Code Collector

The axe was sharp, Allen knew that from the start. But when Bernard slashed the weapon through a tree and it went past through it, he knew that the axe was powerful too.

His skill, Copycat, allows him to copy the exclusive skill of a weapon. Although he didn't know how to assign the copied skill or how to unlock its Bond, he was still excited to use it.

The description didn't explain how to use the skill thoroughly, so Allen just activated it at the beginning of the fight. And it had been a couple of minutes, but Bernard's skill was yet to be revealed.

The man was just dashing around the wolf, avoiding the beast's fangs and claws that were aimed to him. It was sure enough to hold a grudge for Bernard since the beast only had its eyes on him.

It didn't even bat an eye in Allen's direction, even when he was standing close to them. Blood Link must also tell which one killed the offspring of the children. The skill was very dangerous to face.

Allen had also connected the Blood Link to Gary's accident. The skill must've activated on the boar. Perhaps it's also the reason why its name was changed too. Such beasts are registered as Orange Boar in the interface, but Mother Boar was displayed.

"Stay back for a bit," Bernard whispered. "This beast isn't as weak as I thought."

Allen nodded in understanding. He ran back to a tree and leaped above it. He just realized how he was hindering Bernard's movements. The man needed to fight the beast without having to worry about everything else around him.

He watched Bernard fight the beast as if he was dancing with it. It was a wonderful sight to see. Bernard was moving so swiftly and gracefully. His every step and slash were calculated and it was hitting the beast on the right spots.

Another thing Allen noticed from their fight was how the beast had a very thick skin. The axe was incredibly sharp, yet the wolf remained standing after taking all the blows.

The Copycat skill was also still active. In a Hunter's vision, without opening the interface, there is an small area at the left corner that shows all the current active skills. It was located below the health bar that shows how much HP is left for the Hunter.

Currently, it was displaying the Copycat skill and the Enhanced Instincts skill. The two were currently active and Allen didn't know how to stop the former's activation.

The latter skill was passive, meaning it automatically activates and deactivates. Once his body finds a threat, it will activate and try to eliminate the threat. After the elimination of the threat, it will automatically deactivate.

For the Copycat, maybe if his target uses their exclusive skill and his own skill finishes copying, Copycat will automatically deactivate. Of course, this was still Allen's guess, but if he thinks about it, he could be right.

"Crown Breaker!"

Allen awoke from his thoughts after hearing Bernard yell. The Copycat skill detected its activation and a bar was shown right in the center of his vision.

The bar was slowly getting filled by a light blue line. It came from left and slowly was running to the side. This made Allen anticipate its arrival, his hands clenched at the thought of copying a skill.

Bernard leaped from the ground. He opened his palm and shot a strong wave of aura that made the wolf kneel to the ground. The man then raised his axe behind him, yelling while he slammed his axe.

The weapon went straight past the giant wolf's skull. This made Allen's jaw drop, he couldn't believe he would witness such display of power.

'Copy complete. Crown Breaker skill copied, 60%'

"If everyone in Paradise is like this, I don't know if I can start my business there yet," Allen chuckled at himself. He will start to deal with clients who were more capable than him in every aspect.

It didn't take long for Bernard to finish the wolf off. His axe split the wolf's skull into two, making it fall to the ground with a loud thud.

"It's safe now," Bernard called. "You can come out here."

Allen leaped from the tree and walked beside Bernard. They watched the wolf with its eyes wide open and its tongue to roll out of its mouth into two different directions.

"This beast is really annoying," Bernard sighed. "It has ascended to Grand after the death of its children. It wasn't even in the low tier Grand. It was pretty strong."

"I could tell," Allen spoke. He walked close to the wolf, kneeling in front of its face and turned to Bernard. "Can I have its fangs?"

Bernard had a confused look for a moment, but he accepted it. He let Elliot collect all the teeth of the wolf while he just watched him do it.

"That's a rather odd habit," Bernard chuckled. "Do you collect the beasts' materials after you hunt them?"

"Yeah," Allen nodded. "I like to collect stuff and send it to the weaponsmith. Maybe I can get a good weapon out of it."

"Did you get a weapon before? I don't think I see your weapon," Bernard said, making Allen feel like his world stop. "Didn't you get some from Jake? Because I could've sworn he said he gave you some."

What will he say? He couldn't possibly show Bernard his Inventory feature, it will blow his cover.

The image of him being executed in the middle of the camp flashed in his mind. Allen shook the thought away and told a more reliable and safe excuse.

"I left it at my room," he said. "You know, the one Jake lent me."

"Oh," Bernard nodded. "You should show me your collection sometimes. I'm also quite fascinated about artificial weapons."

"O-Of course," Allen lied. When Bernard gave him a satisfied nod, the boy felt all thorns in his heart jump out. He could never let Bernard find out who he is. Never.