Grinding

"Happy Gaming!"

After uttering two words he had never spoken in his entire life, Eto surged forward, disregarding defense.

His sword raised, he struck forcefully towards the bewildered rebel's neck. Eto, who should have been dead, stood before him in perfect health.

*Clang!

Eto could see fear in the rebel's eyes as their swords clashed.

Ignorance of something could make anyone afraid.

Even a hardened soldier might tremble at the sound of something strange in the dead of night. But Eto didn't care what the rebels thought.

As long as they were in disarray, Eto would harvest all the EXP he could get.

"Allocate 2 AP to Strength, 2 AP to Dexterity, and 3 AP to Constitution!" Eto commanded inwardly.

[Strength: 12 -> 14]

[Dexterity: 15 -> 17]

[Constitution: 19 -> 21]

Suddenly, he felt his body grow stronger, and the movements of the rebel in front of him slowed.

Eto, who had become faster and stronger, caught the rebel off guard. In one swift motion, Eto successfully struck down the rebel's neck.

[+35 EXP]

But with the death of that rebel, the others snapped out of their stupor and began to attack Eto blindly.

"HE'S NOT HUMAN!! HE'S A DEMON!!!"

"KILL THIS DEMON BEFORE HE KILLS US ALL!!!"

"AAARGGGHHH!!! DIE, YOU DEMON!!!"

The chilling screams filled the hearts of the rebels with fear everywhere.

Guns were fired, regardless of whether they hit Eto or not.

Rebels near Eto began to swarm him from all sides. Eto could see fear, hatred, and anger mixed in the faces of the rebels.

*BANG! *BANG! *BANG! *BANG! *BANG!

[-26 HP]

[-14 HP]

[-13 HP]

Some bullets hit Eto's body, but many more wounded the rebels surrounding him. Eto tried to endure the pain in his body and began to swing his sword as fast as he could.

The fear-filled rebels became chaotic, unable to fight properly.

Eto managed to kill another rebel before his body was wounded by another rebel's sword strike.

However, Eto, who had increased his Constitution attribute, received much less damage than before. If this were Level 1 Eto, he would have died long ago, but now he was Level 2 Eto.

[-12 HP]

[+35 EXP]

Eto blocked a rebel's sword strike from the side with his empty left hand and stabbed the rebel in front of him right in the neck with his sword.

The rebel was already injured from stray bullets from behind, so he couldn't fight properly. This made it easy for Eto to penetrate his defense and kill him.

[-8 HP]

[+35 EXP]

The rebel who slashed at Eto's hand widened his eyes when he saw his sword only pass through Eto's hand without cutting it. He questioned how absurd this situation was and began to doubt the sharpness of his sword.

But his surprise lasted only a moment as Eto's sharp sword came to stab him right in his left eye, piercing through the back of his head.

[+35 EXP]

[Level Up]

[You got 7 Attribute Points]

Seeing their three friends die in the blink of an eye, the morale of the rebels plummeted rapidly.

Their knees trembled, and a cold feeling began to creep into their spines.

However, this feeling was inversely proportional to what Eto felt at the moment. He didn't know that becoming strong could be this easy.

If things continued like this, his dream of finding a wife would be realized sooner than he thought.

"Allocate 4 AP to Dexterity and 3 AP to Constitution!" Eto commanded inwardly.

[Dexterity: 17 -> 21]

[Constitution: 21 -> 24]

The sensation of the world slowing down, just like before, was felt again. It made Eto even more elated as he grew stronger quickly.

Seeing the doubt and fear become more evident in the rebels' eyes, Eto didn't let it get to his head and waste his opportunity. He knew that he had almost died earlier and was only saved by the rebels' confusion.

If he played around, the chance to level up with minimal risk would disappear. He feared that the rebels would regroup and plan to defeat him.

He knew how the rebels thought because he was a rebel himself just two days ago.

Quickly, Eto ran towards the nearest rebel.

The rebel was surprised when Eto suddenly appeared in front of him. With a stiff movement, he raised his gun and shot, but the bullet that hit Eto was shrugged off without caring about the pain he felt.

[-19 HP]

In one swift motion, Eto slashed the rebel's neck, causing his head to soar high in the air, and blood sprayed, bathing everything around him.

[+32 EXP]

Eto noticed the change in the amount of EXP he received. But he wasn't surprised by it.

He had discovered some things about EXP in a few minutes of fighting against these rebels.

Firstly, EXP would only increase when the rebel was truly dead.

Eto's first victim took a fraction of a second for Eto to receive EXP, coinciding with the rebel's death.

Therefore, Eto would always aim for vital areas of his victims, such as the head, neck, or heart. That way, his victims would die instantly without needing to wait.

Secondly, although he could continue to level up by killing the rebels, it seemed that the EXP he obtained would continue to decrease.

Perhaps this was because the strength of the rebels he killed was weak. Maybe at Level 1, the rebels could provide abundant EXP, but it wouldn't be the case as Eto leveled up. So, as Eto's level increased, in the future, he might no longer get EXP from killing enemies of this rebel level.

Regardless, Eto would kill all the rebels present. Only then would he consider his next move.

Fear is indeed a good weapon against outnumbered enemies.

However, if fear is used too much, the enemy's morale will truly plummet. That's why Eto had to speed up his movements before...

"RUN!!!!"

"RUN!!! WE CAN'T FIGHT THIS DEMON!!!"

"HEAD TOWARDS CAMP!!! THE CAPTAIN MUST KNOW THIS!!!"

