The young man shone his torch on the floor and found three more raised stone plates. He imdiately guessed that they were connected to the chanisms for opening the remaining hidden doors. However, there was no way of knowing which one would lead him to the correct path and out of this strange, mysterious place. Carefully inspecting the plates and doors, he found no clues or markings to guide him. Left with no other choice, he decided to take a gamble. At least one of the three doors had to be the correct one.
Using all his agility, he stepped on one of the chanism plates and leapt aside, deftly dodging and deflecting the flurry of projectiles that shot toward him. After several attempts and sustaining so injuries, he finally triggered the correct door. The right door revealed a narrow, seemingly endless corridor. The thin air in the passage made him dizzy, but he gritted his teeth and pressed on. Eventually, he ca across another hidden door. However, this ti he could not find any chanism to open it. As he searched for a way to activate the door, dozens of Black Widow Spider Beasts began descending from above.
Though their small size and low level—just Level 5—ant their venom was not too dangerous if bitten by one, the man was being surrounded by hundreds of them. Panic-stricken, the young man frantically searched for the chanism to open the door while using his torch to ward off the spiders. So of the venomous creatures managed to climb onto his body. Finally, after enduring nurous bites, he spotted the chanism, which was closer to the door than he had thought: it was the hilt of a tantou blade held by a ninja statue.
The man burned the encroaching spiders rcilessly to clear a path to the statue. Reaching it, he gripped the tantou hilt and yanked it with all his might. A loud rumble filled the chamber as the door slowly slid open. Inside was a small rectangular room. At its center stood a stone pedestal, atop which lay a glossy black half-armor adorned with silver designs resembling a moon being swallowed by Rahu. The young man cautiously approached the pedestal. When he reached out to take the armor, another door opened with the system announcent.
"Player Thankhun has acquired the Rahu Shadow Armor. Once equipped, no other armor can be worn."
The announcent stunned him, but what shocked him even more was the sight of other players gathering outside a newly opened door. They stared at him and each other. Sensing imminent danger, Thankhun quickly fled before the other players could react. Unfortunately, they pursued him relentlessly, leaving him no chance to tend to the injuries he had sustained in the hidden room. It was not until he crossed paths with Chang Long—who distracted his pursuers—that he managed to recover fully and escape the ordeal.
The young man stood staring at the armor in his hands, unable to make a decision. He had not tried equipping it yet, but from what he could tell, it was likely an exceptional item. Otherwise, the ninjas from the Bat Guild would not be hunting him so relentlessly.
Still, he decided to keep the armor for now, as he could not afford to do anything else with it at the mont. The Bat Guild had strong ties to the Assassin Guild, and there was a high chance they might issue a bounty on him through the guild. He decided to linger in Longshan Mountain until the new patch arrived. He believed the features and content introduced in the update would draw the Bat Guild's attention away from him.
.....
At Dragon's Maw Valley, Chang Long and Siegfried were locked in an intense battle. The Stone-Scaled Tiger Cubs, though much lower in level than them, proved to be far more dangerous than ordinary beasts they had encountered. Their speed and camouflage made them vastly superior to beasts of the sa level outside the valley. Heaven, the spirit who was the sole elf pirate king, appeared to assist, pointing out the tiger cubs' attack patterns. His presence confused the tiger cubs, as they tried to strike at the new target who seed to have many openings, only to fail because Heaven was rely a spirit, incapable of being hard.
The sound of the battle awakened a new threat in the area: "Gravel Seed Golems." The system announced their arrival. These tiny golems, each about the size of a one-year-old child, were level 25. Despite their diminutive size, their sheer numbers posed a problem. The Gravel Seed Golems ford from the gravel beneath Chang Long and Siegfried's feet, as their na suggested, quickly surrounding them. Fortunately, the golems were slow-moving and turned out to be more of an obstacle to the Stone-Scaled Tiger Cubs than to Chang Long and Siegfried. The tiger cubs swatted several of the golems away to clear their paths, sending the small creatures flying.
