Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

Evening, the Black Forest.

The moonlight was dim, the wilderness silent.

Bai E was no longer the same person who had first arrived in this world, neither in strength nor in mindset.

Facing the wilderness he had never dared to tread at night before, he now had the courage to come alone.

A military saber and two handguns were all the equipment he carried.

The saber was for killing enemies, the handguns for self-defense; there would be no problem using his Gun Fighting Skill to escape in a pinch.

As for his target...always letting Kuang Xin and the others kill wolves, wouldn't it be unacceptable if he didn't try it himself?

He had never killed this creature before, there was no experience decay, and it should be good for farming experience.

Bai E still remembered the unfinished "Blindfolded Combat" unlock method—

It required earning 100 points of combat experience by killing enemies in a Dark Environment, which was perfectly suited for the potential mission in the dark.

The night breeze in the Black Forest carried a moist, earthy stench.

Bai E deliberately made noise as he walked to attract any potential carnivores lurking in the dark.

"Crack~ Crunch~"

Twigs and leaves shattered beneath his feet as Bai E strode boldly deeper into the forest.

Until at some unknown moment, several ghostly green eyes floated in the darkness like will-o'-the-wisps.

"Swoosh~" Bai E drew his saber from its sheath, casually spinning it in a flourish.

The specially treated matte black blade was nearly unnoticeable at night; he didn't know if it would attract the wolves' attention, but they probably didn't care.

Wasn't it only proper to feast when a terrifying bipedal ape strayed alone into their territory, as if he was delivering meat right to their doorstep?

Encirclement, closing in.

The eyes of the beasts were fixed intently on the prey they surrounded, waiting for him to reveal a weakness.

One thing you never wanted in the wilderness was an injury, even if your target was as good as dead, you still had to be wary of its final struggle.

One two three four five, going into the forest to hunt wolves... There were six of them in total.

Standing still and letting them ravage... that would be an exaggeration, but given his current physical condition, six wolves shouldn't pose any danger.

Bai E pulled out a black cloth from his chest, opaque and impenetrable to light, and swiftly wrapped it around his eyes.

Then he secured it with a knot.

The requirement for activating the Combat Specialization Layer was a "Dark Environment," and he wasn't sure if the moonlight qualified as "dark." To avoid a wasted effort, adding another layer of surety seemed more sensible.

If it was to be blindfolded combat, he must first become blind.

The moment the black cloth covered his eyes, darkness completely descended upon Bai E's world.

All around was a pitch-black void, as if he had instantly lost connection to the world.

The moment the visuals vanished, everything around him felt far away.

This differed from the sensation of entering the depths of the sewer that day; one was an instantaneous cut-off, the other a gradual adaptation; one involved rats as foes, the other wolves.

Even though his current strength was unrivaled by ordinary people, the primal fear brought on by darkness still caused Bai E's heart to race.

Though it was quickly suppressed by "Self-Control."

After taking a deep breath, Bai E began to gradually adapt to the environment.

Using his ears, his breathing, his sense of touch...

The wind brushing his skin, the rancid odor in the wind, the rustling of grass as he moved...

[You are using your Senses to observe the environment...]

"Whoosh!"

He made noise almost simultaneously.

No matter how clever an animal was, it was still just an animal. Seeing that the terrifying bipedal ape had covered his primary means of observing the outside world, they thought this was the greatest opportunity.

A sigh echoed in Bai E's heart.

[Here they come!]

[The left!]

Bai E gripped the handle of his saber backward, estimating the speed, distance, and direction as he slashed to the left!

A solid sensation confirmed he hit his target. The feedback in his hand was slightly rigid, indicating a significant impact. The wailing of a wounded wolf also rose near his ear.

Without time to consider which part he had struck, Bai E spun around and delivered a sweeping kick in another direction.

Though the six wolves attacked at once, their actual assaults arrived in staggered successions, giving him some room to maneuver.

"Bang!"

A metallic thud came as his heel struck a skull, and the continued arc of his leg connected with the second oncoming wolf without losing momentum.

There was no chance for a follow-up or breather; Bai E turned again and struck towards his rear.

Unexpectedly, the empty hand he swung was suddenly entwined by a warm body. He felt sharp claws scraping the unknown fabric of his combat uniform and the gnashing teeth on his arm, eager to tear away a chunk of flesh.

Yet the toughness of his muscles and the fabric of his uniform frustrated the beast's intentions, leaving only a not-too-serious pain transmitted to Bai E's senses.

The mere act of biting and tearing wasn't much concern; what really constrained him was the weight of the wolf, nearly half the size of a human.

Flipping his blade around, Bai E chopped at the wolf which had ensnared his left arm with its forelimbs and fangs.

The sharp saber cut through the animal's tough fur but struggled to inflict significant damage; at least Bai E did not feel the blade penetrate deeply.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The blade wasn't dealing high damage? In a swift motion, Bai E turned his blade to stab downward, aiming for where he anticipated the wolf's belly and thrust harshly.

In pain, the wild wolf instantly released its fangs and leaped backward.

