Stone Cracking Slash

Finally, level three. It wasn't easy.

Xiao Jie looked at the 5 newly acquired attribute points, a wave of emotion washing over him.

He had been playing this lousy game for several days just to reach level three. In other games, leveling up dozens of times in a single day would be a breeze, but this game was a heart-pounding ordeal at every turn.

However, the rewards gained from leveling up were incomparable to any other game.

Looking at these five precious attribute points, Xiao Jie already had a plan for how to allocate them.

Since he was committed to the agility route, agility was naturally the most important attribute for the early game.

Next, he had to add some to constitution. The longer the health bar, the higher the safety, especially in the early stages. Damage could be supplemented by weapons, but health was the foundation of survival, and it could only be supported by attribute points.

However, the primary attribute was also crucial. Since he was going for agility, he had to invest in it; otherwise, if he encountered a skill he wanted to learn but lacked the required stats, it would be incredibly frustrating.

Xiao Jie noticed that 15 points seemed to be a threshold. The skill rewarded by the Weird Goat, as well as the skill book Ye Luo gave to I Want to Become Immortal, both required 15 points to learn.

Therefore, after a moment of hesitation, Xiao Jie chose to add 2 points to constitution and 3 points to agility.

With that, his base attributes became:

Constitution: 12.

Strength: 10.

Stamina: 10.

Agility: 15.

An agility of 15 was already far beyond that of an ordinary person. He would have to properly experience the agility of 15 points in reality later.

And though 2 points of constitution only added 20 health, his survivability had undoubtedly improved significantly, especially when facing the Scarecrow's Flame Embrace. At least he wouldn't have to worry about being one-shot if he got pounced on.

They continued to kill monsters, and after taking down two more Scarecrows, I Want to Become Immortal also reached level three.

"Brother Feng, I leveled up too," I Want to Become Immortal said excitedly.

"Mm, have you decided how to allocate your points?"

I Want to Become Immortal was a bit conflicted about this. He had certainly thought about it, but he hadn't made up his mind.

Ever since he heard Ye Luo's words, he had considered focusing on spirituality, stacking dozens of points into it, and then finding a way to trigger a Serendipitous Encounter to achieve immortality.

However, despite being young, he wasn't stupid. Without the reinforcement of base attributes in the early game, combat effectiveness couldn't be guaranteed. He might die before even reaching level 10. Just like that burn he took earlier—it was only thanks to the 5 points of constitution he had added previously that he survived.

"Brother Feng, do you have any advice? I want to cultivate immortality, but... you know. Do you think I should take a gamble and add to spirituality?"

Xiao Jie said calmly, "I wouldn't call it advice, just an analysis. If you want to become an immortal, you definitely have to go down the Magic Class route, which leaves you with two options."

"Route 1: Stack spirituality early on, strive to trigger a Serendipitous Encounter before level 10, obtain a Magic Class at level 10, and then continuously advance to more powerful professions."

"Route 2: Add to base attributes early on, settle on a physical profession at level 10, obtain a Serendipitous Encounter before level 20, then obtain a Magic Class at level 20, and dual-class at level 30."

"Route 1 is high-risk but more likely to lead to immortality. Route 2 is more stable in the early game, but the possibility of becoming an immortal is lower, though not entirely impossible."

"So, you just need to consider whether you're willing to take that risk. Think about it: if you don't add to your base attributes, what are the odds you'll die before level 10? We're only fighting Scarecrows and Lost Soul Bandits right now, and we've already had two close calls. We'll definitely face stronger enemies later. Can you guarantee you won't make any more mistakes? I know I wouldn't dare."

They were all adults; even if the other party was a bit younger, Xiao Jie couldn't make the decision for him, but some risks had to be made clear.

He didn't want to watch this young man get himself killed out of a moment of impulse.

I Want to Become Immortal heard the subtext in his words and couldn't help but sigh. "I understand, Brother Feng. I'll stick to the physical route. It's not too late to take up a Magic Class at level 20 anyway."

As he spoke, he put all his attribute points into strength.

With 15 strength, he could finally learn Stone Cracking Slash. It was too exhausting to fight monsters without combat skills, and he had long envied Xiao Jie's fifty or sixty damage per hit.

