Chương 30: How Much Did I Miss?

"Bronze Grade Berserk Potion. Increases attack power by 20% for two hours." One dose wasn't cheap -- a full twenty gold. Eight hours of grinding per day meant one-sixty just in potion costs. Of course, he didn't need to pop these for ordinary mobs. He only used them against stubborn elite monsters.

"Berserk Potions -- I'll take a hundred."

"Bronze Grade Healing Potion. Restores 10, 000 HP per use. Gimme ten." The healing potions were insurance. If an assassin actually decided to target him, he'd need something for an instant top-up. He couldn't afford this kind of preparation before. Now that he could, it was time to invest in staying alive.

"Strength Enhancement Potion, Bronze Grade. +1, 000 STR for two hours. Twenty gold." Not cheap, but the boost was solid. Xiao Chen gritted his teeth and bought a batch.

"Agility Enhancement Potions too." Attack speed and movement speed were both critical for him. Unfortunately, these potions weren't percentage-based. With his sky-high stats, a flat bonus didn't scale as well as it could have.

"Nope. For Agility, I need Gold Grade." Gold potions were outrageously expensive, but Xiao Chen genuinely needed to push his attack speed to the next level. Thanks to his Lethal Strike awakening, soloing high-level bosses had become a real possibility. With skilled positioning and enough attack speed, he could take down elite bosses. His base attack was already so high that lifesteal kept him topped off effortlessly.

His HP pool was thick enough to survive a couple of boss skills, which gave him a massive margin for error.

"Gold Grade Agility Potion. +4, 000 AGI for two hours. Four hundred gold per dose." A single two-hour potion cost as much as a Silver Grade piece of gear. After downing several potions, Xiao Chen's attack power approached sixty thousand, and his attack speed hit a ludicrous 5. 0. Five attacks per second. Absolutely ridiculous. Four thousand Agility gave him a 1. 6 attack speed boost.

"The system gave me this incredible ability. It'd be a crime not to use it." He could still grind out Lv70 elite mobs slowly. Lv80 ones were completely impossible without Lethal Strike. Xiao Chen shifted his strategy: bet everything on Lethal Strike. With decent luck, it might proc every few minutes. And he wasn't stopping at Lv80 bosses. He was coming for the Lv90 ones too. After taking the Agility potion, Xiao Chen actually felt lighter on his feet, his movement speed staggering.

Five hundred gold every two hours in potion costs. If he only farmed trash mobs, he'd bleed money. The nearby Lv60-70 bosses had already been cleared out. Finally, it was time to target Lv80 elites and bosses. Xiao Chen discovered that the higher the level, the rarer the bosses became. After quite a bit of searching, he finally found a suitable target. 【Death Knight: LV80 | HP: 5. 2M | Defense: 25, 600 | Attack: 25, 600 | HP Regen: 50, 000/sec】 Going by HP alone, Xiao Chen's sixty thousand attack wasn't bad.

But factor in that regen? He'd never solo a Lv80 boss in a million years. Lv80 bosses had four skills. Xiao Chen didn't even bother reading them. He wasn't giving this thing a chance to use them. With his massive Agility, extreme attack range, and Blink, he could stay outside the boss's threat radius permanently.

"The Death Knight's speed is 20." Way faster than those Undead Skeletons.

"No big deal. Blink every two seconds between attacks, and I'm untouchable." Xiao Chen had soloed more low-level bosses than he could count. He knew the drill by heart. After surveying the terrain and confirming no nearby threats, he opened fire.

"-38, 196""-40, 136" Flashy damage numbers. Completely meaningless to this boss. Realistically, most of his damage was for clearing trash mobs and keeping his HP topped off through lifesteal. Thwip! Thwip! Five arrows per second. Surrounding mobs dropped like flies while the boss's HP bar barely moved. Lv80 trash mobs dropped decent coin and materials. Occasionally, gear too. Trash mobs usually dropped Bronze or Black Iron gear. Most Awakened couldn't even afford Silver equipment. Ding!

You obtained a Black Iron Helmet. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. For a split second, Xiao Chen thought he'd killed the boss. Black Iron gear went straight to the guild warehouse for contribution points. It let ordinary guild members pick up equipment at a discount. Xiao Chen was doing well enough now to pay it forward, just like others had done for him. Triggering Lethal Strike was always going to be a grind. It required serious patience.

