Auron stared at the wriggling rat with a twisted grin.
"Alright, little guy. You've got two choices. Help me acquire attribute points, or... well, there's only one choice, really."
The rat looked up at him, its beady eyes twitching in panic as if it somehow understood its fate. Auron's fingers clenched around the small rock in his hand. His heart thumped with twisted excitement. Sure, this wasn't exactly the most dignified way to get stronger, but hey, power was power.
He hurled the rock down, and with a faint squeak, the rat lay still.
[You have slain a Rat. 0.1 Attribute Points awarded.]
"Wait… that's it?" Auron blinked at the notification. "0.1? What is this, a freaking scam?!" He kicked the tiny corpse in frustration. "All that effort for a decimal of a point? What about the last time he got a full attribute point for slaying a rat?
Maybe it was a first-kill bonus thing, or maybe… these rats are just weak trash."
He scratched his head, his frustration quickly fading into something else. A glint of cunning flashed in his eyes. "No… no, this isn't so bad. I just have to kill ten of these little bastards to get a full point. And if the system rewards me for killing them, maybe there's another way to exploit it."
Auron's grin widened, his thoughts tumbling over each other in excitement. "This skill of mine… Iron Skin. It's supposed to improve the more I use it, right? But what if I don't have to do anything?"
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "If I can activate Iron Skin and keep it on while I sleep, wouldn't that be like gaining experience points while doing absolutely nothing?" His grin turned almost feral. "I've discovered a damn bug. The laziest power grind in existence,He could be a legendary overpowered figure just by sleeping."
Auron laughed quietly to himself, earning a few strange glances from students passing by in the distance. Not that he cared. As far as he was concerned, the whole world was just a stepping stone to his power.
"Just you wait, rats. Soon, I'll be a walking fortress."
His internal monologue was rudely interrupted by a familiar feeling—the itch of being watched. He didn't need to turn around to know who it was. Elora Greyson, the golden-bloodline princess with her ridiculously overpowered Steel Wolf. Why was she always around when he was on his rat-slaying escapades?
He shot her a quick, dismissive glance. As usual, she was just standing there, staring at him with a raised eyebrow and a hint of amusement, like she was watching some sort of bizarre street performance.
"Are you always this creepy?" Auron called out, not even bothering to hide his irritation. "If you're here for a show, at least throw me a coin or something."
Elora chuckled lightly. "You really are something else. Lurking around here at night, killing rats… I mean, most people would try hunting something a bit more—oh, I don't know—impressive?"
"Sorry, I like my prey weak and pathetic. Makes me feel better about myself," Auron shot back.
"Hm." Elora folded her arms, an almost curious look crossing her face. "You know, for a supposed failure, you sure seem… determined. Maybe even a little smart."
Auron shrugged. "Wow, high praise. I'm almost touched."
Elora looked like she was about to say something else, but her attention suddenly shifted to a loud, obnoxious voice approaching from behind.
"Hey there, baby. Are your parents bakers? 'Cause you've got some hot buns."
Auron's eyes twitched in pure secondhand embarrassment. Some wannabe macho dude had strolled over, all puffed-up chest and greasy hair, armed with the kind of confidence only true idiocy could produce.
Elora's expression went from curious to disgusted so fast Auron nearly burst out laughing. The dude, however, either didn't notice or was too dense to care.
"I'm serious," the greasy dude continued, flashing what he probably thought was a charming grin. "You're so hot, even my beast wants to make a contract with you."
Auron gagged. "Now that's just sad. And cringe. Mostly cringe."
Elora didn't even dignify the guy with a response. Instead, she turned on her heel and began walking away, clearly having lost all interest in both Auron and the greasy moron.
"Well, that's one way to chase her off," Auron mused with a smirk. "Congrats, buddy. You managed to do what a whole pack of rats couldn't—annoy her into leaving."
"Shut up, loser," the dude spat, finally noticing Auron's existence. "At least I actually tried."
"Tried what? Getting arrested for harassment?" Auron snickered. "I mean, that's gotta be a talent all on its own."
The guy shot him a glare before storming off, muttering something about "filthy trash from the Raventor bloodline" and "women who don't appreciate greatness."
"Yeah, sure. Greatness," Auron snorted, turning his attention back to his hunt. But he couldn't quite shake off the irritation of getting only 0.1 points per kill. At this rate, he'd have to massacre a small rodent city just to make any real progress.
Then again, if his theory about Iron Skin was correct, then his grind just got a whole lot easier. All he needed to do was find a quiet place, activate the skill, and get some beauty sleep.
"Alright," he whispered to himself, eyes gleaming with determination. "Time to exploit the hell out of this system."
He began searching for more rats, his steps quick and purposeful. Just as he spotted another one scuttling by a broken-down crate, he felt it again. That sensation of being watched.
But this time, it wasn't just Elora.
Auron's eyes narrowed, his senses prickling. Someone else was out here, lurking in the darkness. And they were a hell of a lot more skilled at hiding than the golden-bloodline princess.