Growl! Growl!
Gabriel slowly turned around, his eyes flashing sharply as he spotted over five mutated rat-like creatures with red eyes and black fur glaring at him with bloodlust.
The creatures were roughly the size of a dog back on Earth, except their builds were bulkier and their eyes more menacing.
[Killer Hound Rat – LV 2]
He recalled from his past life that these monsters moved in groups and had an alpha, similar to wolves. Furthermore, being in the presence of an alpha granted them a buff in strength and agility.
"The alpha is probably behind the pack," he muttered, narrowing his eyes. From the rear of the group, he sensed a powerful presence—far stronger than the others.
Despite the number of enemies, Gabriel remained calm and slowly summoned his Voidsting Sword from his inventory.
[Durability: 35/50]
Seeing that he still had sufficient energy left, he calmly approached the nearest monster.
The Killer Hound Rat didn't hesitate—it lunged at him with sharp teeth and claws poised to strike.
Swoosh!
[-34!]
A green damage number flashed above the beast's head.
Not enough. He swung his blade even more fiercely.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
[Fatal Hit]
[You've defeated a Level 2 Killer Hound Rat]
After killing the first rat with three strokes, he dashed toward another that was trying to flank him.
His blade flashed through the air. This time, he didn't attack mindlessly—instead, he aimed for weak points.
In the Realm of Ascendency, if you struck a critical area of a monster—like the heart or brain—it would count as a fatal hit, instantly killing the target.
But if you hit a weak spot, it would only display a damage bar above the target's head, though the damage would be doubled.
A critical hit could only be inflicted when striking a part that was already wounded, and it had the highest damage modifier in the game.
Recalling this made it easier to deal with the remaining rats. Gabriel now only targeted vital areas like the heart or head.
[Fatal Hit!]
[You have defeated a Level 2 Killer Hound Rat]
[-1000]
[-500]
[Fatal Hit!]
[Ding! You've leveled up!]
[Ding! You've leveled up!]
[Ding! You have received x5 EP]
Some time later, Gabriel had dealt with all five Killer Hound Rats. His gaze settled on the leader of the pack, now standing on all fours.
[Killer Hound Rat – LV 3]
[15/50]
"Fifteen strikes left," he noted, eyes sweeping over the glowing combat interface.
He didn't charge at the Alpha outright. It would be foolish to fight a Level 3 monster with such low stats.
Gabriel quickly allocated the ten free stat points he had received from leveling up into Strength.
[Strength: 10 → 22]
After distributing the points, he felt a surge of power course through him.
At that moment, the Alpha Killer Hound, enraged by the death of its pack, charged forward. Its red eyes burned with fury as it dropped to all fours, claws digging into the ground.
"Fighting without skills is troublesome," he muttered, gripping his blade and rushing forward. The distance between them closed rapidly—but instead of striking, he stomped the ground and propelled himself past the beast, landing over two meters away.
Before the Alpha could recover and attack again, a black-and-yellow striped grenade landed at its feet.
It stared at the object in confusion. Then, its eyes shrank as yellow mist began to leak from the nozzle.
The mutated rat's instincts flared—it tried to flee.
BOOM!
But it was too late. The grenade exploded within a tight two-meter radius, releasing a blinding yellow flashbang that lit up the immediate area.
After decisively allocating all ten points into Strength, Gabriel had easily escaped the blast radius with one powerful leap. The last thing he wanted was to be caught in his own trap and die stupidly.
Death in the game was permanent for an NPC like him—unlike players, he couldn't respawn.
[Venom Burst Sac] disoriented the target for approximately five seconds. Gabriel dashed forward, and in that brief window, his sword flashed more than ten times, each strike landing on the skull with monstrous precision.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
[-10,000]
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[Ding! You've defeated a Level 3 Killer Hound Rat]
[Ding! You've leveled up!]
[You have received +5 Stat Points]
[You have received +1 EP]
After finishing off the pack, he didn't waste time resting. He approached the Alpha's corpse and used Extraction on it.
He had specifically targeted the Alpha because it was the strongest monster present.
[Ding! Would you like to extract from target: Killer Hound Rat | Cost: 2 EP]
"Still 2 EP?" he murmured, pleasantly surprised. The cost hadn't increased despite the monster's higher level. Was this a fixed rate?
The only way to know was to kill more creatures.
[Vicious Pounce – LV.1]
[Killer Hound Cloak]
[Instinct Surge Elixir]
[Agility +5]
"A skill!" As soon as his eyes landed on the first option, they lit up like a child seeing a new toy.
In the Realm of Ascendency, even the most basic Level 1 skill was worth over $10,000.
Without hesitation, he selected the first option. In a flash of purple light, a sleek skill scroll appeared in his hands.
[Vicious Pounce LV.1]
[Rarity: Uncommon]
[Description: Launches the user in a fast burst up to 2 meters. Cooldown: 45 seconds]
[Do you wish to learn this skill?]
"Ye—" Before Gabriel could finish the word, another screen popped up, catching him off guard.
[Ding! Do you wish to extract the skill: Vicious Pounce | Cost: 10 EP]
* * *