Volume 1: Chapter 11: -The Deinonychus

The Black Bear had the same elite ranking as the Wandering Gnome Warlock, except the former was one level higher, and it had 320 health points more than the gnome, an incredibly substantial increase.

Generally, a common black bear would weigh about 100 kg. their bodies growing about 2 meters tall. However, this black bear had grown three meters tall, weighing about 200 kg. Even when it was on all fours, it was still taller than a mans chest. Its body was coated by a glossy layer of fur, and its sinewy limbs were filled with strength, no doubt containing a powerful destructive force.

Although this monster has high health and defence, it is not as difficult to deal with as the Wandering Gnome Warlock. Zhang Mu glanced at Qin Min as he asked, Before we take action, we need to rule out the possibility of dangerous terrain. Have you investigated the surrounding area to ensure it is clear yet?

Qin Min replied, Yes, the nearby surroundings are all forested, and towards the northwest, there is a river. Within a five hundred meter radius, there are no visible threats.

Fatty heroically volunteered, Elites are extremely aggressive. Lets not waste time anymore. Boss, let me go up and test myself against it!

Fatty had a huge confidence boost that was most likely due to his continuous leveling up and his superhuman physique. . Therefore, he was unhesitant about risking himself. To fight head on against an Elite, however, was also a sort of training. Zhang Mu agreed with Fatty, but to be safe, he allowed Sun Bing to support him.

Stepping out from within the underbrush, Fatty stepped forward with Sun Bing. The Black Bear had stopped in front of a large tree. Shredding the bark from the tree to find bugs and ants to eat, it did not notice the two people that had approached. At this time, Fatty suddenly accelerated quickly and executed a skill Brutal Charge.

Upon hearing the noise, the Black Bear turned its body with a roar, resulting in a head-on collision. The momentum behind Fatty was equivalent to that of a rhino, forcing the Black Bear to directly smash into the giant tree. Countless trees vibrated from the force of the blow, and countless leaves fell as the loud noise startled nearby birds into flight.

Although the momentum behind the blow was huge, the Black Bear had only lost 21 health points. Fatty raised his axe to chop, hacking open the thick glossy fur at the Black Bears chest and inflicting intermediate injuries in a single blow.

Roar!

The Black Bear exploded into a thunderous rage as it let loose a fierce and brutal roar. its hind legs stomped heavily as it pounced forward. Fatty was too close to dodge, and he was pinned to the ground by the Black Bear. Its ferocious jaw wrenched open the tough leather armour on Fattys shoulder. Fortunately, he had the protection of the leather armour, otherwise Fatty would have had his arm torn off. Even so, Fatty still lost a lot of health. His health dropped steeply over several seconds. With a roar, he picked up the axe with one hand, hacking crazily at the Black Bears head and fractured its skull, leaving it covered in blood.

Sun Bing urgently used Taunt on the bear, causing it to let go of Fattys arm and turn its head towards him as it charged over. However, Sun Bing was not reckless like Fatty. Because of that, while facing the Black Bear, he was a bit at loss, but he subconsciously activated the skill Harden Skin, his skin colour rapidly deepening into a greyish stony texture.

The Black Bear thrusted its palm outwards, smashing brutally against Sun Bings shield and causing him to stagger backwards half a meter. As a result of his stone skin, he experienced no pain as his arm went numb.

It was only a loss of five health!

Such high defence!

Sun Bings confidence in his abilities shot up. To him, 5 health did not count for anything. Just as he lifted his hammer to retaliate, the Black Bear pounced towards him. This time it stood up tall before slamming down with its two paws. A gigantic force slammed into the shield, and Sun Bing buckled, falling to the ground as he rolled 2 meters before coming to a stop. His body was covered in leaves, and he looked extremely disheveled.

As a result of the Black Bears sudden pounce, Sun Bing had been unable to defend in time and lost his shield in the fall.

Reality was very different from virtual reality games. Once the players equipped powerful weapons, it would immediately cause their damage to increase, giving them extremely high offence. Likewise, if a player equipped highly defensive armour, they would immediately become a stable mountain, a powerful tank, to help resist enemy elites.

However reality was very different.

A person with high defence might not have the qualifications to become a meat shield. Likewise, someone with high attack may not be able to assume the role of a damage dealer. Attack and defence were extremely important, but [strength], [agility], [vitality], [spirit] and other attributes also had a decisive influence. A kitchen knife in a three-year-olds hand bore no offensive power. No matter how good the equipment or how high the defence, if the user did not have the prerequisite abilities, they would not know how to unleash its power. However, if a player had high attributes, they could still perform decently with average equipment.

