There was a brief silence.
Gu Xiaoyue picked up on his statement and said with a crisp voice, "That's why there are hardly any long-distance novice weapons. Truth be told, apart from magic wands, bows and arrows were rarely assigned as well. This is actually how the academy is taking care of us, freshmen."
Xiao Lin agreed. Bows and magic wands had a grade F attack power evaluation, while short-distance weapons had F- attack power evaluation. This point was validated by everyone else.
However, in the first group of people who charged forward, those who wielded long-distance weapons were the first to die. Although novice weapons like bows came with 10 free arrows, those who knew how to use them would have horrible aim under extreme fear and stress; let alone those who knew nothing about bows and arrows.
Xiao Lin even saw someone with a bow hastily shooting away; one of the arrows eventually hit another player in the butt. The victim fell and died after being cornered by zombies.
Wand-like weapons were even more useless than bows. Although many were jealous of the 'energy bomb' skill, it was a different ballgame in combat.
The energy bomb's flight trajectory was not a straight line; it was trickier than arrows. At least people knew some basic principles of aiming when it came to bows and arrows, but when it came to the energy bomb, its trajectory was simply erratic. Based on Xiao Lin's brief observation, the energy bomb had a higher hit rate at a closer range of ten meters; any further than that, its hit chance was up to luck.
This was not a game where you could just click on the monster with your mouse and hit a shortcut key to use a skill. This was the real world.
"We should go out," Gu Xiaoyue said all of a sudden. "Most from the first group are dead. Those who stayed back are probably thinking of the same strategies."
"How many completed the mission?" Xiao Lin knew that Gu Xiaoyue must have been watching everything closely for the past ten minutes or so; she was an observant girl.
Gu Xiaoyue shook her head. "It's hard to estimate for the first optional mission, but amidst such a chaotic scene and extreme stress, I don't think many of them killed five zombies. However, there are about 11 or 12 who got through the field and arrived at the safe area with injuries to complete the compulsory mission. Unfortunately, they killed too few zombies."
"There are actually over 10 lucky ones!" Xiao Lin thought that the figure was decent; maybe these people had better physique and managed to escape lethal injuries with pure luck. That was probably how they made it through the zombies.
However, when Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue arrived at the entrance of the Academic Building again, Xiao Lin could not help but laugh after silently counting the number of people who stayed back.
Over 20 people who stayed. This meant that at least 70 people charged forward bravely within the last 20 minutes, but only a seventh of them completed the compulsory mission. This was not a good chance.
A muscular man, in a black tank top, widened his eyes upon seeing Gu Xiaoyue. He walked out of the crowd and extended his hand to the girl. He said with a friendly tone, "Gu Xiaoyue, you're here. I was just looking for you!"
Gu Xiaoyue ignored the hand and took two steps back. She lifted her brows. "Who are you?"
The man smiled and left his hand hanging in the air. "I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Wang Dalin. I have 32 basic attribute points; my Strength, Physique, and Agility points are above 10!"
Wang Dalin went on to glare at Xiao Lin; a hint of irony flashed in his eyes. It was obvious what he meant; three of his attributes were above 10 points, while Xiao Lin's total attribute points were under 10.
Thanks to Qin Chuan's 'marketing' during the health screening, everyone knew Xiao Lin as the loser with a horrible physique. That was why Xiao Lin was not surprised that Wang Dalin recognized him right away.
Gu Xiaoyue lifted her hand slowly, but only to push up her spectacles. She moved away and looked around her before saying, "Are there over 20 people left? There's quite a lot of them, but that doesn't matter. Let's form teams."
Xiao Lin tried his best to hold in laughter as he watched Wang Dalin withdraw his hand in embarrassment. Although he knew that Gu Xiaoyue was not intentionally defending him — the girl was naturally cold and distant to others — Xiao Lin was still satisfied. He could not help but smugly glance at Wang Dalin; it was obvious that he meant: Did you think you could get a girl so out of your league? Dream on!
A hint of anger appeared on Wang Dalin's face. He turned around to avoid Xiao Lin's gaze and followed Gu Xiaoyue, saying, "You're wrong, not everyone here wants to team up to complete the mission."
