Chapter 8 - Killing Shrews  

Even though the damage dealt by Shi Feng was negligible, Shrews still woke up from his deep slumber.

Anybody would be enraged when they were abruptly awoken.

“I’ll flatten you, puny human!” Shrews bellowed. The entire cave shook as Shrews stood. With giant strides, Shrews walked towards Shi Feng.

Not giving Shrews any chance, Shi Feng took out an Explosive Berry and tossed it in front of Shrews’ path.

Speed was always a Rock Giant’s weakness. There was no exception even for a Special Elite. Shrews only had a larger size, a stronger Attack, and more attack methods. Though his Movement Speed and Attack Speed were slightly faster, under the slowing effects of the Explosive Berry, he was still as slow as a turtle.

On the other hand, Shi Feng’s Movement Speed and Attack Speed were very fast due to his 16 Agility. Shi Feng immediately circled to Shrews’ back and began his fierce assault.

A series of damages appeared above Shrews’ head.

-2, -2, -2, -2......

They were followed by another Chop that dealt 6 damage.

It had to be said, Shrews had a frightening Defense. Even with the amplified damage from Thundering Flash, a Level 2 Chop had only dealt 6 damage. A Level 1 Chop would probably only deal 4 damage.

Shrews only turned around after receiving a series of attacks. It lifted its mountain-sized foot and stomped down, towards Shi Feng.

As a reincarnated person, Shi Feng had experienced countless battles in God’s Domain. He did not have a thread of panic in him when facing against Shrews. With a step, Shi Feng nimbly evaded towards Shrews’ back, avoiding Shrews’ sluggish attack. Shi Feng then followed up with a series of mad cuts.

When five seconds passed, Shrews regenerated 18 HP, leaving him with a remainder of 886 HP. Half of Shi Feng’s efforts had gone to waste within an instant.

Compared to Common ones, Elite monsters or above would regenerate 2% of their HP every 5 seconds during battle. Shrews had 900 HP, so it was 18 HP every 5 seconds. This regeneration had exceeded the damage Shi Feng could deal using normal attacks.

Even so, Shi Feng still calmly waved his sword, continuously reaping away Shrews’ HP.

An average player would’ve already given up when seeing such high HP and regeneration. Shi Feng would not, though. Sixteen points of Agility allowed Shi Feng to avoid and attack with ease. His high Attack Speed also allowed the damage he dealt to mitigate Shrews’ regeneration completely. However, killing Shrews required a lot of time.

It was very dull, just avoiding and madly attacking. Dealing out strong attacks was very tiring, both physically and mentally.

With each passing second Shrew’s HP continually fell.

Fifteen seconds later...

Once Thundering Flash’s amplifying effect disappeared, the damage Shi Feng caused sharply reduced. Each strike of his sword only dealt 1 damage, and Chop only took away 4 HP from Shrews. Shi Feng immediately fell into a bitter battle.

Another 5 seconds passed, and Shrews once more regenerated 18 HP.

However, Shi Feng only dealt 17 damage within that 5 seconds. It wasn’t even enough to even make up for Shrews’ regeneration.

Shi Feng wrinkled his brows. As expected, it was hard to kill off Shrews. It was just a pointless endeavor without sufficient damage.

Do I give up?

Just as Shi Feng was thinking so...

“I want to flatten you!” Shrews roared as he stomped his foot.

Suddenly, the entire cave shook. Sharp stalactites fell from the cave ceiling one after another, covering the entire cave.

“It even has a party-wipe skill?”

Seeing the bad situation, Shi Feng moved quickly away from Shrews’ side, dodging the falling stalactites.

The stalactites continuously fell in great numbers. Their speed was quick as well. If a party came into this cramped space, there wouldn’t be any place to dodge. They would definitely be party-wiped. If it weren’t for his nimble body and the somewhat spacious area, Shi Feng would be hard pressed to avoid these falling rocks.

Shrews revealed an exhausted expression after finishing his skill. Shi Feng’s eyes shone; he quickly rushed ahead.

Thundering Flash!

Chop!

-4, -5, -6, -10.

Suddenly, a series of terrifying damages were caused.

[Fatigue] state, it was a period of weakness that appeared after a Boss used a powerful skill. In this state, the Boss would have both its Attack and Defense greatly reduced.

With this Fatigue state, Shi Feng could see the hope of killing Shrews.

Shi Feng took the chance to attack even more fervently.

-4, -4, -4...

Each sword strike took away 4 HP while Shrews was under both states of Fatigue and Damage Amplification.

During this weakened period, Shrews’ regeneration also fell to 1%.

By the time Shrews returned to his normal state, Shi Feng had already taken away 15% of Shrews’ HP.

The subsequent battle was filled with persistence. Shi Feng would repeatedly attack to make up for Shrews’ regeneration. Every 30 seconds, he would deal a burst of damage with Thundering Flash. Following which, he would await Shrews’ use of his big move. This party-wipe skill was a nightmare to player parties. To Shi Feng however, it was a chance.

As expected, Shrews would again use his big move after a period of time. Shi Feng took this chance to take away 16% of Shrews’ HP.

Time passed bit by bit.

