Chương 13: Chapter 12: The Secret Hunting Ground Full of Monsters

After a short amount of time, we arrived at a secluded, nearby island. This island was surrounded by fog, had waves moving away from the shore, and featured a very rocky coast. All these conditions have made it very difficult to reach, which is why it remains a secret used only by Equilibrium. Not to mention the extra layer of security I added by casting illusion magic to make the place look even more unassuming. After docking at a secret route I had made before, we disembarked from our boat and walked inland.

Monsters don't appear on the coast of this island; they live quite far away from it. So, we had to walk for quite a while before finally entering the inner parts of the island, where we started seeing mindless monsters who only lived based on instinct. Though they were unintelligent, their levels were still quite high, ranging from 50 to 100. As this was still not the deepest part of the island where the truly high-level ones live, it was great for letting Himari fight to level up.

We then spent several hours killing monsters and gaining EXP. Though my level wasn't going up, the progress bar did move slightly. As for Himari, after several hours of killing intermediate monsters, she leveled up several times, reaching level 160. As she was making progress, we continued, but the outer area monsters were getting thin, so I stopped her from killing more so that they could regenerate their numbers. We then went further inland to fight against higher-level monsters.

We then reached the middle area, where the monsters ranged from 100 to 150, which was much stronger than before. This led to more obvious results after continued killing. As we repeated the process from the outer area, Himari leveled up again to level 175. Her level was climbing fast, but mine was still stuck at level 3875. As the area was also getting thinner and thinner, we moved even deeper to the inner area with monsters above level 150.

As this area had monsters above Himari's level, I now had to watch over her so she wouldn't get into any danger. Things were going smoothly, and Himari's level was climbing very fast. As this was the inner area, there were plenty of monsters with high levels, so it provided a much larger boost to Himari. Sometimes monsters with higher levels than Himari appeared, but I tried not to intervene unless necessary, as combat experience against stronger opponents tends to bring a lot of benefits.

Himari managed to kill monsters slightly above her level, with a 20-level difference. As for those stronger, she struggled and would even be put into dangerous situations, in which case I intervened and helped her kill the monster. After killing so many monsters above her level, it shot her level up by an enormous amount; she had reached level 205, which made her as strong as a Demon General on the demonic continent.

Seeing that the inner area was starting to no longer benefit Himari as much and the monsters were reaching a low number, we finally went to the core area of the island where the most powerful monsters lived. Monsters there could even reach level 250 sometimes if left there for a long time without being killed. Though these monsters are rare, they have been seen before. I hoped they had reached that level, as it had been decades since I was last on this island, waiting for the monster population to recover.

Reaching the core area, we weren't disappointed, as many of the monsters had reached an average level of 230. These monsters are incredibly strong, even stronger than Demon Generals. If these monsters decided to come out of the island and attack the human or demonic continent, even they would suffer some trouble. Though I have kept them contained on this island until now, so that wasn't really a problem.

As these monsters were such a high level, every kill required me to help Himari, as these monsters are far too high in level for her to do by herself. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Himari progressed rapidly as we killed every monster we encountered. After she reached level 220, I no longer helped as she started fighting the monsters herself and managed to kill them. She progressed so fast that it was satisfying to watch.

I, too, killed a few monsters myself, as my EXP progress bar was reaching close to the next level. I was already close, but I hadn't had time recently to kill a few monsters to level up. Since I was already here, I might as well level up again. After a few more hours, we had to stop, as the monster population had once again become too low, and killing more might cause their extinction on this island. As we were prepared to head back, something unexpected happened. A monster that had reached level 305 appeared.

This monster was equal to a Demon King, so I was surprised I never noticed it before. It probably managed to hide from me until now, trying to grow strong. This monster coming out this time probably means it felt confident in fighting against us, though its level still wasn't enough to cause me trouble. The monster looked like a gorilla, but it was red-colored and very big; it was at least three times my height. This gorilla-like monster then charged at us, seemingly trying to get us out of its territory.

I then decided to make Himari move back, as she was far too low-level to fight against this monster—not to mention I was very close to leveling up and needed this. As the monster got closer, I took out my sword and then rushed towards the monster too. The gorilla monster, seeing that I was confidently charging forward, was surprised as it started to hesitate. As I got closer, it seemed to make up its mind—probably thinking it was too late to leave—and continued its charge.

Finally, when I got close enough, I swung my sword in a simple motion. Since my level was far higher than it was, it shouldn't take too much effort. The monster, having lived this long, had some survival instinct and felt fear, making it retreat out of nowhere, dodging my sword that I had slashed casually. I felt embarrassed, as the sword that should have killed in one hit had missed the target completely, causing no damage. This time, I decided to get serious and swing with actual speed and force.

This time, even though the gorilla monster finally realized it was too weak and tried to escape, my attack landed, instantly killing it. Finally, I saw it on my system screen: I had leveled up to 3876. Though it was only one level, it took so long, and I felt satisfied at the feeling of leveling up again. As I had made progress, it didn't compare to how much Himari had gained, as she was now level 252 after killing so many Demon General-level monsters.

Though they were the level of Demon Generals, due to their low intelligence, they were significantly weaker. Since we had both made significant progress, I told her it was time to go back as there was nothing left for her to do there. We then boarded the boat and went back to Equilibrium headquarters. Once we were back, I decided to tell Himari, "Now that you have reached this current level, you have met the requirements to be assessed to become a Rook. Would you like to take the assessment?"

Hearing my offer, she was surprised, as she hadn't been in the organization for that long. Though she hasn't been keeping track of exact numbers, it should be around two years. This kind of fast promotion was unheard of. I, too, thought that this promotion was a little too fast, but considering all the attention I have been putting on her, it wasn't so strange after thinking about it. This kind of treatment isn't even given to most members of the organization who have been with us for a long time.

Since she has progressed this far already, even if it was with my help, she is still qualified to take a Rook assessment. As she has already received a 1. 5x EXP boost, I decided if she managed to pass, I would increase the amount of boost given to 2x. This kind of treatment is given to the Queen, which is Lucy right now, but considering her contributions to me, it wasn't that far-fetched.

I might also be more lenient lately, as I am really lacking in manpower and have somewhat intentionally started focusing resources on a select few. Originally, my policy was to make everyone strong at once, so I split the resources very thinly among several people. This created a lot of intermediate-level people, but now I realize that having stronger people is better than several intermediate-level people.

So, I have now decided to spend a bit more of my currency on buying EXP boosts and hand out better versions to people who deserve it. As I waited for Himari's answer, she thought about it, as she herself wasn't sure if she was ready yet. I then told her she could take it again if she failed, so it doesn't matter if she failed this time. There was nothing to lose. After some more thought, she finally decided, answering, "I'll give it a try, so please let me give it a go."