Chapter 9

With 100 toad skins nearly collected, Ye Luo was getting tired of killing the small toads and decided to finish the task by killing two more before moving on to higher-level monsters. Thinking this, he swung his beginner's sword and struck a small toad's eye, causing a purple damage number to pop up: 106.

"Huh, not bad, a critical hit and a vital strike, actually 106 damage." Ye Luo exclaimed softly, but when he saw two light orbs on the ground, he was even more delighted, as one of them was a piece of equipment in addition to the toad skin.

Having killed so many monsters, Ye Luo had seen purple damage numbers a few times before. He knew that only a critical hit combined with a vital strike would result in this. A vital strike, as the name suggests, means hitting the monster's vital point, which is indicated by an orange damage number and generally increases damage by 30% to 50%.

Picking up the toad skin and copper coins, the attributes of the dropped equipment were revealed:

【Toad Bracer】 (Bracer * Beginner Village Equipment)

Defense: 3—3

Durability: 100/100

Required Level: 1

It was the equipment he needed, so Ye Luo immediately equipped it, and his defense increased to 10 points. With this, his defense was on par with players of the same level.

"Hehe, not bad, I got another piece of equipment." Ye Luo smiled, feeling quite pleased: "One more small toad to kill, and I can complete this task. With my current defense, I can take on level 2 or 3 monsters without losing too much health, and I might not even need to take potions."

"Kwa~!"

Suddenly, a deep croak echoed in Ye Luo's ears. He followed the sound and saw a toad two to three times larger than the small toads staring at him, its bulging eyes filled with anger, ready to pounce.

"Such a big toad, could it be a boss?" Ye Luo exclaimed, hurriedly checking:

【Toad King】 (Mini Boss)

Level: 3

Attack: 9—10

Defense: 15

Health: 2000

Skill: 【Toad Poison Ball】

【Toad Poison Ball】: The Toad King condenses poison gas from its body into an energy ball, increasing attack by 20% and poisoning the target, causing 5 health loss per second for 20 seconds, with a 30-second cooldown.

Seeing the Toad King's attributes, Ye Luo drew a sharp breath. With his current strength, facing it would be a near-certain death, especially with the Toad Poison Ball attack. Even without the 20% attack increase, the 5 health loss per second for 20 seconds was more than he could handle.

Not just him, but any player below level 3 would likely be defeated by it. They couldn't possibly kill the Toad King within two to three minutes, and with their typical 100 to 200 health, they couldn't survive two Toad Poison Ball attacks.

"What should I do, should I give up?" Ye Luo muttered, but quickly dismissed the idea: "Bosses in the beginner village are extremely rare. If I miss this, I might never encounter another. I'll give it a shot; after all, players don't lose a level for dying before level 10. If I win, I'll gain a lot, as bosses are said to always drop equipment."

It wasn't that Ye Luo was overconfident, but after careful analysis, he believed he had a chance against the Toad King.

He had 10 small health potions, which provided ample supply. Additionally, he had a small antidote pill, which could neutralize basic poison attacks. Based on his reasoning, it should protect him from the Toad King's Toad Poison Ball, as the small antidote pill could neutralize the miasma in the Poison Swamp, and the Toad King was just a level 3 mini boss.

Deciding, Ye Luo calculated the distance and swung his beginner's sword at the Toad King's eye. With a "plop," the Toad King dodged, and the sword only hit its head, causing a yellow damage number to pop up: 17.

The Toad King let out an angry croak, and its sticky tongue shot out like lightning, striking Ye Luo. He felt a sharp pain and lost 9 health, which he could barely tolerate.

Ye Luo was unsatisfied, not with his attack, but with his failure to dodge the Toad King's attack.

"The Toad King's attack speed is much faster than the small toads. I couldn't dodge it in time. I need to be quicker next time." Ye Luo muttered to himself, but he didn't hesitate and swung his sword again.

After the attack, Ye Luo quickly retreated, successfully dodging the Toad King's next attack, which boosted his confidence. He continued to attack and dodge, calculating the Toad King's attack frequency.

However, the Toad King's attack speed was faster and its range was longer, so his success rate in dodging was not high, managing to dodge only one out of every three attacks.

