Chapter 0011: Black Iron Beer
Eric left Willowbrook Town and headed straight to Darkmoon Valley with Tonny.
"Eric, we're going to Darkmoon Valley, which is a level 4 monster area. Can't we choose a safer place?" Tonny looked at Eric, targeting level 4 monsters, feeling uneasy.
In Divine Realms: Legends, challenging higher-level monsters is extremely difficult. Typically, surpassing one level is already challenging; surpassing two levels requires a six-person team at this stage. However, even a six-person team wouldn't attempt it because it's more efficient to kill level 2 monsters than to struggle against level 3 monsters with a first-level six-person team.
There were only two people. Eric was fine, being a level 2 swordsman, but Tonny was a level 0 wizard. Facing level 4 monsters meant certain death for them. Dealing with level 4 monsters with just the two of them was basically suicide.
To Tonny's concern, Eric smiled faintly and assured him, "Don't worry, can't you see I'm level 2 now? My friend is a top player in the closed beta. If it weren't for our great relationship, he wouldn't have told me this secret. Just wait and see how fast you'll level up."
Eric didn't mention anything about his own rebirth, pushing all issues onto his 'good friend,' making everything in Divine Realms: Legends easy to deal with, and Tonny would believe it all without needing much explanation.
Because closed beta testers are the best explanation.
"Eric, you're amazing. No wonder you didn’t go to the stable ShadowForge Studios to make money. With such a top player guiding you, you'll definitely earn a lot in Divine Realms: Legends. My ‘lower half’ happiness depends on you." Tonny relaxed a bit, chuckling.
After teaming up, Tonny was shocked to see Eric reach level 2. Currently, no player in Willowbrook Town had heard of reaching level 2, not even the studio's elites. However, Eric had achieved it, terrifying everyone with his speed of leveling up.
Tonny knew Eric's skill level. Although he was good, he wasn't that amazing. Initially, Tonny had doubts about the closed beta information, but seeing Eric's level dispelled all concerns. Only closed beta testers could achieve such feats. Tonny also believed Eric's boast of earning 16,000 credits in ten days.
"My sexual orientation is normal." Eric glanced at Tonny, slightly distancing himself, but Tonny's gaze still seemed covetous, making him a bit nervous.
"Eric, what are you thinking? My dream lover is Ice Goddess Isabella Collins." Tonny hurriedly explained.
Ice Goddess?
Eric had a deep impression of this woman. She had performed exceptionally well in other virtual games, being extremely popular due to her stunning looks, devilish figure, commanding aura, and exceptional combat skills. Three years after the launch of Divine Realms: Legends, Isabella Collins had become one of the top players nationwide, even one of the top ten berserkers, known as the Valkyrie, with numerous endorsements and a net worth exceeding billions. She was also the Vice President of the super guild Serpent's Bite, easily commanding millions of players. Her disappearance from Divine Realms: Legends had been a hot topic for a long time.
"Eric, look, that's an elite monster." Tonny pointed at a snow-white fox in the distant paddy field.
Eric looked over and indeed saw a white fox in the golden paddy field, with a small white rabbit in its mouth.
The cunning Snow Fox, a rare elite, level 2, with 450 health points.
"Tonny, your luck and eyesight are too good. We're in luck now that we've encountered it." Eric quietly approached and instructed, "You just need to attack from a distance; leave the rest to me."
Rare elites were special monsters with the same strength as normal elites but with higher rewards upon defeat. They took a long time to respawn, and encountering them depended on luck.
"Eric, you're crazy. That's a level 2 elite. We can't handle it." Tonny wanted to stop him. Dealing with an elite monster of the same level required a small team; without healing, they would definitely be killed.
However, Tonny was too late. Eric quickly circled behind the Snow Fox and launched an attack.
A sword aura flew out.
The Snow Fox was very agile, directly avoiding a critical hit to the abdomen, only causing 32 points of damage.
"So agile, and its defense is high." Eric quickly assessed the situation based on the Snow Fox's dodges and damage.
With the title of 'One Man Army,' all attributes increased by 10%, plus 5 points in strength and endurance, making his strength 13, endurance 10, and agility 17 points. His current attack power was 29, with 260 health points, fully capable of challenging a level 5 swordsman and fighting a level 2 elite.
The furious Snow Fox was fast, biting towards Eric's neck, using the skill Fatal Strike.
However, Eric was not slow either, with 17 agility, not inferior to the Snow Fox. In the split second when the Snow Fox charged toward him, the novice sword had already struck the Snow Fox's head.
