Leon felt it instantly. The exhaustion from the whole day’s hunting vanished instantly. His strength boosted again, a warm sensation spreading over his whole body. "System, let’s see the status bar again."

[Sure, Host.]

[Host: Leon Bale

Status Bar

Damage: 27

HP: 10 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Perception: 10

Speed: 26

Mana: Nil

Soul Strength: Nil]

"Both damage and speed increased by 5. But HP increased by only 2, and perception is even lower. Only 1. Why?"

[Damage and speed are both related to strength. The damage and speed will increase with the Host’s every breakthrough. HP is related to the body’s defence and durability. The Host’s strength and durability both increase when the Host cultivates with the Mystic Monarch Ascension technique. But since the host partially relied on the Mystic Monarch Ascension technique to achieve breakthrough, the HP increased slightly. Perception is influenced less by physical strength and more by soul power.]

"If that’s the case, then it’s going to be difficult to increase my defense. But whatever. Offense is the best defense. I will increase my strength so much that I won’t even have to bother about defence." Leon chuckled as he clenched his fist, savoring the moment.

The sun had already set, and the surroundings were growing darker. "I should get going."

Meanwhile, outside the hidden realm, in the real world...

Jenny was sitting inside a police station. A female police officer was seated in front of her.

"How long has your brother been missing?" The female officer asked.

"It’s almost two days," Jenny replied.

"Where did you last see him?"

"At our home. We last talked when we went to visit our mom in the hospital. After we returned home, he went to his room. The next morning, I called him for breakfast, but he wasn’t there. I thought he had already gone to school. But later on, I found he hadn’t even gone to school for these two days."

The female officer noted down the details properly.

"What do you think happened to your brother. Did he have any animosity with anyone? Or did he say anything about going somewhere?"

At that question, Jenny suddenly remembered something. "Last time he said he was preparing a surprise for me. Other than that, nothing. And we are from a middle-class family. Who would we have animosity with?" Tears rolled down her cheeks as she explained the situation.

"Listen, don’t be demoralized. I understand what you are going through. We will try our best to find your brother as soon as possible."

Jenny nodded with a gloomy face. After filing the report, she came out of the station with heavy steps. "Where are you brother? Are you also going to leave me?" She looked at the sky and whispered. After standing there for a few minutes she finally headed home.

A similar situation was going on in the headquarters of the Razor Wolf guild.

Jasper slammed his fist hard on the table in front of him. The furniture broke in half, dust erupting in the air.

"Useless. All of you are useless. It’s been more than 30 hours, but still none of you could bring any news about my brother." His raging voice echoed in the chamber.

"Cool down guild master. We are doing our best. But we found no trace of him as if he had vanished into thin air." David said.

"What do you mean?" Jasper roared again.

"Guild master... As I had already told you... I was guarding that full area for the whole time to ensure no fleeing monster attacked the nearby innocent citizens. But I saw no one leave that place. No one. And it isn’t just Noah who has gone missing. Three more hunters are missing as well."

"And you want to say none of them left that place?"

"Yes."

"Bullshit. Are you saying monsters swallowed them?"

"No. But maybe a hidden dungeon." David said grimly. Two more hunters were present in the room. They looked at each other worriedly.

"Hidden dungeon? You mean....." His voice trailed off.

"Yes, master. For the last six months, multiple incidents have happened like this. A sudden rift would appear beside a dungeon and it would swallow a group of hunters. Only a handful of people have ever made it back."

Jasper walked toward him and grabbed his collar forcefully. "Are you trying to say I won’t see my brother again?"

Devid’s voice went silent at that question. He didn’t know what to say.

Back inside the hidden realm...

Night had already fallen. And just like yesterday, Sol was already standing outside the cave. He looked worried for some reason though.

But suddenly he heard footsteps. His eyes snapped toward a particular direction.

A figure emerged from the shadows. Sol’s grip tightened around the sword hilt. But then he saw who it was.

Leon slowly walked toward the cave. "You are alive!" Sol said happily. "We almost accepted that you died."

"Hahaha. Is that so? But I am not that easy to kill." Leon said playfully. He was in a good mood for achieving a breakthrough.

"Good. How was your hunting today?" Sol asked.

"Caught a few small ones. It should last one or two days."

"Great."

"Yeah. I am heading inside then. Need to take some rest."

"Sure."

Leon entered the cave. Emily was sitting beside the fire preparing food for the night. She looked at Leon from the corner of her eye. Like Sol, there was no happiness in her eyes for Leon’s return.

"Still alive?" She just said those two words casually.

"Yes."

"Food will be ready soon."

"Okay." Saying that Leon walked toward Noah. His condition had improved a lot. His complexion had become bright again. But he still hadn’t woken up.

"That medicine of yours. It worked like a miracle. Do you have more of those?" Emily asked.

"Yes."

"I would like to buy some if it’s possible."

"Sure."

No more words after that. Leon sat in the lotus position again. "Let’s utilize the time. If I can increase my HP too, it will be a plus point."

He closed his eyes and started cultivating.