Chapter 30

Thank you, Orange for the generous donation, and thanks for the support, fellow Daoist.

Priests who worship different deities have slightly different characteristics; some lean towards healing, some towards support, and even some are combat-oriented, violent priests. Tyr's priests are relatively balanced, mastering divine spells that cover healing, support, and damage control.

However, the image of holding a vulture shield in one hand and a small iron hammer in the other is rather awkward, neither majestic nor graceful. Fortunately, they can still wear robes, which somewhat recaptures a sense of elegance and refinement.

If it were the war priests of the God of War, Torm, it would be a disaster—these powerful combat priests often have to fight on the front lines like warriors, and they usually choose to wear thick chainmail for protection. However, they still have to wear the half-robe of Torm's temple over it to show their faith, making Torm's priests generally look bulky and unattractive.

The new priest in the group is named Changqing, who appears refined and polite, with few words and a quiet demeanor.

When he joined the group, he didn't show any particular reaction upon seeing Alpha. However, Alpha knew that Changqing must have heard of his reputation as a "waste," yet didn't immediately leave the group. Alpha felt relieved, at least he hadn't dragged the group down, and he also developed a good impression of Changqing.

At least from the first impression, both team members were quite decent. Compared to the other teams that were loud and overbearing, Huang Basan and Changqing were much less annoying, which was the kind of team Alpha preferred.

This wave of new players mobilized by Jennifer formed several teams. After some discussion, Huang Basan's team unanimously decided not to rush in, but to wait until the others had fought enough before joining in.

The Bloodbird is a corrupted and fallen ranger scout who made a deal with his soul and the hellish power of the Northshire's overlord, Andariel. Therefore, after each kill, Andariel would use hellish power to revive it after a certain period, so there was no need to rush to get the first hit.

The three decided to kill monsters and level up in the Pale Canyon, where 11th-level skeletons and wraiths were abundant, providing decent experience. Alpha also wanted to let the two adapt to his fighting style.

Sure enough, as soon as Alpha started, the two were dumbfounded:

It was already puzzling for a mage to use only the "Magic Missile" spell to fight, but when this "Magic Missile" dealt more damage than "Frost Ray" or even a single "Magic Missile," the surprise was even more unacceptable.

Who had ever seen a "Magic Missile" that could deal 70-80 points of damage?

Even as a high-attack, low-speed barbarian, Huang Basan's axe only dealt 50-60 points of damage, and it took more than 2 seconds to swing once. Alpha's crossbow shot was equivalent to Huang Basan's, but his attack frequency was almost twice as high, firing at least once per second.

This was without using the "Pressure Point" skill.

If Huang Basan and Changqing saw that Alpha could freeze zombies and lesser demons with a single finger and deal even more absurd damage, they would be even more unsettled.

However, as teammates who fought together, Alpha had to give them an explanation.

For why he only used "Magic Missile" and such a powerful "Magic Missile," Alpha had already prepared his explanation:

The reason for using only "Magic Missile" was that his intelligence was too low, so he could only learn a few low-mana 0-level spells. Therefore, he had been using "Magic Missile" to fight from level 1 to now, which everyone could understand.

The extremely high damage of "Magic Missile" was because he had always used only this spell, so the system rewarded him with a "Magic Missile" enhancement, causing additional damage, which was the golden light enveloping the short crossbow bolt.

This explanation was generally plausible, as high-frequency skill use leading to rewards had precedents in "Dungeons & Dragons."

Moreover, due to the high mana cost, spellcasters often had to stand back and use crossbows when their mana ran out, so Alpha's fighting style wasn't a big deal as long as the damage was sufficient. The difference between spells and crossbows was minor.

However, not being able to use some support spells might cause some inconvenience in battle.

For example, spells like "Animate Rope," "Hold Person," and "Paralyzing Touch" were very helpful in controlling the battlefield, and might be troublesome in special situations, but Huang Basan and Changqing were considerate enough not to mention it. After all, Alpha's damage output was already outstanding, and for a new team, having damage was enough without too many formalities.

Of course, the two now had a new perspective on the famous Northshire waste:

He was not only not a waste but also a strong player.

The three of them kept grinding evil creatures in the Pale Valley, checking the cemetery where the Bloodbird was located every ten minutes or so to see if anyone was still fighting the boss.

