Tony’s instincts screamed.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he twisted his body to the side just in time to evade the attack.

Whoosh!

A pair of razor-sharp claws tore through the space where his neck had been only a heartbeat earlier. The creature landed a few steps away before immediately turning to face him once more.

Only then did Tony take a moment’s respite to get a proper look at his first opponent.

It resembled an oversized rabbit, yet calling it one felt almost insulting to actual rabbits. If he were to put it in a single detail, he would call them giant rabbits.

They stood nearly as tall as an adult man when it raised itself on its hind legs, and it also possessed a weird muscular frame that was moreover covered in coarse gray-white fur streaked with black. Its hind legs looked bulgy, while its forelimbs ended in long, sickle-like claws capable of ripping through flesh with ease.

The strangest of its look was its ears. It stretched almost half the length of its body, jagged like torn blades instead of soft fur, and protruding from its wolf-like muzzle were two oversized incisors stained with dried blood.

Seeing this, Tony couldn’t help but wonder if they fed on each other or if the owner of this blood had been a newbie Player. Regardless, that wasn’t his concern.

As far as he was concerned, this beast rabbit was nothing to be afraid of. The fact they resided in a Normal-tier F-rank dungeon is enough proof of that.

In that case...

The beast rabbit crouched low, its hind legs flexed as it was very much ready to spring again.

However, it didn’t get the chance to complete its spring as another beast rabbit shot out from the darkness at Tony’s flank, almost catching him off guard mid-observation.

More so, its leap was even faster than the first. Unfortunately for them, Tony’s overpowered stats and reflexes made it look like they were crawling towards him.

Hence, he completely drew out his sword that he had unsheathed halfway before, slashing it backward with a matted flash in a clean arc.

The rabbit’s body split apart before it could even complete its attack. Once it hit the ground, the corpse dissolved into countless particles of light.

At the same instant, the familiar chime of the screen resonated in Tony’s eyes as the translucent screen appeared before him.

[You have killed a Razor-Eared Beast Rabbit.]

[+2%]

[EXP]: 1/50

Tony’s eyes briefly swept across the notification. And he immediately understood how it worked.

If killing one of these rabbits granted him two percent of the beast’s EXP points, which was equivalent to one of his own points, then that could only mean that the rabbits each possessed 50 EXP points, unfortunately, just like him.

The only difference was that he was on a different level than them.

That will also explain the reason fellow newbie players seem to struggle through F-rank dungeons.

Shutting down these distractions, Tony immediately took note of what he had to do to complete the quest’s objectives.

’I’ll need fifty corpses of these rabbits to level up. In that case, I need to be the hunter,’ he thought with a faint smile.

Seeing how easily their fellow fell to the blades of the human before them, the remaining beast rabbits bared their fangs. Several low growls echoed throughout the cave.

Tony had decided to reverse their roles, thereby hunting the beasts instead of being hunted by them. Only in that way can he be able to level up faster and exponentially. Only in that way can he also be able to achieve his plan of completing these three tiers within the stipulated time limit.

Boom!

He dashed first, his figure blurred across the rocky floor, approaching just before the first rabbit that had attacked him. The rabbit barely had time to widen its eyes before a matted flash severed its neck.

Just like the first victim, its body didn’t last seconds before it disintegrated into shards of light.

Furious, another leapt from above. But Tony just slid beneath it, swinging his sword to a rising crescent.

The beast rabbit separated into two halves before disappearing into light.

Another rabbit came charging head-on.

Instead of sliding to a halt, Tony used the momentum that resulted from his supposed stop and accelerated forward. Their bodies soon crossed each other, while a thin crimson line appeared across the rabbit’s chest.

It fell to the ground lifeless before vanishing.

Consistently, and infuriated, more and more beast rabbits continued to attack Tony.

At some points, it seemed the beasts had a coordinated attack of agreement as they surged forward at once, attacking from every direction, relying on overwhelming numbers and explosive speed.

But all it took was also an explosive flash of his matted blade. First he performed a diagonal slash, then he returned it downward, and then again, he would slash while moving in a circle.

Every slash of his blade cost a life, and every life that was taken cost a repeated chime and appearance of the system’s screen notifications.

[You have killed a Razor-Eared Beast Rabbit.]

[+2% (x5)]

...

[You have killed a Razor-Eared Beast Rabbit.]

[+2% (x5)]

...

[You have killed a Razor-Eared Beast Rabbit.]

[+2% (x2)]

Blood sprayed across the rocky ground before quickly dissolving together with the corpses. And sensing more terrifying danger than they expected, the remaining rabbits wanted to flee.

Normally, these dungeon beasts had a kind of sensory nerve that allowed them to perceive the level of whatever opponent they had to face.

