Chapter 64: Sweeping the Cave (Part 2)

Sure enough, the four crows attacking simultaneously had an immediate effect, interrupting the small boss's second arrow. The enraged small boss, no longer paying attention to me, raised his bow and started shooting arrows at the crows. Seeing this as an opportunity, I took advantage of the situation and moved forward with heavy, stiff steps.

With a "swish," one of the crows was hit, its body instantly turning blue. It let out a few "caws" and ran away.

I was taken aback and couldn't help but look at the crow beside me with a BS expression. It was the first one I had summoned, and we had worked together for so long. I couldn't bear to use it as cannon fodder, and I still hoped it would mutate and become smarter, so it could serve as a scout.

Noticing my gaze, the damn lazy crow turned its head, its black eyes looking as innocent as ever, as if saying, "It's one thing, I'm another. What are you looking at? I'm not that kind of crow."

In the end, three of the four crows escaped, and one died. However, after the small boss cleared these minor troubles, I appeared beside it with a sinister smile.

With a "slap," a huge bear paw sent it flying. Damn, that slap felt so good, making you pay for making me miserable last time, and for playing guerrilla tactics.

The Black Wanderer has low defense, even the small boss is no exception. That slap must have hurt it a lot. At this point, the ghost wolves and the venomous flower vines had already cleared the other small monsters and were standing by, ready to pounce and tear the small boss to pieces at my command.

Of course, I wouldn't say something stupid like, "You guys just watch, let me take it on alone." The reason I could land that slap was because the crows were holding it back. Once the small boss reacted, with its ice arrows and guerrilla tactics, my bear transformation couldn't keep up, and no matter how much health or defense I had, it would be useless.

Hmm? There's still a bottle of dissolving agent? Why would I waste it on her? There are simpler and more cost-effective methods. Am I crazy?

The small boss, now alone, clearly had no chance of turning the tide. Whether it was the ghost wolves or the venomous flower vines, as long as they didn't get hit by her freezing arrows, they were faster than her. Moreover, this cave was a dead end with only one exit, which we had blocked. The most despicable guerrilla tactics couldn't be used, and her attacks were useless. What choice did she have but to die?

The only small twist was when the venomous flower vines finally triggered their binding effect. Watching it suddenly emerge from the ground and wrap around the small boss, even though the binding only lasted a brief second, it almost made me stumble and fall—wasn't this the famous S&M binding technique from a certain island country?

Unfortunately, the S&M person (monster?) looked so unappealing that it didn't arouse any "sexual" interest.

"Ah—!!!"

When the small boss was down to a sliver of health, I immediately canceled the summoning of the other four ghost wolves, leaving only the more steady one. This was the so-called elite policy, also known as letting a part of the group get rich first.

As expected, after the small boss died, the ghost wolf didn't change (it had just been summoned, so it couldn't have mutated so quickly). However, the dead crow on my shoulder "cawed" loudly, its body flashed with a white light, and then disappeared.

Just like that?

I was overjoyed, but also a bit puzzled—there should have been a grand and dazzling display, right?

I opened the crow's attribute panel, and as expected, the originally simple panel was now filled with text.

Crow: Level 8 (Level 1 Mutation) A mutated creature evolved from long-term combat experience. Mutation Level 1: +10% Health, +10% Defense, +20% Speed, +10% to all resistances, higher chance of interrupting enemy attacks (chance depends on enemy strength), has some low-level intelligence.

Great, it seems that not only the venomous flower vines can mutate. With the crow's mutation, I have more confidence in the future mutations of the ghost wolves, mad wolves, and gray bears. However...

I gave the crow a BS look. Evolved from long-term combat experience? I think it's more like evolved from long-term escape experience.

And what does "some low-level intelligence" mean? Could it be...

I tried to communicate with the crow, but it was still the same as before. It seems that relying on it for high-difficulty reconnaissance tasks is still a long way off. But thinking about its usual behavior, I couldn't help but wonder—could this lazy crow be different from the others? Other crows, though cowardly, don't usually slack off.

