The experience gained from the Shadow Wolf was quite substantial, reaching 300 points, truly worthy of being a third-tier Mutant Beast.
Zhou Zheng crouched in front of a dead Shadow Wolf, its body covered in gaping wounds from his skill, still oozing fresh blood. In terms of value, the pelt of this Shadow Wolf was ruined, shredded all over, losing its worth for making leather armor, though it might barely be used for boots.
Cutting open the Shadow Wolf's skull with a dagger, Zhou Zheng felt a bit disappointed as he didn't find a Star Crystal.
The Shadow Wolf's defense was impressive. Without using a skill, Zhou Zheng had to exert considerable force to tear through its fur with his dagger. His wrist ached slightly from the exertion, and even the dagger had dulled a bit.
The three Shadow Wolves yielded nothing for Zhou Zheng.
No wonder martial artists generally don't risk their lives for Star Crystals; the odds are truly low. On a bad day, even killing a dozen Shadow Wolves might not yield a single Star Crystal. However, the higher the tier of the Mutant Beast, the higher the chance of obtaining a Star Crystal. It's said that mid to high-tier Mutant Beasts almost always carry a Star Crystal.
But...
For humans at present, even mid to low-tier Mutant Beasts are enough to send them fleeing in panic.
Zhou Zheng excelled at summarizing experiences and identifying his shortcomings.
"The Shadow Wolf's claw strike just now could have been dodged. It was my lack of awareness; I should have anticipated its movements. Also, the attack point of the dagger needs improvement in accuracy, and my control of force is somewhat off."
If it weren't for the passive skill of Accuracy, Zhou Zheng's control over weak points would be even worse. Against these Mutant Beasts, ordinary attacks can't compare to skills; if you don't hit the weak points, the damage is significantly reduced.
The Shadow Wolf isn't a sitting duck; its speed is equally swift, making it even harder to hit its weak points.
"More practice is needed."
Ignoring the three Shadow Wolf corpses exuding a strong bloody smell, Zhou Zheng gripped his dagger and disappeared into the forest.
...
The midday sun grew increasingly scorching, making the mountain ridge seem shrouded in a light mist.
After dispatching the last Shadow Wolf, Zhou Zheng suddenly felt a wave of fatigue. After all, Zhou Zheng was human, no longer a tireless character in a game. After a morning of slaughter, he was already somewhat exhausted, his arm slightly sore from overexertion.
After a morning of combat, Zhou Zheng could barely handle five Shadow Wolves at once, which was his current limit.
Such progress, if spread, would definitely be astonishing. Ordinary Third-Stage Martial Artists wouldn't dare be careless even against a single Shadow Wolf. Those who could take on two were already outstanding among martial artists. But now, Zhou Zheng, as an Apprentice Martial Artist, could take on five at once, only sustaining minor injuries, and kill all five Shadow Wolves, his strength comparable to Fourth or Fifth-Stage Martial Artists.
Except for the first and fourth Shadow Wolves, whose pelts were damaged by skill use, the other three still had relatively intact wolf pelts.
Now, Zhou Zheng's backpack contained over a dozen wolf pelts, and his level had increased by more than one. The free points generated were still allocated by Zhou Zheng as 2 Strength and 3 Agility.
Finding a mountain spring, Zhou Zheng washed the dagger and the blood off his hands, then took out some dry food from his backpack and sat on a rock by the spring to eat.
"Display character attributes."
At Level 16, his character attributes were slightly weaker than a Third-Stage Martial Artist, but with the skills of a Rogue, Zhou Zheng's combat power far exceeded the third stage. The claw wounds from the Shadow Wolf were still seeping blood, but Zhou Zheng had bandaged them, the blood staining the gauze red.
Looking at his character's health, which had decreased by over a hundred points, the impact was temporarily negligible, only making Zhou Zheng feel slightly dizzy.
Thinking of the half-pack of Health Recovery Potions in his backpack.
"I wonder if these Health Recovery Potions from the game have any effect on people in reality?"
With a thought, a small bottle, resembling a glass test tube, appeared in Zhou Zheng's hand.
Minor Healing Potion: Restores 120 health points to the target over 6 seconds, 20 points per second.
In Firmament Continent, the Minor Healing Potion was the smallest recovery unit, generally favored by beginners for its affordability and portability. Zhou Zheng had some in stock mainly because his backpack was large enough to carry various potions.
In the game, selecting to use the potion would make it disappear and take effect.
In reality, Zhou Zheng could only use a dagger to pry open the wooden stopper of the potion. The potion was red, with a slightly strange but not unpleasant smell, somewhat similar to the disinfectant smell in hospitals, with a hint of fragrance. The potion was bright, and when shaken, it looked beautiful through the glass bottle.
Dabbing a bit with his hand, he tried applying it to the wound, but apart from a slight cooling sensation, it had no effect.
"Damn, do I have to drink it for it to work?"
After much hesitation, Zhou Zheng gritted his teeth, tilted his head back, and gulped down the potion from the glass test tube-like bottle.
"Hmm, the taste isn't as bad as I imagined, a bit sweet with a slight tang."
As the potion went down, a cool sensation slid down his throat, invigorating him.
Zhou Zheng smacked his lips, holding the empty bottle, feeling like he had just drunk soda. The red potion didn't stain his mouth; wiping it off, it was a transparent red. At least in appearance, it wouldn't make one resist drinking it.
The potion began to take effect.
To Zhou Zheng's astonishment, his wounds were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. It was as if billions of nanobots were repairing the wounds, bit by bit, the claw-induced wounds closing up.
Six seconds later, the warmth disappeared, and although the wound hadn't miraculously healed immediately, compared to before, it was a world of difference.
And Zhou Zheng's lost 100-plus health points were fully restored.
"Shit..."
Zhou Zheng rarely swore, but he couldn't express his current excitement and thrill any other way. No one understood better than Zhou Zheng what the potion meant for him; these potions worked just like in the game, with life-saving effects, and were even more potent in reality.
...
Shadow Wolf Peak.
Tang Lai covered the mouth of a Third-Stage Martial Artist, slashing a dagger across the man's throat, letting the blood gush from the cut without allowing him to make a sound.
Seconds later, as the blood nearly drained, Tang Lai released his grip, letting the Third-Stage Martial Artist slump to the ground.
This was a small hunting squad, three Third-Stage Martial Artists, silently killed by Tang Lai in the forest. As a formal member of the Shadow Organization, he was a top-notch assassin, known as an Assassin by the outside world.
With Tang Lai's strength, killing these three Third-Stage Martial Artists was effortless.
Killing these martial artists was just a casual act for Tang Lai; he didn't want them getting in his way. More importantly, he wanted to keep the changes at Shadow Wolf Peak under wraps for a while, so they wouldn't affect another mission. Compared to that, the task of killing Zhou Zheng seemed somewhat trivial.
"This guy's jungle experience isn't bad."
Tang Lai wiped his dagger, took valuable items from the three martial artists, and disappeared into the forest again.
He had tracked Zhou Zheng to Shadow Wolf Peak, going through great effort to find some of Zhou Zheng's traces. While he admired Zhou Zheng's jungle experience, it didn't concern him too much. A young man, and a useless Apprentice Martial Artist at that, surviving this long at Shadow Wolf Peak was already a miracle.
"A miracle, huh?"
Tang Lai's lips curled, "Let me put an end to this miracle."
...