After going into the sea, I met the witch.

He looked similar.

Humans...

The king, whose life was coming to an end, looked up to the sky and cried out in despair, the light in his eyes completely dimmed.

This dragon, which had roamed the ancient forests for countless years, met its end at this moment.

"Hu Chi... Hu Chi..."

Ryan's vision went black, and he didn't even have the strength to stand up. He fell backward onto the ground in a spread-eagle position.

The warmth brought by the upgrade nourished his body.

It took him a long time to feel some strength returning to his body.

"This time the cost was too high; even the upgrade couldn't restore me to my peak condition..."

Ryan let out a long sigh of relief.

He pressed the greatsword stuck in the ground, got up, and turned his gaze to the corpse of the Rathalos leader.

Though the dragon is dead, its might remains.

Ryan's gaze fell on a warm, jade-like object that had fallen in front of the Rathalos leader's corpse, radiating a rich bronze glow.

[Loot Found: Blazing Ruby]!

-

[Loot: Rathalos Ruby]: A bronze-grade loot, a strange stone nurtured within the body of the Rathalos leader, shaped like jade. It comes with the special skill [Destroyer Lv.1]: Weapons are more likely to damage monster parts or enemy weapons, armor, and other equipment.

-

"Good stuff!"

Ryan's eyes lit up as he looked at the special skill that came with the new loot.

"Part destruction" is very useful in the process of defeating monsters.

Just like how he "cut off the tail" of the Rathalos leader at the beginning of this battle, which directly reduced its combat power.

This time he was lucky. The male Rathalos leader's scales had relatively low defensive power. If it were a tougher creature, such as a female Rathalos, he would not have been able to sever its tail with a single sword strike.

The appearance of the [Destroyer Lv.1] skill makes it even easier for him to "destroy parts".

Moreover, this skill is also extremely effective at damaging enemy weapons and armor.

Imagine fighting an enemy with a weapon of the same quality as yours, and suddenly your weapon breaks. What would that feel like?

This is absolutely awesome!

Ryan happily put away the [Loot: Red Jade].

Then, he took a deep breath and went to the corpse of the Rathalos leader.

Ryan hadn't forgotten that while his campaign against the Rathalos leader was partly driven by personal grudges, his ultimate goal was the "mysterious fragment" within the Rathalos leader's body.

That was the key to his taking up the hidden path profession!

Unfortunately, this "mysterious fragment" did not fall off automatically like loot; instead, it was hidden inside the Rathalos leader's body.

The Rathalos leader is enormous; if you search blindly, you never know how long it will take to find it.

Fortunately, the gray text indicated Ryan's location.

[The corpse of the Rathalos leader: The fallen king of the Ancient Forest, whose heart contains a "mysterious fragment."]

heart!

Ryan's eyes flickered slightly, and he immediately took action.

He came to the left side of the Rathalos leader's chest and saw an area that was lighter in color than the surrounding scales.

"Was it Loik, the former vice-commander of the Seventh Reconnaissance Hunting Group, who inflicted the injuries?"

Ryan vaguely sensed that the wound contained an indescribable power, not spirituality, but something purer.

With the death of the Rathalos leader, this divine power gradually faded.

Ryan drew his greatsword and plunged it into the wound, tearing a gash in it.

After some searching.

Ryan sat beside the corpse of the Rathalos leader, looking at the thing that was half-suspended in his palm, his eyes filled with excitement.

The gaze of the "mysterious fragment" was that of a pitch-black, rhomboid fragment, the appearance of which before it was shattered was completely unrecognizable.

The panel's description of it is also very vague.

[Mysterious Fragment: A part of an item containing mysterious power. Possessing this item allows one to enroll in a Tier 1 class of the hidden path—[Original Sin Path]. Manifesting it to one's true form requires 50000 Spirit Points.]

"Finally, I have you!"

Ryan's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement.

Heaven has mercy! His true form was constantly fighting with professionals, but in reality, he was just a "blank slate" and didn't have a profession at all.

Now, the main body can finally have its own hidden path profession, which is truly a cause for celebration.

Those who choose a hidden path will not be noticed by "unknown beings" and will not face the risk of being "assimilated" at the seventh rank.

