Lisa attacked the monster from behind, turning the rabbit’s attention to her. Thanks to her action, the rabbit exposed its back to Cole, and he immediately attacked it. They kept doing this hit-and-run strategy because they couldn’t afford to get themselves hit by a level fifteen monster.

Each of their attacks slowly chipped the rabbit’s HP. Even though the creature had a tough body, their attacks worked against it.

Supported with their superior speed, they killed the rabbit without taking any damage. They only had spent longer time to defeat it, which was a comparable price with the resources left from its corpse.

There were two experience cards, three loot cards, and three point cards floating in front of them. The numbers were only slightly better than the drop from a monster of the same level, making them think it would be better to just hunt monsters of the same level. However, Cole changed his mind after he read both of the experience cards.

Name: Experience Card

Grade: Perfect

Gives 500 Experience

Both cards were perfect grades, and Cole would instantly level up if he used both of them. Thinking of it, he put on a content smile.

“Were the drops good?” Lisa asked.

“Yes, it proved that killing higher-level monsters will drop higher quality resources.”

Lisa took the experience cards from Cole’s hand and read their information. After that, she said, “Why don’t you use these cards?”

“That’s not for me to decide. We will discuss it with others.”

Lisa shrugged. “I am sure they are fine if you level up first. You are the strongest here.”

“Well, let’s ask them first.”

Cole wanted to level up fast too, but he was in a team. He couldn’t decide everything by himself. Of course, he wouldn’t refuse to use these cards if they permitted him. So, Lisa and Cole immediately went to the base to find out their answers.

At the base, they approached Mark and Jeff to discuss the distribution of the resources, and they agreed to let Cole reach level twelve first. Experience cards were for him alone. As for other cards, they would distribute them evenly.

After receiving the experience cards, Cole immediately consumed them, and he reached level nine in one go. After that, he put a free point into strength because he needed more power to kill the rabbit quicker.

Strength: 21 -> 22

…….

Name: Cole Xander (Level: 9 [0/1125])

Currency Point: 200

Race: Human (Bronze)

Class: -

Strength: 23

Vitality: 20

Agility: 21

Intelligent: 18

Wisdom: 18

Free Points: 0

……

After leveling up, his craving for blood increased, so Cole urged them to hunt the rabbit again. The others agreed, and they went to the field again.

They were afraid those rabbits were going berserk again once they smelled blood on Jeff. However, they ignored the old man because he had tended to his wound.

Jeff walked through them calmly, and he casually sliced his palm in the middle of them, turning them into the berserk mode in an instant.

The others waited for the rabbits to form a long line. After that, Cole ran to the rear and pulled one rabbit out of line, throwing a pebble into its eye.

Cole lured the monster to the usual spot and then signaled Jeff to enter the base. After that, Lisa backstabed the rabbit. When the creature turned its attention to her, Mark slashed it from the side.

The rabbit cried and turned its head toward Mark, stunning him on his feet out of fear. Cole didn’t know why Mark lose his focus, but he wouldn’t stay and let the creature attack him. He thrust his sword to the rabbit’s bottom, making it jump forward in pain.

“Mark, what are you doing? Focus!” Cole exclaimed.

“Forgive me. Let’s do it once again.”

“Cole, help! The rabbit is chasing me!” Lisa suddenly called. After Cole’s attack, the rabbit vented up against the nearest target, and it chased Lisa.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Sorry. Coming.”

Cole was about to go, but Mark suddenly prevented him, extending his arm over Cole’s chest. “Let me do it instead,” Mark said, and then he ran to the rabbit’s rear and stab it.

The rabbit roared and turned back to chase Mark. Mark was running toward him. As they were getting closer, Cole slid under the creature’s feet and slashed its belly, dealing critical damage.

“Nice save. That’s a sick move by the way,” Mark said.

Cole didn’t mind Mark’s compliment because he sensed danger. He immediately stood up and put on his stance. His instinct was right. The rabbit immediately leaped at him. Lisa and Mark were too far to save him, so he could only depend on himself against the giant rabbit.

Cole shifted his foot to the side, evading the rabbit. After that, he slashed it from the side, leaving a thin wound on its tough skin. Even after increasing his strength, his attack only dealt more minor damage. The wound shouldn’t have affected the rabbit too much, but the creature was so angry because it couldn’t hit them.

The rabbit immediately turned back and rushed at him again. However, Cole had predicted its next movement. He ran toward the creature’s side while spreading his sword horizontally like a wing. He passed through the monster and left a long wound.

The rabbit turned its head to the right, and Cole had predicted its habit again. He charged to its left side while slashing its tough skin again.

Cole’s combo connected until its HP almost decreased to zero. After that, he stopped dodging and stood steady, waiting for the rabbit to charge at him. As he thought, the rabbit was a simple creature, and it bolted straight toward him.

Cole evaded to the side and delivered the last hit by slashing its belly, making the rabbit frustrated. The rabbit let out a frustrated screech and turned into smoke, leaving several floating cards.

