Chapter 92: The Highly Toxic Flower Vine

After walking for a while, I encountered a small demon camp. At first glance, there were at least a few hundred small demons loitering around. Dealing with such a large number, especially with the small demon mages who could revive them, made me feel a bit overwhelmed. After much thought, I decided to act as a decoy, drawing the small demons' attention while Xiao Xue and the others circled around to secretly eliminate the small demon mages from a distance.

Of course, as a tank, I wasn't just a sitting duck. My two major mage skills were no joke—Frozen Armor was particularly effective against these small demons. Just one hit would turn them into ice sculptures, frozen for several seconds. And don't forget the necklace around my neck, which had a 5% chance to cast a Level 3 Frost Nova when I was attacked. I had taken it off in the tower to keep a low profile, but now I had put it back on. Don't underestimate this 5% chance; with the high frequency of attacks from the numerous small demons, it would trigger almost every ten seconds, more frequently than a wizard could cast it. Most importantly, it didn't consume any of my mana, making it the perfect tool for dealing with a mob. The Level 3 Frost Nova had a range of about 5-7 meters, with damage decreasing as the distance increased. Even so, many of the small demons surrounding me were frozen to death by the Frost Nova.

The situation seemed promising, and it looked like it wouldn't take long to eliminate all the small demons. However, a frustrating situation arose. After Xiao Xue and the others eliminated the small demon mages, they turned back to finish off the remaining small demons. Unexpectedly, the small demons, seeing their mages dead, scattered in all directions, leaving an empty camp. A cold wind blew through, bringing a chill. Was this the legendary "the stronger the power, the smaller the courage"? Even the lowest-level Fallen wouldn't be as cowardly as these small demons.

Xiao Xue and the others seemed just as surprised by this outcome. With hundreds of monsters running away, who could stop them? During the initial engagement, I had used Lava Rock and Firestorm, along with close combat, to take out about a hundred small demons. Xiao Xue and the others had eliminated six or seven small demon mages and a dozen or so small demons who hadn't managed to escape. In the end, we gained very little experience, and my equipment durability dropped rapidly, leaving me almost on the verge of madness.

After that, I finally learned my lesson. When encountering small demon camps in the future, I used the same strategy but made sure to leave one small demon mage alive. This way, it could occasionally revive the small demons, giving them a glimmer of hope. In reality, its revival rate was far slower than our killing rate. Until the end, these foolish creatures still believed that as long as the mage was alive, they could be infinitely revived. They kept charging forward fearlessly, unaware that the mage behind them was already exhausted, foaming at the mouth, and struggling to hold his staff. By the time only a few small demons remained, I looked at the dedicated small demon mage, who was now lying on the ground, eyes rolled back, and spitting blood, barely alive. Sweat dripped down my face; to be such a dedicated healer was truly remarkable. After killing this pitiful mage, the remaining small demons realized something was wrong, but it was too late—they were already surrounded by Xiao Xue and the others, with no chance of escape.

So, lack of education is truly terrifying. Mathematics is very important. These poor small demons couldn't even grasp the simplest arithmetic and logical problems, yet they ventured out into the world, only to end up being slaughtered.

After finding a solution to these cowardly creatures, I didn't get to rest for long. As I delved deeper into the Tempest Highlands, a few days later, I encountered a more troublesome monster than the ghosts in the tower—reanimated mages. These creatures, with their skeletal frames, preferred to cast spells rather than wield large swords like proper undead warriors. They dyed themselves in various colors: red for fire mages, white for lightning mages, blue for ice mages, and green for poison mages. When they gathered, fireballs, ice bolts, charged bolts, and poison clouds filled the sky. Their magical attacks rendered my high-level paladin physical defense useless. Of course, this wasn't just a problem for me; in the Rogue Encampment, no one could resist all four types of magic. Unless equipment dropped from the sky, who could resist all four?

