Mo Feng respawned, trembling from uncertain emotions raging through his body. He had contemplated many times after his body materialized in the space—he had debated logging out of this torture and ending the game—but the constant thought of him owing 50 thousand dollars stopped him from doing that.
Turning his head 45 degrees up, Mo Feng sighed in depression before slumping on his butt with his hand holding his chin. The constant death toll had taken a toll on his mental health. It felt depressing, including the pain that came in sudden spikes before going away.
After spending 10 minutes without moving from his location, Mo Feng stood up and walked forward, this time determined to change his fate of minute-long survival.
As he walked across the now stony expanse, Mo Feng took in the view of his new surroundings, which, according to the system, was 1.4 kilometers northwest of the earlier location. Looking at the rocky surroundings, it felt in contrast to the name given to it by the system: Wolf Pack Territory.
"Do wolves live in mountains?" Mo Feng murmured silently as he stepped on stone after stone, moving across the rocky region.
After 30 minutes of walking across the rocky plains, Mo Feng came to a stop as the air movement suddenly became stagnant. The continuous circle of death had left his senses high on alert and very sensitive to changes in the environment.
Awooo!! Vigilantly staring around, a loud howl of a wolf caused him to jump back in fright.
Awoo! Awoo!! Awoo!!!
As he followed the direction of the sound with his eyes, Mo Feng's mouth couldn't stop itself from twitching as his eyes went wide open.
Standing 30 meters away from him was a pack of wolves, each one standing 3 meters high while crouching on top of rocks. Seeing Mo Feng intrude into their territory, the wolves with their sensitive noses picked up his smell from far away. The wolves, which were originally lazing around on the rocks, immediately stood up, bared their fangs, and began to close in on him.
Mo Feng did not even bother trying to evade or fight back as the wolves with rocky-like bodies closed in within a few sprints.
ROAR!! The six monsters roared simultaneously as they pounced on his immobile body.
Lv42 Mountain Jade Wolf materialized in front of him as one of the wolf's rocky claws clamped onto his leg before throwing him into the sky. As he went up, he met another wolf's jaw awaiting him in the air.
[Kiss of the Rock: ????? Damage]
[DEATH 6/11]
[FINAL RESURRECTION WARNING]
Tomorrow: 24hr Login Ban
Corpse Location: 2km Southeast [Wolf Plain]
Timer: 1:59
Mo Feng stared at the ceiling, his breathing ragged in the spectral state. Six deaths, one hour of total playtime. And the worst part was, this was his fifth death today, his final chance at being only look glaring to him.
"Fatty's probably Lv5 or more now, tanking damage with his body," he whispered. "Song Bai might have gotten his chainmail. And here I am... monster dishes."
Ding!
Compensation Alert flashed on his screen.
[New Player Death Compensation]
+6 Resurrection Chances (Total: 5/11)
[Uncharted Sector: Difficulty Confirmed]
The system, which had been sending him red alerts all this while, finally became humane as it sent him a different one—this one glowing blue. It felt like divine melodies to his ears as the notification rang out. Mo Feng grinned through tears.
The beasts and players' levels in Immortal World Online are divided into 5 ranks, starting from Rank E being the lowest, then Rank D, Rank C, Rank B, and finally Rank A being the highest. Each of these ranks is further divided into 10 levels, and players level up as in the usual practice with other VR games—i.e., by gaining EXP from killing monsters.
Monsters and beasts in Rank B are regarded as elite-tier monsters, while those in the highest rank are called legendary-grade monsters. While there might be monsters within low ranks with these titles, these are different from the grade. Titled beasts are monsters with special bloodlines, special physiques, or some unique power. They might also be heirs to legendary-rank beings and thus are awarded special titles.
Currently, there are four known titles given to monsters or beasts: Elite Class, Commander Class, King Class, and Legendary Class. These tiers or class titles aren't representative of their power level but something unique about them, which gives them additional stats. For instance, a Lv1 bat might have an attack of 10 for a normal class beast, while a similar-level bat with an Elite Class title might have an attack in the range of 15-20, depending on the type of bloodline. A Lv1 Legendary Class bat attack might reach up to 50, which can take Mo Feng out in just two hits. Thus, the level and bloodline matter to monsters and beasts.
Rumors have it that above the legendary grade or Rank 50, there is an elusive level which would increase a player's cultivation might tremendously, enabling him or her to contend with more than a thousand legendary-grade monsters.
The random spawning variation this time around had dropped him 2 kilometers from his previous death zone. This new area looked slightly better—lush green grass filled the plain with hills dotting it here and there. Mo Feng had been walking for over 30 minutes now and hadn't come across the sight of any monster.
It would be great if I could survive for one hour! Mo Feng thought while vigilantly roaming the area in search of a safe area to log out of the game. Once someone logs out, that person would appear at the same position where they had logged out. With this place teeming with dens and colonies of elite and legendary-rank monsters, Mo Feng didn't dare log out casually.
"Who knows what I will meet when I log back in?" Mo Feng muttered while chewing on a grass blade he had plucked on the way to moisten his parched throat.
I hope I don't log back in, in the mouth or stomach of a beast... Is there nowhere safe for me to stay? Mo Feng grumbled silently after failing to discover any place that looked safe and hidden from plain sight. Despite the hills dotting the new environment, the place looked more planar than the previous plain area. As he sat on one of the hills, Mo Feng contemplated whether he should just log out here, after seeing how quiet and peaceful it was.
Sigh! Why did I cho—
Roar!!
A loud and furious roar interrupted Mo Feng. Without any slight hesitation, he ducked down into the grass, using the 10-meter-high hill to cover himself, fear coursing through his every being.
Bang! Bang! Bang!! The sound of something colliding against another reverberated throughout the plain, drawing closer and closer to each other. Whatever was making those collisions was probably a humanoid-shaped beast. Feeling the constant tremor and shaking of the earth from the stampede of the monsters, sweat fell like a tide on Mo Feng's bare back.
Roar! Lost in fright, another cry shocked him awake—much louder and deadlier as it caused him to go deaf. The only thing he could hear was the piercing ring of the wind. Taking a peek to see what was happening, Mo Feng's mouth slackened open in shock.
There in front of him, two tower-like existences—their height contending with the tallest trees in the area—were furiously clashing with each other. The sound of their fists against each other felt like nuclear bomb explosions, and their constant roars felt no different.
Above the two Lv45 Bloodrage Apes, a Lv52 Sandstorm Hawk circled overhead, occasionally crying in tandem with the two warring beasts. Suddenly, the two beasts separated, their chests heaving up and down as their bloodlike hair glistened with blood dripping from various wounds on their bodies.
Roar! Roar! Before Mo Feng could register why they suddenly stopped, the two apes roared at each other before unleashing a punch toward the other. The air distorted from the sheer power packed behind their punches.
BOOM! This time, the sound was entirely different from the usual bang as the two fists created a tornado of shockwaves that spiraled outward. Mo Feng's vision darkened as the shockwave destroyed everything in its path, turning the environment from lush green to a battle-worn area.
Thirty minutes had passed after resurrecting. This time, he had spawned 10 kilometers from the Goldleaf Hill region—the area of the two beasts who sent him to death—causing him to fail in reaching a new achievement of surviving for an hour. Mo Feng did not bother getting up from his squatting position. He remained there, drawing circles on the floor with his fingers as tears threatened to drop from his eyes.
Sigh! Why can't I just be left alone? Curse this game!!!