Dinner was over, and everyone had returned to their rooms, but Lu Xuehan called out to me, saying, "Lin Fan, Sister Lin is also thinking of everyone, so please don't take it to heart..."
I smiled, "It's fine. Who knows when it'll be possible to form a party? I'm more worried about not being able to wait for Sister Lin to reach 10,000 reputation ~"
Lu Xuehan nodded, smiled slightly, and said, "Then let's go online, the mission time is almost up."
I smiled and walked into my room. After all, I'm just an employee, so why bother about whether I get an employee ID card or not? Earning my share is enough!
After logging in, I first checked my friends list. Murong Shanshan's name was still dim, so it seemed she hadn't woken up yet, or was still eating.
I opened the system messages and found an exciting piece of information: the Battle Axe Warrior skill book had actually sold for the high price of 18,400. This world is truly crazy. A level 14 skill book like this will definitely drop frequently in the later stages, but there are even more rich people. With this skill, it's very practical whether for leveling or PK.
Battle Axe Strike is similar to the Swordsman's Heavy Strike skill, the difference being that its attack output is much higher than Heavy Strike. Just at level one, it increases damage by 15%, while the Swordsman's is 10%, which is half the difference. This thoroughly established the Battle Axe Warrior as moons constant's highest damage class. Imagine a level 90 Battle Axe Warrior training Battle Axe Strike to level 10; that would increase damage by a full 150%, effectively raising the damage to 2.5 times its original. A cloth-armored class of the same level would probably be dead or have empty health after taking that hit. Fortunately, Battle Axe Strike reduces accuracy, reaching about 50% at level 10, which also leaves a little room for survival for cloth-armored classes.
"Lin Fan, come gather at the East Gate, the employer is here," Xu Lin sent me a message.
The East Gate was near the Exchange, so I quickly tidied up my equipment and walked over. There were already quite a few people standing on the drawbridge of the East Gate. All seven of Qing Cai Studio's female members were there, along with a male warrior named "Black Hair Flying." It seemed he was the wealthy employer.
Black Hair Flying was visibly surprised when he saw me walk over, then smiled and said, "Since all eight of you are here, we can depart!"
Xu Lin nodded and led the way. Her area-of-effect skills were perfect for clearing low-level monsters.
Black Hair Flying introduced as he walked, "This mission is to kill a Bear King BOSS in a valley, but a small BOSS called Bear Slayer blocks the way in the cave leading to the valley. My four friends and I came to fight it, but we were all instantly killed and sent back at Bear Slayer. Luckily, I used my return-to-city scroll quickly, otherwise I might have had to wait until tomorrow to advance."
I asked, "What skill did that small BOSS use to instantly kill you? Is his attack very high?"
"No, it's not that. His attack isn't very high; at least it can't instantly kill us. But his skill is incredibly powerful. Every time he throws his axe, one of us immediately dies. It's too fierce!"
"Throwing an axe? Could it be Battle Axe Strike?"
"Yes, yes, that's the skill! It's too abnormal. Everyone must be careful later!"
I nodded and said to Lu Xuehan, "As long as Xue Han uses her instant cast skills well, no one will die now!"
Lu Xuehan smiled and said, "No problem ~"
The cave was not far ahead. There weren't many monsters inside, just some small creatures like bloodsucking bats. Xu Lin cleared them out with a few fire spells, and the passageway gradually darkened. The fiery red rocks around looked as if they were stained with blood. Further ahead, even the bats were gone, and it was so quiet that only the sound of water dripping from stalactites remained.
Black Hair Flying nervously stopped, pointing ahead and saying, "Bear Slayer is just up ahead. Everyone must be careful!"
Xu Lin immediately gave an order: "Everyone wait. I'll use Frost Arrow to aggro Bear Slayer. When he comes over, Xin Yu will use Concussion Arrow to stun him, then Lin Fan will go up and hold him, and Xue Han, remember to heal Lin Fan."
Everyone nodded in agreement, but I felt something was amiss. I reached out to stop Xu Lin and cautiously said, "Sister Lin, wait. His skill might be a long-range physical attack. I should go first, otherwise you might be instantly killed!"
Xu Lin was startled, then smiled and said, "Alright, that's safer ~!"
I drew my sword. After turning a stone wall, I saw a formidable human holding an axe standing in the middle of the passageway. Both sides of him were covered in thorns, completely blocking the way. It seemed we could only proceed after defeating him.
I rushed forward quickly, Ice Seal Slash flew out of my hand, and the firepower from behind followed. Ice Arrow and Concussion Arrow froze Bear Slayer in place. Just as I was sighing at how easy it was, Bear Slayer suddenly shouted, "May the gods grant me strength, and send the invaders flying beyond the Milky Way!"
A light-shaped axe flew from Bear Slayer's hand, and its target was none other than me, who was closest to him!
"674!"
The red numbers startled everyone. No wonder Black Hair Flying and the others were instantly killed. With my 212 defense, he could still hit me for so much. If it were someone else, wouldn't it be over a thousand?
"Swish ~!"
Holy radiance poured down over my head, followed by Lu Xuehan's instant cast skill. This girl's control and reaction speed were getting better and better; she was able to heal my injuries with a time difference before Bear Slayer's second attack arrived. Although the "262" healing effect wasn't very high, it was enough for me to withstand Bear Slayer's Battle Axe Strike again.
I shouted, "Everyone attacking from a distance, don't get close! If you get hit, you'll be instantly killed ~"
Xin Yu immediately retreated after an aimed shot, laughing as she said, "You be careful too; it wouldn't look good if you got instantly killed!"
Bear Slayer's health bar decreased rapidly under everyone's assault. His health wasn't very high, probably around 2000, and his defense wasn't very high either. He was defeated and killed by everyone in just a few minutes. In fact, as long as you could withstand his flying axe, killing him was not difficult.
Nothing dropped, so I opened my character sheet to take a look and was surprised to find that my reputation had increased significantly. Although the system didn't prompt me, my original 1630 reputation had become 1960, an increase of 330 reputation points. Even divided among 9 people, I still got over 300 reputation, which shows how considerable the reputation gained from killing this Bear Slayer was.
What Murong Shanshan needed most right now was reputation, and it seemed this was a very good breakthrough point!