7: Chapter 7: One-on-One Battle Against the Lord! A Lot of Divine Gear Dropped!

The Minotaur Lord, Grus, climbed up from the ground, his three-meter-tall frame like a small mountain.

His crimson eyes stared fixedly at Lin Feng, two plumes of white steam snorting from his nostrils.

"Roar—!!!"

Another roar erupted.

Lin Feng felt his eardrums vibrating.

But he did not retreat.

Instead, he took a step forward.

His hands met in a hollow clasp before his chest.

Golden-red light began to converge.

"Strike first to gain the upper hand!"

"Blasting Light Flame Technique!"

The energy ball shot out, trailing a dual-colored wake of light and fire.

Grus clearly didn't think much of this "little thing."

He didn't dodge or evade, even meeting it with his chest.

Boom!!!

The energy ball exploded on his chest.

Flames and intense light swallowed that area.

[Damage dealt to Minotaur Lord: 167!]

[Target HP: 9833/10000]

"Only 167?" Lin Feng frowned.

His expected damage was 180-200.

It seemed the Lord's defense and attribute resistances were even higher than imagined.

"But... it's enough!"

Lin Feng turned and ran.

Maintaining distance was the correct way for a Mage to fight.

But Grus was enraged.

"Awoo!!!"

His legs suddenly kicked off the ground.

His massive body charged over like a cannonball.

Skill: Savage Charge!

The speed was too fast!

Lin Feng only had time to lunge to the side.

Rumble!!!

Grus grazed past his body and slammed into the rock wall.

The entire rock wall trembled, and rubble fell rustling down.

[Sustained splash damage: HP -22]

[Current HP: 138/160]

"Damn!" Lin Feng scrambled up, lingering fear in his heart.

If he had been hit head-on, he'd be crippled if not dead.

Grus shook his head and turned around from the pile of rubble.

His eyes grew even redder.

Clearly, this tiny human had completely infuriated him.

"Again!"

Lin Feng raised his hand for another Light Bullet Technique.

-38!

The damage was pitifully low, but it was better than nothing.

It was mainly to draw aggro.

As expected, Grus chased after him.

But he had learned his lesson this time; he didn't use Charge, but instead pursued with giant strides.

At three meters tall, one of his steps equaled three of Lin Feng's.

The distance was closing rapidly.

"Open it up! Open the distance!"

Lin Feng ran with all his might, the bonus from the Agility Bracers making his movements light.

But the cave was only a hundred meters wide, and he was soon forced into a corner.

"No way out..."

He looked back; Grus had already chased to within ten meters.

The stone axe was held high.

"Let's do this!"

Lin Feng gritted his teeth, light converging in his hands again.

But this time, he didn't fire the Blasting Light Flame Technique.

He waited instead.

He waited for Grus to enter the five-meter range.

Three meters.

Two meters.

The stone axe swung down!

Now!

Lin Feng suddenly rolled to the side, while simultaneously smashing the energy ball in his hand—into the ground!

Boom!!!

The explosion occurred right beneath Grus's feet.

The shockwave sent him staggering.

[Damage dealt to Minotaur Lord: 155!]

[Target HP: 9528/10000]

Lin Feng took the chance to dive through his legs.

"Huff... huff..."

He panted heavily, opening up the distance.

That move was incredibly risky.

He was almost split by the stone axe.

But the effect was good.

Grus turned around, his movements visibly sluggish.

It seemed the impact of the explosion had affected him.

"Like this, I'll slowly wear him down!"

Lin Feng found his rhythm.

He led Grus in circles around the cave like he was walking a dog.

Whenever he had the chance, he'd turn back and fire a Light Bullet Technique.

Grus's health dropped steadily.

9500.

9000.

8500.

...

But a Lord was a Lord after all.

When his health dropped to 3000, Grus suddenly stopped.

He tilted his head back and let out a long howl.

"Awoo——!!!"

Skill: Berserk Roar!

Sound waves rippled out with him as the center.

Lin Feng felt his head as if hit by a hammer; his vision went dark.

[Sustained mental shock: HP -3]

[Entered Stunned state, duration: 2 seconds]

Oh no!

Two seconds of stun was enough for Grus to do a lot.

He indeed charged over.

The stone axe swept across with the sound of breaking wind!

Lin Feng wanted to dodge, but his body wouldn't listen.

He could only watch helplessly as the axe blade drew closer and closer.