Kitsune broke away from the group to fight the Gravel Seed Golems, as their levels were more evenly matched. The golems' sluggish movents made them easy for Kitsune to deal with, as long as he avoided taking a direct hit. Siegfried summoned Lycanth, a level 99 Beast King, to help block the golems. As soon as the towering creature erged from his beast-sealing ring, the Gravel Seed Golems scattered in terror. However, due to their overwhelming numbers, they ended up colliding with each other, falling and piling up in a chaotic heap.
anwhile, Chang Long moved to a new position atop a large, table-shaped rock where no Gravel Seed Golems could interfere. There, she stood face-to-face with one of the Stone-Scaled Tiger Cubs. From a distance, Devi-chan, Hisa-chan, and Alice-chan watched invisibly, filled with concern. Devi-chan believed this was a crucial opportunity for Chang Long to hone her skills. If she could not handle the beasts in Dragon's Maw Valley, the hope of defeating Demos would be slim. Ultimately, a one-on-one fight would rely less on activated skills and more on raw strength, skill, and her own capabilities. The Stone-Scaled Tiger Cub lunged at Chang Long, who was already prepared to defend herself. She knew that slashing could chip the Sovereign Sword, so she relied on stabbing mostly, targeting the gaps between its scales. The strikes caused the beast significant pain, eliciting a roar of anger as it pounced again, this ti swinging its sharp claws forward. Chang Long narrowly blocked the attack, but the cub's massive weight pinned her beneath it, leaving her almost immobile. Her hands gripped the hilt of the Sovereign Sword tightly, trembling from the strain of supporting the beast's enormous weight. Just as it seed to ease off, feinting a retreat, its other claw lashed out at her with lightning speed. Forced to let go of her sword, Chang Long leapt backward. Although she saw the attack coming, she could not avoid it. The cub's claws raked across her right arm, leaving a long, deep wound. Blood gushed from the gash.
Collapsing to the ground, Chang Long clutched her right shoulder with her left hand, panting heavily. Sweat beaded on her face, yet her gaze remained fixed on the tiger cub with unwavering intensity. At that mont, she fully understood the brutal nature of the beasts in Dragon's Maw Valley. They were far more formidable than the undead creatures of the Purple Forest—faster, stronger, smarter, and unafraid of light.
"This, this is what real training looks like..."
Chang Long murmured softly, a smile breaking across her lips. Her expression startled the ghosts observing her. Despite her injuries and disadvantaged position, their master was smiling with satisfaction.
"Heh, looks like she's finally taking her training seriously,"
Devi-chan remarked, a pleased grin spreading across his face. Though a part of him worried for Chang Long, he knew she was different from him in one way: if she died, she could be reborn, albeit at the cost of losing levels. Skills refined through rigorous combat would never diminish. Over the long term, dying a few tis was a small price to pay.
"Co to , Sovereign Sword."
Chang Long called out. The blade, which had been lying inert on the ground, imdiately flew into her hand. Moving her right arm, she winced at the lingering pain but noticed that the bleeding had mostly stopped. The wound now oozed only slightly, a marked improvent from the earlier torrent. Slowly, she stood, keeping her eyes locked on the Stone-Scaled Tiger Cub. She smiled faintly before activating a skill.
"Dinsional Shift."
Her body vanished from the tiger cub's sight. The creature froze, visibly startled by the sudden disappearance of its prey. Its confusion turned to alarm as it felt sothing land on its back. Taking advantage of its montary hesitation, Chang Long raised her sword high and drove it with all her strength into the gap between the scales on its back.
ROAR!
The Stone-Scaled Tiger Cub roared in agony as the Sovereign Sword plunged nearly halfway into its body. Targeting the gaps between its scales proved highly effective. Chang Long gripped the sword's hilt tightly as the cub thrashed violently, trying to throw her off its back. The more it struggled, the deeper the blade sank. Unable to maintain her hold on the sword, Chang Long was flung to the ground. She cried out in pain as her injured right shoulder struck the rocky terrain with a brutal impact.