Even though Sun Bing had decent defence, allowing him to act as a human meat shield, his vitality was not high enough. Therefore the Black Bears strength was too great, resulting in him easily being brought to the ground.

Fatty roared as he charged over. Raising his axe, he left four deep scars on the Black Bear. Blood stained its fur a messy patch of red. Fattys attack power and strength was quite good; however, the Black Bears health was too high. It still had 85% of its health points remaining.

The Black Bear gave up on attacking Sun Bing, pouncing towards Fatty instead. Fatty had already experienced this attack and was careful to keep some distance. He avoided its bite and used its forward momentum to leave a deep wound on its belly. Although the Black Bear failed its bite, Fattys dodge was jerky and flawed. This gave the Black Bear the chance to slam a paw down on his chest. The bears strength was too great, and the bear dealt 20 damage despite Fattys protective armour, causing Fattys health to drop straight to 50% and fracturing several ribs in the process.

Sun Bing hurriedly attacked the Black Bear, temporarily attracting its attention. Fatty was extremely violent. Even though he was bleeding from his mouth and nose, he continuously swung the axe to attack. The two sides fought for two or three minutes. The Black Bears health dropped to 70%. While the two men had taken serious injuries, they were completely outclassed by the Black Bear.

Zhang Mu spoke in a low voice, With their equipment and skills, it is definitely possible for them to defeat the Black Bear. Only, they are uncoordinated and unskilled in using their strength and in grasping the monsters attack rhythm.

Leng Yun nodded thoughtfully.

Qin Min exclaimed, Captain Mu Tou, Senior Uncle Fatty looks like he is in trouble!

Zhang Mu retrieved his dagger, I will go fight it; you guys watch closely. In fact, this monster is quite weak.

Zhang Mu jumped out from the bushes. Standing on one of the tree trunks that had fallen to the side, he activated his skill Quick Step. He ran along the trunk as he charged over. The Black Bear was in the midst of overpowering the steadily retreating Sun Bing when it suddenly heard a sound from the side. Immediately, it turned its head to look. Zhang Mu strongly leapt up, using inertia to jump downwards towards the Bear like a great eagle in the midst of flight.

Before the Black Bear was able to let loose a roar, the dagger flew forward and buried itself in the creatures eye. No matter whether it was strength or attack, Zhang Mu was not like Fatty. He could easily deal a fatal strike in one blow, erasing 10% of the Black Bears health. The Black Bear clutched it eyes, screaming in pain as it fell backwards.

Zhang Mu quickly wrenched out the dagger. Light reflected off the blade as it moved like a barb attacking the weak and critical parts of the monster. This resulted in a string of injuries that halted the Black Bears offensive momentum. Even though the bear was blinded in its right eye, felt constant waves of nausea, and was possibly brain damaged, however, it would not die as long as its health did not hit zero.

The Black Bear immediately stabilised its body as it furiously counterattacked. However, Zhang Mu agilely avoided its attacks, hiding in its blind spot while viciously stabbing at it. The Black Bear was beaten into a pathetic state. Its became body covered in seventeen stab wounds. The bear was covered in its own blood and left with 40% health. However, from start to finish, it had not managed to brush Zhang Mu once.

AOOO!

When its health dropped to 30%, the Black Bear savagely roared, its body inflating rapidly in size. Its fur radiated a faint red light as from head to toe, it emitted a savage berserk atmosphere.

It actually has the ability to go berserk?

When the Black Bear went into a berserk mode, its agility, strength, attack power all rose dramatically. No need to talk about strength or attack, even its agility was equal to Zhang Mus. However, Zhang Mu did not panic in the slightest. He had completely grasped the Black Bears battle rhythm, seemingly dodging at the very last second before every attack, retreating as he fought back to the woods, and using the rocks and trees to hamper the Black Bear. Suddenly, Zhang Mu grasped an opportunity and stabbed the bears left eye.

In the end, the bear finally collapsed to the floor, dropping an item.

Zhang Mu picked it up to take a look. His luck could be considered quite good; a piece of clothing had dropped.

[Bear Leather Armour] (Ordinary Black Iron), requires level 5, +6 defense, +3 spell resistance, +5 maximum health, 20/20 durability.

