Xiao Liang stood to the side, completely dumbfounded. Walking over, he said, "Boss, you're incredible. You took on five alone and won without losing a single point of health."
"They were just trash. Killing them was like playing around," Lu Yang said.
"But Boss, why do you cast spells differently from everyone else? When I watched other mages use Fireball, it took them three seconds, and their Fireballs weren't as big as yours," Xiao Liang asked.
"There's no harm in telling you, but you have to keep this a secret." Lu Yang said, "What I used just now was a skill even bigger than Fireball, called Pyroblast. It deals 50% more damage than Fireball, but its normal casting time is five seconds. Generally speaking, no mage uses this skill while grinding monsters or in group battles. But I'm special. When I first entered the game, I had a few lucky encounters and learned simplified incantations. It takes others five seconds to cast it, but I only need 0.7 seconds."
"Ah~~" Xiao Liang's eyes widened in shock. "That little time?"
No matter how little Xiao Liang knew about games, he understood what that meant. By the time someone else cast one Pyroblast, Lu Yang could cast seven. In other words, Lu Yang alone was equivalent to the output of seven people.
"So, are you interested in switching to the mage class? I can teach you simplified incantations." Lu Yang asked with a smile.
Longing flashed in Xiao Liang's eyes, but it quickly turned resolute. "No, I want to play a warrior."
Xiao Liang had chosen the warrior class because he wanted to stand in front of Lu Yang. Anyone who wanted to attack Lu Yang would have to get past him first. But Xiao Liang could not bring himself to say something like that; he could only prove it through his actions.
Lu Yang did not pressure Xiao Liang. Playing games depended on personal preference. Some people were born to play mages, like Lu Yang, while others were born to play warriors and enjoyed the feeling of cutting people down.
"Fine, it's up to you. If you ever want to become a mage someday, I definitely won't hold back. I'll teach you every simplified incantation for fire magic," Lu Yang said.
"Mm." Xiao Liang nodded.
"Go check the equipment. See what gear those people dropped," Lu Yang said.
Golden Eagle and the other four were all deeply red-named. According to the system rules, when red-named players died, everything in their bags dropped, and there was also a high chance for their equipped gear to drop.
Xiao Liang went to where the five had died and looked around. "Boss, they were carrying quite a lot of good stuff."
The ground was covered in all kinds of potions and equipment gleaming with a bronze-colored light.
Lu Yang walked over and took a look. "Black Blood's Eternal Bliss Paradise really is a bunch of bastards. How many players must these five have killed to get all this gear?"
Black Blood practiced a combat-for-resources style. Starting from level 0, he led his subordinates everywhere to kill people and seize anything players carried, selling it for money. Though the method was despicable, it attracted a large group of players who enjoyed PK to join Black Blood's guild. Black Blood's gradual rise also relied on these players. Although they later discovered that Black Blood had poor character and left the guild one after another, that was a story for later.
Xiao Liang picked up the equipment one piece at a time. When he reached Golden Eagle, the warrior, he spotted a bead glowing green. After picking it up, he curiously asked Lu Yang, "Boss, this bead is strange. What's it for?"
Lu Yang looked up, and his eyes immediately widened in surprise. "Serpent Venom Orb? How is that possible? How could they have gotten a Serpent Venom Orb at this level?"
"Serpent Venom Orb? What is that?" Xiao Liang did not understand. In the game's official settings, special items had no descriptions. Players had to figure out all their functions themselves.
Lu Yang said excitedly, "Brother, this is a treasure."
If there was anything in the early stages that could catch Lu Yang's eye, the Arsonist Staff counted as one, Demon God's Heart counted as another, and aside from those two, there was the Serpent Venom Orb in Xiao Liang's hand.
"No wonder Black Blood's group was able to rise so quickly in my previous life. So they got this treasure so early," Lu Yang muttered.
"Previous life? What previous life?" Xiao Liang asked in confusion.
"It's nothing." Lu Yang said to Xiao Liang, "Kid, you've struck it rich. This Serpent Venom Orb is a special treasure that can be upgraded. We won't talk about what it becomes after upgrading for now. Let me first tell you how powerful it is at the moment. It can release poisonous mist across a 10 by 10 area. Targets hit by the mist lose 10 health per second for five minutes, with a two-minute cooldown."
"Ah, it's that strong?" Xiao Liang asked in astonishment.
"Yeah. Against players, they can heal, use potions and bandages, or escape the poisonous mist's range to dispel the skill. But monsters can't. Whoever carries this equipment basically has a divine tool for leveling quickly," Lu Yang said.
"Boss, doesn't that mean we can level up quickly?" Xiao Liang said excitedly.
"Of course. Keep the Serpent Venom Orb, then put on this set of bronze warrior equipment. I'll take you leveling," Lu Yang said.
Originally, Lu Yang had wanted to go to Troll Camp to complete a special quest, but now that they had the Serpent Venom Orb, he decided to take Xiao Liang to Ogre Camp first.
Following Flower Whisper Plains, Lu Yang led Xiao Liang running northwest from St. Gall City. After more than three hours, passing through the level 3 to level 9 monster zones, Lu Yang brought Xiao Liang into Silent Forest.
"Boss, this is a level 10 monster zone, right?" Xiao Liang asked, his voice trembling. He was a level 0 newbie who had just entered the game, yet he had somehow run into such a high-level map. He was scared out of his wits.
Lu Yang smiled. "Don't worry. We're not hunting monsters here."
Xiao Liang stared blankly. "Boss, you mean we're going even farther ahead?"
Lu Yang laughed. "Oh, you catch on pretty fast."
Xiao Liang looked at the massive bodies of the level 10 black bears in the distance and could not help swallowing. "Yeah, that fits your style, Boss."
Lu Yang laughed. Patting Xiao Liang on the shoulder, he said, "Don't be afraid of these monsters. Follow me. As long as we find the right method, we won't alert them."
Although the level 10 black bears were huge, their greatest characteristic was that they did not like to move much. Especially at night, these black bears habitually stayed in fixed locations and did not travel along the game's main roads.
Lu Yang led Xiao Liang to wait until the sun set and the moon hung high in the sky. At that moment, Silent Forest looked especially terrifying beneath the night sky. Bats constantly swept over the treetops, and eerie owl cries echoed in the distance. But the black bears had all returned to the depths of the forest, each wandering around its fixed location.
"We can go now," Lu Yang said.
"Mm." Xiao Liang had also noticed that the black bears were gone. Excitedly, he said, "Boss, how did you know about this black bear behavior?"
Lu Yang smiled. "There's a game library on the official website. It has information like this."
In truth, this method had not been found in the game library at all. Players had figured it out themselves.
When Lu Yang entered the game in his previous life, it was the era when major studios were aggressively expanding within the game. To gather high-level medicinal herbs, the studios required their players to enter high-level maps early to collect herbs. A single high-level herb was worth several times the price of an ordinary one. To obtain advanced herbs, the studios' gold farmers often took desperate risks. After countless sacrifices, players from one studio discovered this method.
As Lu Yang ran down the path, he could not help recalling his own experiences from that era. It truly had been an age that produced heroes in abundance.
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