After using 5 Explosive Berries, Shrews had 32% HP remaining.

When Shrews activated his big move once more, Shi Feng took away another 16% of his HP. Shrews was quickly left with 16% HP remaining.

Just as Shrews’ HP fell to 15%, a sudden change occurred.

Shrews’ body continuously shrunk, his Attack and defense reducing as well. However, his Movement Speed and Attack Speed kept increasing. This change was very disadvantageous to Shi Feng.

Although the Explosive Berry was still in effect, Shrews’ attacks were becoming faster. He had nearly landed a hit on Shi Feng.

Shi Feng was just Level 2. Even if Shrews’ Attack Power had reduced, a single hit was enough to end Shi Feng. If Shi Feng died, he would lose a level and a lot of Skill Proficiency; it was not something he wished to see happen.

“Fight!” A cold glint flashed through Shi Feng’s eyes as he activated Gravity Liberation. Suddenly, dodging became relaxing.

It was impossible to easily give up on a Special Elite with only 15% HP remaining.

Shi Feng continued to circle and madly hack his sword at Shrews.

Every hit dealt 3 damage, slowly reducing Shrews’ HP.

%...10%...9%...8%...5%...

Gravity Liberation’s duration became shorter and shorter. When there were only 7 seconds left, Shrews still had 5% of his HP. Shi Feng would definitely be one-shotted as soon as Gravity Liberation ended.

Quick! Quick! Quick!

Shi Feng’s eyes turned blood red as his sword strikes became faster and faster.

Just as Shrews had only 10 HP remaining, Gravity Liberation ended......

Shi Feng’s speed dropped sharply. A cold, human-like grin appeared on Shrews’ face as he smashed his boulder-like fist down on Shi Feng.

“Die!” The cooldown of Thundering Flash finally finished.

Thundering Flash!

In an instant, three streaks of light passed through Shrews’ body.

-4, -5, -6.

Shrews’ final 10 HP was taken away.

Boom! Shrews turned into a pile of rubble.

System: [Special Elite] Shrews killed. Level difference of 4. EXP obtained increased by 400%. Obtained 940 EXP.

Shi Feng’s experience bar abruptly rose by 27%, pushing him a big step closer towards Level 3.

After killing off Shrews, Shi Feng searched around in the pile of rubble.

The drops of a Special Elite were far better than a normal Elite. Shi Feng obtained an equipment, a skill book, and 16 Coppers.

“The rewards for challenging higher levels sure are good. Even a Bronze Shield dropped. I can definitely sell it for a high price. It would be great if I could grind it a few more times.” Shi Feng looked at the blue cross-shaped shield in his hands. He could already imagine how the Guilds would be willing to pay a high price for the shield.

[Rock-Iron Shield] (Bronze Rank)

Equipment Requirement: Strength 8

Equipment Level: 5

Defense +21

Defense Rate 23%

Strength +2, Endurance +4

HP +30

The shield could be considered high-quality with such attributes. When equipped, the shield would greatly increase Defense. HP would also be increased by 110 points; this was equivalent to one-third of a Level 5 Warrior class’ HP. Using it to dive into Level 5 Dungeons was more than enough. It could even be used to dive into Level 8 Dungeons.

The skill book was a good one as well. It was a skill that could be used by all melee Jobs, [Parry]. It required a melee weapon to be used. It could block a single attack that came from the front, and it had a cooldown of thirty seconds.

Parry was a popular skill among all melee Jobs. It was a must-learn skill for Warrior classes. The skill had a low drop rate, and it was almost never seen being sold on the market, as it was a lifesaving skill. You could activate it at a crucial moment, and it might even help you through a crisis. It was especially true when battling against a Boss. If the healers could not keep up, then you could use Parry to block an attack, giving the healers more time to heal you.

Taking a look at skill, Shi Feng decided to learn it. Although he could get a better price if he sold the skill book together with the shield, the action was no different than killing the chicken to get the egg. It was something Shi Feng wouldn’t do.

Shi Feng continued climbing upwards after killing Shrews.

The Bronze Shield was worth only a meager amount of money. The real fortune was the Secret-Silver Treasure Chest.

Shi Feng only had 4 Explosive Berries remaining. However, he was not even a third of the distance to the peak. It was also very easy to meet up with a monster at the resting points. This caused Shi Feng to choose his path more carefully.

Half an hour later...

After cautiously advancing the entire way up, Shi Feng was finally at the peak of the mountain. The visibility at the top was very poor with all the white clouds and mist. Shi Feng could only see twenty yards in front of him.

On his way up, Shi Feng had used all 4 of the remaining Explosive Berries on Rock Giants. If another monster appeared, Shi Feng could only give up and start all over again.

Just as Shi Feng walked ahead a few steps...

A few blurry shadows could be seen up ahead.

At this moment, an emergency notification came from the system.

System: Player has discovered The Lost Lands. Activated Hidden Quest “Past Glory”. Temporarily disabled player’s communications to the outside world. Unable to leave the map until Quest is completed.

“Crap, those Assassins lied.” Shi Feng silently cursed. Those Assassins had undoubtedly kept hidden some information.

The situation at the mountain peak was entirely different from what the Assassins reported.