Darius had underestimated the sheer amount of beasts he had killed with his surprise attack. Still, it was a welcomed surprise to see that it had catapulted him to about halfway through level 3.
However, it was even more valuable to discover that the Supreme System had awarded him EXP based on his level when he had begun his attack. If it had been less lenient it could have counted each EXP one after the other and switched down to a lower EXP gain as soon as he had leveled up, yet that had not been the case.
Instead, he realized he had found another loophole as well as a convenient way to raise his level before he encountered civilization. Darius walked over to some of the prey animals like deer and rabbits, then carved them up dexterously. With his increased Agility, he was much more skilled in this sector, and his increased Endurance meant that he didn't tire as easily.
After about 4 hours of this, he stuffed all the meat into his Inventory. As part of an experiment he had tried to put a carcass into his Inventory and it had succeeded.
Nevertheless, apart from their meat, there was not much else of value these beasts served and since he did not wish to clutter up the space he had, he refrained from storing any of them.
Additionally, he wanted to find out whether the Inventory would keep them as 'fresh' as they had been upon killing them or if it merely slowed down the decaying process.
After he was done collecting a lot of meat he took a look at the things he had been awarded from the system. Apart from the improved potions, meat, and tools he previously had, there were now some additional inferior potions among other weird junk.
Darius took out the most notable ones and Inspected them.
[Strange Gem - Miscellaneous
Durability: ?/?
Description: A lovely red crystal that shines with a strange light. Take it to an appraiser to find out any hidden details.]
Darius smirked at this description. His Supreme Quality Itemancer class made him the King of Appraisers and Item Valuers, so he activated his Analyze skill once more.
[Red Enchant - Consumable
Durability: 1,000/1,000
Quality: Common
Description: A supremely rare and valuable crystal formed in nature when in the presence of intense elemental magic. An Enchanter can imbue an item with the element of fire with this.]
Darius nodded. He had seen those types of rare gems that gave items attributes in the games he had played. Judging by the descriptions these gems had to be used by the top-tier warriors to imbue their items.
Probably mercenary leaders, guardsman captains, high-ranking soldiers, and the like. Its value on the market would be high in that case, since only the powerful could afford to use it.
Not only that, its demand would be extremely high depending on how good the effect was. If it was like Darius' Ember and even provide like 5% fire damage to a spear, bow, or sword, it would be a killer in battle.
Darius could also deduce that the supply should be poor. Something described as 'supremely rare' meant that if it hadn't been a drop from the Supreme System, Darius would have likely never received it normally.
This should be a direct benefit of his mass killing coupled with his above-average Luck. As his electro-massacre had killed more than 50 beasts yet yielded less than 5 item rewards, he reasoned that it should be either that his Luck had rolled badly, or that the few items he got were valuable enough to limit the gross amount.
He had traded quantity for quality. Looking at the other stuff he got nothing was as useful or amazing as the Red Enchant.
As for utility… it didn't have much of it to him at the moment. It could stay in his Inventory until he reached civilization. Who knew, it could even be an important bargaining chip to secure his identity in society.
Darius increased all inferior potions he acquired to the common grade. He also noticed that he got a broken fishing rod, but seeing as he had slaughtered all the fish around, there was really no need for such a thing, especially since it would cost him to repair it first.
Darius ignored the rest of the carcasses as he went downstream. He was trying to kill two birds with one stone, reach the bridge necessary to cross over, and kill some more beasts on the way.
After walking about 700 meters, he came to another 'community pool' area with plenty of beasts and fish in the water. Even better was that the bridge was within eyesight, though a bit to the edge of his vision.
However, Darius was careful this time, because there was a small pride of lions that lazed around the river bank. Their cubs swam and played in the water while the lionesses watched on, occasionally roaring when one of them became adventurous and tried to sneak away.
As for the big boss of the pride, he simply lay among his lionesses and soaked in the sun. Darius inspected them all straightaway.
[Plains Lioness - Level 4 Beast
HP: 25/25 MP: 5/5]
[Plains Lion - Level 5 Beast
HP: 40/40 MP: 10/10]
Although he had just leveled up and felt confident, he just walked across the area, making sure to appear as harmless as possible as he moved towards the bridge. After passing the area with the bathing big cats, he sighed with relief.
There was a fine line between stupidity and bravery, a line many failed to recognize due to their own hubris. The only kind of person who would try those odds would be one aware that no matter the situation, some cosmic force would prevent their death in order to keep the show going.
Despite being one such entity himself, Darius didn't want to test Goddess Vena's fondness for him. There would be many opportunities for him to gain levels in other battles and even return here stronger to vanquish them if he so chose.
The bridge was quite well-maintained, and Darius could see some dried tracks of carts. He wasn't a tracker, so he couldn't tell exactly how long ago it was, but it definitely wasn't recent.
Once he crossed the bridge, Darius broke into a lazy jog. Now that his Endurance had been raised to the standard of the average healthy adult in this world, he found that he only began to tire after reaching 5 kilometers.
He paused and took a break by the roadside, making sure to take off his clothes and air them in case any sweat got in, while he himself rested comfortably as he sipped on the lovely Pure Water.
Darius wasn't a person who loved physical activity, but he felt that he could now better understand those people who did. The feeling of being alive, of being active, was as intoxicating as it was tiring.
After an hour of lazy rest, he resumed his light jog. At his current speed, he crossed a kilometer in 15 minutes, meaning his jogging speed was 4 km/h.