Lin Yixin and I purposely took a circuitous route to avoid being hara.s.sed or hunted. We climbed up another hill and continued toward the icy plains.
As elevation increased, the broad-leaved flora in the area was steadily replaced by a needle-leaved forest. Another five minutes of hiking later, snow started falling from the sky.
Snow started covering the ground beneath our feet. A short while later, we had officially entered the snowy region of Dragonbone Mountain Range.
Our war boots left deep footprints on the snow beneath our feet. I pulled out the Purgatory Sword and watched my surroundings carefully since we had entered the Snow Rabbit"s habitat, our ideal leveling ground.
“Uuuu…”
Lin Yixin clutched her battle robes and looked like she was freezing. Well, it was understandable. Most female fighter equipment didn"t cover the legs, so it was only natural that she felt cold in an environment like this.
I shot her a pitying look before saying, “You"ll be warmer once we get into a fight.”
“Mn!”
Lin Yixin and nodded and looked toward the front. Suddenly, a trace of pleasant surprise pa.s.sed through her features. “Lu Chen, look! Is that the Snow Rabbit you"re looking for?”
I looked in the direction she was pointing at. It was as she said. A corrupted rabbit about 50 centimeters tall was hopping back and forth across the snow. It looked way tougher than the usual rabbit, and it was protected by a kind of armor that looked like it was made from ice instead of fur!
When we got closer to the Snow Rabbit, its stats appeared in the party channel—
Snow Rabbit (Shadow)
Level: 115
Attack: 1250~1350
Defense: 1100
HP: 45000
Skills: Mach Speed, Devour, Whirlwind
Introduction: The guardian of the snowy regions. After being corrupted by dark energy, these fearsome Snow Rabbits turned violent and attack anyone who attempts to harm them.
……
“Gulp!”
I swallowed once before gasping in shock. “A shadow-rank monster? So powerful…”
Lin Yixin nodded with a smile. “Finally, a mob that"s stronger than an elite but isn"t a boss has appeared in Heavenblessed. I"ve read about this on the official records. shadow-rank mobs are just like elites, but a single rank higher. You may have noticed it already, but its stats are much higher than normal. At 45000 HP, this Snow Rabbit is almost as strong as a miniboss. Lu Chen, it looks like we"ve run into an iron, no, a steel plate…”
I smiled. “However, it"s also stated in the official records that shadow-rank monsters have a 0.1% chance of dropping Gold-grade equipment and a 0.01% chance of dropping Dark Gold–grade equipment. Its experience yield is also 5 to 10 times higher than a common mob. If this isn"t the perfect mob to farm experience and equipment, I don"t know what is…”
“Hehe, you"re right. Get ready!”
“Mn!”
I locked onto the nearest Snow Rabbit and activated Thunderous Charge!
Whoos.h.!.+
I turned into a bolt of lightning and slammed into the Snow Rabbit like a tank. Unfortunately I failed to stun the mob, so I followed up with a Desperate Gambit and basic attack!
3887!
2984!
d.a.m.n, shadow-rank mobs were a lot stronger than common or elite mobs, or I would"ve dealt a lot more damage otherwise. I could imagine another fighter who wasn"t me counting themselves lucky if they even managed to pierce its Defense. It looked like the Snow Rabbits were meant to be farmed by a group instead of a solo player; a party of 5 to 10 players to ensure safety.
Swhoos.h.!.+
The Snow Rabbit made a small noise and retaliated with a venomous bite. Its teeth looked like it was covered in icicles, and when it chomped down on my arm I felt a burst of pain and lost 985 HP!
It was the Devour skill, a skill that increased its attack damage by 40%. Mn, we definitely couldn"t afford to underestimate its damage potential. We also couldn"t aggro them en ma.s.se without a priest to keep us healed constantly.
“Watch out…”
Lin Yixin attacked the Snow Rabbit from the sides and cut it three times in a row. The Sky Obsidian Greedy Wolf also gave it a bite of its own and took out even more HP from its health bar. It might have 45000 HP, but there was no chance it could withstand our combined power. Our offensive power was just that high.
Crack crack crack!
Two more hits to its weak point, and the Snow Rabbit finally let out a sorrowful wail and collapsed to the ground. Shockingly, the first shadow-rank mob we ever killed actually dropped azure leather wristguards!
I picked them up and was amused by what I saw—
Wristguards of the Frozen Earth (Silver-grade)
Defense: 135
Agility: +41
Stamina: +35
Pa.s.sive: Increases user"s Agility by 3%
Pa.s.sive: Increases user"s critical rate by 1%
Property: Frozen Earth Set, Wristguards
Level: 95
……
Lin Yixin and I exchanged a glance with one another. “A set?”
Incredible. This Snow Rabbit drops set equipment?
“What are the effects of this Frozen Earth Set?” Lin Yixin asked.
“You should be able to see it if you equip it…”
“Mn.”
Lin Yixin put on the Wristguards of the Frozen Earth, and her mouth immediately fell open in surprise. She shared the set"s effects in the party channel—
Frozen Earth Set (Leather Armor):
1 piece: None
2 piece: +100 Agility
3 piece: +4% critical rate
4 piece: Defense +240
5 piece: User gains pa.s.sive skill “Frozen Earth”. All attacks are imbued with the power of the Frozen Earth. When attacking, 20% chance to inflict the Frozen status and reduce the target"s movement and attack speed by 25% for 3 seconds.
