They all knew one thing.

For someone who had reached A-rank at such a young age, Aron was surprisingly easygoing. At least... compared to most powerful SIREs.

Beyond the city gates stretched a vast wilderness filled with ancient trees and dangerous monsters.

Many people came here to train, hunt monsters, or gather valuable resources from the forest. Even monster corpses could be sold for enormous sums at the Merchant Association.

Researchers and craftsmen would purchase monster materials to create all kinds of items, including potions, pills, armor, and weapons. The stronger the monster, the more valuable its body parts became.

Aron also came here for one reason, to train.

Tomorrow was the National SIRE Exam.

If he could increase his stats even further before the examination, he would have a much higher chance of securing a spot in the Special Military Training Program.

As Aron moved through the forest, his eyes suddenly landed on an F-rank monster.

Without hesitation, he drew his sword.

The creature resembled a pangolin. Although its appearance was similar to the animal from Earth, it was nearly a hundred times larger. Thick scales covered its entire body, providing incredible defensive power.

While its scales were nowhere near as tough as a Scalyman's, they were still strong enough that most ordinary F-rank SIREs couldn't penetrate them.

Unfortunately for the monster, it had encountered Aron.

A sword aura flashed brilliantly...

Before the giant pangolin could even react, Aron's blade sliced cleanly through its body.

The monster was split into two halves instantly.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host, for killing Giant Pangolin (F-Rank).]

[You have gained 1 free attribute point.]

Aron froze in his action. Then his eyes widened in surprise...

"One?"

He stared at the notification in disbelief.

"Just one attribute point?"

The system immediately responded.

[Tsk... What exactly were you expecting?]

[Did you think killing an F-Rank monster as an A-Rank Sire would earn you millions of attribute points?]

Aron immediately shut his mouth.

After thinking about it carefully, he realized the system's logic was actually quite reasonable.

Back when he had defeated the A-rank Scalyman, he had received one hundred attribute points. Even his first task, which involved humiliating another B-rank Sire while he was still at B-rank himself, had rewarded him with one hundred points.

A thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

"So that's how it works."

The system seemed to reward challenges that matched or exceeded his own level. Defeating opponents far weaker than himself provided almost no benefits.

In other words, if Aron wanted large amounts of attribute points, he would need to challenge enemies close to his own rank or even stronger.

A grin slowly appeared on his face. That was exactly what he had been hoping for.

If killing weak monsters granted huge rewards, farming points would have been far too easy. Now, he finally had a reason to hunt more stronger preys.

His gaze slowly shifted deeper into the forest.

Somewhere within these ancient woods lurked countless powerful monsters. And to Aron... they all looked like walking attribute points.

Aron's total stats had already reached 2,200 points. Only 800 more points remained before he reached the peak of A-rank.

With his current strength, hunting low-ranked monsters was almost effortless.

As an A-rank SIRE, his skills and physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary monsters in the outer forest. One monster after another fell beneath his sword as he advanced deeper into the wilderness.

Suddenly, Aron's eyes narrowed into a slit. A pack of monsters had appeared ahead.

Demon Wolves!

The wolves sensed his presence as well and let out low growls.

They possessed long, razor sharp fangs, messy ash gray fur, and three tails swaying behind them. Their crimson eyes glowed with a savage light, while their claws were sharp enough to tear through steel.

Every wolf in the pack was a C-rank monster. After killing one with a single slash, Aron checked his reward.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host, for killing Demon Wolf (C-Rank).]

[You have gained 10 attribute points.]

Aron's eyes lit up immediately.

Ten points from a single monster.

A quick glance revealed there were at least thirty to forty wolves in the pack. A grin slowly spread across his face.

He had found a gold mine.

The slaughter began immediately after that...

WHOOOSH!

A sword slash flashed through the forest.

One wolf fell into the ground with a massive sword mark in it's body, blood was seeping out of it's wound like a flowing river...

Then another, and another...

The wolves charged from every direction, but none could even touch Aron. His figure flowed through the battlefield like water, leaving only afterimages behind.

In just a few minutes, every Demon Wolf lay dead. Blood stained the forest floor. Only one monster remained.

The Demon Wolf King.

It was far larger than the others, with five tails swaying behind its massive body. Its crimson eyes contained a trace of intelligence and fury.

