Chương 3: A Sneak Attack

At the edge of the shrublands, a black wolf slightly larger than the others sprawled lazily on the dry leaves, its bushy tail swinging back and forth and sweeping the ground. Its face was relaxed and content, showing no trace of a predator's vigilance. Yang Fan hid in the shadows of a nearby bush, watching with quiet amusement. This guy lives the easy life, he thought. How can it be this careless?

He held his breath, crept forward using dead trees and low shrubs for cover, and positioned himself behind the wolf, planning a well‑aimed sneak attack. He flicked his wrist, drew his sword, and thrust it back in one smooth motion. The blade struck the wolf's rear end, and the beast let out a piercing yelp that shattered the forest's calm. A system notification chimed in his ear: "Congratulations. You have discovered the black wolf's weak point. This attack deals double damage."

Yang Fan blinked, realizing the weak point was the wolf's anus. He had always assumed it would be the belly. Twisting in pain, the wolf's face contorted into a vicious snarl, and it retreated slowly, keeping its wounded area protected, letting out a series of long howls without lunging forward to counterattack. Yang Fan was baffled. Normally, an attacked beast would fight back fiercely, but this one just kept backing away. Could this actually be a husky?

Seeing that it wasn't attacking, he made up his mind: advance when the enemy retreats, strike when the enemy tires. That sneak attack must have scared it senseless, so now was the perfect time to finish it off.

"Die, husky." He swung again, aiming for the same weak spot. The wolf couldn't dodge in time and took another solid hit. With a final, unwilling snarl, its heavy body crashed to the ground and went still.

"Just like that? Two hits and it's down?" Yang Fan stared at the corpse, utterly confused. Even with two critical strikes, it shouldn't have been this fragile. Was this really just a dog? The game's design was strange. Players could only see a monster's level, not its HP, and no damage numbers popped up. He had to gauge a monster's strength by how many hits it took to kill. The one‑eyed wolf had required over a dozen stabs, but this one fell in just two. The gap was jarring.

He crouched down and searched the wolf's body but found nothing.

"Seriously? Not a single drop? You mangy beast, at least give me some hide or meat." Frustrated, he used his heirloom sword to slice at the carcass, trying to peel off some fur or flesh. As he focused on the corpse, low growls rose from all around. He looked up sharply and saw a dozen black wolves closing in from every direction, their eyes locked onto him with murderous intent. A chill shot down his spine. Thank goodness this was just a game. If this were real life, he would probably be frozen in fear.

He had been too absorbed in looting to notice the approaching pack, and now he was surrounded. He was likely dead, but he refused to go down without a fight. Even if he died, he would land one last blow on these beasts. His vision went black, and he respawned at Peach Blossom Village. He rubbed his neck and winced. Even after so many deaths, the lingering sensation of virtual pain was still unpleasant. He opened his character panel and checked his experience: 2/10.

"The game deducts ten percent experience on death. That means I had 3 points before I died. I got 2 points from killing the one‑eyed wolf, and this normal wolf only gave 1." Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Killing monsters of the same level shouldn't yield different experience. Something was off. Could the one‑eyed wolf be more than just a regular mob?

He recalled the official introduction: monsters of the same level were divided into tiers: Normal, Elite, Champion, King, and Divine. That made sense. The one‑eyed wolf must have been an Elite mob with higher HP and defense, which was why it could tank over a dozen hits, while the regular wolves were much weaker and died in two swings.

"Ridiculous," he muttered.

"Monsters only show their level, not their HP, attack, defense, or tier. The designers were way too lazy with this part. If I hadn't run into that Elite wolf right at the start, I would have finished this quest ages ago. Why am I so unlucky?" He headed back to the shrublands, this time far more cautious. His earlier experience had taught him a harsh lesson: these wolves were pack animals. If one was threatened, it would call for help, and the rest would swarm in and tear the intruder apart.

So he devised a new strategy: lure a lone wolf far away from the shrublands, where it couldn't signal its pack, then kill it one by one. He circled the perimeter and soon spotted a solitary wolf. Before he could even provoke it, the wolf spotted him, snarled, and lunged. Yang Fan turned and ran without hesitation, the wolf chasing close behind. They raced across the grassland until they reached the clearing where he had fought the one‑eyed wolf earlier.

He stopped abruptly, drew his sword, and prepared to finish the pursuit. The wolf, seeing its target halt, lunged again without a moment's hesitation, eager to tear the human apart, but the outcome was far from what it expected. It became nothing more than experience points for Yang Fan. After several encounters, he learned the habits of the regular wolves. Once they locked onto a target, they attacked recklessly and relentlessly.

He had worried they might give up the chase and return to the pack, but regular wolves had limited intelligence and only knew how to pursue. He repeated the tactic, luring one wolf after another to the same clearing and cutting them down. Their attack power and speed were far inferior to the one‑eyed Elite, and they never came close to one‑shotting him. Time flew by as he immersed himself in the rhythm of pulling and killing, honing his combat skills with every fight.

Once, he accidentally attracted two wolves at once, but he still handled them with ease. A crisp system notification rang out: "Congratulations. You have completed the quest: Kill the wolves in the shrublands (10/10)." A soft white light enveloped him, and he leveled up to 2. He opened his character panel immediately.

Attribute Value Name Set Sail Level 2 Title None School None Official Rank None Spirit 2 Constitution 2 Agility 2 Physical Attack 2 Magic Attack 2 HP 20 Talent 0 Charm 0 Luck 0 Experience 0/20 He studied the numbers carefully.

"Looks like each level adds one point to every basic stat, and the experience needed goes up by ten." He closed the panel and headed back to Peach Blossom Village to turn in his quest.