The time inside the sphere passed at the same rate it did outside. So Andrew scheduled his hunts accordingly and made good progress in his hunt.
[Current points: 2540 (1st)-Server….(560)-Global]
"By now, other people must have started to realize that hunting each other will not win them big points, so they must have started to hunt the monsters as well. But I doubt they will be able to catch up to me."
Andrew's experience was a big advantage he had. He already knew what the most effective way to kill a monster was.
But there was an even bigger advantage he had—his profession. He had already hit level 12. Meanwhile, most people would hit their profession cap around the third day.
Looking at the system shop confirmed that there was no one else who had unlocked the system. The trading population on Earth was shown as 1.
"Alright, I have rested enough. Time to go back to hunting. I need to find another safe spot to rest tonight. This one has no water source nearby."
The game looked cruel and unjust at first glance, but that was not really the case. If someone were to take some time to study the map, they would find that there were a few 'safe' spots where a player could rest.
Andrew stepped out of the safe zone, only to immediately run into another person. The unknown human was huge and smelled heavily of blood.
"Hey, you—! Are you coming out of the safe zone?"
The grumpy man asked, and Andrew immediately felt alarms going off in his mind. Something about this man was…not right.
"I was in this safe zone, but I no longer need it. You can use it now—"
"Hey, wait. What about the supplies in the safe zone? Did you take them as well?"
The huge man asked, and Andrew shook his head.
"I have not touched the supplies inside. You are free to take them if you want to."
The man went silent, and Andrew started to walk once more, only to turn around and block the huge axe coming his way.
He was pushed back under the weight of the axe, which indicated that the other human had invested quite a lot of skill points into his strength.
Andrew wasted no time in buffing his stats, and he jumped back before the next strike could occur.
[Your stats have been buffed.]
Andrew gripped his staff hard before he gathered his mana at the tip of his staff and fired off. It took the buff man by surprise, but the attack lacked the impact to finish him off.
"Tsk."
The buff man flexed his muscles once more before he came after Andrew. But he was too inexperienced to fight someone with Andrew's skills.
With his superior speed, Andrew changed his direction at the last second, causing the huge man to get confused.
Andrew took his short sword out of his inventory and stabbed the huge man, causing him to drop his axe.
"Y-You….little…"
Pain and anger caused the huge man to drop his guard and rush toward Andrew. But his speed had considerably fallen due to the attack. Once he was close enough, Andrew blasted the man point-blank with his mana.
The point-blank attack cracked the huge man's defenses, and the short sword immediately struck his heart.
[You have killed a human. 1000 points will be rewarded to you.]
[Current points: 3540 (1st)-Server….(440)-Global]
A single human kill had made him jump over 100 ranks…and 100 top ranks at that. No wonder people had been quick to kill each other.
Unfortunately, 19,000 points were far from enough to rank as 1st.
"Are you not going to come out? Or do you want to attack me for merely 1000 points? Are you sure you want to take this risk?"
Andrew asked the two other people who were following him.
They looked too afraid to attack him outright. But a cornered animal was often the most dangerous, so he did not count them out just yet.
"Y-You killed that man…are you going to kill us as well?"
The female following him asked, her gun aimed at him. Her partner also held his small knife ready to defend himself in case they got attacked.
The pair was well-prepared, but not a threat.
"I have no reason to attack or harm you. The only reason that man from earlier died is because he decided to attack me. As long as you do not attack me, you will not be harmed."
Andrew's words caused the pair to relax, and they exchanged a look with each other. He could already tell that they would have a ridiculous request for him.
"I-In that case, would you like to team up with us—"
"No thanks. I need to hunt now, and being in a team will only slow me down. Ah, but you are free to take this safe zone if you want to. I am sure the supplies in there will come in handy."
The pair looked taken aback by Andrew's words, but he did not feel bad leaving them like this. He had no intention of taking on extra baggage that would slow him down.
He took off toward the river while also keeping an eye on the situation.
[Current population of the sphere—15/20]
Three more people seemed to have died, making the first-day casualty count 5. By the end of the week, less than 5 people per sphere would likely survive.
Andrew's main concern right now was to level up and gain more skill points. A small horde of monsters attacked him, and he wiped them all out.
[Your buff has expired.]
The system reminded Andrew as he continued his farming before finally calling it a night. He slept for a few hours but woke up soon enough to continue the fighting and killing monsters.
By the end of the second day, he had finally broken into the top 200.
[Current points: 8740 (1st)-Server….(199)-Global]