Persistence

He was murdered by soldiers for trying to enter Derdun.

He was smashed in the head and eaten in front of his own eyes.

Stuck on level 1.

Unable to level up without the proper equipment and beasts to hunt.

Broke to all hell.

Trapped in a dilemma, no matter what he does, he will be killed.

'How do I kill this fucking monkey?'

That question has been revolving around his head for the past hour or so. Len, being mentally unstable has reached an absurd conclusion.

…

The sapphire monkey finally had its fill. It burped and wiped away the blood on its lips.

Tottering around, it climbed the tree and noticed that the moon was sinking. It deduced that the sun will soon rise. Sapphire monkey was very active at night and sleep in the day. Now that the time has come, he must find a place to sleep.

It climbed a tall tree to keep itself safe from the day predators. It laid down and closed its eyes. Soon, its consciousness went into the dream land.

"Zzz."

Suddenly, it was woken up by a dull sound beside him. Yawning, it raised its head to see what was going on when a stone crashed into its eyes and blinded him.

The shock and pain made him lose balance. He slipped and fell, landing face first on the ground.

What in the world was that? Why there are rocks flying around!?

The fall broke its nose and blinded one of its eye. The pain ignited its fury and roared.

When it raised its head to see who threw the rocks, it froze for a second. There was a fat man standing in front of it. He held bunch of rocks ready to be thrown.

He was the fat man that it preyed upon, now he came back for revenge? But he's dead, how come he's standing there? No, it doesn't matter, it's a sapphire monkey! It preyed upon beasts stronger than him! What can a fat man like do?

And so… why is this fat man terrifying to look at? The sapphire monkey's instinct went all over the place. The eyes of this fat man isn't normal. It was filled with madness. This fat man isn't scared to die. He's prepared to sacrifice everything just to kill it. Filled with hesitation, its strength diminished slightly.

But still, a pair of mad eyes couldn't possibly intimidate a beast just like that, right? It wasn't purely because Len's insanity alone.

Right after Len was revived, notifications filled his vision.

[The requirements for (Berserk) Level 1 has been met]

[The requirements for (Intimidation) Level 1 has been met]

[The requirements for (Pain Resistance) Level 1 has been met]

[Berserk] Level 1

Increase all stats by 200% but receives 100% more damage for 5 minutes.

Cooldown : 24 hours

[Intimidation] Level 1

Intimidates the enemy for 5 minutes. Decreasing their stats for 5% and less likely to resist.

*Has very low probability to intimidates enemy 10 levels higher

*Has 50/50 probability to intimidates enemy 1 ~ 9 levels higher

*Has decent probability to intimidates enemy 1 ~ 19 levels lower

*Has very high probability to intimidates enemy 20 levels lower

*Cannot be activated on command

*Will activate on its own when specific condition(s) are fulfilled.

[Pain Resistance] (Passive) Level 1

Enhancing mental to resist pain more easily.

"Hm!?"

Len became surprised. He didn't thought he would receive skills from dying. Despite saying that he will have his revenge, he didn't know to do. Now that this happened, there might be a chance.

But Len wasn't in the best condition to think rationally. All he wanted was just revenge. He wanted to kill this monkey no matter what the consequences are. It was just like a child holding a grudge. The child unable to suppress their pettiness, they will never let matters go until he or she is satisfied.

With his only objective to kill the sapphire monkey, Len proceeded to collect stones scattered around.

He knew despite having this skill he still won't be a match. But he didn't care anyway. If he died, he will just respawn again and hunt the monkey until he succeed. Again and again.

No matter how many times it would take.

Activating [Berserk] skill, Len aimed closely to where the sapphire monkey slept. He missed a few times until finally it connected.

When his throw crashed the sapphire monkey, Len received notifications.

[You have dealt critical hit! Sapphire monkey's vision has decreased permanently by 50%!]

[You have dealt critical hit! Sapphire monkey's has been crippled! 20% decrease in dexterity!]

And when the sapphire monkey rose from the ground, their gaze locked for a moment and another notification appeared.

[Sapphire monkey failed to resist (Intimidation)! All stats decreased by 5% for the next 5 minute!]

[Intimidation has levelled up! (Intimidation) Level 2 now has slightly better chances to intimidate the enemy!]

[Intimidation has levelled up! (Intimidation) Level 3 now has slightly better chances to intimidate the enemy!]

Len didn't know how did the monkey failed to resist intimidation from a low levelled guy like him, but it does not matter as it helped him to kill it.

