Infinite Swift Dash, This Was the Art of Kiting

The Red-armored Elite Giant Scorpion was noticeably faster than the Rust-armored Scorpion.

Gan Ming's hair stood on end as he turned and ran.

But he did not run toward the entrance. He ran deeper into the Fallen Zone.

The reason was simple.

There was no one deeper inside.

Since he had decided to fight an elite monster, he could not let anyone see him.

First, he had to guard against being ambushed.

Second, he had to avoid exposing his strength.

Clack, clack, clack!

The dense sound of the giant scorpion's legs striking broken stones came from behind him, drawing closer and closer.

Gan Ming ran while wrestling with himself.

Maybe I shouldn't fight it after all?

This giant scorpion looked far too fierce.

And giant scorpions had strong territorial instincts.

Maybe once he ran far enough, it would leave on its own.

But...

One specialized skill and three completely new skills.

If he did not seize this opportunity, he would regret it for a long time.

Fight!

But the question was, how?

He scanned the selection pool as he ran.

The skills in the selection pool were: Woodland Affinity, Gluttonous Recovery, Bite, Swift Dash, Rockskin, Venomous Tail Sting, Tail Sweep, Pincer Crush, Hard Shell, and Stone Shard Launch.

Woodland Affinity?

There were no trees in the Ruins Zone. It was useless.

Rockskin +6?

It increased defense by a percentage.

After his leather armor was damaged, his base defense plus equipment only came to 14.

A boost of just over ten percent, applied to that number...

The extra defense was practically negligible.

A laborer getting a ten percent raise was still a laborer.

Venomous Tail Sting, Bite?

They were offensive skills that consumed mana.

He only had thirty-three mana in total. Wasting it on attack skills was not worth it.

Tail Sweep?

Pincer Crush?

No. Close combat consumed too much.

Stone Shard Launch...

Could throwing scorpion shells even leave a scratch?

Hmm?

Swift Dash!

Gan Ming's eyes widened instantly.

[Swift Dash +6: Sprint at high speed, increasing the physical damage of the next attack. Lasts 8 seconds. Cooldown: 9 seconds. Mana Cost: 8.]

It lasted eight seconds.

Its cooldown was nine seconds.

Once the eight seconds of high-speed movement ended, he only needed to wait one second before activating it again.

And the cost?

Eight mana.

His mana regeneration was 2.2 per second.

Eight divided by 2.2 equaled 3.6 seconds.

During the nine-second cooldown, his natural mana regeneration would restore 19.8 mana, far exceeding the eight-point cost.

Gan Ming's eyes widened once more.

That meant he could use Swift Dash indefinitely?

Sprint for eight seconds, wait one second.

And this elite giant scorpion...

Its body was four meters long, and the broken-stone terrain was full of ruined walls and piles of rubble. Even turning around would be difficult for it.

Gan Ming decisively activated Swift Dash.

[Currently Activated (8/8): Fanged Charge +6, Bark Armor +6, Hard Shell +6, Ambush +6, Rotten Root Entanglement +6, Potential Stimulation +6, Beast Scent +6, Swift Dash +6]

Buzz!

A spring-like force, ready to burst forth at any moment, flooded into his legs.

His mana?

Thirty-three points.

Enough for one Rotten Root Entanglement and one Ambush, or two Swift Dashes and one Ambush.

Though he was nervous, he still had room to cycle his skills.

Because after reaching level 11, he had not spent another attribute point.

He still had fifteen unassigned attribute points.

One point of Intelligence increased maximum mana by three.

If he truly could not make it work, he could assign points temporarily.

Although randomly adding attributes would have a huge impact later on.

Missing this elite, however, meant he had no idea when he might encounter another one.

Clack, clack, clack!

The sound of scorpion legs behind him drew closer and closer.

Gan Ming's gaze hardened, and he suddenly turned around.

Swift Dash!

Whoosh!

The instant he pushed off the ground, his speed abruptly rose to another level.

The ruined walls on either side rapidly flew backward in his vision.

He did not run far. Instead, he cut diagonally toward the giant scorpion's right side.

The Red-armored Elite Giant Scorpion had never expected its prey to turn back.

It was charging at full speed while Gan Ming swept past from the side.

So it immediately turned.

