No way in hell would he fight those,... those horrible monsters in close quarters again!

After what happened earlier, he had needed to log off and process what he had just experienced, finally coming to the prior conclusion.

He couldn't do it, he wasn't made for fighting like that. It was just something about having to desperately wrestle a being down that was trying to harm him, that deeply upset an undefinable part within him. So he needed another way to earn money or at least to hunt those horrible things.

Of course, the first idea he came up with was to find a job in town, but he would need to improve his Reputation and Level at least a little bit before he would be able to do that. His second thought was more in line with the typical RPG-setting: get himself a bow and some arrows to start hunting long-range. Only problem, both these things needed money, money he didn't have and would rather save. So the final plan he came up with was more betting on the realism of the game: Instead of fighting the monsters head-on, he would ambush them or lay traps.

Unfortunately, there was nowhere for him to hide in the beginner plains, so that idea was also useless, unless...

Instead of in the plain, he tried hunting in the forest!

... He also felt that this was a very stupid idea, but it was at least more feasible than the others. So after logging in again and waking up in the Beginner Plains where he had last logged out like many other new players,  he directly ignored the wildly hunting players all around him. Quickly jumping up from the ground and walking away, cautiously observing and avoiding any and all Rabid Hares he saw, even when they were already facing off with some other players.

Because of this, it took him quite some time to reach the forest again. When he did, he nervously stepped a bit deeper inside and began to look around, trying to find a good hiding spot that would also allow him to quickly jump out and kill whatever monster fell for his trap. Finally, he decided to climb on top of a tree with a relatively hidden, thicker branch not too far from the ground but also not too low to get noticed immediately.

It took him a while to get in position, during which thankfully no hare or chicken noticed him, too occupied with the other players recklessly taunting them, so the moment he felt like he stood firmly on the branch and wouldn't accidentally slip down, Theo took the rabbit meat he earned just earlier out of his inventory and dropped it to the ground beneath him.

And just like that, he waited with bated breath.

Several minutes passed, during which Theo expectantly leaned against the tree, dagger in hand, waiting for some monster to take the bait. Finally, there was some subtle movement below him.

A Rapid Hare probably slightly bigger than the one Theo had faced off against an irl hour ago, hopped to the spot beneath the branch where the piece of meat lay. Theo barely suppressed an audible, nervous gulp, his palm around the dagger hilt becoming slightly sweaty as he carefully observed the hare.

The beast seemed to realize that something was wrong, halting its movements and looking around, when it didn't find anything amiss, the monster began to slowly, cautiously lower its head, before finally biting down on the meat in front of it.

It was at that moment, the beast heard a small crunching sound above it and looked up, but it was already too late for the hare to react as its body was mercilessly pinned to the ground by Theo's entire weight. Before it could even try to retaliate, Theo randomly stabbed it several times with his dagger until it disappeared.

Panting, heart racing, Theo lifted his upper body, revealing two small piles of rabbit meat, one of which had a set of teeth marks on it, all while a familiar ethereal voice calmly announced in his mind.

'Defeated Rabid Hare Lv.5, rewarded 71 Exp. Character Level 3 reached!'

After this announcement, just like earlier, although he hadn't really noticed then, Theo's physical condition recovered somewhat and he quickly stood up from the ground, meat in hand.

He did it! His plan worked!

Finally, a well-deserved rush of excitement washed over Theo and he couldn't help pumping his fist several times, laughing a bit, exclaiming quietly in celebration, but he quickly forced himself to calm down. Putting the pristine meat away, Theo left the other one where it was while once more climbing onto the tree as fast as he could.

Like this, he wouldn't have to face the monsters directly and could still deal with some that were at a level higher than him! Of course, that wouldn't really be an option for most players aiming for melee combat classes, but that never mattered to him anyway, he just wanted to quietly improve his tailoring skills, maybe experience some magic but even that wasn't really a priority.

So, Theo just repeated his strategy 3 more times, successfully reaching Level 4.

Sure, it did take him a long time,  almost two days in-game, which was pretty much a whole day in real life, to reach this outcome. During this period, despite carefully rationing his rye bread, he was still forced to drop by the town during the first night to trade most of his rabbit meat packages for another hard loaf of rye bread. 

It made his heart bleed, but he knew that it was necessary if he wanted to quickly reach Level 5.

Besides, he could then bid those savage monsters farewell forever and instead continue his plan of befriending the NPCs of the town while earning money for his quest.

Delighted by the thought of not having to continue arduously hunting like this, he set up his trap one last time for the day. Night had fallen for the second time since he had logged in again and the plain was now much emptier than during the day, especially the outer edges near the forest were almost completely deserted. But this was to be expected as monsters received a general buff during the night, turning them even more ferocious and unpleasant. The worst part, there wasn't even an increase in Exp received! Pair this with poor vision due to darkness and only players desperate for Exp or money remained to hunt the monsters at night.

And it seemed like Theo was one of them now. Although he comforted himself with the reasoning that at least with his strategy he wouldn't need to actually fight the buffed monsters, he could just kill them before they posed a real threat to him!

A proud smile on his face, Theo set his gaze to the ground again, observing the ground beneath him the same way he had done for several hours now, when he suddenly noticed something disturbingly white in the corner of his vision. Confused, he turned his head.

Eight beady black eyes stared back at him.

Theo screamed in fright and jumped up from his squatting position, almost falling to the ground. He barely was able to hold on to the tree next to him, steadying himself.

That was until the cat-sized spider lowered itself in a fast, smooth motion onto the branch before jumping towards him with its eight, long legs and bared fangs.

Absolutely horrified, Theo jumped off the tree so fast his mind couldn't even really follow what was happening. Landing heavily on the ground, Theo scrambled to get up and start running towards the town. But before he could even lift his foot for the crucial first step to safety, a weight that shouldn't be as light as it was landed on his leg. In the same instant, he felt two sharp knives bury themselves in his calf.

Instinctually, Theo whipped his head around and looked down.

Immediately, he regretted it. Beady eyes seemingly staring directly at him, eight mostly bare legs wrapped around his calf while the two long fangs were nowhere to be seen, stuck inside his leg.

Disgust seized Theo's heart and a scream from the very depths of his soul escaped his wide-open mouth. His entire body shook, still, he didn't forget to swing his dagger toward his calf.

The spider then realized that this wasn't a good spot to be in so it withdrew its fangs and instead began dexterously crawling up Theo's leg, hissing menacingly while evading all his chaotic slashes.

Because of this Theo felt even more disgusted, screaming even louder and swinging his blade even more desperately.

Just before the spider reached his chest and could start climbing up to his face, Theo in a mix of instinct and clarity, halted his chaotic slashing for a moment and instead hacked down at the spider's head, accompanied by the distinct crunch of an insect getting crushed.

The spider's grip instantly loosened and it fell to the ground, curling its long, sparsely-haired legs in death. When the carcass finally vanished the only thing the spider left behind, besides the horrifying image that was forever and ever seared into Theo's brain, was a small ball of spider-silk strands.

'Defeated Huntwood Spiderling Lv. 4, rewarded 34 Exp.'