He arrived at the edge of Breeze Jungle.
Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Ming entered Exotic Beast Forest.
He raised a hand, and a long blade appeared in it.
[Strength +10]!
Together with the four Strength Rune Stones he had bought yesterday,
the bonus from this first-tier, common-grade Strength equipment had reached its limit.
To keep adding Rune Stones, he would need to improve the equipment's quality.
For example, the fine-grade equipment awarded in the Grand Exam could hold 20 Rune Stones.
Epic Grade equipment could hold 30.
Above that were Legendary Grade and Mythical Grade.
But those weren't things ordinary people could get their hands on.
Most equipment sold on the market was common or fine grade.
Getting Epic Grade equipment required special connections.
Alternatively, he could pay a hefty sum to have a high-level blacksmith personally forge an upgrade to his equipment's quality.
Chen Ming glanced at his current stats.
[Class]: Shield Guard [Level]: 3 [Strength]: 40 [Constitution]: 2550/2550 (20%) [Recovery]: 169 (13%) [Agility]: 45 [Spirit Power]: 360 (20%) [Skills]: [C-rank · Battle-Hardened (Lv. 3)] [SSS-rank · Absolute Defense (Max Level)]
With the bonuses from Shadowless Armor and Feather Boots,
Chen Ming's stats were finally starting to look respectable.
Shadowless Armor was especially impressive. The 15 Constitution Rune Stones had directly boosted his Constitution by 750 points.
For Chen Ming, who had a lock-HP mechanism, that was a huge improvement.
"At these stats, taking on level 5 or 6 Exotic Beasts shouldn't be a problem."
Chen Ming moved through the forest.
In the dim surroundings, his figure seemed shrouded in a layer of mist.
Shadowless Armor's power: Lurk!
It concealed his movements.
That ability couldn't have been better suited to the environment of Exotic Beast Forest.
That was why Chen Ming had chosen it.
"What I urgently need to improve now is my attack power."
Attack was currently the only thing holding him back from challenging enemies above his level.
Otherwise, forget killing Exotic Beasts three levels above him—even ten levels above, he could still take them on.
"One spirit skill I can awaken, and two class skills that awaken after level 10."
With three skills, surely at least one would be an active attack ability.
As he pondered, Chen Ming suddenly stopped.
Then he leaped behind a tree to his front right.
A few seconds later, a dark shape emerged from the bushes ahead.
It was a mantis nearly one and a half meters tall.
Its whole body was covered in a dark green-black shell, and its folded forelimbs resembled butterfly knives.
Densely packed spikes on them reflected a dim, eerie gleam.
It warily surveyed its surroundings but didn't spot Chen Ming.
Behind the tree,
Chen Ming watched the mantis.
[Gale Mantis] [Level: Lv. 5] [Ability: Blade Flash Strike] [Description: A Fierce Beast raised in a clan that kills its own kind. It likes to lie in wait and strike a fatal blow.]
Now that his Spirit Power had reached 20%, Chen Ming's ability to sense danger had changed, too.
Before, Exotic Beasts had always ambushed him.
Now he could strike first.
He wasn't afraid of being ambushed, but there was no denying that being attacked out of nowhere felt unpleasant.
Chen Ming didn't charge out right away.
He planted a foot against the tree trunk and pushed off, shooting upward almost without a sound.
A flash of white!
The long blade in his hand came down precisely toward the Gale Mantis's enormous dark green-black eyes.
The blade pierced its eye and cut a shallow groove.
[-76!]
He'd hit its weak point directly?
Chen Ming's heart leapt.
A great start.
Looks like he was in luck today.
"Hiss!!"
The Gale Mantis let out a piercing shriek as pain shot through the weak spot he had struck.
Its forelimbs flashed out on instinct,
swinging toward the enemy who had attacked it.
But they struck only empty air.
Chen Ming flickered aside, dodging the attack.
Under normal circumstances, even with his equipment bonuses, Chen Ming's Agility was only 45—nowhere near that of a level 5 Gale Mantis.
The main reason was that he had used his Spirit Scan.
The Gale Mantis's movements seemed to slow down in his "sight."
If he couldn't match its speed, he'd have to rely on his reflexes.
After successfully dodging the attack, Chen Ming seized his chance and slashed it again.
[-76!]
The Gale Mantis was startled, thinking it had encountered some powerful Exotic Beast.
It immediately put distance between them.
But once it steadied itself and got a good look at its opponent, it froze.
A human?
The Gale Mantis made a strange sound.
It could tell that this human was only a level 3 Class Changer.
How dare he!
A level 5 Exotic Beast like itself had been ambushed by a mere level 3 human.
The blow to its weak point made the Gale Mantis even more furious.
[Blade Flash Strike]!
It activated its ability.
The forewings on its back began to vibrate, lifting its entire body into the air.
A steady buzzing filled the air.
The next second,
the Gale Mantis turned into an Afterimage in the blink of an eye and lunged at Chen Ming.
Its speed was terrifying.
Whoosh—
Before it even reached him, Chen Ming felt a fierce gust of wind rush toward him.
Even with the Gale Mantis's ability activated, he could still clearly "see" its movements and predict them in his mind.
But...
He was still too slow.
His mind had kept up, but his body hadn't.
Still, even if he couldn't dodge, Chen Ming had nothing to worry about.
[-1!]
The Gale Mantis's gleaming forelimbs struck Chen Ming's neck.
There was a metallic clang, like steel striking steel.
The Gale Mantis was dumbfounded.
Its huge eyes stared fixedly at what had happened, full of bewilderment.
What was going on with this human...?
[-76!]
Before it could react, Chen Ming struck its eye again.
The Gale Mantis flew into a rage and attacked again, refusing to believe what it had seen.
In moments, its forelimbs had swung wildly several times.
The gusts they kicked up even severed leaves and branches around them.
[-1!][-1!]
They barely hurt at all.
Chen Ming gripped his blade with both hands and stopped trying to dodge the Gale Mantis's attacks.
He turned into a battle maniac!
[-76!][-76!]
Chen Ming attacked again and again.
His blade rose and fell, striking only its weak points.
"Hiss—"
The Gale Mantis let out a pained shriek.
Its enormous eyes were nearly cut out. At last, it couldn't take any more and tried to flee.
"Trying to run? Take this!"
Chen Ming had read its intentions in advance and immediately sped up his assault.
[-76!]
Blood burst into view.
The giant mantis's entire head was cut off!
[Killed Gale Mantis (Lv. 5), Experience +71!] [Obtained: Gale Mantis Beast Core (Lv. 5)] [Obtained: Constitution Rune Stone *1]
Before you continue