As the sun set on the horizon and the moon took its place in the sky, its cool light casting shadows in the forest, many monsters began to crawl out in the night to prey on the weak.
Meanwhile, many humanoid monsters, who lived as civilized groups, moved to their hideouts to rest and sleep after a long day of work.
Sasaki, one of the hunters who lurk in the shadows and hunt at night, began his move. His level was still low, making it difficult to hunt high-level monsters.
He knew it was a waste of time and stamina to inflict his EAoE attack and then run back to his hideout for an hour before returning. This strategy consumed too much energy.
Sasaki also couldn't set traps close to the hobgoblins without alerting them. His only option was to snipe the enemy from a distance.
He commanded Shadow, his familiar, to search for a group of hobgoblins with higher numbers or ones that lived near each other. With this strategy, he could hunt more hobgoblins per hour.
Sasaki realized he needed to hunt more than four hobgoblins per hour to gain the experience he desired. He had only six to seven hours of night before the sun would rise again. He came up with this plan to make the most of his hunting time.
Shadow, flying in circles above the level 2 forest, scanned for groups of high-level humanoid monsters. With its sharp senses, even at level 1, Shadow easily located several groups meeting Sasaki's criteria.
The hobgoblins, alarmed by the mysterious deaths of their kind, had gathered in larger numbers for safety. This played into Sasaki's hands, as the hobgoblins had no way to counter his unique skills.
Shadow marked the locations of these groups, creating a mental map for Sasaki. In his mind, Sasaki could see red dots representing each group and the safe paths to reach them while avoiding other hobgoblins.
Two groups caught his attention: each consisted of four members, totaling eight hobgoblins, all above level 60, with a leader at level 70. These were formidable opponents for Sasaki, but he planned to snipe them from a distance and avoid direct confrontation.
The terrain favored Sasaki. He climbed to a higher ground overlooking the hobgoblins, who were not sleeping in their hideouts but scouting the area.
He used a safe path to navigate the uphill, covered by long green grass, perfect for hiding. Lying on the ground, he crawled through the grass, his face just peeking out. Shadow circled above, its 'Scavenger Gaze' skill providing a detailed view of the group.
Sasaki calculated the distance between the hobgoblins. However, some were outside the contagious radius of 15 meters for his 'Epidemic Bullet' attack. He needed them all within range to maximize the skill's effect.
Lying in the grass like a lion waiting for its prey, he remained patient. Minutes turned into hours, but Sasaki didn't move. He waited for the perfect moment when all the hobgoblins were within the 15-meter radius.
Finally, the hobgoblins gathered closer, unaware of the impending danger. Sasaki raised his hand, forming a fist with his index finger pointed straight. "Epidemic Bullet," he whispered. A magical bullet formed at his fingertip and shot towards the group.
Sasaki thought he could snipe them, but the 'Epidemic Bullet' did not hit as planned. The bullet was heading towards a mage hobgoblin, whose level was higher than Sasaki's. The mage quickly chanted a 'Magic Shield' spell, deflecting Sasaki's attack. Every member of the group got alerted.
The Mage Hobgoblin pointed in Sasaki's direction, shouting in their language. Sasaki's heart raced as he realized his position was exposed. "Damn it," he muttered, eyes wide with disarray. He had no choice but to run.
Knowing the hobgoblins would chase him, Sasaki quickly set an 'Epidemic Eruption' trap at his location and another a few meters away. He then sprinted uphill. The hobgoblins, thinking it would be easy to kill him, rushed towards his location. The warriors jumped and the mages used flight magic.
As the warriors landed, the leader triggered the first trap. A burst of corrupted mana exploded, infecting the warriors and mages.
Their skin began to melt, and in their panic, they triggered the second trap. This trap only did minor damage due to the level difference, but it threw the hobgoblins into chaos. It was the burst attack caused only minimum one percent of their health to drop.
Sasaki seized this moment where the whole party of hobgoblin were in chaos due to sudden hidden trap. While running, he jumped into the air and fired another 'Epidemic Bullet.' This time, it hit the lowest level hobgoblin, spreading the infection to the rest of the group. Their health started to drain slowly.
Sasaki didn't wait. He ran as fast as he could, putting as much distance as possible between him and the hobgoblins.
His heart pounded, but he felt a rush of excitement. Now, all he had to do was wait for their health to drop.
As he hid, Sasaki whispered to himself, "I did it. Now, I just have to wait." He took a deep breath, ready for the next challenge.
As Sasaki reached his hideout, he stopped and rested his hand on a tree, his head down and panting.
His heart was beating so fast it felt like it might burst. He leaned against the tree, slowly sliding down until he was sitting on the ground. He put his hand on his forehead, trying to catch his breath.
He began to reflect on his past actions and the mistakes he made.
"Attack can be detected," he muttered. "I could have died today if it wasn't for my trap skill."
He thought about it more. "Maybe they have some skill to detect the direction of the attack? Or they can feel the direction of the mana? Maybe it's like detecting an intruder within range, like a radar."
Frustrated, he sighed. "Shit, my 'Magic Decode' is on cooldown. If it wasn't, I could create a new skill, something like radar."
Sasaki closed his eyes for a moment, calming his racing thoughts. He knew he needed to be more careful next time. He couldn't afford to make the same mistake again.