“With my current…reserves, I can use [Ki Blade]...once.” Kenji could manage two [Ki Blade], but then he wouldn’t have any Ki left for unforeseen circumstances.

  “How much time do you need to recover your Ki?” Zhen kept asking, since he needed to know all the details to formulate a plan.

  “Around…20 minutes.” Kenji answered.

  “Great! Recover some of your Ki and then we will go out to find another hound.” Knowing that Kenji only needed 20 minutes, Zhen's brain started working overtime, and it wasn't long before a strange smile appeared on his face.

  Soon, Kenji recovered his Ki and they went looking for another Grey Hound to hunt.

  Thanks to Zhen's Gift, it wasn't long before they found another Grey Hound.

  “I will attract its attention, while Kenji, you will stay behind me and take action at the right moment. Joon and Anon, you two will provide backup in case things get out of hand.” Hiding behind trees, Zhen instructed before running off to face the Grey Hound.

  “On it.”

  “Don't worry.”

  Joon and Anon took their positions, while Kenji just nodded his head and slowly followed behind Zhen.

  The Grey Hound, who had been searching for food for quite some time, was instantly delighted the moment he saw humans.

  He activated its talent [Wild Power] and opened its mouth wide open to take a bite.

  Seeing the Grey Hound’s sharp fangs coming for him, Zhen used [Skip] to get away.

  Losing its target, the Grey Hound noticed another human and headed for him with full confidence. As with [Wild Power] on, hardly any human could bypass his defenses.

  Seeing the furious Grey Hound coming his way, Kenji's first instinct was to get away. However, he stood his ground, waved his dagger through the air and vanished from his original position using [Flash].

  By the time Kenji appeared on the Grey Hound's right side, the [Ki Blade] had already torn open a wound on the lower end of its neck.

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  Before long, the Grey Hound bled to death.

  “Great work, Joon get the Ki!” Zhen was delighted that Kenji was able to kill the Grey Hound so easily and called Joon over.

  “Can…I take the…Ki?” Kenji asked, after all, the more reserves he would have, the more times he could use [Ki Blade] and [Flash].

  “You can take the next one.” Zhen didn't listen to Kenji, as his mind was clouded with various thoughts.

  As Zhen went away, Kenji didn't linger on about the Ki, as Joon had already collected it.

  “Found another one, Kenji, are you ready?” As Kenji recovered his Ki, Zhen returned and asked.

  “Almost…done.”

  The same thing happened with the next Grey Hound; Zhen was responsible for drawing it out, and Kenji, using the [Ki Blade], landed a finishing blow.

  [Ki: 702→712]

  This continued for two more times; Zhen would find and distract the Grey Hound, while Kenji would kill it.

  The whole time, Joon and Anon stayed in the back to provide backup if things ever went south.

  [Ki: 712→722]

  After hunting 5 Grey Hounds, Zhen sent Anon to get workers, while they continued hunting.

  By the time Anon returned with workers, 5 Grey Hounds carcasses had turned into 6.

  After returning to the city, Zhen sold the carcasses and returned to give Kenji his share.

  “Here, remember to be here by 7 tomorrow.” Ordering Anon, Joon, and Kenji, Zhen left.

  “There he goes again. He is always like this.” Joon complained about Zhen's attitude before heading out himself.

  Getting his 9 Silver coins, Kenji left the city and headed for the Fairy Market. After spending some time with Mary, Kenji entered an alchemy shop to buy Body Refining Pills.

  Returning to his room, he took the Body Refining Pills without any delay and started refining the body with the extracted essence.

  It wasn't long before most of the essence was gone, and Kenji felt something inside him break. His body produced a stream of vitality, which made him feel like he could hunt monsters for days without getting tired.

  Finally achieving Bronze rank, Kenji got on his bed and drifted into sleep.

  [Ancient Calendar: 14 Mar 0001]

  Even after just a few hours of sleep, Kenji woke up full of energy. Taking a food pill, Kenji headed for the city gate.

  “You are late. Be on time, we can't continue to wait for you.” Due to last night's body refining, Kenji was half an hour late, and Zhen looked at him as if he had committed a murder.

  Zhen complained for a little while more before they entered the Evergreen Forest and arrived at the Grey Hounds territory.

  Same as usual, Zhen distracted the Grey Hound while Kenji finished it off with a [Ki Blade].

  “What…” Kenji had a shocked expression on his face as the Grey Hound survived his [Ki Blade] and continued heading his way.

  “Joon, Anon!” Seeing the Grey Hound remain unfazed after being hit by Kenji's [Ki Blade], Zhen immediately called out for backup.

  Hearing Zhen shout, Joon and Anon immediately took action. Joon used his F-rank skill [Pierce] and fired an arrow at the Grey Hound's eye.

  While using [Jump], Anon landed before Kenji and led the Grey Hound away.

  “That's [Iron Body], an advanced version of [Iron Bones]. But don't worry, the moment [Wild Power] runs out, the defense of [Iron Body] will decrease a lot.” Zhen explained why Kenji's [Ki Blade] wasn't able to deal any damage to the Grey Hound.

  “Recover your Ki, we will take care of it.” Saying so, Zhen joined Anon and skillfully began evading all of the Grey Hound's attacks.

  It wasn't long before the Grey Hound's [Wild Power] ran out and he became a fish on the chopping board.

  Under Anon and Zhen's teamwork and Joon's constant harassment, the Grey Hound's wounds kept increasing, and he was constantly trying to run away. But how could they let the Grey Hound get away?

  “Now,” As the Grey Hound was busy trying to get past Anon, Zhen stopped caring about defense and went all in for attack.

  Zhen thrust his sword into the Grey Hound's stomach, followed by pushing the sword in with all his might.

  In a few seconds, blood started dripping from the hilt of the sword, and Zhen retreated, leaving his sword inside the Grey Hound's belly.

  Soon after, the Grey Hound fell to the ground, dying from internal bleeding and organ damage.

  __________

  Author’s Note:

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