10 Chapter 10

"I agree, you do owe me. But we'll worry about that later because right now I've wasted too much time on this whole situation and I need to get back to focusing on what is really important."

"We're not important?" Amber clapped back.

Leo just looked at her with a sideways glance before ignoring her completely and returning to his original firing location, preparing for another bout of exp farming.

Annoyed, Amber just scoffed and ignored Leo as well.

Robin, who had remained silent since the whole situation with the roadrunner had ended, looked at her sister with a soft yet concerned gaze.

Eventually she shifted her gaze towards Leo's back and said softly, "Thank you for saving my sister, Leo. I apologize for the inconvenience our presence has called. If you need us to do anything, please do not hesitate to ask."

In response, Leo pulled a knife, a tarp, and a few of the dead animals from his inventory before tossing all of them in Robins' direction.

"Gut, clean, and strip those so that we can have some meat to eat later."

Amber was caught off guard and immediately protested, "We don't know how to do that! Plus it's disgusting! You do it if you want the meat!"

Without taking his eyes off the surroundings, Leo growled back, "You have two choices here, you either do what I tell you to do or you leave.

Simple as that.

Just because I was nice enough to save your lives and offer you help does not mean I will allow you to stay here without contributing.

You are here at my whim and you can just as easily be gone.

Besides, I'm doing you a favor. You need to be accustomed to blood and death to survive in this new world; because from here on it will only get worse."

"Hmph, fine. Since you saved me earlier, I'll listen to you just this once."

Leo could only shake his head.

'Is this girl some kind of tsundere or something? Do people like that really exist in the real world?'

Leo was expecting Robin to have something to say about the situation as well, but when he heard no complaints from her he couldn't stop himself from glancing back over his shoulder.

To his surprise, Robin was already laying out the tarp and preparing the animals in a neat, orderly fashion.

He could tell she was nervous, scared, and clearly had no idea what she was doing, but she was still determined to do what she had to do.

As Leo watched, Robin grabbed the knife and got to work.

Although the steps and technique were wrong, Leo didn't say a word.

It wasn't because he refused to help them, and he would have given them advice had they asked, but since they seemed determined to do it on their own, Leo would not interrupt.

Trial and error was the best method for learning as far as Leo was concerned.

At least, that's how he learned everything he knew.

Years and years of practice.

Back in his first run through the apocalypse, Leo had tried to seek out people to help him survive, thinking that surviving in a group was the smartest choice.

Though some had helped initially, they had all either taken advantage of him or outright robbed him due to his weakness at the time.

After some time, Leo had lost all faith in his fellow survivors, and although he lived in the same place as them, he never once asked for help again.

He forced himself to bathe in a trial by fire to prove to those who had taken advantage of him that they were nothing more than stepping stones to him.

Just when he thought he had achieved the strength to stand above all others, that fucking asshole had stabbed him in the back.

*Bang*

The sound of gunfire jolted Leo from his memories. He looked around quickly trying to find the culprit but that's when he noticed his clenched hands and realized that he had pulled the trigger in a blind rage due to recalling his 'past'.

'Calm down Leo. You'll get them back this time.

The only thing that matters now is killing and growing stronger.

You can build your empire tomorrow.'

Leo wasted no time in clearing his mind and focusing on the task at hand.

He scanned the area and found his first target of the afternoon.

*Bang*

[Congratulations! You have killed...]

Leo ignored the notification and quickly searched for his next target.

*Bang*

[Congratulations! You have killed...]

*Bang*

[Congratulations! You have killed...]

And so began the next genocide of desert animals.

Leo could hear the girls yelping in surprise every time he fired off a shot but he ignored them.

This was a sort of training for them in its own right.

They would have to become accustomed to working in chaotic situations and not getting distracted by the loud, spontaneous noises that occurred at any moment.

And so, the slaughter continued.

Occasionally an animal would be able to get somewhat close to the makeshift snipers next but due to the terrain and Leo's ever increasing stats, he was able to make adjustments and kill the attackers before they reached the peak of the small mountain.

The relative stupidity of the animals combined with them still lacking in the stat department, they never posed much of a threat to him or the sisters.

As the sun began to set, Leo finally achieved his first goal.

[Congratulations! You have reached level 10! Please select a class!

Do keep in mind that based on your selection, you will be forced to undergo painful modifications to your bodies physiology.

It is recommended that you find a safe place to shelter before you make your selection.]

'Finally! Day two has yet to start and I'm already level 10. It took me months to reach level 10 in my past life..'

Not wanting to waste any time, Leo threw the rifle back into his inventory and turned to face the sisters for the first time in hours.

When Leo turned he was surprised to see the rows of animals hanging from makeshift racks, blood slowly draining from their body.

The sisters had even created a channel of sorts that pooled the blood into a puddle far down the mountain side.

'At least they know how to use their brains. Now if any major predators catch wind of the blood they will be drawn to a spot outside our little camp.'

Leo took the opportunity to observe the two sisters at work.

Whenever an animal reached a point where the blood wasn't flowing much at all, Robin would bring it to her sister who would subsequently skin and gut the animal.

Although she wasn't very precise and frankly quite terrible, she still gave it the old college try.

After she managed to skin the animal she would slice it from stem to stern and use the inventory to withdraw the innards in one fell swoop.

Yet another thing that impressed Leo, because it took most people a lot longer to realize that the inventory and system could be used in many abstract ways.

While Amber was working on cleaning the animals, Robin would check the current state of the animals that were hanging and replace any open spots with the next available animal.

At some point she had moved the animals all into her inventory and was withdrawing them directly from there.

Leo couldn't help but give the girls an approving nod.

'At least they may prove useful. Most modern girls wouldn't adapt this fast let alone stomach the work that they are currently doing.

I'll have to delve deeper into their past when I have the time.

But I have more important things to do right now.'

Leo approached closer to the ladies and grabbed their attention before saying, "You two have done a fantastic job. I am truly impressed that you managed to stomach the work and get it done. Well done.

But we can talk about that later, I have to request something of you two."

The girls looked at him questioningly but waited for him to continue.

"I just reached level 10 and you may not know this but when you hit level 10 you are given the option to choose a class that will define your journey through this apocalyptic game.

Before you ask any questions, my choice will most likely result in me being out of commission for a short while if not render me completely unconscious. 

I will need you ladies to watch the surroundings while I go through the process.

Can I trust you with this?"