Under mounting pressure, Isaac focused hard on grinding.
First he cleared the Star 2 Quality mobs, then moved on to the others.
[Killed Special Robust Hyenaman (Level 6): Gained 70 XP Orbs, 1 Tier 2 Talent Shard, 1 Star 2 Quality Evolution Point.]
[Killed Special Agile Hyenaman (Level 6): Gained 70 XP Orbs, 1 Tier 2 Talent Shard, 1 Star 2 Quality Evolution Point.]
[Ding! Acquired item: "Worn Hyenaman Club."]
"Heh, another $300. I'll take it!" Isaac gave it a quick glance and kept farming.
Up until now, he hadn't dared touch the Level 6 Special Sturdy Hyenaman, but after leveling up, he finally felt ready.
Their attack stats were the same, but Isaac had better speed and more HP—he wasn't afraid anymore.
[Killed Special Sturdy Hyenaman (Level 6): Gained 70 XP Orbs, 1 Tier 2 Talent Shard, 1 Star 2 Quality Evolution Point.]
"Nice, that's three materials. Hopefully the players hold off a bit longer so I can max out Agility and Constitution too."
With the toughest opponent down, the rest were a breeze.
After upgrading both his Quality and Talent, Isaac's attack speed and crit rate (14%) had increased significantly. His grind efficiency went up fast, and three hours later, he'd collected the full 40 Star 2 Quality Evolution Points.
"Agility or Constitution first?" Isaac thought for a second and made a rare choice.
He upgraded Agility first.
It was a calculated decision.
In this area, his HP and stamina were more than enough. Constitution wouldn't really help his grinding speed. Agility, on the other hand, meant faster attacks and movement—more kills per minute.
After lunch, Isaac logged in again, cautiously.
"Huh? Still no players around? Weird…" he muttered. "Maybe no one's found this area yet."
Either way, no players meant more farming.
With his boosted Agility, Isaac was tearing through mobs even faster.
Two hours and forty-five minutes later, he finished grinding out another 40 Star 2 Points.
"Haha! Finally done! Time to rank up!"
[Character Bound: Isaac]
[Race: Special Sturdy Special Agile Special Robust Hyenaman]
[Quality (Star 2 Perfected): +100% base Strength, Agility, Constitution]
[Level: 6 (EXP: 17,833 / 20,000)]
[Attributes – STR: 20 | AGI: 20 | CON: 20]
[Attack: 36–39]
[Defense: 10]
[HP: 650]
[Talent: Inferior Hyena Bloodline (Tier 2): 14% chance for 2x crit damage.]
[Talent Evolution Shard: 0/80 (Tier 3)]
[Quality Evolution Point: 0/80 (Star 3)]
[Monster Reputation: 0]
"Star 2 Perfected, baby! I've got 650 HP now!" Isaac grinned. "Still able to evolve? Damn, what the hell is Star 3 gonna look like?"
Every upgrade had brought huge stat boosts. Isaac couldn't help but wonder—was it possible to evolve from a lowly Feeble Hyenaman… into a boss mob?
Maybe. Who knew what he'd become?
His new name, though, was ridiculously long—nearly two meters if you tried to print it above his head.
"Ugh… can't this be hidden or something? So damn flashy."
Players could hide their ID tags, but apparently he didn't have that feature.
"Whatever. I'm almost Level 7. Let's finish that off."
2,000 XP Orbs was nothing to a guy with his own private grinding zone. And the players he feared still hadn't shown up.
One hour later, Isaac leveled up again.
Each stat went up by 2. His base attack climbed by 2, and his HP jumped by another 50%.
"Attack is now 40–43, and HP is 740! Hell yeah!"
But he was exhausted. Seven straight hours of grinding had taken its toll.
"Better not log off here—what if I spawn in and get spotted by players?" Isaac still hadn't let go of his fear of discovery. "Let's move deeper."
The current area was already mob-dense, but the slope up the mountain had even more.
Not only were the mobs more tightly packed, but they were higher level and included more special monsters.
"Damn, most of these guys are Level 7 or 8."
Still, the more mobs, the safer he felt.
"This spot works. Time to unload my gear and crash."
Isaac found a boulder on a high ridge and sat down to sort through his backpack.
Just as he settled in, a massive figure emerged from the far side of the slope.
It was huge—even larger than a Special Sturdy Hyenaman, easily over two meters tall.
Thick arms, jet-black fur, a drooling snarl, and a pair of glowing red eyes scanned the area like a beast hunting prey.
Even the club it carried was bigger than a normal Hyenaman's.
Around it were five Special-prefix Hyenamen—all Level 7.
"Holy crap… Level 8… Elite mob!" Isaac's heart nearly stopped.
Its name hovered overhead:
Hyenaman Warlord – Greedy Daffino
"Named elite? Are you kidding me?! I don't even have a name!"
This was, hands down, the highest-Quality mob he'd ever seen—and Level 8 too.
And it had minions—five Star 2s, a dozen Star 1s, and a horde of other high-level mobs.
If a player squad stumbled onto this place, they'd get wiped instantly.
Isaac couldn't even think about gear right now.
His mind was racing with a single thought:
Elite mobs always had higher drop rates—guaranteed gear. But even more important… this one might drop Star 3 materials!
"But its stats must be insane… and it's two levels above me… no way I can win." A sliver of logic tried to keep Isaac grounded.
It wasn't his usual cautious style to take risks.
And yet—who wouldn't want to kill an elite mob?
"There's gotta be a way… think!" He frantically opened his inventory.
He had 4 healing potions—not nearly enough. The cooldowns alone made them unreliable.
The rest of his inventory was packed with 17 Hyenaman Clubs, waiting to be listed.
Luck hadn't been great this time—his three semi-rares were all Agility-based, which wasn't ideal.
As for evolution materials:
Star 0: 1,100+
Star 1: 280+
Star 2: 18
Star 3: Only Talent Shards, and just 12 (synthesized from Tier 2s)
"Barely enough to do anything…"
Isaac frowned.
But then, something caught his eye: a line of text under the 570 Tier 0 Talent Shards.
[Sell: Grants 57 Monster Reputation]
"Monster Reputation…" Isaac repeated, eyes narrowing.