Chapter 16: What an idiot
The flock grazing nearby seemed like a mixed bunch. The appraisal told me that 4 sheep were level 2 same as the ones I had been killing so far and 2 were stronger at level 3 with higher endurance of 10, rest of the stats remaining the same as level 2. This means the defense of the level 3 sheep would be higher and I may have trouble stabbing or slashing err hacking them to death. I started thinking of a strategy to deal with them before they notice my presence. Since they were not all bunched up, I decided to use the same plan as I did with the goblins and start from one corner buying myself time as I move forward and minimize the hits. Closest to me was a level 2 sheet which was hacked before it got a chance to call out or raise an alarm. 1 down 5 more to go. The next one was a level 3 sheep, and I may not be able to avoid the joint attack but if I wanted to target the rest of the level 2 sheep, I would have to circle around and still raising the risk so I decided to take a chance and go for it.
Instead of stopping as the sheep noticed my presence, I continued running with my katana raised and ready for a slash. I also tried thinking of my skill at this time wondering if I was doing something wrong and there was a way to activate higher damage. To my surprise, as I called out loud ‘combat skill slash’, my hand moved by its own accord and my katana slashed out with dexterity that had been lacking in my movements so far and landed accurately on the neck of the sheep, leaving a deep slash with blood gushing out rendering it incapacitated unable to make any sound. Oh, so that is how it’s supposed to be. I wasn’t just supposed to think about activating the skill but call out the skill.
No wonder I didn’t see any of my skills level up, I wasn’t activating them properly. Ha what an idiot! Grinning and shaking my head, full of confidence, I used this knowledge to cut through the rest of the sheep – like a terminator. Level 2 or level 3 they were like cabbages with my katana in action. I had higher stats and a proper skill; these sheep should not pose a true challenge for me. Level 3 loot was slightly premium.
Notification
“Killed Blood eye sheep (level 3) exp 500”
Loot – 1 sheep yarn, 5kg mutton ribs, 15 copper coins (skill loot – 1 cabbage)
With this I would be able to enjoy the grilled ribs which made me salivate and aware of my stomach which was now starting to yearn for food. Is someone reading my thoughts? I was unable to tell what cut of meat I ate and now I know?
I spread out my wolf fur erstwhile used as blanket and took out the small basket with sandwiches and today’s freshwater bottle, as if this was a premium picnic spot and a planned outing from get go. Inventory is probably the lifesaving tool I had at hand as sandwiches came out fresh and warm as if I had just finished putting them together. Spinach was wilted from the heat and sausages were still slightly crispy and charred. I enjoyed a peaceful lunch and for a few moments forgot that this was a dungeon. Footnote didn’t lead me wrong, if I had started coming here from day 1, I could have accelerated my progress in a relatively safe environment. The loot was generous, monsters nor super strong or super aggressive, giving me a chance to grow at a steady pace.
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After the rest I packed up the illusion of a picnic I had cooked up for myself and continued onward. At this point, if I had glanced at the time, I would have realized it was already 4 pm and if I wanted to head back before dark, this was the time – which I totally missed. All I could think about was 8150 Exp I needed to level up and with level 3 sheep giving me 500 Exp I wanted to kill as many as I could.
I spent the next 4 hours cautiously walking around and butchering all the sheep that I could find which was a total of 10 level 2 sheep and 6 level 3 sheep, some alone and some in a group. That was when I decided to take a break and look at the time. It was 8 pm crap! How could I be such an idiot. It was sure to be already dark outside and there was no way I was strong enough to cross the unprotected area outside the dungeon to get to the safe area. I had no experience of being outside in the dark, but I was sure things wouldn’t be as innocuous as they were during the daytime. These might be the low-level hills but even a dozen of monkeys was enough for me to fall into a disadvantage. With a sigh, I knew I would have to stay here for the night and probably return at dawn.
I had half a bottle of fresh water (I hadn’t seen or heard any stream of water yet) and food would have to be apples and berries as there wasn’t firewood to cook with here and I wasn’t sure if I could make a stable fire with grass. This was not the plan!
After subsiding the panic and resigning myself to fate, I decided to continue hunting sheep. There seemed to be no concept of day and night here on this floor as it was still as brightly lit as it was when I first entered. Maybe I could kill all the sheep and the boss quickly so that I could sleep for a while with nothing threatening my existence.
Few minutes later I came across a level 3 happily grazing on its own when confident in my skills I used my slash skill expecting the usual result. Ahem! The sheep was cut but not deeply enough and started roaring baaaaa baaaaa loudly. The voice was loud enough to burst my ear drums I tell you.
Surprised at its resilience, I checked the appraisal. Well, when has life gone as planned.
Blood eye sheep
Level 3
Strength 8
Endurance 8 (+5 during night)
Agility 6
Skill: Ram/head butt level 1 – Damage when hit with the horns or head additional 5%
Skill: Pain spell level 1 – Increased mental damage 5% when stared into crimson eyes for more than a minute
With endurance of 13 no wonder the bloody sheep could raise a ruckus calling bloody murder even when injured. Damage was already done, and the voice was loud enough to echo around the entire floor. I still went ahead and cut its neck – what was I going to do otherwise, I couldn’t let it keep bleating on and on.
Notification
“Killed Blood eye sheep (level 3) exp 750”
Loot – 1 sheep yarn, 5kg mutton ribs, 15 copper coins (skill loot – 1 cabbage)
Good thing there was a premium Exp too, though the loot was the same. I wasn’t going to complain. Since I was stuck here, I was determined even more to level up as soon as I could and extra Exp would help.
After killing the sheep, collecting the loot, I wasn’t going to stick around waiting for reinforcements to show up, so I decided to head in the direction I was anyways planning to go. Maybe that wasn’t the best idea as I soon encountered the flock moving towards the voice as if marching on call. They looked fast enough and menacing enough to increase the threat level super high.