Outside the game, in a villa complex in H City, Jiuzhou.
"Damn it, that bastard actually used me as a shield. If I ever see that punk again, then..."
Beside a luxurious Gaming Pod, a chubby boy covered in fat cursed furiously.
Beside him sat a delicate-looking woman, her face cold and somewhat unpleasant.
Weren't these siblings Yang Cheng and Yang Lu, who had been beaten to a pulp by Xiao Wen in the game earlier?
"Then what? Can you beat him? His strength is definitely not as simple as it looked. He's at least on our godfather's level. Besides, we were the ones in the wrong this time. Just treat it as a lesson." Yang Lu said.
"A lesson? I should be the one teaching him a lesson! I suffered such a huge loss, and he still dared humiliate me like this. I can't swallow this anger! I'm going to find our godfather right now!"
With that, Yang Cheng stormed out.
Nightmare Forest. The moment Xiao Wen stepped inside, the scenery around him changed. Black-green light shimmered across the trunks of towering trees, dense mist coiled around damp branches, and the sounds of insects chirping and tearing at prey occasionally echoed through the forest.
"This place is kind of interesting."
Xiao Wen narrowed his eyes, leaned back, and took half a step away.
The instant Xiao Wen stepped back, a black shadow flashed past from a corner, brushing against his body before vanishing.
"That cat demon sure runs fast," Xiao Wen muttered.
Shadow Cat Demon Level: 10 Attack: 200 Defense: 150 Health: 1000 Agility: 20 Temperament: Savage Description: A cat demon living along the outskirts of Nightmare Forest. Affected by the miasma, its nature has become twisted, making it extremely aggressive.
Rustle... rustle...
As soon as Xiao Wen finished speaking, numerous scarlet dots appeared in the dark woods around him. Small figures emerged one after another from the black trees—cat demons with thick fur, blood-red eyes, and blackish-green fur intertwined along their backs.
Their gazes converged on Xiao Wen, while the faint sound of grinding teeth drifted through the air.
"They're here!"
With a wave of one hand, Xiao Wen summoned his Duel Disk and drew a card!
Centipede: 1 Star; Insect/Earth ATK: 300; DET: 350 Duel Effect: Can bypass enemy monsters and attack the player directly. Description: A small insect with special abilities. Though its attack power is weak, it can deal unexpected damage.
"A one-star Centipede?"
Xiao Wen blinked, looking somewhat disdainful.
Sure enough, the summoner class depended on luck, and the Duelist, the hidden class branching from summoner, depended on luck even more!
When he dealt with the Rhino Lord earlier, his luck had been incredible. He had drawn the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and instantly killed the monster.
But now?
It was another one-star little monster with only three hundred attack power.
"Whatever, I'll make do. Leveling up is more important."
"Summon! Centipede!"
After placing the card on the Duel Disk, Xiao Wen heard a rustling sound. A dark shadow had appeared on the ground in front of him.
The shadow slowly rose, transforming into a vicious-looking Centipede.
"Hiss... hiss..."
The Centipede opened its enormous mandibles and coiled its body, staring at the Shadow Cat Demons ahead like a giant snake.
When the Centipede was summoned, Xiao Wen, as its summoner, also learned of its unique combat trait.
"Armor break? Ignores defense? This talent is pretty overpowered. Looks like none of the summoned monsters in Duel City are simple."
"Centipede, attack!"
"Hiss!"
Its body swaying, the Centipede shot forward at a Shadow Cat Demon. Its tail whipped out and struck the demon, sending it flying and dealing three hundred points of damage.
"Not bad. At least this little guy can share some of the burden. It'll be much easier for me to deal with the rest of these little cat demons."
From the very beginning, Xiao Wen had never intended to rely on summoned monsters to handle this group of Shadow Cat Demons.
"Meow!"
A low cry sounded as a Shadow Cat Demon pounced toward him. Its claws rose, cold light flashing as it lunged at Xiao Wen.
Xiao Wen remained motionless. Just before the Shadow Cat Demon closed in, the corner of his lips curled upward.
He threw a punch at empty space.
The moment Xiao Wen's fist swung out, the Shadow Cat Demon's body shifted in midair, forcing itself straight into his punch.
Health -345.
A crimson number floated above the Shadow Cat Demon. Seeing this, Xiao Wen threw two more punches in quick succession, smashing into the Shadow Cat Demon and taking its life.
Player EXP +1425.
Looking at his noticeably increased experience bar, a smile appeared on Xiao Wen's face.
Sure enough, high-level monsters gave plenty of experience.
Spreading his arms, Xiao Wen's fists moved like machine guns—swinging out, hammering down, pulling back, and landing precise killing blows...
Health -345! **Fatal Strike!** Health -840
Damage values rose continuously above the Shadow Cat Demons.
Xiao Wen's movements flowed smoothly, without the slightest hesitation. In just a few minutes, more than a dozen Shadow Cat Demon corpses lay around him.
The Centipede at his side was no less impressive. With its defense-piercing trait and superior defense, it dispatched a Shadow Cat Demon in just a few strikes. It was not much slower than Xiao Wen at killing monsters.
Player EXP +1425. Player EXP +1425. Player EXP +1425.
Ding! Congratulations, player Halfway Through the Mortal World has reached Level 6.
Unmoved by his level-up, Xiao Wen immediately put all five attribute points into Strength. Combined with the base-stat increase from leveling up, Xiao Wen now had even greater killing power!
After leveling up, Xiao Wen discovered something interesting.
Although he was a summoner, the monsters he summoned did not share his experience like other summons did.
It was precisely because summoned creatures shared experience that, in previous games, most people believed the summoner class was useless in the early stages. It was too difficult to develop later on, and its potential was far inferior to other classes.
That was also why none of the Four Emperors had chosen the summoner class.
Until... Xiao Wen appeared.
"Oh? Looks like something pretty good dropped."
After clearing out the surrounding Shadow Cat Demons, Xiao Wen found that his experience bar was already one-third full. Then he spotted a sharp claw beneath one Shadow Cat Demon's corpse, and his eyes lit up slightly.
Shadow Cat Claw Category: Material Quantity: 2 Description: Claws shed from the corpses of Shadow Cat Demons. They possess decent armor-piercing capabilities and are excellent materials for forging weapons. They have a chance of adding Dark and Poison attributes to forged weapons.
"Materials for forging weapons. I'll keep them for now. According to the game announcements, players can enter towns and forge weapons themselves after reaching Level 15. By then, these things should fetch a good price."
Xiao Wen muttered as he recalled the Centipede. Just as he was about to move forward, he suddenly noticed a murky Light Pillar shooting into the sky in the distance.
Birds and beasts shrieked as they fled toward the edge of the forest, terror filling every monster's eyes.
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