They left Red Leaf Town.
Shi Feng and Heizi headed straight for Dark Moon Valley.
"Brother Feng, we're going to Dark Moon Valley, a level 4 monster zone. Couldn't we pick somewhere safer?" Heizi said uneasily as he saw their target was a level 4 monster.
Taking on monsters above your level in God's Domain was extremely difficult. Usually, players only fought monsters one level higher. To take on monsters two levels higher, you needed a six-person party at this stage. Even six-person parties wouldn't do that, though. A level 1 party would have to work themselves to death to kill a level 3 monster. They'd be much more efficient fighting level 2 monsters instead.
There were only two of them. Shi Feng was one thing; at least he was a level 2 Swordsman. But Heizi was a level 0 Cursemancer. Facing a level 4 monster, he'd just be feeding it. The two of them taking on a level 4 monster was practically suicide...
At Heizi's worried look, Shi Feng smiled calmly and reassured him, "Relax. You can see I'm already level 2, can't you? My friend's a beta-test expert. If we weren't really close, he wouldn't have told me this secret. Just wait and watch your levels shoot up."
Shi Feng said nothing about being reborn, pinning everything on a "good friend" instead. That way, all his actions in God's Domain could be explained, and Heizi would readily believe him. He wouldn't need to explain a whole lot, either.
After all, a beta tester was the perfect explanation.
"Brother Feng, you really are amazing. No wonder you didn't take the steady job at Shadow Studio. With an expert beta tester guiding you, you're sure to make plenty of money in God's Domain. I'm counting on you to secure my future happiness," Heizi said with a grin, feeling much more at ease.
Earlier, after they'd formed a party, Heizi had been shocked to see Shi Feng was already level 2.
At this point, no one in Red Leaf Town had even heard of a player reaching level 2—not even the elite members of the studios. But Shi Feng had made it, leveling at a terrifying speed.
Heizi knew Shi Feng's skill. He was good, but not this good. He'd doubted the story about Shi Feng's beta-tester friend, but after seeing Shi Feng's level, all his doubts vanished. Only a beta tester could pull off something like this. He even began to believe Shi Feng's bold claim that he'd earn 16,000 Credit Points in ten days.
"Cut it out. I'm a straight man." Shi Feng rolled his eyes at Heizi and edged away, but the look Heizi gave him was still just as impure, making him a little nervous.
"Brother Feng, what are you thinking? My dream girl is Bai Qingxue, the Ice Goddess," Heizi hurriedly explained.
The Ice Goddess?
Shi Feng had a deep impression of that woman. She'd excelled in other virtual games, and her stunning looks, alluring figure, domineering presence, and exceptional combat skills had made her hugely popular.
Three years after God's Domain launched, she'd become one of the nation's top experts, one of its ten great Berserkers, and was known as the Valkyrie. She'd landed countless celebrity endorsements and amassed a fortune worth hundreds of billions. She was also the vice leader of the super-guild Snake of the Void, able to command a million players with ease. Back then, Shi Feng had been a nobody in God's Domain, able only to gaze up at Bai Qingxue from afar. Unfortunately, she disappeared from the game not long afterward, becoming one of God's Domain's biggest talking points for a long time.
"Brother Feng, look! That's an elite monster!" Heizi shouted, pointing toward a snow-white fox in a distant rice field.
Shi Feng looked over. Sure enough, a white fox stood in the golden rice field, a little white rabbit dangling from its mouth.
Cunning Snow Fox, Rare Elite, Level 2, HP: 450.
"Heizi, your eyesight and luck are incredible. You even found one of these! We're in for a treat." Shi Feng quietly approached and instructed him, "Just attack from a distance. Leave the rest to me."
Rare elites were special. Their strength was the same as that of ordinary elites, but the rewards for killing them were better. Once killed, they took a long time to respawn, and finding one was all down to luck.
"Brother Feng, are you crazy? That's a level 2 elite. We can't take it on!"
Heizi tried to stop him. A party was needed to fight an elite of the same level. Without a healer, anyone who tried to fight one alone would get killed.
But Heizi was already too late. Shi Feng quickly circled around behind the Snow Fox and launched an attack.
Slash!
A streak of sword energy flew at it.
The Snow Fox moved nimbly, dodging a strike to its abdomen and taking only 32 damage.
"It's quick, and its defense isn't low, either." Shi Feng swiftly judged from the Snow Fox's evasion and the damage he'd dealt.
With the One Against A Thousand title, all his attributes increased by 10%. He also had 5 extra Strength and 5 extra Stamina, bringing his Strength to 13, Stamina to 10, and Agility to 17. His attack power was now 29, and his HP was 260. His attributes could rival those of a level 5 Swordsman, so he could certainly fight a level 2 elite.
The enraged Snow Fox was fast. It lunged straight for Shi Feng's throat, using its Deadly Strike skill.
