Chapter 27 - Shi Feng's Improved Party
Hearing Shi Feng's comment, the Summoner, Gluttonous Mouse suddenly panicked. He did not understand what Shi Feng wanted him to do. If he had performed badly and was kicked from the party as a result, he would regret it until he died.
It was hard to find a good party during this time, not to mention a party with an expert leading it. It was impossible to join such a party, even if you begged!
"Relax, I won't let you do anything dangerous. You just have to summon out a Flame Sprite and follow my instructions. You don't have to do anything else," Shi Feng said with a smile, trying ease the nerves of Gluttonous Mouse a little.
Currently, Summoners were not strong; mainly due to the incapability of their skills. A Summoner's method of attack mainly relied on their summoned creatures, whereas their normal attack was the low-damage Magic Bullet. However, a Summoner with awesome skills could become a one-man army. It was especially true for Summoners who could call out powerful elemental creatures. They could kill Elite monsters as if they were just playing around.
"Party leader, rest assured, I'll definitely do it." Gluttonous Mouse loudly said, his tone filled with respect. He was like a student who had met his teacher.
"Everyone else, distance yourselves from that rock, twenty yards away from it would be the best. Pay attention not to lure the other monsters." Sh Feng turned around and said to the other party members.
"Yes, party leader!"
The other party members loudly replied. Their current attitudes were completely different from before.
Shi Feng was slightly shocked by everyone's performance. Why was each and every one of them so obedient all of a sudden?
However, Shi Feng did not know that the single stone he threw just now had completely shocked every one of them.
They were filled with admiration towards Shi Feng's stone-throwing technique. Such skill and accuracy were definitely not something a normal person could do; professional players might not even be able to do so.
Worshipping the strong was a common sight within a game. These Level 1 noobs were no exception.
At this moment, the gaze everyone used to look at Shi Feng was completely different. Before, they merely felt that Shi Feng was a good commander. Now, however, Shi Feng was a strong person they worshipped. They had faintly grown a sense of reverence for Shi Feng.
Standing to the side, Blackie clapped Lonely Snow's shoulders, proudly saying, "How is it? Following Brother Feng isn't bad, right?"
Lonely Snow silently nodded his head, rejoicing for the decision he made to follow after Shi Feng. Shi Feng was definitely a Beta Tester expert. Without sufficient experience and practice, such techniques were impossible to accomplish. Only a Beta Tester could possibly do it.
"Hahaha! What do you plan to do in the future?" Blackie suddenly asked. He started to hatch ideas towards Lonely Snow. Blackie wanted to poach Lonely Snow for their Workshop, even though the Workshop was still non-existent. There was a 100% chance for Cola to join them, but Lonely Snow still did not have any plans to move in such a direction.
"The future?" Lonely Snow had never considered it before. He was but an average player. He did not have any big ambitions, only wanting to earn some cash from playing games. He said honestly, "I have never considered it before."
"I see that your techniques are quite good. Why don't you join us for now?" Blackie nonchalantly asked.
"Really?" Lonely Snow had anxiety about his future after Blackie's question. He did not know where he wanted to go. If he could party with an expert, then it could not get any better.
"Of course. However, we still need to look at your future performance. We don't just simply accept people," Blackie proudly said, pretending to be an expert.
"Thank you, Brother Black." Lonely Snow happily responded. He never imagined his luck would be so great as to be noticed by an expert.
Seeing Lonely Snow agree, Blackie released a sigh of relief. Currently, Blackie was just a fox pretending to be a tiger. He couldn't help out Shi Feng much in God's Domain, but he could still help out in regards to administration.
There wasn't even a shadow of their Workshop as of this moment. There was also the debt of 16,000 Credits. The Workshop's members consisted of only Shi Feng and himself. It was definitely the poorest Workshop in history. If this was found out by the others, they would definitely turn around and leave. Now, Blackie could only fake being an expert to lure people to join their Workshop.
