Lin Yi continued south. The wind across the plains carried a biting chill, but his steps never faltered.
As he ventured deeper, the monsters along the way grew fiercer,
changing from the slimes, green caterpillars, and big white rabbits he had encountered before to higher-level, more challenging beasts.
On a stretch of withered yellow grassland, Lin Yi encountered herds of wild bulls.
These bulls had powerful muscles and moved like the wind. Their charges could shake even the sturdiest defenses.
[Wild Savage Bull] Category: Beast Rank: D Level: 6 HP: 3,000 Combat power: 400 Skills: Wild Charge: Charges enemies with its powerful body, dealing 200% physical damage. Earthshaking Hoof Stomp: Stomps the ground, dealing 150% area physical damage to nearby enemies. Description: Wild Savage Bulls dominate the grasslands with their astonishing strength and charging ability, posing a potential threat to any traveler.
Facing these bulls, Lin Yi chose not to meet them head-on. Instead, he used his speed and agility to deftly evade their charges and find opportunities to deliver fatal blows.
After all, his combat power had reached ten thousand. These bulls could not withstand even a casual swing of his sword.
[Killed [Wild Savage Bull]. Congratulations! Gained 2 minutes of lifespan and 10 EXP.] [Killed [Wild Savage Bull]. Congratulations! Gained 2 minutes of lifespan and 10 EXP.]
He now needed ten thousand EXP to level up. That worked out to a thousand bulls!
At this early stage of the game, monsters did not respawn very quickly.
How did monsters respawn?
The answer was that they needed lifespan!
For example, when Lin Yi killed You Duoduo, she lost fifty years of lifespan.
Lin Yi acquired twenty-five years of her lifespan, while the remaining twenty-five years dispersed into the world to replenish the dead monsters.
In other words, the total amount of lifespan was conserved!
There were simply people and monsters living in your place!
Using your share, too!
After clearing out the mere two hundred wild bulls on the plains, Lin Yi skirted some small fry with little to offer, crossed the plains, and entered a stretch of ruins.
The sky gradually darkened, and strange howls came from all around the ruins.
Stare!
Eyes opened!
Under the moonlight, pairs of green eyes flickered in the darkness of the ruins' shadows, like countless dancing ghost fires.
Lin Yi glanced casually at them and used [Eye of Illusion Breaking] to view these monsters' information.
They had sharp teeth, powerful limbs, and swift, ferocious movements.
[Ruins Vicious Dog] Category: Beast Rank: K Level: 8 HP: 8,000 Combat power: 1,200 Skills: Rabid Bite: Bites an enemy, with a chance of infecting them with rabies and inflicting continuous bleeding damage for 5 seconds. Group Attack: Summons nearby vicious dogs to attack together, surrounding the enemy and increasing combat power by 120%. Description: Ruins Vicious Dogs live in the ruins. They travel in packs and display extreme aggression toward any intruder.
Shing!!!
Lin Yi drew his beginner's longsword and stood at ease among the ruins, its blade looking cold and sharp in the moonlight.
Surrounded, he smiled faintly.
"Come right at me!"
Roar!
Roar!
Roar!
Suddenly, waves of low growls shattered the night's silence.
Immediately afterward, a pack of vicious dogs poured out from every corner of the ruins.
A savage gleam flashed in their eyes as they bared their sharp fangs and lunged at Lin Yi in packs.
Strictly speaking, the vicious dogs' encirclement left him no foothold.
But after killing one dog, Lin Yi swiftly moved to the spot where it had stood, then killed another, expanding his advantage this way.
His figure flitted through the moonlight like a ghost, his sword flashing like meteors across the night sky. Every flash claimed another dog's life.
As his longsword swept past, the vicious dogs let out piercing screams and fell one after another. Blood flowed across the ground of the ruins, reflecting the moonlight in a particularly eerie sight.
[Killed [Ruins Vicious Dog]. Congratulations! Gained 5 minutes of lifespan and 15 EXP.] [Killed [Ruins Vicious Dog]. Congratulations! Gained 5 minutes of lifespan and 15 EXP.]
With equal combat power, Lin Yi's mechanics ranked among the upper tier of humanity.
Having slightly higher combat power simply made killing monsters quicker and cleaner.
One strike, one kill!
Half an hour later...
"Hmm?"
"That's it?"
"A few more would've been nice. I'm 1,000 EXP short of leveling up."
"Too bad not a single piece of equipment dropped. So stingy!"
Looking at the mountain of vicious dog corpses, Lin Yi shook his head, still wanting more.
Suddenly!
Roar!
Lin Yi frowned slightly and looked toward the source of the sound.
An even deeper roar suddenly rang out through the ruins. An enormous monster with eerie blue light gleaming in its eyes slowly emerged from the darkness.
Unlike the vicious dogs he had just killed, it had a robust body, and every step made the earth tremble.
Its fur rippled with an eerie blue glow beneath the night sky, giving it an imposing presence.
[Spectral Vicious Wolf] Category: Boss Rank: S Level: 7 HP: 200,000 Combat power: 8,000 Skills: Vicious Wolf Roar: Unleashes a deafening roar, reducing enemies' combat power by 10%. Shadow Ambush: Changes its fur color, allowing it to sneak through the darkness and ambush enemies, dealing a massive 150% physical damage. Cooldown: 10 seconds. Description: Don't ask why it became the leader of the [Ruins Vicious Dogs]. That's a long story, ahem.
Lin Yi frowned slightly as he looked at the Spectral Vicious Wolf's stats.
They really filled in this game's numbers with their feet. There's no balance whatsoever!
A vicious wolf with two hundred thousand HP and eight thousand combat power just pops up out of nowhere?
It could kill me with two swipes!
If that Shadow Ambush lands, it might kill me in a single hit!
If a party went through all the trouble of clearing out the [Ruins Vicious Dogs] here, only to see this [Spectral Vicious Wolf], who knew how desperate they'd feel!
But!!!
Swish!
Lin Yi flicked the remaining dog blood off his sword and stared straight at the [Spectral Vicious Wolf], a surge of ferocity and excitement bursting from his eyes.
"Since you're a boss!"
"You must have some good stuff on you!"
"I hereby unilaterally declare..."
"Those treasures of yours are about to belong to Lin!"