6: Chapter 6: A One in Ten Thousand Probability? The Minotaur Lord Blocks the Way!

Lin Feng sprinted through the dark passage.

Only his own breathing and footsteps echoed in his ears.

He ran for a full five minutes before stopping, leaning against the rock wall and gasping for air.

The scene of the killing just now replayed repeatedly in his mind.

Fatty's screams.

Skinny Tall Guy's fear.

And the cold determination he felt when he released the Blasting Light Flame Technique.

"Ugh..."

Lin Feng dry-heaved a few times, but nothing came up.

He forced himself to calm down.

"They were the ones who attacked first."

"They wanted to kill me."

"I was just defending myself."

After taking a few deep breaths, Lin Feng opened his attribute panel.

He had leveled up.

[Rank: 2 (0/200)]

[Strength: 13 (Attack Power 26)]

[Physique: 13 (health points 130, Defense 13)]

[spirit: 13 (Spell Attack 65, mana 130)]

[Agility: 13]

[Intelligence: 13]

[Free Stat Points: 15]

15 Free Stat Points.

Without hesitation, Lin Feng put them all into spirit.

*Hum—*

His attributes changed.

[spirit: 28 (↑15)]

[Spell Attack: 140 (↑75)]

[mana: 280 (↑150)]

"Spell Attack 140!" Lin Feng's eyes lit up.

This meant the base damage of the Blasting Light Flame Technique had become: 28 × 5 = 140 points!

Combined with the Glory Corona's bonus to the light element, the actual damage would likely be even higher.

"Time to keep grinding."

Lin Feng clenched his fists.

He needed to become stronger.

Strong enough that no one would dare provoke him again.

Strong enough to trample this subterranean darkness and uncover the source of all these changes!

...

Over the next hour, Lin Feng went on a grinding frenzy deep within the Minotaur Territory.

The further in he went, the fewer people there were.

Conversely, the number of monsters increased.

"Light Bullet Technique!"

A fist-sized light bullet shot out, accurately hitting a Minotaur Cub twenty meters away.

*Puff!*

-320!

[Dealt 320 damage to Minotaur Cub (Light Attribute Damage)]

[Target health points: 280/600]

The cub charged at him in a rage.

Unfazed, Lin Feng fired another Light Bullet Technique.

-310!

[Killed Minotaur Cub, EXP +100]

[Obtained: Minotaur Horn × 1 (White Materials)]

[Obtained: Minotaur Tenderloin × 1 (White Materials)]

The corpse dissipated into points of light.

Lin Feng walked over and picked up the Materials.

[Minotaur Horn (White)]

[Usage: Weapon crafting material, can be sold]

[Minotaur Tenderloin (White)]

[Usage: Food ingredient, restores a small amount of stamina after consumption]

"Every little bit counts."

He stowed the Materials into his backpack—this was a Spatial Backpack issued by the Explorers Guild, with a capacity of 1 cubic meter.

He moved on to find the next one.

In this way, Lin Feng farmed monsters in the most economical manner.

The Light Bullet Technique consumed 9 mana, and he could fire over thirty of them in a row.

When his mana was depleted, he would sit down to rest and wait for it to recover.

Although the efficiency wasn't high, it was safe and steady.

One, two, three...

[EXP +100]

[EXP +100]

[EXP +100]

When he killed the thirtieth Minotaur Cub, the golden light of a level-up enveloped him once more.

[Rank Up! Lv2 → Lv3]

[All Stats +3, Free Stat Points +15]

[Current Rank: 3 (0/500)]

[Strength: 16]

[Physique: 16]

[spirit: 31 (↑3)]

[Agility: 16]

[Intelligence: 16]

[Free Stat Points: 15]

"Leveled up again!"

Lin Feng again put all 15 Free Stat Points into spirit.

[spirit: 46]

[Spell Attack: 230]

[mana: 460]

"Sweet!"

The base damage of his Blasting Light Flame Technique was now: 46 × 5 = 230 points!

With potential bonuses, the actual damage could be close to 250!

"However, the mana consumption has also increased..."

The Blasting Light Flame Technique now consumed 30 mana.

With 460 mana, he could fire about 15 shots.

"I have to use them sparingly."

