Ji-Hoon suddenly stopped while walking and muttered, "What… I have to do all of this?"
For a moment, he fell into deep thought. Then he sighed softly and said, "Fine."
Ji-Hoon had finally begun to sense his core. His face lit up instantly, filled with quiet happiness, and a silent smile spread across his lips. Slowly and carefully, he continued what he was doing. Even inside the dark underground crack, Ji-Hoon's face seemed to glow faintly.
He kept thinking about what Layla had said.
Do I really need to create my own breathing technique?
His expression twisted slightly, and the good vibes vanished from his face. Deep in thought, Ji-Hoon muttered, "As far as I know, a breathing technique means controlling your breath in a fixed rhythm… adjusting how fast you take in oxygen… but is that all? Is that what I need to create? But how?"
He pushed his wisdom to its limits, thinking nonstop. He knew a little about it, but he was far from being a master. In truth, Ji-Hoon had almost no proper knowledge about these things. Confusion completely filled his mind.
He kept thinking like this for a long time. To be honest, Ji-Hoon wasn't entirely wrong—but a breathing technique involved many more aspects than he realized.
Now that he had become a half-ranker, surviving here required him to reach at least Rank One. Otherwise, there was no future for him at all.
Suddenly, Ji-Hoon sat down cross-legged where he stood. He clutched his stomach and screamed in pain. Sweat poured down his face as he lifted his head and cried out,
"Is this body really going to kill me today… right here?"
The pain in his stomach was unbearable. His face completely collapsed.
The reason was obvious. He was only a half Rank-One ranker. He wasn't strong enough, and his human body was still far beyond its limits. In this limitless world, he was nothing more than a speck of dust.
It had been almost eight days since he arrived at this place. One day, he wandered around while injured. At night, he got trapped inside a dangerous crack, fought through a brutal rat battle, and finally escaped. But the explosion from the cores of two Rank-Two beasts blasted him away, breaking his arms and legs. After that, he was reborn through starlight.
Since then, he had survived without proper food or water. He had wasted an enormous amount of energy. Ji-Hoon desperately needed food and water.
If he didn't get either within the next twelve hours, the game was over for him.
Groaning in pain, Ji-Hoon muttered,
"Shit… I'm done for today."
On the other side of the battlefield, the elite beast Asura Wolf was fighting the Dark Illusionary Fox with its full power. Many weak beasts around them were already dead because of their clash.
The fight had been going on for quite some time. The Asura Wolf roared violently, its body entering full rage mode. Using its hind legs and tail, it struggled free from the fox's bite.
The Dark Illusionary Fox was smart. The moment the situation turned bad, it shifted into its illusionary form to escape. As it moved, countless clones seemed to form around its body, making it impossible to track.
The Asura Wolf's skills were incredibly effective. The wounds it inflicted stopped bleeding, but the fox's tail continued to bleed nonstop. The Asura Wolf was completely enraged. Suddenly, it suppressed its rage mode and returned to its normal form.
The Asura Wolf was not only strong—it was intelligent. It deliberately reduced its body size so it could fight the Dark Illusionary Fox more efficiently.
On the northeast side of the battlefield, a golden aura flooded the surroundings. A heavily injured fox lay there. Suddenly, it sensed the atmosphere around it, let out a howl, and instantly entered both attack and defense stances.
Approaching it was a beast with jade-like eyes and magnificent golden fur.
It was the Heavenly Golden Wolf.
Although it was only Rank One, the sight was strange. Normally, even a single-rank difference could feel like the gap between heaven and earth. Yet this wolf was dominating a fox that was clearly stronger than itself. Its aura was overwhelmingly powerful.
The Golden Wolf surged forward with its full aura. The injured fox also prepared itself. Despite being badly wounded, it rushed forward first. The distance between them was vast, yet both beasts sensed each other's killing intent instantly.
A massive explosion echoed across the battlefield. At ultra-high speed, the wolf and the fox charged at each other to kill. Two slashes appeared in the battlefield—at least, that's all normal eyes could see.
In reality, those were merely afterimages created by their insane speed. Within seconds, the two beasts stood directly in front of each other.
At the same time, on the east side, inside a crack, Ji-Hoon lay on the ground clutching his stomach. After days of hunger and thirst, his energy was completely drained. The silent smile and faint happiness had vanished from his face. Now, he only groaned quietly in pain.
Suddenly, a voice echoed from the background.
"Oh? So you've finally noticed the problem. Good… good. Have you made any progress?"
At the battlefield, Layla's aura shifted, and its density increased.
Layla spoke calmly,
"Ji-Hoon… it seems we might be trapped in this place for a long time."