At this moment, Shi Feng was currently explaining the contents of the operation to the Summoner. The operation was to let Gluttonous Mouse lure the remaining six Night Rabbits by controlling his Flame Sprite. Because the Night Rabbit that was closest to the Boss was no more, luring the other Night Rabbits would not attract the Boss. They could lure the monsters with ease.
The Flame Sprite was extremely weak. Its HP was only a pitiful 15 points, and it would die in a single hit. However, its Movement Speed was extremely quick. Adding to its very small size, trying to hit it would be a difficult task.
"Start the operation. Mouse, remember to maintain a distance of 4 yards or above while circling around the rock," Shi Feng reminded once more.
Gluttonous Mouse nodded his head. Carefully, he controlled the Flame Sprite to lure the six Night Rabbits. When the sprite entered the 35-yard distance, the nearest Elite Night Rabbit discovered the Flame Sprite. Suddenly, it turned its body around and rushed towards the Flame Sprite. The other Night Rabbits also came rushing along.
Seeing the Night Rabbits taking the bait, Gluttonous Mouse immediately controlled the Flame Sprite and ran. The six Night Rabbits were in hot pursuit, but their speed could no match for the Flame Sprite. In a moment, the Flame Sprite had arrived beneath the large rock. It had lured the six Night Rabbits over and started circling around the large rock.
On the other side, Cola had already aggroed the Night Rabbit that had left its unit. Cola interchanged between blocking and using his new skill, [Divine Strike]. With the effects of two pieces of Bronze Equipment, a single hit from Divine Strike had caused 26 damage. It was a lot higher compared to the 11 or 12 damage caused by a normal strike. Also, Divine Strike had the added effect of increasing Hatred. It became a lot easier to hold aggro.
The Night Rabbit was killed off within a short moment. It dropped 5 Coppers.
After this Night Rabbit was handled, only the six Night Rabbits that kept on circling around the large rock remained.
"I'll lure the Night Rabbits. Cola, pay attention to pull the monster." Shi Feng picked up another small stone, throwing it at the Night Rabbit that ran at the rear.
The Night Rabbit rubbed its cranium after being struck on it. The rabbit turned around, discovering Shi Feng that had thrown the stone. The Night Rabbit suddenly became enraged. It madly hopped towards Shi Feng with its powerful legs. As for the other Night Rabbits, they were still excitedly chasing after the Flame Sprite, failing to notice the disappearance of one of their companions.
"Receive it!" Seeing the Night Rabbit was only 20 yards away from the party, Shi Feng commanded.
Cola rushed ahead, sending a Divine Strike towards the Night Rabbit's head.
The Night Rabbit's target immediately changed, extending its claws towards Cola's cranium. However, Cola had reacted quickly by dodging his body sideways. After avoiding the attack, Cola continued by using [Punishment]. The skill had once more strengthened the Night Rabbit's Hatred to Cola.
"Everyone, focus fire."
Shi Feng inwardly applauded after seeing Cola's performance. He had never imagined Cola's ability to learn would be this great. He had already found out about the Night Rabbit's attack patterns after going through slightly more than ten battles. No wonder he was the core MT of a first-rate Guild, ten years later. His potential was limitless.
The Night Rabbit in front of Cola had fallen within 20 seconds. It had even dropped a skill book for Swordsman, [Double Chop].
Shi Feng immediately learned it without reservations.
[Double Chop] (Action-type)
Requires: Sword
Level 1
Proficiency 0/300
Rapidly deals damage twice. Every slash of the sword deals 120% +15 damage, also increasing Bleeding effect by 20%. Duration of 10 seconds.
Stacks up to a maximum of 5 times.
Cooldown: 8 seconds
This skill book had greatly increased Shi Feng's explosive power. As for the problem of getting used to the skill, it was non-existent for Shi Feng. After playing for ten years as a Swordsman, the skills belonging to the Job were deeply ingrained into Shi Feng's bones. As long as Shi Feng got ahold of these skills, he would be able to utilize them to their greatest potential.