Lin Feng opened his backpack to take stock of his spoils.

From thirty Minotaur Cubs, he had dropped:

[Minotaur Horn × 28]

[Minotaur Tenderloin × 22]

[Damaged Minotaur Hide × 15]

"These Materials... should I try Fusion?"

Lin Feng took out twenty pieces of Minotaur Tenderloin.

He activated his Talent!

[Detectable Fusion Object: Minotaur Tenderloin × 20]

[Same Material Fusion]

[Minimum Consumption: 1 Mana Point]

[Maximum Consumption: 10 mana]

He chose the minimum.

The twenty pieces of meat fused into two larger chunks, but their color was more vibrant, emitting a faint aroma.

[Obtained Item: Concentrated Meat Chunk]

[Quality: F-grade (Green Excellent)]

[Effect: Restores 50 health points upon consumption, and continues to restore a total of 200 health points over 30 seconds]

[Description: The essence of ten ordinary meat chunks concentrated into one.]

"A healing item!" Lin Feng's eyes brightened.

This was much better than Healing Spray!

A spray restores 30 points at a time, while this restores 250 points!

He then took out ten Minotaur Horns.

Fusion!

[Detectable Fusion Object: Minotaur Horn × 10]

[Same Material Fusion]

[Minimum Consumption: 5 mana]

[Maximum Consumption: 50 mana]

Lin Feng chose 10 mana—he wanted to see what would come out.

The ten Minotaur Horns fused into a crude white bone blade.

[Obtained Item: Minotaur Horn Short Blade]

[Quality: F-grade (Green Excellent)]

[Attack Power: 15-20]

[Effect: Attacks have a 1% chance to cause a Bleed effect (lose 5 health points per second for 3 seconds)]

[Description: A simple weapon crafted from Minotaur Horns]

"The Attack Power is much higher than the Training Longsword!"

Lin Feng put it away with satisfaction.

"Let's head deeper."

He continued along the passage, venturing further in.

The deeper he went,

the dimmer the light became,

and the more humid the air felt.

Occasionally, he could see traces left by other Explorers: extinguished torches, discarded empty bottles, and dried bloodstains.

But he didn't see a single person.

"Strange, there should be higher-level monsters here..."

Just as Lin Feng thought this,

a low growl echoed from ahead.

"Roar—!!!"

The sound was so powerful it made the rock walls tremble.

Lin Feng's heart tightened; he lightened his footsteps and slowly approached.

Rounding a corner,

the view suddenly opened up.

It was a massive natural cave, at least a hundred meters wide.

In the center of the cave lay a... behemoth.

It was a Minotaur nearly three meters tall.

But it was completely different from the ordinary Minotaur Cubs.

Its muscles were bulging, and its skin was a dark reddish hue.

The horns on its head were as thick as tree trunks and had a metallic sheen.

Most terrifying of all, it held a massive stone axe, its blade stained with dark brown blood.

[Minotaur Lord · Grus]

[Rank: 5 (Lord Level)]

[health points: 10000/10000]

[Attack Power: 100-120]

[Defense: 30]

[Skills: Savage Charge, Earthquake Wave, Frenzied Roar]

[Description: The young lord of the Minotaur tribe, who has occupied this territory for three years. Defeating it may yield generous rewards, but please proceed with caution—it currently holds the record for the highest death rate in the novice dungeon.]

Lin Feng sucked in a breath of cold air.

A Lord-tier monster!

Textbooks said that every dungeon has an extremely low probability of spawning a Lord-tier monster each day.

The probability was about one in ten thousand.

He didn't expect to actually run into one!

"Ten thousand HP... Attack Power 100-120..."

Lin Feng quickly calculated his own Defense: 16 Defense from Physique + 10 from Reinforced Leather Armor = 26 Defense.

If the Minotaur Lord swung its axe, it would deal roughly 74-94 damage.

And he had 160 health points.

He could withstand two hits at most.

The third hit would be fatal.

"Can I take it?"

Lin Feng looked at his Spell Attack: 230 points.

How much damage would one Blasting Light Flame Technique do?

Assuming the Minotaur Lord had 30 Defense and the light attribute might be resisted...

"Probably 150-180 damage per shot."