Most importantly... it was a B-rank monster.

Aron's grin widened.

Finally, something slightly interesting.

The Demon Wolf King let out a furious howl and lunged forward.

The battle began the next second. Sharp claws slashed through the air. The wolf lunged at Aron, snapping its massive jaws toward him.

Yet no matter how many attacks the monster unleashed, it couldn't land a single hit on Aron.

Using the Flowing River Footsteps, Aron moved with flawless precision, avoiding every strike with the smallest possible movements.

The wolf's attacks became more frantic.

Aron's expression still remained calm.

Then...

SLASH!

A brilliant sword light flashed like a flowing river.

The wolf froze suddenly. A clean cut appeared on its neck... The king didn't even realize what had happened.

A moment later, its head slid from its neck.

THUD...

The massive corpse crashed to the ground. And it's head rolled a few times in the ground, before stopping at Aron's feet...

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host, for killing 37 Demon Wolves (C-Rank).]

[You have gained a total of 370 attribute points.]

[Congratulations, Host, for killing Demon Wolf King (B-Rank).]

[You have gained 50 attribute points.]

[Total free attribute points: 531.]

Aron's face immediately brightened.

Five hundred and thirty-one points.

That was far more than he had expected to gain from a single hunt since he entered the forest.

Meanwhile, the little skeleton sitting on his shoulder frowned deeply. Throughout the battle, it had carefully observed every move Aron made.

The swordsmanship, the footwork and even the combat instincts. Everything was absurdly powerful. Yet it still couldn't figure out where its master had learned such terrifying abilities.

Suddenly, Aron gave a command in his mind.

"System, allocate one hundred points to each of my stats."

Whoosh!

A mysterious surge of power descended from an unknown void and flowed into Aron's body. His aura instantly rose like a raging river.

The little skeleton's jaw nearly fell off from it's mouth...It immediately floated away from Aron and stared at him in disbelief. Its flamy eyes in the empty sockets were filled with pure shock.

Its master... had just become stronger again. And it had happened instantly.

The skeleton couldn't understand what it was seeing.

In this world, increasing one's stats required endless battles against monsters. Even after risking their lives countless times, SIREs could only gain small improvements.

Many talented SIREs needed years to reach the peak of their rank. Yet Aron had increased his strength dramatically within seconds.

The skeleton pointed a trembling bony finger at him.

"H-How?"

"How did you do that?!"

Aron simply smiled.

"What happened? Even a powerful assistant like you can't tell how I became stronger? Have your senses become dull?"

A mischievous grin appeared on his face.

The skeleton fell completely silent, it just stared at Aron with its empty eye sockets...

All this time, it had been secretly observing Aron, hoping to uncover the mystery behind his rapid growth. But now that it had happened directly in front of its eyes... it still couldn't sense anything.

Not a single clue, nor a single fluctuation.

Nothing.

Just what kind of ability did this master possess?

At that moment, a familiar notification sounded inside Aron's head.

[Hmph! Sense? Sense who?]

[Even if that little skeleton searched through a thousand lifetimes, it wouldn't be able to detect even the faintest trace of me.]

Aron's lips twitched.

Then he nodded seriously in his mind.

"Yes, yes. I know."

"You're the boss."

The little skeleton stopped thinking about Aron's mysterious growth.

After a moment of hesitation, it floated back onto Aron's shoulder. However, unlike usual, it didn't say a single word. The shock it had experienced was simply too great.

Its mind was still busy calculating countless possibilities. Yet no matter how hard it thought, it couldn't find a reasonable explanation.

Aron paid no attention to his assistant's strange behavior.

Instead, he began collecting the monster corpses. One after another, the bodies disappeared into his Space Ring.

The Demon Wolves, the Demon Wolf King, and even the monsters he had killed earlier were all carefully stored away. Once he returned to the city, he planned to sell everything along with the resources he had obtained from Dravis's Space Ring.

It would undoubtedly earn him a considerable fortune. After checking his status, Aron nodded slightly. Only three hundred points remained before he reached the peak of A-rank.

Without wasting any time, he continued moving deeper into the forest.

The trees grew denser and denser the more he entered the deepest part of the forest. The atmosphere also became heavier. Even the sounds of monster roars gradually faded.