"AH, he finally left, la," a small voice said, sighing. "I thought he would never get it done." The panda mumbled from inside the barrier, staring at Finn who had finally stepped out.

Finn heard this and he wanted to turn and glare at them, but he decided to move on.

According to the map, the dungeon was approximately 60 kilometers East of his Inn. It was at an angle Northwards, but not too stark.

Ideally speaking, he would find enough rats not too far away from home, but he had to be ready to go a bit farther than that.

The walk east was downhill, at least during the first leg of the trip, which saved a bit of energy. It was when he encountered beasts that was a problem.

Roooarrr…

Gulp

It was a small mob of six, composed of the brindlejaw and Brootrats, who seemed to be existing together nicely. Still bloodthirsty though. However, for now, they didn't lunge at him like they would've.

At least not yet.

At this time, they let out low growls at his appearance, and his hold on his weapon tightened as they got closer. They looked in his direction with hostility.

The assessment skill reassured him that his dilution worked. What if it didn't?

Badum. Badum.

His heart palpitated as he watched the monsters approach him. He could practically feel their body heat now, and their growls gave him goosebumps.

Grrrr….

He was ready to attack when they paused less than a meter away from him, looking at him with both hunger and dislike.

This was the case with all of them; they could not get past an arm's length, but close enough that he could feel their bad breath.

Urgh.

Before, the repellents were not diluted, and the monsters didn't get close to him at all. They didn't even get near him within several meters, so it was easy to bring a group with him, which was Ren's group last time.

The effect of the dilution really reduced that area, though fortunately, the combined duration was really long; otherwise, the experiment wouldn't have been worth it.

After confirming they wouldn't attack, he quickly raised his halberd and stabbed at the rats. It took him one or two stabs since he knew their weaknesses and movements now, not to mention he had leveled up already.

In these times, he could really feel the difference. Although it was still in the same rank, he really did feel his physique was better. At tier 1, he struggled to follow the rats' movements even when he could predict it to a degree, now—as a Tier 2—it was easier.

Slash! Slice!

[Killed! Brootrat (Awakened)]

[Killed! Brootrat (Awakened)]

[Killed! Brootrat (Awakened)]

Krrk! Krrk!!!

The smell of blood stimulated the monsters, and they wanted to attack. Finn didn't stay to see whether the anger and bloodlust would be enough for them to get past the diluted repellent. After taking those with cores, he just made a run for it.

Krrk! Krrk!!!

Some monsters went to gobble up the carcass, while the others followed the blood on him. None of this batch was Brootrats, so he ignored them. As it was now, he had to focus his energy on the damned mission targets.

He didn't look back and continued running forward, pushing through the shrubs and the dense foliage that were in his way. If the path was clear or if the targets were relatively far apart, he would also use his skill [Feather Steps] to target them and then dash away.

In a sense, it worked a lot like the magic of barriers, except it had a short time limit, and he really couldn't fully trust that it would work in any case within that time frame.

What if it rained? Or if he bled? He really hoped that it'd work regardless.

The next few hours went like this. Whenever he encountered brootrats, he'd kill them and then dash away.

He wasn't going around blindly, of course. Considering he had a time limit, the direction he went in naturally had a rationale.

For example, whenever the mob he encountered had fewer rats, he'd go the other way. When he encountered more, he would continue in that direction. Eventually, he found the spots where the mobs were predominantly rats.

He could feel himself getting farther and farther from the inn, though, which was frankly a bit unnerving.

He also had to use his new skill [Sticky Soil] quite a few times whenever he was surrounded. They would get imbalanced, and a portion of their body would be buried. It was easy for them to dig themselves out, though, so he had to make a move immediately after.

Finn would harvest them by poking down and slashing away with his weapon while they were still imbalanced, and he did this over and over.

He also had to use a bottle of his HP and Mana potion during this time.

"Huff… huff…"

[Status]

Name: Finnick Altheus Solthar

Race: Human

Class: Innkeeper, Chef

Level: Awakened Tier 2

Awakening Type: Physical

Affinity: Fire, Earth, Wind

…

VITALS

HP: 330/400

Mana: 350/400

Stamina: 324/400

Wallet: 42 Gold

Hearth Points: 3050 Points

…

Skills:

Active: [Ingredient Scan] [Dish Analysis][Heated Arc] [Farming] [Assessment] [Feather Step] [Sticky Soil]

Passive: [Blade Proficiency - Growth Type (Lv 2)] [Monster Instinct]

[Strong Stomach] [Improved Palate] [Fire Resistance] [Foraging]

Condition: Normal ]

Huff… huff…

He cracked his shoulders, feeling a little sore. He then wiped away his sweat with a cloth Ranran made from the skin of something. He took a look at his quest tab to see his progress.

[Active Mission (Flexible): Kill Brootrat mobs]

Information: A large mob of Brootrat mobs had escaped from an Eastern dungeon. Their fecundity is strong, and they multiply rapidly in warm zones. If left unchecked, certain sectors may become too difficult to pass for the typical adventurer.

Kill: 1000 Brootrats.

Progress: 82/1000

Time Limit: 83:29:25

Reward: 5,000 Hearth Points

Punishment: Suction of Barrier Energy for 5 days.]

He groaned. "This will take a while…"

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