On the other side of the forest, Mei Lan had survived the fall. Her high agility points proved to be very useful in this predicament.
Combined with her innate instinct that of a cat, she was able to claw the nearby vines and dangling roots during the fall and landed ever so graciously on a huge tree branch without a further sound.
"The wild animals and the Spirit Beasts must have heard our commotion, I have to be vigilant and stealthy!"
Thus, Mei Lan activated her skill, [Beast Senses] which allowed her to heightened all of her senses to ten fold.
Her golden eyes shone brightly under the shadow of the foliages. The keen nose twitched as she sniffed the scent in the air.
"The closest Spirit Beast is one kilometer away. As for my Wei Fei... His scent is faint, but he survived the fall, no scent of his blood. I have to rendezvous with him as soon as possible."
Snap!
Mei Lan summoned out the Black Tail Whip from her inventory box, a signature weapon of her choice, made from a sea serpent skin. Strong yet very flexible, not something that an ordinary player could wield so easily.
Swinging across the forest from one branch to another with her whip, Mei Lan had covered quite the distance. She could smell Wang Jun's scent getting stronger, yet she's still so far away from him.
Suddenly, her keen hearing picked the voice of a woman and made her stop abruptly at a huge and tall tree. "Help meeee." Though it was faint and hauntingly eerie, Mei Lan was unfazed and focused on her goal to find her first love, Wang Jun.
The haunting voice followed close, Mei Lan came to realize that the voice was Spirit Beast's doing and quite intelligent one at that.
Alas, the culprit of the ghostly voice makes its appearance before her on the tree across hers. Black in color, walking on its four legs, its face resembled that of a wolf, with a devilish wingspan over 10 meters across.
"Help meee." It says, mimicking a woman's voice in such an agony.
[Ghost Wolf Bat]
[Female]
[Level: 20]
[Race: Spirit Beast]
[Carnivorous]
Mei Lan flinched upon reading its information card that appeared before her. Ten levels apart, this winged adversary would be a tough one for Close Quarter Combat types like Mei Lan herself.
The cat woman was , not even in the slightest. She was very confident in her craftiness in the battle, her knowledge on various animals and Spirit Beasts was also her strong point.
"Bat-like types, they usually have bad eyesight. But their nose and ears are sharp unlike any other mammals. Hiding is useless, it will keep haunting me and kill me when I lower my guard. I have to divert its attention and execute it!"
Thus, Mei Lan leaped to a higher branch, she made a small cut on her fingers to create a trail of blood for the beast to follow her.
Excited by the scent of blood, the giant wolf bat climbed the tree in such ferocity. Mei Lan had chosen the right decision to not bring the battle into the open area. She cut the vines and the hanging roots and let them fall onto the monster.
She smirked, "Just as I planned."
As smart as they could be, a beast was still a beast, they can't resist their instinct to chase their prey mindlessly. Mei Lan kept kiting it onto the tallest branch, she waited a bit for it to come at her and jumped high in the air.
The vines and hanging roots strangled the beast, forcing it to fall down instead. When the beast was about to shriek aloud, Mei Lan swung her whip, decapitating its head; it might look like she only swung her whip for once, however, she actually did ten swings in one swift motion.
Kaboom!
The sound that her whip produced was as close as the sound of a thunder in stormy weather, it was so loud and overwhelming. The nearby weaker creatures see themselves running away from the predicament, seeking for a shelter!
[Superb Execution Combo!]
[You have killed a Level 20 Ghost Wolf Bat!]
[You have obtained 800 EXP (+5x Multiplier Combo)]
"No, you ain't gonna call your colony, nya!"
Even though Mei Lan had successfully prevented the Ghost Wolf Bat from calling for backup, the commotion surely attracted other carnivorous Spirit Beasts in nearby habitats.
Although she wants to loot the valuable parts of the Ghost Wolf Bat, Mei Lan decided to continue on her search for her lover before any bigger and stronger Spirit Beast showed up.
"Wait for me, Wei Fei!"
***
Meanwhile, near the Rusty Mountain's entrance.
Wang Jun had found a natural, cavernous dead big tree for him to call it as a 'base'. He could feel the presence that summoned him since the very first day inside the game, dwelled deep inside the belly of this sulfuric, iron mountain.
Suddenly, a sound of thunder echoed from afar even though the weather was clear and the sun was blazing hot in this barren habitat.
"This wave of energy... It's Mei Lan's energy! Huh, to think she actually survived the fall. Not bad, not bad!"
"Now... since the fresh water and food are secured, I also have to level up before entering the Rusty Mountain while waiting for her arrival."
Wang Jun left the cavernous dead tree and went straight to the hunting ground that he found previously. This time, he wants to test the [Indestructible Object] [Wooden Training Sword]
Since no players were nearby, he didn't need to worry if his little treasure was discovered by someone else. Granted, he wants to see what kind of damage he could inflict to his enemies.
Before long, amidst this sulfuric, wasted biome, he found what he's looking for. The [Six Eyed, Six Winged, Chimera Lion]
An abomination of the brutal evolution in such high toxicity habitats. Legend has it, this Lion inherited its prey's ability and traits once it ate and drank the blood, making its own blood to be highly poisonous and toxic.
"Hehe! Whether its poisonous blood shall curse me or bless me. That mutated cat must have juicy EXP for me!"