It had been over an hour since Takumi started walking through the forest, and aside from the occasional shift in scenery, most of the journey had been—unexpectedly—serene.
With his Ebon Gale Longbow strapped to his back and the Saint Protection Guard glowing faintly on his wrist, he wandered deeper into the woods, snapping pictures with his system's built-in snapshot feature.
The forest was unreal.
Flowers bloomed in vivid, impossible colors—deep cerulean roses, golden lilies with sparkling petals, and vines that shimmered with soft bioluminescence. The landscapes looked like high fantasy paintings come to life.
If he still had social media, he could've made an entire account just dedicated to "Isekai Forest Photography" and gotten millions of followers overnight.
At first, he found the silence a little unnerving—but that slowly gave way to the subtle harmony of life. Squirrel-like creatures darted through trees with leafy tails, butterflies glided by in swarms of glowing wings, and even the insect hums carried a melodious, calming tone. It didn't feel like a monster-infested world.
Until it did.
"...Shit. What is that?"
Takumi froze mid-step.
Ahead, nestled before the mouth of a dark, mist-filled cave, was a beast that shattered the quiet beauty of the forest. A towering, three-headed wolf lay stretched across the mossy ground—its obsidian fur rippling slightly with each breath, claws like blades twitching even in its sleep.
It hadn't noticed him.
Yet.
Takumi instinctively ducked behind a tree, heart racing. It looks like it's miles away... he thought—but then paused. No, it only felt far. His newly acquired class-level vision enhancement was doing work; he was seeing way farther and sharper than before.
That explained the false sense of safety.
Had he kept walking, he might've strolled straight into its territory without even realizing it. And judging from the size of its paws alone, one step from that "dog" would have turned him into a pancake.
Takumi carefully scanned the area.
[Lv.25 – Three headed chimera Wolf Pup– Elite Variant]
Status: Sleeping
Threat Level: E+
Aggro Range: Wide
Resistances: Fire, Dark, Fear
Weaknesses: Lightning, Ice
A Three Headed Chimera WOlf Pup? he blinked. That's a pup? What the hell does the adult look like—Mount Everest with teeth?
Either way, one thing was clear: he needed to choose between testing out his shiny new bow... or quietly backing away and finding a safer place to grind skills.
He weighed his options, sweat beading just slightly on his temple.
"...This might be a bit too thrilling for a first encounter."
"Huff... with this guard, I'll be safe."
Thinking that. Takumi took a deep breath in and, with a side step, he stepped out of the tree side and his sight directly looked at the direction of the wolf, and with the help of his class, Elemental Archer.
His body was reactively able to shift the bow direction and even put his body in the best position to shoot the arrow.
The arrow materialized on the bow, feeling slight suction within his chest, which might be related to Mp and took a shot that vanished from his vision in a matter of a second and before the three-headed wolf could even feel it.
Skill Activated: Windpiercer Shot + Silent Draw
The arrow vanished with a flash of green light—gone before his eyes could even track it. A second later, a faint crack echoed through the trees.
The three-headed wolf never even twitched.
A clean hole opened at the center of one of its heads—then its massive body slumped to the ground with a thud.
"…Eh?"
Takumi blinked, staring. "That's it?"
He hadn't even gone all-out. He barely charged the skill. He'd just wanted to startle the thing, soften it up before nuking it with Arrow of the Fallen Sky for dramatic effect. But the poor thing had dropped like a sack of meat in one hit.
Before he could fully process it, movement flickered at the cave entrance.
From the shadows burst a two-headed wolf, followed closely by three single-headed wolves, each the size of a grizzly bear. They skidded to a halt outside the cave, sniffing the air, eyes darting around, clearly confused.
They're looking for the attacker… they didn't even hear it.
They finally spotted Takumi.
Too late.
Skill Activated: Gale Step
His body blurred, propelled forward by a gust of wind. In an instant, he was already in mid-air, leaping from a slope above the wolves—bow drawn again.
Skill Activated: Tempest Volley
Five luminous arrows burst from his bow, each one humming with energy. They split mid-air, twisting toward their targets with intelligent precision.
Shhunk—shhunk—shhunk—shhunk—shhunk.
