Alpha Reborn!

While the creature was still reeling, Evan struck it with a punch to the gut, sending it flying backwards.

With a sickening thud, the creature collided with a nearby tree, leaving a massive depression in its head. But the impact didn't finish it off. With surprising speed, the beast regained its footing and took off into the air, desperate to flee. Evan was too powerful to defeat, and the creature knew it would only meet its demise if it stayed.

"Looks like you're not so tough after all. A little frost magic should put you out of your misery."

Evan's fingers tingled with energy as tendrils of frost rose from his skin, swirling and twirling around each other in a mesmerizing dance.

The air around him grew colder.

The temperature dropped as the tendrils condensed into a small, frosty sphere of power. It glowed with a blue-white light, crackling with icy energy that threatened to freeze anything it touched.

Whoosh!

And then, with a flick of his wrist, Evan launched the sphere towards the creature, watching as it streaked through the air like a comet. The creature attempted to dodge, but its movements were sluggish and ineffective. The strongest soul skill under level 20 hit its mark with deadly accuracy, piercing through the creature's flesh and freezing its insides.

Guwahck!

The creature let out a blood-curdling screech of pain as it plummeted towards the ground, unable to sustain its flight with its stiff wings

Evan watched as the creature crashed onto the ground with a dull thud, its body covered in a layer of frost.

Approaching the creature cautiously, sword at the ready, Evan saw its eyes glaring at him with pure hatred.

"You're still alive? Don't worry, I'll make it quick."

The creature was still alive, suffering.

Thus, he plunged his sword into its heart, ending its pain.

[Ding!]

Evan's attention was pulled away from the fallen creature as a notification popped up in front of him. It was a message from the System.

[Congratulations on defeating a Level 8 Shadow Beast. You have gained +80 EXP, and +5 AGT!]

Evan felt a surge of satisfaction at the news.

As the notification continued, his eyes widened in surprise:

[Congratulations! You have also gained 1× soul pocket refinement stone.]

These stones were in high demand among cultivators, as they could help them enhance their spiritual abilities.

Although there was a small chance of beasts forming a soul refinement stone in their bodies, only one in a hundred beasts had such a chance. Moreover, cultivators could only discover if a beast had one by dismembering it.

Luckily for Evan, the System had informed him that the bat-like creature he had just slain had formed a soul refinement stone in its body.

Although he had no shortage of soul energy crystals, refinement stones were harder to come by.

A grin spread across his face as he quickly searched the creature's body and found the stone - small, smooth, and adorned with intricate blue patterns etched into its surface. As he held it, a soft, pulsing energy emanated from it, permeating his entire being. This energy strengthened his soul, deepening his connection with his soul pockets, and improving his control over his soul energy.

[Ding! Congratulation, Player Evan. Your ability to manipulate soul energy has improved!]

[You are able to manually control the energy of two of your soul pockets at a time!]

That meant he could manually control 200 units of soul energy with his will!

Thinking about soul energy, he was reminded of the fact that his energy reserve has slighlty decreased during his fight with the shadow beast.

He withdrew a soul energy crystal from his inventory, his fingers curling around it tightly. Using his Soul Refinement skill, he deftly converted the crystal's energy into his own, filling his energy bar to the brim.

With the task at hand at the forefront of his mind, Evan knew he had to improve his offensive abilities. He rummaged through his memory of the game, considering his options carefully. After a moment of contemplation, he decided to upgrade his Frost Bullet skill.

As he invested his skill point into the upgrade, a notification appeared in his mind's eye:

[SKILL UPGRADED]

[Frost Bullet has been upgraded to Frost Barrage!]

The new skill was a vast improvement over its predecessor. It allowed Evan to create multiple ice bullets simultaneously and shoot them in a rapid-fire manner in a straight line. The projectiles would move at the same speed as the original Frost Bullet and could cause significant damage to any target in their path.

It only had one drawback.

It consumed more soul energy than its original version.

However, despite the increased energy consumption, Frost Barrage had several advantages over Frost Bullet.

The rapid-fire nature of the skill made it harder for enemies to dodge or block the attacks, and the increased number of projectiles meant that he could deal more damage. He could even control the movement of the bullets using his control-type skill plate, making it possible to hit enemies behind cover or those who were quick on their feet.

"With Frost Barrage, hunting a Craterborn and its group of slaves should be a breeze," he thought to himself.

Evan resumed his journey through the dense forest, his senses on high alert as he searched for his prey.

It wasn't long before he caught sight of a faint path winding its way through the trees. Though not surprised to see it, he couldn't help but feel a sense of hope rising within him at the sight of it.

"The monsters in these parts probably use this path to get around," he thought to himself. "If I'm lucky, it might just lead me straight to my target."

…

Perched high on a towering Bloodwood tree, two young hounds of the Frostweavers waited in silence. The first hound, a girl with long, flowing auburn hair, scanned the forest floor below with hawk-like eyes. Her gaze was sharp and alert, taking in every detail of the terrain.