Strange Creatures

After breaking through level 10, Sorcerers gain an extended lifespan of two hundred years. Judging by the middle-aged man's age, the village chief should be around 65 years old.

No wonder he didn't want to take her in as an adventurer. This must be a family-based village.

It seems that "above" has issued instructions regarding the arrangement of "adventurers." Villages that are unwilling to accept adventurers must arrange a relatively safe place for them.

Otherwise, the village chief could have simply kicked her out and left her to fend for herself.

A moment later, a knock sounded at the door.

Yun Xi got up and opened it. It was the familiar middle-aged man.

"Adventurer, my spiritual flame was accidentally extinguished. To ensure everyone's safety, the village chief has instructed that everyone in the village must stay together tonight."

Yun Xi was a little surprised. She hadn't expected him to still be thinking of her.

"Okay."

She followed the middle-aged man directly to the bonfire. At that instant, all sorts of gazes turned towards her.

Yun Xi calmly observed them as well.

Although she had anticipated it, she hadn't expected that the entire village population consisted of only seven people.

Excluding the village chief and the middle-aged man, there was a middle-aged woman, three teenagers, and a young girl.

Just as she had suspected, this was indeed a family.

The middle-aged woman was holding a girl of about five or six years old, looking at Yun Xi with a friendly gaze. She must be the middle-aged man's wife.

The three teenagers and the young girl were likely their children, and the village chief was the children's grandfather.

Among them, the eldest youth had a flushed face and a hint of annoyance in his eyes. He was likely Hada, who had just been severely reprimanded by the middle-aged man.

The other two teenagers were twins. They were curious about Yun Xi, the outsider, but dared not say much in front of the elders.

Overall, this family bore no ill will towards her.

"Little girl, you must be the newly arrived adventurer, right? Come, sit here." The middle-aged woman beckoned to Yun Xi, patting the spot next to her.

Hearing this, Yun Xi returned a polite smile.

To be honest, as an "adventurer," her sudden "arrival" in this family-based village felt like intruding into someone else's home.

Now that everyone was gathered here, it was truly a bit awkward.

"Shh—" Suddenly, the village chief gestured for everyone to be quiet.

Everyone instantly held their breath. The innocent young girl had her mouth covered by the middle-aged woman to prevent her from making any noise.

Not only the village chief, but Yun Xi also heard rustling sounds.

And at a speed visible to the naked eye, the bonfire in front of everyone rapidly diminished.

The twin teenagers urgently added wood to the fire, while the middle-aged man and the youth named Hada quickly stood up. Together with the village chief, they positioned themselves at the outermost perimeter of the gathered group, adopting a protective stance and shielding the others within.

At the same time, Yun Xi also prepared for battle, mobilizing the Spiritual Energy within her body and quickly began to outline the incantation patterns for the Water Arrow technique.

[Basic Water Arrow LV1: Consumes 10-100 Spiritual Energy, can condense a small water arrow, dealing up to 39-129 (Spirit * Skill Level + Consumed Spiritual Energy) Water-elemental Sorcery damage to Strange Creatures.]

Unsure of the enemy's level, and considering her total Spiritual Energy of only 290 points, Yun Xi chose to consume only 20 points of Spiritual Energy, preparing a small water arrow that could deal approximately 49 damage.

The village chief naturally noticed the Spiritual Energy fluctuation from Yun Xi. However, the situation was urgent, and he didn't have time to be surprised.

"The enemy is here!" he said in a deep voice, launching a Fireball towards a spot not far away.

Yun Xi, standing to the village chief's right rear, followed the direction of the fireball. There, a dense cluster of rats was gathered.

Some were the size of basketballs, others the size of fists. Without exception, every single one of these rats had a bloodthirsty glint in its eyes – they were Rat Fiends.

As the Fireball was about to hit, they quickly scattered. However, a few rats were too slow to dodge and were directly hit, taking a significant amount of damage.

Fire had a double bonus damage effect against Strange Creatures. The few medium-sized rats that were hit, with around 200 HP, were still eliminated in a single blow by the village chief's Fireball.

The village chief was indeed very strong, worthy of being a Sorcerer above level 10.

That single attack must have consumed at least a hundred Spiritual Energy.

As a novice Sorcerer below level 10, Yun Xi's total Spiritual Energy was (Spirit * 10). Even with a high Spirit attribute of 29, her total Spiritual Energy was only a few hundred points.

However, as an intermediate Sorcerer above level 10, the village chief's total Spiritual Energy was (Spirit * 100). Even if his Spirit was only in the teens, his total Spiritual Energy could reach over a thousand.

If the village chief had allocated all his free attribute points to Spirit, his total Spiritual Energy might have exceeded two thousand points, creating a fundamental gap between them.

Yun Xi could also have chosen to consume hundreds of Spiritual Energy to deal over 100 damage. However, her current total Spiritual Energy was only 290 points. Such an attack would allow her to cast at most three times.

Although she possessed the "money" ability, absorbing Spiritual Energy from crystals also required time.

On the battlefield, situations changed rapidly. In the face of life and death, replenishing Spiritual Energy on the spot was often not enough, unless one could stall for time or possessed complete defensive measures. This was also why Yun Xi chose to learn the Light Control Technique and counter-attack techniques.

Following closely behind the village chief, Yun Xi's small water arrow also shot out swiftly. She had chosen a fist-sized rat as her target, which had only 40 HP.

Her Water Arrow technique, with 49 damage, was more than enough to instantly kill it.

Yun Xi's action drew envious glances from the twin youths.

Their initial Spirit attribute was too low, and they had not yet successfully transferred to the Sorcerer class.

Even though they had reached level 2, with all 4 free attribute points allocated to Spirit, they only had 7 Spirit. Despite studying the Basic Fireball technique for two years, they still hadn't learned it.

In contrast, their eldest brother Hada, and their youngest sister, both had high initial Spiritual Energy.

Hada had already become a formal novice Sorcerer. At this moment, his demeanor was almost identical to the village chief's. He continuously conjured fireballs in his hands, attacking the rat horde.

The middle-aged man was purely a Warrior. He held a cleaver, his gaze fiercely fixed on the rat horde.

The instant she instantly killed a small rat, a notification sound echoed in Yun Xi's ears.

[Ding, congratulations to the player for gaining +1 free attribute point.]

The Jade of Slaughter had taken effect.

As long as malicious Strange Creatures were killed, a random number of free attribute points/skill points would definitely be gained.

If the seal were to be broken, the condition of killing any life form would suffice.

After all, an ant could be considered 'any life form.'

It was hard to imagine that the ancient God Race, possessing such a conceptual divine artifact, could actually be annihilated...

Yun Xi's thoughts raced as she began to continuously harvest the lives of the small rats.

[Ding, congratulations to the player for gaining +1 free attribute point.]

[Ding, congratulations to the player for gaining +1 free attribute point.]

[Ding, congratulations to the player for gaining +1 free skill point.]