Chapter 44: Rock-Splitting Slash

Finally reached level 3, that was not easy.

Xiao Jie looked at his newly acquired 5 attribute points, feeling a wave of deep emotion in his heart.

It had taken playing this crappy game for several days just to reach level three. In any other game, gaining dozens of levels in a single day would be a casual breeze, unlike this game where every moment played was utterly heart-pounding.

However, the rewards brought by leveling up were also incomparable to other games.

Looking at these five precious attribute points, Xiao Jie already had a plan for how to allocate them.

Since he was going for an agility build, agility was naturally the most primary attribute for the early game.

Secondly, constitution had to be increased as well; the longer the health bar, the higher the safety, especially in the early game. Damage could be compensated for with weapons, while health was the foundation of survival and could only be supported by attribute points.

However, the primary attribute was also very important. Since he was pursuing an agility route, this also had to be raised; otherwise, if he encountered skills he wanted to learn but lacked the required attributes, it would be too depressing.

Xiao Jie found that 15 attribute points seemed to be a threshold. The skill rewarded by the weird goat, as well as the skill book Nightfall gave to I Desire Immortality, both required 15 attributes to learn.

Therefore, after a moment of hesitation, Xiao Jie chose to add 2 points to constitution and 3 points to agility.

In this way, his base attributes became:

Constitution: 12
Strength: 10
Stamina: 10
Agility: 15

An agility of 15 far surpassed an ordinary person. He would definitely have to properly experience the flexibility of 15 agility in reality later.

And although 2 points of constitution only added 20 health points, his survivability was undoubtedly greatly enhanced—especially when facing the Scarecrow's Flame Embrace, at least in the event of being pounced on, he wouldn't have to fear being instantly killed.

Continuing to kill monsters, after taking down two more scarecrows, I Desire Immortality also reached level three.

"Brother Feng, I've leveled up too," I Desire Immortality said excitedly.

"Mm, have you figured out how to allocate your points?"

I Desire Immortality was somewhat conflicted about this. Of course he had thought about it, but he hadn't made up his mind yet.

Ever since listening to Nightfall's words, he had considered the option of focusing mainly on spirituality, stacking dozens of points into it, and then finding a way to trigger a fortuitous encounter to achieve immortality.

Yet, despite being young, he wasn't foolish. Without the strengthening of base attributes in the early game, combat effectiveness could not be guaranteed at all. He might croak before even reaching level 10. Take that burn he suffered earlier, for example—he only survived thanks to the 5 points of constitution he had added beforehand.

"Brother Feng, do you have any suggestions? I want to cultivate immortality, but... you know. Do you think I should take a gamble and pump spirituality?"

Xiao Jie calmly said, "I wouldn't call it a suggestion; I can only help you analyze it. If you want to achieve immortality, you definitely have to take the magical path, which leaves you with two options.

Route 1: Stack spirituality in the early game, strive to trigger a fortuitous encounter before level 10, obtain a magical class at level 10, and then continuously advance to more powerful classes.

Route 2: Increase base attributes in the early game, settle on a physical class at level 10, obtain a fortuitous encounter before level 20, then acquire a magical class at level 20, and dual-class at level 30.

Route 1 has high danger, but a higher probability of cultivating immortality. Route 2 is relatively stable in the early game, but the possibility of achieving immortality is lower, though not entirely without a chance.

So you only need to consider whether you are willing to take that risk. Think about it: if you don't increase your base attributes, what is the probability that you will die before level 10? Right now, we are only fighting scarecrows and soul-lost bandits, and even then we've had two close calls. Later on, we will definitely face stronger enemies. Can you guarantee you won't make another mistake? Anyway, I wouldn't dare."

Everyone was an adult, even if the other person was slightly younger, Xiao Jie couldn't make decisions for them, but certain risks had to be laid out clearly.

He didn't want to watch this young man impulsively get himself killed in the game.

Hearing the subtext in his words, I Desire Immortality couldn't help but sigh, "I understand, Brother Feng. I'll go with the physical route for now. After all, it's not too late to take up a magical class at level 20."

As he spoke, he directly allocated all his attribute points into strength.

