Foreshadowing

Of the six Imps surrounding Leon, most were hesitant. Their target had halved their group in a matter of seconds, and they simply didn't have enough manpower to take him down. If only their numbers could somehow quadruple, they might stand a chance.

Two of the Imps, however, were of such low intellect that they failed to understand the situation clearly.

Cheep! Cheep!

Roaring in fury, they charged together, their demonic blood boiling with excitement. They hoped to overwhelm Leon with their combined strength.

"So this is what courting death looks like."

Leon stood where he was, waiting silently as they closed the gap between him and them.

After reaching him, they thrust their weapons toward his vitals.

Despite knowing Zeus was too fast for the mobs of the tutorial to touch, some viewers couldn't help but tense up. One must understand that in this game, even a mob could kill a player if they were careless enough. Their tension was reasonable.

As the life-threatening attacks approached him, Leon waited until the last moment, then leaped high into the air.

Both weapons missed him entirely.

With nothing to counterbalance their momentum, the Imps staggered forward. Their involuntary actions were propelled by the full force they had put behind their attacks.

As they staggered, gravity acted on Leon who had jumped up, forcing him to come down. As he was coming down, he spun his body mid-air, slashing both of his swords in a deadly arc.

The Imps didn't see it coming as their backs were to him and they had no eyes behind their heads.

The swords sliced through their bodies, splitting them open as Leon landed gracefully behind them.

[System Notification: You have killed two Level 1 Ordinary Monsters: Imp Warriors. You gained 80 EXP!]

Now, in a certain area of Darkwood Forest, countless corpses were spread out in a circle, Leon stood at the center of this circle of corpses, his cold eyes brimming with excitement as he stared down at the four remaining Imps surrounding him.

He was all alone, facing four Imps. Yet, the one afraid wasn't him. The ones afraid were his opponents. A rare sight unfolded—demons, who were known for being fearless, were trembling, looking at Leon in fear like he was a bigger monster than them.

He had instilled fear into their hearts by killing more than half their group.

He had stomped all over their pride by destroying their ruthless strategies time and again.

He had made them admit their own inferiority.

Imps were known for being cunning. When something seemed futile, they would most likely not engage in it. This was a battle they couldn't win, so it was better to retreat... for now. They would return with a greater demon that could take him down!

"W-what?" The viewers' eyes widened. They saw something unbelievable.

"The Imps who wouldn't call off a hunt until they are all dead or their target is dead are retreating?!"

Indeed, as shown in the livestream, the Imps were running away like cowards.

[DragonSlayer123]: "According to the devs, imps are supposed to fight until their end, but God King Zeus has made them retreat in fear! He's made the monsters act against their programming!"

[GamerGoddess]: "This is simply unreal!"

[XtremeGamer]: "How did he even manage that?"

[NaughtyChick777]: "God King Zeus has done the impossible yet again, creating another miracle!"

Back in the game...

"Do they seriously think they can run away from me?" As he saw the Imps retreat with their backs to him, a ruthless glint flashed in Leon's eyes. "These weaklings seriously overestimate themselves."

Immediately, he made his move.

With Quickstep Level 2, he covered the distance of many feet in a flash, appearing behind an Imp that was retreating.

He brought his sword down, cutting it in half.

Another notification sounded, informing him of the EXP he had gained for killing the Level 1 mob.

By now, of the group of 12 that had attacked him, only three remained and they were quickly retreating.

By now, of the group of twelve that had attacked him, only three remained, and they were quickly retreating deeper into the forest.

"Gwarghhh!"

Suddenly, a terrifying roar rang out in the distance, echoing through the air.

This roar seemed to have an undeniable effect on the Imps as they stopped retreating.

Turning around, they rushed towards Leon with a newfound determination—to die if it meant taking him down with them. That's not to say that their newfound determination lessened their fear. They were still quite visibly shaken as they approached their death, and their movements were less coordinated.

They tried to circle around Leon, but he broke their encirclement with a single, decisive move.

He let go of one of his swords, sending it roaring through the air.

The sword caught one Imp square in the face, impaling it through the skull and sending it crashing to the ground, opening a path out of their encirclement and also gaining 40 exp.

Leon didn't take the opportunity to escape, instead welcoming the last two Imps to take their chances against a sword dancer who was armed with only one weapon.

As a Sword Dancer with only one sword, his offensive capability should have lessened significantly. Believing they might stand a chance, the Imps nodded at each other before closing in.

The first Imp lunged at him, its jagged dagger aimed for his throat.

Leon parried the attack with such force that the Imp staggered backwards.

Before it could recover its balance, he drove his sword through its chest.

The Imp's heart was pierced, and its breathing ceased. A notification announcing he'd gained 40 exp popped up.

At that moment, the last Imp made its move. After circling behind him while he was dealing with the other Imp, it thrust its dagger toward his back.

Leon activated [Quickstep (Lv: 2)].

Moving faster than the Imp could track, he appeared behind it and struck out ruthlessly. The Imp was no more. He gained 40 exp again. 

'I've done it. I've met the prerequisites to activate the only hidden mission in the tutorial zone. It should begin now,' Leon thought, his eyes narrowing.