But Shi Feng was fast, too. With 17 Agility, he was every bit as quick as the Snow Fox. The instant it charged, his Novice Sword came down on its head.
Thump!
Shi Feng had only 13 Strength, and it wasn't enough to stop the Snow Fox's force. He stumbled back two steps, taking 49 damage, and his Novice Sword lost one point of durability.
The Snow Fox took only 5 damage. The difference between them was obvious.
"We're dead! We're dead for sure!" Sweat beaded on Heizi's forehead. He'd seen ordinary monsters attack before, but he hadn't expected the gap between them and elite monsters to be so huge. Shi Feng had gotten lucky, blocking the attack with his sword, but he'd still taken nearly 50 damage. If the attack had hit his body, wouldn't it have dealt over 100? Shi Feng had worked so hard to reach level 2, and if he died, he'd drop back to level 1 and lose his huge advantage.
"Heizi, attack!" Shi Feng shouted.
"You're really crazy. Fine, fine. We might as well die together. I'm still level 0 anyway." Heizi gritted his teeth, chanted an incantation, and made a series of gestures.
A Shadow Arrow shot out, dealing 5 damage to the Snow Fox.
Heizi sucked in a breath when he saw the damage. He'd put every point into Intelligence to increase his spell damage, yet he'd only dealt 5. The elite monster's defense was terrifying.
Shi Feng was under even greater pressure against the Snow Fox. Its Agility was high, and it dodged every Slash he tried. He could only land basic swings, which dealt 18 damage. But a bite from the Snow Fox would deal over 100 damage. The exchange was completely lopsided.
After more than ten seconds, Shi Feng was down to 31 HP, while the Snow Fox still had 244.
"I don't have enough skills. I really can't fight an Agility-type elite head-on yet." Seeing that the Snow Fox still had half its HP, Shi Feng knew he'd die if he kept this up. He had to unleash his full power.
He took a bottle of Black Iron Beer from his bag and gulped down a couple of mouthfuls. His vision blurred, and he felt a little drunk. Then he activated Gravity Liberation. His speed surged, and he reached the Snow Fox's flank in a flash.
The Snow Fox's level now showed as level 0 to Shi Feng, while he was level 2. The level suppression immediately boosted his damage, but it also made his body much harder to control.
"Die!" Shi Feng's eyes turned cold as he tightened his grip on the Novice Sword.
Wind Thunder Flash!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! Three streaks of Thunderflash slashed across the Snow Fox's waist. It let out a cry of pain as -30, -36, and -42 damage appeared above its head, instantly stripping away a quarter of its HP.
Shi Feng followed with a Slash, dealing 43 damage.
The Snow Fox tried to fight back desperately, but Shi Feng was incredibly fast with Gravity Liberation active. Even while drunk, his years of combat experience let him control his body with ease, keeping the Snow Fox utterly outmatched.
"Holy crap, Brother Feng, what did you drink? You're suddenly so strong!" Heizi's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Shi Feng looked like he'd activated a cheat. The ferocious Snow Fox had become his plaything, unable to fight back at all.
With the Snow Fox down to just 42 HP, Shi Feng prepared to deliver the final blow.
Suddenly, the back of Shi Feng's neck prickled with cold, as if a dagger were pressed against his throat. The sensation made him recoil instinctively. A gleaming dagger sliced through the air, and he narrowly dodged the attack.
The figure behind Shi Feng, now revealed, looked astonished. He'd hidden his presence so well that he hadn't made a sound. And after reaching level 1, his Agility was as high as 10. Yet his sneak attack had still been dodged. What kind of instinct was that?
"Friend, we have no grudge against each other. This isn't right," Shi Feng said coldly, staring at the revealed Assassin.
"If you want someone to blame, blame yourself for crossing Shadow Studio. It's too late to regret it now." Shadow Wolf gripped his dagger in a reverse hold, watching Shi Feng's every move with excitement.
He'd followed Shi Feng all this way, originally intending to report his location. He hadn't expected to run into an elite monster. Now that the Snow Fox was targeting Shi Feng, he could use its distraction to find an opening, kill Shi Feng while he was low on health, and then finish off the Snow Fox. It was a great deal. As for the Cursemancer nearby, he was completely useless and not worth worrying about.
The Snow Fox naturally didn't care about any of this. It only knew it had to kill Shi Feng.
It let out a furious roar. Its snow-white fur turned fiery red, and its body grew larger. Its HP quickly recovered and rose to 20%. Then it charged at Shi Feng with its final skill, Bite. The attack dealt 50% more damage and inflicted 30 Bleed damage over 5 seconds.
"You'll be the one regretting this! I'm taking that Snow Fox." Shadow Wolf charged at Shi Feng at the same time, ready to kill him the instant he dodged.