Shi Feng had also lured the remaining five Night Rabbits over, one after another. The party had killed the rabbits one by one, and following the death of the final Night Rabbit, a golden glow appeared around Shi Feng's body; he had risen to Level 2.
At the same time, the five Night Rabbits had contributed to the party a piece of Bronze Plate Armor for Guardian Knights. The equipment increased Cola's HP to 390 points and his Defense to 56. It had also increased Cola's ability to resist against the Night Rabbit Chieftain, Willie.
Chapter 28 - The Horror Of Hell Mode
With the Elites that were on guard all dead, only the Boss, Willie, remained on the open field. At this moment, Willie was laying on the ground, sleeping. It would scratch its back from time to time, completely unaware of its missing henchmen.
"Everyone, recover for now. I'll explain the method to raid Willie in a moment." Shi Feng wanted everyone to ease up first. It would not be easy to face off against Willie. The fight would require a high degree of concentration because a single mistake would cause everyone to be buried together.
Hearing Shi Feng's command, everyone sat down to recuperate. They ate and drank to recover to their best state.
Shi Feng's finger waved and shook as he called up his Attribute Panel.
He had recently reached Level 2. Because of the Abyssal Blade, the Free Attribute Points he obtained exceeded other players by 2 points. The choices he could make with his points were slightly more than the average player.
In the initial period, it was sufficient for the Agility of a Swordsman to reach 20 points. However, Shi Feng increased his to 30 points. There would be a fixed increase in the body's flexibility when Agility reached 30 points. Subsequently, Shi Feng added the remaining points into Strength, making it easier for him to contend with the Boss.
Shi Feng had on him three pieces of Bronze Equipment, a Mysterious-Iron Ring, and a Magic Weapon. Shi Feng Attributes had basically reached his own requirements.
Character: Ye Feng (Human)
Affiliated Kingdom: Star-Moon
Title: Might Of A Thousand
Job: Swordsman
Level: 2
HP: 520/520
Attack Power: 88
Defense Power: 39
Attack Speed: 15
Movement Speed: 13
Attributes: Strength 32, Agility 30, Endurance 24, Intelligence 13, Vitality 13.
With such Attributes, Shi Feng had more confidence dealing with Willie.
Seeing everyone recovered, Shi Feng started explaining, "Willie has two skills. One of them is Killing Feast. When used, Willie will ignore Hatred and randomly attack the nearest players. Blackie and Lonely, you two have to pay attention to your positioning. The other skill is Death Claws. Cola, you have to distance yourself from the Boss before this skill is used. Lonely Snow, pay attention to interrupt the Boss. I'll remind you when the time comes. Another point to take note of, Willie is very smart, so don't keep on using the same attack pattern. Alright, that's it. If we're ready, then start the battle, Cola."
"Brother Feng, is there nothing else we have to pay attention to?" Blackie walked up to Shi Feng's side, whispering.
This place was the Hell Mode of the Deathly Forest. Not everyone was an expert, as well. However, Shi Feng's explanation was so simple that it made them feel conquering this Boss was very easy. However, there were so many Elite parties which had died inside Normal Mode, so how could Hell Mode be so simple?
"Party leader, are there no details we need to pay attention to?"
Everyone was very worried. They all held anticipation in their gazes as they looked towards Shi Feng, hoping that he would speak more about the finer details. They were noobs, so there were a lot of things they did not understand. In regards to an expert like Shi Feng, the things he felt were common knowledge, were definitely not common to noobs like them.
Elites could not be compared to a Boss. The other Elite parties must have definitely died at the hands of the Boss. Although their equipment was better than an Elite party's, they were still Level 1 noobs. They clearly knew their own worth.
"You guys worry too much. Relax. When the time comes, I'll tell you what you should do and when you should do it, so don't worry about it. Cola, start the fight and remember to dodge more often. A single healer will not be able to match up to the Boss' damage," Shi Feng smiled. He felt his party members were quite interesting. They were much more serious about the details than he had thought. In his previous life, Shi Feng had entered Hell Mode Dungeons countless times as the Captain of Shadow. There was also no lack of hundred-men Dungeons amongst those times. So, how could he not know how to guide a few noobs to beat a small Boss?
