Desperate Struggle for Survival

"Hide in Shadows!"

Soren's figure gradually blurred into the darkness. Gritting his teeth, he tore a strip of cloth from his tattered clothes and wrapped it tightly around the wound on his leg. This would temporarily suppress his injury and slightly alleviate the pain while moving. However, he would have to loosen it within a short time, or it would likely cause the injury to worsen further.

"Allocate all experience points to Rogue level!"

Soren calmly drew his longsword and began distributing his experience points.

These kill experience points were a form of soul energy, the highest grade of experience. They could be used to raise any class level, including multiclassing, prestige classes, and more. At the same time, they could be used for sacrificial rituals, summoning rituals, equivalent exchange alchemy, and so on. Under normal circumstances, no one would easily spend kill experience, as there were simply too many places it would be needed in the future. But for Soren right now, if he didn't play all his trump cards, he likely wouldn't have a future at all.

A row of text data appeared before his eyes:

"Rogue class leveled up to level 4."
"Gained 24 (Dexterity 20 + (Intelligence 18-10) * 0.5) skill points. Hit points increased by 10 (Class HP 6 + (Constitution 18-10) * 0.5)."
"Gained 1 free attribute point."

A hint of color returned to Soren's pale face. The 10 hit points gained from leveling up his Rogue class pulled his condition back from "heavy injury" to "moderate injury." This meant his reflex capabilities were no longer impaired, and his rate of physical exhaustion was reduced by half; for the time being, there would be no signs of his condition deteriorating.

He allocated all his skill points into Stealth, raising his Stealth skill to 102 in one go.

His figure gradually faded further into the darkness.

After his Stealth skill reached over 100, activating Hide in Shadows now produced a spell-like effect similar to Blur.

Unless someone observed or listened very carefully, it was nearly impossible to detect his presence.

As for that precious free attribute point, Soren gritted his teeth and allocated it to Constitution. There wasn't much difference between 20 points of transcendent Dexterity and 21, unless he could raise it to over 25 in one go to awaken the legendary ability Shadow Domain. Otherwise, only by allocating this free attribute point to Constitution could he ensure his greatest chance of survival for the moment. An attribute approaching transcendent Constitution meant his wounds would not get infected or worsen, and if he increased his Constitution by just one more point, he would gain the special ability Regeneration.

This was an essential ability for high-level wilderness adventurers!

The bonus of one point in Constitution made Soren feel that his physical strength had recovered significantly. He moved his feet cautiously, beginning to sneak toward the bend in the path.

There might still be traps nearby.

Without the Trap Sense feat, he could not afford to continue taking risks.

He had to kill that Abyssal Demon Marilith!

Only then would he have time to slowly recover from his injuries; otherwise, given the recovery capabilities of an Abyssal Demon, his situation would likely become increasingly dangerous.

"There is no smell of gunpowder in the air!"

Soren advanced bit by bit, constantly analyzing with his past experience as he gradually approached the tunnel that had been blasted. "It was likely an Explosive Trap, using a magical device. It's possible a Fireball spell circle was installed."

Without having mastered the Spellcraft skill, Soren could not sense the elemental forces in the air.

However, his judgment based on experience was still very useful!

He saw the Marilith not far away. Its massive body was in a wretched state; torn flesh and scales were scattered all over the ground. The Marilith's weight of over 600 pounds left it with no room to dodge within the narrow corridor, and the Explosive Trap had detonated almost directly against its body. If not for the powerful resilience and saving throws inherent to Abyssal Demon life forms, it would likely have been blown into a pile of minced meat on the spot. Even so, it was in terrible shape; pale bone was visible at its waist, a section of its intestine had spilled onto the floor, and its spine was nearly shattered. Were it not for the traits of a supernatural life form, it would have been impossible for it to hold on until now.

"Hiss!"

The hiss of a serpentine life form echoed. The Marilith spotted Soren in an instant, casting a hateful gaze in his direction.

