I feel like I’ve been walking for days. I pull out my flip phone and check the time…

It’s midnight now. I've been in this fracture for over 16 hours and in this hole for over half that time. I want to rest, but as soon as I do the snails will come for me, I know it. They can smell when I have my guard down.

I wanted to take a nap as well, but Flash Gordon is an unreliable lookout, for his lack of eyes does him no favors.

My lighter ran out a while ago, the tunnels are too dark to navigate without light, and I’m forced to resort to using my phone’s screen as a flashlight.

I finally reach the end of the tunnel and I see a blank dirt wall, all this way for nothing but a dead end. The last intersection was hundreds of feet back, and I’ll have to fight all the snails that I manage to lose along the wall. The frustration in me builds up.

I slump down against the dirt wall and contemplate giving in.

No. Why would I? If someone beats down on me, I’ll fight back. When they hit me with their fists, I’ll hit back with a rock. I clench my teeth and force my tired body back onto its feet. I use the dead-end for support and the wall caves in where I put my hand.

!

I quickly start using my fingers to dig into the wall, It doesn't take long before a small hole opens up and I see a chamber. The tunnel must have collapsed, and the soft loose dirt created a mound that I first believed was a dead end. Are these snails or ants? First the tunnel and now the chamber.

Relief! I see the sky!

The chamber has a massive hole at its top, and moonlight streams down into the center of this massive cavern. A huge shell rests on a pile of snail eggs. They are small and the size of ping pong balls. There are so many that it creates a mountain of eggs. I inspect the shell.

[Giant Snail Patriarch C Lv 35]

I’m extremely glad that the patriarch is asleep. Do snails even sleep? Who cares, it can sleep forever for all I care. All I have to do is climb out of this hole and I can leave. Can I even climb that far?

I'm estimating the total distance around 1000 feet…

“It would be easier if I had higher stats.” The devil on my shoulder whispers lovingly into my ear.

“It’s an opportunity, the patriarch is asleep, and all those eggs are unintended.” The second devil on my shoulder whispers.

They are just monsters, It's for the greater good, me getting stronger. The patriarch won’t notice if only a little of their eggs disappear.

I approach one of the eggs that must have scattered slightly farther away, I inspect it with [Scientific Insight+]

[Giant Snail Egg F lv1)

I crush it with Flash Gordon and get no experience from this. Relief and disappointment reach me at the same time. There is no point in killing all these eggs, and why was I feeling pity for them anyway. They are just monsters from another world, after all. I accidentally step on another egg on my way out.

Wait, what if the experience was so minuscule because I shared it with Flash Gordon that it rounded it down to nothing. I review my status, and it shows that I gained one experience. I don't feel bad when I have to use pesticides in a garden, so I shouldn’t feel lousy about what I’m about to do.

I spent four entire hours hacking and slashing without regret. I must have killed tens of thousands of eggs.

At some point, the experience stopped coming in. I don't know if it's a hard cap on how many of the same creatures I can kill before they stop giving experience. Or if my level raised too high for it to matter anyway.

Name: Ellis Vincere. Race: Human

Nickname: The Last Winner.

Level: 24 0/10,000)

Class: Tamer (Rank D)

Titles: Proud Owner of a Rock, Butcher A, On the Edge B, Prey on the Weak B, etc.

Health Points 340/340 (100%)

Mana Points 68/150

Armor Points: 25

~

Might: 30 + 10

Agility: 30

Vigor: 24 + 10

Mind: 30

Spirit: 56

Luck: 2

Unused: 47

I remembered the feeling I got when most of my stats were aligned, so I decided to keep my Might and Agility the same for now.

Might: 30 > 51 + 10

Agility: 30 > 51

Vigor: 24 + 10

Mind: 30

Spirit: 56

Luck: 2

Unused: 47 > 5

I’m keeping five extra stat points in case of emergencies. Having additional stats saved my life during the champion fight. Not having a few to spare would be foolhardy of me.

I analyze the new titles and the names sounded evil, so I ignored them until I was down with my leveling.

[Butcher A

You have slaughtered countless living beings in succession. The amount of lives taken when achieving this title determines the rank.

The User deals 25% more damage to all living things, and another 25% more when using a blade.]

[Prey on the Weak B

Creatures that are at a lower level that the User suffers from a fear effect when in combat. You can sense fear in other people.

[Infanticide C]

You are a person who killed countless lives lower than you, for little to no benefit. Hundreds of souls cry out in injustice. Creatures that are at a significantly lower level compared to you give no experience when killed.]

…

I guess titles aren’t always a good thing…

Why is my status trying to make me feel bad, isn't its job supposed to help people get stronger. Goop from the eggs has unfortunately dulled my blade and covered my clothing. I put the Champion’s Helmet on before I started exterminating the eggs. The helmet bonus causes my Might to be higher than my Agility, but since I’m not going to wear the helmet all the time, It’ll be fine.

The odor from the remains of the exterminated eggs must have woken the Patriarch. I watch as the Snail stirs from its slumber and withdraws from its shell. I don't think snails can scream, but if they could, they would be screaming in rage. It looks around for me.

The patriarch’s bad eyesight must have saved my ass. I smell exactly like what's around me, dead snail eggs, so its enhanced smell couldn’t differentiate me from my surroundings.

I have two options, I can either try to sneak away and hope that my movement doesn’t trigger its senses, or I can do a preemptive strike. I don't need to kill it, just cripple it.

Every time I try to sneak from something I get caught red-handed, time to change the narrative. Throwing Flash Gordon would only work if it’s the finishing blow. Trying to get Flash Gordon back if I embed him into its shell would be a nightmare

I manage to crawl myself into a mound of slimy eggs, although I killed tens of thousands of eggs, there are still quite a large amount of eggs left. The Patriarch arrives at the scene of the slaughter, and I appear from behind him out of the mound. He realizes too late what was going on. I activate [Empower] and [Donkey Punch] and slam Flash Gordon against his shell. Earlier, when I hunted the snails, I realized that the shells have less resistance to blunt damage compared to their slimy bodies.

Learning from the Knights of Yore, cracking armor is a job for maces, in this case, Flash Gordon.

[Flash Gordon Gained a Skill!: Armor Cracker C]

[Armor Cracker C

Ignore 30% of Physical Armor]

Too bad it’s not a skill that can level up, getting a better version of this skill will take some dedication. Hey, did you know a snail’s shell is their skeletal system, it’s a huge bone! [Bone Crusher] applies its bonus as well.

-159

Shit, I was betting on a crit, so I would ignore all defense instead of 30% of it. I probably could have one shot it If I crit, fighting against these high ranked high leveled monsters make me a glass cannon. Only good for one shot.

The patriarch shudders, I hope that it will give up and retreat, but my hopes are crushed when a wave of mucus sprays from every surface of the patriarch. The giant snot attack catches me off guard, some of it got inside my helmet, splattering my eyes and getting into my mouth. I try to pry the helmet from my head, but before I can, I hear the patriarch turning around.

I trust my instincts and dash sideways. Mucus is slowing me down heavily. I hear a massive slam where I was standing before. I still can't see anything, and getting the helmet off will take time with all the slime gluing it to my head.

All the snail did was even the playing field. Now it's just two blind men fighting in a pit of eggs. Except he can kill me with a direct blow, where I need many.