All five wolves dropped dead simultaneously, arrows lodged deep in their skulls. No sound, no resistance—just clean, silent death.
Takumi landed lightly on the moss-covered ground as the corpses thudded behind him.
"…I think I broke the difficulty curve."
He didn't know whether to laugh or feel bad.
It was clear now.
This world wasn't just about raw stats or brute strength—it was about guidance. The kind that came embedded in the soul the moment one chose a class.
Takumi had barely moved a muscle to train. No sleepless nights, no years of archery drills, no endless field hunts. Yet here he was, performing feats that hunters on Earth—if they even existed—would need decades of blood, sweat, and failures to achieve.
All thanks to the Elemental Archer class.
It wasn't just giving him abilities—it was guiding his instincts. Correcting his stance. Optimizing his aim. Even helping with breathing rhythm. It was like having a master archer lodged inside his nervous system, whispering exactly what to do.
He opened his status screen again, just to confirm.
[Status]
Name: Kaito Takumi (海翔 匠)
Race: Human (Enhanced)
Age: 18
Level: 1
Job: Elemental Archer [Lv.99]
Class: None
HP: 100 / 100
MP: 4725 / 5000
STR: 100
AGI: 300
VIT: 100
INT: 300
CHM: 50
🎖️ Skills & Abilities
— [Multiversal Auction System]
— [Infinite Inventory]
💼 Titles: [Minimized]
"Oh… so that's why."
Looking at it now, everything made sense.
Takumi scratched the back of his head with a wry smile. "No wonder that wolf pup dropped like a sack of potatoes."
His personal Level was still just 1, yet the Job Level had reached 99 in seconds thanks to the leveling scroll. The discrepancy raised a question—why are these two separate things? In most RPGs or isekai stories, level usually meant total power.
But here, it looked like Level represented one's base physical and mental capacity, while Job Level determined their combat proficiency—or at least, that's what he could guess for now.
Maybe it was part of a deeper world system. Or maybe it was just this world's version of a trope.
Either way, it only made his journey more interesting.
"Guess I'll figure it out eventually."
He dismissed the screen and glanced back at the cave, now monster-free.
Treasure? Hidden quest? Another scroll?
Takumi's eyes gleamed as he stepped toward the entrance, ready to see what rewards this strange, guided path would lead him to next.
But as Takumi stepped into the cave, expecting treasure or rare loot, what he found instead made him stop in his tracks.
Huddled tightly in the shadowed corner of the stone walls were four tiny pups, no larger than the palm of his hand. Their fur was the same silvery-gray as the wolf outside—likely its cubs. Their eyes trembled with fear, shimmering with silent tears and a gut-wrenching mixture of anxiety and confusion.
They didn't move. Not out of courage, but because they had already accepted death.
One pup—perhaps the eldest, barely thirty-eight days old—stared back at him with a haunted expression, its small body quivering as it tried to remain still. It knew. Somehow, it knew their protector had died.
And that Takumi was the one who had done it.
"Shit…"
The weight of it struck him like a hammer.
Did I just destroy their entire family? Just like that?
His stomach turned. On Earth, he'd never seen war. Never killed a living thing with a face. And now, in this foreign world, he'd wiped out an entire pack—a family—with the same ease as clicking a mouse in a game.
But this wasn't a game.
These were children. Babies. Orphans.
He dropped his bow.
The clatter echoed softly through the cave, but the pups didn't flinch. Instead, they closed their eyes tighter, heads bowed—waiting for the end.
Takumi took a step closer.
Then another.
Finally, kneeling beside them, he reached out and gently laid his hand on the eldest's head. It whimpered faintly, bracing for pain... but none came.
Seconds passed. The pup blinked open its eyes, confused by the warmth of Takumi's touch. Then, hesitantly, it licked his finger.
A broken little whimper followed.
Takumi's heart cracked.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered, his voice barely above the wind.
"From now on, I'll take care of you. All of you."
One by one, he patted the others gently, and though they still shook with fear, they began to open their eyes. Seeing their sibling safe in his arms—still alive—they slowly relaxed.
Even the air in the cave felt warmer.
For the first time since coming to this world, Takumi didn't feel like a god or a chosen hero.
He just felt... human.