The next day, Elias stepped into the dungeon with fire in his eyes, eager to begin his delve.

  Rebecca was off on an all-day power-leveling session, and Marco had already left, so he didn’t bother stopping by the clearing. Instead, he headed straight into the jungle, his gaze sharp with determination. He’d even eaten lunch at home beforehand to maximize his time.

  He headed straight to the part of the dungeon where the monsters hovered at the edge of his capability, quickly dispatching anything that stood in his way. To save time, he ignored any creature that wasn’t directly blocking his path and marched past them instead—but that didn’t mean they ignored him. Any beast that noticed him passing by gave chase.

  That was when he noticed something interesting.

  Because he was moving quickly, the larger monsters couldn’t keep up. They tried to charge him, but most gave up after a short sprint. The smaller, more agile creatures, however, had no trouble keeping up. He actually had to run to stay ahead of them.

  Then Elias had an idea. No—an epiphany.

  Why waste time searching for monsters… when he could make them come to him?

  Minutes later, Elias was sprinting through the jungle, a pair of angry blue squirrels and a giant bat with a ridiculously long tail hot on his heels. An exhilarated grin lit up his face. He barreled through the dense vegetation at speed, no longer creeping cautiously through the underbrush, unconcerned with maintaining the element of surprise.

  His hunting strategy had changed, and the results were already showing. In just a few minutes of running, he had drawn a pack of three delicate-looking monsters behind him.

  Glancing over his shoulder, he activated Analyze.

  *******

  Constrictor Bat

  Common

  Level 8

  *******

  Nut-Bomb Squirrel

  Common

  Level 7

  *******

  Nut-Bomb Squirrel

  Common

  Level 7

  *******

  The Constrictor Bat weaved between branches and trees, steadily gaining ground, with the squirrels close behind. The bat was faster, but the squirrels were by far the more irritating opponents.

  When Elias had first run past them, they’d hurled explosive nuts that burst into clouds of itching powder. One missed—but the other hit him square in the back.

  It took every ounce of willpower to keep running. His back arched comically as the powder set his skin ablaze with maddening itchiness, lasting several long seconds before fading just as suddenly as it had come.

  From that point on, he made a concerted effort to dodge every nut thrown his way. Only when the squirrels finally ran out of ammunition did he begin his counterattack.

  He slowed down, allowing the bat to close the distance, and waited for it to pounce. When it was barely a meter away, it struck—whipping its long tail toward him in an attempt to constrict, just as its name suggested, while its leathery wings spread wide to wrap around him.

  Right before it made contact, Elias abruptly stopped and pivoted, driving a punch straight into its face. A dull crack echoed through the trees as his fist connected, sending the creature crashing to the ground. It bounced from its own momentum, stunned but not dead.

  Elias didn’t hesitate. He lunged onto the downed monster and began pummeling its skull with his fists until it finally went still.

  You have gained 160 exp.

  The squirrel monsters took even less effort to deal with. With all their explosive projectiles spent, they were little more than regular squirrels. Their only remaining recourse was to fling themselves at Elias in a frenzy, tiny teeth and claws bared.

  He sidestepped one as it lunged, then caught the other midair with a punch, killing it instantly.

  You have gained 140 exp.

  The remaining squirrel stared at its dead companion in shock, seemingly unable to comprehend how their pincer attack had failed. It didn’t have long to wonder—Elias seized the moment and kicked it squarely while it stood frozen in confusion.

  The creature flew back, slammed into a tree, and bounced off. It was dead before it even hit the ground.

  You have gained 140 exp.

  Elias stood back and observed his handiwork for a long moment, smiling to himself in satisfaction.

  With minimal effort, he had managed to defeat three monsters in about the same time it would normally take to find and kill just one. In his eyes, this new hunting strategy was an incredible discovery—one that promised to push his experience gain to new heights.

  Ecstatic, he picked a direction at random and took off running again, weaving through the jungle foliage at speed. Since he was moving faster than usual, he encountered far more monsters along the way. As before, the beasts gave chase, but only the smaller ones managed to keep up, while the larger monsters were quickly left behind.

  This time, Elias waited until four of the nimble creatures were on his trail before skidding to a halt and turning to face them. He used Analyze on each of them in quick succession.

  *******

  Giant Bullet Ant

  Common

  Level 8

  *******

  Grass Ocelot

  Common

  Level 7

  *******

  Leaf Snake

  Common

  Level 6

  *******

  Spear-Beak Guan

  Common

  Level 6

  *******

  The only monster in the group that really worried him was the smallest one—the Giant Bullet Ant. It moved in sudden bursts, launching itself toward him like a tiny missile and nearly catching up several times. More importantly, it looked like taking a hit from that stinger would hurt—a lot.

