Shadow Rogue

Chapter 4 – Elite Gray Wolf

“Awooo…”

After one miserable howl, the Gray Wolf’s Health was finally exhausted by Rui’s continuous attack, and it fell to the ground.

Ding!

Congratulations!

You have successfully killed a Gray Wolf.

Because you have killed a monster above your level, you receive bonus EXP!

Ding!

Congratulations!

You have received 600 EXP!

(For each level higher than your own, you get 20% more EXP. The EXP you get from killing a level 5 Gray Wolf is 300, so you received: 300 x 5 x 20% = 300. 300 + 300 = 600 EXP!)

Ding!

Congratulations!

You have reached level 1.

Please determine the method of distribution of attribute points.

Method 1: Gain 1 point in all four basic attributes, and gain 2 additional points to be freely allocated.

Method 2: Freely allocate 5 points to an attribute.

“Select method 1!”

Seeing his EXP going up from level 0 to Level 1 at 50%, Rui couldn’t help but smile. This EXP came from killing monsters way above his level! Just by killing one wolf, he rose by one and a half level. From level 0 to 1, players who were killing monsters such as Rabbits would need to kill about 20 of them to level up. Who knows how much time that’ll take.

He opened his status window to assign the 2 bonus attribute points he’d received. Before he knew about the two methods of attribute distribution, Rui had originally prepared to divide his 5 attribute points into 3 STR, 1 VIT, and 1 AGI. What he lacked now was attacking power, so he had to put more points into STR. He did not expect the system to be modeled this way. Even if he were to choose Method 2, it probably would not be much different, but he had more MP now. Although, Rogues do not need Magic ATT, putting points in INT still benefits him since he gains 10 MP per point, and it influences his MP Recovery.

After distributing his attribute points, Rui bent down and picked up the coins dropped by the slain Gray Wolf.

10 copper coins!

‘What the hell, killing a monster only dropped 10 copper? Even a small bottle of potion costs about 20 copper. This system is really f— up.’ Rabbits and Chickens don’t drop anything at all. It was a good thing that the system gave players a set of beginner items when they first logged in. Otherwise, there would be a lot of players who would not have clothes to wear, nor would they have a wooden sword to kill monsters with.

‘Well, since it isn’t difficult to solo a Gray Wolf, I have no need to use any health potions. Right now, EXP is more important!’

Rui smiled, shrugged, put the copper coins in his bag, and continued walking, in search of his next prey.

After defeating a Gray Wolf for EXP, it became easier to kill. Just by relying on his own speed, response time, and avoid getting surrounded, defeating one Gray Wolf was child’s play!

Approximately three hours had gone by since he entered the Gray Wolves’ area, he had leveled up 4 times.

After picking the copper coins and a bottle of small health potion on the floor, Rui sat down on the grass. Since he had been fighting continuously, it took a toll on his stamina and he had gotten tired. Unfortunately, in reality, a precise strike with a dagger would be fatal. However, in virtual reality, even if you accurately slit a monster’s throat, they would not always die but only lose health instead. Although dealing with Gray Wolves was easy, being in constant alert and accurately slitting their throat was too mentally exhausting.

Taking a look around the green plain, there was not a single soul. The degree of realism of ‘Kismet’ was really done well. When a slight wind blew by, Rui not only experienced the refreshing breeze, but he also clearly saw the swaying of green grass.

During a sunny day, being in this peaceful and beautiful place would make anyone feel good. It was almost impossible for one to see this kind of scenery in reality. Ecological destruction, poverty, hunger, racial discrimination, stealing resources… people have gotten too used to it. Although there had not been major outbreaks of war compared to the past, humanity itself could cause the world to end. The numbness of the people, and the numbness of their hearts, it is bound to bring about destruction.

‘Kismet,’ from the beginning Rui did not think of it as a simple game. Would technological research accomplishment from various countries be really be made into a simple game? A lot of problems could be solved using virtual reality, as for what problems, we will know in the future.

Rui did not care enough about the affairs of the world. However, suddenly entering a virtual reality gave him a comfortable and enjoyable feeling, making him want to be the best in the game. This was Rui’s personality. Not doing it was fine, but if he wants to do it, he has to do it well. It was the same when he committed to being an Assassin; he tried his hardest to become the best, and in the end, he became the Supreme King of Assassins.

As he got up, Rui patted his butt, and glanced about his surroundings. The area of Gray Wolves have been more or less cleared out by him. During his battle with the Gray Wolves, he grasped the general idea of the virtual world, adapted to it, and his awareness of his virtual body became better and better. When he was level 0, he could already kill a level 5 Gray Wolf, and at level 4, having gained battle experience, Rui naturally walked deeper into the area to find a stronger and more challenging prey.

Taking a look at his attribute points, and adding points to them, every attribute points had risen. Right now, the ones who were suffering were the Gray Wolves, so he ended his abuse.

Opening his bag, there were 3 silver and 47 copper coins, 7 bottles small HP potions (recovers 100 HP in 10 seconds), 4 bottles of small MP potions (recovers 100 MP in 10 seconds). These drops could be considered as a good harvest.

