Chapter Thirteen: Four Years Later, Neither Living Nor Dying!

Level 31 is a threshold for all professions; after reaching the second tier, one acquires intermediate skills. Without Xiao Yue and the others tagging along, I found myself in peaceful solitude.

The western ridge was lush with tall grass and deep woods, springs clear and water pristine. The delightful scenery made it a perfect place to relax and unwind. Along the way, many leisurely elders enjoyed themselves in the safe zone—a monster-free area specially designated by the system for players who simply wished to savor nature’s beauty, often set in picturesque locations. Some sang for their own amusement, others gathered friends to compose poetry, their carefree demeanor enviable. In the harsh reality of a world rapidly deteriorating environmentally, it was rare to find such clear skies or tranquil, pure lands outside the game.

But with the urgent need to level up, I had no time to linger.

Monsters in the western ridge were mostly wood-elemental types—wood apes, treants, cotton monkeys, burrowing beasts, black bears, and the like. Their levels ranged from 35 to 45, with the black bears being the highest, all above level 40. After easily dispatching several slow-moving treants over three meters tall, I decided to venture deeper. With my strength, dealing with a level 45 black bear would be no problem.

As I pressed further into the ridge, the scenery changed. Dense trees gave way to sparse shrubs and tangled undergrowth. Ahead, a broad-shouldered, thick-waisted black bear lounged on a hillside, basking in the sunlight. Standing over two meters tall, it resembled an iron tower; its massive arms could not be encircled by my hands. Its dense, disheveled fur and careless swagger reminded me inexplicably of Ah Q from Lu Xun’s novella, lazily picking lice under the warm sun—utterly indifferent and carefree.

I crept closer and used Identification Technique: black bear, wood element, level 41, HP 2100/2100, MP 100/100, physical attack 212–340, physical defense 245–393, skill attack 310–477, wood resistance 5%, earth resistance 10%, metal resistance -10%, speed 72, evasion 72, skill: Wind Claw. A high-attack, high-HP, low-speed type—exactly my preference.

I quietly activated the Hao Ran Heart Method, and my Crocodile Bone Sword instantly turned pale. The first time I used this sword, this transformation puzzled me. Originally off-white and grayish, the sword glowed with a dense white light when fused with the Hao Ran Heart Method. Even more astonishing, my attack power increased by nearly 5%, a phenomenon I never experienced with other weapons—though none matched this one’s qualities. After many tests without explanation, I concluded that the Hao Ran Heart Method only boosts attack when merged with an excellent weapon—perhaps it has a proud core.

Like lightning, I launched a surprise strike, catching the bear off guard and piercing its left rib, dealing 285 damage.

Disturbed from its peaceful bask, the bear roared in fury. The bleeding wound seemed to stir its rough nerves. It rose angrily, slapping its massive paws over its muzzle and howling skyward. Seeing the intruder was a small human, it disdainfully swiped its claws a few times and clumsily lumbered toward me. Before it closed in, it swung its massive paw, releasing five gusts shaped like claws—its Wind Claw skill. I twisted aside, but the wide arc still caught one gust, costing me over 100 HP instantly. Had all five struck together, the combined damage would have wiped me out in two hits. I immediately ceased underestimating it.

My agile movements—up and down, left and right—left the bear flustered and unable to land a blow. Soon it lay dead beneath my sword. Using my advanced harvesting skill, I divided the carcass into bear meat, bear skin, bear paws, and bear gallbladder. Bear meat and paws made excellent barbecue material, though my grilling skills left much to be desired. When hungry while leveling outdoors, I had lit fires and roasted food before, but experience showed I was better at “charcoal burning.” Fortunately, hunger effects were absent here, so roasting was more out of necessity in low-hunger moments.

After over two hours, I reached level 27, allocating 3 points each to Strength and Agility, and 1 to Stamina—perhaps reflecting the critical role agility had played recently.

Blue Bat, level 27

HP: 985/985, MP: 440/440

Strength: 88

Agility: 51

Stamina: 61

Intelligence: 12

Reputation: 500, Luck: 3, Charisma: 6

Attack: 228–346

Speed: 142

Evasion: 158

Physical Defense: 424–588

Money: 3,202 gold, 88 silver, 12 copper coins

Skills:

Basic Swordsmanship, Advanced, 356/1000

Level One Swordsmanship, Advanced, 18/10000

Hao Ran Heart Method, Intermediate, 879/1000

Life Skills:

Smithing, Intermediate, 754/1000

Mining, Intermediate, 861/100

Gathering, Advanced, 112/10000

Alchemy, Beginner, 0/100

The loot was decent: a silver belt, silver boots, and a silver war bow. After a brief rest, I reached an open plain where black bears patrolled in groups of four, endlessly coming and going, seemingly guarding a stone cave beneath a massive boulder. Squinting, I spotted a bear twice the size of a normal one, gnawing on a thick slab of dried meat. Its aura was entirely different—clearly the bear king.

In this game, the rule was simple: where there’s a boss, there’s a fight; where there’s money, there’s profit. But the bear king’s formidable guards left no chance to approach. Watching carefully, I discerned their pattern: the four groups patrolled east, south, west, and north, each splitting into two subgroups at the patrol edges, covering eight directions in total. Attacking the boss during their patrol rotations might be possible, but if the bear king summoned even one minion, my fate would be brutal.

Estimating distances, the two subgroups of bears were 20 meters apart at their farthest, and their aggro radius was 16 meters. If I could lure one group away, I could avoid detection by the other—my opening. But another problem arose: I wielded a melee weapon. Drawing aggro risked attracting multiple bears simultaneously. How to lure them over? With ranged attacks! Luckily, I had the silver war bow in my bag.

I needed arrows! I found a bamboo grove, felled a slender stalk, and carved it into a two-foot-long shaft, finger-thick, sharpened at the tip, with a cross-shaped notch at the rear to affix fur—primitive bamboo arrows. The war bow boosted accuracy by 5%, and with the “Heart-Piercing Arrow” skill, it increased critical hits. Drawing and aiming at stationary targets several times, I quickly adapted; unlike reality, here a well-aimed shot almost always hit. With this ranged weapon, my plan was feasible—taking down two bears at once was no challenge.

After over half an hour, the four bear groups remained, but each had only two bears, and the slow-witted brutes sensed nothing amiss.

“Whoosh!” The bamboo arrow flew, striking a bear’s thigh. The wounded bear instantly spotted me, the brazen intruder, and charged fiercely. I switched from bow to sword without hesitation, meeting it head-on with a piercing strike. The bear, its defense lowered, faltered under my attack. Even two couldn’t corner me; I quickly hunted down their mates.

Three bear groups regrouped, bewildered, scanning left and right but not resuming patrol. Waiting a while with no sign of the fourth group, they sensed something was wrong. One hurriedly reported to the bear king, its submissive posture resembling a subordinate nervously briefing a superior.

The bear king roared fiercely at the messenger, dropped its meat leg, and, majestic and imposing, led its minions in a charge.

The bear king and its retinue searched for a while, finding no other bears, then furiously howled at the remaining six bears, ordering them to disperse and hunt for the invader. The six bears cautiously split up to search.

It was impossible to kill all bears before facing the boss alone. Now, it was kill one, gain one. I stealthily approached a lone bear, swiftly plunged the Crocodile Bone Sword into its chest. The startled bear cried out loudly for help, but before the others could encircle me, I had already slain the lone beast. The bear king, alerted to my presence, led five followers toward me, their murderous intent palpable. The life-or-death battle was about to begin.

Fantasy Online.