  Elias made sure to deal with it first. When it launched itself at him again, he swatted it out of the air and stomped it quickly under his boot.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  You have gained 160 exp.

  The Spear-Beak Guan came next. The chicken-like bird leapt at him, aiming to drive its sharp beak into his chest—but Elias was faster. He snapped his arm forward, catching it by the neck in a vice grip.

  Without hesitation, he swung the bird like a makeshift nunchuck, slamming it into the Grass Ocelot with all his strength. The impact was so forceful that the bird’s neck snapped on contact.

  You have gained 120 exp.

  The small jungle cat’s fur looked like blades of grass, allowing it to blend seamlessly into the foliage. But despite its camouflage, it was still as fragile as a regular ocelot. When Elias struck it with the Spear-Beak Guan, the feline was stunned into stillness, giving him the perfect opening.

  He finished it off easily, stomping on its head a few times until it stopped moving.

  You have gained 140 exp.

  After the Moss Ocelot died, Elias glanced around in alarm, searching for the last monster. He’d lost track of the Leaf Snake during the fight, but it didn’t take long to find it again.

  Its fangs were embedded in his boot.

  The snake had managed to strike him at some point, but his boots were thick and tough enough that its fangs hadn’t pierced through. With a swift kick, he slammed the creature against a nearby tree, crushing its head on impact.

  You have gained 120 exp.

  Further encouraged by his success, Elias continued to refine his monster-hunting strategy. He experimented with fighting larger groups, adjusting his speed through the jungle, and testing any other variable he could think of. Bit by bit, he perfected his approach, striking an ideal balance between risk and reward.

  He was gaining experience at an unprecedented rate—and having more fun than ever. Fighting multiple monsters at once was exhilarating in a way that one-on-one battles simply weren’t. He even earned enough experience to raise his Charisma by another level.

  Now, Intelligence was the only attribute still below level 8—something he planned to fix very soon.

  Congratulations! Your Charisma is now level 8.

  Everything was going well—until it wasn’t.

  During a particularly unlucky run, Elias stumbled across a pack of three jungle rats just as he was about to engage a large group of five monsters. He managed to kick one of the rats as he ran past, slamming it into a tree, but the other two quickly joined the five already on his trail.

  In a particularly unlucky run, Elias ran into a pack of three jungle rats just as he was about to engage an already large group of five monsters. He kicked one of the rats as he passed, slamming it into a tree, but the other two quickly joined the five already chasing him.

  While fighting seven monsters at once wasn’t an insurmountable challenge, it definitely wouldn’t be easy. He was confident he could come out on top without too many injuries, but it was still something he’d rather avoid. Thinking quickly, Elias came up with a way to whittle down the group.

  He slowed his pace, allowing the fastest of the creatures—a red two-tailed fox—to catch up. When it pounced, flipping in midair to strike at him with its tails, he caught the blow with his hands. He winced as heat seared his palms. It felt like the fox was on fire, but he held tight to one of its tails.

  Then, without breaking stride, he slammed the creature into a tree as he ran past.

  You have gained 140 exp.

  One by one, the monsters lunged at him, and he took them down—punching, kicking, or slamming them against trees and rocks with brutal efficiency. At first, the strategy worked.

  But its flaw quickly became obvious.

  For every monster he dispatched, more joined the chase.

  Before long, a dozen creatures were at his heels. He couldn’t stop—not even for a second—or they’d swarm him. The numbers were growing at an alarming rate, forming a veritable horde behind him.

  Something had to change—and fast.

  In another attempt to thin the horde, Elias grabbed a particularly sturdy-looking stick from the ground and began striking at the monsters behind him. The makeshift weapon’s extended reach allowed him to lash out without breaking stride. He even slowed his pace further, baiting more creatures into range before knocking them down.

  Slowly, the number of monsters chasing him finally began to dwindle.

  But just as he allowed himself a moment of relief, his eyes caught a familiar shape—a small, monkey-like creature with a bird’s beak, hanging upside down from a branch by its tail.

  Elias cursed under his breath.

  *******

  Tamarin Macaw

  Common

  Level 9

  *******

  The small monster let out a deafening cry as it spotted the human sprinting in its direction. It leapt from the branch it had been hanging from and began bounding noisily through the trees, shrieking and thrashing as it joined the chase like all the others.

  Elias didn’t even wait for it to swoop down and struck first. The moment it appeared near the front of the pack, he launched himself at it and took it down mercilessly. He earned several scratches and bites in the process, but he still exhaled in relief as the creature finally went still.

  But it was already too late.

  The damage had been done.

  You have gained 180 exp.

  The Tamarin Macaw had been so loud that it drew the attention of monsters from a much wider range. Elias hadn’t stopped running the entire time, either, which meant the group chasing him had nearly doubled in size. There were at least twenty monsters on his heels now, with more appearing by the second.

