The wolf charged at him again, and Cassian dodged out of the way, planning to strike again, this time without a sword slash.
However, as he brought his sword down, the wolf dashed to his left and jumped at him.
He failed to react in time, and the wolf's jaws clenched down on his neck.
He was unfazed by the happening of it all, the wolf, on the other hand, was twisting with all its force, in an attempt to try and tear his flesh out.
Numbers came out from over his head before the blood did.
-15.2
However, the wolf dug deeper and deeper, and his shirt was stained with blood.
With the wolf stuck on his neck, it was basically free XP.
While a normal awakened would either rush to attack it in a race to each other's death, or try to separate and make distance with it to survive, Cassian was completely different.
He would not die no matter how much it bit, so the wolf was free game at that point.
He attacked it several times before it dropped on his neck. Finally, a whimper signaled its passing.
'That was easy.' Was the first thought that passed through his head.
However, he instantly remembered where he was and what he was trying to do.
First, he checked his system window; his experience grew with the passing of the wolf.
_________________
Name Cassian Locke
Level 1
Experience 36.75/1259
Grade F
Class Swordsman
Health 42/42
Mana 31/41
36.75 was about three times more than one would get for a level one E-rank monster. Basically, one would have to defeat one hundred and twenty-three level one monsters to level up. That would be extremely time-consuming even for a level that is supposed to be easy.
By fighting level three monsters, it could be much faster. It only took thirty-five level three monsters to level up.
Through this, one could understand why parties are necessary; level three monsters were very dangerous to level ones. It would be almost impossible to solo it, it was a matter of safety but also of experience points.
Even when splitting experience, it would be faster to fight level three monsters in a three or four-person group while trying to level up.
This was what made Cassian such a cheat; he was able to fight monsters above his level alone. His leveling speed could only be faster than others.
The next thing he searched for was equipment. While the chance of a normal-level monster dropping equipment was very low, it was worth checking for it.
However, as expected, no floating orbs jumped out of the monster's corpse.
He quickly moved on, he used his enhanced senses to find monsters quickly. Killing the monsters took longer since he tried to reserve his mana. A single use of sword slash costs five mana, and he only had enough for eight uses. No monster here could kill him, so it was not of essential importance. He still needed to exercise some caution; the skill allowed him to deal more serious damage, which was essential if one considered time.
Mana recovers by one per point of intelligence per hour while resting. It usually took five hours of rest to fully recover one's mana, but when moving, it was around ten hours.
Cassian continued hunting without any problems for the entire first day. He did not encounter anybody, and the only monsters he ever found were wolves.
The highest level wolf he fought was level four, but it fell in just the same way. After the wolf latched onto his body and tried to rip it apart, all he had to do was repeatedly stab it.
The wolf netted him 72.8 XP; this was partially because it was a D-rank monster. This gave a 1.3 times multiplier to the XP.
He was even able to hunt at night because of his enhanced senses, and by the time the sun rose, he was three-quarters of the way to level two.
Name Cassian Locke
Level 1
Experience 960.6/1259
Grade F
Class Swordsman
Health 42/42
Mana 24.2/41
His leveling speed was unprecedented; most E-ranks had to be satisfied getting to level 2 during the dungeon. With only the higher ranks even able to aim for level three.
If he killed one of the three elite monsters or even the boss monster, he would have a good shot at level three as well.
There was only one problem: he had pretty much picked clean his entire area. However, this problem would be simply solved by moving.
Cassian decided that no matter the monster he faced, he would kill it. He would take all the experience he deserved.
Traveling through the forest was actually quite pleasant. His nose picked up on a fresh smell that one could not find anywhere in the city. The birds chirping made pretty noises. Even more refreshing was the temperature, slightly warm but in the shade nice and cool.
His sightseeing was immediately interrupted by the sound of an explosion. Interested in whatever could be happening, Cassian rushed his way there.
He hid behind a tree and peeked at a squad encountering a level four wolf.
He recognized a couple of members of the squad as B-ranks. Even with their high ranks, a level four wolf could still be dangerous for them.
Their party consisted of a tank with a huge shield, a warrior with a sword, a mage with a staff, and a priest also bearing a staff.
The tank, a skinny boy with blond hair, was doing a good enough job holding the wolf off the team.
'This has nothing to do with me.'
He quickly left, but looked back again, part of him resisting.
'I want to help people.' Part of his oath was to protect mankind, including the students.
'You are helping more than any human on this planet.' The voice inside him countered.
He turned away again, leaving the party to whatever fate they ended up with.