Struggling to her feet as quickly as possible, she swayed unsteadily. She watched the tiger cub writhe, doing everything it could to dislodge the Sovereign Sword embedded in its back. Taking advantage of the temporary reprieve, Chang Long pulled a blood crystal from her backpack and consud it. She glanced at her wounded right arm; her self-repairing outfit had already fixed itself. So, applying a healing salve would have to wait until the fight was over.
"Co to , Sovereign Sword," Chang Long called out. The weapon vibrated, flapped its wings, and wrenched itself free from the tiger cub's back in a spray of bright red blood. The beast's body was soon drenched in its own blood, and it howled in pain, the sound so loud that its sibling—locked in combat with Siegfried—turned to look. The other Stone-Scaled Tiger Cub seed to shift its focus from Siegfried to Chang Long. Leaping high into the air, it soared over the ground littered with Gravel Seed Golems. Both Chang Long and Siegfried paled at the sight. Just one tiger cub had pushed Chang Long to the brink, if Siegfried let the second one reach her, it would almost certainly spell her second death.
"Lycanth. Block it. Don't let it get to Chang Long!"
Siegfried shouted at the top of his lungs. He knew he could not block the tiger cub in ti, as countless Gravel Seed Golems still blocked his way. Hearing his master's command, Lycanth leapt with incredible force, kicking the charging tiger cub. The impact sent the cub crashing to the ground, its body skidding nearly five ters and leaving a long furrow of obliterated Golems, reduced to harmless gravel.
The tiger cub coughed up blood, a patch of its stony scales had been shattered by Lycanth. It glared at the Lycanth with pure hatred but knew it could not stand a chance against a Beast King whose level was one-fold higher. The tiger cub retreated, redirecting its fury toward Siegfried, who was closer.
Chang Long and Siegfried both let out sighs of relief, turning their attention back to their respective opponents. The Stone-Scaled Tiger Cub that Chang Long had attacked was now gravely injured. It staggered unsteadily, its movents no longer firm. She guessed its internal organs had to have sustained significant damage, but the beast continued to glare at her with fierce determination. Steeling itself, it leaned forward, stretching as if loosening its muscles. Suddenly, it leapt into the air, spinning rapidly in a tightly coiled motion, and aid itself straight at Chang Long.
Everything happened so quickly that Devi-chan, Hisa-chan, and Alice-chan could only stand with their mouths agape. Chang Long did not have ti to dodge; she stood her ground, ready to defend, even knowing that this attack could be fatal. The cub's sharp claws from both forepaws struck directly at Chang Long, who remained firm, gripping the Sovereign Sword unwaveringly. The long blade in her hands pierced through the tiger cub's skull. The beast froze for a mont before its body collapsed to the ground, lifeless. The system announced:
"Player Chang Long has slain a Level 48 Stone-Scaled Tiger Cub Beast. Receiving 9,950 experience points, 4,080 coins, 1 (Stone) Tiger Heart, and 5 dium-Grade Tiger Claws."
"Player Chang Long has fulfilled the basic requirents for the beginner profession. Swordsmanship Skill has upgraded to Level 51. Endurance Skill has upgraded to Level 19. Sovereign Sword has upgraded to Level 6 (Attack Power: 3,200)."
anwhile, the system continued to report the deaths of the Gravel Seed Golems, ensuring Chang Long that she was now in a safe zone free from further threats.
Chang Long collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. Forcing her weary body to move, she pulled out several blood crystals and consud them. She then lay back, taking deep breaths and allowing the soothing aroma of her Buppha Garland to restore her stamina. She had barely survived the first round. She would have to train much harder if she wanted to stand a chance against her future opponents—especially the heirs of the Pirate King she would inevitably face down the line.
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