Not every novice would use their five hours in the realm early in the day.

Some would use only two hours in the morning and three hours in the evening, feeling more comfortable moving around and hunting when there were fewer people, even though doing so was more difficult and dangerous.

About 30% of the student population at Cluster 4's Southern Bladeborn Academy has adopted this approach after just a week.

Around two hours had passed since a majority of students entered the realm, and for the evening bladeborns, it was time to rest for a bit before their early swordsmanship training.

This way, they wouldn't have to stay around in the training fields after their swordsmanship classes.

A majority of these people would check the forums by habit, and to their surprise, a B-ranker actually posted something just a few minutes ago.

A fresh, piping hot thread!

Such talented individuals actively browsed the forums, but rarely would they care to post something themselves.

It was the average rankers who usually posted silly stuff.

Brows curving upward in interest, they checked the owner of the thread.

It was Moonpiercer, the academy's approachable, jolly, and whimsical fairy.

Her looks weren't on the level of Sylphina, and most certainly not on Snowflower's.

However, among the academy's beauties, she was the most reachable, which was why she was also the most beloved.

A lot of C-rankers and even quite a number of D-rankers have been inspired to work hard to capture her heart.

If Sylphina, Snowflower, and the others were unobtainable goddesses, Moonpiercer was someone who would talk and laugh casually with even an F-ranker.

Her personality was truly refreshing, which was why she was among the most-liked individuals in the academy.

Why would someone like her create a thread titled: URGENT! Monstrous B-ranker, Okuni, spotted in the Sunblade Savannah!

Everyone naturally clicked in curiosity almost as soon as they saw it.

Then, when they read the insanity of what she said, their eyes widened, and they couldn't help but be a bit disappointed, feeling that she was lying to get attention.

'A fragment of her true colors finally surfaced…' was the line of thought in some of the more twisted minds.

How could a B-ranker massacre a clan of level thirty-one swordspawns when even the hunting party of the S-ranker, Alopecion, was almost wiped out by a level twenty-five field boss just yesterday?

While it was unclear whether they were merely trying to cover up the failure of their hunt by blaming a nonexistent assassin, it was now confirmed that Alopecion lost a life yesterday, along with five other B-rankers.

It was then that something clicked in their minds.

A monstrous B-ranker massacring a clan of level thirty-one swordspawns and a mysterious assassin with the trial name of…

"Okuni!!"

Exclaimed hundreds of people at almost the same time, despite being in separate rooms and in different areas inside Cluster 4's Southern Bladeborn Academy.

Based on the rumors, the supposed assassin was also a B-ranker who played fisherman, attacking Alopecion's party when their hitpoints were dangerously low, and the assassin's trial name was similar to the name of this bladeborn Moonpiercer spotted.

Was everything true?

Moonpiercer's absurd claim…and Alopecion's assassin…

The hairs on the bodies of the novices who read the contents of the thread stood on end as they made a connection.

If there was a B-ranker who could pull off such a mad feat, it could only be this Okuni guy.

The forums bustled with activity at this unusual hour, and another nickname has emerged, even though "Okuni's" existence hasn't been confirmed yet: The Sunblade Psychopath.

***

In the Sunblade Savannah…

Little did Daru know, discussions about him were currently ongoing at full blast in Neo-Earth.

That his peaceful, solo hunt in this area of the Sunblade Savannah was on a timer.

Resting at the center of the massive space he cleared, Daru's chest heaved up and down as he breathed heavily and observed the elite Swordspawn walking to and fro in the distance with a challenging gaze.

The Hackstroke Hyena Matriarch had a mean look on her face as she masterfully threw the steel falchion swords in her hands and caught them in a reverse grip before continuing to move about.

Daru would attempt to kill this spawn in ten minutes.

Strangely, despite being lost in a trance earlier, his mind was clear.

He knew he would have to rest before attempting to attack the elite swordspawn.

At the very least, he had to recover his stamina and wait for the bleeding status to automatically heal up, which would only happen if he sat down or, if he was crazy enough, slept.

It was apparently possible and was a great way to recover hit points and stamina faster.

Daru naturally wouldn't try to sleep at such a dangerous location.

Instead, he snapped his fingers to open his status window, checking how many experience points he needed to level up.

===

Bladeborn: Daru Finnley

Level 26 (5, 370 to level up)

…

He might've killed a bit too many Hackstroke Hyenas…

His plan was to try and defeat the matriarch with a little over ten thousand experience points needed to level up.

This way, he could be sure that even after killing the elite hyena, he would have to fight the Lion King without leveling up first, which would make the battle harder but wouldn't reduce the rewards he obtained afterward.

It was a rather famous strategy posted by a veteran bladeborn in an online article.

Daru thought it was indeed quite the smart move.

Unfortunately, he wasn't sure if he could implement it today.

Ten minutes later, his bleeding status had long since ended, and his stamina had returned, though there was no way to measure it accurately except through a rough sense of how one felt.

There were no stamina points beneath one's hit points in the Sword Trials, unlike in famous MMORPGs.

This was the setting fancied by the divine. What could mere mortals do except adjust to it?

In a way, this helped a losing bladeborn keep up appearances in a heated battle, so it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Daru stood up, summoning Onimaru Kunitsuna and unsheathing it as he walked in a graceful yet cold and menacing manner towards his next target.

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