Chapter 25: Elite Creatures, Advanced Zones Unlocked

The clouds dispersed, revealing a snow-white monster.

[Frost Slime (1-Star Creature)]
[Level: LV3]
[Strength 10, Agility 7, Spirit 8, Constitution 8]
[Skills: Frost Armor, Snowball Toss.]

As this round creature, radiating wisps of cold, appeared, Han Xing fired an arrow without hesitation.

"Wind-Chaser Arrow, go!"

The iron-tipped arrow, carrying the essence of the wind, flew with unimaginable speed. Its formidable penetrating power instantly pierced through the Slime’s icy outer shell.

*Crack!*

With a crisp sound, the ice crystals shattered. The arrow, right up to its fletching, embedded itself deep within the Slime’s body.

The Frost Slime began to shudder violently. Han Xing’s eyes lit up; he had struck a vital point.

"Tsk tsk, after upgrading my gear, the attack power is just different. I didn't expect to leave a level 3 monster critically injured with a single shot."

"It’s a good thing you’re a Slime. If you were a humanoid creature with a head, I would have blown your brains out with that shot. Heh heh heh."

Hearing Han Xing’s strange laughter, the Frost Slime ahead widened its eyes in terror.

"Poor Slime, let me shoot... no, let me put you out of your misery!"

Han Xing drew his bowstring and fired a second shot, followed by a system notification.

[You have killed Frost Slime LV3, gained 30 EXP.]
[Your territory has expanded.]

After merging the Slime’s territory, Han Xing’s domain reached 72 cubic units, and he remained first on the leaderboard.

Han Xing did not stop, continuing to approach other clouds.

[You have killed Red Fire Fox LV3, gained 30 EXP, your territory has expanded.]
[You have killed Black-Maned Wild Boar LV3, gained 30 EXP, your territory has expanded.]
[You have killed...]

System notifications appeared one after another. From morning until the sun began to set, Han Xing hardly took a moment to rest. As he continuously explored the clouds, he encountered many monsters: Emerald Frogs, Lightning Slimes, Humpbacked Boars...

Monster after monster fell to his arrows. Han Xing accumulated a massive amount of experience, bringing the progress bar beneath his character panel to 90% of level 2. Meanwhile, his territory had nearly doubled in size. On the territory leaderboard, Han Xing firmly held the top spot with 129 points.

He was currently the only one whose territory size had crossed into triple digits. The current second place was the late-rising Papaya Star Spirit, who had surpassed the original contenders, Whisperer and Black Eagle, with 95 points. However, the gap was not yet insurmountable, and the others were in hot pursuit.

Han Xing mused, "It seems the competition for the leaderboard is quite intense."

It was more than intense; what he didn't know was that the chat channel for Area 107 was nearly erupting into chaos over the rankings. The second, third, and fourth places were all held by powerful factions, and several other organizations were within the top ten. Driven by malicious actors, seemingly to disrupt the competitors, a heated war of words had broken out in the chat channel. Aside from the Twilight Mercenary Group—to which Black Shadow belonged—which remained relatively low-key, the other teams had all joined the fray.

Of course, none of this concerned Han Xing.

...

The sun set behind the mountains, and a crescent moon climbed onto the branches. Under the moonlight, a human dressed in leather armor, wielding an iron bow, was locked in battle with a Gray Rock Giant Wolf.

He leaped nimbly across the floating platforms, dodging the wolf's lunges repeatedly, and took advantage of the distance to draw his bow and fire. This man was none other than Han Xing.

"Brother Wolf, hurry, run faster! Have you not eaten? My dog runs faster than you!"

"Are you truly a wolf, or just a stray mutt wearing a wolf's skin?"

Han Xing traded barbs with the giant wolf as he kited it. Although he didn't know if the wolf could understand him, his psychological warfare was clearly effective. The wolf’s eyes became increasingly bloodshot, veins pulsing. Enraged, it let out a roar and lunged toward Han Xing.

Just then, the human hunter's gaze sharpened. An arrow tinged with a faint green hue struck with the terrifying speed of tearing air. The Gray Rock Giant Wolf had nowhere to hide and could only let the arrow pierce its abdomen.

"Gotcha!" Han Xing exclaimed excitedly.

Watching the wolf’s movements grow increasingly sluggish, he knew the neurotoxin coated on the arrowhead was taking effect. Han Xing let out a breath, thinking, "This elite monster is really tough to deal with; it’s still kicking after all those arrows."

Indeed, this Gray Rock Giant Wolf was an elite monster. Han Xing had encountered it while clearing the last cloud in the area and engaged it in combat.

The monster's attributes appeared before him:

[Gray Rock Giant Wolf (1-Star Elite Creature)]
[Level: LV3]
[Strength 15, Agility 20, Spirit 11, Constitution 18]
[Skills: Swift Lunge, Bite, Bloodlust.]

An elite creature with three full skills, combined with its formidable attributes, meant almost certain death for any human survivor at this stage. Han Xing realized this likely had to do with his exploration speed. He had conquered most of the clouds in this vicinity, and this giant wolf was likely the strongest monster in the area, aside from the Dark Elf squad—a mini-boss of sorts for the region.

By now, seven or eight iron arrows were embedded in the Gray Rock Giant Wolf. Though none had hit a vital organ, the persistent neurotoxin was weakening it significantly. As its movements grew sluggish, the wolf seemed to realize its fate was sealed.

A glimmer of cold rationality returned to its ferocious gaze. It looked at Han Xing, then at its surroundings. Seemingly having made a decision, the wolf let out a howl toward the sky and lunged suddenly into Han Xing’s territory.

Han Xing narrowed his eyes, readying himself in case the wolf leaped at him. However, the wolf’s target was not him, but the five storage boxes at the edge of the territory.

"Cunning beast, trying to destroy my supplies before you die?"

Han Xing remained calm and raised his bow. The next moment, he activated the "Multiple Shot" skill.

*Swish! Swish! Swish!*

Five consecutive sounds of air being torn apart rang out as five iron arrows flew toward the wolf’s massive body at a terrifying speed.

*Puff! Puff! Puff!*

Four of the five arrows struck home. The already dazed Gray Rock Giant Wolf staggered after taking the heavy hits and finally collapsed.

[You have killed Gray Rock Giant Wolf (Elite) LV3, gained 150 EXP.]
[Your level has increased.]

"Leveled up!"

His level reached 3. Han Xing checked his panel and nodded, "Not bad. Agility increased by 3 points, while Strength, Spirit, and Constitution each increased by 1."

Over the past two days, he had roughly figured out the leveling bonus rules for human survivors. Before level 10—that is, before becoming an advanced class—each level granted about 4 to 6 attribute points. Furthermore, depending on one's professional specialty, the corresponding attributes would increase even more. For instance, Hunters gained more Agility, Warriors more Strength, Mages more Spirit, and Priests more Spirit and Constitution.

Just then, a different notification appeared.

[You have killed the regional elite monster. You are now eligible to explore higher-level areas.]
[Please note: Monsters in higher-level areas will be significantly more powerful. Survivors are advised to choose carefully during exploration.]