At this very moment, a cluster of virtual text was shifting before Jack Harper's eyes on the virtual map, with a route gradually forming on it.

This virtual map hadn’t just appeared now; ever since his brain database acquired map data, his mind began to generate a virtual map. No matter where he was, his position would show up on the map, just like a navigation system.

Moreover, his virtual map would update with virtual real scenes whenever he visited a new place, correcting any errors and filling in new map data where none existed.

This mapping function meant he never had to worry about getting lost, nor did he need to carry any compass or map. If he set a destination, a line would appear in midair, and he just had to follow it.

“One man, I drink myself drunk, drunkenly pairing with a beauty…”

Jack Harper was making his way through the damp forest, the muddy ground making it harder to move, and the path he took was almost never traveled by others. The dense underbrush also posed an obstacle.

It had already been a day since he entered the back mountain, but he still couldn’t be considered deep into it. According to his map, he was only about ten kilometers from the foot of the mountain—of course, that was the straight-line distance.

Throughout this day, he had gained almost nothing. Aside from pulling up a few herbs, he hadn’t even encountered a single star beast.

He came here to hunt monsters, but this wasn’t like those games where monsters filled the map. To hunt star beasts, you first had to find them, and that was often the most time-consuming part.

However, the reason Jack Harper hadn’t encountered any star beasts all day was because he was still on the outskirts, where there weren’t many star beasts. The ones he did come across were just juvenile proto-star beasts, and hunting them was pointless.

The growth of star beasts relied on hunting any creature with a star spirit, including both star beasts and humans. The environment of star beasts gave them a natural advantage for growth—they spent their whole lives hunting, and their prey often did the same. Star spirits grew much faster than those of humans.

Star beasts also had an innate ability to strengthen their own star spirits, though not as intensely as star warriors could through cultivation. Otherwise, hunting star beasts would be even harder.

As for why Jack Harper hadn’t encountered any star beasts on the outskirts, it was naturally because they’d already been hunted by others. The star beasts that managed to grow up here wouldn’t be left for him—unless he got incredibly lucky.

Well, he did get lucky!

Chapter 12: The Good Luck of Complete Absorption

“This is the silk of a carrion wolf spider. Judging by its thickness, it should already be a star apprentice-level star beast, probably around level five. The risk of hunting it is low.” Jack Harper said, holding a thin, broken strand of spider silk.

In fact, these judgments had already been calculated by his brain and displayed to him in virtual text. He spoke to himself deliberately, as if he’d figured it out on his own.

Well, he had figured it out himself. Even without this supercomputing brain, he could have come to the same conclusion—just a bit slower, and he wouldn’t have noticed the details right away; it would have taken some time.

He had just discovered this spider silk thanks to his brain’s scan, which analyzed everything he saw, picked out useful details, and highlighted them with a virtual light ring. As long as something was within his field of vision, he wouldn’t miss it.

This was a powerful tool for Jack Harper, allowing him to easily find and track star beasts. What took others countless hours, he could do almost instantly.

In this world, star warriors needed to hunt star beasts to grow stronger, so this advantage was almost unfair.

Thanks to this ability, Jack Harper quickly found the wolf spider and also checked for other dangers besides the spider. The current risk assessment for the hunt was still low—something he could handle.

At the moment, the wolf spider was chewing on an animal leg, which was already somewhat rotten. On a branch of a nearby tree, several cocoons wrapped in spider silk hung, one of which seemed to be moving—probably the spider’s prey.

Now, Jack Harper was calculating how to kill the wolf spider. This one was larger than usual; ordinary wolf spiders were at most half a person tall, but this one was as tall as a person. That was normal—after a star spirit grew, a star beast’s size increased, which was the most obvious sign of its level.

For example, if this wolf spider were two people tall, it would definitely be a star soldier-level star beast. At that point, Jack Harper wouldn’t even approach. The moment he discovered the spider silk, he would have given up and hidden far away.

A star soldier-level star beast was something he absolutely couldn’t handle right now. Even a high-level star apprentice would make him run. But this wolf spider, as he’d estimated, was about level five, so he had no problem with it.

Time to test his skills!

Jack Harper circled behind the wolf spider, carefully controlling his movements to avoid making any noise, inching closer bit by bit. Even if the spider noticed him, it wouldn’t matter, but that was exactly why he chose it for practice—to see if he could assassinate it with a single strike.