Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Zhou Ming’s breath caught as a storm surged through his heart.
A custom-created class!
Qianying had offered him a path he had never even imagined.
“Not interested?” she asked.
“I am!”
Zhou Ming answered in a rush, nearly beside himself with excitement. “But what do I need to do to develop a custom-created class?”
A custom-created class was not something anyone could accomplish easily.
No, without Qianying beside him, it would be an impossible, heaven-defying achievement for any player.
“Once you become strong enough for class advancement, I will help you.” Seeing his excitement, Qianying could not help smiling faintly.
She knew the adventurer called Zhouyou Shijie possessed tremendous potential and could be molded into something extraordinary.
“Great!”
Zhou Ming drew a deep breath and forced down the agitation in his heart.
No rush.
First, he would claim the first boss kill. Then he could think about developing a custom-created class.
He could not wait to discover what kind of class he would produce with Qianying’s help.
Leaving the crowded tutorial village far behind, Zhou Ming hurried toward his quest destination.
“Ding!”
[System: You have entered [Tutorial Village Mountains]!]
Lush greenery covered the mountains. Insects chirped and rustled around him, and dense foliage filtered the sunlight into mottled circles on the ground.
Rustle…
He had only just entered when he heard footsteps.
Pushing aside the weeds, he spotted wolves prowling not far away. They had powerful builds, gray fur, and vicious claws and fangs. They did not look easy to deal with.
[Wild Wolf] (Normal Monster)
[Level: 10]
[HP: 80]
[Attack: 24-28]
[Defense: 12-15]
[Skills: Wolf’s Kiss, Pounce]
[Description: An apex predator of the Tutorial Village Mountains. Only by defeating one can you prove yourself worthy of leaving these mountains.]
…
Fighting a monster six levels above him would not be easy!
Know yourself and know your enemy, and you would win every battle. Before making a move, Zhou Ming opened his own status panel.
[Zhouyou Shijie]
[Level: 4]
[HP: 140]
[Attack: 25-30]
[Defense: 15-17]
[Fame: 0]
[Luck: 0]
[Resistance: 0%]
[Skill: Inspect]
[Talent: Inactive (Activates after class advancement.)]
…
Thanks to his two pieces of Silver equipment, his stats surpassed the wolf’s in every respect.
Before tackling the troublesome boss, these wolves would make perfect leveling fodder.
Zhou Ming wasted no more time. Silver sword in hand, he picked out a lone wolf, rushed in, and slashed it, visibly shaving away a chunk of its health.
-10! (Critical Hit)
What luck. A critical hit.
“Awooo!”
The wolf howled in pain and immediately lunged at the intruder with its jaws wide. Zhou Ming dodged aside and escaped unscathed.
MISS!
The evasion indicator floated into the air.
Zhou Ming pressed his advantage and swung again. This time, the wolf had learned. It retreated first, then sprang into the air.
As expected of a wild wolf. It actually knew how to avoid damage!
What else could Zhou Ming do?
Elbow strike!
Unruffled, he snapped up his arm to counter. Getting hit by Wolf’s Kiss would be a little too intimate for comfort.
-6!
-10!
After trading damage, man and wolf went back and forth, one advancing while the other retreated, one on top and the other below…
Three minutes later, the wolf trembled all over, let out one last whimper, and finally gave it up, however unwillingly.
“Ding!”
[System: Congratulations! You have killed [Wild Wolf]. Current-Level EXP +32%!]
“Swoosh!”
The rewards for killing higher-level monsters were exceptionally generous. Zhou Ming smoothly reached Level 5.
Clatter!
At the same time, a pair of boots dropped to the ground.
Loot!
Zhou Ming happily picked them up. Qianying saw this and thoughtfully offered her help without even being asked.
[Wolfhide Boots] (Silver)
[Defense: 5-5]
[HP: 50]
[Trait: Movement Speed +5%]
[Description: A pair of wolfhide boots touched by a god-tier expert.]
…
“You need to grow stronger as quickly as possible,” Qianying said softly. “Now that I have left Taoyuan Village, those people will discover it soon.”
Those people?
The ones who had imprisoned her in Taoyuan Village?
Zhou Ming considered the question, but his hands did not slow. He immediately went looking for another monster to trouble.
After equipping the Wolfhide Boots, his Defense rose to 20-22, and his HP surged as well. The pressure of fighting wild wolves dropped sharply.
In a little over twenty minutes, he reached Level 6.
There was still no sign of any other player in the mountains.
With no one competing for monsters, his lead would only grow.
“Awooo!”
A howl rang out, far louder than that of an ordinary wild wolf.
“Finally!”
Zhou Ming’s nerves tightened. Following the sound, he soon located his target: a massive dire wolf with pitch-black fur, blood-red eyes, and bared fangs. It looked exceptionally vicious.
[Wolf King] (Bronze Boss)
[Level: 12]
[HP: 500]
[Attack: 42-50]
[Defense: 18-22]
[Skills: Wolf Howl, Rending Claw, Bloodthirst]
[Description: The strongest creature in the Tutorial Village Mountains, a dire wolf feared by all the villagers.]
…
Its maximum Attack was a whopping 50. This would not be easy!
Zhou Ming found the situation troublesome.
With three pieces of Silver equipment, his stats were undoubtedly among the best of any player, but neither his level nor the amount of gear he had was enough to fight the Wolf King head-on.
Worse, he had not learned a single skill yet.
“Try to defeat it,” Qianying said suddenly.
“…All right!”
Zhou Ming paused in surprise. Then he abandoned the idea of avoiding the beast, gripped his Silver Sword, and charged.
He struck first, chopping hard into the Wolf King’s belly and opening a bloody gash. The moment his attack landed, he retreated without hesitation.
-9!
Roaring in fury at the ambush, the Wolf King charged Zhou Ming.
-23!
-25!
Zhou Ming endured two hits from the swift beast while luring it toward a nearby tree. He downed a red potion as he moved, then spun and counterattacked, bringing his blade down squarely on the Wolf King’s skull.
“That will do,” Qianying said with an approving nod.
The Wolf King was huge. Using the tree as cover while fighting on the retreat would reduce the frequency of its attacks and buy him more time to recover.
Avoiding even a handful of blows might prove enough to decide the battle.
-10!
-21!
+5!
-9!
MISS!
+5!
…
Both health bars steadily fell, but Zhou Ming had potions and cover on his side. Compared with the Wolf King, he was not losing ground.
“Awooo!”
When both of them dropped close to 50% HP, the Wolf King roared. A blood-red gleam spread across its claws and fangs, sharply increasing their power.
“Ding!”
[System: Wolf King has used [Bloodthirst]. Attack +10% for 2 minutes!]
“Ding!”
[System: Wolf King has used [Rending Claw]. Its next attack ignores 30% of the target’s Defense!]
…
-39!
Pain exploded across Zhou Ming’s chest, and his HP plunged by almost a fifth. He hurriedly retreated, drank another potion, and dragged the fight out.
By the time he had consumed five red potions, the Wolf King’s Bloodthirst had expired and Zhou Ming’s HP had recovered above 75%. He counterattacked once more.
40%!
30%!
The boss’s health plummeted until it entered critical condition.
“Time to die, Brother Wolf!”
Zhou Ming’s own HP was low. Afraid that something might still go wrong, he swung in a hurry and stripped away the Wolf King’s last sliver of life.
The beast earned the honor of becoming the first boss defeated by a player since *Destiny* launched.
System chimes rang one after another.
…