Haruto waited silently for five minutes. Finally, being 100 and 10% sure whatever made that roar was not coming, he pulled out his katana and laid it on the ground. Sizing up a tree, he noticed it was a great oak already at level 15. Tsk. A lowly tree outranks the creatures in my swamp. Its level means that just yesterday, it was evenly matched with me, some protagonist I am. Hell, by this logic, my generals would have a worthy foe in front of them. Wait. An opponent that can't fight back, hahaha. A worthy foe indeed one that could not fight back, but still gives the sweet, sweet xp. Great, I was just going to cut some wood down to build a makeshift house, but grinding is always more fun with a party. 

Calculating the needed exp for the party, Haruto's eyes gleaned with the focus of a veteran grinding expert. Straightening his back, Haruto's eyes roved over the useless and inexperienced party members. "Listen here, maggots. I need... no, the swamp needs you three in tip-top shape. I, Haruto the great, shall be your grind instructor. Our time in this forest will consist of grinding, grinding, and, most importantly, grinding. I will be strict but fair. We begin immediately. You two go along the edge of this forest within a 50-foot distance and destroy 15 trees by tonight."

The two generals quickly saluted and began attacking the trees. Currently of the two, the toad enjoyed an advantage as its sword makes it easier for chopping. On the other hand, the slime was forced to wrap itself around the tree and slowly disintegrate it. 

 Haruto nodded his head in satisfaction then looked at the proverbial elephant in the room whose power was unbalanced compared to the other two. There can only be one guild leader, but his level is the same as mine, and the crocs are the strongest faction in the swamp. I better nip his aspirations in the bud.  "And you, you useless scum who changed flags so quickly. Go destroy 40 trees, or you won't be getting any stomach rubs for a week." Yea, that'll show him.

Bluey rolled back onto its stomach, then as if not hearing Haruto's threat, swatted down two trees with one tail sweep.

Haruto gawked. I thought making 40 be his number would be a challenge, but he fell 2 trees with one tail sweep. He even has the nerve to look gloatingly at those two. Hmph, even if you chop down 1000 trees, that one look has stolen any rubs for the near future. 

A chill went down Bluey's neck. He knew not where it came from, but his animal instincts told him a disaster had struck.

 Haruto decided to ignore the three stooges. This is the perfect time to build up my punch endurances and strengthen my one-inch punch. Haruto walked up to an oak tree and moved his fist an inch away. Tightening his core, his fist shot forward, blowing the tree down and knocking four trees down behind it. Holy crap to think I had such a weapon on me, ha only two trees with one attack how weak. "HAHAHA," Haruto smiled and looked lovingly at his right fist that had steam flowing off it. Even Bluey had a look of surprise on his face. The two generals smugly looked down upon him.

 Seeing their reaction, Haruto's smile froze. Tsk, even with no face, the stupid slime has the nerve to be smug, like you two knocked these trees down or something. You should be cheering for me, not stealing my glory. The shockwave from Haruto's hit rocked the immediate area, and what felt like an earthquake occurred not far from the group. 

Haruto looked up and noticed in the distance a herd of elk running away from him. Leading up the rear of the herd was an elk twice the size of the others. It was too far away for Haruto to tell its actual level. The alpha elk peered into Haruto's eyes. Searching to see if Haruto was an apex predator, but it had no clue what kind of creature Haruto was. Like a good leader, it took the safe route and led its herd away instead of provoking an unknown enemy. 

It might not have been able to tell, but Haruto's danger-o-meter quickly warned him that he would be skewered by its horns at his current level. Luckily the trees are my only foe. Haruto decided to ignore them for now and went back to throwing his one-inch punch in fast succession. Man, my level up has really increased my endurance. I can throw out ten of these bad boys before becoming exhausted. After felling 100 trees, Haruto paused, as his ears picked up a scurrying sound. In the corner of his eye, a white dot zoomed away from a falling tree. Haruto shot out a one-inch punch, and the shockwave ko'd the little guy. He approached it and found a snow-white level 20 rabbit. 

Wow, what a quick fellow I thought for sure it was something more dangerous. Haruto picked up its body, which was the size of a Shih Tzu and carried it back. Pointing at his kill, Haruto explained, "This bad boi is level 20, so you know what that means, yep exp. I want you all to kill as many of these exp bags as you can." Haruto put down the body, picked up his katana, and began carving the fallen trees. I may not have watched survival videos on the tube, but how hard could it be to build a wooden hut. I've done my fair share of in-game crafting. All it is, is stacking wood blocks on top of each other. After cutting the trees into large rectangles, Haruto dragged them and placed them on top of each other. After stacking 10 on each side, leaving only one side void of wood, the structure appeared stable enough. Haruto placed the fourth section of wood until all sides were connected. Then raising his katana, he chopped a doorway into the wood. 

Nice, this is way better than sleeping out in the open in the swamp. Haruto walked into his new house and laid on the floor. Looking up into the sky, he watched as the sun began to set. Those idiots should be about to finish. Of course, none could finish before me, the great grinding sensei himself. At first, the sight was beautiful and breathtaking. The trees appeared to be reaching for the heavens, and the hazy sky shined with an orange luster overhead. But then it dawned on him. How am I supposed to build the roof? I don't have nails to hold the wood in place. 

