“Grace, is that friend of yours coming?” asked a paladin player whose ID was Hunter. He was a bit taller than Brian Carter, about 1.8 meters, with handsome features—definitely the type girls liked. He noticed Grace Harris’s expression and instinctively felt a hint of crisis, secretly wondering what exactly the relationship was between Grace Harris and that friend of hers.

“He’s not coming. Let’s just level up ourselves,” Grace Harris replied, sounding a bit disinterested.

“That’s a shame. If he’s not coming, there’s nothing we can do. With him, we’d level up even faster. Our lineup is definitely in the top ten in all of Kelfid,” Hunter said with some pride, secretly pleased. It looked like Grace Harris had been turned down by that guy, and he was more than happy to have one less third wheel, giving him more time alone with Grace Harris.

“There’s not much time left. Let’s get going,” Grace Harris said gloomily.

After the group of twelve finished preparing, they set out for the Bloodshadow Plains.

Brian Carter had been moving through the Bloodshadow Plains for over ten minutes. He checked his coordinates—this should be the place. Looking around at the terrain, he saw the weeds here were knee-high. For most players, moving in this environment would reduce their speed by at least 30%, but Brian Carter’s movement speed was only reduced by 10%—the effect of his specialization in plant-based talents!

Looking into the distance, he saw several gigantic spiders roaming the plains, each as tall as a person and quite terrifying.

Giant Spider, Level 3, HP 120!

For players, giant spiders were notoriously troublesome monsters in the early stages. Though slow-moving, they could use the Web skill to trap opponents, immobilizing them, then move in to attack with venomous fangs, inflicting poison damage. These creatures had extremely high physical resistance and thick HP. Their only weakness was a fear of fire magic, but at the same time, their web skill was a nightmare for mages. Players below level 5 generally didn’t dare to come here alone to farm monsters.

Since Brian Carter had chosen this type of monster to level up on, he was clearly prepared—his talent made him immune to the Web skill!

He walked toward a giant spider, slowly closing in to about ten yards. The giant spider spotted Brian Carter, screeched, and lunged at him.

Brian Carter stopped and began chanting a skill. Six seconds—Oil Slick!

As the incantation finished, a stream of black liquid appeared above the giant spider’s head, pouring down from above and drenching the spider in thick black oil.

The giant spider’s movement slowed dramatically, the oil making it extremely sluggish. It spat a web at Brian Carter, but nothing happened.

Brian Carter retreated a bit and began chanting another skill—Fireball!

A blazing fireball formed out of thin air in front of Brian Carter, arcing through the air and shooting toward the giant spider. With a bang, the fireball struck the spider, dealing 2 points of damage. Being three levels lower, the fireball’s attack was pitifully weak.

But at the instant the fireball hit, there was a “whoosh” as the giant spider burst into roaring flames, engulfed in fire. The oil from before had been ignited by the fireball, causing this effect.

-32, -36, -37…

Huge damage numbers floated above the giant spider’s head. It let out a shrill scream as its HP plummeted, and soon it collapsed to the ground.

Brian Carter glanced at his experience bar. After the giant spider died, his XP shot up to 82%. Brian Carter was shocked—so fast!

A level 0 player taking down a level 3 monster with just two skills—this was unimaginable for ordinary players.

The library in Tagite Village had over a thousand different skills, each with unique effects—some focused on offense, some on defense, some on control, and so on. Many skills complemented each other. Taking advantage of the closed beta, Brian Carter’s father had tested countless skill combinations and finally discovered that Oil Slick plus Fireball was the most lethal combo of all—virtually unbeatable before level 30.

Brian Carter’s test proved the effect was truly extraordinary!

He searched under the giant spider’s body and found a pair of worn level 3 boots, +2 defense.

Chapter 6: The Venomous Spider Aisara

Oil Slick!

Fireball!

Brian Carter used these two skills in succession, and before long, the crisp level-up chime sounded.

After killing two giant spiders, Brian Carter reached level 3 and gained a piece of level 3 white gear.

This leveling speed was amazing. Brian Carter continued grinding in the same spot, one giant spider after another falling to the ground. Besides leveling up, he also gained quite a bit—just a stack of spider fangs could sell for fifteen or sixteen copper coins, and he picked up another twenty-seven copper coins.

With his level up, the damage from Oil Slick and Fireball became even more impressive, and his monster-killing speed increased significantly.