Chapter 7 - Leveling With Ease
Red Leaf Forest was made up of beautiful maple trees. Level 5 monsters roamed around the woods. To a player below Level 3, this was a restricted area. Shi Feng, as well, was no match for these Level 5 monsters, even though he had reached Level 1.
However, Shi Feng ran into the Red Leaf Forest without hesitation. Cautiously, he advanced towards the inner reaches of the forest.
Level 5 Forest Wolves could be seen patrolling around the woods from time to time. Shi Feng was currently just Level 1. If he did not stay a sufficient distance away from them, the Forest Wolf's sensitive nose would smell him out.
A Level 5 Forest Wolf had 400 HP. It also had high Attack Power. It would only take two bites from the wolf for Shi Feng's 120 HP to meet its end.
Shi Feng's only option was to stealthily avoid the Forest Wolves, taking a big detour around them.
Aside from the Forest Wolves, Shi Feng also met with adorable Bear Cubs. The little cubs fumbled and tumbled around on the grassy plains, giving an innocent and cute look. However, they were still Level 5 monsters, and they were hated by melee players. This was because of their high HP and Defense, making a fight with the Cubs very exhausting.
As Shi Feng used a tree to route past a Bear Cub, he heard a wolf's howl coming from behind him.
"Damn! A wolf den!" As calm as Shi Feng was, he still couldn't help but call out.
In his previous life, many players came in parties to the Red Leaf Forest. Most of them were Level 4 or 5. Aside from grinding a large number of monsters, the main reason players came here was because of the bountiful loot. Skill books, leatherworking materials, and equipment were such examples. There were also a large amount of herbs and ore that were attainable in the forest. However, a single mishap could still cause a party-wipe in the Red Leaf Forest. One of the dangers that caused such situations were wolf dens.
A wolf den was hidden and hard to notice. If players did not pay close attention, a pack of Forest Wolves would pounce forth once the players entered the wolf den's area of alertness. If less, there would be 3 to 5 wolves; if more, 6 to 8. It was a party-wipe trap.
Shi Feng's luck was bad. All at once, 7 Forest Wolves rushed out of the den; the meat on Shi Feng's body wasn't enough for them to share.
The speed of the Forest Wolves was fast, but Shi Feng wasn't slow either. With his attribute points all going into Agility, his Movement Speed was at 6 points. He was still a Level 1 Swordsman, in the end. Even if he was a pure Agility one, his speed was still a notch slower than the Forest Wolves.
Seeing the wolves catching up, Shi Feng stopped caring as he activated the lifesaving skill, 'Gravity Liberation'.
Shi Feng suddenly felt his body becoming as light as a feather. His speed increased by a massive leap, easily shaking off the Forest Wolves behind him.
In the end, a common monster was still a common one. They gave up after chasing past a set area, allowing Shi Feng to keep his life.
After running for over ten minutes, Shi Feng arrived at a range of mountains and hills. Several mountains stood over a hundred meters, located in the central region of Red Leaf Forest. The top of the mountains was surrounded by clouds and mist, creating a scene of immortal lands.
"Finally arrived."
Shi Feng looked towards the towering mountain and its surroundings. Discovering a waterfall, he walked towards it.
In his previous life, players were mostly over Level 20, so their attributes were naturally high. They could do much more than they could while they were low leveled. Many loved exploring the myriad of places in God's Domain. The central region of Red Leaf Forest was one of the famous places, so Shadow Workshop had sent a small party of Assassins to investigate.
Never would they have thought to find a treasure mountain there. On one of the mountains, they discovered many items: rare ore, herbs, and even Treasure Chests. At the peak of the mountain, there was a Secret-Silver Treasure Chest.
There were many secretive places in the wild of God's Domain. Most of these places housed Treasure Chests, awaiting to be discovered by players. The items within Treasure Chests varied considerably, ranging from Copper Coins to Dark-Gold Equipment.
The quality of Treasure Chests could be categorized into Common, Bronze, Mysterious-Iron, Secret-Silver, Fine-Gold, and Dark-Gold. However, even the loot from a Common Treasure Chest could rival the drops of Elite monsters. Not to even mention how good the loot from a Secret-Silver Treasure Chest could be.
This Secret-Silver Treasure Box quickly allowed Shadow to become a well-known Workshop in White River City. This allowed Shadow to amass quite a fortune during the initial periods of the game.
More than just equipment, the Secret-Silver Treasure Chest had a secret recipe for pharmaceutics and a Forging Design.