Cola had no choice but to go at it hard.
Willie abruptly leaped up the moment Cola entered its detection range. Its mouth salivated when it saw Cola, and its two pairs of steel claws intertwined to produce sparks. Cola had clearly stimulated Willie's heart of massacre. It lifted its steel claws and hastily dashed towards Cola.
"Start casting heals. All damage dealers prepare to attack Willie's limbs." Shi Feng commanded when he saw Willie's menacing appearance.
Just when Shi Feng finished speaking, Willie had arrived before of Cola. Before Cola could react, its sharp claws had fallen from the sky, slashing at Cola's neck.
Peng! Cola instinctively used his shield to block the steel claws, forming three brilliant streaks of sparks. There were also three claw marks left on the shield. Due to the immense rushing force, Cola was forced to retreat five or six steps as he stabilized his body. Above his head, a damage of -103 appeared.
Before Cola could even attack, Willie once again waved out its steel. This time, Cola was sent flying with his shield, and a damage of -105 points appeared. Only at this moment did the heal land on Cola, recovering 43 HP for him. It was a truly insignificant amount when compared to the damage Cola received.
Everyone was shocked. The Movement Speed and damage of the Boss was too horrifying. If Cola did not possess two pieces of Bronze Equipment, or if he did not block the attacks with his shield, he would have simply died from these two strikes.
"Lonely Snow, use Charge on Willie! Blackie, use Evil Whip!" Shi Feng had long since expected such a situation. He quickly instructed Blackie to use a binding skill.
Lonely Snow reacted by using a Charge to block Willie's next attack and saved Cola's life.
However, Lonely Snow's attack had only caused -11 damage to Willie. He became dumbfounded by it. He had added most of his Attribute Points into Strength, and he even had two pieces of Bronze Equipment on him. Yet, he had dealt such a small amount of damage. It should be known that the Boss in front of him had 6000 HP.
Blackie also finished chanting from the side, sending out his Evil Whip.
Five streaks of pitch-black thorns suddenly constricted Willie's legs.
Shi Feng took the chance to circle around to Willie's rear. With the Abyssal Blade in hand, he used Double Chop on Willie's neck, causing -66 and -67 damage. His attack also caused a Bleeding effect, causing Willie to lose 8 HP every second, lasting for 10 seconds.
The high damage immediately caused Willie to switch its Hatred to Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng did not give it any chance. With his 30 Agility, Shi Feng easily dodged away from the steel claws, appearing 5 yards away from Willie.
"Ao! Ao! Ao!" Willie furiously bellowed as it rushed at Shi Feng.
"Ranged players start attacking. Cola, come over and hold Willie after you're done recovering." Shi Feng systematically retreated while he dodged Willie's claws.
However, the others watching Shi Feng were shocked to their souls. This was because Willie's claws would graze by Shi Feng's cranium every time it attacked, blowing his hair into a dance.
Although everyone was shocked, they never stopped attacking. Magic attacks were sent out one after another, whereas Lonely Snow used Whirlwind Slash at Willie's rear. However, not one of those damages had exceeded -20 points.
Willie's HP slowly decreased. When it was occasionally struck by Shi Feng, its HP would drop by a segment.
Willie's HP had fallen to 90% within a moment. Willie became enraged as it started a mad dance with its claws. It used Death Claws, greatly increasing its Attack Speed.
Shi Feng was nearly hit by it. Fortunately, however, he had used the Abyssal Blade to block the attack, only receiving -130 damage from it.
At this moment, the Cola rushed up with his full HP. He used a Divine Strike on Willie's head, followed by a Punishment. Willie's Hatred only switched to Cola after a series of attacks.
The switching of Hatred had also interrupted Willie's Death Claws, returning Willie to its normal state.
