Chapter 13: Skill Combo

After returning to the house, Ye Hen opened the official forum for Sword of Dominion. As a professional player, checking the forum was an essential daily task.

The forum posts were countless, ranging from promoting guilds' fame, gossiping about celebrities' embarrassing moments, to sharing game experiences. Ye Hen quickly skimmed through the posts, only clicking on those that seemed valuable. He wasn't someone who enjoyed gossip or following trends.

Time passed quickly. Ye Hen spent the day browsing the forum after stepping outside briefly for some fresh air.

After logging into the game, Ye Hen first went to the NPC shop to buy some bread and clean water before heading west out of the town. This was a relatively flat stretch of sand dunes, the spawn area for the level 7 Desert Lizard monsters. These lizards had a chance of dropping the Assassin skill book Broken Bone. Ye Hen had passed by here yesterday while killing the Rhinoceros Leader in the Desert Stone Forest, but he hadn't stopped at that time.

Desert Lizards weren't social creatures, so studios and teams rarely came here to farm them in groups. There were hardly any solo players here either. At this point, very few players in the game had reached level 7. Even in a small place like Ming Sha Town, there were only a handful of level 6 players. Very few casual players dared to challenge monsters beyond their level, especially since not everyone had high-grade equipment. Ye Hen's HP had already reached 220, which was on par with a level 7 warrior, and his physical attack had risen to 40-56, making him a standout in a small place like Ming Sha Town.

Ye Hen activated Stealth and approached a Desert Lizard from behind.

Desert Lizard: HP 1000, Attack 70, Defense 30.

Backstab!

Ye Hen lunged forward, his cow-horned dagger slashing through the air and stabbing into the Desert Lizard's back. -58. Despite the high damage of the Backstab skill, the Desert Lizard's high defense only resulted in 58 points of damage.

The Desert Lizard reacted immediately, swinging its spiked tail and hitting Ye Hen's waist. He was knocked back several steps by the force, taking -35 damage from the blow. Not only did the Desert Lizard have high defense, but its attack was also fierce.

Ye Hen held the dagger with one hand, sidestepping the charging Desert Lizard, and then swiftly countered with a thrust into its body. The Desert Lizard screamed in pain and lashed its tail again, whipping the air with a loud whoosh.

Ye Hen reacted quickly, leaning back just in time to avoid the attack, and his cow-horned dagger seemed to have a mind of its own as it accurately stabbed into the Desert Lizard's head.

The Desert Lizard howled in pain, opening its bloody mouth to bite at Ye Hen, intent on tearing him apart.

The stench of blood filled the air as the Desert Lizard's sharp teeth flashed. Ye Hen remained unfazed, gripping his dagger tightly, and with a swift motion, he lifted his right foot, planted his left foot on the ground, and spun his body 360 degrees before delivering another stab into the creature's body.

-60! A red damage value appeared above the Desert Lizard's head, indicating a critical hit.

The Desert Lizard howled in agony, but the fight was far from over. Ye Hen's dagger swiftly stabbed into its back again, Backstab!

-56, -12. A combo effect appeared, and another 12 damage popped up above the Desert Lizard's head. System: Expertise Dagger Mastery proficiency increased, current level: Beginner 30%.

In the game, the best way to increase proficiency in a profession's special skills was through effective combos. In Ye Hen's previous life, he had practiced for half a month to master the Assassin's basic two-hit combo. Now, he didn't need to practice; everything came naturally.

Two minutes later, the Desert Lizard let out a final scream and collapsed to the ground. Ye Hen gained a few experience points. Non-humanoid monsters didn't drop coins, and the drop rate for equipment was low. Even if equipment dropped, it was usually low-grade.

Ye Hen pulled some bread and clean water from his bag and ate while his health and mana slowly regenerated.

Once his health was back to full, Ye Hen quickly got up and moved toward another Desert Lizard. His time was limited, and he couldn't afford to waste a single moment.

Although the Desert Lizard's stats were formidable, it was nothing compared to Ye Hen, who had exceptional equipment and skills. There was no resistance from the creature as Ye Hen efficiently took its life.

Ye Hen continued to harvest Desert Lizards one after another, gaining experience and skill proficiency quickly. However, he was frustrated that after killing over a hundred, only a single whiteboard piece of equipment had dropped, and he hadn't seen a single skill book.

Time passed quickly, and five hours later, Ye Hen's experience reached 98% of level 3. His Dagger Mastery proficiency had also reached 80% at the beginner level.

Ye Hen sighed. He had come here hoping to drop the Broken Bone skill book, but the drop rate was too low. Despite killing hundreds of Desert Lizards, no skill books had appeared.

Just as Ye Hen was feeling disheartened, a white light suddenly descended about ten meters to his left. A Desert Lizard twice the size of an ordinary one, deep red in color, materialized on the sand.

Lizard Leader: Level 7 boss monster, HP 10,000.

Before Ye Hen could react, the newly spawned Lizard Leader detected his presence and its eyes gleamed with bloodlust as it charged toward him.

"It's a boss monster. I can't fight it head-on," Ye Hen immediately activated Stealth, vanishing into the vast desert. Even he wasn't confident in defeating a boss-level monster. The previous time he killed a Rhinoceros Leader, it was because of a bug in the terrain. If he had to face it in a direct fight, even ten of him wouldn't be enough to defeat the Lizard Leader. Although the Lizard Leader was only level 7, there was a vast difference between a boss monster and a regular one.

The Lizard Leader hadn't gotten close yet, and Ye Hen was already far out of its detection range. It wandered around, unable to find him, and eventually stopped in place.

Ten meters away, Ye Hen's mind was in turmoil. If he could kill the Lizard Leader, there was a good chance it would drop the Broken Bone skill book. But the question was, could he kill a boss monster? After all, the Lizard Leader was four levels higher than him.

After thinking for a moment, Ye Hen moved back a few dozen meters and called Feng Huo Kuang Tao via voice chat.

"Brother, it's you. What can I do for you? I'm just relaxing here, haha," Feng Huo Kuang Tao responded with a hearty laugh, knowing Ye Hen would never waste his time on idle chatter.

Ye Hen smiled lightly and asked, "Do you have a team right now? I've found a level 7 boss, the Lizard Leader. Do you want to team up to kill it? I'll only take the skill book if it drops, and the rest of the loot is all yours."

Ye Hen knew very well that studios were built for profit. Although his strength was formidable, he wasn't arrogant enough to demand loot. Bosses typically dropped only two pieces of equipment, and if he was too greedy, no matter how good their relationship was, they wouldn't help him.

"Level 7 boss?! Hold on a second…" Feng Huo Kuang Tao was surprised. Ye Hen had just been level 1 yesterday, and today he was hunting level 7 monsters. But he trusted Ye Hen's strength, and since Feng Huo Wu Lei was with him, he needed to check with him first.

Ye Hen waited quietly. The game's voice chat didn't transmit background noise.

Half a minute later, Feng Huo Kuang Tao's voice returned, "Brother, give me your coordinates, and we'll be there in a minute."

"Go west out of the town. The coordinates are 1248, 5454, 4545."

"No problem, we'll be right there!"

"…"

TL Note:

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