Night fell, and the rain in the forest created a gentle, inviting "squelch-squelch" sound beneath my feet.
I had been running quickly for nearly ten minutes, and aside from encountering humans and goblins, I hadn't seen any other creatures. However, when I climbed over a small dirt hill, I finally spotted a new monster!
"Chirp-chirp!"
The massive bat, engulfed in flames, let out a horrible screech. It was blood-red all over, with only its eyes glowing green!
[Flame Bat] (Common Monster)
Level: 5
Attack: 4-10
Defense: 4
Health: 500
Attack Type: Poisonous Attack
...
I was taken aback. A level 5 monster! Its attack was far stronger than the goblin's, and it had 500 health, coupled with a poisonous attack that I couldn't even begin to predict!
I quickly checked my own attributes, and began calculating in my mind—
Reckless Scholar (Vagrant)
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 easily break through my defense, and with its poisonous attack, this was not going to be an easy fight!
However, fortune favors the bold. I had to go for it, and I needed to beat other players to it!
Without hesitation, I swung my iron sword and charged at the Flame Bat, delivering a powerful strike to its head!
"Crack!"
A dazzling number "85" flew up!
I was overjoyed. My full investment in attack was indeed paying off—one strike had already reduced the Flame Bat's health by a significant amount!
The Flame Bat, however, seemed enraged. It immediately counterattacked, but before it could do so, I quickly swung my second strike, taking off nearly another hundred health points!
Finally, the Flame Bat flapped its fiery wings and struck my arm. A sharp pain surged through me—
Battle Prompt: You were attacked by the Flame Bat, losing 51 health points!
"Damn! It took a quarter of my health with one hit?"
I was shocked. The Flame Bat's attack was indeed fearsome!
I couldn't hesitate. Before the Bat could strike again, I had to finish it off quickly, especially since I had jumped two levels to fight it, and with no fancy defensive gear, I had no choice but to fight aggressively!
I delivered two more strikes with the sword—"Crack, Crack!"—and two more numbers, "91" and "87", appeared above the bat's head!
Although the Flame Bat's attack speed was slow, it still lunged at me for a second strike!
Green light flashed, and a stream of venom sprayed from its mouth, instantly causing a numbing sensation across my body, and my health dropped by a whopping 70 points!
Battle Prompt: You were poisoned by the Flame Bat's venom. Your health will decrease by 2 points every 3 seconds for 60 seconds!
I paused for a moment, realizing I had been poisoned. Thankfully, the poison wasn't as scary as I thought. Only 2 points every 3 seconds, meaning after 60 seconds, I'd lose just 40 health in total!
In reality, most regular players couldn't afford healing potions. Even the cheapest health potions cost 20 copper coins each, while a goblin only dropped 2-3 coins at most. Most players couldn't afford to splurge like this for leveling, so I was lucky!
"Crack, Crack!" Two more strikes landed on the bat's back, and I wiped out the last of its health. After a shriek, it fell to the ground, dropping some copper coins!
Battle Prompt: You killed the Flame Bat and gained 120 experience points!
...
I couldn't help but laugh. High risk truly brought high rewards. A goblin only gave 10 experience points, but killing this Flame Bat had earned me 120!
I pulled out the copper coins from the dirt and counted—14 coins. That was much more generous than the goblins!
However, my health had dropped below half, so the cost was a bit high, but it was worth it!
I quickly used a health potion and went on to kill the second Flame Bat!
Less than a minute later, I had again fought the bat fiercely, gaining another 120 experience and 19 more copper coins. But, still, no sign of the bat's blood for the task!
It wasn't until the fifth Flame Bat was slain that I heard a soft "clink" as a droplet of blood, solidified into a teardrop, fell to the ground—
[Bat Blood] (Quest Item)
Nothing particularly special, I tossed it into my inventory.
By the time I had killed five Flame Bats, I had gained 600 experience, but had spent two small potions—40 copper coins. The cost was a bit painful!
The forest was silent, only the sound of Flame Bats' wings flapping. Just then, I heard voices behind me. Someone was amazed, saying, "Damn! This guy is soloing level 5 monsters!"
