A Boar Phantom Teaches a Dog How to Behave

[Soul Snatch Target: Awakened]

[Tier: First Tier]

[Level: 12]

[Innate Talent (1): Power Strike]

[Specialization Skill (1): Heavy Hammer Mastery]

[Skills: Heavy Strike · Block · Physical Enhancement · War Cry · Shield Art (5 total)]

Next.

[Soul Snatch Target: Awakened]

[Tier: First Tier]

[Level: 14]

[Innate Talent (1): Chain Slash]

[Specialization Skills (2): Dual-Wield Mastery, Whirlwind Slash]

[Skills: Heavy Strike · Block · Thrust · Physical Enhancement · Danger Sense · Wound Treatment (6 total)]

Next.

[Soul Snatch Target: Awakened]

[Tier: First Tier]

[Level: 11]

[Innate Talent (1): Tenacity]

[Specialization Skill (1): Block Mastery]

[Skills: Heavy Strike · Physical Enhancement · Danger Sense · War Cry · Shield Art (5 total)]

After scanning through them all, Gan Ming realized that eight out of ten Awakened had nearly identical skill setups.

Heavy Strike, Block, Physical Enhancement, Danger Sense...

It was always the same few skills.

One look was enough to tell they were leeks that had already been harvested by the guild.

Every now and then, one or two talents looked somewhat interesting.

For example, that "Chain Slash," and another one called "Shatter."

But they were only enough to make Gan Ming look twice.

Because he could not Soul Snatch from living people.

At least, not yet.

Gan Ming withdrew his gaze, bypassed a four-man party resting and resupplying ahead, and headed deeper into the ruins.

The problem with the outskirts was obvious: there were more people than monsters.

In just over ten minutes of walking, he ran into at least three groups of Awakened, eleven people in total.

Monsters?

He did not see a single one.

They had all been cleared out by these people.

It made sense that there were so few monsters.

After all, the invasion progress had already dropped below 18%.

To find a lone monster in the outskirts, he would have to wait for others to leave one behind after fighting.

With that thought, Gan Ming quickened his pace.

Following a half-collapsed road, he plunged straight into the depths of the Ruins Zone.

The road grew worse and worse.

The asphalt beneath his feet had shattered into chunks, with rust-colored weeds growing through the cracks.

The building wreckage on both sides grew taller and denser.

Broken walls, leaning buildings, and car wrecks half-buried in rubble passed by one after another.

After walking another kilometer or so, there were noticeably fewer Awakened nearby.

Every so often, he encountered one or two Awakened returning from ahead, generally between levels 13 and 18.

When one of them passed Gan Ming, surprise appeared on his face.

He probably wanted to say something like, "Brother, are you really that brave?"

But he did not say it.

The rule in the Fallen Zone was that everyone was responsible for their own life or death.

Gan Ming kept moving forward.

After going another four or five hundred meters deeper, the surroundings fell completely silent.

The sounds of fighting and conversation could no longer be heard here.

Only the mournful howl of wind passing through the gaps in the ruins remained.

Gan Ming stopped and looked at his status panel.

The pale green film of Bark Armor still covered his skin.

Ever since entering the Ruins Zone, he had kept the skill active without interruption.

Moreover, after Soul Snatch rose to level 4, the values of the skills he had already taken had all increased as well.

The labels on the panel had changed from the original skill names to versions with level suffixes.

[Bark Armor +4]: Increases your Defense by 123.5% for 12 minutes. Costs 20 Mana.

[Fanged Charge +4 (Passive)]: After every three normal attacks, automatically launches a charged attack, dealing 210% Physical Damage.

[Ambush +4]: Charges at the target, dealing Physical Damage and knocking the target airborne, stunning it for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 14 seconds. Costs 10 Mana.

Fanged Charge, 210%.

When he had fought boars in the woods that morning, that number had still been 150%.

A 210% charged attack could deal over 178 base damage.

After subtracting the enemy's Defense, the actual damage should still be at least 140 or more, right?

There was no need for any more preparation before the fight.

His armor was active the whole time anyway. He would just go for it!

Gan Ming drew his sword and walked forward.

He had gone less than fifty meters.

A low whimper came from behind a half-toppled brick wall.

Gan Ming paused and swept his gaze over.

A grayish-brown figure poked half its head out from behind the brick wall.

It was a canine monster about the size of a large shepherd dog, though far more heavily built.

Its limbs were thick and powerful.

The outer layer of its claws was wrapped in a dark red, rust-spotted Hard Shell.

It was the same color as the rusted steel bars scattered throughout the ruins.

Its ears stood sharply erect, its mouth half-open to reveal two rows of jagged yellow teeth.

At that moment, its two murky vertical pupils had already locked onto Gan Ming.

The Soul-Stealing Panel popped up.

[Soul Snatch Target: Monster]

[Species: Rustclaw Hound]

[Level: 11]

[Skills (3): Swift Dash, Bite, Beast Scent (Passive)]

Gan Ming quickly read through the skill descriptions.

[Swift Dash: Dashes at high speed over a short distance, increasing the Physical Damage of the next attack against the target. Effect lasts 6 seconds. Cooldown: 10 seconds. Costs 8 Mana.]

[Bite: Bites the target, dealing 120% Physical Damage and inflicting Bleeding for 3 seconds (loses 5 Health per second). Cooldown: 12 seconds. Costs 12 Mana.]

[Beast Scent (Passive): Detects the presence of living creatures within a 50-meter radius and distinguishes their scent types and approximate directions.]

Three skills.

One movement skill, one attack with bleeding, and one passive scouting skill.

Gan Ming's attention was instantly drawn to [Beast Scent].

It could detect living creatures within fifty meters?

He had originally planned to save enough contribution points to buy a copy of [Detection] from the association.

But now, wasn't this dog practically wearing the words "Free Skill, Take It" on its head?

The Rustclaw Hound did not have as many thoughts as Gan Ming.

The instant it saw an Awakened, its bloodthirsty instinct took over.

Awooo!

The hound kicked off the ground with all four legs.

Its grayish-brown body shot out from behind the brick wall.

It lunged straight for Gan Ming's throat.

It was clearly much faster than the level 3 Iron Bristle Wild Boar.

Yet Gan Ming actually took a step forward as well.

At the same time, a surge of force flooded up from his legs.

[Ambush]!

Whoosh!

His entire body launched forward.

A gray phantom of an Iron Bristle Wild Boar condensed in front of his chest.

Bang!

The phantom collided with the hound in midair.

There was no suspense.

The boar-shaped charge smashed head-on into the hound.

Awooo!

All four paws of the Rustclaw Hound left the ground as its entire body was sent flying, its back slamming into a ruined wall three meters away.

Crack!

The bricks shattered.

[Target has been struck by "Ambush +4" and stunned for 2 seconds.]

Two seconds!

Riding the momentum of Ambush, Gan Ming rushed forward.

The Edgesteel One-Handed Sword left its sheath.

He slashed at the hound, which was still sprawled beneath the wall with unfocused eyes.