The group set out to continue their journey the next morning, as Alexa evicted the camp house. The sun was already beginning to rise, which showed that it wasn't early enough anymore...
They had to get going.
However, before they began, they all decided to allocate the stat points they had gained.
Callum had a total of 10 Stat Points, and Alexa had 7. Jon and Lira had 5 each, but it was considered good progress judging by the fact that it was their first quest.
Callum observed his attributes carefully to decide where he would allocate the stat points. Actually, if he were to give one to each of the attributes, it would be enough, and there would still be three remaining.
After giving it some thought, Callum decided to allocate one stat point each to all attributes except the Luck attribute, which had no value. The dash sign was still there, which showed that there was no room for assigning stat points or improvement.
'Well, damn,' Callum cursed.
He knew that the Luck attribute was an important one, and being disabled definitely meant something significant. Perhaps the God of Fun or whoever created these attributes knew the kind of dickhead he is...
If Callum was ever given a chance to assign stat points to his Luck, he would completely ignore the other attributes!
'If the power of luck is sufficient, why worry?' he thought.
But since that wasn't happening, he assigned the points to the other seven attributes, and added two more stat points to his Focus... One to his Perception.
After the talks of Luck, the Focus and Perception attributes couldn't be left out. In fact, all mental-type attributes were crucial for a Lister. He knew that.
And since the Luck he'd have preferred wasn't available for increase, why not boost his awareness and concentration?
---------
-Attributes: [Strength: 5.5], [Agility: 5.0], [Endurance: 4.5], [Perception: 5.0], [Focus: 6.5], [Intelligence: 5.5], [Willpower: 5.0], [Luck: –]
----------
Callum nodded in satisfaction after observing the attributes one more time...
When they were all done, they continued their journey.
"I assigned all my stat points into Agility. I want to be a lot faster when I use Blitz Step," Alexa told Callum.
"Cool, seems you want to be light itself... But you would need a lot of stat points to achieve that," Callum smiled.
"Not just become light itself... I want to become one of the strongest Listers, break unbelievable records and set new ones," Alexa said.
"That's to be expected from Magnus Vance's heir," Jon cut in with a cheeky smile.
Alexa gave him a glance and nodded.
"You know, the best record is to reach Level 100 on our first entry into the First Ground. No one has ever achieved that, but I think we can. It's a very difficult task, and even the best Listers have only managed to reach Level 100 after two entries," Alexa spoke.
"Come on, Alexa. We just destroyed an entire Goblin Tribe and we are still at Level 2. How can we reach Level 100 in four days when the EXP requirement increases after every level up?" Jon asked.
"Well, I'm at Level 3..." Alexa rolled her eyes.
"I and Lira ain't," Jon replied.
"Well, let's just focus and see how it goes. This isn't the right time to predict our success. We need to face whatever is ahead and grab any opportunity we see by the neck. We should..." Callum said.
"Aura of the dead."
Callum wasn't done talking until Lira voiced in a soft yet unclear tone.
"What?" Callum furrowed his brows.
"I smell death from the near distance..." Lira shut her eyes and spoke.
"I... We don't understand, Lira. What do you mean?" Alexa was wearing a curious look as she asked.
Lira remained quiet for a moment... It seemed like she was halfway out of her body, like she didn't have a clear way of explaining what she saw.
Callum, Alexa, and Jon already understood that that was her talent, and they wouldn't use her words as a joke.
They readied themselves as they marched forward, climbing a cold rocky hill that had a lot of bones lurking around. It was a terrifying view, but things like this were not surprising in the First Ground.
Especially Alexa, who had had good mental and physical training—she was calm and collected... Though Callum and the rest didn't seem to panic either.
They got to a point where the interface rang out...
---------
[Territory Arrival]
[Territory Name: Dreadfang Cavern]
[Inhabitants: Ghouls]
[Stats: 80 Ghoul Hunters, 125 Ghoul Warriors, 15 Ghoul Elders, 5 Ghoul Knights, and the Ghoul Lord]
[Note: You can sneak into the cavern to kill the Ghoul Lord to trigger an easy victory. Once the Ghoul Lord dies, its subjects won't be able to fight back but will escape to a new Territory.]
-----------
"No, thanks. We're killing them all," Callum shook his head at the note.
Of course, they needed to kill as many monsters as possible to level up, so there was no way he would just sneak in to kill the Territory Boss and let the others escape.
If they chose to carry out their operations like this, then there'd be no hope of even reaching Level 50 before the gate of the First Ground closed.
"Callum, did you see that shitty note?" Jon asked.
"Yes... We're not listening to it. We're killing them all," Callum spoke with a serious look on his face.
"With pleasure," Alexa commented.
The group progressed and soon noticed a few Ghouls outside the cavern.
"Ghoul Hunters," Alexa commented.
Five Ghoul Hunters could clearly be seen—hunched, bony creatures with jagged teeth and hollow eyes. Their gray skin clung to sharp frames, each armed with chipped blades or crude claws. Though weak alone, their movements were sharp, twitchy, and always in packs.
The group hid behind a large rock, making sure not to be noticed to avoid attracting chaos.
Callum heaved a sigh and turned to Alexa. "What's the plan?"
"I'm sure there are more of them. Our Ground Education teacher used to say that Ghoul Hunters always walk around in packs. There aren't only five there... Maybe we haven't noticed the rest. They must be more than that, at least thrice or even more," Alexa muttered.
"So what do we do? Dash it, give them the chaos they deserve and destroy their death-driven home?" Jon asked.
"More like that. But if we attack straight, they will alarm the others inside the cavern. Look at the numbers. There are more than 200 in total. It's going to be a tough one," Alexa explained.
"But they are pretty slow... We can outsmart them," Jon said.
"They are not zombies, Jon. Ghouls are as fast as humans," Callum glared at Jon.
"Ohh," Jon shrugged.
The group tried to figure out a way as they hid there, only to not notice that they had taken too much time talking...
Before they could realize it, a seemingly female Ghoul noticed them as it walked aggressively not too far from the rock.
"It's going to shout!" Alexa bellowed.
However, before she could make a move, the Ghoul had already screamed its throat out.
CRAAAAAAA!!!
And just then, the Ghoul Hunters were alerted.
What's worse?
Not just the Ghoul Hunters outside were alerted, but seemingly the entire Ghoul Hunters and Ghoul Warriors inside the cavern.
Before their eyes, a large crowd of Ghouls charged their way with insane aggression.
.
.
.
.
[A/N: Let's support the book with power stones. If the book gets up to 50 power stones, two extra chapters would be dropped!]