A white light flashed, and the skill was learned.

[Stone Cracking Slash (Combat Skill)
Applicable weapons: Battle Axe, Two Handed Greatsword, Two-Handed Heavy Sword.
Combat Skill cost: 80 stamina.
Skill Effect 1: Swing your weapon with force to strike the target in front, dealing 240% weapon damage and applying 50 points of Toughness Reduction.
Skill Effect 2: Gain 25 points of temporary Toughness when using this combat skill.
Skill Description: A combat skill mastered by quarry workers through years of splitting mountains and cutting stone. Swinging heavy two-handed weapons with full force can deal massive damage to a target.]

Seeing the new skill in his Skill Bar, I Want to Become Immortal was thrilled and immediately wanted to test it out.

Finding a Scarecrow, I Want to Become Immortal asked Xiao Jie to hold back; he wanted to try a solo fight.

Equipping the Battle Axe he had bought in advance, he swung the axe with both hands as if he were wielding a sledgehammer to smash a rock, bringing it down squarely on the Scarecrow before him.

BOOM! -58!

With one swing, the Scarecrow was smashed flat onto the ground.

"Again!" Xiao Jie shouted.

I Want to Become Immortal swung the Battle Axe once more.

Stone Cracking Slash!

Before the scarecrow could even stand up, it was smashed back down by another axe strike, -57!

At the same time, Xiao Jie swung his blade, dealing the final 5 points of damage, and the scarecrow was instantly killed.

It dropped a dozen or so Copper Coins.

"This skill is pretty good," Xiao Jie praised.

The Toughness Reduction effect was quite fierce. Units in this game possessed a concept called Toughness, a hidden value; once it was reduced to zero, the target would suffer a major stagger.

Different monsters had different Toughness values. The scarecrow before them clearly had low Toughness, and with a skill like Stone Cracking Slash that possessed a Toughness Reduction effect, one could theoretically perform an infinite combo as long as the attacks were chained together.

He wondered if this move would work against a Mountain Bandit.

The only drawback was that the wind-up was too slow. One Cut Two Pieces required a one-second charge, but the strike itself was extremely fast, landing almost instantly.

Stone Cracking Slash also required about a one-second charge, but the axe swing itself took another second; if an enemy reacted quickly, it would likely be hard to land.

Furthermore, this combat skill required two hands, meaning he couldn't equip a shield, which was also a potential risk.

But all in all, the pros outweighed the cons.

"Are you planning to go for a pure strength build?"

"I haven't decided yet, but the Strength attribute is directly related to physical damage, so I have to invest in it regardless. Even if I switch to a sword later, it won't be a waste."

"Mm, that's true. Come on, you handle the finishing blows this time, and I'll chip in the damage."

The two continued to work.

The Toughness Reduction effect could directly knock the scarecrows flat, making combat even safer and further increasing their efficiency.

Stone Cracking Slash!

Boom, another scarecrow fell. This time, it dropped not only dozens of Copper Coins but also a shiny ring.

Bronze Ring (Ring)
Attributes: Attack +1.
Item Description: A ring crafted from ancient brass. Its golden color is reminiscent of legendary gold, making it a material used by the lower classes to create jewelry. It can slightly increase the wearer's attack power.

What a trashy attribute, but at least it was a piece of jewelry.

"You take it," Xiao Jie said.

He had already taken several pieces of equipment earlier. Although they were all white or gray-tier junk, they were worth some money. Since this was finally something I Want to Become Immortal could use, he naturally wanted to be courteous.

Although this thing only added 1 point of attack power, jewelry had a low drop rate and still held some value.

I Want to Become Immortal didn't stand on ceremony either. "Then thanks, Brother Feng." He happily put it on.

Just as the two were about to continue, a sudden, foul-mouthed curse startled them.

"This is my field, this is my land! Where did you mud-legged peasants come from? Get out of here!"

The two turned around to see a middle-aged woman shrouded in ominous black mist charging out of the Wheat Field in the distance, brandishing a kitchen knife as she rushed toward them.

They looked at the monster's name.

Tian Li Shi (Demonized Human), Level 5. HP 240.