Seeing Willie change targets, Shi Feng waved out a Thundering Flash. Three streaks of thunder passed through Willie's body, dealing -92, -116, -137 damage. At the same time, giving Willie a damage amplification effect, it allowed others to deal 20% more damage to it. The fight with Willie became much easier.
Blackie was sending out Dark Arrows without stopping, each dealing over -50 damage. Whereas the others only managed to deal over -20 damage to Willie.
Being given a painful beating, Willie was just about to turn around and attack Shi Feng when Cola used both Divine Strike and Punishment once more. Willie's Hatred was quickly pulled back to Cola.
When Willie turned back to Cola, Shi Feng used a Chop on it.
In such a way, Shi Feng and Cola took turns aggroing Willie, causing it unable to attack any players.
Willie's HP continuously dropped until it was 30%. Willie entered a berserk state, its body increasing by several sizes.
"Melee players stay away from the Boss! Blackie, use Evil Whip! Healer, heal me!" Shi Feng loudly shouted. In its current state, Willie was definitely going to use its big move, Killing Feast.
Lonely Snow and Cola immediately distanced themselves from the Boss after hearing Shi Feng's command, letting Shi Feng tank the Boss by himself.
When the two of them had run out of the 10-yard range, Willie disappeared.
No one understood what happened.
When Willie reappeared, it had already arrived at Shi Feng's back, and its steel claws abruptly descended. Shi Feng had long since been ready for this. He used his sword to block the incoming claws. However, just after blocking this attack, Willie once again disappeared and again appeared behind Shi Feng.
Within two short seconds, Willie had attacked Shi Feng's back seven times. Fortunately, Shi Feng's Agility had reached 30 points. It was barely enough to match up to Willie's speed. However, every attack Shi Feng blocked would still take away a significant amount of HP from him. The heals he received also continuously recovered his HP.
-96, -97, +46, -96, -97, +48, +32, -96, -97, +46……
If Shi Feng did not possess 520 HP and blocked every claw that came at him, Shi Feng would have died from Willie's Killing Feast with 100% certainty.
At this moment, Shi Feng's remaining HP did not reach 100 points.
"Get rid of it!" Shi Feng loudly shouted.
After using his big move, Willie would enter a Weakened state. It was the perfect chance to kill it.
Everyone continuously greeted Willie with their attacks, finally shaving off Willie's remaining 30% HP. It dropped four items.
Just as everyone was about to let loose their breaths, Shi Feng took a look at everyone's current status. The healer, Drowsy Sloth's remaining MP did not reach 20%, and the other mages' MP did not reach 10%. Shi Feng hurriedly said, "Everyone, sit down and recover immediately!"
Everyone was confused. Didn't the Boss just die? Why must they be in such a hurry? However, everyone still listened to Shi Feng's command to sit down and recover.
Before they had even sat down and recuperated with food and drinks for five seconds, a violent roar entered everyone's ears. The roar had shaken the entire Deathly Forest, and following it, a black shadow leaped out from within the forest.
The black shadow was a gigantic Werewolf. The Werewolf looked at Willie's corpse, then looked towards Shi Feng and the others. It's pitch-black eyes suddenly turned crimson red. Just when it wanted to release a roar, Shi Feng dashed towards it with Wind Blade. Immediately, Shi Feng used Abyssal Bind. Nine chains appeared and bound the Werewolf and its mouth, preventing it from making a sound.
At this moment, everyone finally saw the Werewolf's statistics. It had a whopping two bars of HP.
[Werewolf Felt] (Lord-rank)
Level 3
HP 12000/12000
"Crap, why is there a Lord Boss?" Blackie cursed.
They had barely rested just after killing a Boss, and now there was a Lord in front of them. Lords were a rank higher than Chieftains. The game was literally trying to kill them.
"Everyone remember, absolutely do not let Werewolf Ferot let out another roar." Shi Feng continuously reminded everyone.
However, the others were clearly frightened. Not because of Werewolf Felt's body and HP, but because of that pair of horrifying crimson eyes. They gave off an intimidating feeling to everyone that made it hard to move.