Chapter 6: The Grind

At approximately one and thirty minutes in the vast wilderness, there is a young man who recently finished slaughtering a group of rats. Uno only slain 24 [Grass Rat] because Uno had previously cleared the area, the population of rats in this specific place is now relatively small.

Uno anticipated that it would take him an hour to reach [Breeze Village]. Uno is already drowsy since the battles no longer put him under pressure. Uno has the capacity to kick a rat to death.

Rumble....rumble...

"What the fuck?" Uno was perplexed by the noise. Uno instantly seeks cover in order to inspect the situation.

Uno spotted a massive swarm of rats ravaging the wilderness.

"The fucking swarm? Is the sun already rising? Why is the swarm coming over here..." Uno was taken aback by the sudden shift of events.

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DING!!!

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𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦'𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬

- You may stay hidden till sunrise.

OR

- You may endure the swarm until sunrise yet still survive.

𝐑𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: ???

𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞: None

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐀𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝.

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Uno almost sobbed as he closed his eyes. "What the fuck, man! I just want to rest"

Uno chose to remain hidden for a moment to figure out the strength of the swarm. Uno observed for ten minutes, even though he couldn't see much, but with the assistance of the moonlight, Uno discovered that the swarm was expanding, resulting in a low population density. Uno is capable of fleeing from being overrun if he strikes unexpectedly.

Uno patiently waited for the swarm to make their way to his position before striking.

Rustle....squeak...squeak...

When the swarm is about to approach, Uno sprinted towards it and jump-stabbed the nearest [Grass Rat]. Uno activated [𝐔𝐫𝐠𝐞] but saved [𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲] for later.

Uno wielded the dagger in a triangle-stabbing pattern. Uno has the dagger in a reverse grip. Uno performed a side stance and held the dagger in front of his face. Uno stabbed down, slashed upwards till it stopped in his upper-left shoulder, then stabbed forward and repeat.

Uno intends to burst through the swarm of rats and make his way to [Breeze Village]. Uno will kill any [Grass Rat] in front of him, and if there is an open area in front of him, he will rush to it and continue moving forward.

Uno managed to kill 48 [Grass Rat] in a span of twenty minutes. A tremendous shriek was heard, and the [Grass Rat] made way for several [Alpha Grass Rat] to enter the fight. Uno looked at the newcomers and discovered 7 [Alpha Grass Rat] charging at him. Uno appears confident since he is quicker than the rats and can walk over them to evade them.

Uno propels ahead, using the dead [Grass Rat] as a stepping stone to dodge the charging [Alpha Grass Rat]. In some ways, the 7 [Alpha Grass Rat] creates a lot of area for Uno to exploit. Because of its recent moves, the [Alpha Grass Rat] alleviates the stress of restricted space.

Uno stabs a [Grass Rat], then uses its corpse as a stepping stone to avoid the charging horde of seven [Alpha Grass Rat]. When Uno lands, he instantly dives back into the [Alpha Grass Rat] and stabs the running last of the [Alpha Grass] in the rear.

Uno repeated this tactic until the 7 [Alpha Grass Rat] died out, at which point Uno killed 27 [Grass Rat] in the midst of the grind.

Uno resumed his journey to [Breeze Village] by killing several rats along his path or, more accurately, by facing the swarm.

Uno begins to sweat and pant after some time. Furthermore, when Uno slays 26 [Grass Rat], there is an unexpected sound.

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DING!!!

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[𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐒𝐒 𝐑𝐀𝐓 𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐒]

𝐑𝐄𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐃: Bane of the Grass Rat (Knowledge Book)

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞.

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Uno was confused about the reward mission. A book appeared in his left-hand. The cover of the book is brown and a prompt appeared.

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[𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧] [𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧]

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Uno set a space for himself to concentrate on avoiding and selecting [Check Information], and a screen appeared.

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[𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧]

Name: Bane of the Grass Rat (Knowledge Book)

Item Description: This is a knowledge book that will inform you about the title: Bane of the Grass Rat.

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Uno immediately [𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧] the knowledge book, which dissolved into brown dust and was absorbed by Uno.

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DING!!!

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[𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐁𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐄𝐃 𝐀 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐋𝐄𝐃𝐆𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊]

Name: Bane of the Grass Rat

Title Description:

A manifestation of the [Grass Rat] species' demise. When a Grass Rat gets to meet with a titled Bane of the Grass Rat, the creature will fully incapacitate. It additionally grants +10 to each core attribute.

Requirements:

- Slain 1000 Grass Rats (𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐃)

- Slain 100 Alpha Grass Rats (25/100)

- Slain Roscuro 'Screamer' The Grass Rat

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞.

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"Shit! This knowledge book. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Uno was overjoyed with his reward. Before obtaining the book, Uno was missing an objective or motivation. In other words, it's becoming an infamous leveling grind requiring nothing more than killing a swarm of rats, but with this knowledge. Uno may now focus his efforts on locating [Roscuro 'Screamer' The Grass Rat] in order to catch an exponential rise in power.

Uno decided to revise his game plan and prioritize killing [Alpha Grass Rat] with the goal to accomplish one hundred kills.

Uno intends to penetrate further into the swarm and wreak havoc in order to attract the attention of the [Alpha Grass Rat].

