The Omnistore System

"What's this herb called? It smells amazing. Is it edible?" Keith inquired, snapping a photo of the light green petals and sending it to Kevin, who was examining another herb.

As they trekked through the area on foot, everyone engaged in the same activity. They had decided to walk instead of riding to better survey their surroundings for herbs. Their herb detector was configured solely to locate the noxlight flower, similar to Kevin's treasure radar, which was specifically calibrated for the same purpose.

While he was on the lookout for more herbs, Kevin checked out the image Keith had sent. "That's a Scentara Bloom. They use it in perfumes and makeup stuff."

Keith's smile kind of dropped at that. "So, just a useless, fancy thing?"

Picking up a small pink and reddish cherry, the dark-haired guy replied, "I wouldn't call it a useless fancy thing, if it can get me 4000 thousands unit."

"This thing sells for four thousand units?" Keith's golden eyes widened as she examined the flower. With careful hands, she delicately plucked it from the stem and placed it in a wooden box alongside other flowers.

Viana, who was searching nearby for herbs, chimed in, "Seems like you know a lot about herbs."

Kevin smiled in response and nodded. "Yeah, I make a living selling these things, so I've got to know a thing or two about them."

Kevin had extensively studied the herbs found in Chernobogs Den, poring over information from the cultivations associations and the book got from the system. He committed each detail to memory, a task relatively easy for a cultivator, even though they hardly had time to dedicate to memorization amid their cultivation practices, battles, and various responsibilities.

Unlike many cultivators, Kevin didn't have to exert much effort in cultivation; it was almost a breeze for him. He merely had to fuck, and presto! Cultivation happened. However, within their party, there were others far more knowledgeable than him. Take Viana, for instance. She seemed to know almost everything about the herbs and other discoveries they'd encountered. These were details that Kevin hadn't even come across in the system's books, which primarily covered common herbs. The cultivations association's information wasn't all-encompassing, and even if it were, he couldn't possibly absorb all of it without the need for cultivation. He had other pursuits demanding his attention.

Moving along, despite their hours of walking, they hadn't stumbled upon any noxlight flowers. They did encounter a few monsters, swiftly taken out by Ken and Zaria with their laser guns in single shots.

Kevin thought everything was going pretty smoothly until a roar sounded from his side. Glancing to his left, he noticed a peculiar tree a short distance away. What caught his attention was its distinctive appearance; it seemed hollow inside, with a sizable gap at the bottom emitting the glow of two small green orbs, both shimmering and shifting.

Kevin stood at the end of the zigzag formation, roughly 15 meters away from the front where they could efficiently utilize the searching field of their device. Positioned beside him was Keith, and they both instinctively turned towards the direction of the roar.

As Viana took a step towards him, she offered, "Let me handle it."

But Kevin halted her with a request. "Mind if I give it a shot? I want to see how much I've improved.."

Viana glanced at Keyara, who was positioned at the center of the formation. Since they weren't too far, Keyara could hear and nodded in response. "Sure, if you need backup, just give a shout."

Kevin grinned and approached the hollow tree, drawing the purple knives from their sheaths. He moved slowly and called out, "Come on out, kitty cat or good dog, whichever you are. Show yourself."

The green orbs shifted within the hollow tree as a growling sound emerged. Soon, Kevin laid eyes on the first monster he'd confront in the den: a wolf-like creature, with the same height as his and a length even bigger. Its pair of green eyes glared at him furiously, its mouth filled with long teeth, growling with drool dripping down.

"So, you're a dog, but not the good one?" Kevin muttered, smiling as he locked eyes with the creature. "Come on, bad doggy, time to take a nap."

As Kevin called it a "bad dog," the monster reacted differently than most canines, who just would get sad. Instead, it lunged at him, swiping its sharp claws, aimed inches away.

With swift reflexes, Kevin blocked the attack with his knife, the force pushing him a step back. He steadied himself and countered, forcing the creature to recoil with gritted teeth and a growl.

Seizing the opportunity as the creature tried to regain its balance, Kevin moved in for an attack. Even before his knife could reach the wolf-like monster, he initiated the only move he knew from the Soldier Blade technique: the Armor Breaker.

The first few slashes missed the wolf creature, as Kevin was too far from its reach. It was only the last few final strikes that connected, grazing the creature's face and injuring its eyes and nose, causing it to howl in pain. As it retaliated with a claw aimed at Kevin, he jumped backward, narrowly evading the attack. The monster swung its second claw, but Kevin dodged again, leaping out of harm's way.

Anticipating the creature's next move, Kevin sprinted toward it, instinctively ducking beneath its incoming claw. His knife grazed its joints, leaving a light but painful cut that would hinder its movement.

Ken observed Kevin battling from a distance and turned to Keyara, who was also monitoring the fight. "Why did you allow him to face it?"

"He wanted it to, so I let him gauge his progress and testing it against a manageable target," Keyara explained. "Besides, I'm curious about his abilities, too."

Nodding as Kevin executed another armor breaker move, Ken remarked, "He's capable enough to survive, but survival seems to be his limit for now."

Keyara nodded in acknowledgment as she witnessed Kevin expertly evade the threatening claws. As the monster lunged forward with its second claw, he didn't retreat. Instead, he sidestepped and then leaped forward, thrusting his knife into the creature's green eyes, causing blood and tissue to splatter out.