"I'm dead!"

In a life-or-death moment, he forcefully bit the tip of his tongue.

The sharp pain allowed him to regain a sliver of clarity.

His body barely managed to tilt.

Puchi!

The stone axe hacked into his shoulder.

[Sustained heavy blow: HP -85!]

[Current HP: 23/130]

Lin Feng was sent flying, crashing into the rock wall.

A mouthful of blood sprayed out.

Heart-wrenching pain radiated from his shoulder; the bone might be cracked.

"Dammit..."

He tremblingly pulled out a Concentrated Meat Chunk and stuffed it into his mouth.

Gulp.

[Used Concentrated Meat Chunk, HP +5, and will continuously restore a total of 20 HP within 30 seconds]

[Current HP: 73/130, continuous restoration in progress]

He recovered slightly.

But Grus was charging again.

This time he used Seismic Wave!

His feet stomped the ground, and a shockwave rose from the floor.

Lin Feng didn't have time to dodge and was knocked into the air.

[Sustained damage: HP -38]

[Current HP: 35/130]

"No... I can't hold on..."

Lin Feng's eyes were bloodshot.

He still had one last energy shield generator.

But once used, he would be completely without defensive means.

"Let's gamble!"

He activated the shield.

A pale blue light canopy expanded.

At the same time, his hands frantically gathered energy.

This time it wasn't the Blasting Light Flame Technique.

It was... three consecutive Light Bullet Techniques!

Puff, puff, puff!

-37! -39! -38!

The damage wasn't high, but it successfully drew Grus's attention.

He indeed gave up on ranged attacks and charged in for melee.

The stone axe hacked at the shield.

[Energy Shield absorbed damage: 89]

[Remaining Shield Value: 11/100]

One more hit and the shield would Shatter.

But Lin Feng was waiting for this exact moment!

He no longer retreated.

Instead, he charged toward Grus!

When the distance between them was only three meters—

"Blasting Light Flame Technique!"

But this time, he didn't fire the energy ball out.

Instead...

"Explode for me!"

He pressed the energy ball against the rocky ceiling above his head.

The rocks were blasted apart and then smashed into Grus!

BOOM!!!!!!!!!

An unprecedentedly massive explosion.

Golden-red flames engulfed both of them.

[Damage dealt to Minotaur Lord: 3456]

[Damage dealt to self: 212! (Shield absorbed 89 points, actual damage 123)]

[Current HP: 1/130]

Lin Feng flew out like a ragdoll, crashing to the ground.

His whole body was in pain.

He didn't know how many bones were broken.

But he stared fixedly at the center of the explosion.

The flames gradually dissipated.

Grus's massive frame stood in place.

Motionless.

His chest had been pierced by a sharp stone shard, creating a large hole where charred internal organs could be seen.

[Minotaur Lord HP: 0/10000]

[Kill Successful!]

Rumble.

Grus fell backward.

The ground vibrated.

[Killed Minotaur Lord (Lv5), EXP +3000!]

[Level Up! Lv3 → Lv4!]

[All Attributes +3, Free Attribute Points +15]

A beam of golden light enveloped Lin Feng.

The warm current from leveling up didn't immediately repair his injuries.

Broken bones were slowly mending, and wounds were slowly scabbing over.

[Current Level: 4]

[Strength: 19 (Attack Power 38)]

[Physique: 19 (HP 190, Defense 19)]

[Spirit: 64 (32 Spell Attack, 640 Mana)]

[Agility: 19]

[Intelligence: 19]

[Free Attribute Points: 0]

Lin Feng continued to put all 15 free attribute points into Spirit.

Now Spirit was as high as 64 points!

Spell Attack: 62!

Mana: 640!

"I won..." He lay on the ground, a grin spreading across his face.

Though it was a pyrrhic victory.

He won.

He struggled to get up and walked over to Grus's corpse.

The corpse was turning into points of light and dissipating.

A large pile of items was left on the ground.

Lin Feng's eyes lit up.

"I'm rich!"

