Chapter 226: A Useful First System configuration! The Secret Strength of Caelus Kross

[You’ve successfully obtained the system configuration: Drop Rate]

[Drop Rate: 21%]

Caelus was surprised seeing this.

Drop rate?

So that was the system configuration?

It was interesting, to say the least, because he didn’t expect this.

There was such a thing?

But it was pretty straightforward, was it not?

The drop rate determined his luck, and sometimes, the beasts dropped system configurations like this.

"Caelus!" Chad rushed forward in slight shock and panic. "Are you alright?"

"Yep." Caelus nodded.

As he said that, Caelus quietly crouched down and pressed extract on the beast.

[Ding! You’ve extracted the essence of the Burly Rabbit with an Uncommon-Grade Monster Core]

[You’ve extracted +0.4 Combat Score.]

The essence gathered in him, rushing into his body and then into his cells, coalescing into it and strengthening him.

[Combat Score: 6.4]

The difference was not huge, but he walked towards the other rabbits.

There were at least twelve of them. He swiftly began extracting essence from them.

That was right. His extraction was only limited to skills and talents; extracting essence was unlimited as always.

[Ding! You’ve extracted the essence of the Burly Rabbit with an Uncommon-Grade Monster Core]

[You’ve extracted +0.4 Combat Score.]

[Ding! You’ve extracted the essence of the Burly Rabbit with an Uncommon-Grade Monster Core]

[You’ve extracted +0.4 Combat Score.]

[Ding! You’ve extracted the essence of the Burly Rabbit with an Uncommon-Grade Monster Core] 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

[You’ve extracted +0.4 Combat Score.]

Out of the twelve, he got three hits.

[Combat Score: 7.6]

The power continued pumping into Caelus, immediately reaching the 7 combat score with .6 to spare.

He grinned.

The feeling of getting stronger was something he could never get tired of; every small increment to his combat score made it so he felt stronger, more rejuvenated, and more everything.

His mind also felt elevated.

Jennifer Miller and Ryan Murphy looked at Caelus in a new light.

This guy... he was hiding his strength?

Ryan felt embarrassed. He had looked down on Caelus for gambling away at the market while others went to grind.

But it turned out he could dispatch a level 3 with not much effort!

They all had a combat score of 10, Chad having 11 since they were already level 5.

But this was not enough to clear away their dissatisfaction; the fact that they had to babysit Caelus still stayed the same.

"If you are fine, then keep walking," Ryan spoke.

"We don’t have all the time in the world," Jennifer added.

Caelus didn’t say anything; instead, he just smiled.

Right now, he had almost 140 EXP after these people killed all the rabbits. He just needed a few more for level 2.

And soon, they encountered a new Burly Rabbit in the misty woods.

They got to work.

[Ding! You’ve successfully eliminated a Common Burly Rabbit at level 2]

[You’ve obtained +25 EXP]

[You’ve obtained 2% Origin Power]

Speaking of which, with the others killing the monsters, his total Origin Power also reached 24%.

[Origin Power: 24%]

He believed he could make it reach 100% before the day ended.

It was easy.

Speaking of which, EXP didn’t just drop down with every kill; rather, it went down by 5 EXP. Right now, he got 25; it would soon turn into 20.

He went ahead and extracted the Burly Rabbit that they had just killed.

[Ding! You’ve extracted the essence of the Burly Rabbit with a Common-Grade Monster Core]

[You’ve extracted +0.2 Combat Score.]

"Oh?" Caelus was surprised by this.

The monster was common grade, and the combat score it gave was surprisingly enough 0.2. An uncommon-grade gave 0.4, which was double.

"So it’s fixed as well?" Caelus was overjoyed.

Indeed, this was the real world. Everything here was optimized.

Then, if they encountered a rare monster, he should theoretically either get a 0.6 combat score or 0.8.

But monsters of that grade were as their rarity suggests: Rare.

So finding it was hard.

"Are there any rare monsters in the misty woods, Chad?" Caelus asked.

"I think so," he said. "They said that there is a Burly Rabbit with four arms that can shoot four energy nets somewhere in the misty woods."

"But a rare rarity generally has more combat score than a normal uncommon or common monster."

"They have a +2 combat score above average."

"The list goes on; after rare, there is apex, which boasts a +4 combat score higher than normal."

"But, it’s better if we don’t do it because the rare beast in the misty woods is in a trial ground where it will match your level, and if your combat score is not up to par, then things can get tricky."

"Oh." Caelus nodded.

They continued onward, and eventually, Caelus reached level 2.

[Level up!]

[Level: 1 -> 2]

[Combat Score: 7.6 -> 10.6]

His Ender class gave him 3 combat score per rank instead of the normal amount.

Meaning, as he was right now, he was as strong as Ryan and Jennifer already.

Caelus smiled. He didn’t immediately reveal this fact to them. They didn’t need to know.

Just then, the misty woods they were in shook slightly, and a massive horde of Burly Rabbits came out, and with it, a Burly Rabbit with a giant arm.

[Rare Burly Rabbit (Level 5)]

"No way! Is this a level 5 Rare?" Jennifer immediately paled as she took a step back.

Ryan was also equally pale.

A level 5 meant this thing had a combat score of 12, and the surrounding rabbits... they were too scary!

Jennifer and Ryan turned to Chad.

"Chad, I cannot fight this thing anymore," Ryan shouted. "I’m out of mana, nor does our party have mana potions to recover. I have to go now."

As he said that, he took out a talisman.

It was an escape talisman; these cost a fortune to get, and finding one out in the wild was even rarer.

Jennifer also did the same. "Good luck, Chad. I’m out of mana as well."

"I-I don’t want to die."

Death. It was fearsome, and in this world, even from the start, death was real.

If Chad and Caelus died here, they would die for real.

The cabins in this world did not provide a death cooldown to anyone.

"YOU BASTARDS! YOU HAVE ENOUGH MANA TO ACTIVATE THE ESCAPE TALISMAN!" Chad exclaimed.

The escape talisman cost 50% of one’s total mana gauge to activate; the fact that they could do it meant they had the means to help them!

But they valued their own lives over the lives of someone else.