Chapter 48: Upgrade (Part 1)

With the experience of previous trials, I no longer felt the thrill and joy of running away from home. Instead, I felt reluctant and cautious. Even with my Level 8 Werewolf Transformation, I didn't dare to roam freely in the Bloodlands. Unlike the Evil Caves, where I could use the narrow terrain to eliminate a camp of over a hundred Fallen Ones, the open wilderness of the Bloodlands made it easy to be surrounded. I could only rely on the increased movement speed from the Werewolf Transformation to escape; otherwise, I would surely die.

After about an hour, I estimated that I had left the patrol range of the Rogue Encampment. I summoned the Venomous Flower Vine, which seemed very happy. As soon as it appeared, it started to burrow in circles in the ground, and the faint connection I felt with it reappeared in my mind.

"Comrade, let's go."

I shouted with enthusiasm, but even if I had ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare to walk forward with such confidence. I still remembered the first time I came out and encountered a camp of over a thousand Fallen Ones. The sight of everything being destroyed in their path reminded me of the countless army of man-eating ants on the grasslands I had seen on TV, a terrifying scene.

My current experience is 16,890/18,000 at Level 4. I will reach Level 5 today.

After walking for over an hour, I avoided a large Fallen Ones camp. Five wandering corpses came into my sight. In the Bloodlands, corpses are my favorite. They are easy to bully, and since I reached Level 4, the experience from Fallen Ones has dropped to 3 points. Only the corpses continue to support me, honestly contributing 10 points of experience.

I carefully observed the surroundings and found no large groups of monsters nearby. Good, now I can focus on these corpses. I pulled out a wooden club and approached the corpses with a lecherous smile. Sweat...

Soon, when the first corpse fell to my wooden club, the Venomous Flower Vine had already taken down the second and was engaged with the third. I didn't go to help but watched the Vine's combat style.

"Ah."

It still doesn't get it. I shook my head and sighed. It's not that the Venomous Flower Vine's combat ability is poor; its attacks are agile and fierce. Even if I controlled it myself, I couldn't do better. However, it doesn't understand efficiency. A single bite is enough to slowly poison a corpse to death, but it insists on biting again until the corpse falls. The Vine's attack frequency is about once every three seconds. This means that what should take 3 seconds takes 6 seconds. If not for this, I would have finished the first corpse while it took down the remaining four.

Although I tried to communicate with it, it seems that the previous mental connection was just a fleeting moment.

Never mind, there's plenty of time to train it.

Disappointed, I didn't notice a detail. In the past, when the Venomous Flower Vine faced four corpses alone, it would always be hit by the corpses, losing a few points of health. This time, it was unscathed. Even if I had noticed, I would have thought it was just a coincidence...

When the Venomous Flower Vine took down the fourth corpse, 200 points of experience were easily gained. I cleaned up the battlefield, starting with the corpse I killed. Damn, nothing.

Then the four corpses the Vine killed. Uh... Honestly, the Venomous Flower Vine would be a waste if it didn't star in horror movies. Just seeing the monsters it killed turn into a pool of colorful rot is enough to make anyone scream. If it doesn't scare you to death, it will disgust you to death.

I had no interest in touching the disgusting rot. After a few minutes, when the four pools of rot on the ground disappeared, I walked over.

Hmm, not bad. At the spot where the first corpse the Vine killed lay, a shiny gold coin was clearly visible.

The second one, nothing. The third one, nothing. Damn, these two corpses must have been beggars in their previous lives!

When I approached the last one in disappointment, my eyes were suddenly drawn to a faint green glow on the ground.

It was an irregularly shaped green stone, emitting a soft green glow. However, it was covered with sharp edges, as if it had been shattered, which greatly reduced its beauty.

But I was still overjoyed. This is a good start, a good omen.

Shattered Green Gem:

Weapon: 10 poison damage, lasting 3 seconds

Shield: +12% poison resistance

Helmet and Armor: +3 agility

What a great find. I've seen many in the game, but this is the first time in this world. It's so beautiful. I looked at the shattered gem, which emitted a soft green glow. I had just cursed the other two corpses as beggars, but now I was staring at the gem like a beggar. The shattered gem is already so beautiful; I wonder how dazzling the perfect gem would be!

After admiring it for a while, I carefully placed it in my inventory and continued toward the Cold Plains.

By evening, after taking out two small camps of Fallen Ones, a warm glow enveloped me, and the familiar feeling of leveling up returned.

I opened my attribute panel: Name: Wu Fan; Level 5; Experience 8/25,000; Health 120; Mana 48; Defense 25;

Strength 15; Agility 20; Vitality 40; Energy 23 (other attributes omitted)

My equipment includes a damaged hat, leather gloves, a wooden club, a belt, and the most valuable apprentice cloak, but unfortunately, they are all plain...

I added all 5 attribute points to Strength. With the Werewolf Transformation, my health is sufficient for now. If danger arises, adding these 5 points won't make much difference. Adding Strength is for future equipment requirements and to increase attack damage.

For the skill point, I learned Firestorm.

Firestorm: Level 8, unleash a chaotic force, firing several flame paths with tracking capabilities. The flame paths burn for 2 seconds and can spread up to 10 meters. The damage decreases with distance, reducing by 5% per meter (at the farthest 10 meters, the damage is 55% of the original).

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End of Chapter 48: Upgrade (Part 1)