…they fled without putting up a fight.

If it were before, Eto would be thankful for this situation, but unfortunately, at the moment, he needed EXP to level up.

Luckily, Eto had anticipated this and allocated 4 AP to his dexterity attribute.

One of the things that enabled Eto to survive until now, despite undertaking several suicide missions, was his high Battle IQ.

Eto seemed to possess a strong instinct for danger and the ability to plan fights quickly. So, when the rebels started to run, he could easily chase them down.

Eto pursued and swiftly killed each rebel one by one. However, the rebels didn't run in a single direction; they scattered, making it difficult for Eto to chase them individually.

However, Eto was more familiar with the forest than the rebels, so he knew the paths the rebels would take if they wanted to return to camp.

Therefore, Eto simply waited for them to pass through those paths and ambushed them like a tiger.

As the sky began to turn red, Eto had killed all the rebels, and if any remained, they were surely lost in this dangerous forest.

For their safety, Eto left their fate to the whims and kindness of the cannibal monkeys.

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[You got 7 Attribute Points]

[You got 7 Attribute Points]

He had leveled up twice and had 14 unallocated AP for his attributes.

Eto was too busy and the situation was too hectic during the pursuit, so his focus was on killing the rebels.

"Phew! Phew! Phew! Phew! Phew!"

Although Eto had allocated many AP to his constitution attribute, the duration of the chase still left him exhausted.

Moreover, the rebels were not willing to die easily; they put up quite a fight when they felt cornered.

Well... after all, a cornered animal is the most dangerous, and Eto could attest to the truth of that adage.

Eto made sure to check his surroundings before finding a safe hiding spot. He was still outside the cannibal monkey territory, but he couldn't be sure if any monkeys patrolled outside their territory.

He found a hole in a large tree and squeezed into it. With his small body, he could sit inside the tree hole with little room to move.

Although it looked cramped, this place was safe from enemy sight, and the scent of the tree would mask Eto's body odor.

"Status," he whispered between his calming breaths.

[Character Level 5

Name: ???/Eto

Age: 11

HP: 100/100 (Slightly Tired)

EXP: 30/500

------------------------------------------------------------

Strength : 14

Dexterity : 21

Constitution : 24

Willpower : 17

Attribute point : 14

-------------------------------------------------------------

Skill : Adept Caesar Rebel Combat Style (Max), Gamer Combat Style (Novice), -

Skill Point : 0

(Note: Skill development starts from Novice -> Intermediate -> Adept -> Advance -> Master -> Grandmaster -> Epic -> Legendary -> Mythic.)

Close.]

"Allocate 6 AP to Strength, 3 AP to Dexterity, 1 AP to Constitution, and 3 AP to Willpower!" Eto commanded.

Although he didn't know the purpose of the Willpower attribute, he believed it was crucial. Besides, he wanted to even out his Strength with Willpower and Dexterity with Constitution.

That way, his attributes would look more balanced and will be easier to remember. (hehehe)

The Gamer Combat Style skill also appeared in his status.

It seemed that Eto's fighting style, which neglected defense and focused on offense, was considered a new fighting style by the system. And if the system deemed Gamer Combat Style as a skill, then it could be developed.

Currently, the Gamer Combat Style skill was still novice; Eto didn't know how powerful it would become if it reached Mythic level.

Well... Eto had to continue getting stronger if he wanted to find out.

[Strength: 14 -> 20]

[Dexterity: 21 -> 25]

[Constitution: 24 -> 25]

[Willpower: 17 -> 20]

[Attribute Point: 1]

Eto felt the sensation of becoming stronger and faster, just as when his Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution attributes increased.

However, when his Willpower attribute increased, Eto felt something different. He sensed something growing inside him, making his mind clearer and his desire to achieve his dreams stronger.

Eto widened his eyes at this unusual feeling.

But before he could examine further what was happening to him, he heard a sound that made his hair stand on end.

"Mbo! Mbo! Mbo! Mbo! Mbo! Mbo!"

It was the call of the cannibal monkeys when they found delicious food.

The same sound heard by Eto and Taka's squad before they were mercilessly slaughtered. Even now, Eto still had nightmares about that day.

The day when he saw humans being eaten alive by furry monsters.

Eto immediately held his breath, hoping he wasn't the one found by the cannibal monkeys. But it seemed he was unlucky this time because the next sound he heard was a human voice.

"Captain, I've found human tracks!!"

"Hurry, follow them. He must be the one who slaughtered all the soldiers who entered this forest! And capture Stone Face alive! We need to hear news about Lieutenant Guardi's troops!"

Before Eto could analyze what was happening, he heard a ringing sound in his ears and a blue system panel appeared in front of him.

[You triggered an event!]

[Event Name: Pinched Gamer.

- You are between two dangerous armies that are approaching your location. Neither army has good intentions towards you. The cannibal monkeys want to eat your delicious flesh while the rebel army wants to capture and torture you for information. What will you do?

Event Accomplishment:

Survive : 10 EXP.

Kill 5 Cannibal Monkey : 50 EXP, 6 AP.

Kill 5 Rebel Soldier : 50 EXP, 6 AP.

Kill 10 Cannibal Monkey : 120 EXP, 13 AP.

Kill 10 Rebel Soldier : 120 EXP, 13 AP.

Kill 50 Cannibal Monkey : 1 SP.

Kill 50 Rebel Soldier : 1 SP.

Kill Rebel Captain : 2 SP.

Kill Cannibal Monkey Boss : 2 SP.

Close.]

"Fuck!"