Discovering a Wild Coal Mine

Serpentfolk Priestess: Ilena Race: Snake Person Level: 5 (132/4000)

Health: 480

Attack Power: 51~54 (Weapon Bonus)

Attributes: Strength 21, Agility 17, Spirit 18, Constitution 24

Skills: Scale Armor (Can grant an additional 10 Armor to self or allies, 90-second cooldown).4 Serpentfolk Berserk (Grants Berserk effect to self or allied units, increasing Movement Speed +20% and Attack Speed +20% for 60 seconds, 120-second cooldown.)5

Talent: Ice Bloodline (Can survive longer in extreme weather)2

Hunger: 671

Loyalty: 68

"Whoa... such powerful attributes, truly worthy of a Level 5 creature!"

Cao Xing was astonished.

More importantly, Cao Xing saw Ilena's two skills: Serpentfolk Berserk and Scale Armor!

Both of these skills were buff-type enhancement skills.

Combined with his SSS-Rank Talent, they would permanently increase his Armor by 10 points!

(For calculation purposes, 1 point of Armor negates 1 point of Attack Power).

For ordinary creatures like Polar Humans, 1 point of Strength is roughly equivalent to 2 points of Physical Attack Power.

(Depending on the profession and racial talents, the Attack Power bonus from Strength varies. The bonus from 1 point of Strength ranges from 1.5 to 3 Physical Attack Power.)

This meant that, apart from Da Zhuang, the attacks of the other Polar Humans would hardly deal any effective damage to Cao Xing.

From this, one could see how terrifying the improvement brought by this skill was in the early game.

The other skill, Serpentfolk Berserk, which increased Movement Speed and Attack Speed by 20%, was an even more formidable percentage-based enhancement skill.4

At this moment, Cao Xing felt like he had truly struck gold!

Suppressing his excitement, Cao Xing said, "Ilena, cast the Serpentfolk Berserk skill on us first."

In this world, he had to seize every opportunity to increase his strength.

Ilena flicked her scarlet tongue and said, "With pleasure, my Lord~"2

As she spoke, Ilena raised her spear, and a ball of red energy gathered on it.

Then, she pointed her spear, and a burst of energy landed on Cao Xing.

Instantly, Cao Xing felt a surge of hot energy within him, greatly increasing his attack and movement speed.

[Serpentfolk Berserk cast successfully, Talent Eternal Power has taken effect, this skill has become permanent...]

Seeing this notification, Cao Xing clenched his fists excitedly.

It really worked!

At the same time, Ilena raised her spear again, and a ball of white energy landed on her own body.

Cao Xing felt a layer of invisible scales appear on him.4

[Scale Armor cast successfully, Talent Eternal Power has taken effect, this skill has become permanent...]

These scales were very hard and smooth.

Furthermore, they only appeared when he was attacked.

This meant that, normally, Cao Xing would appear no different from a regular person.

Cao Xing exclaimed excitedly, "Good, good, good! With this, my defense has increased significantly!"

After the skill cooldown ended, Cao Xing had Ilena apply both buffs to himself and Liu Muxue.

After the talent activation notification, Ilena also noticed that the power within her did not disappear as before but remained permanently.

She was a little confused, and then after Cao Xing cast a permanent Ice Healing Technique on her, Ilena understood the reason.

"My Lord, your power is truly vast and immeasurable; it remains within me forever."8

1st Floor...

Cao Xing's expression was a bit strange.

Why did that sentence sound a little... odd...?1

Shaking his head, Cao Xing began to ponder other matters.

This Berserk skill could increase speed by 20%.

In other words, if he could apply it to all four Polar Humans, it would increase their work efficiency.

Therefore, Cao Xing asked, "Ilena, can you cast skills again?"

Ilena gently shook her head, "My Lord, these skills consume my Spirit Power, and I need some time to recover."3

Cao Xing nodded.

Then, he looked again at the four Polar Humans working in the distance.

At this moment, Da Zhuang and Er Zhuang were each carrying a bundle of processed wood and trotting over.

San Zhuang and Si Zhuang were holding a few stones.

The sight of the four little figures running through the snow with their short legs always felt a bit comical.

Afterward, they placed the materials near the bonfire and they disappeared automatically, followed by a series of system notifications.

