Love of a phenex

chapter 3

A few days had passed since the fallen angel, Mimi, had joined them. Initially, both Riser and Riana were skeptical of her intentions, but as the days went by without any suspicious actions on her part, they slowly began to trust her.

They would occasionally follow Mimi when she slipped away into the forest, but they always found her training. Riser and Riana trained as well, knowing that the so-called "master" posed a dangerous threat and that they had to be prepared. Riser focused on improving his fire mastery and had even learned to create clones. However, he could only manage five clones before becoming fatigued, so he couldn't rely on them too much, as maintaining them drained his energy quickly.

Although Riana hadn't fully mastered her powers, she practiced with long-range weapons like bows, which Riser had crafted from materials around the forest and the house. Her accuracy improved with practice, and recently, she had unlocked her powers. Her eyes allowed her to see an enemy's weaknesses, strengths, and other details, which helped her hunt weaker monsters that roamed the forest.

Riser, who had unlocked the Gamer System, was also leveling up, reaching level 4. The system informed him that the dungeon feature would unlock at level 8. Monsters frequently appeared in the forest, and Riana could detect their presence using her special vision, while Riser and Mimi sensed them through other means.

Through his battles, Riser discovered that some monsters provided more experience points and that even among similar types, certain ones were stronger. He identified a ranking system based on stars, with each rank indicating a different strength level:

1 star: 50% weaker

2 stars: 25% weaker

3 stars: Normal strength

4 stars: 25% stronger

5 stars: 50% stronger

6 stars: 75% stronger

7 stars: 100% stronger

Riser's unique ability, Rank Finder, allowed him to see a monster's star rating. So far, they mostly encountered 1- and 2-star monsters, with 3-star ones appearing rarely.

Monsters like goblins, slimes, and night wolves occasionally wandered near the house and attacked. Riser usually took on the responsibility of defending their home.

"Damn it, these monsters are relentless," he muttered, eyeing the group of goblins and slimes gathered in front of the house. The goblins-small, green creatures with pointed ears-carried spears and wooden shields, while the slimes, amorphous and gelatinous, were easy to kill individually but annoying in numbers.

Riser summoned several fireballs, aimed his fingers at the creatures, and unleashed them. Many weaker monsters fell immediately, but the stronger ones-two- and three-stars-survived. Determined, he conjured two clones, each wielding a flaming sword, and summoned a fire sword for himself. Together, they advanced toward the monsters, their swords blazing and easily cutting through flesh and bone.

Maintaining both the clones and the fire swords drained his energy quickly, but he had no choice. Riana and Mimi were both asleep after an intense 20-hour training session, and he couldn't disturb them. Having trained more than they had, he still had enough energy to hold the line on his own.

He glanced at his clones, then snapped his fingers to signal the attack. The clones moved instantly, their swords slashing in fiery arcs, cutting through goblins and disintegrating slimes in a single blow. Some of the goblins recoiled, pulling back their spears before hurling them at Riser, their eyes glowing with a menacing red light.