Low-level Mariliths do not possess much linguistic ability; their species dictates that only females possess higher intelligence. Populations below the four-armed Marilith only master low-level Abyssal, and only those who are spellcasters with sacrificial abilities understand the Common tongue of humans or other languages. It wanted to kill the culprit who had summoned it, attacked it, and reduced it to this state. The killing nature of an Abyssal Demon made it disregard its own injuries, and it actually forced its long, narrow serpentine tail to twist, attempting to close the distance to Soren once more.

Clang!

The Marilith's physical stamina had dropped severely in its heavily wounded state, and it let out continuous, pained growls as it dragged its body.

Facing the longsword slashing toward him, Soren easily sidestepped, then backhanded a thrust toward the enemy's chest, where many scales had already been blown away.

Puchi!

A spray of scalding blood splattered out.

Most serpentine life forms are cold-blooded, but many Abyssal Mariliths live in volcanic regions.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!"

A portion of the blood splashed onto Soren, and he immediately felt a burning sensation.

His expression changed slightly, and he quickly pulled back to create distance, saying solemnly, "Acidic blood?"

The areas splashed by the blood already had minor wounds, as if they had been touched by diluted sulfuric acid. This was a characteristic of both demon blood and dragon blood.

The Marilith before him must be the descendant of some high-level demon!

The longsword pierced into the Marilith's chest, worsening its injuries. It attacked frantically as if in a final burst of energy, but it still could not land a hit on its enemy. The drain on its stamina caused its strength to drop, and its physical injuries severely impacted its Dexterity; in its near-death state, its combat effectiveness was less than thirty percent of what it had been.

"It's over!"

Soren dodged the Marilith's slash once again, then took a deep breath and let out a fierce shout. His figure leaped into the air, and he gripped his longsword with both hands, thrusting it straight into the creature's heart!

"Die!"

Soren's eyes were filled with bloodshot veins.

A demon's skull is exceptionally sturdy; unless one is holding a supernatural weapon, the head is actually not the most fatal weak point.

The Marilith's massive body stiffened!

Then, as Soren pulled out his longsword, the 600-pound-plus body collapsed to the ground with a thud, and streams of blood gushed out, soaking the nearby floor.

"Hoo!"

Soren sat down on the ground in a sorry state; the consequence of forcing himself to fight was that the injury to his leg had worsened.

The consumption of physical stamina during a burst state is extremely high. Before Constitution reaches the 20-point transcendent threshold, almost no creature can sustain high-intensity combat for more than half an hour!

Not even giants, demons, or draconic species can manage it.

(Clapping doesn't count as high-intensity combat. — Futu.)

Only after Constitution exceeds 20 and enters the transcendent realm can the consumption and recovery of stamina support prolonged combat.

Soren used his sword to cut away the cloth strip that had been strangling him, then sliced off the mangled flesh at the edges of the wound that would never heal on its own. It was an incredibly painful process, but it was the only way to ensure his recovery speed.

A row of data appeared:

"Leaping Strike successfully hit!..."

"Additional 2 (12-10) points of Strength damage bonus applied!... Dealt 13 points of piercing damage to the target!..."

"Target dead."

"Successfully killed Abyssal Demon Marilith!... Extracting soul energy from the target!..."

"Obtained 1800 Slaughter Experience."

An indescribable, warm current surged into Soren's body; this was the soul energy from the slain target.

There was a theory that the hero class templates possessed by players were solidified with the Bhaalspawn ability, inheriting a sliver of divinity from a certain god of murder, which was why they possessed a growth rate far superior to the native inhabitants of the world. This theory had yet to be confirmed, but Soren remembered one thing: after mastering abilities related to slaughter, souls, or death, the Slaughter Experience gained from killing enemies could receive a 10%-20% bonus.

A brief rest.

After his stamina had partially recovered, Soren began to gather his spoils.