Haruto continued staring at where the roof should be. A lone tree, in his view out of the open roof, started to shake. The toad general was recklessly slashing at it. 

What to do, what to do. Haruto began stroking his chin

Finally, the tree came crashing down and blocked part of the sky before smashing down. This led to Haruto's epiphany. I'll just leave the trees uncut, so they are long enough to stack on top. Has the world ever seen a genius such as I? If only ancient civilizations had someone like me, perhaps the human race would be a million years ahead in technology. 

Haruto laughed heartily and began stacking the trees cut down by the three stooges. Seeing the beautiful edges along the cuts made by the toad general Haruto had to admit that the toad's swordsmanship was superb. Heck, they were better cuts than his own. After 15 mins of stacking the trees on top and almost running entirely out of strength, Haruto called everyone into the hut. 

"Welcome maggots, this is our humble abode for the time being. Make yourselves at home. Get some food, then get some rest. We begin grinding early tomorrow." Finishing his talk, Haruto watched as Bluey happily dragged in over 15 mangled rabbits. Toad general not wanting to be shown up brought out five, which was a good number for the difference in levels.

On the other hand, slime general brought in two, but since they were covered in slime, Haruto allowed him to keep his spoils.

 Walking in front of their new home, Haruto punched a piece of wood at a fast speed causing it to catch on fire from the friction. Haruto had not a single clue on how to skin these creatures. The cutscenes in survival video games always skipped through this part. When my dad visited my grandfather in the mountains, I should have gone, he always loved hunting, I'm sure I would have learned a thing or two. Damn you, past self for not foreseeing this event. Haruto scratched his head, thinking hard on what to do. 

Amid his thoughts, the toad general walked up and quickly beheaded all the rabbits. Drained them of their blood, then cut their fur off with guided precision. A humble ribbit came out of the toad's mouth. 

What a showoff. But this also gets me wise to another oddity. Why is life in this world so realistic, but at the same time, these creatures walk around with big numbers floating around their heads.

Oh well. Haruto inserted a stick into all the rabbits and began cooking them near the fire. I'm sure the main story will answer all these questions, wherever that is. I don't even know if I am following the main story or not. Where's the quest log when you need it…  Haruto quickly became parched near the roaring fire and meaninglessly said, "Man, what I wouldn't do for something nice and cold to drink. Instead, I'll have to drink room temperature swamp water." 

The ever-humble toad ribbited, disappeared for a few minutes, and then came back with a gourd full of crystal-clear water. Haruto was both jealous and happy to have someone so reliable. If only you weren't a toad, I could take you so much more seriously. 

Not knowing Haruto was being quite slanderous behind its back, the toad filled a leaf cup for him. 

Haruto sipped the water and smacked his lips from how cold and refreshing it was. One must realize that nothing was more refreshing than ice-cold water when parched, no cola could ever match this. Finishing Haruto saw the two generals patiently sitting still, and the menace Bluey not so patiently sitting. "Don't be shy, everyone dig in" after letting the rabbits sit for a few minutes, everyone began stuffing their faces. The taste slapped Haruto's face, "To think rabbit is this good. Idk if it's my life of convenience foods making my taste buds believe everything tastes good, but this is delicious. Still, it's missing a little something, something..." Haruto trailed off but gave a meaningful look at the toad general.

 Haruto thought cold sweat ran down the toad general's neck, but to his surprise, the toad grabbed a rabbit on a stick and collected it. The toad tried handing the coated rabbit to Haruto.

 "Oh sweet, stupid frog, do you wish for me to lose my appetite." Haruto bobbed his head about as the toad incessantly brought it near his face. Haruto almost punched the general until a sweet smell hit his nose. "Oh, that's the smelly smell. The smell that smells smelly." Forgetting his earlier repugnance, Haruto snatched the rabbit and shoved the entire stick in his mouth. The flavor exploded over his taste buds. The sweet soy sauce taste mixed perfectly with the crispy rabbit. Ahh, I'm in heaven. I see now, the toad naturally excretes soy sauce. If his kind lived on earth, there would undoubtedly be a booming industry.

 After the first taste, their roles reversed, and Haruto pounced on the toad general rubbing sticks of rabbit on him. The toad general was more embarrassed than ashamed. After a few struggles, the general allowed Haruto to soak all the rabbits. Being in such a good mood, Haruto tossed a piece to Bluey, who instantly ate the entire thing stick and all. Bluey began wagging its tail wanting more. 

Haruto sneered and began ferociously tearing into the rabbits. Did you really think I would give more of my precioussss? The little brat continuously scratched at Haruto like a dog begging for some human food. But once again, its dog-like actions were off-put by its croc body. After being scratched to the point of bleeding, Haruto launched a stick into the distance and allowed Bluey to run after it. After finishing his meal, Haruto stretched enjoying this experience and led everyone into the house, pointing to the four corners that each person got.