Chapter 32

After finishing the talk about the attribute bias, Old Wolf began to give the third piece of advice: "Next, I'll talk about the third point: don't underestimate attacks that are less than your health points!"

Ma Le's interest was immediately piqued by these words. He thought of his initial talent, which made him immune to critical hit damage. Since Old Wolf said not to underestimate attacks lower than health points, it meant that some attacks could cause additional damage, and this advice was likely related to his talent!

Seeing the little foodie's expectant face, Old Wolf felt a sense of superiority and slowly explained: "Speaking of this, we need to talk about the characteristics of adventurers. I'm fine being old, but especially for you young ones, when you first arrive in Miracle City and find out about your health points and armor defense, you might think you're in a video game world where everything can be precisely calculated. So, you might rely on your high health points and go for a direct confrontation, only to end up losing your life."

"In fact, after the initial transformation, adventurers' bodies do have many advantages, such as greatly enhanced resistance to diseases and toxins, and recovery abilities far surpassing those of ordinary people. Plus, the body's condition is relatively stable and can be represented by data, making it seem like many things can be calculated. However, this doesn't mean we've really become game characters. On the contrary, we are still made of flesh and blood. A headshot or a heart attack will still kill us, and damage to vital organs will still cause critical hit damage!"

This was exactly what Ma Le wanted to know, so he hurriedly asked, "What exactly is this critical hit damage?"

Old Wolf replied, "When an adventurer's vital organs are damaged, it will cause additional fatal damage. The amount of fatal damage varies depending on the importance of the organ. The brain, for example, can cause around 500 points of fatal damage when damaged, while the heart can cause 200 to 300 points. Other organs cause less damage, usually just a few to a few dozen points. However, even so, you can't be careless, because fatal damage is the most powerful type of damage in Miracle City!"

"Types of damage?" Ma Le was curious, and Old Wolf nodded, "Yes, the damage caused in battles has different types, which have different effects. The most common is physical damage, which is calculated based on armor and defense. Next are magical and elemental damage, which are calculated based on resistance. There are also many other types of damage caused by abnormal states... Among them, the most powerful and deadly is fatal damage! Fatal damage has two powerful effects: first, it ignores any defense or resistance. As long as the damage affects the adventurer, it will take full effect without any reduction! Second, it directly affects the base health!"

"What is base health?" Ma Le, hearing the endless new terms, felt that the rules of Miracle City were truly complex and interconnected!

Old Wolf added, "Base health is the health points provided by the stamina attribute. For example, if you have 10 points of stamina and a skill that increases your health by 200 points, your total health would be 300 points, with the base health being the 100 points provided by the 10 points of stamina. If you receive damage, it will usually consume the 200 extra health points first. However, if it's fatal damage, it will bypass the extra health and directly affect the base health. The condition for an adventurer's death is when the base health reaches zero! In other words, fatal damage is the most efficient and unstoppable damage!"

"So, if your stamina is less than 50, no matter how high your defense or armor is, or how much health you have, a headshot will definitely kill you?" Ma Le recalled the critical hit damage Old Wolf mentioned earlier.

Old Wolf nodded, "Exactly, so 60 points of stamina is a turning point. The maximum fatal damage from brain damage is 600 points. Reaching 60 points of stamina means you won't be instantly killed by a headshot, but even then, brain damage will still cause you to fall unconscious until you recover. By the way, reaching 60 points in any attribute gives you a special reward, and the earlier you reach it, the higher the reward. You might even gain a new talent, but only the first two attributes you reach can get this reward... However, this is a bit premature to talk about. Generally, reaching 60 points in a single attribute before reaching the ordinary level is already considered a genius."

Ma Le nodded, thinking to himself that he must be a prodigy. However, while he was secretly pleased, he still asked, "So, how can one cause fatal damage?"

Old Wolf took another sip of beer, smacked his lips, and answered, "The most common method is to attack vital points. Apart from that, skills and weapons that can cause fatal damage are extremely rare. Even if they exist, they are all high-end and extremely expensive, and are almost non-existent in the beginner and ordinary levels, so you don't need to worry about it for now."

Ma Le wanted to ask more, but Old Wolf finished the remaining beer, leaned on the table, and stood up, "Alright, I've given you the three pieces of advice. Let me add one more thing: don't trust others too easily. Meeting someone as honest as me is your luck. In Miracle City, if you can't use force, and you give me credit points, I can just walk away. What can you do?"