Abyssal Demons rarely carried money, but they could yield some transcendent equipment. For instance, the weapons used by the Marilith. Soren picked up the two longswords immediately.

"Identify Item."

Soren held the longsword and examined it. It was about 1.5 meters long, with a blade ten centimeters wide. The hilt featured serpentine patterns and a strange rune, while the blade faintly glowed with a crimson hue. Touching it with his finger felt like brushing against a trace of searing heat. The edge was extremely sharp, the steel superior to standard military weapons, though it was significantly heavier than other weapons, giving it a substantial, weighted feel in his hand.

A row of data appeared:

"Item Type: Marilith Longsword +1

Item Grade: [Tier 1 Transcendent Weapon]

Item Description: A longsword forged from Abyssal fire-rock. It possesses strong slashing and piercing effects and adds an additional 1 point of fire burn damage.

Equipment Requirement: 14 points of Strength or higher.

Special Effect: Treated as a [Greatsword] type for small and medium-sized creatures; Strength requirement +2."

His Strength value was not high enough!

This was the first thought that crossed Soren's mind after picking up the longsword.

Because this longsword was crafted for a Marilith, its size and weight far exceeded the range of what a normal person could use.

Although Soren could lift the longsword, he clearly felt the excessive weight while swinging it to strike, which hindered his combat performance. It was like how an ordinary person might be able to lift a hundred-pound object, but it would be impossible to fight with a hundred-pound weapon; by the time you lifted it, the enemy would have already slashed you countless times. If your strength does not meet the requirements for a weapon, it means the physical exertion required to fight with it doubles, while both attack speed and lethality drop significantly.

A dagger could leave afterimages in the palm of Soren's hand!

Yet, when swinging this longsword, Soren's slashing speed was less than half of his usual pace.

"Damn it!"

"There's actually a strength penalty!"

Soren had only swung it a dozen times before his arms felt sore and numb, and he had already consumed a significant amount of stamina.

War of Gods was demanding in certain aspects. An ordinary person could walk for twenty kilometers, jog for only ten, and sprint for less than one or two. These kinds of things were perfectly simulated in War of Gods, which caused players to curse up a storm for a while. Therefore, as soon as that feeling of soreness and fatigue appeared, Soren knew immediately that he was suffering from a strength penalty while using this weapon.

Although there was no data displayed right now.

Soren could calculate the strength penalty formula in his own mind: Accuracy -4, Damage -4, Attack Speed -4, Stamina Consumption +200%.

An explosive fight that he could originally sustain for 10 minutes would now likely last less than 2 minutes.

A bitter smile.

Soren smiled bitterly as he set the Marilith Longsword down. After all, it was a weapon used by an enemy weighing over 600 pounds; it was essentially equivalent to a greatsword used by humans. His current small frame had sufficient Constitution and decent stamina, but without enough strength, forcing himself to use this weapon was worse than just holding a regular dagger.

A normal longsword weighed only about two or three kilograms, but this sword was at least fifteen kilograms.

Two of them meant thirty kilograms.

Add a bit of refined iron, and it was equivalent to the weight of a young woman.

Without his former hero-class template, unable to allocate his Strength stat above 18 points, Soren's current 12 points of Strength could only support him in using standard human weapons.

After all, fighting under a strength penalty meant he couldn't even unleash half of his true strength!

"Looks like I'll have to find a way to sell them."

Soren strapped the two Marilith Longswords to his back. The thirty-kilogram weight made him feel his body sink, making him feel all the more that his current 12 points of Strength were not enough. However, this loot had to be brought out. The market price for a Tier 1 extraordinary weapon was generally over 100 Gold Thaler, and since the Marilith Longsword belonged to the greatsword category, its value would rise by another 20-50%. This meant these two Tier 1 extraordinary longswords were worth around 300 Gold Thaler.

Selling them would immediately set him up for a comfortable life.