After an hour, on their sixth visit to the cemetery, they finally noticed something was off:

—The group from an hour ago was still there...

The Bloodbird would be revived 5 minutes after death, making it a relatively convenient way to gain experience and equipment for players around level 10. However, players usually didn't stay at this level for long, making this seemingly profitable boss-farming spot somewhat redundant.

However, for challenging the Scarlet Monastery, killing the Bloodbird and the Corpsefire were essential steps. Without defeating the Bloodbird, players wouldn't be allowed to enter the Scarlet Monastery.

They couldn't just wait around, so the three unanimously decided to send their leader, Huang Basan, to negotiate, though he was reluctant:

"Guys, let us kill the Bloodbird once? We'll leave after the task is done, thanks."

Huang Basan stood behind the five-person team, speaking in a deep voice.

This team was a standard leveling team, with the classic warrior, mage, and priest triangle, plus a halfling rogue and a ranger skilled in ranged attacks.

Such a team, with both combat and reconnaissance capabilities, could handle most unexpected situations in the wild.

However, this ranger didn't seem to be doing his job well, failing to set up even a "Guardian" spell.

The shield warrior was taking the brunt of the Bloodbird's attacks, and the Wogun priest, who was healing the shield warrior with divine gold, was too busy to help. The mage was casting spells, and the rogue was having a blast stabbing the Bloodbird from behind, leaving only the ranger in light jungle armor with some free time.

However, this ranger seemed to ignore Huang Basan.

No one responded, and Huang Basan didn't say anything, as they were in the middle of a fight.

After a while, the team finally killed the Bloodbird. Seeing the shield warrior pick up a hat and throw it to the mage, Huang Basan approached again:

"Guys, let us kill the Bloodbird once, for the task."

"Get lost."

The shield warrior's words left Huang Basan speechless. The 1.9-meter-tall man turned to look at Alpha and Changqing, unsure of what to do.

Changqing followed silently, and Alpha could tell from his gaze what he was thinking:

—Changqing was staring at the priest sitting on the ground, regaining mana.

Wogun's priests were the least durable among all priests, as they couldn't use shields and their healing was mostly in the form of long-lasting status spells. They also had the lowest health gain from leveling, making them easy to one-shot in PvP.

Alpha thought Changqing, though quiet, was decisive when it mattered.

From the druid's indifference to Huang Basan and the shield warrior's "get lost," it was clear that this team was a typical group of internet bullies, similar to the talented young man Alpha had killed twice.

—The kind of person whose family couldn't imagine how powerful they were online.

They had been monopolizing the task monster for so long and were still being rude, clearly not good people.

However, they were still civilized, and one couldn't just start a fight, so Alpha walked behind Huang Basan:

"If we can't negotiate, let's wait for the Bloodbird to respawn."

"Wait for what? Get lost—hey, isn't that the Northshire waste?"

The ranger looked at Alpha and laughed. Alpha shrugged, knowing he was still famous and recognized wherever he went.

"The Bloodbird is 'League of Legends' territory, get lost or we'll clear the area!"

To prove the correctness of the shield warrior's order and their disdain for the Northshire's top waste, the ranger raised his longbow and shot an arrow at Huang Basan.

Huang Basan blocked the arrow with his axe, and it veered off, embedding itself in the ground, its feathers trembling from the momentum, much like its arrogant owners.

"Your teammate has been attacked by the player 'Rolling Youth.' You can retaliate against the members of their team within 5 minutes."

The system prompt sounded, and Alpha narrowed his eyes, as if recalling something, then shrugged and pulled Huang Basan back, seemingly showing weakness.

The League of Legends team exchanged knowing smiles, clearly feeling more confident about their numerical advantage due to Alpha's apparent cowardice.

—It was 5 vs. 3, now 5 vs. 2 plus a useless waste who couldn't cast spells. Alpha's low intelligence and inability to learn spells were no secret, and his and Huang Basan's tolerance further boosted the team's confidence and sense of achievement.

However, as the saying goes, extremes lead to their opposite. Just as the League of Legends team's confidence was soaring, tragedy was about to befall them.

No one noticed that the seemingly weak waste mage and the nearby white-robed Tyr priest exchanged a subtle glance...