Teaming up was the obvious answer.
Since the zombies' combat power was far below average, they could possibly arrive at the safe area without being harmed as long as they got over their fear and teamed up.
Xiao Lin frowned; the 20 people obviously split themselves up into two sides. He could roughly guess everyone's answer.
True enough, one of the girls, who was dressed more fashionably, cautiously raised her hand and forced a laugh. "I won't be teaming up with you guys, I've thought about it. I'll just wait it out here."
Quite a few people immediately agreed with what the girl said. One of them even waved his arm vigorously to conceal his fear before saying, "Since there isn't a punishment for failing the mission, there's no point risking it!"
Xiao Lin did a count; there were 26 of them, including Gu Xiaoyue and himself. 14 of them were too afraid to go out, and most of them were girls. As such, Xiao Lin subconsciously stared at Gu Xiaoyue for a few seconds; she seemed calmer than ever.
"That's more than enough!" Wang Dalin patted the sword he was holding and said loudly, "Since my basic attribute points are above 30, Gu Xiaoyue and I are strong enough to face the zombies! What's there to be afraid of!"
Even the girls who stayed back could not help but roll their eyes. It was the umpteenth time Wang Dalin showed off his attribute points. Although it was true — their total attribute points were between 10 and 20 at most — that was the normal standard for ordinary people. Only two people had above 30 points; Wang Dalin and Gu Xiaoyue.
Even though Wang Dalin was showing off again by dragging Gu Xiaoyue into his antics, she did not care much for it. She pushed her glasses up her nose out of habit and said, "Arriving at the safe area and killing five zombies are easy, but the harder mission is killing the zombie king. I don't think that can be easily achieved with just the both of us or even a dozen of us."
Wang Dalin's expression froze. He rebutted, "The zombie king is just an optional mission. Moreover, has anyone seen where the zombie king is? I've been observing and I haven't seen anything that looked like a zombie king on the field…"
Xiao Lin cut him short and said, "Obviously, the zombie king only appears if some mechanism is triggered. Judging from the current situation, there are only a few possible triggers; time, the death toll of zombies, and the number of survivors!"
Gu Xiaoyue looked at Xiao Lin and said, "Time is impossible; it's been nearly half an hour. Judging from the zombie king's potential difficulty, it's impossible to give us such little time to fight it. The number of survivors would be impossible as well; there's only a fifth of us here. The only possibility is the death toll of zombies."
"The people who rushed out first did not kill too many zombies, so that's possible. It's just that we don't know the exact number." Some people were a little convinced by now, but there was still doubt.
Xiao Lin added, "Isn't the first optional mission to kill at least five zombies per person? Since there's half an hour to go and we're not rushing to the safe area, why don't we kill a few more zombies? It'll be great if the zombie king comes out, but if he doesn't, we can still reach the safe area in the last few minutes. It'll still work!"
A great number of people agreed to this. Those who stayed back wanted credits and redemption points as well. The mission's instructions were clear; there were no punishments for failing the admission test. This also meant that there would never be such a good deal again. No one wanted to miss such a great opportunity to be rewarded for winning, nor face any consequences for losing.
The zombie king's strength was still an unknown factor, but it did not matter. Even if the zombie king did appear, everyone was ready to fight it if they could and run if they could not.
Everyone finally reached an agreement. Wang Dalin was not resigned to being rejected; he blurted, "There are 12 of us, eight of us can do close-range combat, and four of us can do long-range combat. Among the long-range ones, there are two with bows and two with magic wands. Why don't we move in a circle formation? The long-ranged combatants can stay in the inner circle to better carry out long-range attacks."
Xiao Lin could not bother listening to this guy further. He had a good rest while the discussion went on; he got up immediately and began waving his dagger. He was 10XP away from leveling up; he wanted to achieve it before they went out.
Wang Dalin seemed displeased with Xiao Lin. He sneered, "What's the use of doing that last minute? Before I came to Dawn Academy, I worked out consistently, every day. Without that, how could I have my 32 attribute points?"