In God's Domain, the drop rate of pharmaceutical recipes was not even ten thousand to one; it was even lower for a Forging Design. You could create Bronze ranked equipment using Forging Designs, something sorely needed by players. With it, making money would become a simple task.
Shi Feng's plan to earn 16,000 Credits within ten days all depended on the design. So naturally, he wouldn't be leaving it for Shadow Workshop. However, low leveled players without 40 Agility were unable to activate the Hidden Basic Ability [Flying Steps]. Without it, they had no way of climbing the rocky mountain. There were also no paths that led up the mountain, leaving rock climbing as the only option.
Although Shi Feng did not have forty points in Agility, he had the Ring of Gravity. He could still climb the mountain after activating it.
Shi Feng easily scaled up the mountain after activating Gravity Liberation. He was already 5 meters up after a few moments.
When Gravity Liberation had 5 seconds remaining, Shi Feng found an empty spot of land to rest while waiting for Gravity Liberation's cooldown.
Not long after Shi Feng sat down, the rock wall suddenly shook. A [Rock Giant] appeared with bursts of roaring.
[Rock Giant] (Common Monster)
Level 5
HP 550
"That was quick."
Shi Feng had long since been ready when he saw the Rock Giant walking over. He took out an Explosive Berry from his bag and threw it towards the Rock Giant's feet; sticky orange colored juice erupted all over the ground.
As a Level 5 monster, the Rock Giant had extremely high Attack Power, HP, and Defense. However, it had low Attack Speed and reaction time. Its body's turn rate was even slower. A player only needed 20 points in Agility to easily toy with the Rock Giant. There were plenty of Assassins who loved dealing with such dumb monsters. They could easily be killed without wasting a single HP.
Although Shi Feng did not have 20 Agility, he had the Explosive Berries. Each had an effective area of 3- x 3-yards, reducing Movement Speed by 30%, and turn rate by 70% for one minute. It was a godly tool used to counter dumb monsters. Two months after God's Domain started, a lot of players would use such a method to kill high leveled monsters that were slow-moving. However, such slow-moving monsters existed in limited numbers in God's Domain, so grinding on them for quick levels was not possible.
The Rock Giant's speed sharply reduced after being hit by the Explosive Berry.
Shi Feng pulled out his Novice Sword and rushed towards the Rock Giant's back, chopping down at it.
Above the Rock Giant's head, three points of damage appeared. It was a hardly mentionable damage when compared to its 550 HP. The Rock Giant also regenerated 1% of its HP every 5 seconds; that was 5.5 HP every 5 seconds. It was very challenging to kill it within a minute.
The Rock Giant tried to turn around when Shi Feng attacked it. However, its body's turn rate was slow, to begin with. Now that there was an extra 70% speed reduction, it was just abominably slow. Shi Feng attacked it twice more, following up with another [Chop], causing a series of -3, -3, -6 to appear.
The effect of Chop was not that great due to the level suppression. However, because the Rock Giant was 4 Levels higher, there was an additional bonus towards Skill Proficiency. Coupled with one of the Swordsman's natural Talents, a single usage had increased Chop's SP by 3 points.
This was an absolute location for raising Skill Proficiency.
After much trouble, the Rock Giant turned around to face off against Shi Feng. However, Shi Feng did not give it any chance, quickly circling to its back where he continued attacking.
Thundering Flash!
Suddenly, a single sword light caused 4 damage, followed by another that dealt 5 damage, and the last one that dealt 7 damage.
After all three streaks of thunder hit its mark, Thundering Flash's SP increased by 3 points.
Another few slashes followed.
A series of -4, -4, -4 damage was dealt. Though each strike only had an increase of 1 damage, the totaled up damage would still be great. Although the effect of Thundering Flash lasted only for fifteen seconds, it had greatly increased the speed of killing the Rock Giant. The battle could be ended within a single minute now, saving up a precious Explosive Berry.
Even if the Rock Giant had high HP and Attack, it was no different than a practice dummy if it couldn't land a hit on Shi Feng. It was just giving Shi Feng EXP and SP.
Skill Proficiency could not be increased just by using the skill. When using it on a monster of the same level, there was a 20% chance to increase it by one point. For monsters of a higher level, there was a 40% chance if it was one level higher, 70% for two levels, 100% for three levels, 150% for four levels, and 200% for five levels. The maximum limit was 200%.
Now that Shi Feng was killing a Level 5 Rock Giant, his SP increased several times the rate of others.
