There were less rewards than the Kobold Secret quest, but the quality had definitely gone up.
"If the system keeps spoiling me like this, I might just hunt only higher level monsters."
Farming was important for leveling, but as his Combat power rose more and more, fighting above his level just made more sense.
While he ran over the flat fields of [Hunter's Dream], Faust allocated his ten free points to spirit. Then he swallowed the 8 essences from the Mage Hunter and Velvet Arachne. They were bigger than the others he had, so he almost choked on one.
"Pause," Faust coughed.
[Spirit: 87 > 119]
He immediately pulled out the Shaman necklace, fumbling as he ran and tied it round his neck.
[You have Equipped Shaman's Necklace.]
[Constitution: 160 (+50)]
[Strength: 115(+105)]
[Agility: 180 (+50)]
[Spirit: 119 (+40)]
All his stats were now above one hundred. Faust smiled nervously, but was waiting to see if the system would—
[You have gained a new skill "Focus Lv1."]
Hell yeah!
[Focus Lv1 (Iron): Resist external distractions of any source for five seconds. Cooldown: 5 seconds.]
Faust raised an eyebrow. It looked like a simple skill. But if he had it against the Velvet Arachne, he would have been able to resist that scream skill to fight back or even cast spells. It was a mage's best friend!
He left all the materials in his bag, including Repulsion Shroud and Velvet loom. He hadn't meant the requirement for the Shroud, and Velvet Loom wasn't for a fight.
He pulled out the two skill books and poured his mana into them one by one.
[You have learned skill "Craft Golem Lv1 (Silver)"]
[You have learned skill "Bolster Lv1 (Silver)"]
[Craft Golem Lv1 (Silver): Using any material on hand, piece together a golem and imbue a bit of yourself into it. Requirements: Level 5, 100 Spirit.]
[Bolster Lv1 (Silver): Increase your defense by 50% for five seconds. Requirements: Level 5, 150 Constitution. Cooldown: 10 seconds.]
He would save the Enhancement Stones for now, but would use his 6 Skill stones.
Bolster Lv1(5 Skill Stones)]
Faust almost tripped, and with how fast he was moving that would have really hurt. But the Skill stones needed to upgrade a Silver grade skill was ridiculous!
"This is highway robbery!"
He decided to leave bolster for now and focused on his other skills.
[Congratulations! You have upgraded "Dash Lv1" to "Dash Lv 2".]
[Dash Lv2 (Bronze): Increase speed by 50% for a single movement. Increase speed by 70% for a second movement.]
Faust was confused at first, but used the skill to check. Dash had a natural one second cooldown. So when the rapidly passing grass accelerated for his first movement, he expected to be unable to dash again after, but he did.
The second dash was automatic, but Faust felt it could be cancelled. The blurring horizon increased dramatically; he was much faster than usual at that moment.
He could manage two attacks between those moves. Faust nodded in appreciation. He extended his Tether far ahead of him. The length it could extend to now was ridiculous.
When it stuck to something, he jumped off the ground and let the tether pull him forwards while using Dash.
Using the method, he could cross two hundred meters in seconds!
10/10 exploit, He thought as he upgraded the remaining skills.
[Congratulations! You have upgraded "Severe Hit Lv1" to "Severe Hit Lv 2".]
[Congratulations! You have upgraded "Acid shot. Lv2" to "Acid shot. Lv 3".]
[Congratulations! You have upgraded "Focus Hit Lv1" to "Focus Lv 2".]
Before Faust could check the counter again, the system chimed.
[Attention! The Beast Tide Trial has started!]
[Ready your defenses to face five waves of monsters every few hours!]
[Protect your Novice Village to Participate.]
[The top 1000 participants in this event will receive a Bronze Grade Treasure Chest!]
[The Top 100 Participants will receive a Iron grade Treasure Chest!]
[The Top 10 Participants will receive a Silver grade Treasure Chest!]
[The Top 5 Participants will receive a Gold grade Treasure Chest!]
[And the MVP?]
[They will receive a Platinum grade Treasure Chest!!!]
Faust felt his jaw drop a little as the system's notifications dropped. Those rewards in anyone else's hands would turn them into one of the top players in the trial.
But in his hands? With his 100% Drop Rate System?
Faust shook his head. He had to get it. It was actually the most responsible thing he could do!
For the sake of humanity!
Faust chuckled and pushed himself harder towards the village. The rolling green hills around him blurred. He passed some Jackals, but they were too slow to even give chase, and he couldn't give a damn about them. His blue eyes burning with a hungry light.
"Jokes aside, I'm getting that MVP spot no matter what," he said quietly.
But the system wasn't done yet.
Ding!
[The Level Leaderboard is now active! Below are the top players in the trial.]
Ding!
[Please select a moniker for the leaderboard…]
"Oh. I need to select my IGN?"
Faust was tearing across the landscape in a blur, he jumped straight over a boulder plopped in the middle of the field then used his tether and Dash to cover hundreds of meters in seconds.
"I could use 2EZ." That was his main IGN in most games if it was free.
"But I should go for something more serious. This game has become my new life. 2EZ would get people annoyed, which is fun, but it can't strike fear in anyone."
Cheerful Challenger was good too, but it made him sound too nice. A facade of gentleness could be useful. But it didn't really feel right either.
"Ares, Mars. Or just Red God…. Okay."
[Moniker chosen! Welcome to the leaderboard, Red God!]
[Level Leaderboard:
○ Red God
○ Gamebreaker
○ Golden Dream
○ Kingmaker
○ IDC
○ Nirvana
○ Broke Gambler
○ Spider
○ Old Dog
○ Firestarter]
Faust was at the top of the leaderboard. Who would have guessed?! Jokes aside, he was surprised to find Nirvana at six.
Also why did she use her actual name?
Everyone in the top ten right now would be system users or people allied with someone with a powerful system.
His 100% Drop Rate allowed him to run ahead of everyone in the beginning. But depending how well others acclimated to the game and got lucky with the right skills and allies, he might see challengers soon.
Hopefully.
He focused on his all out dash to the Novice Village.