First were the Materials:

[High-Quality Beef Tenderloin x5] (Green quality, each piece restores 80 HP)

[Intact Bull Horn x2] (Blue quality, weapon crafting material)

[Lord's Hide x1] (Blue quality, armor crafting material)

[Berserk Crystal x1] (Blue quality, enchanting material)

Then there was the equipment:

[Grus's Battleaxe]

[Quality: Purple]

[Attack Power: 65-80]

[Effect 1: Strength +12]

[Effect 2: 2% chance to trigger 'Shatter' effect on attack (Ignores 30% of target's defense)]

[Effect 3: Damage to beast-type monsters +30%]

[Level Requirement: 10]

[Description: The Minotaur Lord's beloved weapon, heavy and lethal]

[Lord's Bracers]

[Quality: Purple Epic]

[Defense: 15]

[Effect 1: Physique +8]

[Effect 2: Reflects 20% damage upon a successful block]

[Effect 3: Maximum HP +100]

[Level Requirement: 8]

[Description: Bracers crafted from Lord's Hide, incredibly tough]

Lin Feng looked at the battleaxe and bracers.

Unfortunately, his level wasn't high enough; he couldn't use them for now.

"I'll store them for now."

"Time to go..."

Lin Feng originally intended to leave.

But he checked the time: four in the afternoon.

There were still eight hours before the dungeon closed at midnight.

"Going back is just for grinding mobs; I might as well grind here."

He looked around the cave.

With Grus dead, this area should be safe.

Moreover, in a Lord's territory, the spawn rate and quantity of normal monsters would increase.

"I'll stay here until midnight."

Lin Feng found a corner to sit and began to recover.

His mana slowly climbed back up.

His injuries were also healing.

An hour later, his status was full.

He stood up and began to clear out the Minotaur Cubs spawning in the cave.

Now that he was Level 4, killing Level 1 monsters only gave 1 point of EXP.

But it didn't matter.

What he wanted were Materials.

"Light Bullet Technique!"

-150!

[Instakilled Minotaur Cub]

[Obtained: Bull Horn x1, Beef Tenderloin x1]

"Instakill!" Lin Feng smiled.

This was the pleasure of attribute crushing.

He cleared the monsters like he was mowing grass.

After killing one batch, he'd find another.

And kill them again.

The Materials piled up more and more.

[Bull Horn x73]

[Beef Tenderloin x80]

[Damaged Bull Hide x45]

"Begin Fusion!"

Lin Feng found a flat spot and spread out all the Materials.

First, he fused the Beef Tenderloin.

Eighty pieces of meat, fused in eight sessions, ten pieces each time.

Consumed 80 mana x 8 = 640 points.

Obtained eight [Concentrated Meat Chunks (Green)].

Each piece could restore 80 HP.

The market price was at least 500 points each.

"Eight pieces is four thousand points... the cost? Zero."

Because the Materials were picked up for free.

Next, he fused the Bull Horns.

73 Bull Horns, fused in seven sessions, about ten horns each time.

Consumed 100 mana x 7 = 700 points.

Obtained seven [Bull Horn Weapons].

Five were green, two were blue.

Green ones were valued at 800-1000 points each.

Blue ones were valued at 2000-3000 points each.

"Another ten thousand plus points."

Finally, the 45 Bull Hides.

Fused into four pieces of Leather Armor.

Three green, one blue.

"I'm rich, I'm rich..."

Lin Feng couldn't stop grinning.

The shadow of the previous killing had long been diluted by the pleasure of making money.

His mind was now full of: Grind mobs → Pick up Materials → Fusion → Sell for money → Get stronger.

A simple and crude cycle.

But effective.

"Continue!"

He was like a tireless machine, clearing the monsters in the cave over and over.

Materials piled up like a small mountain.

More and more fused goods were produced.

His backpack was almost full.

Time passed unknowingly.

Eleven at night.

Lin Feng glanced at his panel.

[Level: 4 (3876/5000)]

After killing nearly several hundred monsters, he had only gained less than two thousand EXP.

"But the Materials are enough."

He inventoried his gains:

Green Concentrated Meat Chunk x32

Green Bull Horn Weapon x18

Blue Bull Horn Weapon x9

Green Leather Armor x12

Blue Leather Armor x5

"If I sell all of these... at least two hundred thousand points."

Lin Feng nodded in satisfaction.

He sat down, waiting for midnight.

Less than an hour left.

The dungeon would close, and everyone would be forcibly teleported out.

"I wonder how that fellow Wang Hao is doing..."

Lin Feng's gaze turned cold.

"The next time we meet, it'll be time to settle the score."

He clenched his fist.

The Glorious Corona Physique glowed faintly in the darkness.

As if responding to his determination.