……
“Tsk tsk, not bad!” I smiled. “If we can gather a full set, this is as good as having a set of Dark Gold–grade leather armor! In my opinion, this Frozen Earth Set is probably the ideal equipment to have for Level 95 archers and a.s.sa.s.sins…”
Lin Yixin nodded. “Mn. In fact, I think the full set can sell for 100k if we put it up at the auction house. What do you think?”
“It might be worth even more than that…” I emphasized by pointing at the set effects. “100 Agility, 4% critical rate, and 240 Defense are probably everything an archer or an a.s.sa.s.sin needs to protect themselves. This 100 Agility especially is absolutely ridiculous. Moreover, this Frozen Earth adds a 20% chance to inflict the Frozen status to any attack. For an archer, it"s like a no-cooldown Freezing Arrow. How awesome is that?”
“Mn, mn! Let"s gather as many sets as we can and split the loot in half later!”
“Alright~~”
Both of us stared at the Snow Rabbits still hopping across icy plains in excitement. These babies were all walking bags of experience and gold!
We slowly and carefully cut down the Snow Rabbits one at a time, at most two. The Snow Rabbit possessed both high attack and high attack speed, and neither of us could tank it for too long.
Chiang chiang chiang!
In fact, Lin Yixin"s Profound Ice Armor made some very creepy noises every time a Snow Rabbit managed to get its icy teeth on it. Her HP dropped rapidly every time she became the focus of the enemy.
Moreover, the Snow Rabbits had 45000 HP and high HP regeneration. Even with our combined strength, it still took us 2 minutes at least to take one down. Frankly, it wasn"t very efficient!
Snow continued to fall on the icy plains as we grinded.
Rustle rustle...
Snowflakes as big as goose eggs landed on Lin Yixin"s hair or shoulders before they were shaken off by her movement. She looked absolutely gorgeous in a setting like this.
Some time later, dozens of Snow Rabbits had perished by our hands, but not a single Frozen Earth set equipment dropped for us. It was a bit disappointing for sure, but at least I still got some Snow Rabbit Meat out of it. Each Snow Rabbit dropped about ten pieces of Snow Rabbit Meat or so, making them fairly easy to forage.
……
After killing another Snow Rabbit, Lin Yixin looked at me and asked between heavy breaths, “Did you notice a serious problem, Lu Chen?”
“What is it?”
“Our speed is too slow. At this rate, how long will it take until we complete our first Frozen Earth set?”
“Yeah…”
I nodded in agreement, and we both started examining our surroundings without needing to exchange a word. If we couldn"t find a good farming spot soon, we could grind for another 48 hours and still not hit Level 100. The amount of experience needed to level up from 99 to 100 was that ridiculous. We had killed plenty of Snow Rabbits so far, but when I looked at my experience bar it almost looked like it hadn"t budged at all!
It looked like Level 100 was a cut-off point that all players must climb. If I wasn"t mistaken, the experience needed to level up from 99 to 100 was twice the amount it took to level from 98 to 99, if not more. It was impossible to reach Level 100 without putting in some hard work.
Suddenly, both our gazes stopped at an icy cliff at the same time. It was a sharp, triangular protrusion sticking out of the edge of the icy plains, and from above the terrain looked like an open fan. It was a perfect chokepoint to farm the Snow Rabbits!
Lin Yixin sucked in a deep breath before starting, “If we set up a defense line 3 yards away from the cliff edge, there is just enough s.p.a.ce to fit two players at the frontline. The Sky Obsidian Greedy Wolf and I will stand at the front and block the mobs while you execute Thousand Mirage Slash and Dragon Slaying Slash from the back. Let"s maximize the potential of the Purgatory Sword"s 20% splash damage.”
I gave the idea some consideration but shook my head. “No. My HP and Defense are slightly higher than yours, so I should be the one to stand at the front.”
Lin Yixin stared at me. “Come on, I have no other long-ranged attack besides the Ice Flame Slash, and the skill has a 10-second cooldown. What am I supposed to do while the skill is in cooldown? Nothing?”
“Well… fine…” I nodded. “I"ll stand in the back and use Thousand Mirage Slash, War Crush, and Dragon Slaying Slash to attack the enemies. You will stand at the front and use Guard to defend yourself after you use Ice Flame Slash. But watch out for Whirlwind, okay? That skill deals magic damage, and you will be one-shot if you"re not careful!”
“I got it. Anyway, I"m going to go aggro the mobs now, so wait for me at the choke point. Oh right, does the little wolf have Guard? If it does, we can make it Guard non-stop and tank the Snow Rabbits" attacks with its HP regeneration!”
“Yeah!”
……
I led the Sky Obsidian Greedy Wolf to the edge of the icy plains while Lin Yixin left to lure the mobs. It took incredible skill to aggro an entire horde of Level 115 shadow-rank mobs without getting caught, but I wasn"t worried for Lin Yixin"s safety. I had cooperated with her long enough to know that she was super top-tier; just one polish away from reaching the absolute top. It was why she was fearless even when her opponent was Candlelight Shadow himself.
If I had to choose one woman from the China server who could challenge Candlelight Shadow to a 1v1 battle, Lin Yixin was my one and only pick for sure!