Everyone had grown immune to his arrogance. Just as they ignored Wang Dalin, a clear voice said, "The zombies' attack and defense abilities are weak, so higher or lower basic attribute points won't make much of a difference here. Moreover, 32 attribute points mean that you're just a little better than the average person."
Wang Dalin was annoyed when the girl put him in his place. He could not help but ask, "What's the total of your basic attribute points?"
"46."
There was silence.
Everyone's eyes widened as if they had seen a monster, while Wang Dalin's mouth hung open in surprise. Xiao Lin's dagger was also suspended in the air as he stared at the nonchalant girl in disbelief.
Although everyone knew that Gu Xiaoyue's attribute points were the highest among them, the instructor did not mention her actual figure. As most of them had between 10 and 20 points, while Wang Dalin had 32 points, they assumed that Gu Xiaoyue's points would be within that range, however high hers were.
"Any more questions?" Gu Xiaoyue asked calmly.
"Oh, no, none. No more questions." Wang Dalin sounded weaker instantly. Although his attribute points were second highest, he was still miles away from Gu Xiaoyue.
Xiao Lin snapped out of it and waved his dagger around for the last few times. Soon after that, a series of voices from the Central Smart Computer echoed in his mind.
[Basic Dagger Mastery skill upgraded to LV2. You now have a basic understanding of swordsmanship, and your sword-wielding attack power has increased slightly.]
[After vigorous training, your Strength has improved; basic Strength points +1]
[Basic Dagger Mastery LV2: 0/500]
[The database shows that you are the first freshman in this batch to raise your skill level. According to the latest Freshman Incentive Measures issued by the academy, you'll be awarded a skill that matches your current abilities for free. The database is searching for matches…]
Xiao Lin was excited; he did not expect that practicing a skill could increase his basic attribute points. This was good news to someone with low attribute points like him; the free skill was a pleasant surprise as well.
After waiting for at least 30 seconds, Xiao Lin was beginning to feel anxious when he heard the Smart Computer's voice again.
[Slashing LV1]
[Learning Requirements: 1 Strength point and above]
[Weapon Requirement: Any close-range physical weapon]
[Skill Introduction: A stronger blow can be delivered after gathering the user's strength for a few moments. The attack's damage depends on the user's current Strength points.]
[Hint: It is recommended that there is a minimum of a one-minute break between each time the skill is used. Continuous use of this skill will accelerate the user's energy consumption. Please choose carefully.]
While Xiao Lin was happy, he could not help but laugh at himself. The skill's requirement was so low; it only required 1 Strength point to learn it. Although the Smart Computer said that the reward matched his current abilities, it also meant that his attributes were so weak that only the lowest level skill matched his abilities…
Nonetheless, Xiao Lin was very satisfied with this gain. Moreover, he realized that his physical attack power evaluation rose from F- to F upon receiving the Slashing skill. As for its effect, he would only find that out in actual combat.
"Hey! How long do you plan on holding everyone up!" Wang Dalin urged impatiently.
"Yes, I'm done!"
The others formed the team; it was a circular formation, as discussed, and the four long-ranged fighters were on the inside of the circle. Although Xiao Lin acquired a new skill, he had yet to know its power; he decided to stay low-key and stood at the back of the formation.
Wang Dalin stood at the front of the team fearlessly, being so arrogant about having high attribute points. He drew his sword, brandished it forward, took a deep breath, and yelled like a drill sergeant. "Charge!"
With that, he rushed out of the Academic Building; other people were forced to pick up their speed as well in order to maintain the circular formation. As expected, the Academic Building was a safe area designated by the system so zombies would not attack them. However, once they left the Academic Building, zombies on the field looked like sharks smelling blood. Their hollow eye sockets glowed immediately as they closed in on the team.
Xiao Lin was stunned for a few seconds before cursing and chasing after the crowd. He yelled angrily, "Wang Dalin! Are you dumb? Are you trying to kill everyone? Everyone, stop! Stop running! F*ck, I'm talking to you, why are you running? Were you kicked in the head by a donkey? Are you trying to reincarnate?"