The only thing I regret is that the lazy crow only leveled up after I killed the small boss. This makes me wonder if only killing small boss-level monsters can make summoned creatures mutate and level up, or if it was just a coincidence?

Putting aside my doubts, I carefully examined the equipment that had dropped. This is a small boss, so it should drop some good stuff. As for the other nine small monsters, I had a quick look earlier, and they only dropped a few gold coins.

The first thing that caught my eye was a blue longbow. It was too big and stood out in the pile of items.

Holding it, the longbow felt especially solid, far superior to the inferior products in the training ground. I quickly used an identification scroll on it.

Moonlight Elf's Longbow

Damage: 7-13

Strength Required: 22

Dexterity Required: 19

Level Required: 8

Bow Level: Fast Attack Speed

+25% Damage

+3 Minimum Damage

+50% Damage to Demons

It was a high-quality blue item with three attributes, and the attributes were quite good, especially the +50% damage to demons. Most of the monsters in the Rogue Camp are demons, but unfortunately, I'm not very good with bows yet, which is frustrating...

Next, my eyes continued to scan the ground.

Oh, what's this? A short, elegant staff with a round green gem embedded in it. From my residual memory, I immediately recognized it as a Mage's Eagle Orb, the first unique item I had ever obtained.

Although the Eagle Orb didn't emit any light, I wasn't disappointed. For these specialized items, the important thing is the attributes, not the color. Moreover, unlike in games where only the same class can use them, here all classes can use them, but only mages can fully utilize their base stats. For example, I can use the Eagle Orb, but I won't get its base damage.

However, I didn't plan to use the staff to hit people, so the damage didn't matter. What mattered was the number and quality of the spells it could cast.

I silently prayed, invoking all the gods and deities, before slowly picking up the staff.

Eagle Orb

One-Handed Damage: 2-5

Durability: 20/20

Staff Level: Fast Attack Speed

+3 Warmth

How to describe my feelings at this moment? I can only say, well, they are quite complex...

Besides the staff, the last piece of equipment on the ground was a white skull cap, which looked like a small inverted iron pot. Picking it up, I was surprised to find it was a special gray item with two sockets.

Skull Cap (Gray)

Defense: 11

Durability: 18

Strength Required: 15

Sockets (2)

Good stuff, embedding something in it later would make it as good as a blue item, and I was just missing a cap. I immediately put it on, feeling like I had a small iron pot on my head.

The remaining items were a bottle of vitality potion, which is a life-saving potion! However, I already had five bottles, so I wasn't particularly excited.

A cracked red gem (attributes not listed, everyone knows!)

Two bottles of light mana potions, and 11 gold coins.

Overall, the small boss dropped quite well, not worse than Bishu. Just the Eagle Orb alone, its rarity could rival a gold item, although the attributes were quite disappointing...

Killing this small boss didn't take much effort, so I saved my rest time and rushed to the entrance of the second level of the cave. The competition was fierce, and the cave was just a low-level training area. Except for the small boss, the other monsters were no match for many teams, so the chests on the second level were often visited. If I was slow, someone else might get there first.

After canceling the summoning of the other four ghost wolves, I didn't re-summon them, following the elite policy. Although I didn't know if killing regular small monsters could give the ghost wolves the experience needed for mutation, with my current strength, one ghost wolf was enough. Carrying too many would make me overconfident, and I understood the principle of being cautious in times of peace and cautious in times of danger.

The entrance to the second level of the cave was right in front of me. The cold air emanating from it was even more bone-chilling than the first level. I transformed into a bear and stepped down, determined that nothing in the cave could hurt me!

Following the pitch-black stairs, I had just entered the second level when, before I could react, a series of soft, squishy things fell from above, landing on my head and sticking to me, hanging from my hands, neck, and waist...

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