With a ferocious expression, Len continued to throw the rocks at the sapphire monkey.

It roared in retaliation and jumped at Len with a punch. Being level 1, the punch actually broke his neck and destroyed half of his face and killed him instantly.

Now, he must wait another 8 hours until revival.

The injuries Len inflicted unto the sapphire monkey aren't light. With one eye left and a broken leg, it climbed limply to its bed on top of the tree.

After some difficulty falling asleep, it finally reached the dream land before a loud knock rang beside its ears.

Something blunt and hard struck its injured eye again.

Growling in pain, it fell unto the ground with the same landing position. And there it was, the same person who it just killed some time ago stood. With a swift move it killed him again. However, its injuries only got worse.

Its survival instinct kicked in and changed tree to sleep on. But no matter how many times it did, the fat man always found its location. And every time, the rocks always struck the head. The cycle repeated a couple of times.

Finally the sapphire monkey has reached its boiling point. It didn't even try to sleep and stayed awake through the whole day. It kept guard with bloodshot eyes and restlessness. It did caught the fat man before he got a chance to throw his rocks, but this continuous action gave it extreme fatigue and hunger. Len came once every eight hours, so the sapphire monkey stayed awake for the same amount of time.

The sapphire monkey wasn't that smart. Time isn't a concept it can understand. If it recognize the pattern when the fat man comes, it could possibly catch up some sleep and hunt. However, in the end it can't escape the inevitable. It can only delay them.

The fat man will always come back no matter what.

…

'This is it. I can feel it through my veins.'

Len was also driven to the point of madness. Dying and staying idle for 8 hours straight was extremely tormenting. There were times when he wanted to give up, but he persisted.

He didn't keep count how many times he died. It was unnecessary for him. His determination to kill this sapphire monkey only kept increasing.

Eyes bloodshot Len mumbled to himself. He was certain that this will be the last time that sapphire monkey will sees the blue sky again. It appeared to be heavily wounded from blunt objects, crippled legs and has poor vision.

[You have been revived!]

Len activated [Berserk] and grabbed the nearest rock. He aimed closely and quietly.

Swoosh!

The rock flew and created a loud piercing noise. After throwing rocks many times, he has acquired [Hawk Eye] Level 1. The skill gave him better accuracy when aiming. The higher the level, the more distance his eyes can cover. It's a skill he acquired painstakingly through trial and error in hunting the sapphire monkey.

It was too late to react and the rock hit its head. The extreme fatigue overwhelmed it. Staring at the blue sky one last time, it resigned itself to fate.

What went wrong? Why did it ever attack that fat man? Couldn't it just hunt other creature instead? Now look where that decision gotten itself into, being tormented for days without sleep and food it wished to die already. Regrets washed his very soul.

Lying on the ground, the sapphire monkey didn't move.

Len approached it with a big stone on his hand and without hesitation, slammed it down with all his might without blinking.

Splat!

[You have acquired 332.423 EXP!]

[Congratulations! You have Levelled up to level 2!]

[Congratulations! You have Levelled up to level 3!]

[Congratulations! You have Levelled...]

[Cong...]

[Congratulations! You have Levelled up to level 19!]

[You have 114 unallocated stat points]

[You have 57 unallocated skill points]

[HP, MP, and STAMINA has been restored!]

[You have acquired Sapphire Monkey Fur (Quest) x1!]

[You have acquired Sapphire Monkey Fangs (Rare) x5!]

Despite the barrage of messages appearing in front of him, Len didn't stop hitting the sapphire monkey. It's blood and fat splattered everywhere. It got unto Len's clothes and skin. Its skull was destroyed and unrecognizable anymore.

"RRAAAHHHH!"

Smashing the rock one last time, Len fell on his back.

His mental fatigue started to catch up to him. He didn't sleep at all for the past few days. He invested all his time and solely focused into the sapphire monkey. Now that everything was over, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

When he woke up, it was already the next day.

He checked all his notifications one by one and jumped in joy.

"Wohoo!"

After all this, he finally levelled up and earned stat points. Now at least he won't be as weak as before. With just the proper equipment, he would have better chances in the wilderness.

But first, he needed a bath.

Through the life and death cycle, his [Berserk] levelled up to level 3. It increases all stats by 215% and receives 85% more damage, and the cooldown was only 20 hours.

His [Intimidation] also rose to level 5. It only activated twice throughout the hunt. First was the first ambush and he can't remember the second one.

