After upgrading his skills, Xiao Fan had only 70 Core Power left. He could still buy a few attributes if it came down to it.
He checked his character information.
ID: Jiu Chen
Level: 4 (0/10000)
HP: 460/460
MP: 4864/4864 (+4409)
Strength: 10
Intelligence: 14
Spirit: 14
Agility: 22
Constitution: 20
Trait: Saint
Skills: Halo of the Saint, Gift of the Saint 3
Equipment: None
Core Power: 70
Xiao Fan still hadn't used the five Free Attribute Points he'd received for reaching level four.
His mana was now close to five thousand. Each use of Gift of the Saint cost 80 points. With natural regeneration, he had enough mana to use the skill more than sixty times.
Once everything was ready, Xiao Fan Team left Novice Village.
Watching them walk away, Blade Shadow looked worried.
"Boss, are we really not going to help? With Jiu Chen's talent, once he grows stronger, he might actually be able to help us clear the level-ten Trial Land."
Wind Snow Traveler shook his head. "Now isn't the time to help him."
Blade Shadow rolled his eyes. "Then when is the time? When they can clear the secret realm on their own? Or after they fail and die inside?"
Wind Snow Traveler: "...All right, no more of that."
"Only if he can clear the secret realm will we know he's the teammate we're looking for." Wind Snow Traveler kept his gaze fixed on Xiao Fan's retreating figure.
Blade Shadow didn't understand. "If he can take four level-four rookies through a secret realm, with an ability that terrifying, will he even need us when it's time to enter the level-ten Trial Land?"
"Won't we be the ones looking for him then?" Wind Snow Traveler countered.
Blade Shadow: "...No wonder you've survived in Zone 18 all this time. You've got schemes for days!"
The secret realm's entrance was in the heart of the Southwest Forest.
To be safe, Xiao Fan plucked and replanted flowers before entering the forest, boosting his mana a little.
Looking at the Seven-Colored Flowers, all thriving with life, Xiao Fan couldn't help sighing.
As expected of Yunhai. He'd been pulling these flowers up and replanting them every day, yet they were still doing just fine.
He decided that once his mana passed ten thousand, he'd give the poor flowers a break.
On the way to the secret realm, the team ran into several Diamond Behemoths.
Xiao Fan didn't even need to use a skill. Garfield Without Fat and the other three took care of them in no time.
They were no longer who they'd been before.
At level two, they could kill you. At level four, they could take you out in one hit.
That was how strong they were!
"This should be the place."
Xiao Fan stared at the white vortex before them, about two meters in diameter.
Along its edge, streams of light roiled like liquid, radiating a hazy glow.
At its center was a darkness deeper than ink, emptier than night, like a slowly opening eye of the universe, gazing coldly at the world.
It matched Wind Snow Traveler's description of the secret realm entrance exactly.
"Brother Chen, let's hurry in."
Garfield Without Fat could barely contain his excitement.
Now, they were terrifyingly strong!"
"Mm."
Xiao Fan nodded and, following Wind Snow Traveler's instructions, placed his hand on the vortex.
A system prompt suddenly appeared before him.
"Confirm entry into secret realm Misty Forest?"
"Confirm."
The next second, the five of them vanished.
When their vision cleared, Xiao Fan found himself in a forest.
There was no sunlight overhead, no night sky—only endless darkness.
The forest lay shrouded in grayish-white mist.
They could make out towering ancient trees, barely visible through the haze, standing like silent silhouettes of giants.
Gnarled roots broke through the soil, their surfaces covered in thick moss.
The surroundings were eerily quiet. Not a sound could be heard.
The atmosphere was unsettling. Zai Zai hugged his arms and shivered.
"This place is kind of scary."
Xiao Fan thought it was all right. In his previous life, while playing games, he'd seen places even more unsettling than this.
The only difference was that back then, he'd been playing on a computer. Now, he was right in the middle of it.
And that was a pretty big difference.
"Brother Chen, what do we do now?"
In this strange place they'd never encountered before, Garfield Without Fat and the others instinctively looked to Xiao Fan, waiting for his orders.
Xiao Fan furrowed his brow.
Wind Snow Traveler had told him about the secret realm's scenery, but his group had relied on their level advantage to fight their way through.
If Xiao Fan's team tried the same thing, they'd probably be wiped out in an instant.
"If only we had an Assassin. They could scout ahead and lure the monsters."
Xiao Fan sighed inwardly. He almost wanted to assign classes to the game himself.
After some thought, he put all five of his unused Free Attribute Points into Spirit.
The moment his Spirit reached 19, Xiao Fan felt a sudden, distinct change.
"Garfield Without Fat, shoot in the direction I point out. The rest of you, get ready to attack. Wait for the monsters to come to us."
"Got it." Garfield Without Fat nodded, gripping his white longbow with a serious expression.
His aim had always been pretty good. At first, he'd missed because his Strength was too low.
Later, he'd followed Xiao Fan's advice and put three points into Strength for every two into Agility. Now, he hit his target at least eighty percent of the time—not that he was perfect.
Xiao Fan didn't dare move forward, but after his Spirit reached 19, he could vaguely sense where the monsters were.
"Garfield Without Fat! That way!" Xiao Fan pointed toward a tree ahead.
"Got it."
The distance was a little too great, so Garfield Without Fat used the Charged Shot skill.
"Whoosh!"
They heard the arrow strike the tree.
He'd missed.
Garfield Without Fat awkwardly scratched his head.
"Sorry, Brother Chen."
"Don't talk. Get ready to fight!"
Xiao Fan spoke softly, his voice low.
As soon as he finished speaking, they saw four spiders racing toward them.
They were black all over. If each one weren't the size of a cat, they might have been hard to see with the naked eye.
Name: Dark Spider
Level: 3
HP: 300/300
"Huh? They barely have any health. They're weaker than the level-three Fierce Beast, Green Wood Wolf."
After seeing the monsters' stats, Zai Zai felt much less anxious.
They'd hunted level-five Fierce Beasts like Thunder Leopards before. Why should they fear a little level-three spider?
"Behold, my Chrysanthemum Spear!"
Already used to being the first to draw aggro, Zai Zai raised his white spear and prepared to charge.
"Zai Zai, don't!"
Seeing Zai Zai move, Xiao Fan's expression changed. He hurriedly tried to stop him.
But he was too late. Zai Zai had already charged more than two meters forward.
"Damn it!" Xiao Fan thought.
Sure enough, eight more Dark Spiders rushed out of the forest the next second.
Xiao Fan's earlier guess had been right: the distance between players and the volume of their voices both affected how many monsters they attracted.
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