"I'm sorry but, can you repeat that again?" Sylph said through the communication channel. They've just finished breakfast and headed to the forest, following Zeke who went earlier than them.
Zeke saw them teleport into the forest. As soon as the elves did this, he made an announcement which shocked everyone.
"We'll finish the task in six days." Zeke said, not containing any sarcasm or joke in his voice.
"Are you insane!?" Sylph responded still feeling the aftereffects of using the [Stamina Potion].
"That depends on your classification of a 'sane' person." Zeke replied, thinking that Sylph is much more of a lunatic than he is.
"We haven't even reached half of the kills required yet. And you expect us to finish all this in 6 days?" Sylph answered.
This is a fact that even Zeke cannot deny. The number of units that they need to slay are [1,000] for each weaker monster type while [500] is the required kill count for the stronger monsters.
"We can do it. Judging by how much you guys are growing with every kill, the number we can take down every day will also increase. Plus…"
"Plus… what?" Sylph said again.
"Plus, I'll give something to all of you by tomorrow to make the experience grinding even faster."
Sylph had no idea what Zeke meant by experience grinding. But they are assured of one thing – that Zeke's words hold true. The elves knew that they are really getting stronger. And, at an abnormal rate. The only downside to this training is the conversion of days once they leave Yaeger's realm.
Thus, Zeke began hunting monsters again, raising the number of kills faster than the other groups. Using [Mana Conversion] he boosted his traits making him able to run faster. Topping this off is his [Quick Step].
As he passed through various areas, he launched multiple [Poison Clouds] covering a larger area than he did in yesterday. Lupus and Erio came back to assisting Allesiah so Zeke's firepower is weakened by a considerable amount. However, the small amount of new conjures that he has created are able to face off and win against their normal counterparts.
With the triple passive that enhances the traits of his summons, the three [Pyke Boars], five [Winged Monkeys] and one [Arachnid Wolf] come out as superior. This is, of course, adding to the fact that they are fighting within the [Poison Cloud] which deals continuous damage to the monsters while leaving the conjures virtually unharmed.
Zeke then used his dual pistols to deal with the troublesome [E] Rank monsters. A single shot is enough to take one down and, as he proceeded, he also collected more mana cores for another experiment that he is cooking up.
Aside from this, he went and looked for other monsters. With how large the forest is, there will sure be monster types that may serve as great materials for weapons. His search did not fail him as he found one new monster at the side of the forest which only he has reached.
[Ore-Cloaked Armadillo]
The armadillos are much larger than the normal ones back on earth. Adding to the fact that they are [E+] rank makes them even more formidable. The various rocks and minerals around it already filled Zeke with excitement as they are shown by his [Analysis].
"Oh you beauty." Zeke said to the creature, engaging in a close-range combat with it using a simple tactic – stab and explode.
Basically, what Zeke does is cut open a wound on the part of the armadillo which is not covered by the valuable items. With the hole made, Zeke punches his whole fist through the wound, leaving behind a bomb before getting away. Soon after, the monster exploded, with its remains scattered all around.
The other armadillos were horrified at the sight. Especially because, that same person had a devil-like smile as he did this. They tried running away but, Zeke simply made cuts on their legs making them unable to run any further.
The monsters then focused on offense, curling into a ball and hitting Zeke. The damage dealt is great but, with the effects of [Mana Conversion] in place, it is nothing too fatal for him. He allowed [Lesser Regeneration] to heal him while he evaded the next set of attacks.
The armadillos became more horrified as they saw the human literally having broken limbs, yet still running toward them. Zeke then activated [Blood Counter] opening up the armadillos who did not expect the sudden damage that came out of nowhere.
Zeke then proceeded to performing the same thing, planting more bombs and killing them off. The reason why he rushed to kill them is because, he wanted the monsters to condense on a single area.
This is the same tactic he used yesterday. He wasn't able to add the [E] ranks because, just as soon as the poison killed these creatures, the others would have gone far away from the crystal. Hence, Zeke was only able to gather up the weaker monsters, much to his disappointment.
This time is different however as he killed them himself, adding up the numbers of Armadillos that died on the mission tab. As soon as the area was cleared of these monsters, Zeke immediately went to the spawn point of the monster and covered it with 30 layers of {Poison Cloud], he spread the range even more, killing off the weaker monsters along the process.
The armadillos came out of the crystal soon after. The poison affected them making them go raging but, as they ran, their legs grew weaker and weaker until, just as they stepped out of the poison, their lives are taken from them.
"Kill the weaker ones that surround this area, let's gather them up." Zeke said, making his trusted conjures go around and kill more monsters.
Meanwhile, Zeke began collecting the materials dropped by the armadillos. There is a different kind of joy which he felt from collecting the materials one by one. Because, as he did, he already thought of the possible combinations that he could create.
"What weapon should I aim for next?" Zeke thought to himself as he visualized the elves accompanying him one by one.
A spear that will not break and could extend itself and retract at an insane speed. A shield that could nullify spells and reduce the force of physical attacks. A bow that never runs out of arrows and, two staffs that could store a large amount of mana.
But as he thought of this, he encountered another type of monster that is nearby.
[Dark-Blooded Imps]
These are creatures which are as small as Goblins. However, unlike the inferior species of monster, the Imps are fast and precise in their attacks. As soon as they saw Zeke, they began relentlessly pursuing him.
Zeke got hit a couple of times by these monsters who thought lowly of the human. What they do not know is that Zeke does not feel any physical pain. And, just as soon as they dealt damage to him, Zeke's body began its regeneration – healing him every 5 seconds. The monsters didn't notice this at first and continued on their frenzy until, Zeke activated [Blood Counter] and following this up using [Umbral Slash].
He immediately covered the area with [Poison Cloud], leaving the dying imps inside while he took one out and stabbed it in the head. The rewards which followed surprised him. While not wearing any accessories, the imps gives things such as this as a reward. And, the stats of the items are not a laughing matter. He took all the materials in, taking the specific side of the forest as his items and material looting spot. Then, he proceeded to looking at the progress of everyone on the map.
Both Allesiah's group and Sylvia's group are holding out well against their opponents. But, taking the [Stamina Potion] into account, Zeke knew that he needed to withdraw them from battle earlier.
"They probably need to rest now." He thought to himself, remembering the information about the potion which stated that, there will be a built-up strain on the body.
"We'll be stopping before the sun goes down. I don't want to hear any complaints. We'll be having a stricter regime tomorrow. And for that, you guys need to rest and relax your bodies." Zeke said, not leaving any room for arguments.
"Yes boss." Was Sebastian's answer to him. Followed by an approval by all the members.
At this, Zeke began crafting the new weapons that he thought of for the group. He needed to prepare these for tomorrow after all.
But then, a notification window suddenly appeared I front of him. Usually, the thing indicated would satisfy Zeke as it is proof of his accomplishment in Mythos. However, the notification displayed nothing of the sort as, the accomplishment is not for him to own. Nor is it something that he is glad of at the moment.
On the [Gamer's System] panel widow in front of him, the words came as an ominous warning.
[The Main Quest: Defeat the Evil King has been accomplished.]