Uno has started slashing from Up-to-Side-to-Side with [Rat's Tooth] and utilizing the [Grass Rat] as stepping stones. Uno does not give priority to the [Grass Rat]'s death by assuring a lethal stab. Uno decides to slash to create bigger spaces and wound numerous rats.

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In the midst of the chaos, 9 [Alpha Grass Rats] rush at Uno.

"Finally! The big bois have arrived," said Uno.

Uno used the exact same tactic, which was to use a [Grass Rat] as a stepping stone to leap past the charging horde of [Alpha Grass Rat], and after landing at the back of the horde, Uno instantly rushed right back to deliver a vicious stab for the very last charging member of the [Alpha Grass Rat] and repeat the same actions until all of them died out.

After killing all of the [Alpha Grass Rat], Uno then focused on killing the [Grass Rat] of the swarm.

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Uno felt a little fatigued after one hour. Uno was successful in slaying 38 [Alpha Grass Rat] and 122 [Grass Rat]. Uno decided to make his way toward the swarm's outer perimeter and withdraw to take a break. Uno succeeded in reaching the swarm's outer-north perimeter in approximately eighteen minutes and is currently getting ready to flee. Uno managed to slay 28 [Grass Rat] and 5 [Alpha Grass Rat] on his way out.

Uno escaped from the swarm and sprinted north till the swarm failed to keep up.

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Uno sat down and took a deep breath to unwind. Uno had a 30-minute break before heading southeast. Uno intends to travel 10 minutes southeast before turning east to reach [Breeze Village]. To be honest, Uno is only predicting according to his gut reactions, and Uno already believes he is lost in this vast wilderness.

On his way to the southeast, Uno received a notification.

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DING!!!

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𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐑𝐚𝐭

- Exterminate the Lair

𝐑𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝: ???

𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐞: None

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

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"Nice! Another mission!" Uno expressed whilst he spotted the rat lair in the distance. Uno launched an attack on the rat lair without carrying out any reconnaissance.

Uno activated [Urge] and began slaying every [Grass Rat] in sight. Within a minute or two, 2 [Alpha Grass Rat] emerges from the rat hole, ready to take on Uno.

Uno is no longer anxious about [Alpha Grass Rat] because he has grown stronger in all core attributes and wields [Rat's Tooth] as a weapon. Uno had already cleaned the rat lair in less than five minutes. The rat lair is only occupied by 2 [Alpha Grass Rat] and 32 [Grass Rat].

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DING!!!

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𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐃: 𝐋𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐑𝐚𝐭

𝐑𝐄𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐃: Rat's Skin Trousers

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"Hmm... another Rat's Skin item" Uno muttered.

Then grey trousers materialized in front of his face, and he hurriedly grabbed the item to inspect the item.

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DING!!!

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[𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧]

Name: Rat's Skin Trouser

Item Description: This trouser possesses no special abilities. It merely serves to keep your lower limb warm and stable. However, you might come across something if you discover the other identical item.

When Equipped: None

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐇𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞.

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"Kinda trash..." Uno grumbled as he proceeded to put on the trousers. Uno then warps his old pants to create a makeshift pouch to store the dairy. Uno resumes his southeast journey, and after four minutes, he turns to head east.

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After nearly an hour of travel, Uno cleared two [Rat Nests] that gave him 15 EXP and one [Rat Lair] that gave him 45 EXP. In total, Uno killed 98 [Grass Rats] but no [Alpha Grass Rats].

Uno decided to take a 15-minute break before resuming his trek. In addition, Uno viewed his [𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧] to check his progress.

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[𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧]

Name: Uno Delou

Level: 4 (5120/8100 EXP)

Title: Rat Eradicator

Energy Points{EP}: 248/300(400)

Core Attributes:

- Strength: 15 (23)

- Agility: 17 (22)

- Endurance: 17 (27)

- Intelligence: 15 (20)

- Wisdom: 21 (26)

Un-Allocated Stats: 10

Innate Skill: [𝐒𝐒𝐒: 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐒𝐨𝐧]

Passive Skill: [𝐑𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲]: You will acquire a certain resistance to infections as well as +5 Endurance of your Core Attribute.

Ability Skills:

1. [𝐔𝐫𝐠𝐞] (Lv1: 9.1%/100%) : Sudden Increase in 3+ Strength and 5+ Endurance for 1 minute. This skill will consume 10 Energy Points.

2. [𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲] (Lv1: 0.08%/100%): Influence other life-form to believe your reasoning and persuasion. You can buff yourself and your subjects, with 5+ Strength, 5+ Agility, 5+ Endurance, 5+ Intelligence, and 5+ Wisdom for 20 minutes. The affected range is 10 meters around you. This skill will cost you 50 Energy Points.

𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 () 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐬.

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"Hmm... I just need around 3000 EXP to reach level 5" said Uno.

Uno observed that his energy points recovered at a reasonable pace, around twelve to fourteen energy points every five minutes. As a result, Uno chose to spam [Urge] every five minutes in order to swiftly boost its skill level.

When Uno was all set to depart and begin his trip to [Breeze Village].

Rumble....squeak...

Uno turned around and noticed the approaching rat swarm.

Uno grips his dagger and grins, saying, "Just in time when I needed it the most." Then Uno darted towards the rat swarm and began slaughtering them.