"To drain ten thousand HP, I'd need... 56 to 67 shots."

"My total mana is 460 points, and one shot consumes 30 points, so I can fire 15 shots at most."

"Not enough."

Lin Feng frowned.

However, behind the Lord, deep in the cave, he could vaguely see the outline of a treasure chest.

Textbooks stated that defeating a Lord-tier monster guaranteed a drop of Blue-grade equipment or higher, with a chance for Purple-grade.

Furthermore, the Experience Points would be at least several thousand!

"Let's try."

Lin Feng decided to take a gamble.

He first retreated back into the passage and took out all the Materials from his backpack.

He had 18 Minotaur Horns, 2 Minotaur Tenderloins, and 15 Damaged Minotaur Hides left.

"I'll make supplies first."

He spent 5 mana to fuse the 20 pieces of meat into two Concentrated Meat Chunks.

Then he spent 10 mana to fuse the 18 Minotaur Horns into a better weapon.

This time, it came out Blue!

[Obtained Item: Sharp Minotaur Horn Blade]

[Quality: E-grade (Blue Refined)]

[Attack Power: 25-35]

[Effect: Attacks have a 2% chance to cause an Armor Break effect (Target Defense -5 for 5 seconds)]

[Description: A high-quality weapon crafted from Minotaur Horn Materials]

"The Attack Power has doubled!"

Lin Feng swapped out the Training Longsword and equipped the Minotaur Horn Blade.

His physical attack went from 26+5-8 to 26+25-35, reaching a maximum of 61 points!

Though it still couldn't compare to his Spells, it could serve as a finisher in a critical moment.

Finally, the 15 Minotaur hides.

Fusion!

[Detectable Fusion Object: Damaged Minotaur Hide × 15]

[Same Material Fusion]

[Minimum Consumption: 3 mana]

[Maximum Consumption: 30 mana]

Lin Feng chose 15 mana.

The hides fused into a thick leather vest.

[Obtained Item: Tough Minotaur Hide Armor]

[Quality: E-grade (Blue Refined)]

[Defense: 15]

[Effect: When receiving physical damage, reduces damage taken by 1 flat point]

[Description: Armor made from multiple layers of pressed Minotaur hide]

"Defense went from 10 to 15, and it has damage reduction!"

Lin Feng swapped his Reinforced Leather Armor for the Minotaur Hide Armor.

His current Defense: 16 from Physique + 15 from Minotaur Hide Armor = 31 points.

The damage from the Minotaur Lord's attacks would drop to 69-89 points.

He could survive half a hit more now.

"One last step."

Lin Feng sat down and began to recover his mana.

The consecutive Fusions just now had consumed over 30 mana.

He had less than 10 points left.

"I need to get back to full status."

He glanced toward the depths of the cave.

The Minotaur Lord was still sleeping, its snoring like thunder.

"Just wait."

"Once I've recovered, I'll use you to test my blade."

Lin Feng closed his eyes, focusing entirely on absorbing the surrounding light elements.

The Glorious Corona Physique allowed him to recover twice as fast as an ordinary person.

But even so, it would take over an hour to fully restore his 460 mana.

He waited patiently,

simulating the battle in his mind.

"The Blasting Light Flame Technique has a range of 30 meters; I can kite it from a distance."

"But while the cave is large, there are limits; I can't retreat forever."

"The Lord's Savage Charge will definitely be fast, I have to be careful..."

Time passed minute by minute.

Lin Feng's heartbeat gradually steadied.

The discomfort from the killing was diluted by the impending major battle.

He only had one thing on his mind now—

Slaughter this Lord.

And then get stronger.

Strong enough so that anyone who wanted to harm him wouldn't dare reach out their hand.

...

An hour and a half later.

Lin Feng opened his eyes.

Mana: 460/460.

Full status.

He stood up and stretched his limbs.

Then, gripping the Minotaur Horn Blade, he stepped into the Lord's cave.

The Minotaur Lord seemed to sense something; its snoring stopped.

It slowly opened its eyes, which were as large as copper bells.

Crimson pupils locked onto Lin Feng.

"Roar—!!!"

The deafening roar kicked up a blast of air.

The battle was about to begin.