Alright, I admit I was exaggerating a bit. For me, these spells weren't a big deal. After all, they were just regular monsters. Generally, a regular monster's spell, like a fire mage's fireball, would do minimal damage if the target's resistance was 20 or higher. For a boss, it would be 30, for an elite, 40, and for a mini-boss, at least 60. As for a demon lord like Andariel, I wasn't sure, but I imagine that if your poison resistance was less than 75, you should bring plenty of antidote potions.

My current resistances were 10 for cold, 53 for lightning, 25 for fire, and 36 for poison. This meant I could ignore all but the ice mages. My earlier description was just to illustrate how threatening these skeletal mages were to ordinary players with few blue items.

Even so, these reanimated mages were a significant problem. They usually appeared in groups of three to five, spread out, making it difficult to use Lava Rock or Firestorm for area damage. The ice mages' ice bolts were particularly annoying, given my low cold resistance. When I encountered a group of reanimated mages, I would transform into a werewolf and quickly eliminate the ice mages first, then deal with the others. I didn't hold back with the scepter, which dealt 6-11 damage and had a 50% bonus against undead. For the ice mages, I prioritized using a Level 3 Holy Bolt, which was especially effective against undead. Two Holy Bolts were enough to purify them. These skeletal mages lived up to their title as mages, dropping a lot of gold and potions, and occasionally some white items, though they were mostly junk.

In addition, there were Dark Spearmen, who moved quickly and liked to stab with their spears. For players with low physical defense, they were a significant nuisance, but to me and Xiao Xue, they were just moving experience points.

I wandered the Tempest Highlands for a month, hoping to meet up with Lai and the others. Unfortunately, while I encountered many adventurers, I never saw them. Despite my efforts to slow down, I gradually reached level 17. During this time, something particularly exciting happened.

About half a month ago, I encountered an elite Spiked Beast with the Multiple Shot skill. It fired several needles with elite-level damage, even hurting me despite my Bear Form. In the end, I angrily smashed it into a pulp with my bear paws, and it dropped a decent blue mace.

Ice Spiked Mace

Damage: 3-10

Durability: 60

Required Strength: 27

Required Level: 6

1-4 cold damage, lasting 3 seconds

Ha, a good find. The damage wasn't high, but the cold damage was the key. Just one hit, and...

Of course, I wasn't excited just because of the blue weapon. Its stats were good, but not enough to leave such a strong impression. What made me happy was that after the elite's death, the Toxic Flower Vine finally flashed with a brilliant light. After months of accumulation, it had finally leveled up.

Toxic Flower Vine (Level 2 Mutation): HP 164, a mutated creature evolved through long-term combat and experience. Mutation Level 2: +20% HP, +20% damage, +20% defense, +20% to all resistances, +2 seconds to toxin duration, a chance to bind opponents on attack, with the probability and duration depending on the enemy's strength.

I looked at the Toxic Flower Vine with satisfaction, happy for its upgrade. Although it had the lowest intelligence among my summons, it was the one that had been with me the longest and with whom I had the deepest bond. I had never doubted its loyalty, just as it had always fought silently for me.

Seeing that I had 8 skill points left, I didn't hesitate to allocate 2 points to the Toxic Flower Vine. When the skill level for summoning the Toxic Flower Vine reached 10, it emitted a brilliant light. This time, the light didn't fade quickly but grew more intense, forcing me to close my eyes against the blinding glow. After a while, it suddenly disappeared.

When the Toxic Flower Vine reappeared, it didn't look much different, but its body seemed to have a jade-like sheen, and it appeared slightly larger. The small flower on its head, which had been barely visible, had retreated. Only through long-term companionship could I notice such changes; others would never see them unless they observed closely. And since the Toxic Flower Vine spent most of its time underground, who would take the time to examine it closely?

At this point, the skill for summoning the Toxic Flower Vine had changed to summoning the Highly Toxic Flower Vine. From now on, the Toxic Flower Vine would be called the Highly Toxic Flower Vine.

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End of Chapter 92