+1 MP
+1 MP
+1 MP
Watching the blue bar in his status panel steadily rise, Xiao Fan curled his lips in satisfaction.
The four members of the Garfield Without Fat group had watched the whole thing with their jaws hanging open, as if they'd seen a ghost in broad daylight.
"So Brother Chen made us pull flowers for ages..."
Zai Zai watched Xiao Fan expertly plant them again and couldn't help muttering, "Just so he could replant them?"
Was there something wrong with him?
What a lunatic!
Even though the four respected and trusted Xiao Fan as their leader, they couldn't help looking down on him a little at the sight.
Only after replanting all the flowers the four had pulled up did Xiao Fan get to his feet.
"Come on. Let's go hunting."
Garfield Without Fat: ... So it really was just to plant flowers!!!!
They hadn't been in the forest long before the group encountered a level-two Fierce Beast, a Red Flame Fox.
Name: Red Flame Fox
Level: 2
HP: 220/220
"Watch this!"
Zai Zai struck first, thrusting his spear at the Red Flame Fox.
After yesterday's battle, the group had started to understand their roles on the team and how to work together.
Seeing Zai Zai draw its aggro, the other three—Garfield Without Garfield among them—began attacking.
-20 HP
The Red Flame Fox didn't hit very hard. Zai Zai did the math and realized he could easily take the damage, so he didn't run.
The other three attacked with all their might, killing the fox in just over ten seconds.
"Easy."
The four were pleased with themselves.
As the fights continued, their teamwork grew more and more seamless.
Whenever Zai Zai's health dropped to 100, or Xiao Fan sensed several Fierce Beasts nearby, he activated the skill Gift of the Saint.
By the time the skill ended, Zai Zai's health was full again, and all the Red Flame Foxes nearby had been killed.
It was almost ridiculously fast.
"Careful, more Fierce Beasts are coming."
Xiao Fan sensed a huge commotion nearby and hurriedly warned his teammates.
He was the team's commander, healer, and scout. With his current mental strength, no Fierce Beast within a hundred meters could escape his detection.
Sure enough, the next second, a huge Green Wolf appeared before them.
Name: Green Wood Wolf
Level: 3
HP: 310/310
The Green Wood Wolf didn't have much health, but that also meant it hit harder than the other Fierce Beasts. Fortunately, Xiao Fan and the others were all at full strength, and Gift of the Saint had finished cooling down. As long as they were careful, they'd be fine.
"Zai Zai, don't take it head-on. Take turns drawing its aggro, and try not to get hit."
Xiao Fan gave his instructions.
"Got it!"
Zai Zai's expression turned serious. They were only level two, so they'd have to give it their all to take on a level-three Green Wolf.
The Green Wolf howled and pounced on Swift as Wind, who was closest to it.
Swift as Wind dodged in a hurry. The next second, an arrow from Garfield Without Fat struck the Green Wolf right in the belly.
-10 HP
Not bad.
Struck by the arrow, the Green Wolf spun around in a fury and charged at Garfield Without Fat. It had barely taken a couple of steps when a spear jabbed it in the chrysanthemum.
Ever since yesterday, Zai Zai seemed to have discovered a whole new world. If he could jab a beast in the chrysanthemum, he wouldn't jab it anywhere else.
He used to call his weapon the Overlord Spear. Now, he called it the Chrysanthemum Spear.
The Green Wolf had been jabbed in the chrysanthemum. It turned and bit at Zai Zai.
-100 HP
The damage made Zai Zai jump in fright.
That was barely any less than the level-four Diamond Behemoth!
"Holy crap! That hits way too hard. Brother Chen, help!"
Xiao Fan immediately activated Gift of the Saint, and with the speed boost, Zai Zai escaped the Green Wolf's attack range.
At the same time, the skill gradually restored his health.
+10 HP
+10 HP
+10 HP
With Zai Zai gone, the Green Wolf's aggro shifted to Han the Person, who was closest and had dealt the most damage.
-100 HP
A red number floated above Han the Person.
Luckily, the shield provided by Gift of the Saint reduced the damage by 70 points. Han the Person managed to land another slash before quickly moving out of attack range.
The Green Wolf's aggro shifted to Garfield Without Fat.
He hadn't run far before Zai Zai, still protected by his shield, jabbed it in the chrysanthemum again.
A few seconds later, the Green Wolf let out a mournful howl and closed its eyes, unwilling to accept its fate.
"Easy!"
Watching his wound slowly heal, Zai Zai thought his big brother Jiu Chen was a genius.
How had he thought of healing by adding to the health bar?
And it had actually worked.
So the game could be played like this!
Then what had all those bandages and surgeries used for healing been about?
The fights that followed went remarkably smoothly.
The team worked together better and better. In the Northwest Forest, they killed anyone they met and slew any god they came across.
Whenever they stopped to rest, Xiao Fan would pull up flowers and plant them again off to the side, leaving the four members of the Garfield Without Fat group utterly bewildered.
They really couldn't understand why their big brother insisted on fussing over those Seven-Colored Flowers.
They'd been growing just fine. Had they done something to offend him?
After they killed another Green Wood Wolf, Han the Person's expression changed.
"What's wrong?" Garfield Without Fat stepped forward to ask.
"Mom Is Not Home and the others have run into some trouble. They're asking us for help."
Mom Is Not Home was a new player who had come with them.
After returning to Novice Village yesterday, Wind Snow Traveler had added every player as a friend.
In Cloud Sea, players couldn't access the Regional Chat Channel until they reached level 5. They could only access the World Chat Channel at level 20.
Before level 5, players could communicate either by finding each other or by adding each other as friends.
Earlier, Wind Snow Traveler hadn't added them as in-game friends, so he hadn't known that he needed to return to the village to ask for help.
After what had happened yesterday, Wind Snow Traveler added everyone, and the new players added one another too.
"We're not going! We went to save people yesterday, and then they ran off on their own. Now they dare come asking for help again. What do they take us for?"
Garfield Without Fat waved his hand angrily. What had happened yesterday had left him with a bad impression of all the new players who had come with them.
Xiao Fan thought for a moment, then asked, "Did they say what happened?"
Han the Person tapped a few times in the air, apparently operating the game interface.
"They said they encountered a level-one Wild Boss."
Xiao Fan glanced at the sky. It was almost dark.
It seemed that in Cloud Sea, trouble always came when night was about to fall. That had happened in the Cloud Sea Forest in the Trial Land, too. No wonder Wind Snow Traveler had told them not to leave Novice Village at night.
"Let's go take a look. We haven't killed a Boss yet. Once we're done, we can head home."
Xiao Fan thought for a moment before speaking.
Bosses gave better rewards than ordinary Fierce Beasts, and their team really hadn't encountered a Wild Boss yet. It was a good chance to get some practice.
"Sure. If Brother Chen says we're going, then we're going."
"I want to see a Wild Boss for myself, too. I wonder if it can take one of my hits."
"They're lucky we're helping."
"Come on, let's go."
As soon as Xiao Fan spoke, the other four agreed. The group set off toward the Southwest Forest.
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