reserves, growling sounds kept coming from his stomach.

  “So this is what the Fairy was talking about.” As the feeling of hunger continued, Kenji remembered the words of the Fairy from the Sweet Perry Restaurant.

  With no other choice, Kenji finished the cycle he was forming and then left the room.

  Entering the kitchen, Kenji drank three glasses of water. A few moments later, the feeling of emptiness was gone, and even the hunger urges toned down.

  After filling a water bottle, Kenji headed back to his room. However, halfway through, his stomach started hurting really badly.

  Bearing the pain, Kenji returned to his room and lay down. After two to three minutes, the pain lessened, and he continued breathing in Ki.

  “If only there was a way to prevent Ki from leaking out in my sleep.” Completing the eighteenth cycle of the day, Kenji thought in his heart.

  The combination of the Innate Ability [Devour] and Source Ki made absorbing Ki easy.

  The problem was the amount of Ki that the Innate Ability [Devour] gathered. It took more than twenty-five minutes just to absorb Ki equivalent to one unit.

  Whenever a single strand of Ki entered his body, Kenji had to keep that strand moving within him; otherwise, it would leak out.

  He had to keep the strands of Ki circulating in his body until a full unit was formed.

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  Which the Source Ki can assimilate in seconds and strengthen itself.

  Innate Ability [Devour] is a passive ability that can be turned on and off manually, with a thought. The only problem is preventing the Ki that enters the body from leaking out.

  “If only Source Ki wasn't so picky.” Starting another round of Ki breathing, Kenji sighed.

  [Ki: 326]

  Before long, it was night. Today's progress wasn't anything close to yesterday, as the feeling of an empty stomach and sudden spikes of hunger urges kept Kenji busy.

  [Ancient Calendar: 21 Feb 0001]

  The next day, after waking up, Kenji washed up, put on clean clothes, and headed out of the housing complex.

  “Hope I find something cheap.” Yesterday, the growling stomach and sudden hunger urges delayed Kenji's progress.

  So today, the first thing he was going to do was look for something cheap that could fill his stomach.

  “My friend over there!!” Kenji was about to enter the Fairy Market when someone stopped him.

  Shifting his Ki back toward his upper body, Kenji came to an abrupt stop. Turning over, he saw an unfamiliar face coming toward him.

  “My friend, currently my party is in urgent need of workers; are you willing?” The man immediately stated his business.

  He had seen Kenji working as a transporter before, so when he saw Kenji run past him, he immediately called out.

  “I am…. busy… right now.” Without giving it any thought, Kenji outright rejected the man. He was there when the Monster Tide started and had seen many powerful parties lose their members.

  “The pay is 2 Silver coins per trip!” As Kenji had just turned around to continue on his way, the man spoke, stopping Kenji dead in his tracks.

  “Did… you say… 2… Silver coins…” Kenji asked to confirm that his ears weren't playing tricks on him.

  “Yes, 2 Silver coins. Moreover, if you can carry two carcasses at once, then the amount will double.” Seeing that Kenji was interested, the man spoke the golden words to seal the deal.

  “Okay…, when… are we… leaving?” Just 2 Silver coins were enough to hook Kenji; the double pay for carrying more carcasses was icing on the cake.

  “Just need a few more workers. Why don't you head to the gate and wait with the Firefly party. Tell them, I, Trevor, sent you.”

  Seeing that Kenji was excited for the job, Trevor asked him to wait at the city gate while he continued looking for more members.

  As Trevor went away, Kenji immediately made his way toward the city gate, completely forgetting about food.

  Upon arriving at his destination, Kenji was surprised to see the bustling scene. The whole area was even more lively than before the Monster Tide started.

  “Looking for teammates, no experience needed!!”

  “Need someone good with a bow!!”

  “Archer, need an Archer!!”

  “Need workers for transportation, paying 1.5 Silver coins per trip!!”

  Leaving the recruitment area, Kenji arrived at the notice area and started searching for the Firefly party, which wasn't hard as they were one of the top 10 parties in the city.

  “Hello… Trevor… sent me… for… transportation work.” Approaching a member of the Firefly party, Kenji introduced himself.

  “Okay, stay here, we are about to head out.” Seeing Kenji's thin and weak figure, the member of the Firefly party had his doubts. However, having trust in Trevor, he let Kenji stay.

  “Okay, let's head out.” Soon, Trevor returned with three more workers, and everyone left the city.

  After half an hour of walking, Kenji and the rest of the workers came to an open field filled with the corpses of various monsters.

  “So many. There are at least 100 of them.”

  “Those are Blood Hounds, and there are so many.”

  Upon seeing the corpses of so many monsters, everyone was in awe of Firefly's power.

  “Quickly pick the spoils and head back. The next wave of Wind Frogs is approaching.” As the workers were busy talking amongst themselves, the leader of the Firefly spoke.

  Ever since the Monster Tide started, the Storm-thorns and Wind Frogs had been the greatest headache for all hunters.

  Storm-thorns easily blend into any type of grass and are extremely difficult to spot.

  As for Wind Frogs, the moment they leap into the air, it becomes almost impossible to kill them, and their intense acid rain can dissolve any unprepared party down to their bones.

  Feeling the urgency in the Firefly leader's voice, the workers quickly picked up the carcasses and headed back toward the city.

  “Is it me, or did I see that grass move?”

  “Now that you mention it, I also feel like something is right behind me.”

  As Kenji was busy controlling the output of his Ki, the workers near him started whispering.

  Taking a good look at his surroundings, Kenji also noticed a patch of grass move a few inches toward him.

  “We are surrounded!!!” Soon, a loud cry from a Firefly party member sounded.

  __________

  Author’s Note:

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