This was a level 5 Black Iron Equipment. As such, it had better attributes than Fattys leather armour. Because of the level, however, it could not be currently equipped. Zhang Mu had killed the Black Bear, so he got a large majority of the experience. His experience bar rose to about 50%, basically double of the others.

Zhang Mu stored the leather armor in his backpack, leaving it for use at level 5.

Leng Yun helped Fatty and Sun Bing cure their injuries.

Fatty spoke with a face full of worship, This bear was way stronger than common monsters. That battle really hurt, but Boss is also strong too. He dealt with it like it was a game.

Having just fought a battle, Zhang Mu was quite exhausted. Did you guys understand what I meant?

Leng Yun nodded her head. Her bright eyes flashed as she spoke, Although I understood a little, without your skill, I will never be able to fight like that.

The key is to develop awareness of the fight. As long as you have enough awareness, you will be able to quickly hone your skills, Zhang Mu paused before he continued. Your job is an Elemental Mage. Therefore, your style of combat is very different from close, physical combat occupations. However, good awareness is universal in all strong individuals. Remember the feel of battling and grasp the rhythm of the attacks.Consequently, you can easily match up against even stronger foes.

The group thoughtfully pondered his words.

During this battle, Fattys performance wasnt too bad. He had displayed the qualities of a berserker, both fierce and courageous. After suffering a setback, he had changed his way of fighting. Sun Bing had performed poorly, but at least he knew how to distract the enemy when Fatty looked like he was in a dangerous situation.

Truly strong individuals were tempered through the fire and flames of battle, but with the knowledge that Zhang Mu imparted in advance, they might be able to survive longer. Whether or not they survived elimination, it wasnt something he could change.

Zhang Mu tidied up for a while before he spoke, The smell of blood will attract trouble; we cannot stay here for long, lets go!

Just as the five people were about to leave, an urgent voice resounded from the northeast.

There is something close by!

Several men and women charged out from the forest. Their bodies were covered in cuts and bruises, and their clothing was torn by thorns and branches as they charged through the trees. On their faces were expressions of terror as they desperately ran. It was like there was something terrible chasing them.

Ow!

A grey coloured silhouette leapt over the lush shrubs. It swooped overhead, pouncing through the air and bit into a woman. This woman was about 20 years old, and her body and face were both quite pretty. When the monster bit into her shoulder, she immediately fell to the ground screaming. Several identical monsters charged over, tearing her into three pieces in two minutes, splattering blood all over the trees, and painting an extremely bloody picture.

These monsters were about 90 cm in height with a very long rear tail, stretching about three meters from head to tail. Their front legs were very short, and they had extremely sharp claws. Their hind legs were extremely strong while their maws were covered in razor sharp teeth. With a cold light gleaming in their eyes, their appearances were exactly the same as that of the legendary dinosaurs!

Fatty shouted in shock, Holy shit, its a dinosaur!

[Deinonychus] (Bronze Ranked Elite), level 7, 450 health points, 200 mana points, attributes: ??, skills: ??

Level 7 Bronze Elite!

Even though they could not count the number of monsters clearly, it was visibly more than ten!

At that moment, they pounced on a middle aged man; their sharp claws disemboweled him causing his intestines to spill onto the ground and cover his body in blood. He did not die, however, but continued to struggle desperately. Hysterically, he screamed for help, AH! Save me! Please save me! I beg you, save

Before he could finish speaking, he had already been torn to shreds by the vicious deinonychus.

Zhang Mus face fell, visibly paling as he shouted, Quick, run!

He had no expectations!

They were only level 4 players. No matter what, they would not be able to fight off a group of bronze elites!

Deinonychus were level 7 bronze elites. They had mediocre defence and health, but they also had extremely high agility. For the current players, they had no way of outrunning the Deinonychus. If they gave in to their fears and dissolved into panic during their escape, they would all be slaughtered by the Deinonychus.

Zhang Mu urgently racked his brains. Suddenly a thought struck him, There is a river to the northwest; Deinonychus cant swim!

The desperate people could only clutch at straws, and they ran towards the northeast en masse.

One middle aged auntie was not fit enough and was caught by the Deinonychus. They tore the flesh from her living body as they dug into her. The middle aged auntie fell to the ground, struggling for a brief moment before she was torn to shreds.

This scared the living daylights out of the rest of the people.

At that moment, a Deinonychus swooped from the flank, abruptly slipping into the crowd. With a push from its powerful hind legs, it viciously chomped down on Leng Yuns backpack. The force of the impact threw her to the ground as several Deinonychus charged forward from the back.