Night fell, and nighttime activities were extremely dangerous. Players’ vision was very limited, but monsters could sense the life force of players, and if they ambushed them, it was usually very hard for players to defend themselves.

There was no rush to level up either, so Ryan Bennett found an inn and settled in for the night.

Before the morning sun had risen, when the sky was just beginning to lighten, Ryan Bennett got up, replenished with some bread and spring water, and set out toward the land of zombies not far from the Skeleton Forest. The land of zombies spawned some zombie monsters, around level five, slower than skeleton soldiers, but with much higher health and experience.

However, the land of zombies was quite far from Viking Town, requiring a long walk to reach. Moreover, it was already close to the border of Bracada, and not far from the border was the hell nation of Krulord, so players from the Evil Alliance often appeared in the land of zombies.

The two major alliances had deep-seated grudges, and when players from the Angel Alliance countries and Evil Alliance countries encountered each other, some conflict was inevitable.

Therefore, the land of zombies was extremely unsafe. But if Ryan Bennett didn’t go there, he really couldn’t imagine where else would be suitable for leveling up. There were just too few low-level leveling spots in Bracada. Of course, Ryan Bennett could also choose to go to the human kingdom of Erathia, but warlocks were unwelcome there, and Erathian NPCs were generally reluctant to give quests to warlocks.

Alternatively, he could go to Bayeldes, the nation of the swamp people, but the monsters there were far too mixed. It was possible for a couple of level twenty or thirty monsters to appear among level five or six monsters, and if you ran into them, you’d be dead for sure. So Bayeldes was ruled out as well.

Ryan Bennett appraised three pieces of loot in his bag. They weren’t for his own use, and their stats were terrible, so Ryan Bennett just tossed them into the shop, but still managed to sell them for fifty silver coins. He bought some identification scrolls from the appraiser for use in the wild. Identifying green gear required fifty silver coins, blue gear two gold coins, and purple gear ten gold coins. Ryan Bennett bought a few of each as backup.

On the way, he encountered an elderly alchemist who needed fifty zombie skulls, offering a reward of ten gold coins and a level fifteen green warlock item. The quest duration was three days. Ryan Bennett accepted without hesitation; the green item’s stats were decent, and he should be able to use it when he reached level fifteen.

Ryan Bennett glanced at the Sea of Death to the west of Bracada, its endless waves surging. It was said that there were some sea tribes in the Sea of Death, and their warriors were beautiful mermaids, but that was just a legend—no one had ever actually seen them.

Passing the beach of the Sea of Death and skirting the Los Mountains, he saw from afar a scorched land, with zombies occasionally wandering across the charred ground.

Ryan Bennett began clearing the monsters on the outskirts. With so many skills at his disposal, it was very easy for Ryan Bennett to kill these zombies.

High health, high attack, high physical defense, low magic defense, slow movement speed, and lots of experience—aside from the high health requiring Ryan Bennett to spend a lot of time killing them, everything else seemed tailor-made for a warlock.

Shadow Bolt!

As another zombie fell to the ground, Ryan Bennett reached level six. In a short time, Ryan Bennett had collected two zombie skulls. He sat cross-legged on the ground, drinking spring water to restore his mana.

The surroundings were very calm. A gentle breeze blew away all the stench of decay from the land of zombies, leaving Ryan Bennett feeling refreshed.

It seemed as if there was an unusual aura lingering nearby, a sense of being watched. Ryan Bennett tensed up, scanning his surroundings, but found nothing. The nearest zombie was more than fifty yards away.

Ryan Bennett sat down, but couldn’t shake his unease, sensing that something was about to happen.

A thought flashed through Ryan Bennett’s mind.

A rogue’s stealth!

Suddenly, Ryan Bennett remembered that rogues had stealth skills. Rogues were known as the kings of the wild and were the nemesis of all magic classes. If a magic class was approached by a rogue in stealth, it was certain death. Several of the rogue’s skills had stun effects that were very effective against magic classes. If the rogue was skilled enough, they could keep a magic class stunned until death.

Explosion Spell!

Boom! Ryan Bennett’s energy burst out, and about a meter behind him, a rogue in white leather armor was forced out of stealth by the attack. Ryan Bennett thought to himself how close that was.

It was a hell race rogue. Compared to other races, the hell race had higher magic resistance and strong attacks, making them very suitable for the rogue class. He hadn’t expected to encounter someone from the Evil Alliance so soon.

The rogue’s name was Hunter Carter, a level seven rogue. Maybe because he hadn’t been in the game long, his level was low, but his gear was excellent—all blue items, apparently supplied by someone.

Corruption!

Searing Pain!

Ryan Bennett leapt back, casting two spells in quick succession.

The rogue drank a potion, removing the Corruption effect, and charged at Ryan Bennett.

Repulsion Aura!

The rogue was knocked far back.

The rogue couldn’t help but curse—how could this warlock have skills from all three demon classes? This time, he’d run into a tough opponent.