Not even a full minute had gone by before the Rock Giant finally fell.
System: Level 5 Rock Giant killed. Level difference of 4. EXP obtained increased by 400%. Obtained 120 EXP.
Shi Feng's EXP bar increased by a chunk. He was now 880 EXP away from Level 2. That meant he needed to kill another 8 Rock Giants to reach Level 2.
These mountains in the central region were a great place for leveling up and looking for treasure. Unfortunately, two months had passed before people discovered them.
Shi Feng searched the Rock Giant's body after killing it, obtaining a [Bronze Ore]. It was a material used to make Bronze Equipment. He also acquired a piece of [Hard Stone]. Subsequently, Shi Feng searched around the empty land. A few moments later he found a rare herb called [Hundred Souls Flower]. It was one of the core materials used to make [Basic Regeneration Potion].
Just as he got close to it, another Rock Giant spawned. Shi Feng threw out another Explosive Berry.
Thundering Flash!
Chop!
In just a short moment, Shi Feng obtained another Hard Stone, 120 EXP and a large amount of SP.
Shi Feng continued climbing up when the cooldown finished on the Ring of Gravity.
On his way up, he searched for rare herbs while killing Rock Giants.
Following the fall of the 8th Rock Giant, Shi Feng became Level 2. He added all his points into Agility, letting it reach 16 points. He was just 4 points away from unlocking [Fast And Nimble]. The SP for Chop has also reached 300 points, raising the skill to Level 2; the next level required 600 SP. The skill now increased damage by 12 points, and its cooldown was reduced by 1 second.
The other players would go crazy if they found out about Shi Feng's leveling speed. Just going from Level 0 to Level 1 required more than a handful of hours. As for going from Level 1 to 2, at the very least, doing so would require seven or eight hours. Shi Feng spent less than twenty minutes to reach Level 2. His leveling speed was like a rocket launching.
Shi Feng walked towards a dead Rock Giant and searched it.
"Seems like my luck isn't bad at all. It even dropped equipment." Shi Feng discovered a piece of Cloth Armor, though he was somewhat disappointed.
[Gorgeous Cloth-Shirt] (Common Equipment)
Level 4
Defense +3
Mana +10
Durability 20/20
God's Domain had just started operating. The drop rate of equipment was extremely low. Common Equipment was extremely rare, especially a Level 4 Common Equipment. There was definitely someone who would buy it at a high price.
Shi Feng placed the equipment into his bag. Just as he was about to continue upwards, he suddenly noticed a cave not far ahead.
When he walked over to check, Shi Feng's heart rate quickened.
Shi Feng spotted a huge Rock Giant sleeping within the cave. Its entire body was made up of silvery rocks, different from the normal gray-colored ones.
[Shrews] (Special Elite)
Level 6
HP 900
Special Elites were a lot stronger than normal Elites. A regular Elite monster could decimate a 6-man-party of the same level. However, a Special Elite required twelve players of the same level to deal with, maybe even fifteen players. That meant Shrews required fifteen Level 6 players working together to kill.
However, Shi Feng rushed ahead without hesitation. He used Thundering Flash immediately, causing ray after ray of thunder to cut across Shrews' huge body.
Damages of -1, -2, -3 appeared above Shrews' head.
Chapter 8 - Killing Shrews
Even though the damage dealt by Shi Feng was negligible, Shrews still woke up from his deep slumber.
Anybody would be enraged when they were abruptly awoken.
"I'll flatten you, puny human!" Shrews bellowed. The entire cave shook as Shrews stood. With giant strides, Shrews walked towards Shi Feng.
Not giving Shrews any chance, Shi Feng took out an Explosive Berry and tossed it in front of Shrews' path.
Speed was always a Rock Giant's weakness. There was no exception even for a Special Elite. Shrews only had a larger size, a stronger Attack, and more attack methods. Though his Movement Speed and Attack Speed were slightly faster, under the slowing effects of the Explosive Berry, he was still as slow as a turtle.
On the other hand, Shi Feng's Movement Speed and Attack Speed were very fast due to his 16 Agility. Shi Feng immediately circled to Shrews' back and began his fierce assault.
A series of damages appeared above Shrews' head.
-2, -2, -2, -2……
They were followed by another Chop that dealt 6 damage.
It had to be said, Shrews had a frightening Defense. Even with the amplified damage from Thundering Flash, a Level 2 Chop had only dealt 6 damage. A Level 1 Chop would probably only deal 4 damage.
