Eon had to wait an entire cycle of days for his MP to be filled again. Although he had enough energy to hunt all day, he had very little MP to use to activate his skills and it regenerated slowly. Fighting an entire group of monsters without MP was a difficult and dangerous task, especially when up against an entire army. That realization compelled him to devise a method for increasing his leveling up efficiency.
He flew up to the open sky as soon as his MP was full, intending to find monsters to test his conclusions, which in his case was not difficult. After only a few minutes of flying around, he easily found a group of 30 Peasants marching in the forest.
RACE: Peasant [Level: 2/10].
HP: 20/20
MP: 16/20
Eon cocked his Slug head as he watched the group's leader lead the way to the hunt. He was perched on a branch just above the marching Peasants. His gooey eyes widened as he growled and followed the group. He spread his wings and jumped out of the tree branch, silently approaching the group.
He was invisible to the entire group of peasants. They continued on their way, unaware of the approaching predator.
Eon circled around, positioning his entire body to his intended target, and then released his talons and dived into the nearest Peasant. He swooped in and out, grabbing the head of the unaware Peasant and leaving the entire army behind with no one to lead them.
Eon soared into the sky, gripping the Peasant's head and preventing it from using its Savage Bite. Thanks to the technique he learned from the Fledgling Sentrowl who had previously caught him. The Peasant was still struggling, attempting to push the four talons that were gripping it tightly.
Eon soared through the air as high as he could. And after reaching his limit, he began his experiment.
[Lethal Augmentation has been activated.]
[Lethal Augmentation has dealt 6.5 damage.]
The Peasant trembled as it took the damage, but before it could react, Eon dropped it. Eon circled the falling Peasant, watching it surge from the sky.
He intended to let it die from fall damage, but because he still needed to inflict damage on it to gain experience points, he used his Lethal Augmentation on it first before dropping it.
Eon would not receive experience points if a unit died without receiving any damage from him, such as fall damage, even if he was the one who dropped the unit to death. To be rewarded with experience points, direct infliction of damage was required.
After a few seconds, the experimented Peasant landed on an open field surrounded by white stones, with no trees or grasses to hide behind. Eon landed on the stone near the Peasant, watching the outcome of his experiment.
However... The Peasant stood valiantly and began to walk away without even a pause. Its antennae were moving erratically as it navigated the path it had been dropped into.
RACE: Peasant [Level: 2/10].
HP: 13.5/20
MP: 16/20
While watching the Peasant, Eon tilted his head sideways. It did not sustain any fall damage after falling from the sky.
He chose the incorrect subject for his experiment.
Eon spread his wings and flew after the fleeing Peasant. He took off at full speed and slammed his tusks into the Peasant, who had been thrown away when the charging force collided with it.
[Basic Attack has dealt 2 damage.]
The Peasant attempted to defend itself by using its skill, Savage Bite, but Eon had already surged up into the sky before the Peasant could lunge its head. He lived as a peasant for days, and Eon was well aware of the advantages and disadvantages of the peasant form. Eon circled above the Peasant's head, which was its blind spot, and when he saw the Peasant try to flee again, he charged in and grabbed its massive head with his talons.
He used his momentum to push the peasant's head to the stones and wipe the floor with its head. The sound of the hard Peasant's head brushing against the floor echoed, and the Peasant was powerless to fight back. The Peasant was unable to compete with the heavy weight shoving it down.
[Basic Attack has dealt 2 damage.]
[Basic Attack has dealt 2 damage.]
[Basic Attack has dealt 2 damage.]
A brutal beating scene in which the small Peasant was swept around like a red rug by its much larger opponent. They had similar stats, levels, and abilities, but body size, weight, and parts could make or break a fight.
When Eon was finished, a chunk of the Peasant's head was gone, including its right eye. The Peasant stood bravely, closing and opening its mandible while staring at the massive image in front of it.
Eon's response was to close and open his red Peasant mandibles. His gooey eyes were fixed on the struggling Peasant.
The Peasant army was a terrifying force, but it wasn't the same when they were alone. This Peasant was no different than the other prey in this forest without an army to support it.
Eon spread his wings and surged up into the sky, heading for the Peasant's blind spot. He could have killed the Peasant right there and then, but he chose not to... A part of him wished to see it suffer in its final moments, as he had when he first encountered the Peasants and nearly died on their mandibles.
It was his method of retaliation.
While flying through the air, Eon opened his mandibles to launch another attack on his target.
After a few moments of circling, he charged toward the Peasant, who was just standing there, feeling the surroundings with its one remaining eye.
The red knight waited for the right moment, and when it sensed the arrival of its aerial foe, it launched its prepared attack. The Peasant used its skill, Savage Bite, to lunge its head toward Eon in its final struggle.
With all of its strength, which launched its mandibles very quickly, leaving Eon no time to dodge. That was the only attack that hit Eon out of all of its attempts. Its red mandibles gripped one of Eon's hook-like tusks and wouldn't let go, even when buffeted by the wind.
[Savage Bite has dealt 6.5 damage to you.]
However...
Eon growled at the pain the Peasant caused, but he continued his flight and brushed his tusk against the stones with the Peasant gripping it. The sound of the Peasant's hard head slowly melting as it was brushed against the stone floor echoed. Eon circled the stony field, watching the Peasant's head slowly wither until only the mandibles gripping his tusks remained.
[Basic Attack has dealt 2 damage.]
[Basic Attack has dealt 2 damage.]
[Basic Attack has dealt 2 damage.]
The Peasant's body was severed from the mandibles and fell to the ground. Leaving a headless corpse.
[You have received 1 experience point.]
He flew out of the scenery without looking back after confirming that the Peasant was already dead. He took to the skies and flew through the open air above the forest. His gooey eyes were wandering around as he waved his wings, looking for another subject to experiment on.
He concluded that Peasants could not be affected by fall damage, implying that Peasants and Slugs were not suitable prey for that strategy. The Slugs, who were unable to be held due to their racial exclusive skill, Body Mucus, and the Peasants, who were immune to fall damage.
However, that was not the only strategy he devised.
The other option was more unethical, but it would produce far superior results.
RACE: Lesser Teplonide [Level: 2/10] [Exp. Points: 16/25].
HP: 13.5/20
MP: 15/20
Top Speed: 4 km/h