Chapter 88 : The Hunt Begins
The Hunt Begins
Perhaps due to the real-world weather influencing it, the in-game world was somewhat dim today, with a faint drizzle veiling the air.
Deep within the **Mutant Jungle**, a silver-haired girl in a black robe was half-crouched atop a cliff, holding her breath with focused attention, observing a massive herd of beasts below like a seasoned hunter.
Because of the rain, almost no crocodiles were basking below the cliff at the moment—only seven or eight lethargic Sawtooth Crocodiles lay in the stream, half-closing their eyes, looking listless and dispirited.
Wasn't this the best opportunity for a surprise attack?
At this moment, in order to better observe her surroundings, **Chen Zixuan** had already pulled back her hood.
Fine raindrops continuously fell upon the girl's silver hair and long lashes, forming sparkling beads of water.
Yesterday, after learning that some players had already reached the depths of the **Mired Swamp**, a vague anxiety and tension had lingered in Chen Zixuan's heart.
At the rate they were leveling up and exploring, it seemed only a matter of time before this area would be discovered.
By then, news of a D-rank World Boss would surely spread far and wide, carried through the forums into every corner of the **Legend of Kaloran**.
Given the mindset of current players, they'd be unable to resist the lure of an epic set, and a stampede would surely follow, crowding the area until it was locked down tight.
With other players interfering, coming here to farm monsters for leveling in the future would definitely become much more troublesome.
Tsk...
Whenever he imagined that scene, Chen Zixuan could barely suppress the bloodthirsty rage growing inside him.
So, the **Sawtooth Demon King Crocodile**—must die today!
Even Chen Zixuan hadn't realized that, due to the sense of urgency brought by time pressure, his mind was no longer as calm as before.
It should be known that these huge, ferocious monsters below weren't the cheap trash like water ghosts or goblins, who could be slain in one blow—they were all tough enemies around level 15.
With nearly 5000 HP, attack power of 180, physical defense over 200, and three skills that looked quite formidable—an ordinary level 15 elite might not even be able to beat a single mutated **Sawtooth Crocodile**.
Sure, the experience gained after killing them was much higher—enough to excite Chen Zixuan—but the danger and difficulty had both risen several tiers.
Remember, Chen Zixuan himself was only level 8 now.
If he slipped up in combat, he could easily wipe.
And if he wiped, the consequences would be dire.
A single piece of dropped equipment would render his entire epic purple set totally worthless.
Even with only a 5% drop chance, it was not a gamble Chen Zixuan could afford.
So, despite his intense longing to level up—nearly falling into an "irrational" state—Chen Zixuan dared not let his guard down for an instant.
He took off his cumbersome black cloak, and the silver-haired girl reached into her backpack, extracting five bottles of crimson **Intermediate Life Potion**.
These potions were yesterday's reward from a **Master-level Purple Chest**, and their restoration amount and speed vastly surpassed the **Basic Life Potion** currently used by most players.
**Intermediate Life Potion**
Sale price: 3 gold coins
Effect: After drinking, restores 15 HP per second for 6 seconds, restoring a total of 90 HP.
Though there was only a word's difference between "Basic" and "Intermediate", the total healing of the **Intermediate Life Potion** was 90 HP—three times the 30 HP restored by the basic version.
In critical moments, those 60 extra HP could mean the difference between life and death...
Next, like loading a revolver, she slotted each potion into five small leather loops on the right side of her belt, securing them tightly.
Thus, at Chen Zixuan's hip, it looked like five red grenades swayed with her movements, yet never fell.
The functionality of the **Blood Moon Slayer's Skirt Armor** had only recently been discovered by Chen Zixuan—hanging potions here allowed for instant access in desperate combat situations, far superior to fumbling through a backpack mid-battle.
After all preparations were complete, Chen Zixuan opened her personal interface for a final review of the three new skills she had learned the previous night.
***
**Blood Drain** (Lv.1)
Minimum required level: 5
Class restriction: Vampire Prince
Mana Cost: 40
Max HP Consumption: 10%
Cooldown: 60 seconds
Skill Effect: Locks onto an enemy within 20 meters, drawing their blood to inflict 3x [Attack] as magic damage, and recovering 15% of user's max HP.
If used on an enemy affected by **Bleeding**, triggers a critical effect: Damage is doubled, recovery increases to 20%, and all mana spent on this skill is refunded.
......
This was the first skill Chen Zixuan unlocked upon reaching level 5. Judging by its normal effect, it seemed rather weak.
First, you lose 10% of your max HP, then recover 15%—that's only a net gain of 5%, right?
Calculated using Chen Zixuan's current 500 HP, casting this once would only restore 25 HP.
However, if the target entered a **Bleeding** state, the power of this skill would leap up by several notches.
The cooldown was short, damage was high, and you could even get your mana back.
Although the heal was a bit underwhelming, when combined with his passive skill, **Blood Banquet**, it was still pretty strong.
Chen Zixuan had spent one allocatable skill point to raise its level by one.
Next was the second skill.
***
**Wound Ripper** (Lv.1)
Minimum required level: 7
Class restriction: Vampire Prince
Mana Cost: 20
Max HP consumption: 10%
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Effect: Enchant your weapon; your next melee attack deals 2x attack damage, with 50% of that as magic damage, and applies a 30-second **Bleeding** effect.
While under the **Bleeding** state, enemies can't enter stealth and lose 1% of their max HP per second (effect does not stack).
.......
If the previous skill merely satisfied Chen Zixuan, this one truly delighted him.
While it was a weapon enchantment and only worked once per use, the cooldown was only 20 seconds, and mana consumption was low. It inflicted mixed damage and guaranteed a 100% chance to apply the bleeding effect.
Compared to that blue rare weapon, the **Executioner**, with merely a 5% bleed chance, this skill was worlds ahead.
What's more, the **Bleeding** effect outclassed regular bleed—especially with "target cannot enter stealth" as a bonus.
As bosses in the late game have greater HP pools, this skill's usefulness—especially against high-HP world bosses—could even surpass that of **Silverflash Pierce**.
***
**New Names List**