A few more hours passed by, and the Rat Extermination Project continued. By this time, he had finally consumed his first bottle of repellent potion.

A single bottle, after dilution, could now last up to 15 hours, lasting more than three times more than its declared duration. This was already better than expected, and he could only count himself lucky.

The distance of effect was really small though, and a lot of its efficacy was lost in the sense that the monsters could get really close and it could only guard him and no one else.

On the bright side, because they weren't too far from him, his halberd could reach them, so he could, to a degree, mimic the barrier effect of attacking but not getting attacked back.

It was just that he wanted to gag several times due to the stench of the monsters' disgusting mouths so close to him.

He missed his barrier that could at least partially block the stench. These bastards were way smellier than he remembered!

(At this time, Finn had forgotten that he was already a Tier 2 Awakener. Not to mention the other buffs he received as achievements from the System. His senses were also sharpened.)

By this time, his number of brootrat kills had entered three digits, but he had to admit losing a bottle of (diluted) repellent made him feel uncomfortable, especially when there were still several hundred rats to finish off.

He also needed to maintain at least one bottle of HP and Mana potion, and also a bit of mana so, in case of emergencies, he could use the [Feather Step] and dash back to the Inn.

Regardless of all this planning, he was admittedly getting very tired, so his movements had gotten slower. He knew it would soon be time to rest. He didn't want to use potions when it could be fixed by just a bit of rest.

Fortunately, he had the halberd… to use as a cane.

Huff…. huff…

He dragged himself whenever he was tired, or if he found a stump or a flat rock, he'd rest there, too. Otherwise, for the next few hours, he continued with what he had been doing: Use the beast repelling potion to grind, run away before new mobs appear, repeat.

At the same time, he was looking at places he could use to have better rest when the first potion completely dissipated. He was at the foot of the mountains, so there was bound to be something he could use.

And he did.

First, he followed the path of sap trees and headed to where there were a number of them. This way, the mob that'd go to him wouldn't be too overwhelming. The sap trees weren't as concentrated as the ones near his place, but it'd do.

Another, he followed the steeper cliffs and the more alkaline lands, and he soon found some exposed parts of the karst mountains. This meant there were quite a few smaller caves he could go to.

As long as it wasn't big, the chances of it being unoccupied by beasts were pretty decent. It could also serve as a resting space as well as a defensible base.

Most of all, he needed a place to eat his essence food without attracting ravenous mobs to him instead.

He gathered some of the sap into some flatter rocks or wood, carrying them near the mouth of the cave. Calculating, the next bottle of diluted repelling potion should be out soon.

He climbed up the side. The rock face was quite sharp, but awakening physically really improved his physique and balance, and he also had his halberd as a walking stick, so he didn't worry too much.

He found one in the form of a protruding rock formation. It was a shallow one that was just enough for a person to lie on.

He checked if it was safe and waited for the repellent to naturally lose its effects. He had an hour, which was fine; he really needed a breather anyway.

He took this chance to finally drink and eat, filling up his stomach with his lunchbox. He prepared himself before the big battle ahead of him.

By this time, there were already a few monsters underneath him, and at some point, they had already toppled his stone plate of sap. Those weren't too potent, anyway.

Soon, some started climbing up to him. They would pause when they encountered the sap, though, which was doused with a few drops of repellents.

He did not miss the chance to kill the enemies. By this time, he knew their patterns and their weaknesses, so there were plenty of times he could kill one in a shot.

Stab!

[Killed! Brootrat (Awakened)]

[Killed! Brootrat (Awakened)]

He would also let some enter with their heads, and he would stab them with his pike.

[Killed! Brootrat (Awakened)]

He did this for hours on end, blocking when tired and stabbing any other time. He'd use his setting when he could.

However, he was only one person against dozens and dozens of monsters, not much weaker than he was. He had to be very careful.

Eventually, he felt too tired and once again sprayed himself with the potion. He had to pour some into the mouth of the cave, too.

When the monsters stepped back, he let his knees buckle.

The carcasses of the monsters were attracting others at the edges, but no one was bothering him, at least. For now.

He did hook a few corpses near him, at least those with cores. He killed so many, but he did not have many chances to dig for cores before new monsters arrived.

Now that he had a place to rest, he thought it was time for him to replenish his core stock. And after a couple of pulls, he really did get some.

Then he saw something interesting.

Flap, flap

He lifted his head to the sky, seeing movement from his peripheral vision.

It was a flying beast. And…there seemed to be a person above it?

"...heh."

His eyebrows rose. This world was so fascinating…

But yeah… that was none of his business.

He quickly put the sight to the back of his mind and just focused on the growing mob under him.

At the same time, seeing the odd creature made him realize there was still a wider world out there, and he had no business being tired of going against the lowest-tier beast.

He gritted his teeth as he looked at the mob below. "Come!"

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