A fresh sea breeze blew across Xiao Hua's face, revealing a vast expanse of shimmering azure ocean before him!
At a time when the Frozen Guild was facing its demise, Xiao Hua arrived at a beautiful seaside, four hours away from Black Mist City by riding a land bird at full speed.
The azure sea glistened under the sky, with gentle waves carrying refreshing sea breezes towards the shore lined with white sand. The waves crashed against the sandy beach, producing a soft rustling sound. Standing on the picturesque sandy beach and gazing out at the endless sea, Xiao Hua felt a sense of boundless tranquility and vastness!
Aerlan Continent is actually a collection of numerous islands separated by oceans. On the other side of the sea lies another continent, inhabited by players from different regions. After the regions merged, players who could pass the test of the sea could reach other continents!
Xiao Hua hadn't traveled so far to admire the beautiful sea or dream of crossing it to wreak havoc elsewhere.
Three days ago, after Xiao Hua made considerable progress in his control skills fighting Goblins, he found that he could almost fight them without taking any damage while maintaining rhythm. Feeling that further combat with Goblins wouldn't help his training, Xiao Hua left the Goblin spawn area and advanced further to find Rockmen, level 40 monsters.
Although Rockmen were level 40 monsters, they had high attack power but slow speed. Xiao Hua trained with Rockmen for two days. Initially, he struggled to adapt to their attack patterns but soon became fully accustomed to them. With Rockmen's slow movements and single-pattern attacks, Xiao Hua could easily handle them without distraction.
After fighting Rockmen, Xiao Hua realized that monsters, acting based on programmed behavior, were not challenging enough. While different monsters had varying attributes, their predictable patterns made them easier to defeat once familiarized with them. Such battles did not significantly improve his skills.
So, Xiao Hua headed to the seaside, where the waves would affect movement. In the water, characters move slower, and the deeper the water, the greater the reduction in speed. When the waves receded, characters would move faster on land. This constant change in speed would provide a dynamic environment for training control skills.
After walking along the coast for a long time, Xiao Hua found a spot where Sea Snakes, level 40 monsters, spawned. These snakes were the lowest-level creatures among coastal monsters.
The Sea Snakes were pure white, with bodies the size of arms. They lazily basked in the sun on the beach, unmoved by the waves crashing over them as if rooted in the white sand.
Xiao Hua engaged in combat with a Sea Snake and found it to be the ideal opponent! With low defense, moderate health, high agility, and fast attack speed, battling Sea Snakes would not hinder his experience gain, Blackstone currency collection, or control training. If he could maintain control in the changing conditions caused by the waves, he would make significant progress!
...
-230!
A red damage number floated above Xiao Hua's head.
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
"With these waves, it's hard to control!" When the waves hit, Xiao Hua felt a delay in his footsteps, causing him to make mistakes and get hit by the Sea Snake's attacks.
Stepping back to evade the frequent attacks, Xiao Hua drank a health potion and charged forward again. With the waves affecting his movements, especially when the water reached his calves, controlling his body became challenging. He had to drink a health potion after dealing with two to three Sea Snakes, consuming potions rapidly.
Despite getting hit repeatedly, Xiao Hua did not lose heart. This was exactly the challenge he needed! When he could fight Sea Snakes as smoothly as he fought Goblins, he would reap great rewards!
During the battles with Goblins and Rockmen, Xiao Hua's movements had a clear rhythm. However, the waves disrupted this rhythm, making his movements disjointed and irregular, indicating that he still had a long way to go to achieve true control!
Realizing this, Xiao Hua trained harder, reflecting on each battle as he had done with Goblins, striving for greater improvement!
Four to five days passed in intense training.
As night faded, dawn appeared on the distant horizon. The sun rose, spreading warm light.
The crimson morning light shone on Xiao Hua, casting a long shadow. This shadow moved rhythmically, battling another shadow, unaffected by the waves washing over it, maintaining a steady pace!
"Haha! That was exhilarating!" The moving shadow stopped as Xiao Hua looked at the dead Sea Snake, feeling a sense of relief!
Five days! It took him five days, but he finally felt he was making progress! Fighting Sea Snakes in the waves, he could now maintain control regardless of the depth of the water. While the waves still affected him, he could naturally adjust his steps, making attacks and evasions smoother.
Though far from perfect, he was satisfied with his progress. Each battle with Sea Snakes still resulted in one or two hits, but he felt content with his quick improvement.
Another Sea Snake died, dropping a Blackstone coin. Picking it up, Xiao Hua realized he had collected 1,000 coins, completing the quest "Hazha's Commission." He could proceed to the next step!
His backpack was nearly empty of potions, so after consuming the last few potions fighting Sea Snakes, Xiao Hua returned to Black Mist City.
"Oh, young man, thank you so much. You must have spent a lot of time collecting these Blackstone coins! Here's your reward!" Upon returning to Hazha, he greeted Xiao Hua with a smile.
System Prompt: You completed the quest "Hazha's Commission"!
System Prompt: You received the item "Underground Arena Pass"!
"This item, though obtainable by anyone with effort, allows you to gain unique items if you have the necessary strength! The entrance to the underground arena is outside the city walls. Take this pass to a beautiful lady named Lea. She will give you more information. Please tell her that the young and promising Hazha is eagerly awaiting her lovely reply!" Hazha instructed solemnly.
"Unique items?" Xiao Hua asked.
"Yes! Unique items you can earn through your own strength. It's not within my jurisdiction, so I can't reveal more. However, if Lea approves, she won't mind showing you the items."
"What is the underground arena?" Xiao Hua inquired.
"The underground arena is a magical place, especially for you fighters. Even if you die in battle, gods will revive you without any loss!" Hazha explained straightforwardly.
The underground arena seemed to be a death-free PK stage. As for the unique items, Xiao Hua guessed what they might be: Killer Badges!
Without a doubt, the unique items in Black Mist City would be Killer Badges!
Curious about the Killer Badge, Xiao Hua decided to investigate further.
Arriving at the underground arena entrance, Xiao Hua entered without any hindrance. He descended the narrow spiral staircase. The entrance was tight, barely fitting two people side-by-side, with walls made of hard gray-black stones.At regular intervals, a dim magic lamp would light up on the wall, illuminating the stairs.
The spiral staircase extended downward into the darkness. After nearly twenty minutes, the staircase finally reached the bottom, revealing a small stone archway ahead.
Light emanated from the archway, indicating the entrance to the underground arena.
Xiao Hua quickened his pace and passed through the archway.
Bright light instantly flooded his vision, blinding him momentarily. After a few seconds, his eyes adjusted, and he was astonished by what he saw!