Chapter 107: Improved Fighting

The hours after lunch were the most physically gruelling part of the day for Finn: the hunting. This was the time he would grind, fighting against dozens and dozens of monsters within a day.

Of course, the difference with him was that if he got tired, he’d just go back in, eat, have tea, and take a nap before heading back out again whenever he was ready.

It was really a leisurely yet productive life, and Pang could tell many people—if they could see him—would want to strangle him out of jealousy.

The previous innkeepers were already associated with organizations back then, so as early as the Inn was granted to them, they were already maximized (except for the space he, the inn spirit, occupied, of course).

This batch of monsters was composed of the usual Brindlejaws, Hissmal, and Glecksmars, as well as a few new creatures. He remembered encountering a few before when he saw Ren and them, but the young men had killed them first.

It was a group of mouse-like creatures, except they looked mutated in a supremely bad way.

They were ugly. Very ugly.

They came in a small group of 4 or five, and they had terrifying faces that tried to bump into the shield.

They had a greyish-green coat that reminded him of sewage (smelled like it too), their teeth were long and sharp, and their tails had some sharpness as if they could stab their enemy while bringing them to their mouths to feed.

Cringe.

They were also quite fast, and if he had only had his dagger, it would’ve been very difficult for him to damage them. Fortunately, he had the halberd, which had a wider area of effect.

He entered a groove where he’d use all the weapons and tools he had on hand, weakening and killing the monsters one by one, with an excellent efficiency compared to how he was just a few weeks ago.

Finn moved his spear, creating a wide arc above him, and the axe swooped down outside the barrier, with Finn using his entire weight to finish one off.

[Killed! Brindlejaw (Awakened)]

There was also another weakened monster right next to it, with slower movement but still desperately trying to go through.

[Killed! Glecksmar (Awakened)]

At the same time, in order to minimize the mobs attracted, whenever he could, he’d use the hook of his halberd to pull a carcass into the barrier for the goblins to butcher. A dead monster was no longer a threat and was therefore allowed inside.

The new creatures were seriously quick and small, and he couldn’t hit them at all. He gritted his teeth and finished off the brindjejaw’s instead, and then pulled them in with the halberd’s hook.

The rats surrounded the carcass and tried to get a bite, and suddenly, the meat felt disgusting. It might not necessarily be dirty, but the rats he saw on earth were the gross ones, so it felt like the food was now disgusting. He stopped pulling at it. He could tell it didn’t have a core anyway from the new [Assessment Skill].

The skill could also allow him to see the specific tiers, and he knew this one was just an awakened tier 1, and did not have a core.

Speaking of which, the rats were also on the same level as the beasts, several times larger than they were. They were not strong, but they were fast, and they came in large groups, making them actually more troublesome than the bigger monsters like the brindlejaw.

He threw out another piece of jerky, causing the monsters to temporarily shift their attention. He saw the rats fixed on the meat, and Finn’s eyes sharpened when he saw them lined up, and some even had their backs to him.

Within quick movements, he lowered his stance and made strong and sharp stabs straight at the rats, distracted by the food.

[Killed! Brootrat (awakened)]

[Killed! Brootrat (awakened)]

Brootrat? That sounded familiar somehow…

Anyway, he killed a few more monsters this way and only stopped when his stamina dropped to half.

He took a deep breath and headed to the kitchen to replenish and drink. He had a lot of essence food stored (he cooked a lot during breakfast), so he just had to eat that and lounge for a bit to recover more energy.

When he got back, the brootrat and the few brindlejaws were either eating their bleeding companion or bumping into the barrier again. This was their instinct.

If there were no human or humanoid creature around, they’d likely do the former to replenish. And as soon as he got near, they opted for the latter, bumping at the barrier at the slightest whiff of his scent.

BANG!

The only fortunate thing about these monsters was that they were stupid.

He stood very close to the barrier, even getting a hand out for a second before taking it back.

ROAR!

This got the monsters to focus on an area. At this, he threw some jerky again, but this time they formed a small arc that somewhat enclosed the monsters. Using the smaller area of movement, he swiped away, hitting several enemies with every movement.

Several hours later, he managed to kill 71 monsters in about four to five hours, which was really not bad. It couldn’t compare to Syl, who was two ranks above him, or to the mercenaries, but for someone who had existed in this plane for less than a month, he’d say he was doing swell.

That said, out of those 71 or so monsters, nearly 50 were brootrats. This was a bit odd, considering he hadn’t seen them in his area before this.

He shook his head and put the thoughts away for now. Using the hook of the halberd, he pulled the remaining corpses inside, including the rats.

He’d be getting their meat (as bait mostly, though it seemed like the goblins wanted it) and drying their pelts, using their innards as fertilizer or as bait.

He used this time to do cool-down exercises as well as get precious meat off his game. The rat-like things were a bit too much for his stomach, for now, but the goblins loved them, so he cooked them regardless.

He did wonder where he had heard of this species before, but… oh well. He was tired; he deserved to rest!

…

After recovering, he replenished himself with food and water. He then took a nice warm bath and then headed to bed as usual.

He was especially tired today. Maybe he’d laze around tomorrow. Should he try out some of his new sauces?

However, as if the world didn’t want him to rest, he heard that dreaded ding in his head again. It was definitely not appreciated.

[Alert! Changes Detected to Active Mission (Flexible): Kill Brootrat mobs]

He blinked, immediately opening the [Missions] tab to see what this was about.

[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: 12/1000

Time Limit: 120:00:55

Reward: 5,000 Hearth Points

Punishment: Suction of Barrier Energy for 5 days.]

He immediately shot up to a sitting position, doing it so abruptly that he had a whiplash.

“What…” Why did the time reduce so much?! So many things changed—

Was that what they meant by ’flexible’ mission?! Gasp

SCAM! He did not sign up for this!!

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