“Time for a little payback.”
He signaled for Alice to follow, and they quietly circled around the Overlord players.
The group was currently resting near a cluster of [Toxic Lizards], farming them efficiently for event points.
There were around fifty members in total, which is what 1000 antidotes could get them.
Their voices filled with confidence as they casually fought off monsters.
“ARGH-” one of them died once in a while, but it didn’t matter to Daniel.
Several backpacks filled with antidotes were lined up next to them, a clear sign they were preparing for a long grind in the poisonous forest.
“Let’s take out their antidotes first,” Alex whispered with a grin. “Without those, they won’t last five minutes in here after their own expire…”
Alice nodded, already nocking an arrow.
They crept closer, staying low and out of sight as they positioned themselves for the attack.
Alex raised his staff, quietly cast Grand Fireball.
He aimed at the row of antidote bottles stacked on a rock, right next to several backpacks, each filled too.
If a backpack is destroyed, then all the contents inside would be destroyed.
Of course, items of Epic, Legendary, and above had the durability to survive.
But the [Poison Antidotes] were ‘Rare’.
“Ready?” Alex whispered.
“Ready.”
With a quick flick of his wrist, Alex unleashed the spell.
The flame struck the backpacks’ dead center, and in an instant, the antidotes were reduced to ashes.
“What the—?!” one of the Overlord members shouted, his eyes wide as he realized what had just happened.
Before the Overlords could react further, Alice let loose her arrows, taking down two of the players who stood closest to the antidotes.
They didn’t even have time to shout.
Chaos erupted.
“AMBUSH!” one of them yelled, scrambling to draw his weapon.
But it was too late—Alex had already launched a Lightning Strike spell, the electric current hitting 4 players.
Ding!
[You have killed ‘MilfLover73’, stealing 16 points!]
[You have killed ‘GunOwner’, stealing 13 points!]
.
.
Panic spread through the Overlord guild as they realized their antidotes were gone.
“-5! -5! -5!”
Several of the members clutched their throats, gasping for air as the poison drained their health rapidly, since they had low-level ones.
One by one, they fell, unable to recover without the antidotes.
And Alex got rid of the stray ones.
“FATEBREAKER, STOP RUINING EVERYTHING!” Daniel shouted, “TAKE THIS!”
He had learned a new spell: [Water Ray], and so he used it.
But it was futile, as a single [Boulder Smash] blocked the water and slammed onto Daniel, killing him.
[You have killed ‘MartialMage’, stealing 38 points!]
Ding!
[+574]
[Event Points: 655/2250]
“Well, that was satisfying,” Alice said with a smirk, lowering her bow.
Alex scanned the battlefield, nothing was in view anymore.
Without antidotes, it would take Daniel a while before entering the forest again.
At this point, the simple sight of Alex probably would terrify him enough to instantly log off!
“Let’s keep moving,” Alex said, satisfied with the result. “The deeper we go, the better the rewards.”
They ventured further into the forest, facing stronger and more dangerous enemies as they went along.
The poison in the air grew thicker, and the monsters were no longer just Toxic Lizards.
Ahead of them, a new enemy emerged from the shadows.
…
[Venomous Fangbeast] (Uncommon)
[Level: 30]
[HP: 7,500]
…
The Venomous Fangbeast was a large wolf-like creature, its fur bristling with venomous spikes.
Its eyes gleamed with a menacing glow as it darted forward with incredible speed.
“Watch out!” Alice called, already releasing a volley of arrows aimed at the beast’s legs to slow it down.
Alex raised his staff and cast [Stone Barrier] just in time to block the creature’s dash.
The beast slammed into the barrier, but the shield held firm.
Alex retaliated with Grand Fireball sending a wave of fire crashing into the Fangbeast’s side.
-4,624!
The creature’s defense was high, so less damage done.
The Fangbeast howled in pain, but it quickly recovered, lunging at Alex again with its venomous fangs bared.
Alice fired another round of arrows, hitting the beast in the flank and staggering it momentarily.
Alex followed up with a quick [Lightning Strike], the energy surging through the creature’s body.
-2,987!
The Venomous Fangbeast collapsed, defeated.
Ding!
[You have slain ‘Venomous Fangbeast’. Gained 50 event points.]
A massive amount of points, but no player at this point could have dealt with that thing beside Alex, so it wasn’t surprising.
After dealing with a few more enemies, like the Venomous Fangbeasts and the swift Toxic Raptors that roamed the area, Alex checked his event points.
[Event Points: 1237/2250]
It had been two hours, and he had already half of what he needed to get everything he wanted!
“We’re making good progress,” Alice said, wiping the sweat from her brow. “But this place is getting tougher.”
“Yeah, and we’re close to the center of the forest,” Alex replied, his eyes scanning the thickening mist ahead.
“That’s where the real challenge begins.”
They pressed on, their footsteps cautious as they ventured into the heart of the [Toxic Forest].
[+237 strength, +137 agility, +Venomous Lizard Scales x8, +Fangbeast Fur x3]
With that, his strength had reached over 1000!
[Attributes:] Vitality 716; Strength 1165 + 1500; Agility 729 + 1000; Spirit 2737 + 1000
…
But that wasn’t all!
Using his skills so much meant that they would level up!
[Grand Fireball has leveled up to level 8… 9!]
[Crimson Shard has leveled up to level 7!]
[Boulder Smash has leveled up to level 6… 7!]
[Stone Barrier has leveled up to level 2!]
[Inferno Tempest has leveled up to level 2!]
[Lightning Strike has leveled up to level 9… 10!]
The damage on his skill was raised, and his lightning ability could now be upgraded!
[Lightning Strike has reached level 10; it can be upgraded to ‘Lightning Bolt’ using 10 skill points!]
He used up 10 of his skill points to upgrade it.
Ding!
[You have used 10 skill points to upgrade ‘Lightning Strike’ to ‘Lightning Bolt’!]
[Lightning Bolt Level 1 ; Deal 2000 points of damage + 100% of spirit to target + 10% chance to cause stun to target; consumes 200 mana, 5-second cooldown.]
…
“Amazing…” Alex nodded.
He only had 14 skill points now though, so he needed to find a way to get more.
But suddenly, the ground shook, and a powerful roar echoed through the forest, making the trees tremble.
The mist parted, revealing a massive creature emerging from the depths of the forest.
It was the big boss.
…
[Venomous Swamp Basilisk] (Epic)
[Level: 40]
[HP: 30,000]
[Warning: can cause high-level poison (poison antidote won’t work on that)!]
…
The Venomous Swamp Basilisk was a terrifying sight.
Its body was covered in dark green scales that shimmered with a sickly glow, and its eyes burned with a dangerous, predatory intensity.
The ground beneath it was scorched and covered in poisonous sludge, evidence of its deadly presence.
Alex quickly analyzed the boss, “Hm.”
It wasn’t a challenge for him.
Especially after having defeated the [Undead King].
“Any ideas?” Alice asked, already positioning herself for an attack.
“Yeah.”
Alex grabbed his staff with his two hands, then slammed it against the ground.
“Come forth, my undead.”
Fwish!
Five skeletons emerged from the ground before the two, standing up, wielding their bone swords.
“Get rid of that thing.”
The skeletons nodded as they dashed toward it.
They couldn’t be poisoned after all, so they made the perfect shields for Alex and Alice.