Chương 18: Wild Bear

Soon, Ling discovered the reason why the swordsman lost in that fight. So, he stood up straight, seeing high establishments, stores in each street, and the numerous rankers gathering around the platform.

Based on his observations, another duel was about to occur here. However, he has already seen enough, and this was the perfect time to hunt monsters and raise his level at the same time.

"To be honest, I enjoy watching them. Nevertheless, it's not the main reason why I played this game. I need to earn money."

He said inwardly, then started to stroll his eyes through all the areas, trying to find a place where he can see some monsters. But of course, the high maple trees were blocking his vision.

"Jeez! Where I should start-?"

Suddenly, Ling can't complete his sentence after someone approached him. So he took a glance at where the voice of the man originated, seeing an Archer that was also standing on the post not too far away from him.

It was Xhia Hao, a man who was watching him.

"It seems you are confused right now, young man?" Xhia Hao asked in a deep tone.

This middle-aged man knows how to speak English so communicating with Blood was not a problem. Hmm... With the pronunciation of Xhia Hao and his name, Ling could easily tell he was Chinese.

Ling cluelessly nodded his head, wondering how this guy appeared without being noticed. Also, it came to his mind why someone like him started to talk to him. Moreover, without a second thought, he used this chance to gather information from this guy, knowing Xhia Hao has a deep understanding of this game than him.

"As you can see, I'm still a beginner in this game. So I don't have an idea where is the right place to raise my level. Could you help me or give me some tips?"

Xhia Hao believed in his words without hesitation since Blood has a blue novice over his head. The remaining question in his mind right now was; how possibly this novice ranker managed to reach this height. If he guessed it correctly level 20 ranker or higher could only reach this place. Yet, he doesn't think that this ranker attained that level because of the novice badge. Or maybe, this novice sort of flying skills or gravity spells?

Meanwhile, he gradually shook his head, realizing this thing should not be his problem. Instead, he answered the question of this novice by simply pointing his index finger in the Southeast direction.

"If you are level 10, that forest is perfect for you." He instructed, then turned in the opposite direction. "But if you are level 15 or higher, perhaps, that temple is suitable for you."

Ling was blinking his eyes in confusion as could not see where the temple mentioned by this middle-aged man was located.

"A temple? Where?" He expressed.

Xhia Hao was an archer, so it was given for him to have a keen vision. To be more specific, he can clearly see the temple 30km away from him that liked it was 500 meters away.

The corner of his lips raised a bit as he forgot that he was talking to a novice ranker. Instead, he opened up the function screen and clicked the map icon. With that, he can exactly show the precise location of the temple.

A green screen appeared right before their eyes, and Xhia Hao put a red mark at the temple's location. "If you follow this guide, you will reach the temple."

"Sad to say, but I don't have a map like yours," Ling responded nonchalantly.

Yes, he saw the location of the temple on his screen. However, when on his map, it was dark since that place was still locked.

In this game, in order to unlock new places, players should reach that place first. Right now, only the Nostalgic City was unlocked on his map. But of course, there was the fastest way to unlock the map, which was by buying the map scroll at the shop.

"If that's the case..." Xhia Hao took numerous scrolls from his inventory. "Take these maps, it can help you in this place."

Ling was aware that he was not in a good position to refuse, knowing the maps were things that could help him in this game. However, it was natural to worry about him. "How about you? I'm pretty sure that you also need those maps in this game."

Again, he shook his head. "Don't worry about me, I am already familiar with all the places here. Plus, I'm giving you those maps for free, so you should be thankful."

Ling grabbed the maps without making any second thoughts, and in an instant, all the dark areas earlier turned color. "Yeah, your right." He smiled and slightly bowed his head. "Thank you, Sir. I'll pay you back next time."

"Sure."

At this point, he was planning to leave the area as soon as possible. But before he could leap out of the post, Xhia Hao stopped him for some reason.

"Wait, I think it's bad behavior if not introduce yourself after giving you a valuable item." He said in a mild tone.

Ling flinched a little bit as his senses got back to their original states. "I apologize, sir Xhia Hao. I'm Blood, level 11 assassin."

Xhia Hao frowned his brows a little bit as he heard that screen name somewhere. Yet, that emotion faded away as he laughed. "Haha! You don't have to tell even your current level."

"Why? There's any problem with that?" He asked in a clueless tone.

"No, but you can just simply tell your screen name." He explained and added these words. "Go ahead, Kid! I might waste your time."

"Yeah, see you later!"

When Ling left the area. Xhia Hao slowly kneaded his chin as the screen name Blood stuck in his mind. "I'm pretty sure, I heard it somewhere-" He paused for a second as he remembered the article he read. "So... He's the ranker that everyone is looking for? They said he was a pro player that made a smurf account, but why it does not look like it? He's just simply a beginner, I think."

Soon, Ling started to travel out of the Nostalgic City, which means he was now standing in a dangerous zone. To explain it, once he left the safe zone which was the Nostalgic City, it means PK was possible.

Ling entered the forest on the route where he could reach the temple. However, before he arrived at the place a creature stopped him.

Boom!

All of a sudden, a strong explosion occurred directly in the place where he was standing. Fortunately, [Pounce] skill saved him from severe damage as he used it on the tree not too far away to dodge the attack.

"That's a close one."

He said inwardly while glancing at the two-meter monster. To describe its outward appearance, it has the body of a black bear, keens claws, fangs, and red eyes. The reason why an explosion occurred was that the bear attack landed on the dried surface.

[Wild Bear Level 12]- it's a monster possessed of extraordinary strength and high durability. With its claws, this monster can easily cut a large boulder and even a low-grade metal.

[Wild bear skill(s)]- [Slash], [Bite], and [Thump]

"This battle is not gonna be easy."