'Hmm…I'd like to clear this quest, but how do I find brother Bob's rival?' Daru pondered as he opened the status window to distribute the attribute points he just earned from leveling up to four.
Defeating Bolo Bob's fakes was starting to bore him, as he had already memorized all their attack patterns.
Daru, however, was developing a new preference.
He liked the feeling of leveling up.
He had always been in control of his body as a result of his love for swordsmanship, and so he was extremely sensitive to the changes every time he leveled up and increased his attributes.
The sudden boost in strength, speed, deftness, and reflexes, minimal as they were, was like an illegal substance that slowly rewrote his brain wiring.
Suddenly finding out he had surpassed his limits and needed to adjust again to the sensation gave him a never-ending supply of improvement drive and actual, tangible gains.
This was why he was able to put up with fighting Bolo Bobcats again and again, despite having already figured out their attack patterns.
Daru tried wandering deeper into the [Critter Forest], but the Bolo Bobcats were the highest level he had encountered so far.
He also had no idea how to find his fallen brother Bob's rival.
So, he just decided to grind his levels like his instructor advised while randomly exploring the forest.
He managed to gain three levels in just an hour and a half of killing Swordspawns.
Daru still had a little over two hours to do whatever he wished before the Myriad Sword Realm kicked him out for the day.
With no real objective in mind except to level up for the time being and seek revenge for his fallen brother, Daru continued to wander, taking on every Swordspawn he encountered.
In some of the battles, he would utilize his perception and footwork to predict and evade his opponents' blades before counterattacking, while in others, he would take the initiative and strike before his enemies even realized they'd already been cut.
He would then review the battle in his mind, noting what he could've done better.
This went on for the next two hours.
Daru leveled up another time; he was now level 5, and if not for the Swordspawns in the [Critter Forest] maxing out at level 6, he would've certainly challenged stronger foes by now.
He had been pondering whether to look for another area, but ultimately decided against it, as the time was about to be up, anyway.
He also found it difficult to leave without completing Bolo Bob's quest, as not only had he vowed to avenge the Swordspawn who gave him his first exciting and respectable fight, but the rewards were rather juicy, too.
He would seek that rival no matter what, even if he had to keep hunting in this area for a while.
'Brother Bob…'
Daru wasn't wandering without direction, and he had already formed a rough mental map in his mind.
He knew which areas he hadn't explored yet.
Somewhat...
Since he still had a bit of time, Daru decided to explore more of the [Critter Forest], heading further northwest.
While walking, he couldn't help but wonder how the others were doing.
He never encountered his classmates inside, and although he met a few other individuals in the forest, he didn't know them, and they were busy fighting level four Fencer Foxes.
Daru just found the area a bit lonely, that's all.
Hopefully, this part of the [Critter Forest] will be a bit livelier tomorrow, as the grayness of having no peers that can match him was starting to gnaw at him once more.
People would be scoffing and calling him delusional if they learned of his thoughts.
After all, he was but a mere F-ranker with a very limited future.
Even if they knew how ahead he was currently, they would still argue that he would be overtaken soon enough and that he would have a lot of peers then.
He encountered a Fencer Fox and another Bolo Bobcat on his journey to the northwest of the [Critter Forest], but since Daru had already memorized all of their movements, both were killed in a total of less than twenty seconds.
His connection to the Myriad Sword Realm was about to be cut any time now, and he planned to spend the rest of his remaining time scouting the surroundings, satisfied with the thought of killing another Swordspawn or two, when suddenly, he stumbled upon an old well.
"Hmm?"
His interest was piqued, and he walked closer.
However, before he could even take a step within fifty meters of the well, he caught something moving in his peripheral vision.
Daru immediately realized he was being attacked, swiftly ducking to dodge the ambusher's rapier strike before quickly turning to face the bastard that just passed him and assuming his combat stance.
His eyes momentarily widened.
In front of him was a slightly bigger version of his fallen brother, Bolo Bob, but the way the two dressed was like night and day.
The sneaky Swordspawn had a rather neat appearance, wearing a feathered hat and a crudely-made musketeer armor set.
There was no need for Daru to speculate.
He was certain that [Sir Lancelynx Lv.7] was the rival Bolo Bob never managed to defeat.