  A wave of hopelessness washed over him as he glanced back at the growing horde. There were too many monsters now—so many that trying to thin their numbers was no longer realistic.

  No—he needed a new strategy. Something that would let him face them a few at a time.

  That was when the solution hit him: the glade in the zone’s core.

  If he could reach the glade, he’d be in a far better position to deal with the monsters chasing him. There, he could kite them without drawing even more into the horde, slowly reducing their numbers. Their mobility would also be more limited in the water than his own, and the water itself had mild healing and energizing properties that could give him an edge in the fight.

  Even as he adjusted his route toward the glade, Elias had to admit this wasn’t exactly an ideal plan. The glade was still at least half an hour away, and by the time he got there, the horde behind him would likely be much larger.

  But it was the only plan he had, and the clearing was far too distant to count as a real option.

  To avoid tiring himself out too quickly, Elias slowed to a pace he was confident he could maintain for at least an hour. The reduced speed allowed more monsters to catch up, but he struck them down with his stick whenever they got too close. Most died either from the blow itself or from being trampled by the others moments later, but their deaths didn’t come without a cost.

  His back burned like he’d gotten a sunburn from falling asleep in the sun—or been dragged across asphalt.

  Elias was eventually forced to start using the Common-rank healing potions he carried in his backpack, taking an occasional sip whenever the injuries began to pile up. He still yelped or flinched with every hit, especially when struck by some of the nastier long-range abilities the monsters unleashed, but he never stopped running.

  Despite the mounting tension and anxiety, the chase was earning him experience at an unprecedented rate. By the ten-minute mark, he had already killed over thirty monsters, most of them around level 8, and gained more than 5,000 exp.

  It was so much exp that, for a brief moment, he even thought his leveling strategy might have some merit.

  Then he glanced over his shoulder, counted nearly fifty beasts still chasing him, and promptly changed his mind.

  By the twenty-minute mark, Elias had killed another forty monsters, with an even higher average level of nine, earning another 7,000 exp or so. But by then, he was starting to truly freak out. He had lost count of how many monsters were chasing him. It had to be close to a hundred.

  He started running a little faster.

  By the thirty-minute mark, Elias was in full panic. He had lost track of how many monsters were still behind him—but there were far, far too many. And they just kept coming!

  Even the ones fast enough to catch up were threatening to overwhelm him on their own.

  He had long since stopped pacing himself. Now he was sprinting toward the glade as fast as he could, screaming for help whenever he could spare the breath.

  It was around that time that another group of adventurers—three burly men—answered his desperate cries for help. They strolled in his direction with easy smiles, their laughter echoing through the trees. Clearly, they expected to find a newbie who had wandered too deep into the jungle.

  What they saw instead was a wide-eyed Elias sprinting straight at them, yelling incoherently—with a massive horde of monsters at his heels.

  Their smiles vanished, instantly replaced by sheer panic.

  As one, the three adventurers turned and bolted, running away from Elias and the swarm chasing him. But it was too late. A portion of the monsters veered off to follow them instead—something they were very vocal about disliking.

  Elias had never been cursed so passionately in his life. In the several seconds it took for their group to disappear from earshot, he was called things he didn’t even know the meaning of.

  At around the forty-five minute mark, Elias finally spotted the towering fig tree that marked his destination. By then, he had already come across two more groups of adventurers. Each time, the scene played out the same way—first a moment of panic as they realized what they’d walked into, then a hasty retreat, with a portion of the monsters peeling off to chase after them instead.

  Even though Elias felt bad about dragging those people into his mess, he was also relieved they had taken so many monsters with them. Without their unintentional help, there might have been close to a thousand still chasing him by now.

  Though… he wasn’t really sure. He’d given up trying to count them a long time ago.

  Elias’s heart leapt with joy as he burst through the final stretch of foliage into the glade—only for it to plummet a heartbeat later.

  The first thing he saw was a group of five people getting dressed on the small island beneath the fig tree. Their heads snapped toward him in alarm, which didn’t surprise him, since his arrival had been anything but subtle. What did surprise him was that he recognized one of the women—Rebecca.

  But that wasn’t what made his heart sink.

  On the far side of the glade, two blonde women burst through the jungle foliage at a run. He recognized them instantly. They were from the last group of adventurers he’d passed during his chaotic flight.

  One of the women met his gaze with a heartbroken expression, instantly realizing they’d both had the same plan. The other looked furious.

  "You! This is all your damn fault!" she shouted, jabbing a trembling finger in his direction.

  Elias didn’t waste time arguing. Gripping the stick he’d picked up, he dove into the water and shouted, "Quick! Get to the island!"

  The last thing he saw before slipping beneath the surface was Rebecca’s eyes widening in panic—the monsters had arrived.