Deep within the Death Forest, on a high tree branch that was practically invisible from the ground, Manco woke up, feeling tired and lethargic.

Taking note of his Starved and Dehydrated status effects, he checked the event log. There was no Well-rested bonus as he was sleeping uncomfortably upon a tree. Two in-game days had passed without incidents. Very few animals passed by and none found him. He gained one level in Camouflage mastery and that was it.

It was almost noon. The forest was quiet save for the occasional distant howls or screeches of unseen creatures. A few beams of sunlight managed to pierce through the thick leaves and shone on the ground, alleviating the gloomy atmosphere.

A growl in his stomach reminded him of his conditions. He munched on some ration and washed it down with water. When the negative status effects were gone, he lowered himself to the ground.

Gathering dry leaves, small twigs, and firewood, he made a small fire. The meat that was harvested yesterday was cut into small chunks, skewered and placed over the fire. Before long, the air was filled with the crackling of fire and the sizzling of roasted meat.

'This would definitely attract visitors,' thought Manco as he removed a skewer from the fire.

The meat was tough and gamey. Shrugging, he ate lunch, stopping occasionally to deal with the curious creatures attracted by the smell. By the time he finished his meal, the ground around him was littered with no less than a dozen corpses.

After harvesting the corpses, he began preparing for the night hunt in earnest. The first task was setting up several emergency refuges above the tall trees as he did before. Afterwards, he moved on to crafting various types of traps. He didn't expect the traps to kill anything, but only to slow them down in case he needed to escape. Meanwhile, two dozen torches were also made and tied to trees; at night they would be lit to improve visibility and safety.

His tasks were often interrupted by packs of forest predators, which he welcomed. One after another, dingoes, wolves, and panthers were swiftly dealt with and added to the all-you-can-eat buffet for the night creatures.

Manco went over his list of weapons. His main weapon: the Collector, which was also the reason he would be here in the forest at night. Then he had his new Belzhorian Heavy Crossbow and 500 bolts of different types. For close encounters he had his old Heavy Dagger and a Steel Studded Club he recently bought.

His meager arsenal of spells included Mana Bolt, Mana Blast which he could fired either by hand or (preferably) through the Collector. The skull wand Dark Touch granted him access to Shadow Bolt, Dark Implosion and Marshland as long as he held it while casting.

Rounding out his arsenal was assorted vials containing Minor Paralyzing potions, Mild Corrosive, Mild Poison and so on.

'Ah, I almost forgot about this!' He slapped his forehead.

He also had a new skill that was unlocked by leveling Mana Bolt to level 20 called Mana Vision. Thanks to his trait "In tune with Nature," Mana Vision was upgraded to a hidden skill called Astral Vision.

『Astral Vision 』!

As Manco activated the skill, the surrounding sceneries were instantly covered in a faint blue tint. He looked around and saw a faint smoke-like substance with varying density shifting randomly toward all directions. It was the flow of mana.

Steadying his vision, he saw a "stream" flowing toward a definite direction. Following it, he found its destination.

On the ground was a transparent circle, about 40 centimeters in diameter, glowing a faint blue light. It had elaborate decorative patterns around the edges.

This was a Leyline. A low-powered one to be precise.

Leylines were areas with concentrated mana and greatly benefited spell-casting classes. Standing above a Leyline would decrease spell cooldown, increase spell power, and increase mana regeneration. It took effect when the caster stood on the circle, regardless of whether he could see it or not.

Their appearances were random and unpredictable. They could exist in one place for days, but could also disappear in the matter of hours. The more powerful a Leyline was, the smaller its size. The most potent ones could be smaller than a fingertip, making it nigh impossible to stumble upon one by accident.

Only a handful of combinations of classes, skills and perks allowed users to see mana flow and by extension, Leylines. One such combination was Manco's Crimson Mage class and the "In tune with Nature" trait.

Standing on the Leyline, he found a new buff affecting him.

『Leyline (grade C) 』 Duration: N/A

- Spell damage +30%

- Cooldown -30%

- MP regen +30%

The increase was definitely useful, but it would be of limited use to him in combat, as he had to move around quite a bit and could not stay in one place to fire off his spells.

'It'd be nice if there's one on the tree!' Manco said with a chuckle.

Nevertheless, he marked down the location. If there was a moment he could use a boost and a Leyline happened to be within reach, he'd take it. Wandering the hunting ground, he found about half a dozen low-powered Leylines and marked them down as well.

After he was done preparing, Manco alternated between wandering and looking for creatures, scouring the surrounding areas for ingredients, crafting various potions and items to increase his masteries, and double- and triple-checking his preparations.

It was a slow day, but he didn't mind. After the last few hectic days, he was glad to be able to relax a little.

One hour before nightfall, Mahn Li logged out and took care of his real-world businesses, then logged back in, anticipating a long night.

Night snuck upon the forest without a sound. As the last rays of sunlight died off, the forest became covered in a thick veil of darkness. The whole atmosphere changed. If it was already dangerous before, now it was almost suffocating.

After lighting the torches, Manco took up position on one of the low branches and observed the ground. The main attraction was several piles of animal carcasses in the middle of the hunting ground. Leading to it were scattered pieces of meat over an area of roughly ten thousand square meters. Several dozen traps had been strategically laid in the area. Steadying his nerves, he watched and listened.

Movements in his peripheral vision alerted him to the approaching creatures. In the orange glow of the torches, he could make out several approaching shapes. Skirting the torch-lit patches of ground, they picked up the pieces of meat and devoured them noisily. As they got closer, he was able to identify them.

〔 Plague Hound - Weak 〕

〔 Level: 24 - HP: ??? 〕

〔 This wild hound carries of a perpetual sickness which will infect all victims of it attacks. Even the most ravenous predators ignore it because of its horrid smell and toxic flesh. It thrives in environments of death and decay. 〕

As the three Plague Hounds got closer, an acrid smell began assaulting Manco's nostrils. Their bone thin hair matted and caked with dried mud, blood and pus. In various places, the hair had fallen off, revealing sickly, boil-filled skin. Yellow fluid leaked from their eyes and mouths. However, they didn't seem the least bit bothered by the sickness. Approaching the corpses, the three sniffed at them a little, then began tearing into the flesh enthusiastically.

The Sickness debuff cause by Plague Hound attacks was not dangerous, but pretty annoying. For starters, the victim's stats would be lowered by at least 10%. Afterward, the victim would gradually lose HP, requiring constant healing to keep from dying. Logging out wouldn't help. The sickness could be cured by specially made medicine or the victim passing a Constitution check at the beginning of each day.

Deciding against engaging these creatures in close combat, Manco took aim with the crossbow and simultaneously activated [Focus Shot], [Aimed Shot], and [Crippling Shot].

*Twang!*

The split-head bolt tore into the back leg of the nearest hound, causing black blood mixed with a yellow fluid to leak out from the wound. Yelping in pain, the thing tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the bolt. The other two was either unaware of the attack or just didn't care, and kept feeding.

Switching to the gun, Manco fired mana bolts at the wounded hound. The creature shuffled around pathetically in a circle with a crippled leg, unable to run away. After several more shots, he charged up a mana blast and finished it off.

Checking the description of the Collector, he saw a small but important change.

- ??? (Requirement to unlock: Kill 5000 corpse-eating creatures. Progress 4794/5000).

'One down. Two hundred and six to go!' He said, leveling the crossbow at the second hound.