145 Grinding
Leo was jolted awake by a gentle nudge on his side. As he rubbed his sleepy eyes, he saw the silhouette of his father standing beside him.
“Come downstairs, dinner is ready...”
His father said, before turning and leaving the room. To ensure Leo would not fall back asleep, his father flipped on the light, causing Leo to let out a sharp cry as he shielded his eyes, like a vampire caught in the sun.
“Hisss...”
A raspy groan escaped Leo’s throat as he pulled his blanket over his head, hoping to fall back asleep. However, his plans were foiled by Ricky, who came over and clamped down on the blanket, dragging it away from Leo.
‘Why is the world against me?’
Feeling the soft touch of a furry ball against his face as it licked him, Leo rolled out of bed and headed to the washroom to freshen up.
Leo then made his way downstairs to join his family for dinner, where they enjoyed steak together. Ricky sat beside his chair, gazing up at him with pleading eyes, but Leo still held a grudge against him for stealing his blanket.
Leo glanced at the clock and noticed that it was nearing 7 P.M. He decided to skip his usual evening jog and instead spend some time playing Fragmental. Despite his high attributes for his level, he felt that his overall level was still only slightly above that of the average player.
.....
Although Leo’s battle power was comparable to that of players at Level 30, he was aware that there were others who could defeat him at this stage, one of them being Ava.
With this in mind, Leo decided to spend his time grinding, specifically targeting monsters that should be too difficult for someone at his level to defeat, utilizing his extensive knowledge to minimize the time he spent leveling up.
Stretching his back, he entered his room and putting on the head gear, logged into [ Fragmental ].
[ ?????????????? ???????? ???? ????????????????????! ]
A robotic voice greeted him and he found himself standing near the city where Kilgros lived. His Shadow Robe and Eerie Staff, which had been damaged, were fully repaired. It cost him a lot of gold, but it was worth considering how useful the items were.
The [ Clown Mask ] was still on Leo’s face, his purple eyes fixed on the map displayed in his status window.
Leo scanned the map, searching for a location where he could put his knowledge to optimal use. He soon came across a small water body labeled ‘The Lake of Sirens’.
He marked the location with a waypoint and quickly made his way to the city to purchase some earplugs and some bread. Then he ventured into the thick foliage, where he could summon Fenrir without drawing attention.
Leo offered Fenrir some of the high-quality meat he had purchased while his items were being repaired by Kilgros. He then mounted the wolf and set off towards the lake.
Thanks to Fenrir’s powerful legs, it did not take long for them to reach the lake, and Leo absorbed the wolf into his tattoo. He had not purchased earplugs for Fenrir, as such an item did not exist for wolves.
Leo inserted the earplugs, ensuring that no sound could penetrate them, and nodded his head. He then did a few simple movements to make sure the earplugs wouldn’t fall out and headed towards the surface of the water.
Splash...
Leo threw a loaf of bread as far as he could, watching as it arced through the air before splashing into the water, disturbing its previously still surface.
He watched as the bread remained afloat on water, until something unseen dragged it beneath the surface.
Leo took a few steps back as the water within the lake began to ripple, as if something was vibrating or singing beneath its surface. The noise was so loud that Leo could feel the vibrations passing through the ground beneath his feet, but he didn’t hear a single sound, thanks to the earplugs.
He couldn’t help but smirk, as the lake was exactly as he remembered it from his past life. Leo prepared another loaf of bread, while keeping a keen eye on the surface of the water, looking out for any signs of something emerging from it.
Splash...
Leo threw the food into the water, this time closer to the shore, as if he was intentionally luring the creature to the shoreline.
The bread was quickly taken beneath the surface of the lake, and Leo repeated the process, throwing one piece of bread after the other, until one finally landed on the shore.
Splash...
In an instant, a monster emerged from the water, lunging at the loaf of bread and rolling onto the sandy beach.
‘Damn...’
He murmured to himself, recognizing the monster as a Siren – a creature with the upper body of a human female and the lower body of a fish, covered in silver scales that sparkled in the sunlight. Leo observed the creature as it flapped defensively on the ground, attempting to move using its fish-like tail.
Though the Siren had a beautiful face, the sight of sharp teeth visible through her parted lips gave her a monstrous appearance. Leo could see her trying to sing a song that would have a powerful effect on lower-level players, but since he had earplugs, he didn’t hear a single sound.
Leo shook his head as he saw the Siren greedily eyeing the loaf of bread, which lay just a dozen feet away from its body. He couldn’t understand why the developers had programmed Sirens to have an addiction to bread, but he didn’t dwell on it.
Leo guided the Shadow Energy into his palm and cast a Shadow Blast, which swirled through the air as if it were alive.
Boom...
The projectile struck the Siren’s tail, causing it to lose some of its scales and letting out a hiss of pain. Seeing that he had inflicted some damage, Leo retreated a safe distance away from the creature before tossing another loaf of bread into the lake.
Leo knew that Sirens could not stay out of the water for extended periods, so he decided to allow it to die naturally. Killing it manually would have consumed too much of his Mana and Shadow Energy.
By luring the creatures one by one, he had already successfully baited six of them to the shore, when the first one finally died.
[ ?? ?????????? ???? ????????????! ]
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2?? ??????????’?? ?????????? ????
~~~~
Leo surveyed the loot and, satisfied with the amount of experience points, prepared to continue luring the creatures. However, his attention was drawn to a group of players emerging from the dense foliage nearby.
He noticed that they wore armor with multiple red crosses engraved onto them and immediately recognized the group to be a ‘The Cross’ guild.
Leo was well-acquainted with the reputation of “The Cross” guild, having known from his past life that they were one of the most powerful in the game, capable of taking on a world-boss on their own. Though, right now, the guild was weak, under the leadership of the player leading them currently they were fated to reach the top.
The Cross guild was widely respected among players for their peaceful approach towards conflicts, preferring negotiations over unnecessary wars, and for their vast network of connections within the game.
Since Leo held no grudge against the group, he waved towards them, gesturing for them to cover their ears. His gaze met with the leader of the group, a male player dressed in gleaming metal armor and wielding a golden lance.
As the leader of the guild noticed the Siren bodies scattered on the shore, Leo saw the man’s eyes widen momentarily before he quickly whispered instructions to his companions, all of whom promptly covered their ears.
Leo nodded in approval, impressed by the man’s intelligence and level-headedness, as he remembered him from his past life. The leader’s willingness to take advice from a stranger, if it was beneficial to his guild, was a stark contrast to someone Leo knew all too well... a certain someone who constantly threatened him.
Leo approached the Sirens and killed them by manual means, using a series of Shadow Blasts before walking up to a group of The Cross guild members who were still covering their ears.
He then removed his own earplugs and gestured for them to stop covering their ears, indicating that it was safe to uncover their ears.
The leader of the group was the first to lower his hands, and his guild members soon followed suit. He looked at Leo, whose identity was obscured by the mask he was wearing.
“Hello, my name is Robin and I am the leader of the guild ‘Cross’. I would like to hire you as our guide through this area for a fair price...”
Robin slightly bowed his head in respect towards Leo, which prompted Leo to nod in agreement, although he couldn’t help but frown at the contents of Robin’s statement.
“Why do you think I’d be up for the job?”
Leo was confused as to why Robin would assume he wanted to share information with him. In his mind, he saw himself as just a random passerby, and not someone who would be seeking to share information.
“Aren’t you Leo, the unknown player? The one whose help can be bought with money?”
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