I turned around to see three level 2 players staring in disbelief. Soon, one of them moved forward to draw a Flame Bat toward them. But the Flame Bat was no joke—it immediately flew straight for him and bit off half his health!
The player was terrified, shouting, "Quick, help me, guys!"
The other two rushed forward, swinging their short clubs and landing two hits on the Flame Bat's forehead, causing the numbers "12" and "8" to pop up.
I couldn't help but almost laugh. They didn't have decent weapons, yet they dared to challenge a level 5 monster. It was practically a death wish!
As expected, within two minutes, the three players couldn't withstand the Flame Bat's fierce attacks and were all wiped out, leaving behind a nearly dead Flame Bat!
Opportunity knocking—how could I not take advantage of it?
I immediately charged forward and delivered a powerful strike with my iron sword!
"Crack!"
With a crisp sound, the Flame Bat let out a death cry, falling to the ground. I heard two "ding-dong" sounds, as something dropped!
Without wasting any time, I quickly dug through the dirt. Aside from 17 copper coins, I found another bat blood and... a dull, brownish leather armor!
I froze for a moment and then quickly picked up the armor. I checked its stats—
[Bat Leather Armor] (White Equipment)
Defense: 8
Required Level: 4
...
I couldn't help but grin. Fortune favored me! I had been worried about not having any armor, but now this was a free gift. If the other players knew, they'd be kicking themselves!
I checked my experience bar—it was almost full, just one step away from leveling up!
I drank a red potion and took down another Flame Bat nearby. In a flash of golden light, I leveled up!
"Dring!"
System Prompt: Congratulations, your level increased! You gained 20 health and 5 attribute points to distribute!
...
Haha! Finally!
I immediately equipped the Bat Leather Armor. My defense shot up from 4 to 12, and I allocated all 5 attribute points to strength, boosting my attack to 16-21!
Although the Bat Leather Armor wasn't the prettiest, it was my first piece of armor—possibly even the first one in this starting village. So, wearing it, I couldn't help but feel satisfied!
With 12 attack now, I eagerly sought out more Flame Bats. With a swing of my sword, I struck again, and this time, the number "248" appeared above the bat's head!
"What?!"
I couldn't believe my eyes. One strike had taken out half of a level 5 monster's health?
Looking at my combat log, I realized I had landed a critical hit!
Even so, I was still dealing 124 damage per strike, which was still quite good!
Just then, the Flame Bat retaliated, attacking me again. I felt a slight pain, and when I checked my health, I realized the poisonous attack only dealt 24 damage!
I couldn't have been more delighted. The extra defense from the Bat Leather Armor had made all the difference, allowing me to keep fighting!
Filled with excitement, I quickly grabbed my iron sword and went off to challenge more Flame Bats!
Minutes passed, and half an hour after the game's release, I had collected 19 Bat Bloods and reached level 5. Now, facing monsters of the same level, I no longer had to worry about being restricted by my level. My attacks were faster and stronger, and almost every third strike would bring down a Flame Bat!
After several more kills, I finally picked up my last Bat Blood. With 20 Bat Bloods in my inventory, I was ready to head back to the village.
Just as I turned around to leave, a sudden chill ran down my spine. I couldn't help but shiver. When I turned to look, I was shocked to see a gigantic bat, its entire body engulfed in flames. It was at least ten times the size of a regular Flame Bat, hovering in the air like a small plane!
[Mutated Flame Bat] (Mutated Creature)
Level: 8
Attack: 20-28
Defense: 18
Health: 2000
Attack Type: Mutated Poisonous Attack
...
I froze for a moment. This was a boss-level creature! With an attack as high as 28 and defense of 18, my current level 5 attack of 26 could barely break through its defenses!
The Mutated Flame Bat didn't give me a chance to think. It immediately swooped down, its sharp claws leaving a deep scratch on my armor!
A sharp pain surged through me as a damage number "88" appeared above my head!
The number was lucky, but I wasn't feeling lucky. I immediately countered with a strike. "Bang!" I hit it for "110" damage!
The damage was decent, but it would still take at least 20 strikes to take down this mutated bat. I looked at my remaining healing potions—only five small ones left. Could I survive long enough to finish off this boss?