Chapter 82: Another Addition to the Collection

“Hurry up! Boss Pig! Ah!” Fourth was about to lose his mind. Every gamer knows that powerful monsters in games drop good loot, and often the stronger the monster, the bigger its size! When Lin Jia and the others killed the Corpse King before and got such great items, that Corpse King was only about as large as a warrior player in the game.

Now, on Fourth’s screen, a chubby, round, rosy-white, oversized wild pig was grunting and swinging a giant spiked mace. Around it, players of various classes buzzed like a disturbed swarm of flies, all shouting in chaos.

This wild pig was at least three or four times the size of an ordinary boar, looking outrageously cute, but its attack power sent chills down one’s spine. A heavily armored warrior charged up and slashed twice in quick succession, but both attacks missed completely, showing that the pig’s defense and agility far outstripped a warrior’s offense, rendering attacks useless. In contrast, one swing of its mace smashed that warrior to pieces, making the surrounding players scatter in terror.

Perhaps that warrior wasn’t at full health, but even so, a level 22 warrior already has a hefty health pool, and the heavy armor adds extra defense. Yet he was still killed in a single blow. Even if his health wasn’t full, this kind of attack power was just too horrifying.

The long-range priests and mages peppered the white wild pig with their spells, but the effect was barely noticeable. The only two mages continued their assault for nearly a minute. One, eager to maximize his attacks, didn’t move around much and carelessly got too close; the white wild pig closed in on him and flattened him with a single blow. The other mage, terrified, kept his distance, attacking from afar and running the moment the white wild pig so much as twitched. Add to that the need to dodge the two bat nests, two scorpion snakes, one red wild pig, and three tire monsters that spawned from the neglected smaller monsters, that hapless mage blundered straight into a swarm of bats, let out a couple of howls, and perished, leaving behind a pile of potions.

What a nightmare! This white wild pig was truly running rampant here! Without the high-output attacks of the mages, the warriors’ and priests’ attacks were like scratching an itch through a boot. Fourth tried slashing at it but nearly got flattened by a counterattack; only his superior gear saved him from the same fate as the first brave soul who tried.

Terrified, the players circled the white wild pig, pestering it with harassing attacks. They’d been at it since Fourth first spotted the pig and called out, but even after their leader joined them, they still hadn’t managed to take down the plump, adorable beast. The white wild pig continued to prance arrogantly within their encirclement.

Lin Jia stared, dumbfounded, for a moment—so distracted, he was nearly bitten to death by the red wild pig he’d been attacking. If he hadn’t turned in time to gulp down a Sun Potion, he might have been killed by the red wild pig before he even had a chance to fight the white one.

Lin Jia had never encountered a red wild pig that took more than ten lightning bolts and still didn’t die. Was this some kind of mutant? An elite wild pig?

“Hurry up, Number Two! We can’t even dent this thing!” Fourth and the others were frantic, leaping around the white wild pig but powerless against it. The skeletal minion their leader summoned was smashed to bits by the white wild pig before its summoning smoke had even dissipated. Fourth’s tactic of hit-and-run did little damage, and because attacking slowed his movements, he often took a devastating blow from the pig’s swinging mace.

Of the dozen or so players nearby, several had already given up and turned to hunt the smaller monsters. This kind of boss was simply out of their league for now; it was better to grind on lesser mobs and level up.

“I’m on my way! I’ve got a mini-boss here too! Hold on!” Most players called the powerful boss monsters in the game “bosses,” but Lin Jia and his friends always joked that these monsters were so wealthy—practically oozing loot—and their plump bodies so reminiscent of fat cats that calling them “bosses” in English seemed lacking in local flavor. They preferred to call them “Bosses” as in “the Big Boss.”

Dodging and weaving, Lin Jia kept zapping the red wild pig that just wouldn’t die. Finally, on the fifteenth lightning strike, he brought it down—but it didn’t drop a thing, nearly making his eyes pop out of his head. All that effort for nothing? Did this guy forget his wallet at home? Couldn’t it at least have dropped a few gold coins?

Frustrated or not, he had to kill the last red wild pig. Monsters were hard to come by these days!

Strangely, this red wild pig was just as tough as the last one. Usually, four or five lightning bolts would do the trick, but this one withstood over a dozen. Cursing, Lin Jia swore, “If you don’t drop something, I’ll desecrate your corpse!”

Perhaps hearing Lin Jia’s threat, the red wild pig finally exploded in a glorious loot drop after the sixteenth lightning bolt. Potions and items covered the narrow floor of the tomb. Lin Jia rushed over and scooped them all up without looking. The constant PKs had drained his potion supply, and while he’d recovered some from fallen enemies, his consumption always outpaced his gains, especially for HP potions.

After picking everything up, Lin Jia checked his inventory and was surprised to find that the elite red wild pig had gifted him a rare weapon, the Frostblade, and a strange accessory: the Gale Ring.

Attack Speed +1, Attack 0–1, Weight 1, Durability 5.

The Gale Ring was beautifully crafted, as if made from crystal, but its attack stats were pitiful. With only 0–1 attack, no warrior would choose it over the Skeleton Ring’s 0–3. But what about this new attribute, “Attack Speed”? Judging by the name, it should increase skill usage speed in battle, right? But if the attack is so low, does speed even matter?

Disappointed, Lin Jia shoved the Gale Ring into the last slot of the bottom row of his inventory. Another odd collectible, it seemed. After stowing his loot, he glanced at Fourth’s position, then used one of his remaining random teleport scrolls to travel to their location.

The map of the Pig Caverns was vast and complicated, with winding corridors that often led to dead ends. It was nearly impossible to find the exact spot by coordinates alone unless you happened to teleport nearby. In this, the second-to-last and most labyrinthine level of the Pig Caverns, you could search forever and never find your way.

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[Trouble: Recently discovered many bugs in previous chapters. No edits for now; will fix them all at once later! Also, before 4 p.m. today is the recommendation contest—speed up the recommendations if you want to win!]