In situations where they thought their opponent would be stronger, they usually fled the dungeon area even before any first encounter. That had been the reason Kratos took precautions and suppressed his mana pressure to Tony’s level.

Then how come they weren’t able to perceive that their current opponent was far stronger than they would ever imagine?

While the reactions of the remaining rabbits looked contemplative, Tony once again initiated the attack, not even giving them the chance to decide to flee.

He closed the distance between one rabbit attempting the escape deeper into the cave and kicked off a nearby boulder.

His body spun through the air, and one clean slash was all it took for the rabbit to disappear before he landed softly on the cavern ground.

[You have killed a Razor-Eared Beast Rabbit.]

[+2%]

Seeing that there was no hope of escape, the remaining beast rabbits decided to press on.

One tried circling behind him. Without looking, Tony exchanged the position of his sword precisely from right to left and thrust his blade backward.

The tip pierced straight through its skull, particles of light scattering in the dimly lit cave.

In half an hour, the once-crowded cavern gradually became silent.

Presently, only one beast rabbit remained. It crouched atop an elevated rock, silently watching the whole time as its colleagues fell to Tony’s blade.

Two thoughts crossed Tony’s mind on sensing the rabbit.

Either it had been waiting for him to get exhausted killing its comrades? Or it was in a whole level higher than the rest.

Whichever was the case, Tony wasn’t afraid.

He knew one thing: if he was able to fight an A-rank player and earn defeat, then what is there in defeating the beasts in this dungeon?

Just like Kratos would say, "Easy peasy."

The words just left Tony’s mouth at the same time as the rabbit launched itself at him like an arrow.

Calmly lowering his stance, Tony performed a backside flip at the final moment as his sword swept downward in a perfect diagonal arc midway through the rotation.

Slash!

The beast rabbit froze in midair. Its body separated neatly into two pieces before dissolving into countless motes of light.

The familiar notification appeared once again.

[You have killed a Razor-Eared Beast Rabbit.]

[+2%]

[EXP]: 50/50

It appears to be on the same level as the others and had probably been waiting for Tony to get exhausted.

Immediately afterward, a light-brown glow erupted around Tony, warm energy flowing throughout his entire body.

The faint fatigue tugging at him disappeared almost instantly; his muscles felt lighter, and his senses seemed to have become sharper.

A new set of notifications replaced the former.

[Congratulations! You have leveled up.]

[Level]: 0 → 1

[EXP]: 0/100

Tony quietly exhaled.

So, leveling up meant feeling similar sensations as when he gained stats from Kratos. Only this time, it wasn’t in that massive way.

A slow clap echoed from somewhere behind him.

He turned to find Kratos.

The latter hadn’t moved from his rocky seat. The manhwa remained open in one of his hands, and in the other—

"You’re eating already?"

"Oh?"

Tony pointed at his hand, where a doughnut rested.

"Ah, I see. I was just keeping myself busy."

"You are reading a manhwa already."

"I meant, my mouth..."

Kratos took another bite and immediately added.

"I must say, that was faster than I expected. Even without using any of your skills."

"I guess."

Tony wiped the blade clean with a casual flick before returning it to his side. He was aware that Kratos had just mentioned his achievement to change the topic, but he would rather not press on it either.

"Besides, where are the meats?" Kratos asked after realizing that no corpse or blood lay on the ground.

"Vanished."

"How? I mean, is that even possible?"

Tony shook his head with no answer to the question.

"Just so you know, you can eat all you want, but make sure you leave my share... the most share," Tony said, and turned back toward the deeper part of the dungeon. "I’m advancing."

Kratos nodded absentmindedly and pointed his half-eaten doughnut toward the darkness ahead.

"Have fun."

With that said, his attention returned to the next page of his comic.

Tony shook his head helplessly, then looked forward.

It seemed that the commotion from the previous battle had spread far deeper into the cavern.

Heavy footsteps echoed through the cave tunnels, low growls following.

Tony wasn’t able to move forward again when figures slowly emerged from the darkness.

Short and green figures, with hideous skin that resembled moss-covered stone. Their crooked noses twitched repeatedly, jagged fangs protruding from their mouths, while crude wooden clubs rested in their hands.

Unlike the rabbits, these creatures marched with primitive intelligence.

Goblins.

One goblin pointed toward Tony and let out a shrill screech. Within seconds, dozens answered from the darkness.

Tony’s grip tightened around his sword.

’If rabbits are worth two percent, I wonder how much you’re worth.’

That was his last thought before the first goblin charged.

———

Author: We’re now successfully contracted, so you can now support with Golden Tickets and Gifts. Thanks for continuously reading and keep the powerstones coming.