NOVEL WEB Chapter 23
Chapter 23: All Skills Maxed Out
The Lord Core recorded the data of the citizens.
Hang Yu understood the general course of events.
After forming a team of twenty-five Players, they first cleared out some newly spawned level 1 and 2 small monsters nearby, then proceeded to the riverbank about seven or eight kilometers away, where a large number of Skeletal Mountain Goats and Scorpion-Tailed Wild Bulls resided.
The former were level 4 normal monsters.
The latter were level 5 normal monsters.
Challenging such high-level monsters was quite dangerous.
However, the equipment enhancements greatly boosted the Players' confidence.
Although the Skeletal Mountain Goats and Scorpion-Tailed Wild Bulls were powerful and extremely dangerous, they were ultimately just beasts without intelligence; relying on a series of trap ambushes, numerical advantage, and mutual coordination, the Players successfully defeated them one by one.
【You have slain "Skeletal Mountain Goat", Essence +80, Goat Horn +7, Goat Meat +8, Abyssal Magic Stone Fragment +40!】
【You have slain "Skeletal Mountain Goat", Essence +80, Goat Horn +6, Goat Meat +9, Abyssal Magic Stone Fragment +40!】
【You have slain "Scorpion-Tailed Wild Bull", Essence +100, Bull Hide +10, Bull Meat +11, Abyssal Magic Stone Fragment +50!】
【You have slain "Scorpion-Tailed Wild Bull", Essence +100, Bull Hide +10, Bull Meat +10, Abyssal Magic Stone Fragment +50!】
【……】
They hunted a total of fifteen Skeletal Mountain Goats and eight Scorpion-Tailed Wild Bulls!
Black-Eyed Rui Ge remained at level 4, while Ye Li Meng, Lone Boat, and Street Slayer all advanced to level 4 one after another.
Besides the four level 4 Players, ten Players led by Salty Fish Thrust and Mad Blade Old Wang reached level 3, and the remaining eleven Players were all level 2.
After clearing out the monsters on the riverbank's outskirts, nearly twenty normal monsters and a BOSS monster remained.
Since they were gathered together, pulling one would alert the rest, making it very difficult to defeat them individually, significantly raising the challenge level.
After a discussion among the Players.
They still decided to make a move.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge, Salty Fish Thrust, and the other Players were all famous gaming experts; they clearly understood that with the current strength of the team, the probability of defeating the elite BOSS without understanding its mechanics was extremely low, not to mention the many surrounding small monsters.
Since that was the case.
It would be better to recognize reality.
Prepare for total annihilation.
This challenge was mainly to attract the BOSS's attention, then eliminate as many monsters around the BOSS as possible while learning the BOSS's battle mechanics, in short, to prepare for the next battle.
To this end.
Everyone made a special trip back to the territory to exchange their surplus materials and Abyssal Magic Stone Fragments in their backpacks for Contribution Points, so they would not have to worry about dropping items upon death, while also saving up for a chance to revive and fight again.
Hang Yu browsed through the detailed record in the Territory Log.
They recovered a total of 405 pieces of Tier-One Normal Materials, 421 portions of Tier-One Normal Food, and 2654 Abyssal Magic Stone Fragments.
Hang Yu converted 202 pieces of materials into Material Essence, and as for the remaining 203 pieces, mainly Goat Horns and Scorpion-Tailed Bull Poisoned Spikes, they were all excellent equipment materials, usable for crafting various gear.
The Players prepared and launched a challenge against the Skeletal Scorpion-Tailed Bull.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge and others were responsible for attracting the BOSS’s attention and probing its abilities and mechanics, while the other Players seized the opportunity to frantically attack the small monsters around the Skeletal Scorpion-Tailed Bull.
The final outcome was no surprise.
All twenty-five Players died!
"I thought the Players messed up again, but they actually initiated a suicide attack to clear the minions and scout the mechanics?" Hang Yu was evidently very surprised. "Tsk tsk! Ruthless enough! But having immortality sure makes them reckless!"
Whether it was a botched annihilation.
Or a strategic suicide.
Ultimately, it all benefited Hang Yu.
"Master, this time four level 4 Players, ten level 3 Players, and eleven level 2 Players died, contributing a total of 9150 Reserve Essence to the territory. Your current total Reserve Essence is 9650!" Xiao Ba summarized the data and reported.
"Tsk tsk, just one full wipe of twenty-five low-level Players, and it already brought in such a hefty income."
Hang Yu said happily, "In the future, when there are tens of thousands of Players, and their levels get higher, won’t even nuclear-powered harvesting machines be overloaded and catch fire? Our top priority is still to figure out how to increase revenue and population!"
