Chapter 26

Looking at the attribute panel, my experience increased by 160, and the attribute points are as follows:

Strength 15

Agility 20

Stamina 30

Mana 20

Health 55 + 5 (level up) + 15 (5 attribute points) Mana 20 + 2 (level up) Defense 0 + 2 (level up) All four resistances remain at 0

Other details omitted (the way attributes increase here is slightly different from in games).

Leveling up once adds 20 points to health. If I max out my stamina, wouldn't I have over 2000 health at level 100, plus the Oak Sage's bonus, hmm...

Of course, that's impossible. Without enough strength and agility to wear high-level gear, having more health is useless.

Through this battle, I realized I still have many shortcomings (duh).

First, I can't control the actions of the Venomous Vine. It attacks on its own, which can add some unpredictability to the fight.

As a druid, I have a vague feeling that I actually have the ability to control the Venomous Vine, but I just haven't figured out how.

Second, the Venomous Vine's intelligence is too low. When attacking a corpse, it only needs to attack once, as the poison damage will be enough to bring it down. However, the Vine can't detect this and continues to attack, as if it won't stop until the corpse is dead.

These two points, in essence, boil down to one: I can't control the Venomous Vine. If I could, these issues wouldn't exist.

It seems I need to figure out how to communicate with the Venomous Vine.

"Little Flower."

I tried to give it a name to gain its favor, as web novels often have such clichés.

The Venomous Vine happily spun around underground, ignoring me.

"Don't like it? How about Ruhua?"

I thought it didn't like the name, so I changed it.

It spun around again, still ignoring me.

"Is it too vulgar? How about Xinru? Xinru, see how elegant and melodious it sounds."

I tried to entice it with a dreamy expression.

It still didn't react.

"Maybe it doesn't like Chinese names. Right, this is a different world. How about Filina?" I asked cautiously.

Still no response.

"Oh, maybe it's male. How about Henry? Or Jim? Sanji? None of these? Maybe it prefers names from other planets? Vegeta? Frieza? Majin Buu?..."

For over an hour, I tried hundreds of names, almost draining all my memory, but the Venomous Vine still didn't react, leisurely spinning around underground.

It seems its intelligence is indeed low, I thought resentfully, wasting so much of my time.

I began another more reliable method, trying to communicate with it mentally, like opening a storage box. My intuition told me this was the most effective way...

From afternoon until sunset, I stared intently at the Venomous Vine, believing that if it had any sense, it would feel embarrassed.

The results were somewhat promising. By evening, I finally sensed the Venomous Vine's presence faintly. It was a strange feeling, as if there was an invisible thread connecting us. Although it was very vague and hard to focus on, I finally found a direction for communication. From now on, I just need to strengthen this connection. I believe one day I will be able to control the Venomous Vine like an extension of my arm.

Over the next few days, I practiced near the Evil Cave, or rather, trained. I could now give the Venomous Vine basic commands, but they were still vague. For example, if I directed it to attack a monster, and there were other monsters nearby, it might randomly choose one to attack.

I must say, the Venomous Vine's attack is very high, and its poison is even more terrifying. Whether it's a Fallen or a corpse, one bite is enough to kill them. The difference is that a Fallen, with less health, will die within 2 seconds, while a corpse with more health will take about 3 seconds to die.

This made me particularly frustrated. The Venomous Vine's attack frequency is about once every 3 seconds, and since a corpse takes a bit more than 3 seconds to die, it often makes a second attack on a corpse with just a bit of health left. This second attack is a complete waste of time and unnecessary. I'm not yet skilled enough to give the Venomous Vine commands, and it takes a lot of concentration to direct it to attack the next enemy within 3 seconds. So, I can only watch helplessly as the Venomous Vine makes a meaningless second attack on the corpse. Although the wasted time isn't much, it's extremely frustrating for someone who prides themselves on being a technical player.

After several days of intense practice with the Venomous Vine, I didn't neglect my "training." My experience is now at 6248/8000, and it looks like I'll level up to level 3 today. Hehe, it took the little girl Linia several months to reach level 3. Hehe, my speed is like flying, I'm definitely a genius.

In the future, I can use leveling as an excuse to bring out the little girl Linia. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

But no, after fantasizing for a while, I immediately rejected the idea. It would easily expose the existence of my bug amulet. I don't know much about the little girl Linia's character, though she is indeed super cute, pure, and kind. But who knows if she might blab it out, drawing attention from certain people. I don't believe the Dark Continent's job changers are all united and friendly. In a big forest, there are all kinds of birds, and there will always be some dark and despicable people.

On the second day, I finally reached level 3 and learned the life-saving skill—Lycanthropy. This skill, with values completely different from the game, did not disappoint.

Lycanthropy (Level 8):

Strength +17%

Agility +17%

Health +45%

Movement Speed +38%

Attack Speed +24%

Attack Accuracy +24%

Duration 40 seconds

Several of these values are not divisible by 8. I estimated based on the game's method. At level 1, Strength and Agility each increase by 10%, and then by 1% per level. Health increases by 10% at level 1 and then by 5% per level. Movement Speed starts at 10% at level 1 and increases by 4% per level. As for Attack Speed and Attack Accuracy, the 24% value could be +3% per level or 10% at level 1 and +2% per level. I suspect the latter.

Lycanthropy is a powerful skill. It might not be very useful in the early stages, but in the later stages, when all the values are high, the increases will be terrifying, especially the initial increases in Strength and Agility, which, though small, give me hope of wielding that super powerful artifact.

I still allocated all 5 attribute points to Stamina, increasing my health by 20 points. My current health is 95, and if I transform into a werewolf, it will be 137. Hoho, just like my Venomous Vine, my safety is greatly enhanced.

It's time to explore the Evil Cave.

... Before entering the Evil Cave, I prepared for an ambush and activated Lycanthropy.

"Lycanthropy..."

To build the atmosphere, I loudly growled the skill in a deep voice.

My body immediately began to make a series of crackling bone sounds, a deep, bone-chilling itch almost drove me mad. Fortunately, it didn't last long, or I might have torn myself apart.

"Roar..."

After the transformation was complete, I couldn't help but let out a skyward roar. This wasn't for show; it was a natural instinct, completely involuntary and out of my control. After all, I'm not stupid enough to roar loudly here, which would be like activating a monster attractor.

After roaring, I felt uneasy and quickly looked around. It seemed my roar didn't have any negative effects, so I breathed a sigh of relief. In the future, I need to suppress the instinct to roar after transforming, as it easily draws the attention of monsters.

What? That's not a reason? Okay, I admit, I compromise, no face-slapping, no butt-pinching, ah, that's my kidney, I'll fight you...

Cough... Actually, the biggest reason is that if I keep roaring, I won't be able to sneak attack, right? You're satisfied now! We can discuss this privately, no need to bring it up, or it will be a loss of face.

After the transformation was complete, I looked at my hands, now covered in fur, with sharp claws and thick pads. The funniest part was looking down and seeing my protruding snout and nose, making it look like my nose and mouth were connected and protruding. I knew I now had a wolf's head and a human body. Looking at my paws, they were white, so I was a white wolf. It seems my lineage is quite pure, a critically endangered and specially protected animal, more precious than job changers in the original world, as long as I don't get discovered by hunters...

After doing all this, I called the Venomous Vine to stay close and stepped into the cave.

Page break AD starts

Page break AD ends