Right now, Xiao Chen was in the same boat Chuan Mufeng had been -- constantly repositioning, blinking around. While Xiao Chen was grinding away, a group of Awakened approached from his direction. A five-man party, all several levels higher than him.

"That Death Knight has defense bonuses. It's gonna be a slog. Our party's small -- might take an hour or two to bring it down."

"Bao, we're an elite squad. We just killed an Lv80 boss. This'll be fine."

"Everyone's been grinding like mad lately. Most of the high-level bosses near Tiannan City have been claimed."

"Whoa, Bao, look -- movement over there. Someone beat us to it?" The five Awakened cleared trash mobs as they moved toward Xiao Chen.

"Wait, that's not someone killing a boss. That's one guy getting chased." Xiao Chen definitely looked like he was being hunted. The Death Knight was charging after him relentlessly, its HP nearly full. By all appearances, it was the predator and he was the prey.

"We ran into it, so let's help out. I'm pulling aggro."

"Hey bro! Kite the boss toward me, I'll take threat!" Xiao Chen spotted the group hurrying toward him, confused.

"Uh, you're not trying to steal my kill, are you?"

"Steal your kill?"

"If that's how you wanna play it, we won't lift a finger while you die." The big guy was clearly annoyed.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. This boss is mine." Xiao Chen realized he'd worded that poorly and quickly tried to explain.

"Bro, when your life's on the line, you don't gotta act tough." Forget level eighty -- even a level one hundred player couldn't solo an Lv80 boss.

"Forget it, not explaining to you guys." Xiao Chen Blinked again, kiting the boss further away. A few more arrows flew.

"Lethal Strike! -2. 04 million!"

"You have slain the Death Knight! EXP +0, Gold +800, Guild Contribution Points +8, 000!"

"You obtained Gilded Chest Armor."

"You obtained Gilded Helmet." Two Gold Grade drops. Nothing special, but no complaints either. Over twenty thousand gold in his pocket.

"Nice, nice!" Xiao Chen casually cleaned up a few trash mobs, then noticed the stunned expressions on the newcomers' faces. His performance had been so absurd that it broke their brains. Five Awakened, all higher level than him, all pushing level ninety.

"No way. You actually soloed an Lv80 boss?"

"Your info's completely hidden. You some kind of Lv120 big shot?"

"Dude, I gotta say -- with skills like that, you're sniping low-level bosses from us? That's kinda messed up." Xiao Chen sighed and revealed his level.

"Eighty-five??" Xiao Chen cleared mobs while addressing the group.

"I'm just getting lucky with my kills. Nothing special." In a sense, Lethal Strike really did come down to luck. Xiao Chen glanced at their names. They were surprisingly similar.

"Hold up -- you're all pushing level ninety. Why aren't you in a guild?" One look was all it took to spot something off.

"Back when we were low-level, no guild wanted us. Now that we're strong, we don't want any guild either."

"Our elite squad does just fine on its own." The speaker was a burly man with a thick beard -- the highest level in the group at Lv89.

"Yeah. They looked down on us before. Now let them try to reach our level." Xiao Chen was exasperated.

"Look, guys, you're not exactly out of everyone's league here."

"Join Tianxing Guild. It'll help you grow." Recruiting these five would benefit both sides.

"Tianxing Guild? Pass. Not even the number one guild could get us."

"We do what we want. This works for us." They'd apparently been rejected a few times and sworn off guilds entirely.

"I can take you boss hunting. Clear all the Lv90 bosses in the area." Soloing Lv90 bosses was still dicey for Xiao Chen alone. He'd been planning to find a couple of people to help. Finding a five-man party here was a happy accident.

"And it's not just Lv90 bosses. The guild has people running Tier-10 dungeons too. Once you hit Lv90, you can join."

"Lv120 powerhouses leading the way. Very reliable." That got their attention.

"Free carries?"

"Free." Guild perks accelerated growth by a huge margin. Xiao Chen knew that from personal experience.