With only 13 strength, Eric couldn't resist the Snow Fox's strength, stepping back two steps, taking 49 points of damage to the head, and reducing the durability of the novice sword by 1 point.
The Snow Fox only received 5 points of damage, highlighting the stark difference between them.
"Damn, we're in trouble now." Tonny sweated on his forehead. He had only seen attacks from regular monsters before, but the gap with elite monsters was huge. Eric was lucky to block the attack with his sword, causing nearly 50 points of damage. If he had been hit, it would have been over 100. Eric had just reached level 2, and dying now would send him back to level 1, losing all the advantages he had gained.
"Tonny, attack!" Eric shouted.
"This is insane. Forget it; we might as well die together. After all, I'm still level 0." Tonny gritted his teeth, recited an incantation, and gestured.
A shadow arrow shot out, dealing 5 points of damage to the Snow Fox.
Seeing the damage, Tonny gasped. He had buffed his intelligence for increased magical damage but only managed to deal 5 points of damage. The defense of the elite monster was terrifying.
Facing the Snow Fox, Eric felt even more pressure. The Snow Fox was very agile, dodging every attempt at a slashing attack. He could only resort to regular chops to deal 18 points of damage, but if the Snow Fox managed to bite him, it would be over 100 points of damage, making it completely inefficient.
After more than ten seconds, Eric's health was down to 31 points, while the Snow Fox still had 244 points.
"I have too few skills. It seems I can't confront agile elite monsters head-on." Eric looked at the Snow Fox, still having half of its health, realizing that if they continued like this, he would die. He needed to unleash his full power.
He took out a bottle of Black Iron Beer from his backpack, took a few sips, his vision becoming somewhat blurry, feeling a bit tipsy. Then, he activated Gravity Liberation, significantly increasing his speed and swiftly moving to the side of the Snow Fox.
At that moment, the Snow Fox's level display changed to 0, giving Eric a level suppression instantly, boosting his damage. However, controlling his body became quite challenging.
Eric's eyes turned cold, gripping the novice sword tightly.
Thunderbolt!
Crackling sounds, three lightning bolts quickly flashed across the Snow Fox's waist, causing it to howl in pain, taking so many points of damage, instantly losing a quarter of its health.
Then, Eric followed up with a slashing attack, dealing 43 points of damage.
The Snow Fox tried to resist desperately, but with the Gravity Liberation activated, Eric's speed was fast, matching the Snow Fox's agility. Despite being tipsy, with years of combat experience, he could still control his body well, putting the Snow Fox at a significant disadvantage.
"Eric, what did you drink? You're so fierce all of a sudden!" Tonny's eyes widened in amazement. Eric seemed like he was using cheats, turning the fierce Snow Fox into his prey, leaving it with no chance to fight back.
Just as the Snow Fox's health reached 42 points, Eric was ready to deliver the final blow.
Suddenly, Eric felt a chill at his neck, as if a dagger was pressed against it, making him uncomfortable. Instinctively, he leaped forward, narrowly dodging a sharp dagger strike.
Behind Eric, a figure appeared, looking very surprised. He had hidden his presence very well, not making a sound. Moreover, after reaching level 1, his agility had reached 10 points, yet his stealth attack was still evaded. What kind of combat intuition was this?
"Stranger, we have no grudges. Aren't you going too far?" Eric stared at the revealed Assassin, speaking coldly.
"If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for messing with our ShadowForge Studios. It's too late for regrets now." The Assassin names Shadowfang reversed his grip on the dagger, watching Eric's every move eagerly.
He had been following to report Eric's location, not expecting to encounter an elite monster. Now, the Snow Fox's target was Eric. Although Eric's skills were good, with the Snow Fox's distraction, he could easily find an opportunity to take out the wounded Eric and then kill the Snow Fox. Killing two birds with one stone. As for the wizard on the side, he was completely useless and not worth mentioning.
The Snow Fox, of course, didn't care about all this. It only knew it had to kill Eric.
With a roar, the snow-white fur of the Snow Fox turned fiery red, its size increasing slightly, its health recovering a bit, increasing by 20%. It then charged towards Eric, unleashing its ultimate skill, Bite, increasing its damage by 50% and causing 30 points of bleeding damage over 5 seconds.
"You'll regret this! I'll take this Snow Fox." The Assassin named Shadowfang also charged towards Eric, preparing to take him down the moment he dodged and then deal with the Snow Fox afterwards.