Zhan Long Bramble Bear King

Opening up my map, I could only see bits and pieces of the areas around the village because of my level restrictions. Beyond that, it was empty. Contemplating for a while, I finally decided to head North-East.

That was a little further away from Straw Dog Village, and there were also lesser players. If I get KS’ed as this special healer class, I’ll probably die out.

Looking at my skills tab, [Hemostasis]’s experience level reached 77/100. Just a little more, and I can level it up. Level 2 [Hemostasis] can recover 100 HP in the blink of an eye, and my survival capabilities will thus drastically increase.

Onwards!

Carrying my sword out of the village, I took the path out of the Straw Dog Village area. I cut through the Hyena area, continuing into the dense forest. After 20 minutes of walking, I finally reached the place I didn’t dare to challenge – the Wild Bear Forest. Inside were bears of all kinds, all levels 5-7. Looking at my level, it wouldn’t be incorrect to say that I was forcing myself to take unnecessary risks, but I had 23 Blue Potions and should probably be able to fight prolonged battles.

On!

I charged straight at a level 5 Black Bear. I swung my sword and took care of it in 30 seconds, healing myself four times. I spent 20 MP on one bear, which was acceptable. I went on to find another target.

A level 4 player killing a level 5 mob grants a little experience penalty, but the leveling rate was still half decent. In about an hour, another Black Bear fell, and I reached level 5!

Gaa

The Black Bear uttered a terrifying cry and erupted into a grey hand guard. Picking it up, I realized I could use it.

[Black Bear Arm Guard] (White Equip)

Type: Cloth

Defence: 3

Required Level: 4

Wearing the White hand guard, my defense rose to 9. When I looked up, a level 7 Grey Bear was growling, its claws inviting me. It was looking me straight in the eye, which only spelled one thing – certain death.

With the sword in hand, I slowly advanced and looked around. There weren’t any other mobs or players within 50 yards. I’m taking on this level 7 Grey Bear solo; let’s go!

Sou

I rushed forward and braced my sword. Reaching it, I brandished my sword at its head, but only a loud clang could be heard. It was as if I was swinging at steel. The damage number I inflicted wasn’t that high either…

{15}

Even with an attack of 23, I only hit this little. This Grey Bear’s defense must be even higher than the Black Bear's.

Kong

Raising its head, it roared, swinging its claws, one of which hit my shoulder. I was anticipating the attack, and when the Grey Bear attacked, I tried to dodge to the right, but I still got hit too badly.

{37}

It hurts like hell! The healer class with Cloth Armor is too squishy!

I swung my sword to deal more damage, and at the same time, I was thinking – Why can’t I dodge the monster’s attack? [Destiny] announced that according to the player’s skill, you could avoid attacks with proper footwork and movement. Why can’t I do it?

The second time, the Grey Bear’s claws swung down again. I saw it and quickly stepped back.

Pa

{39}

One tight slap across my face. It hurts. Quickly, [Hemostasis]!

The third time, when the Grey Bear was attacking, I purposely stood there. Just as the claw reached right before my eyes, I reacted and hopped in the opposite direction of the claw about 1-2 yards. I only heard the sounds of wind rushing past me. This time, I managed to use the short amount of time, and a big word floated up –

{Miss}

Battle Notice: You dodged the Grey Bear’s attack. Finished movement – [Elementary]!

Silently celebrating, I swung down with my sword at lightning speed, and kacha, my sword, directly hit the Grey Bear’s eyes. A {34} rose from the attack. Attacking the weak point was one of the gamer’s most essential skills.

What a pity; my reaction speed wasn’t that high, and my movements were also slow. If not, I could probably evade plenty of attacks, and my success rate would at least be around an [Apprentice Level]. This Evade technique was something that you needed to learn; if not, no matter what you fight against, a monster or a player, you’d be losing out. Of course, it’s different from person to person. Many evasive moments rely primarily on how the poor player deals with and reacts to them.

Kacha

My sword once again slashed the Grey Bear’s head, and it groaned. It fell and dropped another piece of equipment. My luck was out of this world, getting two drops in a row.

In the green grass, I bent forward to pick up the item. It was an average-looking robe. I looked at it, and god damn, I was disappointed. It was an attribute item!

[Grey Bear Robe] (Black Iron)

Type: Cloth

Defence: 10

Magic: +2

Required Level: 5

Once I saw the attribute, I smiled with glee. It was so good! A +2 in Magic was something I needed, and the defense was also commendable. I quickly put it on, and immediately, my defense rose to 19. The healer’s Magic growth was 1.0x, so a +2 in Magic meant an additional 20 MP. It gave me an extra 4 [Hemostasis] uses. Indeed, it’s a wonderful item.

Paafu

Staring at the robe I had on, I changed the POV for a short while, and yes, it looked like a Chinese uniform. My entire character looked scholar-like. Only my sword broke the look. If I changed it to some books, it would be perfect! However, killing things with books sounded stupid. Killing things with a sword was more reasonable.

Having high enough defense, I went on to challenge more Grey Bears. As expected, I only got hit for {20+} damage. It was acceptable. At the same time, I continuously worked on my Evade movements. I focused all my concentration on the fight. Thanks to the random number generation, the Grey Bear’s attack was different every time. I had to come up with new ways to dodge every single time.

