“Ding! Your level has risen to Level 4. HP +10, MP +10. You have gained 5 free attribute points.”
The long-awaited level-up chime finally sounded in his ears. Ye Tianxie, as always, added every attribute point he’d gained to Strength, then crouched down to gather from the fierce wolves’ corpses. The gloomy, sinister fierce wolf territory was now dreadfully quiet, not a shadow of a single fierce wolf left to be seen. At last Ye Tianxie set his feet in motion and walked deeper into Fierce Wolf Valley.
Stepping through a narrow ravine mouth, another new world appeared before his eyes. This place was even more sinister, the very air so bone-chillingly cold it made one shudder. The wolves before him were no longer the savage-tempered fierce wolves, but something more savage still… blood wolves!
Blood Wolf — Level 7. HP: 250. A bloodthirsty wolf with nimble mobility; its sharp fangs and claws are its keen weapons, and it will attack any living creature that draws near. Skill: None.
Their HP was only 50 more than the fierce wolves’, but their speed and aggro range clearly surpassed them. The moment Ye Tianxie set foot in the blood wolves’ territory, three bloody gusts of wind lunged at him from three directions all at once. He dodged two of their attacks, then let the third one’s claw rake across his body.
-35!
Wearing novice clothes and having never added a single point of Constitution while leveling, Ye Tianxie’s defensive capability was pitifully low. With only 11 defense and 210 HP right now, if he were surrounded by a few blood wolves, it would take mere seconds before he was bitten back to the novice village. But Ye Tianxie didn’t retreat; the gaze that had wandered idly for so long finally lit up with excitement. His figure moved back and forth through the wolf pack, every minute and every second spent predicting, sensing, and judging the movements of the blood wolves around him, the Hour of Eternal Fate in his hand carving out jet-black arcs…
An hour later, the once-mighty blood wolf pack had vanished, and Ye Tianxie stood holding the Hour of Eternal Fate, waiting with a face full of gloom for new blood wolves to respawn. While not a single other player yet dared treat even the outer Fierce Wolf Valley as a leveling ground, he’d once again booked out an entire Level 7 blood wolf territory single-handedly.
“Ding… Your Hunger has exceeded ninety. Please use food promptly.”
In towns, Hunger increased by one point every 5 minutes, while out in the wilds in a combat state it rose by one point every 3 minutes. Ye Tianxie swallowed his last Steamed Bun, barely bringing his Hunger down to 70. Now he really did need to head back to the village to stock up on some food.
Just as he’d turned around, a bloody glow appeared not far off to his right, and a giant blood wolf nearly twice the size of an ordinary one emerged from within it, throwing its head back to let out a long howl.
Ye Tianxie’s steps halted. Without the slightest hesitation, he twisted sharply to the side and swept the Hour of Eternal Fate at its neck…
Mutant Blood Wolf — Level 7 three-star elite. HP: 2,000. A mutated blood wolf, possessing a larger and more nimble body than an ordinary blood wolf, and stronger attack power. Skill — Blood Wolf Devour: When attacking, there is a 5% chance to convert the damage dealt into its own HP.
-102. -99. -101…
The Mutant Blood Wolf’s defense wasn’t much higher than the Giant Fierce Wolf’s, and only after Ye Tianxie’s three consecutive cleaving strikes did it finally finish its awe-inspiring grand-entrance pose. A pair of terrifying blood-red wolf eyes locked onto Ye Tianxie’s body, and a huge claw fully the size of his head swiped at him with a wolfish roar; in the somewhat dim Fierce Wolf Valley, a piercing cold light still glinted point by point along that claw.
Swish!
The howling wind grazed past his face so close it left a faint ache on his skin. His gaze sharpened, and rather than retreating he advanced, dashing forward abruptly in the brief gap as the Mutant Blood Wolf drew its claw back. The Hour of Eternal Fate slashed viciously at its neck once more; at the same time he dropped low and, riding his momentum, threaded beneath the wolf’s body, then landed another brutal thrust into its leg as the Mutant Blood Wolf turned back around… Five consecutive strikes, and under the Hour of Eternal Fate’s attack power — far above an ordinary player’s — he emptied a full quarter of this Level 7 three-star elite mini-BOSS’s health bar outright.
But the repeatedly struck Mutant Blood Wolf lost track of its target’s location at that point, wheeling its body around with an enraged roar — and in the instant it turned, Ye Tianxie swiftly shifted, slipping once more from in front of that huge wolf body back around behind it, then followed through with a spinning slash to its leg that drew out a shrill wolf-howl.
The Mutant Blood Wolf’s body was enormous, over four meters long and nearly three meters tall, but at this moment its trembling-inducing bulk had instead become the very screen Ye Tianxie used to hide his position. He could always, in the split second it turned back around, slip around behind it — from beneath its body, or its left side, or its right — with such perfect timing it was as though he’d precisely calculated the moment, then follow through with a casual strike. Each time the Mutant Blood Wolf turned, it only lunged at empty air, or caught a glimpse of a fading afterimage.
In combat, beyond relying on one’s own strength, there were far too many other aids that could simplify a fight — the timing of the heavens and the advantage of terrain, for instance, or, as now, Ye Tianxie’s swift footwork using the Mutant Blood Wolf’s own body as a screen to shift his position. Ye Tianxie could always find, at the first possible instant, whatever aid in his surroundings would help him most — more like an innate, terrifying power of judgment born into him.
-100. -99. -103. -208. -99…
A flickering white figure; a huge blood wolf spinning in place amid its roars; red damage numbers, occasionally laced with yellow, floating up steadily at an even pace, never once stopping. A dozen-odd seconds later, the dizzy, disoriented Mutant Blood Wolf finally collapsed after a mournful howl, ending its exceedingly brief mini-BOSS career.
Ye Tianxie watched it slowly topple with a calm gaze, no expression of excitement or the like appearing on his face. The blood wolves all around here had already been cleared by him earlier and hadn’t had time to respawn; otherwise, with the interference of other blood wolves, there was no way he could have won so easily. As for soloing a Level 7 three-star elite… if he couldn’t even handle a Mutant Blood Wolf like this, how would he be worthy of the name “Undefeated Evil Emperor”?
Picking up the equipment on the ground, Ye Tianxie tossed it straight into his backpack without so much as a glance. Given his current classless state, no matter how good the attributes, they weren’t his to equip — not seeing them meant no regret. Next, a few gleaming silver coins were likewise stowed away. Crouching down, he cast the basic Gathering skill on the mutant wolf king’s corpse out of habit.
“Ding… You have gathered a Mutant Fierce Wolf Eye.”
“Ding… You have gathered an Amethyst Necklace.”
“Oh?” Ye Tianxie looked in surprise at the necklace in his hand, glimmering with a dim purple light, caught off guard by its appearance. In any virtual game, accessory-type equipment like necklaces, rings, and earrings was the hardest to come by, and most came with some fairly special attributes. A thing’s rarity makes it precious: a Steel-grade necklace would be worth more than a Bronze-grade suit of armor.
And the strange thing was, this necklace hadn’t been dropped by the Mutant Blood Wolf at all, but gathered from its corpse — could it be that this Mutant Blood Wolf had mutated a necklace growing out of its body too?
Amethyst Necklace — A necklace a Mutant Blood Wolf came by chance to possess, crafted from pure purple gemstone. Its precise origin is unknown; perhaps some information can be obtained from the novice village chief.
This was… a quest item?
(End of Chapter 23)