Shrews only turned around after receiving a series of attacks. It lifted its mountain-sized foot and stomped down, towards Shi Feng.
As a reincarnated person, Shi Feng had experienced countless battles in God's Domain. He did not have a thread of panic in him when facing against Shrews. With a step, Shi Feng nimbly evaded towards Shrews' back, avoiding Shrews' sluggish attack. Shi Feng then followed up with a series of mad cuts.
When five seconds passed, Shrews regenerated 18 HP, leaving him with a remainder of 886 HP. Half of Shi Feng's efforts had gone to waste within an instant.
Compared to Common ones, Elite monsters or above would regenerate 2% of their HP every 5 seconds during battle. Shrews had 900 HP, so it was 18 HP every 5 seconds. This regeneration had exceeded the damage Shi Feng could deal using normal attacks.
Even so, Shi Feng still calmly waved his sword, continuously reaping away Shrews' HP.
An average player would've already given up when seeing such high HP and regeneration. Shi Feng would not, though. Sixteen points of Agility allowed Shi Feng to avoid and attack with ease. His high Attack Speed also allowed the damage he dealt to mitigate Shrews' regeneration completely. However, killing Shrews required a lot of time.
It was very dull, just avoiding and madly attacking. Dealing out strong attacks was very tiring, both physically and mentally.
With each passing second Shrew's HP continually fell.
Fifteen seconds later...
Once Thundering Flash's amplifying effect disappeared, the damage Shi Feng caused sharply reduced. Each strike of his sword only dealt 1 damage, and Chop only took away 4 HP from Shrews. Shi Feng immediately fell into a bitter battle.
Another 5 seconds passed, and Shrews once more regenerated 18 HP.
However, Shi Feng only dealt 17 damage within that 5 seconds. It wasn't even enough to even make up for Shrews' regeneration.
Shi Feng wrinkled his brows. As expected, it was hard to kill off Shrews. It was just a pointless endeavor without sufficient damage.
Do I give up?
Just as Shi Feng was thinking so...
"I want to flatten you!" Shrews roared as he stomped his foot.
Suddenly, the entire cave shook. Sharp stalactites fell from the cave ceiling one after another, covering the entire cave.
"It even has a party-wipe skill?"
Seeing the bad situation, Shi Feng moved quickly away from Shrews' side, dodging the falling stalactites.
The stalactites continuously fell in great numbers. Their speed was quick as well. If a party came into this cramped space, there wouldn't be any place to dodge. They would definitely be party-wiped. If it weren't for his nimble body and the somewhat spacious area, Shi Feng would be hard pressed to avoid these falling rocks.
Shrews revealed an exhausted expression after finishing his skill. Shi Feng's eyes shone; he quickly rushed ahead.
Thundering Flash!
Chop!
-4, -5, -6, -10.
Suddenly, a series of terrifying damages were caused.
[Fatigue] state, it was a period of weakness that appeared after a Boss used a powerful skill. In this state, the Boss would have both its Attack and Defense greatly reduced.
With this Fatigue state, Shi Feng could see the hope of killing Shrews.
Shi Feng took the chance to attack even more fervently.
-4, -4, -4…
Each sword strike took away 4 HP while Shrews was under both states of Fatigue and Damage Amplification.
During this weakened period, Shrews' regeneration also fell to 1%.
By the time Shrews returned to his normal state, Shi Feng had already taken away 15% of Shrews' HP.
The subsequent battle was filled with persistence. Shi Feng would repeatedly attack to make up for Shrews' regeneration. Every 30 seconds, he would deal a burst of damage with Thundering Flash. Following which, he would await Shrews' use of his big move. This party-wipe skill was a nightmare to player parties. To Shi Feng however, it was a chance.
As expected, Shrews would again use his big move after a period of time. Shi Feng took this chance to take away 16% of Shrews' HP.
Time passed bit by bit.
After using 5 Explosive Berries, Shrews had 32% HP remaining.
When Shrews activated his big move once more, Shi Feng took away another 16% of his HP. Shrews was quickly left with 16% HP remaining.
Just as Shrews' HP fell to 15%, a sudden change occurred.
Shrews' body continuously shrunk, his Attack and defense reducing as well. However, his Movement Speed and Attack Speed kept increasing. This change was very disadvantageous to Shi Feng.
Although the Explosive Berry was still in effect, Shrews' attacks were becoming faster. He had nearly landed a hit on Shi Feng.