Ryan carefully stored the "mysterious fragment" into his spatial ring. What pained him was that it would take a terrifying 50,000 spirit points for the "mysterious fragment" to materialize into his physical body.

This could take away most of the spiritual points he had painstakingly collected!

Ryan looked at the panel.

-

[Level]: 10 (1%) → 11 (1%)

[Spiritual Value]: 52635 → 82635

[Spirituality]: 2.5

[Physical Strength]: 26.63 → 34.32

【战利品（9个）】：深红之角（匠心lv.1）、电之针（属性抵抗lv.1）、鱼龙心鳞（火属性抵抗lv.1）、火伞之冠（集中术lv.1）、火怪之羽（攻击lv.1）、折断的巨獠牙（体力lv.1）、赤色凶牙（集中术lv.1）、雌火逆鳞（火属性抵抗lv.1）、雄火红玉（破坏王lv.1）

-

A powerful force surged within him.

After the Traveling Avatar's level was upgraded again, the resulting increase in [Physique] was incredibly terrifying, jumping directly from 26.63 to 34.32!

Such immense power even made Ryan feel like he couldn't control it.

During this journey, he leveled up continuously, his strength advancing by too great a leap. He needs time to become proficient, consolidate his abilities, and adapt.

"Da Yin, the rest are all yours. Thank you so much this time."

Reaching the shore, Ryan crouched down, patted Big Silver's smooth head, and sincerely thanked him.

He had collected a lot of materials from the Rathalos leader, enough for his future forging needs.

Through this hunt, Ryan also discovered that as the monster's star rating increased, the Greatsword "Ferocious Ice" crafted from the Ice Fang Saberfish was gradually becoming outdated.

At this moment, the big silver opened its mouth and spat out a round, light blue bead about the size of a thumb.

"【Pure Water Crystal】? You're really something, Big Silver, you even found that."

Ryan said with a surprised tone.

As the flash flood occurred, the [Pure Water Crystal] that he had buried in the nearby ground was also washed out. He was still racking his brains about how to find this little thing in the vast waters when Da Yin gave him such a surprise.

Noticing the "longing" in Big Silver's eyes, Ryan said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Big Silver, I can't give you this. I still need it for now."

Upon hearing this, Da Yin suppressed the longing in his eyes.

Ryan felt even more sorry for her because of her obedient appearance. After thinking for a moment, his eyes lit up and he took out two red crystals.

It was the [Crimson Crystal] that he had obtained from a cave at the foot of a cliff in the outer area.

Do you need this?

Ryan asked.

There are five [Red Crystals] in total. I gave one to Silver before, which allowed it to complete a Red Evolution that is different from "Red Berserk".

Upon seeing the [Crimson Crystal], Big Silver's eyes widened, and he frantically nodded his shark head.

“Since you need it, here you go.” Ryan smiled and tossed two [Crimson Crystals] into Big Silver’s mouth.

After successfully evolving into Red Obsidian, this thing is basically no longer a danger to Big Silver.

Instinctively, Ryan felt that this thing must have other uses, so he kept two as spares.

"By the way, how did you end up coming from the inner area?" Ryan asked curiously after Da Yin swallowed the [Crimson Crystal].

Big Silver was stunned for a moment, but after a demonstration, Ryan gradually understood.

"You mean there's a small opening at the bottom of this island, and you traveled through the hole all the way to a large lake, then the lake's walls exploded, and you were swept out?"

Big Silver nodded excitedly, confirming Ryan's guess.

Shark nods.jpg

“Hmm… what a peculiar structure.” Ryan stroked his chin.

He didn't quite understand how this ecological environment was formed.

After thinking about it, Ryan decided to give up.

There must be a reason why a certain natural ecosystem can exist; it's best not to make wild guesses.

"Da Yin, you eat here for now, I'm going to go deeper inside."

"After you finish eating, you can leave on your own. The lake in the inner area is probably dry now, so you should go back to the sea."

A hint of reluctance flickered in Big Silver's large eyes, but it still nodded vigorously, then hopped ashore and jumped to the Rathalos leader.

Ryan glanced at the big silver dog who was eating happily, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

The Rathalos leader is affected by the "mysterious fragment," making it larger and stronger than a normal Rathalos.

After consuming the Rathalos leader, Silver's strength will likely see a significant improvement.

Turning around, Ryan walked deeper into the island.