The area of the Gray Wolves was a small plain, and walking deeper, the terrains began to change. On top of a small hill, Rui met a much bigger Gray Wolf.

Elite Gray Wolf

Level : 6

HP : 500/500

ATT : 70

DEF : 15

Speed : 2

Passive Skill: Lacerate — During its attack, there’s a possibility of causing its enemy to bleed continuously.

‘Elite monster?’

Rui slightly narrowed his eyes. He never thought that by climbing up a small hill, he would coincidentally encounter this kind of monster; his heart began to beat wildly.

What was the purpose of playing a game? Everyone has different reasons. However, to Rui, playing a game was to solely stimulate his senses. A lot of people may feel weak in reality, but after entering virtual reality, they become fearless warriors. In Rui’s mind, the word ‘cowardice’ never existed in reality, and thus, in the game world, it is needless to say he wasn’t scared.

Within the packaging of the gaming equipment, it came with a gaming manual which briefly introduced the basic concept of ‘Kismet.’

Monsters were categorize as followed: Normal monsters, Enhanced monsters, Elite monster, and Boss monsters. Elite and Enhanced monsters are the upgraded versions of the Normal monsters. However, how strong they are has not been determined yet. It depends on how improved the monsters were and to what extent.

As for the Boss category, it was the ultimate monster. Not only did it have crazy stats, it also has a lot of skills and is very hard to deal with. When facing a Boss class monster, a lot of weak players are killed instantly. However, regardless of its high damage, the drops of Boss class monsters are highly coveted. Advanced equipment, advance items, special items, and so on, are what all players desire. Other than quests or treasure boxes, most of the advanced equipments are still dropped from killing a boss. However, the difficulty of boss monsters are set very high in ‘Kismet,’ and is they are not to be underestimated. In addition, there aren’t many boss monsters in the game, they’re very strong, and the respawn time is also very long. Also, the dropped items are more valuable the first time its been killed compared to the subsequent times.

As such, they added enhanced and elite monsters in between normal and boss monsters, and these two types of monsters are equivalent to a mini boss. Although it can’t rival a real boss, they’re relatively easy to deal with, but stronger than normal mobs.

Looking at the stats of the Elite Gray Wolf, Rui couldn’t help but compare it with his own. His HP, STR, and AGI was obviously not as good as the wolf’s, but their Speed was almost the same.

However, compared to the Elite Grey Wolf, Rui had a lot of advantage because of his ability to chug potions; with 7 bottles, he can recover 700HP. Knowing his own speed, he thought the Elite Gray Wolf would not pose a problem. Moreover, with Nimble Wind further enhancing his speed, and even if he couldn’t kill it, it wouldn’t be hard for him to escape.

Slowly bending down, Rui thought to ‘back away safely, or advance to attack’ with the best posture to approach the Elite Gray Wolf, just like before. When he was within three meters from the Elite Gray Wolf, its originally laidback eyes suddenly changed. The wolf suddenly turned around, and with its eyes dead set on Rui, it opened its mouth to reveal its grotesque sharp fangs.

‘Damn, no wonder it’s called Elite Gray Wolf. Its aggro range is 3 meters!’

“Awooo…”

With a loud howl, the Elite Gray Wolf revealed its bloodthirsty face and rushed directly towards Rui.

‘So fast!’

Rui’s pupils contracted and he quickly dodged to the side. However, due to the distance between them being too small, and not knowing the Elite Gray Wolf’s aggro range, he got bitten. Although he didn’t get hit on his vital area, Rui was still bitten by the wolf.

Ding!

You have been bitten by the Elite Gray Wolf.

You have lost 68 HP, and also received the effect of ‘Lacerate’. As such, you will lose 5HP every second for the next 5 seconds.

‘F—! Damn, it rushed towards me and I suddenly lost a third of my HP. If I didn’t dodge fast enough and it hit my weak spots, I would’ve lost even more HP. Goddammit, even when it’s just the first attack, it already triggered the effects of Lacerate. No wonder it’s called an Elite monster. I must not be careless. Otherwise, instead of killing the wolf, I’ll be eaten by it instead!’

As he felt his HP going down, Rui was surprised. He hurriedly moved, dodging to the side, took out an HP potion, and drank it without any hesitation.

‘F—ing beast, you think I won’t kill you?’

Looking at the fearless Elite Gray Wolf once again in pursuit, Rui felt rage boiling within him. However, he wisely did not provoke the wolf any further. Instead, he ran, waiting for his depleted health to regen. The monster was an elite, so he had to be in perfect condition in order to face it, and it was very easy to make a mistake and die.

Not only will a player attack a monster’s weak point for a chance to land a critical hit, so will monsters; especially the advanced monsters. With its already insane stats, if it lands a critical hit, it could cause him his life. Rui did not want to let his newly created character to die here.

Ten seconds went by quickly, and Rui’s HP was once again full. He glanced back at the Elite Gray Wolf still in pursuit, gripped his wooden sword tightly, and revealed a cold smile.