A battle to be remembered

A while ago, while Leon was busy looting the area boss "Venomous Fang," an Imp holding a deadly club skillfully avoided the dimly lit areas of Darkwood Forest and quietly trod along paths submerged in darkness to circle behind him without being noticed.

Now, it was hiding behind a tree directly behind him.

Peeking out from behind the tree, the Imp Warrior saw that Leon was completely absorbed in desecrating the corpse of its master.

'Now seems like the perfect time to avenge Master,' the imp thought.

Its red eyes narrowed with determination as it slowly, steadily, and quietly approached Leon from behind, aiming to catch him by surprise and end his life with one strike.

With each silent step it took, it got closer and closer to avenging its master. Its movements were so stealthy that Leon seemingly remained oblivious to the deadly threat creeping up on him.

The chat started filling up with anxious comments.

"That Imp Warrior is trying to assassinate him!"

"It's getting close! He hasn't noticed it yet!"

"No way, is that Imp really going to succeed?"

The viewers watched in suspense as the Imp Warrior crept ever closer to Leon.

Just when it seemed like the Imp might actually succeed in its sneaky plan—Crunch!—the sound of the Imp's foot stepping on a dry twig echoed through the forest.

Immediately, Leon's head snapped toward the noise, and his eyes met those of the Imp Warrior.

"How daring," Leon muttered.

Imp Warriors were level 1 ordinary monster, not even close to the level of an elite monster like the Imp Assassins that had failed to take him down. Heck, they were ten times weaker than the area boss Venomous Fang who had also failed to assassinate him despite going all out. So how dare an imp warrior try to attempt to catch him off guard? This Imp was being simply ridiculous.

From the Imp Warrior's point of view, it had been caught before it could execute the picture-perfect assassination it had played out in its mind. But it didn't give up on the hunt. Being a warrior, its pride wouldn't allow it to run away in the face of danger. And so, it dared to confront the killer of its master head-on.

Grah!

It let out a fierce roar as it covered the remaining distance of seven feet between itself and Leon with a powerful leap. Then it swung its club downwards. It descended straight toward his head with crushing force.

The club was thick, spiked, and swung with enough force to crush bone and tear flesh apart. The viewers had no doubt that if Leon failed to dodge, his handsome face would be torn open.

Some viewers wanted to see it happen; others didn't. Some closed their eyes, while others were glued to the screen, wondering how this situation would unfold.

Leon was as calm as a tranquil cloud, despite facing the sudden attack. As the spiked club descended from above, he leaned sideways in a neither slow nor fast manner. As a result, the spiked club missed him entirely.

Grah?

The Imp Warrior was shocked. The attack, in which it had put all its strength, was dodged effortlessly by Leon. Just how great was the difference between them?

Gah!

It was still reeling from the shock when it felt a sharp, searing pain emerging from its chest, causing it to cry out in pain.

It looked down and saw that a sword had pierced through its body without it even noticing.

Tracing the blade, its gaze traveled upward until it met Leon's sharp and cold eyes. Yes, the sword was held by none other than Leon.

The Imp Warrior let out a weak, questioning roar. When did you attack? Why didn't I notice? Pain and confusion began to cloud its mind as its final moments approached.

"You're just too slow," Leon said calmly before he pulled his sword out. The pain this caused was the final push that sent the Imp Warrior over the edge. Blood gushed out of the Imp's chest and mouth as its limp body dropped to the ground with a dull thud. At the same time, Leon received a notification.

[Ding! You killed a Level 1 ordinary monster: Imp Warrior. You have gained 40 EXP.]

The chat erupted with comments.

"Another one bites the dust!"

"When will these Imps realize they don't have the ability to assassinate him? He can't be caught off guard!"

"This Zeus guy really can't be touched. It's unfair how good he is at this game! His luck makes it even more unfair."

"Gotta admit, that Imp Warrior was on to something. It came the closest to assassinating Zeus. It only failed because it was careless and stepped on a dry twig, alerting Zeus of its presence."

"Nah, Zeus is on another level. Even when you think you've got him, he's always one step ahead. What I mean is, even if the Imp Warrior hadn't made that careless mistake, it would have still died by his hand somehow."

While the viewers were merrily chatting away in the comments, thinking that the dangers had passed, a sudden cacophony erupted from the underbrush.

"What was that?" XtremeGamer said in the chat.

"What was what?" A viewer who had missed the noise entirely as his focus was on munching chips when the cacophony broke out, commented.

[XtremeGamer]: "The sudden noise that sounded like a bunch of things scuttling through the underbrush!" 

"In the tutorial, this type of sound is a clear indication that the player has been targeted by not one, not two, but an entire group of Imps," DragonSlayer123 added a quick explanation in the chat.

"An entire group of Imps? Doesn't that mean Zeus is in immense danger?" 

"Yeah~"

"God King Zeus, run away! An entire group of Imps is coming for your blood!" 

This warning was written in the chat and unfortunately, Leon wasn't accessing it, so he didn't see it. It wouldn't have made any difference even if he had seen it.

He had heard the sound too, and he knew what it signified. But he also knew running away wasn't an option.

Running away would only result in depleting his stamina and entering a weakened state where he wouldn't be able to do anything as he was hunted down. After all, once one was targeted by a group of Imps, they could forget about the hunt being called off unless either they died or the entire group of Imps was wiped out.

Leon's best bet for survival was preparing to take them head-on. He had saved up 2 skill points and 2 stat points and now seemed like the perfect time to put them to good use. He knew he wouldn't get the chance to upgrade his skills and stats once he was besieged by the Imps.

Swiftly, Leon accessed his character and began allocating his points.

[System Notification: You have allocated 1 Skill Point to upgrade 'Slash' to Level 2.]

[Level 2 Slash: Allows you to execute a series of rapid slashes, delivering 7 swift attacks within a single second. Each slash deals 110% of your base damage. Cooldown: 10 seconds.]

[System Notification: You have allocated 1 Skill Point to upgrade 'Guard' to Level 2.]

[Level 2 Guard: Enables you to block two simultaneous attacks by utilizing both swords. Each successful block would throw the attacker off balance if they are weaker than you, creating a brief opening for a counterattack. Duration: 5 seconds. Cooldown: 5 seconds.]

[System Notification: You have allocated 2 Stat Points to 'Vitality'.]

[Your HP has increased from 80 to 100.]

[New Talent Unlocked: 'Endurance']

['Endurance': This talent increases your HP by 10% and allows you to recover 5% of your stamina every minute. The stamina recovery effect is halved when in battle.]

Just as Leon finished strengthening himself, the bushes and shrubs in his surroundings rustled violently, and out came a total of Twelve Imps!

"He is royally fucked!" Jason Myers joyfully exclaimed.