'The power,' Jack thought, staring at his transformed hand. 'I guess I should try and seek out a close quarters combat master. Being able to learn another class and multiply the damage would be great.'

The math was simple but devastating. His strength stat was already 150 with equipment bonuses. Demonhand multiplied that by three, then added his magic stat times two. The result was enough raw power to tear through solid wood like it was rotten.

And that was without using Infernal Conversion, his ultimate skill that would temporarily double all physical damage and increase his strength even further.

Jack deactivated Demonhand, watching his arm return to normal. The transformation left no residual pain, no exhaustion. Just the memory of power and the eager anticipation of using it in real combat.

'Enough testing on trees,' Jack decided, turning to look deeper into the glowing forest. 'Time to find something that fights back.'

He glanced back toward the camp. S was already lounging against Fluffy's side, peeling another tangerine.

Kyren stood watch nearby, his hollow eyes scanning the perimeter. Corvin had settled on a branch above the camp, watching everything with those intelligent black eyes.

Jack nodded to himself and darted into the forest.

The bioluminescent fungi provided enough light to see by, casting everything in shades of blue and green. Jack moved quickly but not recklessly, his agility making it easy to navigate between massive roots and around towering tree trunks.

He'd gone maybe three hundred meters when he heard it, a soft rustling in the undergrowth ahead.

Jack slowed, moving more quietly now.

His hand instinctively moved toward the spears on his back before he stopped himself.

No.

He wanted to test his demon abilities first. The spears could wait.

He peered around a tree trunk and froze.

A small creature stood in a clearing ahead.

It was roughly one meter tall, shaped vaguely like a person but clearly not human.

Its body was pale white, almost luminescent, with a texture that looked soft and fleshy.

It had no mouth, no nose and no ears.

Just two eyes and a pair of arms and legs.

But what caught Jack's attention was its head, or rather, the massive mushroom cap that served as its head.

The cap glowed with soft green light, pulsing gently like a heartbeat.

It's body that swayed slightly as if moved by an unfelt breeze.

Jack activated Flawed Sight, focusing on the creature.

[Glowcap - Juvenile]

[Rank: Terror]

[HP: 950/950]

[Status: Neutral]

'Terror rank,' Jack thought, a predatory smile crossing his face. 'Perfect for testing my abilities.'

He stepped into the clearing, making no attempt to hide his presence.

The Glowcap's mushroom cap flickered, changing from green to yellow. It turned toward Jack or at least, its body rotated to face him.

Jack took another step forward, closing the distance to about twelve meters.

The Glowcap's cap suddenly flared bright red.

[Status Effect Applied: FEAR]

[Target: Glowcap - Juvenile]

The creature let out a sound like escaping steam and bolted.

Its small legs moved with surprising speed as it fled deeper into the forest, its glowing cap leaving a trail of green light in its wake.

Jack blinked in surprise.

His Fear passive had activated automatically. The Glowcap, despite being a Terror-ranked monster, had been affected by the status effect and decided running was better than fighting.

'Interesting,' Jack thought, giving chase. 'But I'm not letting you escape that easily.'

He ran after the fleeing Glowcap, his agility made it easy to keep pace.

The creature zigzagged between trees, trying to lose him, but Jack's superior speed made that impossible.

The Glowcap darted around a corner, disappearing behind a massive tree trunk covered in blue fungi.

Jack followed without hesitation, rounding the corner at full speed.

Pain exploded across his chest.

The impact was massive, like being hit by a battering ram.

Jack felt ribs flex under the force as he was lifted off his feet and thrown backward.

He flew three meters before hitting the ground and rolling, moss and dirt coating his armor.

[HP: 2,875/3,375]

[-500 HP]

Jack gasped, the breath escaped his lungs for a half of a second.

He pushed himself up on his elbows, his chest throbbing where he'd been struck. His armor had absorbed most of the impact, but that still hurt.

He looked up and his eyes widened.

Another Glowcap stood where the small one had fled. But this one wasn't small.

It towered at two and a half meters tall, slightly taller than Jack.

Its body was the same pale white as the juvenile, but this one was built like a warrior.

Thick arms that looked like they could crush stone hung at its sides, ending in five-fingered hands that were currently clenched into fists.

And its mushroom cap... instead of glowing green, this one pulsed with blue light.

Bright, cold blue that cast the entire area in an icy glow.

Jack activated Flawed Sight, still on his back.

[Glowcap - Adult]

[Rank: Terror]

[HP: 1,850/1,850]

[Status: Aggressive]

The adult Glowcap's cap flared brighter, and Jack realized what had happened.

The juvenile had led him straight into a trap. Whether by accident or design, it had brought Jack face-to-face with something much more dangerous.

Behind the adult, the small juvenile peeked out from behind a tree, its green cap flickering nervously.

Jack slowly got to his feet, wiping dirt from his armor.

His chest still ached, but the pain was already fading.

His Enhanced Constitution made it easier to withstand blows.

He looked at the adult Glowcap, then at the juvenile hiding behind it.

A smile spread across his face, not of fear or concern, but genuine excitement.

"Alright then," Jack said, his voice carrying through the glowing forest. "Let's see what you can really do."

He activated Demonhand, and his right arm exploded into its demonic form. The black scales gleamed in the blue light of the Glowcap's mushroom cap, crimson veins pulsing with power.

The adult Glowcap's cap flared even brighter. It raised both of its massive fists and charged forward with surprising speed for something so large.

Jack's smile widened.

The Adult Glowcap looked like a boxer, it had both hands raised in a south paw stance.

'Where's the heck did this thing learn how to fight???'

Jack's mind raced as the adult Glowcap charged forward, its massive fists raised in that surprisingly practiced stance.

If this thing knew how to fight, really fight, then brute force alone might not be enough.

'Switch classes,' Jack thought quickly. 'Arc Mage and Lightning Mage.'

[Active Classes: Arc Mage, Lightning Mage]

Power surged through Jack's body as the classes activated.

His connection to lightning magic intensified, crackling energy building beneath his skin.

He raised both arms and activated Thunder Mantle.

Blue electricity erupted across his shoulders and down his arms, coating them in arcing bolts that snapped and hissed against the humid forest air.

The light it cast competed with the Glowcap's bioluminescent glow, creating a strobing effect that would have been disorienting if Jack wasn't generating it himself.

The Glowcap slowed its charge slightly, its mushroom cap flickering as if uncertain about the electricity coating Jack's body.

'Good,' Jack thought. 'Now for Lightning's Embrace.'

He tried to activate the skill, reaching for that familiar surge of power that would coat his weapon in devastating electrical energy.

Nothing happened.

[Error: Lightning's Embrace requires a spear to use]

[No valid weapon detected in hands]

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