But its four-meter body got wedged between two ruined walls, forcibly slowing it down for a second.

Gan Ming had already circled behind it.

His target was the scorpion tail.

I'll cripple two of your skills first!

He aimed at the gap between the joints in the middle of the scorpion tail.

One sword strike!

Crack!

Under Swift Dash, his first attack carried additional damage.

The blade sliced into the gap between the joints, sending a spray of reddish-brown fragments flying.

-88!

It was nearly twenty points higher than his damage before Swift Dash.

As expected of +6. This bonus was powerful.

Second sword strike!

-77!

The bonus disappeared, returning his damage to normal.

But after repeatedly hacking the same spot, the crack was widening.

Third sword strike.

Fanged Charge triggered.

A savage force surged into his sword arm.

The force of this strike drove the entire blade into the gap between the joints.

Crack!

-169!

Pfft!

A small gash was cut into the middle of the scorpion tail.

Dark red insect fluid seeped from the wound.

The elite giant scorpion let out a shriek, and its entire tail abruptly recoiled.

Scorpion Tail Barrage!

Three rapid tail stings stabbed down in succession, so fast that only afterimages could be seen.

Gan Ming twisted aside to avoid the first sting, while the second grazed past his shoulder.

-15!

Bark Armor absorbed most of it.

The third sting came straight at him. Gan Ming raised his sword and blocked it sideways.

Clang!

The scorpion stinger struck the blade, and the force numbed the web between his thumb and forefinger.

But Block counted as one contact.

Fanged Charge's count increased by one.

First sword strike!

Then the blade slid down along the stinger and viciously gouged the joint wound.

Second sword strike!

-82!

Pfft!

Insect fluid sprayed out.

Third sword strike!

-175!

Squelch!

The wound on the scorpion tail turned from a cut into a gaping tear.

At this moment, Swift Dash only had three seconds left.

Gan Ming pushed off with his feet and shot four meters away.

The giant scorpion failed to catch him.

Gan Ming ran half a circle around a partially collapsed concrete pillar, opening the distance.

Swift Dash ended, with one second remaining on its cooldown.

He glanced at his mana. Thirty-three.

His mana had already fully recovered!

Behind him, the giant scorpion rounded the concrete pillar in pursuit, opening both pincers to clamp down on Gan Ming from the side.

Armor-Shattering Pincer Strike!

One second passed.

Swift Dash!

Gan Ming accelerated again and jumped one step backward.

Crack!

The pincers snapped shut on empty air.

At the same time, a fist-sized chunk of broken brick before him was crushed into powder.

Gan Ming glanced at the pile of dust.

"Good lord."

If that had clamped down on him...

Even if he did not die, he would be crippled.

Taking advantage of his speed, he changed direction and charged behind the giant scorpion again.

The gash on its tail was still there.

Carapace Regeneration was slowly repairing it, but the speed was nowhere near enough.

One sword strike! Swift Dash bonus!

-98!

Right on the previous wound.

The gash widened.

The second sword struck beside it.

-89!

The Giant Scorpion had learned its lesson this time.

It did not wait for the third sword. Its tail suddenly curled back, then shot out.

Scorpion Tail Barrage!

Gan Ming did not take it head-on. Swift Dash still had four seconds left.

Run!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

All three tail strikes missed.

Roar!

The Giant Scorpion, enraged, let out a hiss and charged after him again.

Gan Ming darted between two broken walls. The Giant Scorpion's four-meter body could not squeeze through, so it could only go around.

As it detoured, its flank was exposed.

Gan Ming seized the opportunity.

Ambush!

A boar-shaped phantom condensed as Gan Ming launched himself forward, slamming head-on into the Giant Scorpion's side.

Bang!

The Giant Scorpion staggered two steps, its six legs trembling.

[Target hit by "Ambush +6," stunned for 2.5 seconds.]

Gan Ming landed and rushed toward the scorpion tail.

One sword strike!

-92

Second sword strike!

-78

The third sword strike—Fanged Charge.

He poured all his strength into this blow.

Crack!

-173

The blade cleaved into the gash, cutting all the way through to the other side of the scorpion tail.

The scorpion tail snapped off.

Insect slurry sprayed from the severed end, splattering Gan Ming's face.