This made Ma Le pause. He had considered this, but with so many credit points, he didn't think losing 50 would be a big deal... Old Wolf, looking like a wise old sage, dusted off his clothes and was about to leave when a white hand appeared on his head, forcefully pressing him back into his seat.

"Old dog, are you here cheating newbies out of their credit points again!" A lively short-haired girl, who looked to be in her twenties, spoke. She wore a sleeveless T-shirt, baggy military pants, a leather belt, and a pistol, dressed neatly and with a tomboyish air.

"What old dog? My name is Old Wolf!" The old man defended himself, but the girl laughed and called out to the other adventurers in the bar, "Everyone, what do you think this old guy's name is?"

The adventurers, who were chatting among themselves, looked up and saw the old man. Knowing that he was likely cheating newbies again, they all laughed and shouted in unison, "Old~Dog!"

The room erupted in laughter, and the old man's face turned red. The girl then turned to Ma Le, who was still a bit confused, and said, "Brother, did he tell you that he saw your unique bone structure and that you have a great future, and that he would give you three pieces of advice for just 50 credit points?"

Ma Le nodded blankly, and the girl sighed, patting his shoulder, "Congratulations, you've been duped!"

"Ah? Was everything he said a lie?" Ma Le wasn't worried about the 50 credit points; he was more concerned about the false information he had written down.

"Don't worry, that's not the case!" The girl waved her hand and explained, "What he said about real attributes and fatal damage is true, but this kind of information can be figured out in both worlds and is common knowledge in Miracle City. Why would you need to pay 50 credit points for it?"

Ma Le felt relieved and laughed, "That's fine. As the old man said, knowing this a day earlier means more safety in this dangerous world. Spending money to buy experience, I think it's worth it!" He stood up and bowed to the old man, "Senior, thank you very much!"

The old man chuckled, "You're a sensible kid. In your honor, I'll give you one more piece of advice: don't look down on defense specialists. Tanks also have their day!"

"How so?" Ma Le asked, and the old man mysteriously replied, "An ant can lift something a hundred times its weight, but in human eyes, it's still an ant, and can be crushed at will. But what if it's an iron ant? Try to crush it, and your finger will bleed if you're not careful!"

Ma Le thought about this, but the girl lightly tapped the old man's head, "Stop pretending to be a sage and misleading newbies!" She then extended her right hand and smiled at Ma Le, "I'm called Eater, what's your name, little sister?" The girl shook hands with Ma Le and answered cheerfully, "You can call me Night Owl. Why did you choose such an ugly name like Eater?"

Ma Le laughed, "It fits my personality. If you get to know me better, you'll see how much I can 'eat'!"

The girl smiled and didn't fuss, patting the old man and said to Ma Le, "Let me introduce you again. This is Old Dog, who loves drinking and cheating people. We're on the same team... Oh, right, you're a newbie, so you might not know. Adventurers in Miracle City can form teams. Night Owl and I are part of a team called 'Green Corps.' All our members have animal nicknames. How about joining us? We're quite famous at the beginner level!" She tapped her forehead, already thinking of a name for Ma Le, "You're called Eater, so if you join us, you can be called Wild Boar. Or, considering your build, you could be called Grizzly Bear or Buffalo. What do you think?"

Ma Le smiled and politely declined, as he wasn't ready to join any team yet. However, he got along well with the old man and the girl. The three of them sat at a table, and Ma Le treated them to more drinks, discussing other rules of Miracle City. Ma Le benefited greatly, and Old Dog and Night Owl patiently taught him until their team members came to gather them, and they reluctantly left.

On his first day in Miracle City, Ma Le made friends, which put him in a good mood. He left the bar and, following Old Dog's advice, went to the Merit Review Office to upgrade his rank. With 48 merit points, Ma Le was promoted two ranks, from a slave to a commoner:

"Merit Points: 48/50, Current Status: Commoner: Entry to the main city of Miracle City requires a 30 credit point entry fee, access to basic facilities, personal storage space increased to 2 cubic meters, and a 100 credit point tax after each mission."

Becoming a commoner, Ma Le now had the right to enter Miracle City. Following the advice of Old Dog and Night Owl, he left the slums and walked along the main road toward the main city of Miracle City.