When Lin Mo stepped back onto the hard bluestone streets of the City of Glory, the midday sun dispelled the last trace of chill from the Shadow Sanctuary clinging to him. The warm light bathed his entire body, giving him the illusion that he had been reborn into a different era.
He subconsciously squinted, adjusting to the long-absent light. Surrounding him were bustling players; the sounds of hawking, haggling, and skill clashes intertwined, forming the most vibrant picture of the epoch world.
Everything seemed unchanged.
But Lin Mo knew that everything had become fundamentally different.
He looked down at his hands. His equipment was still the slightly shabby mixed leather armor set, and his weapon was the unremarkable Bronze Dagger. Yet, his own perception had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.
Before, he was a sharp blade hidden in its sheath, keeping his edge contained, moving cautiously step by step. But now, he felt like a walking shadow, a death shadow capable of unleashing the most Deadly Poison at any moment!
The world became more three-dimensional in his perception. The boundary between light and shadow was clearer than ever before; he could even instinctively judge which corner shadow was the deepest and best for hiding, and which gap in the crowd was the widest and easiest to pass through.
This was the powerful perception brought by Shadow's Protection.
"First, I need to find a place to test my new strength."
Lin Mo was not in a hurry to seek trouble with the Mad Dragon or Overlord Guilds. Although his confidence was soaring, he was not a reckless fool who would be blinded by power. Even a lion uses its full strength against a rabbit. Before actively revealing his fangs, he had to ensure those fangs were sharp enough, deadly enough.
He opened his map, his gaze quickly sweeping over the Leveling Areas surrounding the City of Glory.
Level 15's Wolf Slope? The monsters are too weak; I won't be able to test my limits.
Level 20's Wailing Mines? The terrain is too narrow, unsuitable for utilizing an Assassin's mobility.
Finally, his gaze locked onto a 20-25 level area—the Moonlight Forest.
This forest was known for its complex environment and diverse monster types. The dense woods and dim light naturally formed countless shadowy areas, making it an Assassin's paradise. More importantly, most of the monsters here were Demonized Creatures, possessing considerable HP and attack power, making them excellent Whetstones.
Having made up his mind, Lin Mo wasted no time and immediately set off for the Teleportation Array outside the city.
Ten minutes later, he stepped into the boundaries of the Moonlight Forest.
Unlike the bustle of the city, this place was eerily quiet. Giant tree canopies blocked out the sky and sun, cutting the sunlight into countless mottled fragments that scattered onto the thick layer of decaying leaves. The air was permeated with a damp smell, mixed with earth and rotting vegetation.
"Stealth!"
With a thought from Lin Mo, the air around his body seemed to undergo a subtle, imperceptible distortion. His entire figure instantly became transparent and illusory, finally merging silently into the surrounding shadows.
A wondrous, unprecedented feeling surged into his heart.
He felt as if he had become the wind, the shadow, a part of this forest. He could clearly see everything around him, yet everything around him seemed to overlook his presence.
"Is this... what it feels like to be an Assassin?"
Excitement surged in Lin Mo's heart as he tried moving his feet. Under the enhancement of Shadow's Protection, his movement speed in the shadows did not decrease; instead, it slightly increased, and he moved silently, like a ghost.
He quickly spotted his first target.
That was a massive Moonlight Demon Wolf, Level 22, currently napping under a tree. Its body was covered in bluish-black fur, and corrosive saliva occasionally dripped from its mouth, burning small pits into the ground.
If this were before his class change, facing this kind of Elite Monster, Lin Mo would need to carefully kite, maneuver, and spend several minutes slowly grinding it down.
But now... a cold curve appeared at the corner of Lin Mo's mouth.
Silently, he slowly approached from the shadow behind the Demon Wolf. Ten meters, eight meters, five meters... the target remained completely unaware.
Now!
Shadow Strike!
The moment the skill activated, Lin Mo's figure seemed to instantly dissolve in place, and the next moment, he had appeared like a ghost behind the Moonlight Demon Wolf!
The Bronze Dagger in his hand, enhanced by the Abyssal Gaze effect of the mentor's ring, flashed with a sinister dark golden light, plunging fiercely into the soft nape of the Demon Wolf's neck like a viper's fang!
-856!
A terrifying scarlet critical hit damage figure violently erupted above the Moonlight Demon Wolf's head!
150% base skill damage, plus the 30% effect bonus from the Stealth state, coupled with the critical hit, this single blow instantly wiped out nearly a quarter of this Elite Monster's HP!
"Awooo—!" The Moonlight Demon Wolf let out a mournful howl, jolting awake from its sleep and turning to bite back. But the "Crippling" effect attached to Shadow Strike made its movements incredibly sluggish.
As for Lin Mo, the moment the attack landed, he had already activated another core skill.
Poisoned Weapon!
His Bronze Dagger was instantly covered in a flowing, seemingly sentient, dark green halo.
Taking advantage of the 3-second stiffness from the Demon Wolf being Crippled, Lin Mo's body clung tightly to the wolf's side like a parasitic infection. The dagger in his hand turned into streaks of swift phantoms, frantically slicing into the Demon Wolf's body!
