*** Billion's PoV
I moved through the forest, heading toward the mountain range, keeping my awareness sharp for any abominations.
It didn't take long before I spotted one—a Boneplate Lizard lazily meandering in my direction.
[Boneplate Lizard – Level 4]
Its bones were mostly exposed, and its muscles had rotted in several places. Looking at it, I felt a twinge of pity. I wondered how much pain it must have been in, considering its condition.
"Let me help you move on from this life of pain."
I sprinted toward it, and only then did it finally notice me. With a guttural growl, it crawled forward before lunging, jaws wide open.
I saw it coming almost in slow motion. Sidestepping at the last moment, I rotated and drove my foot into its midsection, sending it smashing through multiple trees.
It only came to a stop after crashing through the third one. I walked toward it and stomped its head, silencing it forever.
I sighed at the beast's condition before moving on.
It was then that I heard a ringing.
Tring..., Tring....
The communicator Arkas had given us was ringing. I pulled it out of my bag and answered.
Vice Commander June's voice came through the speaker.
"Hello, everyone. This is your vice commander, June, speaking. I hope you're enjoying your stay at 02."
I scoffed.
'Enjoying? Were we really enjoying this?'
She continued, her tone light but firm.
"Since today marks the start of the seventh day, get ready to receive your first official command of the month. It will be referred to as Command – 01."
I straightened, listening closely.
"The commander has noticed that most of you are sticking to hunting stragglers and low-level targets. Your leveling speed has dropped significantly. So, he's initiating a new hunt."
'A new hunt? That sounded interesting.'
"He has placed checkpoints throughout the forest. Each checkpoint has its own domain and type of Abomination. There are two levels of checkpoints Blue and Gold. Gold is more dangerous but offers greater rewards.
A signal will be released once to reveal their locations. At each checkpoint, a reward will be waiting but these rewards attract Abominations. If you want them, you'll have to fight for them.
And at every checkpoint, you'll find a map showing the locations of the nearest checkpoints. So, the more checkpoints you clear, the better your chances of obtaining the grand reward."
She paused for a moment before adding, "Oh, and to keep things interesting, we'll be projecting the current level rankings of all of you. Just look up.
And finally, Command – 01 will remain active for the next 6 days and you will receive your next instructions on the 13th day. Give it your best."
With that, the communicator beeped, and the call ended.
I looked up but saw nothing. Frowning, I quickly climbed a tree for a better view. As I reached the top, my eyes locked onto a massive, floating cube high in the sky, slowly rotating. It was a projector, displaying information for everyone to see. On all of its sides, the Level Rankings were displayed.
Before I could take a closer look, crimson beams suddenly flared across the forest, piercing through the trees in multiple directions.
'That must be the checkpoint signal she was talking about.'
I quickly scanned my surroundings and noticed that the closest beam was already in the direction I was headed.
Making a mental note of its location, I turned my attention back to the rankings. The top ten names were listed.
[Level Rankings]
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1. Billion Ironhart : Level – 8
2. Mark Salt : Level – 6
3. Sarah Gibson : Level – 6
4. King Holt : Level – 6
5. North Winter : Level – 6
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. Steve Harper : Level – 6
10. .
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I was surprised by seeing the list.
"Whoa, I thought I had pulled ahead. Looks like the others aren't slacking off either."
I scanned the rankings and found Steve at 9th place and North at 5th. Since they were all at Level 6, I figured the ranking was based on who reached the level first.
As for me, I was at Level 8 because my talent let me temporarily boost my stats by 5 units, the equivalent of an entire level's worth of unused stat points. Also, since I was a hardworking masochist.
I grinned.
'Well, I can't let these guys pull ahead of me.'
Wasting no time, I decided to head straight for the checkpoint and see what it was all about.
I set off toward the direction where I had seen the crimson signal.
After two more hours of tracking and taking down two more Abominations, I reached a clearing. Deciding it was time for a break, I climbed a sturdy tree and settled onto a thick branch to have breakfast.
While eating my light, totally rubbish excuse for a meal—a makeshift sandwich—I heard noise up ahead. Squinting at the tree line, I spotted a boy running, limping, and panting heavily.
His left leg was heavily bandaged, as was his forehead.
Behind him, a pack of eight to ten hounds gave chase.
"Well, talk about bad luck."
I scanned them.
[Burst Hounds].
All below Level 6.
And the boy : [Logan Cross – Level 3].
The guy pushed himself harder, trying to create some distance, but at this rate, he had maybe thirty seconds before he either died or Arkas bailed him out somehow.
"Can't trust that bald guy to do anything correctly."
I held the sandwich into my mouth, wiped my hands, and dropped from the tree.
Then I sprinted.
The boy's eyes lit up the moment he saw me charging toward him. He glanced back, saw the hounds closing in, and forced his injured leg to move faster. I could see the pain all over his face.
I sped up and vaulted over his head, landing between him and the hounds.
Pulling the sandwich from my mouth, I spoke.
"Keep running."
The guy nodded and hobbled forward.
I took another bite, chewing as I glanced at the dumb beasts.
"You better not ruin my food."
Just as I swallowed the first bite, the leading hound lunged, jaws wide open.
I exhaled through my nose, shifting my weight just enough to let the hound's snapping jaws sail past my face.
Then I smashed my elbow down on its skull.
Crack.
The hound's body hit the ground in a twitching mess.
I took another bite of my sandwich.
"Ugh, this bread is dry as hell."
Another hound lunged. I pivoted, slamming a backhand into its ribs. The impact sent it skidding across the dirt, rolling like a discarded sack of meat.
Two more came at me from opposite sides. One went for my leg, the other for my throat.
I hopped back, letting the first one's jaws snap at empty air, then kicked it in the snout mid-turn. My foot sank into its face like I was punting a rotten log. The second hound, still mid-air, was an easy target. I reached out, grabbed its neck, and slammed it straight into the ground.
Another bite.
"…And this cheese? What the hell is this? Powdered milk garbage?"
Four left.
One circled to my back, but I didn't even turn. As soon as I felt it move, I threw my half-eaten sandwich straight up, bent forward, and mule-kicked behind me. My heel caught its lower jaw, snapping it clean off. The hound hit the ground with a gargling yelp.
I reached up, caught the sandwich mid-air, and took another bite.
One of the remaining three hesitated, but the other two charged.
I sighed.
"Fine. I'll finish this before my last bite."
The first reached me, and I smashed my fist through its skull without stopping. The second tried to swerve around, but I was already moving. I grabbed its tail, swung it like a club, and bashed it against the hesitant one. Their bodies crumpled into a heap.
Last bite.
I dusted my hands off, chewed, swallowed, then glanced down at the twitching remains.
"…Damn it. Even bad food tastes good when you're fighting."
I turned my head. The boy was staring at me, eyes wide.
I smirked.
"Told you to keep running."
The boy exhaled loudly and collapsed onto the ground.
"Fuck. I thought it was over for me," he muttered. "I called for help from the commander or vice commander, but nothing happened."
He looked up at me and forced a tired smile.
"Thanks, Billion."
I gave him a small nod.
"No problem. But they really didn't come to help even after you contacted them? That's weird." I asked.
"Yeah. My landing was terrible. I fractured my leg in two places and broke my arm. Just getting my first kill was hell, and it was only a damn hound. I barely survived. Used up all my unused stats in Constitution just to stay standing."
He paused, his gaze shifting to the pile of dead hounds, then back to me.
"But looking at you now… it feels like we'll all be chasing after you soon—just like you said on the stage."
I let out a short laugh.
"Well, that's the plan."
I turned to grab my first aid kit from my bag.
"Wait here. I'll patch you up."