"Fang Chengbao has invited you to join their party." Xiao Chen accepted and joined their so-called "elite squad." One healer, one tank, three ranged DPS.

"Stop overthinking it and join the guild already."

"In this world, getting stronger and staying alive is what matters. Don't let pride get in the way."

"If you hate it, you can always leave after a few days." Xiao Chen sent guild invitations to all five.

"I guess it's not impossible. But we're used to freedom. Don't want someone bossing us around."

"Trust me, nobody has the energy to micromanage you. Do your thing, focus on getting stronger." Fang Chengbao and the others were clearly first-timers. The guild bonuses immediately hooked them.

"All stats get a boost? And this much attack power?"

"Whoa, we get guild contribution points too?"

"The guild actually gives dividends?"

"Guild rewards for Gold Grade gear -- they're serious?"

"Daily dungeon runs with carries? Don't those big shots need to grind their own levels?" Xiao Chen didn't know what to say. How to describe these guys? Fang Chengbao and company weren't exceptionally talented, but they were above average -- mostly C-Rank and D-Rank talents. Without that, they never would've made it this far.

"Fang Chengbao has joined Storm Squad."

"Fang Chenglin has joined Storm Squad."

"Fang Chenghu has joined Storm Squad." All five of them shared the same surname, their names almost identical.

"You guys are siblings?"

"In a way. Same orphanage." Xiao Chen immediately understood. He was from an orphanage too. He knew exactly where their pride and stubbornness came from. The survival rate for newbies had genuinely improved. Higher starting stats, more starting funds, easier growth than a few years ago.

"I'm from Red Star Orphanage too. Life's hard for all of us. We stick together, we get through it."

"Leader, you're an orphan too?"

"What's surprising about that? Seventy percent of Blue Star's Awakened came from orphanages."

"Fair point. Soloing an Lv80 boss at your level -- you got an A-Rank talent?"

"More or less." Going by overall combat strength, calling himself A-Rank wasn't inaccurate.

"Damn, we just found ourselves a carry."

"I can only take you boss hunting for a few months. After that, you'll be running Tier-10 dungeons." By then, Xiao Chen would be around Lv90 himself. He'd probably head back to the city for some dungeon runs. With six people total, the party's overall strength jumped significantly. Especially with the buffs Xiao Chen provided, the group's combat power increased substantially. Fang Chengbao was a Sword and Shield Knight like Sun Jian -- a tank with decent damage output. Fang Chenglin had a C-Rank healing talent.

Not a Cleric, but a Nature Herbalist. Herbalists weren't Alchemists. They were a combat class in their own right. 【Fang Chenglin has applied Revitalizing Blessing to you. HP +10%, Defense +10%】 Unlike Li Hailan and Liu Man, Fang Chenglin's buffs prioritized survival over raw damage. For a tank, that kind of support was arguably better. Xiao Chen watched his HP jump by over ten thousand. Very satisfying. Fang Chenghu was also a Summoner. His primary summon was a White Tiger, raised to Silver Grade.

His other two summons were ranged attackers -- a Skeleton Archer and a Flame Demon. Both secondary summons were only Bronze Grade. Only three summons pushing level ninety was honestly pretty sad. Compared to Zhang Fan, he was leagues behind. Then again, normal people didn't have Zhang Fan's shamelessness.

"Alright, with six of us we don't have to play it so safe."

"We'll farm Lv95 trash mobs directly. If we spot an elite or a boss, we take it down."

"I'll call the other two in the party. They're almost Lv80." Since they were teaming up, he might as well bring Wang Zhen and Liu Mei along too. Storm Squad didn't have geniuses like Li Hailan or Liu Man. Everyone had worked their way up steadily, step by step. Liu Mei and Wang Zhen arrived quickly. They were both Lv78. They probably never expected to fight alongside Xiao Chen again.

"Leader, you're a big shot now and you're still thinking about us."

"Getting to heal the leader again -- it's an honor."

"I swear, can you guys talk like normal people? We haven't seen each other in forever."

"Party experience bonus. Everyone grinds hard for a few months. Let's get you all to Lv90." Fang Chengbao's face twisted in agony when he heard about the experience bonus.

"There's an experience bonus too? Just how much stuff have we been missing out on?"