After half a minute, the Toad King had lost 200 health, which was one-tenth of its total. Ye Luo's health was down to 48 points, less than half.

Seeing this, Ye Luo decisively swallowed a small health potion. A green number appeared above his head, and his health instantly recovered by 30 points. Over the next 10 seconds, his health would increase by 3 points per second, and with the automatic health recovery from his Soul Crystal, his health would be fully restored in 10 seconds.

Ye Luo quickly calculated that it would take 5 to 6 minutes to kill the Toad King, and with his small health potions, he had a good chance of surviving.

Thinking this, Ye Luo continued his attack. Suddenly, the Toad King's belly swelled, and a dangerous aura emanated from it.

Sensing this, Ye Luo knew the Toad King was about to use a skill. Without hesitation, he swallowed a small antidote pill and quickly dodged.

Indeed, the Toad King launched its attack, and a fist-sized green energy ball shot toward Ye Luo like lightning. He couldn't dodge it and felt a sharp pain, with a yellow number 20 appearing above his head, reducing his health again.

Worse, the energy ball shattered, releasing a foul-smelling poison that made him gag.

However, Ye Luo was relieved that he didn't take continuous damage, indicating that the small antidote pill had neutralized the poison.

Encouraged, Ye Luo continued his attack. This time, he was lucky and struck the Toad King's eye, causing an orange damage number 24 to appear, clearly a vital strike.

Ye Luo was even more energized and focused entirely on the attack. It was as if he had returned to the days when he practiced swordsmanship, fully concentrated, with only the target in mind.

Continuing to attack and dodge, he would take a small health potion when his health dropped below 50 points. As Ye Luo became more focused, his success rate in dodging the Toad King's attacks gradually increased, and the Toad King's health continued to drop.

1800, 1500... 800, 500, 300...

Although the Toad King used Toad Poison Ball a few times, causing significant damage to Ye Luo, he had the small antidote pill to neutralize the poison and the small health potions to replenish his health, keeping it above the safety line.

Not far away, a female player observed this scene. She calmly watched, and after checking the Toad King's attributes and Ye Luo's level and damage, she quickly calculated his attack.

"Ye Luo's attack is around 15 points, defense around 10 points, level 2. He must have distributed his attribute points evenly." The female player said calmly, then her eyes lit up: "He has leg and arm equipment, so his base attributes must be very low, probably only 1 to 2 points. Could he be the rumored 'extreme waste' in the beginner village?"

Although players couldn't detect each other's attributes, they could infer them based on the equipment worn. This woman was skilled at analysis and data collection, and her team had the same equipment, so she knew its attributes.

Although it was a guess, her tone was confident. After her calculations, she muttered: "It seems he has also taken the Heaven's Tribulation Trial task, but he has sacrificed more base attribute points than I have. According to the principle of greater sacrifice leading to greater gain, he will benefit more from completing the task."

Then, the female player observed Ye Luo's movements, frowning slightly: "His movements are strange, as if he's not used to this combat style. From his attack angles and footwork, he must be a skilled fighter in real life, suggesting he's new to the game."

"Despite being new, he has such a high level of skill. This person is not simple and will grow into a rare expert." The woman pondered but didn't approach, her expression cold: "I'll wait until he grows stronger, at least until he completes the Heaven's Tribulation task. Otherwise..."

Thinking this, the woman turned and left to complete her own task.

Ye Luo was fully engrossed in the battle and didn't notice the female player watching him for a few minutes. Even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.

The battle continued, and after using nine small health potions, Ye Luo finally defeated the Toad King. His health was down to 45 points, and with only one health potion left, he said: "I need to learn alchemy from Elder Hua as soon as possible. Otherwise, I won't be able to handle such bosses in the future, and that would be frustrating."

Letting his health slowly recover, Ye Luo began to check his loot.

The Toad King's body dissolved into light, and several light orbs and five silver coins appeared where it died.

Picking up the silver coins, Ye Luo focused on the light orbs. One of them was a toad skin, but it was much higher quality than the ones he had collected for the task.

【Toad King's Skin】 (Level 3 Tailoring Material)

Description: The skin of the Toad King, condensed from its essence, is quite tough and can be used by tailors to create good equipment.