As night fell, dew descended upon the forest. The leaves underfoot made an enticing "squish-squish" sound when stepped on.
I had been running swiftly for nearly ten minutes. In this forest, apart from humans and goblins, I hadn't seen anything else. However, when I climbed over a small mound, I finally discovered a new monster!
"Squeak~!"
A large bat, entirely engulfed in flames, let out a harsh cry. Its body was blood-red, with only its eyes being green!
[Flame Bat] (Common Monster)
Level: 5
Attack: 4-10
Defense: 4
Health: 500
Attack Type: Poison Attack
...
I was slightly startled. It was actually a level 5 monster. Its attack was incomparably stronger than the goblins, and it had 500 health points, not to mention the unpredictable poison attack!
I glanced at my own attributes and began to calculate—
Frivolous Scholar (Civilian)
Level: 3
Health: 210
Attack: 11-17
Defense: 4
Reputation: 1
Luck: 0
...
My attack was decent, but my defense was lacking. The Flame Bat would definitely be able to break through my defense significantly, and there was also that poison attack. It really wasn't easy to deal with!
However, fortune favors the bold. I had to engage, and I had to do it before other players!
So, I immediately brandished my iron sword and charged, bringing it down on the Flame Bat's head!
"Crack!"
A dazzling number "85" flew up high!
I was overjoyed. My full-force attack was indeed formidable, almost taking out a large chunk of the Flame Bat's health with one stroke!
At this moment, the Flame Bat seemed to burn with anger and immediately launched an attack on me. However, I swiftly swung my sword for a second time before it could act, directly knocking off nearly another hundred health points!
Finally, the Flame Bat flapped its fiery wings and slapped my arm. Instantly, a wave of pain coursed through me—
Battle Prompt: You received an attack from the Flame Bat, losing 51 health points!
"Damn! It took away a quarter of my health in one hit?"
I was shocked. The Flame Bat's attack was indeed formidable!
I couldn't afford to hesitate. Before the Flame Bat's next attack arrived, I had to finish it off quickly. After all, I was killing monsters two levels higher than me, and I didn't have any impressive defensive equipment. This was the only way to level up!
Two consecutive "crack" sounds as my sword struck, and two numbers "91" and "87" popped up above the Flame Bat's head!
Although the Flame Bat's attack speed was slow, its second bite still came!
A green flash, and a jet of venom sprayed from the Flame Bat's mouth. In an instant, I felt a numbness all over my body, and my health plummeted by as much as 70 points!
Battle Prompt: You received a poison attack from the Flame Bat. Your health will decrease by 2 points every three seconds, lasting for 60 seconds!
I was slightly stunned. I had indeed been poisoned, but fortunately, the poison wasn't as terrifying as I had imagined. Two points every three seconds, only 40 points in 60 seconds!
In fact, I hadn't realized that ordinary players couldn't afford potions at all right now. The cheapest health potion cost 20 copper coins, while a goblin only dropped 2 to 3 copper coins. Most players simply couldn't afford to level up so lavishly. Only I was unaware of how fortunate I was!
"Crack, crack" Two quick strikes of my iron sword fell on the Flame Bat's back. Instantly, the Flame Bat's remaining health was depleted. It let out a wail before falling to the ground, dropping some copper coins!
"Ding!"
Battle Prompt: You have killed a Flame Bat, gaining 120 experience points!
...
I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Indeed, high risk came with high rewards. A goblin only gave 10 experience points, but I hadn't expected that killing a Flame Bat two levels higher would yield 120 experience points!
I dug the copper coins out of the soil and counted them—as many as 14 coins. This was much more generous than the goblins!
However, my health had also dropped to below half. The cost was indeed high, but it was still worth it!
So, I directly consumed a health potion and continued to hunt for a second Flame Bat!
In less than a minute, using a life-or-death fighting style, I chopped down the Flame Bat, gaining 120 experience points and 19 copper coins. However, I still hadn't seen the legendary bat blood needed for the quest!
It wasn't until I felled the fifth Flame Bat that I finally heard a "plop" sound. A drop of bat blood, coagulated into a teardrop shape, fell to the ground—
[Bat Blood] (Quest Item)
There wasn't much to see, so I directly tossed it into my inventory.
By the time I had killed five Flame Bats and gained 600 experience points, I had also used up two small potions. 40 copper coins had left my possession, a cost that was truly painful!
The forest was quiet, with only the "whoosh" sound of Flame Bats flapping their wings. Just then, I heard voices behind me. Someone exclaimed in surprise, "Damn! This guy is actually killing level 5 monsters alone!"