[Pain Resistance] became MAX after level 4. Len realized along the way that this passive skill doesn't remove pain, it's just made it more bearable.

Other things that he acquired was [Hawk Eye]. Unlike [Berserk], This was an active skill that consumes STAMINA when aiming.

Checking his status, Len noticed that his charm increased by 2 points.

'Why…? I can't allocate points on charm...'

Len shook his head and decided to allocate his stat points mainly on strength and dexterity. Each time the stat point was allocated, Len could feel a subtle sensation inside him changed. It was pleasant and warm.

While the stat points was quite obvious, skill points wasn't. He can't allocate it anywhere. He can't use it to increase his skills' levels either.

'Well, who cares?'

"Hahaha!"

Laughing to himself, Len checked his loot. Apparently he has an inventory slot where he can put things in them. Len's mood took a 180, if he knew about this he wouldn't need to walk around carrying rocks on his hands.

[Sapphire Monkey Fur (Quest)]

This particular item caught his eyes. The rest wasn't that important despite having a [Rare] tag on them. It's useless for him at the moment anyway. What he's going to do with a fang?

The item description was: Sapphire monkey are quite rare and has an exquisite fur, many wealthy people seeks it to be displayed as a trophy. At this current state, this fur is useless. You can sell it for a price, but someone in Derdun village might have a better alternative than money.

"..."

His affinity with Derdun village was pretty bad. What now? Should he sell it after all...?

'No, there's must a way to get in…'

…

Hiding behind a tree, Len peeked his head out and activated [Hawk Eyes]. The gate was still guarded by the same soldiers! Len can tell by the blood stain on one of their spear.

'Crazy, don't they switch roles or something?'

[Soldier of Derdun Village] Level 29

[Soldier of Derdun Village] Level 34

'They have a higher level than mine… shit, I guess one-hit-KO from the back is not possible like in one of those movies after all.'

Len steeled himself and gambled on his fate.

'This will work!'

Showing himself before the tree, Len strode with false bravado.

The soldiers naturally noticed him and raised their spear. But, that wasn't the only thing got raised.

"Halt! It's you again! Coming for trouble are- Ah!!?"

"Hm!?"

They froze mid sentence. Len extended his hand. He was holding the sapphire monkey's head. It was destroyed beyond recognition, but the soldiers can still tell by its fur. Only sapphire monkey could have that glittering blue fur.

"Y-you-you… You killed it…?"

"I did." Len lifted the corner of his lips.

"I can't believe it… the head is deformed, but it is the real thing…"

"How did you do it? It's very agile and hide in the tall trees, unless you have [Hunter] class…"

'[Hunter] class? So I can get a class? Like swordsman or magician?' Len nodded, somewhat proud to himself.

"How I did it is none of your business, but take a look at this."

Len took out the sapphire monkey fang and showed it to them.

"T-the fang!"

The soldiers were shocked that their tone raised by an octave.

'Good! They took the bait!'

The soldiers were so amazed they almost dropped their spears.

"How about this, since I don't have money why don't we trade?"

"T-trade? You mean you will give us the fang and let you enter the village?"

Len started having a cold sweat. He took a deep breath and stared at the soldiers right in their eyes.

[The soldiers has failed to resist (Intimidation) Level 5! Their stats decreased by 10% and are more likely to yield against you!]

'I did it!' Len made a fist in his mind.

It was just a speculation, but Len didn't think it would work. First, he would try to impress them and gain some respect by showing the head of the sapphire monkey and the fang. Only after that will Len try [Intimidation].

Len predicted that it has less than 50% chance of success, considering that he has minus relationship with Derdun.

But it worked!

"A-ah…"

Glancing at each other, the soldiers nodded at the same time.

The solder reached into their pocket and took out a scroll paper and threw it at Len.

"What's this?"

"Enter permit. It means that you are free to enter and leave at any time without charge in the kingdom."

Len's eyes widen in delight. That piece of fang combined with [intimidation] could result is such a big harvest!

"W-woa, is it fine?"

"It's the least we can do."

One of the soldier smiled kindly, but Len didn't notice because they were wearing a helmet.

Some time ago they were vicious, but now they acted so nice. What's wrong with their heads? Was it because my charm increased? Can [Intimidation] create such effect?

Right after Len handed them the fang, new notifications appeared.

[Your reputation in Derdun village has increased by 150!]

[People in Derdun sees you more favourably! All stores in Derdun will give you a 10% discount!]

"..."

'...Just how much this fang really worth?'