Wang Dalin was arrogant. He had set the scene to make everyone, especially the elegant girl, know how great he was. He wanted to prove that he was fundamentally better than some loser with under ten attribute points.
Xiao Lin's words drove Wang Dalin's frustration to the brink of explosion. He ignored the fact that they were nearing the zombies; he pushed through the crowd and glared at Xiao Lin angrily. "What did you say! Huh? Do you want me to kick your *ss! Haha, with our Strength points, it'll take me two hits to finish you!"
"He's right! Are you trying to kill everyone!" A beautiful figure blocked Wang Dalin's gaze. Gu Xiaoyue raised her magic wand and pointed it mercilessly toward him.
Everyone else felt awkward watching the fight unfold. They thought about stopping it, but given that one of them had 32 attribute points and the other had 46, they might end up injured.
Everyone decided to stay silent. Some of them even wanted to retreat to the Academic Building.
Xiao Lin pushed through the crowd, walked toward Wang Dalin, and glared at him. "Did you not observe anything? These zombies are slow, but if we choose to run, the zombies will pick up their speed as well. I think that limitation was set for us. Otherwise, if the zombies stayed slow while everyone else gets to run, how would this mission be challenging?"
Gu Xiaoyue pushed her spectacles with one hand and said, "Zombies have weak attack and defense abilities, but they have strength in numbers. As long as we choose to move slowly in order to stop the zombies from gathering too quickly, we could kill them one by one. Is it so hard to understand such a simple principle?"
After Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue's reminders, everyone realized that the zombies around them did slow down after all. The zombies were slow; at this speed, it was possible to kill them all one by one.
"Wang Dalin, they're right, just let it go. Let's continue the mission together and get the credits and redemption points," said a guy, trying to be a peacemaker.
"Wang Dalin, if you're dissatisfied, you can complete the mission yourself. Stop bothering us. Don't you have 32 attribute points? Haha, it should be easy for you to go through the field yourself," said someone who was annoyed at Wang Dalin.
Wang Dalin's face was flushed. His expression changed before lowering his sword. He said, straight-faced, "Don't take it personally. We're teammates after all. Let's do as you say. Let's continue with the mission!"
Everyone remained in formation; they were no longer running. They moved slowly toward the area with fewer zombies. Although they initially overcame their fear by walking out of the Academic Building, Xiao Lin realized that his arms trembled a little as they approached the zombies' hideous faces. He glanced at the person next to him from the corner of his eye; he realized that the person's reaction was similar to his own. They were nervous with anticipation.
The team was less than 20 meters away from one of the zombies. The guys on the outer circle pulled out their swords and knives before anxiously stopping in their tracks. They got ready and waited for the zombie to come near them.
Whoosh!
A white energy bomb with a shallow trail drew a beautiful arc in the air before hitting the right side of the zombie's decomposed body.
Bang!
With a mild explosion, half of the zombie's body flew onto the pasture a few meters away from the team. The zombie wobbled before falling to the ground.
Silence! Everyone turned around and stared at a calm Gu Xiaoyue in shock. They could not find the words; the energy bomb was so powerful that it was a little terrifying. It was an instant kill!
Gu Xiaoyue's brow flinched for a moment. She mumbled, "It was tough to aim at the target. I wanted to hit it in the head. Looks like I need to keep correcting the deviation of the flight trajectory."
Xiao Lin was shocked as well, but not because of the energy bomb's power. Although Gu Xiaoyue's total attribute points were 46, she seemed frail; her physique was very different from Wang Dalin's, who had consistent physical training. Her Strength and Agility could not be high, so most of this girl's attribute points must come from her Intelligence. It was not surprising that she was so lethal.
What shocked Xiao Lin was the girl's hit rate. Based on his previous observation, it was extremely hard to control the energy bomb's flight trajectory; it was harder than using a bow. He was unsure if Gu Xiaoyue was lucky, or she had already mastered her control over the energy bomb's hit rate.
Nevertheless, following Gu Xiaoyue's successful attack, everyone felt a little better about facing the zombies. Her hit eased the others' nervosity, so the combat that followed was easier than everyone imagined.