Fiscal income has always been a tough problem.
It took a thousand Abyssal Magic Stone Fragments to refine a single Abyssal Magic Crystal.
Even though Players had a tenfold drop rate, the number of Players and their levels were too low, making it impossible to cover the deficit by just grinding monsters in a short time, so they needed to think of other methods.
As for increasing the population?
They could upgrade the territory’s Abyss Barracks to raise the population cap.
Additionally, by continuously expanding the territory and occupying new lands, they could increase the population cap and boost fiscal revenue, so the urgent task was to find areas that could be occupied, preferably native towns from the Three Kingdoms era.
Currently, the Reserve Essence was abundant.
There was no need to be stingy.
Hang Yu decided to continue investing in himself.
【Reserve Essence -3000!】
【Your "Flaming Arrow Spell" has been cultivated to the highest level, you gained 10 points of permanent Spirit attribute!】
【Reserve Essence -3000!】
【Your "Gale Step" has been cultivated to the highest level, you gained 10 points of permanent Agility attribute!】
【Reserve Essence -3000!】
【Your "Healing Art" has been cultivated to the highest level, you gained 10 points of permanent Will attribute!】
With the Essence harvested from one round of Player deaths, Hang Yu successfully maxed out the remaining three skills; he had now fully mastered all current skills.
Not only did the power and effects of his skills greatly increase, but he also gained +10 to all attributes, and his strength had visibly improved!
"Didn't expect to reach this level in just two days."
"I thought I would have to turtle in the territory for a long time... I should go out and stretch my legs!"
Hang Yu estimated that with his current strength, there were not many threats left within the first map.
Even in extreme situations, he could at least protect himself, enough to lead the Players to challenge the core Nightmare source.
Of course.
This thought only flashed across his mind.
It was still not the time to challenge the final BOSS.
The Lord's first descending area was the simplest region; calling it a newbie village was not an exaggeration.
Only by starting slow could they build a solid foundation.
So taking things slow was not necessarily a bad thing.
Although Hang Yu's personal strength was increasingly formidable, most of his territory's basic infrastructure was still unestablished, and the army and formal forces were still too small in number.
It was not suitable to rush for quick success or act recklessly.
Better to take it slow.
First accumulate resources.
Then raise the army.
"Master, the Players have set out again."
"Is that so, these crops not only grow fast but even throw themselves at the scythe, truly saving me trouble!"
Twenty Players, having saved up for resurrection, chose to revive directly, heading once more toward the Skeletal Scorpion-Tailed Bull, this time for a formal BOSS raid.
In theory.
The more Players die, the better.
But in actual practice, the Player experience also had to be considered.
If a game was too punishing and gave Players no sense of achievement, it would instead discourage adventurous spirit and could even lead to mass attrition, ultimately hurting the territory's overall benefits.
However, judging by the current situation, such setbacks hardly fazed the Players.
On the contrary, it actually stimulated their desire for conquest, so for now there was no need to interfere.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge, Salty Fish Thrust, and other veteran players had already probed the BOSS's battle mechanics.
Yet with their current strength, defeating a level 5 elite was still extremely difficult, and casualties were likely inevitable.
Just wait for Bull Brother’s triumphant news!
……
Soon after.
The twenty Players returned to the scene.
The corpses they had left behind had already disappeared following resurrection, and the corpses of the monsters on the ground were evaporating as well.
At the scene, eight normal monsters remained, clustering around the BOSS monster Skeletal Scorpion-Tailed Bull.
"Although the small monsters haven't respawned yet, there are still eight of them left. It's still going to be tough!" Salty Fish Thrust observed the distant BOSS and said so.
Black-Eyed Rui Ge nodded. "How about we divide tasks? One group deals with the BOSS, another with the small monsters."
This time, the usually silent Lone Boat raised an objection. "This BOSS has too much HP and very strong combat strength. If we split our forces, we might collapse instead."
Ye Li Meng rubbed his shiny bald head. "Then what do you suggest?"
Lone Boat said, "Rui Ge and I will go draw the BOSS’s attention, you guys quickly clear the small monsters, then we all focus together on the BOSS."
"Agreed!"
"I agree too!"
"This is a safer plan!"
"But Rui Ge and Lone Boat will have a lot of pressure!"
Black-Eyed Rui Ge thought carefully. "This plan is indeed better!"
He was confident in his own skills, and Lone Boat's strength was not inferior to his.
Both of them were flexible level 4 Rangers.
It should not be a problem to hold out for a short while.