Chapter 15 - After Happiness, Comes Sorrow
Time passed, bit by bit.
Shi Feng and Blackie did not just do nothing. They were killing Level 4 Roaming Gnomes in a place not far from Crimson Star Mine.
[Roaming Gnome] (Common)
Level 4
HP 400
Compared to the Kobolds, the Roaming Gnomes were much agiler. They were very good at dodging. However, their Attack and Defense weren’t all that good.
Moreover, Dark Moon Valley had yet to be developed. The monsters here were more numerous, and there was nobody here to compete with; there was no need to search for monsters to kill.
Shi Feng was already a Level 3 Swordsman, while Blackie was a Level 2 Cursemancer. After activating Fast And Nimble, the Roaming Gnome’s dagger had no chance of even touching Shi Feng. As for Blackie, his damage was even fiercer after drinking a Black Steel Beer. With Shi Feng entangling the gnomes in the front, and Blackie dealing damage from behind, killing off the Roaming Gnomes became very easy. The efficiency was even better than grinding off the Kobolds.
In the front of the Crimson Star Mine, groups of Kobolds laid still before the mine’s entrance. Copper Coins and various kinds of ores were scattered all over the ground.
“Brother Tiger, this place is just too great. It’s just been over half an hour, and everyone is already Level 2. So much money dropped, as well.”
“Hahaha, keep up the effort everyone. You three, lure more monsters. As long as we continue grinding this way, it will only be three to four hours before we can rise to Level 3.”
Flaming Tiger excitedly commanded the three Assassins that just recently arrived to lure the Kobolds. The mages were already Level 2, so the speed of killing the Kobolds had increased by a big leap. Luring a group of over thirty Kobolds was not enough for them.
“Brother Tiger, something dropped here.” A Berserker held on to a book as he shouted.
“Bring it here, let me have a look at it.” Flaming Tiger said while smiling. He licked his dried lips when he saw something dropped.
After Flaming Tiger received the book, he suddenly started laughing loudly.
“Great, really great! Not only has the spot that kid found after much effort been taken over by me, but if he knew a rare skill for Swordsman was even in my hands? I really want to see that kid’s look of regret.”
“Brother Tiger, I saw that kid when I came here. They were still nearby killing Roaming Gnomes. I’m guessing that they’re still unwilling to leave and still thinking of this place. Why don’t we go over and kill them? Save us some trouble.” A cold glint flashed through Quiet Wolf’s eyes. They were filled with killing intent. He was overcome by a great resentment after being killed twice by Shi Feng.
Flaming Tiger waved his hand; with a disdainful smile on his face as he said, “Then let them look. Watch at how fast we level up and earn money, and at how we become the tyrants of Red Leaf Town. Meanwhile, they can only watch from a side with their hearts full of regret and unwillingness. Hahaha, I feel great just thinking about it.”
Although Quiet Wolf still held some resentment over it, when he imagined Shi Feng’s unwilling appearance and how he could only exhaust himself killing Roaming Gnomes Quiet Wolf’s heart felt a great gust of pleasure.
“Just you wait. The moment I reach Level 6 will be your death.” Quiet Wolf did not actually give up on killing Shi Feng. Instead, when he thought about the pleasure he would feel after killing Shi Feng when he was Level 6, he couldn't help but look forward to it.
Meanwhile, in the forest 60 yards South of the Crimson Star Mine, Shi Feng was using a tree to hide while he observed Flaming Tiger and the others.
“Brother Feng, can the two of us handle it?” Blackie asked in a worried tone.
These 11 people were not just any average players. They were experts that had passed Shadow Workshop’s examination. Moreover, there were two healers on their side. It was impossible to kill all of these people just by depending on the two of them.
“Relax. The time is almost up. We’ll just watch the show.” Shi Feng looked at the time, indifferently saying, “In a moment, you go stand at the back. Kill whoever has low HP; don’t let even one of them get away.”
“Time is almost up?” Blackie didn’t understand what it meant.
Shi Feng pointed towards the smoke cloud in front of the Crimson Star Mine’s entrance, saying with a smile, “That Flaming Tiger must think that killing monsters of a higher level is easy. The Smoke Bomb that we placed before we left has a time limit, and only two minutes are left before the hour is up. Did they think they could continuously enjoy my domain after stealing it from me? Now, I’ll teach them how to be proper human beings.”
Blackie was struck with a realization. His worship towards Shi Feng became even greater now.
“Brother Feng is still the smartest. Those brats from Shadow are definitely goners this time.” Blackie said with a grin.
The reason they could cross levels and harmlessly kill Kobolds was that of the Smoke Bombs. They definitely couldn’t do without them. If there were no Smoke Bomb, then the consequences would be horrifying.
Two minutes later, the smoke cloud in front of the Crimson Star Mine slowly dispersed.
“Brother Tiger, why is that smoke cloud disappearing?” an Elementalist asked Flaming Tiger after noticing the disappearing smoke cloud.
