chsdbacks Chapter 15 Leaving the Village, Instantly Annihilating the Arrogant Squad
Chapter 15 Leaving the Village, Instantly Annihilating the Arrogant Squad
The wooden door creaked softly as Lin Tian locked the makeshift room behind him. Inside, there was only a hard bed, a worn-out wardrobe, and a rickety wooden table.
Moonlight streamed through the window cracks, casting dappled shadows on the floor.
He eagerly brought up the skill panel, his eyes burning as he stared intently at the newly acquired [Enlightenment] skill.
"4 skill points, level up to level 1 first." Lin Tian thought to himself.
[Ding! Consumed 4 skill points, [Enlightenment] upgraded to level 1!]
Current skill points: 5 → 1
He then took a deep breath and focused his attention on the talent [Enhancement].
"Consuming 25 talent points to upgrade the [Enlightenment] rank!"
[Ding! Consumed 5 Talent Points, E-rank [Enlightenment] upgraded to D-rank! Effect: Intelligence +30 → Intelligence +45]
[Ding! Consumed 20 Talent Points, D-rank [Enlightenment] upgraded to C-rank! Effect: Intelligence +45 → Intelligence +60]
Talent Points: 25 → 0
A surge of cool energy instantly flooded his brain, and Lin Tian felt that his mind had never been so clear.
[Intelligence: 42 → 102!]
[Spell Attack: 84 → 204! + 40 (Equipment) = 244!]
Fireball damage: 244 x 450% = 1098!
"One... one thousand and ninety-eight damages?!" Lin Tian's pupils contracted sharply, and his fingers trembled involuntarily.
He suddenly stood up, and the simple wooden bed creaked under the weight.
"Hahahaha!" Uncontrollable laughter exploded in the small room. Lin Tian clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white. "244 spell attack! 1098 damage! And nearly 1000 health points! And this is just the beginning!"
Lin Tian's eyes burned with fervor: "Once I upgrade all my passive skills to S-rank, or even SS-rank... who can stop me then?"
The thought sent shivers down his spine. Forcing himself to calm down, Lin Tian lay down on the hard bed, but couldn't fall asleep. Various possibilities for passive skill combinations kept flashing through his mind until he finally drifted off to sleep late at night.
(The next morning)
As the morning light streamed through the window and fell on his face, Lin Tian suddenly opened his eyes. After a deep night's sleep, all fatigue vanished, leaving him refreshed and even more mentally sharp than usual—a direct result of his 102 points of intelligence.
After a quick wash, Lin Tian pushed open the door and stepped out. The starting village was shrouded in a thin mist in the early morning, with the smell of cooking smoke drifting in the air. He strode towards the village entrance, preparing to continue his monster-hunting journey to the Bluestone Plains.
Fifty meters away, a furtive figure lurked in the shadows of the corner. It was Zhang Hong—a Level 2 warrior from the Aoshi Squad—his eyes bloodshot, clearly having been lying in wait for some time. Upon seeing Lin Tian appear, he immediately ducked back, his heart pounding.
"Damn, finally out..."
Zhang Hong gritted his teeth, his fingers flying across the virtual interface: "Brother Shen! That kid's gone out! He's heading towards the village entrance!"
"A piece of trash who doesn't even dare to display his level..." Zhang Hong stared at Lin Tian's departing figure, his eyes flashing with resentment. "Wait until you leave the village, then we'll see how you die!"
Lin Tiangang had just reached the stone bridge at the entrance of the village when he suddenly stopped.
Not far ahead, five familiar figures stood imposingly blocking the road—it was the entire Aoshi Squad.
Ye Shen, who was leading the group, had changed into a brand-new level 3 mage robe, and the sapphire staff in his hand gleamed with a cold light in the morning light.
He wore a fake smile, but his eyes were full of malice.
"Hey, isn't this the 'quick-handed' friend from yesterday?"
Ye Shen deliberately raised his voice, attracting the attention of the players who were leveling up early in the morning.
"What's wrong? You've become timid after a nap? You're even afraid to walk?"
His teammates behind him chuckled in agreement. Zhang Hong had somehow circled behind Lin Tian, forming a pincer movement with another soldier.
Lin Tian glanced around, his gaze eerily calm.
"Get out of the way," Lin Tian said calmly, his voice devoid of any emotion.
Ye Shen's smile froze. He hadn't expected his opponent to be so arrogant despite being at a significant disadvantage of five against one.
"Kid, you're pretty arrogant, huh?" He stepped forward slowly, his staff almost poking Lin Tian's chest. "Yesterday in the safe zone, I couldn't touch you, but now..."
Ye Shen's voice suddenly lowered, carrying a chilling, venomous quality.
"I'll give you two choices: First, compensate me with 50 silver coins for emotional distress and kneel down to apologize; second... I'll let you experience what 'death punishment' truly means."
The surrounding players unconsciously took a few steps back. Some whispered among themselves:
"Damn it, this kid's messed with Ao Shi..."
"I heard they stole Ye Shen's skill book yesterday..."
"A casual player dares to provoke a mage with A-level talent? He's asking for death..."