Since they slowed down, the group only faced eight or nine zombies at one time. Although most of them were unfamiliar with their weapons — their moves with the weapons were unpleasant to look at — the zombies were of the lowest level. The group could cause considerable damage to the zombies with sheer brute force.
Although their attributes were digitized, actual life and combat could not be digitized; it was difficult to do so. However, it did not matter. According to Xiao Lin's observations, zombies would basically die after three to four physical attacks. If they were attacked in vital parts such as the head, it would only take two to three hits to knock them down.
There was another guy with a magic wand apart from Gu Xiaoyue, but his ability to use the energy bomb was less satisfactory. He could only guarantee a 60% hit rate within a 10-meter range. Fortunately, magical attacks were stronger than physical attacks. Even if the zombie was not hit in the head, it would only take two energy bombs to kill it.
The admission test's difficulty was not high after all. After killing the first zombie, everyone became more confident; their movements were no longer flustered, and they could chat with each other occasionally.
"How many zombies have you killed?"
"Probably about seven."
"F*ck, why are you stealing my kills! Stop that, I just need one more to complete the mission."
…
Everyone kept checking each other's body count. Truly, everyone felt like the first optional mission was not hard at all in the moment. It was easy for the whole team to complete the mission. However, the kill would only go to the person with the final blow, which was why killsteals were happening.
Gu Xiaoyue was the first to complete the mission; she killed five zombies within two minutes with her insane lethality. Xiao Lin also understood that the girl's hit rate was from pure luck.
After that, Gu Xiaoyue went silent and watched the others; she did not intend on attacking anymore. Everyone praised her for not stealing kills. If Gu Xiaoyue did want to attack again, it would definitely be an instant kill. There would not be an opportunity to kill for anyone else.
Xiao Lin's lips twitched. As he watched the girl, who was calmer than ever, he felt that the reason Gu Xiaoyue did not make a move was purely to take time and recover before facing the zombie king that could appear at any moment.
Xiao Lin completed the mission quickly as well. His normal attack was not strong, and he only had three basic Strength points. Even after upgrading to Basic Dagger Mastery LV2, he needed five or six strikes to kill a zombie with normal attacks. It was obvious that no one around him would give him that amount of time to do so.
That was why Xiao Lin did not strike first; he silently followed everyone else and invoked his Slashing skill on zombies after two or three strikes from other people. He took the final blows and stole the kills successfully.
Most of those with physical weapons had F- grade attack power, while Xiao Lin's attack power was F grade whenever he used the Slashing skill.
Based on Xiao Lin's observation, this was how he understood the attack power: one's true attack power consisted of their attack power evaluation and Strength points. That was why, although his Strength points were not high, the power of his Slashing skill was on par with everyone else's attacks. It was the perfect way to steal kills.
The Slashing skill was easy to use since its learning requirement was pathetically low. When Xiao Lin raised his dagger, he could feel his energy gathering at the edge of the dagger for one or two seconds before executing a powerful strike.
Apart from Gu Xiaoyue's distracted and confused gaze on him, no one realized what Xiao Lin was doing. Those who had their kills stolen were annoyed, but they did not do much other than glare at him.
It was like how two Level 100 players in online games fought each other. Your strike brought your opponent to 1HP left, but a Level 1 newbie came over, attacked your opponent, and caused a 1HP decrease — stealing your kill. You could not accuse the newbie of doing it on purpose; you could only lament your luck.
Everyone knew that Xiao Lin's basic attribute points were under 10. On average, he would only have about two or three Strength points. They felt that their attack powers were vastly different from Xiao Lin's; therefore, although their kills were stolen, they could only blame it on their luck.
Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen
Kommentar absatzweise anzeigen
Die Absatzkommentarfunktion ist jetzt im Web! Bewegen Sie den Mauszeiger über einen beliebigen Absatz und klicken Sie auf das Symbol, um Ihren Kommentar hinzuzufügen.
Außerdem können Sie es jederzeit in den Einstellungen aus- und einschalten.
ICH HAB ES