The next day, Elias stepped into the dungeon with fire in his eyes, eager to begin his delve.
Rebecca was off on an all-day power-leveling session, and Marco had already left, so he didn’t bother stopping by the clearing. Instead, he headed straight into the jungle, his gaze sharp with determination. He’d even eaten lunch at home beforehand to maximize his time.
He headed straight to the part of the dungeon where the monsters hovered at the edge of his capability, quickly dispatching anything that stood in his way. To save time, he ignored any creature that wasn’t directly blocking his path and marched past them instead—but that didn’t mean they ignored him. Any beast that noticed him passing by gave chase.
That was when he noticed something interesting.
Because he was moving quickly, the larger monsters couldn’t keep up. They tried to charge him, but most gave up after a short sprint. The smaller, more agile creatures, however, had no trouble keeping up. He actually had to run to stay ahead of them.
Then Elias had an idea. No—an epiphany.
Why waste time searching for monsters… when he could make them come to him?
Minutes later, Elias was sprinting through the jungle, a pair of angry blue squirrels and a giant bat with a ridiculously long tail hot on his heels. An exhilarated grin lit up his face. He barreled through the dense vegetation at speed, no longer creeping cautiously through the underbrush, unconcerned with maintaining the element of surprise.
His hunting strategy had changed, and the results were already showing. In just a few minutes of running, he had drawn a pack of three delicate-looking monsters behind him.
Glancing over his shoulder, he activated Analyze.
*******
Constrictor Bat
Common
Level 8
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Nut-Bomb Squirrel
Common
Level 7
*******
Nut-Bomb Squirrel
Common
Level 7
*******
The Constrictor Bat weaved between branches and trees, steadily gaining ground, with the squirrels close behind. The bat was faster, but the squirrels were by far the more irritating opponents.
When Elias had first run past them, they’d hurled explosive nuts that burst into clouds of itching powder. One missed—but the other hit him square in the back.
It took every ounce of willpower to keep running. His back arched comically as the powder set his skin ablaze with maddening itchiness, lasting several long seconds before fading just as suddenly as it had come.
From that point on, he made a concerted effort to dodge every nut thrown his way. Only when the squirrels finally ran out of ammunition did he begin his counterattack.
He slowed down, allowing the bat to close the distance, and waited for it to pounce. When it was barely a meter away, it struck—whipping its long tail toward him in an attempt to constrict, just as its name suggested, while its leathery wings spread wide to wrap around him.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Right before it made contact, Elias abruptly stopped and pivoted, driving a punch straight into its face. A dull crack echoed through the trees as his fist connected, sending the creature crashing to the ground. It bounced from its own momentum, stunned but not dead.
Elias didn’t hesitate. He lunged onto the downed monster and began pummeling its skull with his fists until it finally went still.
 
You have gained 160 exp.
 
The squirrel monsters took even less effort to deal with. With all their explosive projectiles spent, they were little more than regular squirrels. Their only remaining recourse was to fling themselves at Elias in a frenzy, tiny teeth and claws bared.
He sidestepped one as it lunged, then caught the other midair with a punch, killing it instantly.
 
You have gained 140 exp.
 
The remaining squirrel stared at its dead companion in shock, seemingly unable to comprehend how their pincer attack had failed. It didn’t have long to wonder—Elias seized the moment and kicked it squarely while it stood frozen in confusion.
The creature flew back, slammed into a tree, and bounced off. It was dead before it even hit the ground.
 
You have gained 140 exp.
 
Elias stood back and observed his handiwork for a long moment, smiling to himself in satisfaction.
With minimal effort, he had managed to defeat three monsters in about the same time it would normally take to find and kill just one. In his eyes, this new hunting strategy was an incredible discovery—one that promised to push his experience gain to new heights.
Ecstatic, he picked a direction at random and took off running again, weaving through the jungle foliage at speed. Since he was moving faster than usual, he encountered far more monsters along the way. As before, the beasts gave chase, but only the smaller ones managed to keep up, while the larger monsters were quickly left behind.
This time, Elias waited until four of the nimble creatures were on his trail before skidding to a halt and turning to face them. He used Analyze on each of them in quick succession.
*******
Giant Bullet Ant
Common
Level 8
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Grass Ocelot
Common
Level 7
*******
Leaf Snake
Common
Level 6
*******
Spear-Beak Guan
Common
Level 6
*******
The only monster in the group that really worried him was the smallest one—the Giant Bullet Ant. It moved in sudden bursts, launching itself toward him like a tiny missile and nearly catching up several times. More importantly, it looked like taking a hit from that stinger would hurt—a lot.
Elias made sure to deal with it first. When it launched itself at him again, he swatted it out of the air and stomped it quickly under his boot.
 
You have gained 160 exp.
 
The Spear-Beak Guan came next. The chicken-like bird leapt at him, aiming to drive its sharp beak into his chest—but Elias was faster. He snapped his arm forward, catching it by the neck in a vice grip.
Without hesitation, he swung the bird like a makeshift nunchuck, slamming it into the Grass Ocelot with all his strength. The impact was so forceful that the bird’s neck snapped on contact.
 
You have gained 120 exp.
 
The small jungle cat’s fur looked like blades of grass, allowing it to blend seamlessly into the foliage. But despite its camouflage, it was still as fragile as a regular ocelot. When Elias struck it with the Spear-Beak Guan, the feline was stunned into stillness, giving him the perfect opening.
He finished it off easily, stomping on its head a few times until it stopped moving.
 
You have gained 140 exp.
 
After the Moss Ocelot died, Elias glanced around in alarm, searching for the last monster. He’d lost track of the Leaf Snake during the fight, but it didn’t take long to find it again.
Its fangs were embedded in his boot.
The snake had managed to strike him at some point, but his boots were thick and tough enough that its fangs hadn’t pierced through. With a swift kick, he slammed the creature against a nearby tree, crushing its head on impact.
 
You have gained 120 exp.
 
Further encouraged by his success, Elias continued to refine his monster-hunting strategy. He experimented with fighting larger groups, adjusting his speed through the jungle, and testing any other variable he could think of. Bit by bit, he perfected his approach, striking an ideal balance between risk and reward.
He was gaining experience at an unprecedented rate—and having more fun than ever. Fighting multiple monsters at once was exhilarating in a way that one-on-one battles simply weren’t. He even earned enough experience to raise his Charisma by another level.
Now, Intelligence was the only attribute still below level 8—something he planned to fix very soon.
Congratulations! Your Charisma is now level 8.