Light flickered, and a dark green figure emerged. It was a large insect resembling a praying mantis, as tall as an adult, with a pair of ruby-like eyes and three tough claws extending from each side, seemingly powerful enough to cleave gold and shatter stone.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
The Insect Warrior appeared, bowing before Xiao Wen with eyes full of reverence.
Xiao Wen nodded and had it follow at his side as they headed deeper into Nightmare Forest.
After only a few steps, a faint tremor traveled through the ground. Xiao Wen's gaze fell on the dead leaves ahead to his right.
Hiss!
A sharp, piercing sound rang out as a white streak shot toward Xiao Wen.
It was a thin, long strand of spider silk, gleaming with a crystalline sheen.
Xiao Wen narrowed his eyes and was about to dodge aside when the Insect Warrior charged forward. Its claw slashed straight down, severing the silk, then it angrily cried toward the source of the attack, "Gurgle, gurgle!"
After howling a few times, the Insect Warrior turned back and gave Xiao Wen a questioning look.
"Go on. Be careful."
"Gurgle, gurgle!"
The Insect Warrior nodded and rushed toward that spot.
Its claws rose and came crashing down, stirring a fierce gust that sliced through the surrounding dead leaves and dug deep into the soil.
Just as the Insect Warrior attacked, a black shadow sprang from underground. Eight spider legs clung to the trunk of a nearby tree, while scarlet eyes stared down at the Insect Warrior and Xiao Wen.
Poisonous Tree Spider Level: 11 Attack: 220 Defense: 160 Health: 1800 Attribute: Poison Temperament: Brutal Description: A tree spider lurking in Nightmare Forest. Having been affected by miasma year-round, it possesses a venom sac filled with deadly poison. It hides in the darkness, waiting for prey to arrive.
"An eleventh-level tree spider? Its stats are pretty decent, but it's nowhere near as strong as the Insect Warrior."
The Insect Warrior stared at the spider clinging to the tree, then instantly sprang upward. It moved so fast that it reached the spider in a flash. Both claws lifted together and slashed down at once.
Health -840.
Health -840.
Player EXP +1855
In the blink of an eye, the Poisonous Tree Spider's health bar was emptied, turning into Xiao Wen's experience points.
"One monster every two seconds?"
Xiao Wen blinked, suddenly finding an excellent way to grind monsters and level up.
"Go on, fight your own battles. Just remember to bring any dropped equipment and items back to me," Xiao Wen said as he looked at the battle-hungry Insect Warrior.
"Gurgle!"
The Insect Warrior cried out. It walked over to the Poisonous Tree Spider's corpse, opened its mandibles, and swallowed it. A small opening split open on its rear abdomen, and a pale green insect egg rolled out onto the dead leaves.
Over ten seconds later, faint crackling sounds came from the egg. Cracks appeared across its shell, and a miniature Insect Warrior crawled out.
"What is this?"
Xiao Wen watched the scene unfold, shock appearing on his face. He opened the game system to inspect the larva's information.
Larva Warrior Attack: 100 Defense: 100 Description: A larva born through the Insect Warrior's powerful reproductive ability. Though weak in combat, it can help the parent body handle miscellaneous tasks.
"Larva Warrior? Is this the special ability of the summoned Insect Warrior? After killing a monster, it can use the corpse as nourishment to reproduce offspring?" Xiao Wen muttered, understanding dawning on his face.
"Gurgle, gurgle."
Looking at its offspring, the Insect Warrior nodded in satisfaction. It turned and called twice to Xiao Wen before continuing onward.
Xiao Wen was completely lost. He wondered whether he ought to learn insect language or monster language himself, so that he could talk to these monsters.
Just as Xiao Wen was pondering this, faint fluctuations came from afar. They vanished, then appeared again.
Player EXP +1425.
Player EXP +1855.
Player EXP +1855.
System notifications rang out one after another. Xiao Wen watched his experience bar rise at a visible rate, gradually approaching level 7.
"Gurgle..."
As Xiao Wen leaned back against a tree with his eyes closed, enjoying the quiet solitude, a faint sound reached him.
He lazily lifted his eyelids and saw that a Larva Warrior had somehow returned, carrying a spear on its back.
Iron Spear Required Level: 10 Grade: White Attack: 40-45 Description: A spear forged from refined iron, possessing decent hardness and penetrating power. It is a handy weapon.
Xiao Wen blinked, took the Iron Spear, casually tossed it into his backpack, and closed his eyes again.
The Insect Warrior was responsible for killing monsters, earning experience, and dropping equipment. The Larva Warriors were responsible for transporting the gear. As their master, Xiao Wen only needed to lie nearby and loaf around. Every now and then, he would open his eyes, pick up one or two pieces of equipment, toss them into his backpack, and close his eyes again to rest.
This was life!
He could level up even while lying down.
Ding! Congratulations to player Halfway Through the Mortal World for reaching level 7.
He leveled up?
Xiao Wen blinked and unhesitatingly put all five extra attribute points into Strength.
When he leveled up, Xiao Wen discovered that seven more pieces of equipment had appeared in his backpack.
Although they were all white-grade items, if these seven level-ten white items were put on the market, their prices would not be lower than those of level-five green-grade equipment.
Just as Xiao Wen was enthusiastically grinding monsters and leveling up, the players outside Novice Village No. 96508 who had come to cause him trouble finally depleted the Defensive Wall's health.
After checking how long it had taken, the players did not go looking for trouble with Xiao Wen again. Instead, they returned to their own Novice Villages through the teleportation array with dark expressions, one after another, to report back to their respective leaders.
They had indeed been sent to cause trouble for Xiao Wen.
But they all knew that their purpose was merely to test Xiao Wen's strength. The people above had never placed their hopes on them in the first place.
In Novice Village No. 010, a Flame Dragon Guild plaque hung outside an NPC residence. Beneath it stood a voluptuous woman with long fiery red hair draped over her shoulders. Her features were resolute and striking, and a longsword hung at her waist. She truly possessed the bearing of a heroine who outshone men.
She was Lu Qingsha, the president of Flame Dragon Guild and the younger sister of one of the Four Emperors, the Flame Emperor.
"P-President, we failed. That person called Halfway Through the Mortal World refused to hand over the Guild Founding Token," a guild member said softly before Lu Qingsha.
"Refused? Does he think Flame Dragon Guild hasn't shown enough sincerity?"
Lu Qingsha's voice sank as she shot a sidelong glance at her subordinate.
The man did not dare speak. He only lowered his head and stood there as cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
"The first matter failed. What about the second? I told you to probe that person's strength as much as possible. Did you find anything?"
Lu Qingsha narrowed her eyes and asked softly.
A player who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere had actually killed a level-seven Lord Boss before the Wind Emperor.
Such a dazzling achievement was impossible to ignore.
Seeing that the man did not dare answer, Lu Qingsha's expression darkened further. "Good! Very good! It seems that you people are incapable of testing his strength. In that case, let the Four Wolves..."
Just as Lu Qingsha spoke, a figure swiftly approached and shouted:
"Please wait, Miss! The Flame Emperor has ordered you to act cautiously. Do not make any rash moves before he returns!"
Before you continue