Wood +5

Wood +5

Stone +3

Stone +3

Cao Xing calculated that their round trip took about ten minutes.

There was still an hour and a half until dark.

This meant that before nightfall, he could gather a maximum of 90 wood and 54 stones.

"I need more labor now, but the Polar Dweller Hut can only be built once."

"To recruit more Polar Humans, I can only upgrade the Polar Dweller Hut."

"A Level 2 Polar Dweller Hut can recruit 4 more Polar Humans, which will significantly increase work efficiency."

"But at the same time, these Polar Humans will consume more food and take up my population limit."

Cao Xing glanced at his population.

Population: 8/50

(The highest population limit for a Level 1 territory is 50. The population limit can be increased by upgrading the Lord's Hut.)

Just then, San Zhuang ran up to Cao Xing with his little legs.

"Lord, I have something to report to you!"

Cao Xing looked at San Zhuang, "What is it?"

San Zhuang replied, "Where Four Zhuang and I were collecting stones, we discovered a small coal mine about three to four hundred meters ahead to the right."

"However, it seems to be guarded by two Snow Wolves, so we didn't dare to get close."

"I was worried those Snow Wolves might pose a threat to our camp, so I've come to report to you, Lord!"

Upon hearing the word 'coal mine', Cao Xing's eyes lit up.

After all, coal was a more advanced energy material than wood. Not only did it burn for longer, but it also generated more heat.

If he could capture the coal mine, he would save a lot of wood, which could then be used to build other facilities.

Cao Xing quickly asked, "What's the strength of those Snow Wolves, and do you know how many there are?"

San Zhuang nodded, "We observed for a while, and we've only seen two Snow Wolves so far."

"Their strength feels a bit stronger than that Viper."

Hearing this, the smile on Cao Xing's face grew wider.

Two Snow Wolves, according to San Zhuang, were a bit stronger than the Snowland Viper, meaning they were likely Level 3 or 4 monsters.

Before summoning Ilena, Cao Xing really didn't have the confidence to deal with them.

However, now, he could find a way to capture that coal mine first.

Therefore, Cao Xing nodded, "San Zhuang, well done!"

"Tonight, I'll reward you and Si Zhuang with some Snake Meat!"

Hearing that there would be Snake Meat tonight, San Zhuang's eyes practically sparkled.

He nodded excitedly, "Thank you for your generosity, Lord! San Zhuang will do his utmost to contribute to you!"

After speaking, San Zhuang continued to trot off with his short legs to collect stones.

Liu Muxue also overheard their conversation and asked nervously, "A Xing, are we going to fight?"

Cao Xing nodded, "Yes, the coal mine is an important resource point. The sooner we take it, the better."

A hint of fear appeared in Liu Muxue's eyes, but she still mustered her courage, "I will fight with you."

Cao Xing did not refuse.

Although the Snow Wolves were powerful, Liu Muxue had already been blessed with three permanent buffs.

Both her defense and recovery abilities had been greatly enhanced. Coupled with the Level 5 Ilena, dealing with two Snow Wolves should not be a problem.

However, before the battle, he could still use some items to increase his combat power.

Cao Xing took out a purple Poison Sac from his backpack.

Snowland Viper's Poison Sac (Green)

Effect: Smear on weapon, can add 'Level 1 Poison' status to the next 15 attacks.

Remaining uses: 10.

Cao Xing smeared the Serpentfolk Priestess's trident and Liu Muxue's ordinary stone axe with the poison effect.

Their weapons were coated with a faint purple glow.

After finishing these preparations, Cao Xing nodded and said, "Then, let's set off now."

With that, he raised his whiteboard wooden staff and walked towards the snowy ground.

Ilena, holding her trident, walked at the forefront.

Her serpentine body slithered across the snow, leaving a distinct trail.

Cao Xing and Liu Muxue followed behind her.

Rustle... rustle...

The further they got from the campfire, the thicker the snow on the ground became, almost reaching their ankles.

The cold bit at them in waves.

After about four minutes, they arrived at the location San Zhuang had mentioned.

There, as expected, was a dark mine cave, and next to it, a pile of mined coal.

Small Coal Mine: Special Resource Point Remaining extractable resources: Coal * 1754, Stone * 754, Dirt * 5360

Current Status: Unclaimable