I turned to look and found three level 2 players gazing in this direction. It wasn't long before one of them came forward to aggro a Flame Bat. Who knew that the Flame Bat would be so fierce? It went straight for the player and bit away half of his health, scaring him pale as he shouted, "Number Two, Number Three, hurry up and help!"
The other two players immediately came forward, swinging their short clubs. They hit the Flame Bat's forehead consecutively, and two numbers popped up—
"12!"
"8!"
Watching from afar, I almost burst out laughing. They had no proper weapons at all, yet they dared to challenge a terrifying level 5 monster three levels above them. It was nothing short of suicide!
As expected, in less than two minutes, these three couldn't withstand the Flame Bat's fierce attacks. They all turned into white light and respawned back in town, leaving behind a Flame Bat with little health remaining!
A gift horse at my doorstep—how could I not take advantage?
I immediately stepped forward, my iron sword sweeping down from the air!
"Crack!"
Amidst the crisp sound, the Flame Bat let out a wail and fell to the ground. At the same time, two consecutive "ding-dong" sounds suggested that something had dropped!
I didn't hesitate and immediately started searching through the soil. Besides 17 copper coins, I found another bat blood, and additionally, a dim-colored leather armor!
I was slightly surprised and quickly picked up the leather armor to check its attributes—
[Bat Leather Armor] (White Equipment)
Defense: 8
Required Level: 4
...
I couldn't help but smile. Heaven was helping me! I had been worrying about not having any armor for protection, and now this was like a gift sent to my doorstep. If those players from earlier knew about this, they would be green with envy!
Looking at my experience bar, I was just a bit short of reaching level 4!
So, I directly drank a health potion and chopped down another nearby Flame Bat. Amidst a shower of golden light, I officially leveled up!
"Ding!"
System Prompt: Congratulations! Your level has increased. You've gained 20 points of Stamina and 5 free attribute points to allocate!
...
Haha! It's finally started!
I immediately put on the bat leather armor, and my defense instantly jumped from 4 to 12 points. Then I allocated all 5 points to strength, and my attack became 16-21!
Although the bat leather armor wasn't very good-looking, it was after all the first piece of clothing I had obtained, and possibly the first piece of clothing dropped in this newbie village. So, wearing it on my body, I was still delighted and elated!
With 12 points of defense, I angrily went to trouble the Flame Bats again. I brought my sword down with a boom, and a number immediately popped up above the Flame Bat's head—"248"!
"What?!"
I could hardly believe my eyes. Had I really taken out half of a level 5 monster's health with one strike?
Flipping through the records, I realized it was actually a critical hit!
Even so, I could still do 124 points of damage to a Flame Bat with one strike, which was already quite impressive!
At this point, the Flame Bat also fiercely attacked me. For a moment, I only felt a slight pain on my body. When I looked at my health, to my surprise, the Flame Bat's poison attack had only caused 24 points of damage!
I was overjoyed. It seemed that after putting on the bat leather armor, with the significant increase in defense, I could now engage in continuous combat!
So, I immediately picked up my iron sword excitedly and went to trouble other Flame Bats!
Time passed minute by minute, second by second. Half an hour after "Ethereal Surge" opened, I had already collected 19 bat blood and successfully reached level five. Facing monsters of the same level, my attributes were no longer suppressed by level, and I could kill even more smoothly, almost taking down a Flame Bat with every three strikes!
After several more strikes that toppled another Flame Bat, I picked up the loot from the ground—bat blood!
I counted carefully. The bat blood in my inventory had reached 20, full! I could go back and complete the quest now!
So, I immediately turned around and prepared to return to the village. But just at this moment, I felt a cold wind sweep in from the right. My whole body couldn't help but shiver. When I turned to look, I was even more startled!
Not far away, a giant bat had appeared, its entire body bathed in flames. It was at least ten times the size of a Flame Bat, like a small airplane floating in the air!
[Mutant Flame Bat] (Mutant Creature)
Level: 8
Attack: 20-28
Defense: 18
Health: 2000
Attack Type: Mutant Poison Attack
...
I was stunned. This was actually a quasi-boss level creature! Its attack was terrifyingly high, with an upper limit of 28 points, and its defense had reached 18 points. With my current level 5 attack of 26 points, I could barely break through its defense!
The mutant bat didn't seem to want to give me much time to think. It pounced directly, its sharp claws instantly leaving a mark on my leather armor!
A wave of intense pain came over me, and a damage number of "88" popped up above my head!
Although the number was auspicious, I couldn't feel happy at all. I hurriedly swung my sword in retaliation, and with a "bang," I dealt "110" points of damage to the Flame Bat's forehead!
The number wasn't bad, but it would take at least 20 strikes to finish off this mutant bat. I glanced at the potions in my inventory—there were still 5 small health potions left. Could I hold on long enough to kill this Flame Bat?