Lin Tian suddenly smiled. This smile made Ye Shen's heart tremble for no reason.
"Do you know?" Lin Tian slowly raised his right hand, palm up, "I also give you two choices."
"First," a blazing white flame suddenly erupted from his palm, the terrifying heat distorting the air, "you all get out now."
"Second..." The calm in Lin Tian's eyes was finally broken, replaced by an excitement that sent chills down Ye Shen's spine, like looking at prey. "I'll send you all back to the city."
Under the light of the fireball, the hidden level indicator above Lin Tian's head finally appeared—
[Lin Tian - Level 5 Mage]
"Level 5?!" Zhang Hong's shrill cry pierced the morning mist. This mage, whom they had treated like a newbie just yesterday, was actually two levels higher than Ye Shen!
Ye Shen's face turned from white to pale, and the knuckles of his fingers gripping the staff turned white.
But the next second, his ferocious expression reappeared: "So what if he's level 5? Do you think the five of us are afraid of just one?" He abruptly raised his staff and roared hysterically, "Focus fire and kill him!"
Zhang Hong and another warrior, Wang Hu, simultaneously launched a heavy attack, their two iron swords gleaming coldly as they thrust straight at Lin Tian's chest!
A fireball condensed at the tip of Ye Shen's staff, and the archer [Li Xiang]'s arrow was already released! The priest [Chen Dao]'s staff also struck!
-33！-28！-15！-12！-10！
Five damage numbers floated above Lin Tian's head, totaling only 98 points—not even a tenth of his 950 health points!
"That's it?" Lin Tian sneered, neither dodging nor avoiding. To everyone's astonishment, he took all the damage, yet his staff remained firmly pointed at Ye Shen.
"boom!"
-1089!
A scarlet critical hit number exploded above Ye Shen's head. Before he could even scream, he was blasted into a ball of white light and vanished—instant kill!
[Ding! Player [Ye Shen] has been killed!]
"Brother Shen?!" Zhang Hong stared in horror at the spot where his captain had disappeared. Before he could react, the second fireball was already hurtling towards him!
-1088!
Zhang Hong felt a sudden heat in his chest, and then his vision turned into a gray resurrection point.
[Ding! Player [Zhang Hong] has been killed...]
Wang Hu's iron sword was still stuck on Lin Tian's shoulder when he saw the third fireball looming large before his eyes...
-1090!
"This is impossible..." These were his last thoughts before turning into white light.
Just as Li Jian nocked his second arrow, he witnessed a scene that terrified him—the mage, unaffected by everyone's attacks, turned towards him as if nothing had happened.
"A monster...a monster!" He turned to run away.
-1089!
The fireball struck him precisely in the back, blasting him into countless points of light.
The last priest, Chen Dao, collapsed to his knees, his legs giving way: "Big...Big Brother, I was wrong..."
-1089!
Lin Tian remained expressionless.
[Ding! Player [Chen Dao] has been killed...]
Five clusters of white light appeared one after another at the village entrance, and several pieces of equipment shimmering faintly were scattered on the ground.
The entire village entrance was deathly silent.
Suddenly, the crowd erupted in uproar:
"Holy crap! Holy crap! What did I just see?!"
"A pentakill in an instant?! Is this a mage or a humanoid boss?!"
"Over 1000 damage?! Can a level 5 mage's Fireball deal that much damage now?!"
"Did you guys see his health bar? Five people focusing fire couldn't even take away a tenth of his health!"
"This is definitely an S-rank talent!"
"Aoshi has really messed up this time, hahaha!"
"Look! Equipment dropped! Ye Shen's staff even dropped!"
Lin Tian slowly picked up the spoils from the ground, amidst a chorus of exclamations.
When he picked up the staff inlaid with the inferior sapphire, the surroundings instantly fell silent—everyone held their breath, waiting for Lin Tian's next move.
"These are all junk items." Lin Tian casually tossed the staff into his backpack, his voice not loud but clear enough for everyone to hear. "But they should be worth a few silver coins if sold to a shop."
These words were like a resounding slap across the face of the Aoshi Squad, who had just run back from the respawn point.
Ye Shen stared palely at his empty right hand—not only had he lost a level (level 3 → level 2), but even his most precious staff had been destroyed!
Lin Tian glanced at the trembling crowd of Ao Shi, said nothing, simply brushed off non-existent dust from his mage robe, and turned to walk towards the direction of the Blue Stone Plain.
The crowd parted automatically to make way for him, and all the players watched him leave with eyes that looked at him like he was a monster.
Only after Lin Tian's figure disappeared into the morning mist did the village entrance return to its usual hustle and bustle. Meanwhile, the news that "a mysterious mage instantly killed the Aoshi team" spread like wildfire throughout the entire newbie village.
Inside the respawn point.
"Shen...Brother Shen, should we still chase after them?" Zhang Hong asked with a mournful face. His wristband was gone, and his defense value had dropped drastically.
Ye Shen stared intently at the village entrance, his eyes filled with such venom that it was almost tangible: "Chase? With what can we chase them?!" He suddenly kicked over a wooden barrel beside him.