—-
Kieran wasn’t too delighted with the fact these wolves were all normal. One of the reasons he moved so deep into the Fanged Forest was to encounter Elite monsters at the very least. Sadly, up until this very moment, all of the monsters Kieran observed were just Normal monsters.
Kieran desired Elite monsters because they rewarded more experience than Normal monsters and had higher chances of dropping equipment above the Uncommon grade. As one ascended the monster ranking spectrum, the chances of increasing better gear increase proportionally.
Granted, Boss monster drop rates eclipsed regular monsters, but they appeared in a relatively smaller volume.
Nevertheless, monster ranks played a significant role in determining how much Experience was rewarded to a player. Generally speaking, an Elite monster would reward at least 50% more Experience for the increase in difficulty. It was even typical for this number to increase under certain conditions.
‘If not for this quest, I would’ve just partied with Altair and annihilated this field. Tch, sometimes quests are just irritating,’ Kieran inwardly noted. Since there wasn’t much he could do, Kieran could only suck it up and deal with the enemies before him. At least, the considerable level difference would neutralize some of his complaints.
Kieran’s greatsword materialized as he immediately activated Warrior’s Aura. Any damage inflicted while using a heavy weapon would receive an 18% boost. Coupled with the fact Savage Break dealt severe damage, Kieran was impatient to test the effects of using these skills used in tandem.
Therefore, Kieran used Charge to shorten the distance between him and the nearest Fierce Wolf. It was too far to connect the stunning effect, but Kieran didn’t mind because it was only used as a utility vehicle. Afterward, he swung his greatsword downward.
BOOM…!-.
The violent aura of the Savage Break appeared around his weapon as a frightening noise echoed throughout the Fanged Forst. While the attack reduced the wolf’s defenses, resulting in more damage, the attack simultaneously triggered a Critical Hit!
-449! [Critical]
After factoring in all of the effects, including the monster’s defense value, Kieran’s one attack vaporized nearly 90% of the wolf’s health. Granted, beast-type monsters weren’t known for their defenses, so it was fairly easy to overcome their defense values as long as the attacker’s Attack Power sufficed.
Still, accomplishing this against a monster four levels higher than oneself was an admirable feat. The wolf was left in a weakened state after losing a tremendous amount of health in a short timeframe, so Kieran ended it with a simple thrust through its body.
〈System: You have gained 100 Experience. [Experience: 300/400]〉
The last three wolves, which disappointedly rewarded 50 Experience, only filled up his experience halfway before leaving. Now, Kieran received double the amount of experience for admittedly the same amount of work. The increased skill level essentially negated the extra health and defense.
Of course, the critical played a vital role as well since it was challenging to inflict. In Zenith Online, there were only two ways to achieve a critical hit. The first was through the blossoming hyper-reality aspect of the game, where the attack simply needed to overpower the opponent’s defense to the point where even their natural defenses couldn’t withstand it.
The alternative option was to increase one’s critical rate. If the maximum hit rate was reached, then one could virtually unleash a critical attack with every attack. However, they would only be basic critical attacks at best unless said player possessed absolutely monstrous attributes.
According to Kieran’s knowledge, despite it not being shown on the status screen, the base critical chance was 4%. That meant every attack had a four percent chance of inflicting critical damage. As for the modifier, its fundamental value was 150%.
“That’s the eighth one,” Kieran said to himself, noting his quest progress. He flung his arm, shaking the remnants of wolf blood off his weapon. Suddenly, he slashed his sword downward, leaving a massive gash on the back of the wolf that sprang towards him next.
-96
Kieran’s attack consumed nearly one-fifth of Feral Wolf’s health after factoring in its 30 Defense. Despite this matter, Kieran disposed of the monster with relative ease by incorporating the Warrior’s four fundamental skills―Upward Slash, Charge, Heavy Slash, and Thrust. Using these skills, Kieran unleashed a string of basic attacks in a fluid chain, depleting the wolf’s health bar in a matter of seconds.
As a result, Kieran leveled up.
〈System: You have gained 100 Experience.〉
〈System: You have leveled up! [Lv.3 → Lv.4]〉
〈System: You have received 5 Unassigned Attribute Points and 2 Skill Points.〉
A small smile appeared across Kieran’s face as he looked towards the numerous wolves appearing from the trees in the distance. Although they numbered more than a dozen, Kieran didn’t mind.
Currently, his stamina was around four-fifths full, which was more than enough to deal with these foes as long as he didn’t perform any exaggerated movements.
As a result, Kieran added all accessible UAP in a way that maximized his solo efficiency.
〈System: You have used 4 Unassigned Attribute Points. [Strength: 26 → 30]〉
〈System: You have used 5 Unassigned Attribute Points. [Agility: 25 → 30]〉
〈System: You have used 5 Unassigned Attribute Points. [Control: 25 → 30]〉
Accordingly, Kieran’s Attack Power increased to 73, but despite the marginal increase and strength and speed, Kieran felt a palpable difference. Increasing his Strength, Agility, and Control in unison in a 1:1:1 ratio allowed the player to exude their physical prowess at maximum efficiency.
Allowing your Control to fall behind the other combat-oriented attributes would negatively impact a character in the long run. The wider the disparity in these stats, the harder one’s brain had to compensate when controlling the character’s action. Hence, a higher control factor lightened the mental load.
Of course, there were other hidden factors, but they couldn’t be addressed as of yet because this basic form of VR equipment couldn’t precipitate those effects. Kieran and anyone, in general, would need a higher synchronization rate to maximize their battle abilities. Therefore, he reckoned he could do no more than 2% of what he formerly could.
The Warrior’s Aura surrounding Kieran blazed with a fiery cerulea
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