Code Collector

There was a satisfying smirk on Allen's face as he feasted on the swan's meat. He started a fire right by the lake and grilled the swan meat after plucking all its feathers.

One of the sellable items from the Otherworlds apart from the Codes are the beasts' raw materials. A pound of this swan feathers would at least provide Allen a food for a day in Earth. The Otherworlds provided Hunters more sources of money to venture to, that was why it was so popular among humans.

One thing Allen noticed after his body was transformed was how light it felt and how strong he was. Before, it would be hard for him to even kill one of the swans, but all it took was one swift slash from him and the beasts succumbed to the wounds on their necks.

While nibbling on one of the swan's meat, Allen looked at his interface and read the new Code he got.

[ Swan Song ]

Type: Skill

Grade: Basic

Effect/s: Once activated, the user and nearby allies will gain a shield that will absorb 10 damage for 5 seconds.

This new ability sounded weak and pathetic, but ever second when fighting a beast is crucial. He can use the shield he'll gain from this skill to charge at his opponents and strike them down. He had seen other Hunters use shields from Codes before and it was very useful in a battle.

Impressed by his new ability, Allen proceeded to eat the swan. He got three swan meat from the lake, and got one Code. He was only able to get a few Codes from killing hundreds of wasps, which means getting one from three swans was already a huge advantage.

Considering how rare Codes are, if it wasn't for the Primordial Snake's Blessing, he wouldn't even get a single ability out of the three swans he killed. He needed to at least hunt twenty swans to get a high chance of getting a Code from them.

Having an ability like this was very useful for just about any Hunter who had nothing to offer. It will keep the Codes rolling in for him as he level up and collect more Codes. All he needs to do was to keep this a secret from everyone else.

There are two ways of passing Codes to other people. The most common way was when the receiver would open their palm and the sender would place their hand over it. This was used in transactions such as trades and sales.

The other method was by death. Like how Hunters deal the final blow to beasts to gain their Codes, a Hunter can kill another Hunter to gain all their Codes. This was the biggest crime anyone could commit.

Allen was avoiding the second one. If news spread that he has an ability to increase the odds of getting a Code, Hunters from all over the world will hunt him down. If he ever wishes to even fend other Hunters from killing him, he needed to get stronger.

Although the killing method was also dangerous. A Hunter are capable to have only a handful of slots for Codes. When they surpass the number of Codes they are capable of having, their minds will start to become hazy. It was said that the souls of the beasts from the victim that once owned the Codes will haunt the murderer.

This was called the Penalty, allowing the killings to almost flatten. The Hunters are aware of the dangers of the Penalty especially when they do not know how many Codes the other Hunters have.

No one knows how to avoid the Penalty, and studying how it works was almost impossible. A group had tried to conduct a study before, making subjects kill each other but they got nothing to conclude. Once a Hunter gets the Penalty, there was no turning back.

In Allen's case, it was rather odd how he got the Code from the Snake. When a Hunter successfully kills a beast but they didn't have the slot for the beast's grade, their chances of getting a Code will automatically be set to zero.

Yet he was able to gain the Code of the beast.

He was supposed to have ten slots for Basic Codes and three for Rare Codes. All the other slot panels are grayed out, meaning they were lock.

The Celestial Code he gained opened its own slot in Allen's interface even when the lower grades from it were still gray. This was the confusing part in Allen's mind. It was like the Code had a mind of its own.

It even altered his interface and transformed his body. This was nothing like the Primordial Codes he heard from their Bearers. The Snake had something in it that was unique, he thought.

Albeit curious about all this, Allen proceeded to hunt for more beasts to level up. It would only be useless if he could have an extremely high chances of getting Codes, but doesn't have the slots to put them.

While same Codes occupies the same slot, which shows the number of how many times the Hunter has that specific Code on the top right of its box in the interface. For Allen, he has seven Basic slots and three Rare slots. It was doubtful that he would meet a Rare beast, so he settled on hunting for the Basic ones.

Right now, he was Level 6. If he reaches Level 10, he'll gain five more slots for the Basic Codes. Allen's plan was to return to Earth after he fills his Basic Codes slot so he can sell them. The thought of getting a better weapon excites Allen so much.

Re-evaluating his plan in his mind as he walked through the woods, Allen wondered why there was an eerie silence clouding over the forest floor. Usually there were sounds of beasts roaming about, but there wasn't any sound coming out from any creature around him.

With another step forward, Allen felt the world turn dark and cold. It was as if the sun was covered, turning the day into the night. The air smelled like death while a surge of intense aura reached him, making all the hair in his body erect.

"A Rare beast?" Allen gulped. Taking out his weapon, he slowly walked forward. This was caused by a beast, but wasn't a Basic grade. A Basic beast could not produce an aura as strong as this.

There was an odd feeling in front of him that made Allen took a step back. Just when he did, a circle formed in front of him and exploded into a burst of blue flames. The boy ran away from the flame, but felt another feeling about his path.

When he knew he couldn't stop his motion, Allen rolled to the side just in time for the ground to form another circle and burst into flames. This was what he was so worried about.

Basic grade beasts are nothing but a bit stronger than animals when compared to Earth. These beasts are mostly safe to deal with. But from this grade and the next was a gigantic gap in power.

Rare beasts are capable of producing low to medium powers, something even veteran Hunters in Haven would have trouble dealing with. Allen didn't even want to imagine how strong the beasts are in the higher worlds.

In the First World, Haven only Basic and Rare beasts are found. The Primordial Beasts must be excluded from this rule considering all of them were found here. In the next world, Paradise, Rare and Grand beasts are found. The succeeding worlds has stronger beasts, and it only gets harder from there.

Gritting his teeth, Allen rushed forward. He didn't know what he was doing nor does he know where to go, but his plan was to escape and that he will do.

"Swan Song!" Allen casted. Immediately after his body glowed with a bright orange color, the dark forest regained its light. Allen watched his damage counter and saw that he was already half in his health, and the shield was instantly plummeting.

Allen took a step forward, but forgot that he now had longer strides. He tripped on a tree root, but he spun so he would fall on his back. This broke his shield and the forest became dark and cold again.

On the ground, Allen felt a big lump on his back. The boy sat up and used his dagger to reach the lump. It was a soft and squishy object that was attached on him. With a flick of his wrist, Allen removed the lump and stabbed it without any hesitation.

'Illusion Mushroom Crab killed. +50 EXP.'

'First Rare-grade beast killed. 500 EXP is rewarded.'

The forest became bright again. Although Allen didn't gain a new code, he gained a huge amount of EXPs from the crab. This was something he was already grateful for.