-88! [Poison -25!]
-92! [Poison -25!]
-175! (Critical Hit!) [Poison -25!]
... A dense string of damage numbers, accompanied by notifications of Poison Stacking, frantically appeared above the Demon Wolf's head.
After activating Poisoned Weapon, every one of his basic attacks could inflict (20 + Intelligence * 0.2) poison damage, which amounted to 41 points. More importantly, every attack applied a stack of Endless Poison Source poison to the target!
In just three seconds, Lin Mo swung his dagger at least five times!
The Moonlight Demon Wolf's HP plummeted like a floodgate opening. It finally recovered from the Crippling status, furiously brandishing its sharp claws and viciously swiping them down toward Lin Mo, who was right beside it!
Facing this powerful blow, Lin Mo's eyes showed no fluctuation.
Just before the wolf's claw was about to touch his body, he activated the second Divine Skill attached to the mentor's ring.
Poison Shadow Shift!
In an instant, his body transformed into a puddle of pure, non-corporeal shadow, perfectly merging into the tree shadow beneath his feet.
-MISS!
The Moonlight Demon Wolf's fatal blow missed without question, the immense force even carving three deep trenches into the ground.
It looked around blankly, completely unable to understand why that hateful human had suddenly vanished into thin air.
Five seconds of Invulnerability Duration passed in a flash.
When Lin Mo's figure reformed from the shadow, he had forcibly entered the Stealth state and appeared on the other side of the Demon Wolf.
At this moment, the Moonlight Demon Wolf's head was already topped with a bright red '12' stack poison marker!
Its HP was rapidly dropping at a speed exceeding 300 points per second, and due to the presence of the Corrosion effect, its defense was also continuously being weakened.
"The game is over." Lin Mo's cold voice sounded like the judgment of death.
He locked his gaze onto the number of poison stacks above the Demon Wolf's head and activated the true Finishing Move he had long awaited!
Poison Burst!
Buzz—!
An invisible, destructive wave suddenly exploded, centered on the Moonlight Demon Wolf!
The 12 layers of Deadly Poison on its body, which had yet to fully activate, were instantly detonated at this moment, transforming into the purest, most violent damage!
-1580!
A four-digit damage figure that made even Lin Mo's own heart jump violently rose above the Moonlight Demon Wolf's head!
"Awoo..." The massive body of the Moonlight Demon Wolf suddenly stiffened. All movement and all sound ceased abruptly at that moment. Its copper-bell-like eyes were filled with disbelief and endless terror. Finally, the light faded, and it crashed heavily onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
[System Notification: You have killed the Moonlight Demon Wolf (Elite). Experience gained +1200.]
Instant Kill!
A Level 22 Elite Monster that gave countless Level 18 and 19 five-person teams headaches was completely instantly killed by Lin Mo in a crushing manner, taking less than ten seconds from the start of the fight to the finish!
This is the Shadow of Deadly Poison!
A perfect killing machine that integrates Stealth, sudden attack, crowd control, sustained damage output, invulnerability, and burst damage!
"Hoo..." Lin Mo slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, suppressing the excitement surging in his heart. He walked forward and skillfully picked up the few Silver Coins and a piece of Common Equipment dropped by the Demon Wolf.
Just then, rustling footsteps and player voices came from the woods nearby.
"Hey, did you guys hear that wolf howl just now? It sounded like it came from this direction."
"Must be some blind team that aggroed the Moonlight Demon Wolf, right? Serves them right, that beast is nasty."
"Let's go take a look. Maybe we can snag some leftovers."
Lin Mo's eyes flashed. Without hesitation, he activated Stealth again, and his figure silently disappeared into the shadow of the nearby bushes.
A moment later, a five-person player team walked out of the woods, cursing under their breath. When they saw the Demon Wolf corpse on the ground, which was still warm, they all froze.
"Holy crap! There really was a Demon Wolf, and it just died!"
"Who did this? That fast? They didn't even have time to gather the corpse?"
The Warrior leading the team, whose ID was Fierce Dragon ext{丶} Overlord Sword, frowned. He walked over to the Demon Wolf corpse to check it, and his expression instantly became extremely grave.
"Killed in One Blow... The nape of the neck was the fatal wound, but the true cause of death was some kind of energy that instantly burst inside the body... This... What kind of attack method is this?"
The Priest in the team also exclaimed, "Captain, look at the Combat Log! The speed at which this Demon Wolf lost HP is too bizarre! It was small amounts of damage initially, then suddenly, the HP Bar was instantly emptied!"
Overlord Sword's face grew increasingly ugly. He suddenly raised his head and shouted sternly, "Who's there! Get out here!"
His gaze was fixed intently on the bushes where Lin Mo was hiding.
In the shadow behind the bushes, Lin Mo's eyes instantly turned cold and piercing. People from the Mad Dragon Guild?
Talk about... enemies meeting on a narrow road.
He neither revealed himself nor left. He remained perfectly still, lurking in the shadows like the most patient hunter, his cold gaze already locked onto the next prey.
Once the newborn fangs begin to drink blood, they will not easily stop.