Cole sighed in relief when the fight was over. His adrenaline had been flowing inside him, and his heart still thumped as if it was about to explode. He looked at his teammates and flinched his eyes. “Why didn’t you help me?” he asked while panting.

“Ah, forgive me. Your movement was just beautiful. It enthralled me,” Mark said.

“It was the same for me,” Lisa said.

“I am flattered, but you have to focus. People’s lives are at stake in the battle.”

“I am sorry,” both of them said at the same time.

Cole nodded. “As long as you understand. I want you two to defeat a rabbit. I will work alone. I want to train myself by being alone.”

Lisa and Mark looked at each other when he said that. They were probably wondering if Cole was mad; he didn’t. He saw a chance to do something alone, and he took it. Besides, he had judged that both of them could handle an Ace Frenzy Rabbit without his help.

His judgment was proven true in the next hunt. Cole was fighting a rabbit alone while observing them. They were doing fine when facing a rabbit. However, they were slower than him. They depended on evading too much, while Cole dared to put his body at risk.

With that, Cole could kill his opponent first. After that, he helped them. He could have let them handle it, but this wasn’t training. They were in a rush to level up so they could defeat Frost Wolves.

Even as those two grew tired, they started to hunt more rabbits. Seeing their spirit, Cole was happy. He personally could still go on, but he wanted them to take a rest for a while. With his suggestion, they went to the base and eat in the canteen.

After eating moderately, they began the next hunt. This time, Lisa was the one luring all rabbits. She started off clumsily, but in the end, she did the job well.

Cole was dealing with a rabbit alone. He was confident to do it quicker than them, but to his surprise, Jeff and Mark killed their opponent first. After that, Jeff helped him to kill his opponent.

“You know. You don’t need to do that. I can handle it alone,” Cole said as Jeff delivered the last hit, piercing the rabbit’s skull from above.

Jeff pulled his sword and swung it, disposing the blood from his weapon. “Time efficiency,” he said calmly.

“Fair enough.” Cole shrugged. As long as they reached their today’s goal, he didn’t mind that.

Cole took the experience cards from the corpse and absorbed them. He gained experience again, and he kept getting more throughout the day. By the evening, they stopped their hunt, and he had reached level eleven. He estimated he would reach level twelve tomorrow.

……

As expected, Cole reached level twelve by tomorrow afternoon. The day was still long, and he planned to hunt more rabbits to help others level up.

As Jeff lured all rabbits, he pulled two rabbits out of the line. After reaching level twelve, his attacks still dealt minor to decent damage to the giant bunny. However, they were too slow, and facing only one rabbit was unchallenging for him. He felt he could deal with two at the same time, so he put it to practice.

Attacking a rabbit while dodging another one increased the stake for him. Cole smiled in excitement. The rule was still the same. He couldn’t let the rabbit injure him, or else his wound would attract its friends.

It took him a long time to kill a rabbit because he had to evade its attacks every time. He glanced at the dropped cards and found nothing interesting. After that, he faced the other rabbit. He was slashing, stabbing, and dodging while his mind was thinking how nice if the monster would drop a passive skill. There was one open slot available after he had reached level twelve.

Cole was underestimating his opponent; as the rabbit’s [HP] had reached 3%, it leaped and bit his arm. He immediately shook it off, but his hand bled as the result.

As his blood dropped to the ground, Cole heard marching steps. Even without turning his head, he knew he attracted many rabbits. He roared and stabbed his opponent in the head, making the creature fall on its back. He jumped onto its belly and stabbed it once again.

You have triggered the effect of [Dedication of Passivity].

The rabbit lost all of its [HP], and it turned into smoke, leaving cards. Cole widened his eyes when he saw a floating black card among the resources. It was a passive skill card. He immediately took them all and fled.

“Cole, what happened? My opponent is chasing you,” Lisa said.

“Mark, Lisa, I want you to come back to the base first. I made a mistake. I will be fine,” Cole replied while running away from the rabbits that were chasing him.

Cole lured all rabbits back to the middle of the road. As he did that, he eyed Lisa, Mark, and Jeff. After they entered the base, he changed his direction toward there. He rushed into the base with all his might and arrived safely.

Inside the base, Cole controlled his breath. He wasn’t feeling tired at all. His heart had been racing after getting a new passive skill. He couldn’t wait to see it.

Jeff suddenly approached him and said, “Cole, it was rare for you to make a mistake. What happened?”

“All was my fault. I was too excited after getting a new skill card.”

“Oh, interesting. Is it an active skill?”

“Passive skill,” Cole said, hiding his excitement. As he expected, Jeff put on a disappointed face after hearing it. With their current condition, they needed active skills the most. However, Cole could only take passive skills, so the black card in his hand was worth a diamond to him.

“Well, why don’t you show us?” Jeff asked.

Cole nodded, and he showed the black card to Jeff and others. The card’s title had white font, and below it was an illustration of the ability.

The illustration showed a streak of red lightning. There was a description of the ability below it, but Cole looked at the title again and read it out loud. “The name of this card is….”