"Chain Fireball!" Mage Harry shouted the skill name, as if venting his inner rage.
[Chain Fireball (Grade D): A 10-second chant that continuously releases multiple fireballs, each consuming 100 mana and dealing 450 magic damage. Cooldown: 5 minutes.]
For low-level mages, Chain Fireball is a god-tier skill. The skill scroll for Chain Fireball could sell for 10 gold coins! Regular Grade D skill scrolls typically cost only 1-2 gold coins.
While each fireball's damage is lower than the Grade E Fireball, its strength lies in the ability to keep casting fireballs until you're out of mana!
An intricate, crimson magic circle appeared before Harry, launching head-sized fireballs one after another towards Kent, who had just killed their hunting dog.
The fireballs struck Kent's gray-white scales and exploded, causing a series of blue damage numbers to appear.
-391! -391! -391! -391!
After taking four fireballs in a row, Kent realized things were not going well and quickly opened his mouth to unleash Roar.
The greatsword user fearlessly leaped up, aiming for Kent's neck to interrupt the skill, but Kent dodged, leaving only a bloody gash on his shoulder.
Meanwhile, three more fireballs hit Kent, but that was the end of it.
The visible sound waves turned into pale white, semi-transparent ripples that echoed through the cave, amplifying the roar's effect!
Without earplugs, Mage Harry suffered mana backlash as his skill was interrupted, spitting blood and collapsing.
Furious, Kent charged at the mage. Fragile targets need to be taken out first, after all, he had just taken a significant chunk of Harry's health!
Facing the charging giant wasteland dragon lizard, Harry showed no fear, smiling at the sight of Kent's scales curling from the flames and his scorched flesh.
Captain, I'm coming to see you.
"Run!"
Just as Harry prepared to meet his end, old hunter Glass pulled him away again. The spear knight stepped in front of them, holding his spear with his right hand and using the round shield on his left arm for defense.
Without hesitation, Kent unleashed his final skill, Double Bite. This skill had a slow wind-up, limited range, and was hard to hit, but Kent knew the spear knight wouldn't dodge.
Sure enough, enemies with weaknesses to protect were the easiest to deal with.
-1470!
With the first bite, the spear knight was down to one-third of his health, and he was unlucky enough to be paralyzed by the Paralytic Fangs.
Just when everyone thought the spear knight was about to die, Kent suddenly turned and directed the second bite at the greatsword user behind him, who was desperately attacking.
-1510!
The greatsword user had lower physical resistance and constitution than the spear knight and was instantly incapacitated.
Seeing the greatsword user's remaining health, Kent estimated he couldn't survive the bleeding and Paralytic Fangs' damage and turned back to finish off the spear knight.
Unexpectedly, a holy light shone on everyone. Priest Anna, tears streaming down her face, cast her final skill, Group Heal.
+200!
While the health restored by Group Heal was meager, it was enough to pull the greatsword user out of a critical state.
Left with no choice, Kent stopped turning back, slashing the greatsword user back into a critical state, then ended his life with a bite.
By this time, the spear knight had recovered from the paralysis and retreated to the depths of the cave, shouting to attract Kent's attention.
"Run! As many as can escape, go!"
Old hunter Glass pulled the weakened Mage Harry and the Priest Anna, whose skills were all on cooldown, towards the cave entrance. Hunter Taros followed, covering their retreat with arrows.
Seeing this, Kent abandoned the idea of killing the spear knight and quickly ran back to block the cave entrance.
"This beast is quite intelligent. It wants to wipe us out. I'll draw its aggro later. You all split up and run. With our strength, we can't defeat it. Only reporting to the guild and getting elite mercenaries can kill it."
"But…"
"No buts! Listen to me! I've lived long enough!"
Glass shouted, his face pale. He was the oldest member of the Loving Squad, already fifty-three this year. Without a wife or children, he had always treated the younger members, Taros and Anna, like his own kids.
Hunter Taros seemed not to hear, stopping in his tracks and continuing to shoot arrows with a blank expression. He regretted suggesting this treasure hunt; he blamed himself for causing the deaths of his teammates!
Kent tilted his head, his eyes filled with murderous intent. He understood one word—guild.
The game **Immortal** was so realistic that many suspected it was another world, partly because of its incredibly lifelike language system. The Immortal Continent had four empires and many kingdoms, each with its own official language. Moreover, every intelligent species had its unique language.
Beta players experienced this firsthand as the system translated NPC dialogue directly into their specified language, and what they spoke was perceived as the authentic language of the Immortal Continent by the NPCs. Players interested in languages studied this and found that none of the languages in **Immortal** resembled any known languages on Earth.
Kent recognized the word "guild" because many game quests were issued by guilds. When players teamed up with NPCs, they would sometimes hear NPCs cursing the guilds. As everyone knows, the easiest words to learn in any language are swear words, and curses directed at the guilds were thus remembered by Kent.
I really can't let you guys go.
The members of the Loving Squad saw Kent blocking the cave entrance, so they gathered to discuss a plan. Meanwhile, the two hunters kept shooting arrows, and Mage Harry, recovering from mana backlash, started chugging mana potions.
Seeing that they weren't coming over, Kent worried that if he charged at them, someone might escape through the cave entrance. Unsure of what to do, he stood awkwardly in place.
After enduring Harry's Fireball spell, an idea sparked in Kent's mind. Taking a few more arrows from the hunters, he roared angrily, then turned and limped away from the cave.
NPCs, unlike players, didn't have the "Insight" skill to see a monster's health and attributes directly. So Kent pretended to be gravely injured and fled to deceive the mercenaries.
He imitated it perfectly; after all, he had seen this scene many times while grinding giant wasteland dragon lizards. Even the experienced old hunter Glass was fooled.
Seeing the monster retreat, the group collapsed to the ground, crying in relief.