Battle Notice: You dodged the Grey Bear’s attack. Finished movement – [Inferior]!

Battle Notice: You dodged the Grey Bear’s attack. Finished movement – [Inferior]!

Battle Notice: You dodged the Grey Bear’s attack. Finished movement – [Elementary]!

A bunch of battle notices appeared one after another, and slowly, I found myself getting to enjoy the combat in Destiny more and more. I was immersed in the game. Although the success rate of dodging was very low, only about 10% at most, it was a repeatable form of training. Avoiding some of an enemy’s attacks definitely couldn’t be bad. Though I haven’t fought it out with any players yet, I’m not sure whether this is effective. I guess now I have something to look forward to.

Now, killing a level 7 Grey Bear was not stressful anymore. Currently, most players only had a set of White Equips. On the other hand, I was equipped head to toe, except for a Black Iron Grey Bear robe. This was simply a luxury. [Destiny]’s drop rate was considered low. It was announced previously that low-level monsters would only drop a Black Iron tier item about 0.1% of the time. Everyone already had their expectations set.

In a blink of an eye, two hours had passed, and I reached level 7 by killing nothing but Grey Bears. All my stat points were added to strength as usual. On one hand, I needed the strength for more attacking power. On the other hand, I was a healer, a complete nurse. I needed the high strength to increase my arm strength; if not, I would not be able to equip weapons later. I couldn’t use a staff to smack people, or I would be made into a laughing stock.

Looking at my stats, mm. I guess I’m still ten levels below the outstanding people.

[Xiao Yao Zi Zai] (Novice Healer)

Level: 7

Attack: 31-33

Defence: 21

HP: 160

MP: 130

Charm: 0

Although my attack isn’t as high as a berserker or swordsman, my defense isn’t as high as a knight, and my magic power isn’t as high as a magician or other healers, my specialty lies in the fact that I can both heal and attack. It’s the fabled solo path. Although it’s slightly third-rate…

I walked on, and considering my levels and stats, I decided to try and fight a level 9 monster. You need to have the smarts to survive!

Raising my head, I found that the sky turned dark. The moonlight was like water, condensed into the patch of forest. Occasionally, there would be blood-curdling howls from bears that would make one’s hair stand on end. I’ve arrived at the deepest part of the Wild Bear Forest.

Quickly stopping, I found a new target. It was a bear with prickly spikes on the top of its head. The name was perfect, and it was level 9, just what I sought.

[Bramble Bear] (Normal Monster)

Level: 9

Attack: 32-50

Defence: 15

HP: 300

Skills: [Sharp Claws]

Introduction: Bramble is a type of animal modified by magic. It has a lot of attack power, and it could return 10% of damage taken back to the dealer. It most often hides in the forests and doesn’t come out. It kills all types, even humans.

“Hoho, this is it…”

Wielding my sword, I took the challenge head-on. God damn it, Lin Wan Er and Dong Cheng Yue should both be above level 14 and yet I’m messing around below level 10. I need to get to level 10 quickly, get out of the beginner village, and go to the main city; otherwise, I’ll lose all my self-respect!

Hua

With the effects of [Mighty Sword Wave], my sword took a brilliant arc in the air and headed straight for the Bramble Bear’s eyes. However, its movement speed was a little too fast, moving its head aside. It’s too difficult to hit the eyes of a moving target like this!

{17}

As expected, the defense was high. I was starting to doubt my strength a little.

The Bramble Bear groaned, and it raised its sharp claws. Shua, a line of red, followed the claws as they swooped down. This must be the skill [Sharp Claws]. I must dodge this; if not, it’ll hurt a lot. My eyes were locked on the Bramble Bear’s movements, deciding which way to move to avoid the attack. I immediately stepped backward about 2 yards but couldn’t dodge it in time. My chest took the hit and burned with pain.

{51}

Once I saw how much damage that dealt, I felt like I lost my will to fight. I hurriedly used [Hemostasis] and attacked with my sword. I could heal as the battle continued, but the Bramble Bear would not. This must be my win!

Yet again, I took several claws, and my HP was almost gone. [Hemostasis]’s cooldown was 6 seconds, which would not be able to keep up with the monster’s damage anymore. I was starting to get nervous and worried. Thankfully, just then, a [Lv +1] rose from the top of my head. The next time I use [Hemostasis], it’ll use 10 MP directly.!

{+100}

Thank god, I reached level 2 [Hemostasis] just in time.

It was then that I realized how scary a level 9 monster is. Slowly hitting it, I managed to kill it after 1 minute. My luck was average this time, only dropping three coppers. I picked them up, drank a Blue Potion, and continued hunting for another Bramble Bear.

I played until 7 p.m. but didn’t get a message from Lin Wan Er. Looks like she’s also hard at work and didn’t plan to get offline any time soon. Oh well, I’ll grind till level 9, then.

At 9 p.m., after a shower of golden light, the sword-based healer reached level 9. Again, the stat points from levels 7-9 were added to strength. This ensured that I would remain powerful.

Wuowuo

The flies danced, and piles of human bodies were stacked there. Atop a green rock, a wild bear with golden gloss slept. Above its head were the words –

[Bramble Bear King] (Boss Monster)

Level: 10