Discover exclusive content at empire

However, the coordination among the wolf pack during a hunt was unimaginably tacit, leaving Bai E no time to process his move before a wolf's jaws fiercely clamped on his right forearm, the one holding the knife.

They knew the danger of the knife Bai E held in his right hand, a terrifying weapon fashioned by humanoid apes, posing the greatest threat to them.

Once they controlled the knife-wielding limb, the humanoid ape's offensive capabilities would be greatly reduced.

Pressing down on the wolf's head, Bai E kicked its soft belly. With the activation of various special attributes from his Level 4 Combat Specialization, even without much space to wield force, he could still unleash an attack with a certain degree of strength using any part of his body.

The wolf, in agony, unconsciously released its bite with a pained howl.

In the complex fight, noises surrounded him on all sides, creating a situation far more challenging to discern complete information than the environment he encountered in the sewers that day.

The wild wolves weren't very strong, and six was not a large number, but for Bai E who couldn't rely on his eyes for information, it was a challenge neither too big nor too small.

Arms, thighs… the wolves attacked from all directions in their attempts to restrict Bai E's movements, but he resolved each assault in turn.

The sharp claws and fangs struggled against the protection of the combat suit, unable to cause substantial harm, and on the rare occasion that the tusks did genuinely pierce through the suit, Bai E's "Tough Skin" trait meant they still couldn't taste blood.

Pain was inevitable.

But like the pain felt in an underground fighting ring, it didn't cause Bai E to lose his reason. Instead, it brought him into a certain icy furor.

Seizing the fur of another wild wolf that lunged at him, Bai E heaved its body and smashed it towards another encroaching wolf.

The military knife had been returned to his waistband early on. It was of no use to him.

The somewhat heavy military knife, categorized as a light weapon, did not inherit the strength directly from the Combat Specialization Layer like when a dagger was used.

With only the feedback of 99/100 expertise points from the player and not even unlocking a Level 1 specialization layer, it was truly cumbersome to use for killing enemies, even less convenient than bare hands.

Bai E had no intention of significantly developing this specialization. Light weapons were typically suited for dealing with small creatures or fellow humans, but they proved to be of little use against the bugs or those machine intelligences and orcs he had yet to encounter.

Training to improve them was one thing, but he couldn't afford to invest experience points to boost that specialization.

For now, it was a better choice to cripple the wolf pack with his fists before using the military knife to finish them off.

Without the knife, Bai E's movements became even more agile. After grabbing one wolf and slamming it onto another, he loosened his grip and again pressed down on the charging wolf's head.

The wild wolf succumbed to his brute force, and as Bai E knelt down and gathered the strength in his fist, he smashed down on its spine.

"Crack!"

The wolf's body was slammed into the ground, and with one stab, the blade twisted into its flesh, spilling guts and blood all over.

[Successful close-range attack has rendered the target incapacitated, Combat Mastery experience +5. (Cumulative)]

[Successful critical hit on the target, Light Weapon Mastery experience +3.]

[Acquired "Level 1 Light Weapon Specialization", concurrently earning 1 Potential Point.]

[Light Weapon Specialization (Level 1): Attack speed +12%, Armor Penetration +1%.]

[Current Light Weapon Mastery experience 2/300. On reaching 300 points, "Level 2 Light Weapon Specialization" can be mastered.]

[Critical hit on target, dealing 27 piercing damage!]

He casually pulled out the blade and flung it away.

Having become accustomed to battling in "Dark Environments", the improvements in his abilities were not limited to information gathering, but more crucially, the confidence stemming from his comfort with the darkness.

"Awoo!"

The wolf that was struck squarely by the blade let out a painful howl.

Kill!

…

[Successful critical hit on the target, Light Weapon Mastery experience +12. (Cumulative)]

[Critical hit on target, dealing 33 fatal damage!]

[Target's breathing ceases, all basic life signs lost.]

[You have killed the target, combat has ended, 85 combat experience points acquired. (Cumulative)]

[You are attempting to familiarize yourself with combat in a "Dark Environment", and have successfully gained "100 combat experience points" through "combat", enabling you to train the Blind Fighting specialization. Current progress 98/100.]

As expected, his Blind Fighting progress had increased substantially.

Pity it's two points short... quite a rapid decay.

It felt as if the depreciation was even quicker than when killing rats. Sure, the initial 20 points of experience per wolf were not insignificant, but the rate of decay was too high. Was this due to... his own current strength?

Wiping away blood with his left hand, Bai E removed the black cloth covering his eyes. His gaze swept over the scattered corpses and closely examined the wounds on their bodies before realizing just how wildly off-target his attacks had been…

His skills were still lacking.

Continue!

…

[...Progress 107/100, you have successfully unlocked the Blind Fighting specialization.]

[Blind Fighting (Level 1): Perceptual performance (Auditory) in "Dark Environment" +1.]

[You are attempting to familiarize yourself with combat in a "Dark Environment", and have successfully gained "300 combat experience points" through "combat", eligible for upgrading the Blind Fighting specialization level. Current progress 7/300.]

A specialization with levels? This was his first encounter with one.

Bai E was brimming with joy, as the excitement in his eyes, hidden beneath the cloth, shone even brighter.

Wild wolves? I'm sorry!