After accepting the quest, Wu Shaozhen checked his stats, then put all 15 free stat points from his last three levels into Agility. To fight it, he first had to be faster than it. Otherwise, there was no point even thinking about it. He relied entirely on kiting monsters, so speed was essential.
With those 15 points added, his Agility reached 60, and his Movement Speed reached 67.
Wu Shaozhen worked through the numbers. My speed is 67, while the Silver Wolf King only has 40. Even with a 50% boost, that only brings it to 60. But its second skill has a ten-meter radius. There's no way I can dodge that. At 130% damage that ignores defense, it'll take off 715 HP in one hit, leaving me almost dead. That's still manageable. As long as I survive, I can just drink a potion. The problem is taking a normal attack after moving in for another hit, then having it follow up with Dire Wolf Roar. That would kill me outright. I wouldn't even have a chance to run. Unless I solve the problem of its second skill combined with a normal attack, there's no point trying to fight it. That combination is bound to happen.
Ugh, I can't leave the Novice Village, and there's nowhere else to get stronger. What the hell am I supposed to do?
Looking dejected, Wu Shaozhen glanced at the equally dejected old man beside him and asked on a whim, "Village chief, the Silver Wolf King is too strong. What should I do if I can't beat it?"
To his surprise, the village chief actually gave it some serious thought. "Hmm, asking adventurers at your current strength to face the Silver Wolf King really is too much. Here, take this letter to the Medicine Shop. Ask the owner to bring out some of the potions he's been keeping stashed away and let you choose a few. They should improve your chances of staying alive. As for whether you can kill the Silver Wolf King, that will still be up to you." With that, the village chief handed Wu Shaozhen a letter.
Taking the village chief's letter, Wu Shaozhen blinked. That actually works? He hurried off to the Medicine Shop with the letter.
When he arrived at the Medicine Shop, he found the owner and handed him the letter. "Hello, sir. The village chief sent me here to buy some potions to help keep me alive. Could you show me what you have?"
The shopkeeper read the letter for a moment, then said helplessly, "That old geezer is still eyeing my little stash."
He went into the room behind him and returned a while later with a box. Opening it in front of Wu Shaozhen, he said, "Hurry up and choose. But I'm warning you, these potions aren't cheap. If you don't have the money, even a letter from the village chief won't do you any good."
Wu Shaozhen quickly looked inside, and the effects and prices of each potion appeared before him.
[Instant Recovery Potion]: Instantly restores 1,000 HP upon use. Cooldown: 10 seconds. Price: 10 silver coins. [Attack Potion]: Increases physical attack by 30% for 30 minutes upon use. Price: 50 silver coins. [Vitality Potion]: Increases HP by 30% for 30 minutes upon use. Price: 50 silver coins. [Speed Potion]: Increases speed by 30% for 30 minutes upon use. Price: 50 silver coins.
Wu Shaozhen's eyes widened at the potions before him. None of these were normally available here. The Novice Village's Medicine Shop usually only sold Red Potions (small, medium, and large) and Blue Potions (small, medium, and large), all of which restored their respective resources over time.
But the prices made the corners of his mouth twitch. If he hadn't killed that Boar King, all he could have done was look at these potions. "So fucking expensive!"
Still, expensive or not, he had no choice. If he wanted to kill the Silver Wolf King, he had to buy them. Otherwise, he couldn't kill it and couldn't leave the Novice Village. If he waited for the other players to get strong enough to kill it together, he would have lost his advantage by then.
Gritting his teeth, he spent a full five gold coins on 50 [Instant Recovery Potions], then another five gold coins on ten [Vitality Potions]. He had a feeling these potions might not be available even in the Main City, so stocking up now was definitely a good idea. Watching ten gold coins vanish from his bag made his heart bleed. Plenty of wealthy players were currently offering one yuan per copper coin, yet there still weren't enough sellers. Those ten gold coins were worth 100,000 yuan!
After buying those potions, Wu Shaozhen spent another 50 silver coins on 50 Red Potions (large), which restored 100 HP per second for ten seconds. He needed those. He couldn't afford to keep using [Instant Recovery Potions] all the time.
With his purchases complete, Wu Shaozhen instantly felt brimming with confidence. The 30% HP boost from a [Vitality Potion] actually wouldn't help against the Silver Wolf King. Even with that extra 30%, he still couldn't survive a normal attack followed by a roar, so there was no need to use one.
All he needed was an [Instant Recovery Potion], which could instantly refill his HP. If he took a normal attack and saw it preparing a skill, he could immediately drink one to restore his HP to full, and he'd be fine. A skill with a huge damage radius like the roar had to have a windup. Otherwise, the fight would be impossible.
Just as Wu Shaozhen was about to head to Silver Wolf Valley, he suddenly saw the veiled woman walking toward him again.
The corner of his mouth twitched. Why have I run into her again?
"We meet again." Su Muxue smiled faintly at Wu Shaozhen.
"You were waiting here for me on purpose, weren't you?" Wu Shaozhen looked suspicious.
Su Muxue didn't answer. Naturally, this encounter wasn't a coincidence. She had told her subordinates to notify her if they spotted him.
"You're Dustseal, aren't you?" Su Muxue suddenly asked.
"What made you suspect I was Dustseal?" Wu Shaozhen asked. He was very curious about that. He knew this woman had suspected him for some time, but he simply couldn't figure out what had given him away.
Su Muxue didn't beat around the bush. "The first time I saw you, you had just come out of Boar Forest. Everyone else was only level one or two then, but you were at least level four. I could tell your speed was at least 25. Most people might not notice, but my instincts have always been accurate. The last time I saw you, I secretly tried to add you as a friend, but it said you weren't accepting requests from strangers. I got the same message when I tried adding Dustseal earlier. With that many coincidences, I couldn't help being suspicious."
"Uh, fair enough," Wu Shaozhen said, at a loss for words. He had forgotten about his speed. At the time, he'd only been thinking about racing against the clock to widen his lead, so of course he hadn't walked slowly. Still, most people really wouldn't have noticed such a small difference in speed. He hadn't expected this woman to be so perceptive.
"So you really are Dustseal?" Su Muxue's eyes widened. Judging by his expression, it was definitely him. Although she had suspected it all along, having it confirmed still filled her with delighted surprise.
"If you say so," Wu Shaozhen said helplessly.
"Then... could I add you as a friend? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," Su Muxue asked cautiously.
Looking at the woman before him, Wu Shaozhen suddenly smiled. "Sure, but let me see what you look like first. If you're pretty enough, I'll add you."
"All right!" Su Muxue nodded. She only wore the veil to avoid unnecessary trouble.
She reached up and removed her veil, revealing a beautiful face that made Wu Shaozhen's eyes light up. Appearances in Oracle were exact replicas of how people looked in real life. There were no beauty filters or anything like that, not even cosmetics, so everyone was completely bare-faced in the game. This woman was definitely a nine out of ten.
After removing her veil, Su Muxue asked again, "Can we now?"
"Sure." Wu Shaozhen nodded. She had shown enough sincerity that refusing again would only be making things difficult. He sent her a friend request. Since he had disabled friend requests from strangers, he had to be the one to add her.
"Ding! Player Dustseal has sent you a friend request. Accept?" Hearing the system notification, Su Muxue thought, It really is him. She quickly tapped accept, and a new friend appeared on her friend list: Dustseal, LV10. Su Muxue's gaze sharpened. Level ten!!!
Before you continue