Chapter 8 - Killing Shrews
Even though the damage dealt by s.h.i.+ 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 s.h.i.+ Feng.
Not giving Shrews any chance, s.h.i.+ 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, s.h.i.+ Feng’s Movement Speed and Attack Speed were very fast due to his 16 Agility. s.h.i.+ Feng immediately circled to Shrews’ back and began his fierce a.s.sault.
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 s.h.i.+ Feng.
As a reincarnated person, s.h.i.+ Feng had experienced countless battles in G.o.d’s Domain. He did not have a thread of panic in him when facing against Shrews. With a step, s.h.i.+ Feng nimbly evaded towards Shrews’ back, avoiding Shrews’ sluggish attack. s.h.i.+ Feng then followed up with a series of mad cuts.
When five seconds pa.s.sed, Shrews regenerated 18 HP, leaving him with a remainder of 886 HP. Half of s.h.i.+ 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 s.h.i.+ Feng could deal using normal attacks.
Even so, s.h.i.+ 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. s.h.i.+ Feng would not, though. Sixteen points of Agility allowed s.h.i.+ 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 pa.s.sing second Shrew’s HP continually fell.
Fifteen seconds later...
Once Thundering Flash’s amplifying effect disappeared, the damage s.h.i.+ Feng caused sharply reduced. Each strike of his sword only dealt 1 damage, and Chop only took away 4 HP from Shrews. s.h.i.+ Feng immediately fell into a bitter battle.
Another 5 seconds pa.s.sed, and Shrews once more regenerated 18 HP.
However, s.h.i.+ Feng only dealt 17 damage within that 5 seconds. It wasn’t even enough to even make up for Shrews’ regeneration.
s.h.i.+ 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 s.h.i.+ Feng was thinking so...
“I want to flatten you!” Shrews roared as he stomped his foot.
Suddenly, the entire cave shook. Sharp stalact.i.tes fell from the cave ceiling one after another, covering the entire cave.
“It even has a party-wipe skill?”
Seeing the bad situation, s.h.i.+ Feng moved quickly away from Shrews’ side, dodging the falling stalact.i.tes.
The stalact.i.tes continuously fell in great numbers. Their speed was quick as well. If a party came into this cramped s.p.a.ce, 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 s.p.a.cious area, s.h.i.+ Feng would be hard pressed to avoid these falling rocks.
Shrews revealed an exhausted expression after finis.h.i.+ng his skill. s.h.i.+ Feng’s eyes shone; he quickly rushed ahead.
Thundering Flas.h.!.+
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, s.h.i.+ Feng could see the hope of killing Shrews.
s.h.i.+ 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, s.h.i.+ Feng had already taken away 15% of Shrews’ HP.
The subsequent battle was filled with persistence. s.h.i.+ 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 s.h.i.+ Feng however, it was a chance.
As expected, Shrews would again use his big move after a period of time. s.h.i.+ Feng took this chance to take away 16% of Shrews’ HP.
Time pa.s.sed bit by bit.
After using 5 Explosive Berries, Shrews had 32% HP remaining.
When Shrews activated his big move once more, s.h.i.+ 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 s.h.i.+ Feng.
Although the Explosive Berry was still in effect, Shrews’ attacks were becoming faster. He had nearly landed a hit on s.h.i.+ Feng.
s.h.i.+ Feng was just Level 2. Even if Shrews’ Attack Power had reduced, a single hit was enough to end s.h.i.+ Feng. If s.h.i.+ 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 s.h.i.+ 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.
s.h.i.+ 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. s.h.i.+ Feng would definitely be one-shotted as soon as Gravity Liberation ended.
Quick! Quick! Quick!
s.h.i.+ 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……
s.h.i.+ Feng’s speed dropped sharply. A cold, human-like grin appeared on Shrews’ face as he smashed his boulder-like fist down on s.h.i.+ Feng.
“Die!” The cooldown of Thundering Flash finally finished.
Thundering Flas.h.!.+
In an instant, three streaks of light pa.s.sed 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.
s.h.i.+ Feng’s experience bar abruptly rose by 27%, pus.h.i.+ng him a big step closer towards Level 3.
After killing off Shrews, s.h.i.+ Feng searched around in the pile of rubble.
The drops of a Special Elite were far better than a normal Elite. s.h.i.+ Feng obtained an equipment, a skill book, and 16 Coppers.
“The rewards for challenging higher levels sure are good. Even a Bronze s.h.i.+eld dropped. I can definitely sell it for a high price. It would be great if I could grind it a few more times.” s.h.i.+ Feng looked at the blue cross-shaped s.h.i.+eld in his hands. He could already imagine how the Guilds would be willing to pay a high price for the s.h.i.+eld.
[Rock-Iron s.h.i.+eld] (Bronze Rank)
Equipment Requirement: Strength 8
Equipment Level: 5
Defense +21
Defense Rate 23%
Strength +2, Endurance +4
HP +30
The s.h.i.+eld could be considered high-quality with such attributes. When equipped, the s.h.i.+eld would greatly increase Defense. HP would also be increased by 110 points; this was equivalent to one-third of a Level 5 Warrior cla.s.s’ 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 cla.s.ses. 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, s.h.i.+ Feng decided to learn it. Although he could get a better price if he sold the skill book together with the s.h.i.+eld, the action was no different than killing the chicken to get the egg. It was something s.h.i.+ Feng wouldn’t do.
s.h.i.+ Feng continued climbing upwards after killing Shrews.
The Bronze s.h.i.+eld was worth only a meager amount of money. The real fortune was the Secret-Silver Treasure Chest.
s.h.i.+ 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 s.h.i.+ Feng to choose his path more carefully.
Half an hour later...
After cautiously advancing the entire way up, s.h.i.+ Feng was finally at the peak of the mountain. The visibility at the top was very poor with all the white clouds and mist. s.h.i.+ Feng could only see twenty yards in front of him.
On his way up, s.h.i.+ Feng had used all 4 of the remaining Explosive Berries on Rock Giants. If another monster appeared, s.h.i.+ Feng could only give up and start all over again.
Just as s.h.i.+ 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.
“c.r.a.p, those a.s.sa.s.sins lied.” s.h.i.+ Feng silently cursed. Those a.s.sa.s.sins had undoubtedly kept hidden some information.
The situation at the mountain peak was entirely different from what the a.s.sa.s.sins reported.