Shi Feng was just Level 2. Even if Shrews' Attack Power had reduced, a single hit was enough to end Shi Feng. If Shi Feng died, he would lose a level and a lot of Skill Proficiency; it was not something he wished to see happen.
"Fight!" A cold glint flashed through Shi Feng's eyes as he activated Gravity Liberation. Suddenly, dodging became relaxing.
It was impossible to easily give up on a Special Elite with only 15% HP remaining.
Shi Feng continued to circle and madly hack his sword at Shrews.
Every hit dealt 3 damage, slowly reducing Shrews' HP.
14%...10%...9%...8%...5%...
Gravity Liberation's duration became shorter and shorter. When there were only 7 seconds left, Shrews still had 5% of his HP. Shi Feng would definitely be one-shotted as soon as Gravity Liberation ended.
Quick! Quick! Quick!
Shi Feng's eyes turned blood red as his sword strikes became faster and faster.
Just as Shrews had only 10 HP remaining, Gravity Liberation ended……
Shi Feng's speed dropped sharply. A cold, human-like grin appeared on Shrews' face as he smashed his boulder-like fist down on Shi Feng.
"Die!" The cooldown of Thundering Flash finally finished.
Thundering Flash!
In an instant, three streaks of light passed through Shrews' body.
-4, -5, -6.
Shrews' final 10 HP was taken away.
Boom! Shrews turned into a pile of rubble.
System: [Special Elite] Shrews killed. Level difference of 4. EXP obtained increased by 400%. Obtained 940 EXP.
Shi Feng's experience bar abruptly rose by 27%, pushing him a big step closer towards Level 3.
After killing off Shrews, Shi Feng searched around in the pile of rubble.
The drops of a Special Elite were far better than a normal Elite. Shi Feng obtained an equipment, a skill book, and 16 Coppers.
"The rewards for challenging higher levels sure are good. Even a Bronze Shield dropped. I can definitely sell it for a high price. It would be great if I could grind it a few more times." Shi Feng looked at the blue cross-shaped shield in his hands. He could already imagine how the Guilds would be willing to pay a high price for the shield.
[Rock-Iron Shield] (Bronze Rank)
Equipment Requirement: Strength 8
Equipment Level: 5
Defense +21
Defense Rate 23%
Strength +2, Endurance +4
HP +30
The shield could be considered high-quality with such attributes. When equipped, the shield would greatly increase Defense. HP would also be increased by 110 points; this was equivalent to one-third of a Level 5 Warrior class' HP. Using it to dive into Level 5 Dungeons was more than enough. It could even be used to dive into Level 8 Dungeons.
The skill book was a good one as well. It was a skill that could be used by all melee Jobs, [Parry]. It required a melee weapon to be used. It could block a single attack that came from the front, and it had a cooldown of thirty seconds.
Parry was a popular skill among all melee Jobs. It was a must-learn skill for Warrior classes. The skill had a low drop rate, and it was almost never seen being sold on the market, as it was a lifesaving skill. You could activate it at a crucial moment, and it might even help you through a crisis. It was especially true when battling against a Boss. If the healers could not keep up, then you could use Parry to block an attack, giving the healers more time to heal you.
Taking a look at skill, Shi Feng decided to learn it. Although he could get a better price if he sold the skill book together with the shield, the action was no different than killing the chicken to get the egg. It was something Shi Feng wouldn't do.
Shi Feng continued climbing upwards after killing Shrews.
The Bronze Shield was worth only a meager amount of money. The real fortune was the Secret-Silver Treasure Chest.
Shi Feng only had 4 Explosive Berries remaining. However, he was not even a third of the distance to the peak. It was also very easy to meet up with a monster at the resting points. This caused Shi Feng to choose his path more carefully.
Half an hour later...
After cautiously advancing the entire way up, Shi Feng was finally at the peak of the mountain. The visibility at the top was very poor with all the white clouds and mist. Shi Feng could only see twenty yards in front of him.
On his way up, Shi Feng had used all 4 of the remaining Explosive Berries on Rock Giants. If another monster appeared, Shi Feng could only give up and start all over again.
Just as Shi Feng walked ahead a few steps...
A few blurry shadows could be seen up ahead.
At this moment, an emergency notification came from the system.
System: Player has discovered The Lost Lands. Activated Hidden Quest "Past Glory". Temporarily disabled player's communications to the outside world. Unable to leave the map until Quest is completed.
"Crap, those Assassins lied." Shi Feng silently cursed. Those Assassins had undoubtedly kept hidden some information.
The situation at the mountain peak was entirely different from what the Assassins reported.