“The smoke cloud disappeared? It can’t be.” Flaming Tiger abruptly woke up from his nap. When he looked over at the mine’s entrance, the smoke cloud really did disappear. “If it’s gone, then fine. The smoke cloud might be a periodic thing. Don’t bother with it; keep on grinding.”
Just as Flaming Tiger finished speaking, the usually stupid-looking Kobolds that did not retaliate suddenly looked towards the members of Shadow Workshop in unison.
There were over forty Kobolds with blood red eyes. The Kobolds let out angry growls after finally discovering the people who had been attacking them. Suddenly, they all came rushing forth.
The members of Shadow did not react at all. Within an instant, they were surrounded and given a beating by the Kobolds. A Level 2 player could hardly take 3 hits from a Kobold, not to mention a group of Kobolds.
Seven players died within a blink of an eye. The backline players became a mess as they ran for their lives.
However, the Kobolds were very fast. It only took them moments to catch up to the escaping mages. For each mage, they were gifted a hammer to their heads. The mages quickly lie still on the floor, never to rise up again.
“Crap, what is going on here? Why did these Kobolds suddenly become insane?” Flaming Tiger cursed. He quickly turned tail and ran the moment he noticed the situation turned bad.
They had risen to Level 2 after much effort. However, this death sent them all back to Level 1. There were even three Assassins who were Level 0. It was an absolute loss. With such an increase and decrease, the dream becoming the tyrants of Red Leaf Town also perished. Instead, the current members of Shadow weren’t even up to par with the average player. They were even further away from the other Guilds.
Flaming Tiger’s heart started to bleed in pain.
“We meet again, ‘Brother Tycoon,’” Shi Feng said with an indifferent smile. He currently blocked Flaming Tiger’s escape path.
After seeing Shi Feng’s sneer, even an idiot would understand that the Kobolds’ rebellion had something to do with him.
“You’re dead for sure, kid. You dare to actually scheme against me. If I don’t kill you back to Level 0, then my name will be read backward.” All of Flaming Tiger’s hair stood up in anger. He raised his shield and swung it at Shi Feng.
Compared to the other members of Shadow Workshop, Flaming Tiger’s skills were clearly a tier higher.
With one hand, he used his shield to block Shi Feng’s vision, while he used the other to stab his short sword towards Shi Feng’s vital point. It was simple, yet sinister, and it was very hard to stop.
However, Flaming Tiger’s confident strike struck air.
“Where is he?” Flaming Tiger fixed his gaze to the front. However, there wasn’t even a shadow of a person present.
“Over here.” Shi Feng stood behind Flaming Tiger, his sword waving down.
Chop!
A damage of -36 appeared above Flaming Tiger’s head. His HP had instantly gone from 220 to 184.
When Flaming Tiger was hit, he hurriedly spun around and used [Shield Bash].
However, Shi Feng had long since seen through Flaming Tiger’s movements. He took a step backward and spun his body around, hiding by the shield. Then, Shi Feng arrived once more at Flaming Tiger’s back, giving him another sword slash.
Without the use of any Skills, Shi Feng could only deal 23 damage to a Shield Warrior with high defense.
“You coward! Don’t hide if you have the ability. I can kill you anytime I want!” Flaming Tiger could not land any hits on the agile Shi Feng. His HP was constantly decreasing, and only 83 points of it remained now. He had no way of dealing with Shi Feng’s attacks, so he decided to start ridiculing Shi Feng in hopes of provoking him, allowing Flaming Tiger the chance to kill Shi Feng.
“Sure, I’ll stand here without dodging. Come attack me then.” Shi Feng answered without hesitation.
Flaming Tiger silently smiled. He never imagined that Shi Feng was such a fool, taking the bait with just a small amount of stimulation.
“Watch how I’ll toy with you to death.” Flaming Tiger raised his shield and used [Charge] at Shi Feng. If Shi Feng didn’t dodge, then he could only take the hit forcefully. In terms of Strength, Flaming Tiger wouldn’t lose to Shi Feng.
However, only disappointment was waiting for him.
Just when Flaming Tiger was 2 yards away from Shi Feng, Shi Feng immediately used Thundering Flash.
Three streaks of thunder went past Flaming Tiger’s shield, directly landing on his body. Three high damages appeared above Flaming Tiger’s head, -28, -35, -41, his HP instantly dropping to 0.
“You…… Despicable!” Flaming Tiger glared at Shi Feng. He was furious to the point of spitting out blood. If it weren't for himself rushing towards Shi Feng on his own accord, he wouldn’t have been struck by all the attacks of that skill.
“Are you alright, Brother Tycoon? I said I would stand here without dodging, but I’ve never said I wouldn’t move my hands. How could you be so gullible, even rushing over, yourself?” Shi Feng spread out his arms, showing that it was all a mistake, saying, “Oh, right. I still have to thank Brother Tycoon for earning me so many ores. You’ve saved me a lot of time.”
Flaming Tiger pointed towards Shi Feng, wanting to say something. However, his body had already turned into starlight and disappeared. He couldn’t even utter a single word, only leaving behind a pile of ore and a single book.