15 points of strength were just enough to learn Stone-Splitting Slash. Battling monsters without combat techniques was simply too exhausting, and he had long envied Xiao Jie's fifty or sixty damage per slash.

A flash of white light later, the skill was learned.

[Stone-Splitting Slash (Combat Technique)
Applicable weapons: Two-handed axes, two-handed broadswords, two-handed greatswords.
Technique cost: 80 stamina.
Skill Effect 1: Fiercely slash the weapon forward, dealing 240% weapon damage to the targeted enemy and applying 50 points of poise-breaking effect.
Skill Effect 2: Gain 25 temporary poise when using this combat technique.
Skill Description: A combat technique mastered by quarry workers through years and years of splitting mountains and cutting stones. Wielding heavy two-handed weapons with all one's might can inflict massive damage on the target.]

Looking at the new skill in his skill bar, I Desire Immortality was also thrilled and immediately wanted to test it out.

Finding a scarecrow, I Desire Immortality asked Xiao Jie to hold back so he could try soloing it.

Switching to the battle axe he had purchased in advance, he swung the battle axe up with both hands, bringing it down atop the scarecrow before him like a sledgehammer smashing a rock.

Boom! -58!

A single axe blow directly smashed the scarecrow to the ground.

"Again!" Xiao Jie shouted.

I Desire Immortality swung the battle axe once more.

Stone-Splitting Slash!

Before the scarecrow could even stand up, it was smashed down to the earth once more with another axe strike, -57!

At that exact moment, Xiao Jie slashed out with his blade, making up for the final 5 points of damage, and the scarecrow was instantly killed.

It dropped a dozen copper coins.

"This skill is pretty good," Xiao Jie praised.

This poise-breaking effect was still quite ferocious. Units in this game had the concept of poise; this value was hidden, and once the poise was reduced to zero, it would trigger a heavy stagger.

Different monsters had different poise values, and the scarecrow before them was clearly of low poise. Skills with poise-breaking effects like Stone-Splitting Slash, as long as they were chained together continuously, could completely achieve an infinite combo.

He wondered if this move could be practiced against bandits.

The only drawback was that the startup was too slow. One-and-Done required a one-second charge, but its execution was extremely fast, slashing down almost instantaneously.

This Stone-Splitting Slash also required about a second of charge, and swinging the axe took another second. If the enemy reacted quickly, it might be very hard to hit.

Additionally, this combat technique was used with two hands, leaving no way to equip a shield, which was also a hidden risk.

But overall, the flaws did not outweigh the merits.

"Are you planning to go for a strength powerhouse build?"

"I haven't decided yet, but the strength attribute is directly related to physical damage, so I have to add to it anyway. Even if I switch to swords later, it won't be a waste."

"Yeah, that's true. Come on, this time you're responsible for the final blow, and I'll make up the damage."

The two continued with their task.

This poise-breaking effect could directly smash scarecrows to the ground, making combat safety step up a notch and further increasing efficiency.

Stone-Splitting Slash!

Boom, another scarecrow fell. This time, not only did it drop dozens of copper coins, but it also yielded a shiny ring.

[Bronze Ring (Ring)
Attribute: Attack +1.
Item Introduction: A ring forged from ancient brass. Its golden color brings to mind the legendary gold, making it a material used by the lower classes to craft jewelry, capable of slightly increasing the wearer's attack power.]

Such garbage attributes, but at least it was an accessory.

"You take it," Xiao Jie said.

He had already picked up several pieces of equipment earlier. Although they were all white and gray trash gear, they were worth some money after all. Now that an item I Desire Immortality could use had finally dropped, it was only natural to yield the courtesy.

Even though this trinket only added 1 point of attack power, accessories had a low drop rate and still held some value.

I Desire Immortality didn't stand on ceremony either. "Then thanks, Brother Feng!" He put it on happily.

Just as the two were about to continue, a sudden burst of harsh cursing startled them.

"This is my field! This is my land! Where did you mud-legged vagrants come from, get the hell out of here!"

The two turned around to see a middle-aged woman shrouded in ominous black miasma rushing out from the distant wheat field, charging at them while waving a kitchen knife.

Looking at the monster's name:

Li Tian's Wife (Corrupted Human) Level 5. Health: 240.