Chapter 86: The Wicked Serpent

The Mage’s Legend

Its body was slightly larger than a typical scorpion serpent, with several extra pairs of pincers, and a sturdy, glossy black shell. Despite its ugly form, Lin Jia unexpectedly found it strikingly beautiful! That streamlined body shimmered with a dark brilliance, reminiscent of a black Ferrari polished to a perfect shine.

He glanced at the name: “Evil Serpent”? He’d never encountered such a monster before. Could it be the Scorpion Serpent boss?

Turning to look at Old Fourth, who was watching his screen intently, Old Fourth glared and said, “Why are you looking at me? Go for it! It’s bound to drop something great!”

Lin Jia pursed his lips. Was it really worth being so angry just because he hadn’t found them for a while? Not wanting to argue with Old Fourth, Lin Jia cautiously crept forward, using lightning to lure out and eliminate the smaller monsters near the Evil Serpent first. The space was too narrow—barely enough for one person to turn around. If he attacked the Evil Serpent and drew all the small monsters at once, Lin Jia would have nowhere to run and would surely die.

Thanks to his high magic, Lin Jia quickly dispatched four or five small monsters. He then targeted the Evil Serpent, unleashing a bolt of lightning. The creature let out a hissing shriek and a metallic clatter as it rushed toward Lin Jia, who turned and fled in terror. Every couple of steps, he spun around to cast another lightning spell. However, because he needed a running start each time, Lin Jia’s speed was still much slower than the Evil Serpent’s. After only two or three lightning strikes, the monster caught up with him. If he kept running, he’d end up attracting other monsters from the corners, which would be fatal.

Gritting his teeth, Lin Jia quickly opened his bag, pulled out a Zhonghua and a Sun Potion, set them in the quick bar, and dashed into the dead-end alley!

As he brushed past the Serpent boss, its several pairs of sharp pincers flashed across Lin Jia like lightning. The young mage cried out in agony as his running body halted and pitched backward, his health dropping by a third. Before Lin Jia could recover, the monster lunged and bit him again. Heart pounding, Lin Jia frantically pressed the keys for Zhonghua and Sun Potion, barely escaping the Evil Serpent’s attack range and running to the farthest corner within reach of his lightning spell. Only then did Lin Jia turn to attack.

Given that lightning’s accuracy was partly based on chance, and maneuvering in such a cramped space was difficult, Lin Jia’s mage found it even harder to aim. Four or five lightning spells missed their mark, making the fight even more troublesome.

After two dangerous rounds of back-and-forth with the Evil Serpent, Lin Jia finally understood the monster’s attack patterns. Movement became easier, but out of five passes by the boss, he still got bitten three times. Luckily, he still had plenty of Sun Potions and Zhonghua from earlier. Although the Evil Serpent’s attacks were powerful, Lin Jia could just barely withstand them, avoiding the peril of his first encounter.

When Lin Jia’s supply of HP potions was nearly exhausted, after dragging the Evil Serpent back and forth dozens of times, the beast was clearly spent, staggering from Lin Jia’s relentless lightning strikes. With a final shriek, it collapsed to the ground!

Every time he witnessed a monster's loot explosion, Lin Jia felt a surge of delight. But seeing this massive loot drop, his heart raced. Although there were no other players nearby to snatch the items, Lin Jia still darted forward, frantically clicking his mouse to pick up everything. Old Fourth jumped in excitement beside him, shouting, “Check what’s there! Hurry, check what’s there!”

Lin Jia had no time to sort through the pile. The alley was so narrow that the items were stacked atop each other, making it impossible to see what was what. All he could see was a dazzling constellation of stars flashing on the ground, so he just picked up everything he could.

The left mouse button clicked furiously, but the items on the ground barely decreased. Pausing for a moment, Lin Jia finally opened his bag and saw it stuffed with all sorts of equipment and potions. There was no way to pick up everything, so he reluctantly gulped down the scattered potions as if they cost nothing, especially the dozen Sun Potions, which made his heart ache.

You can’t have both the fish and the bear’s paw. The allure of the boss’s luxurious, rare equipment outweighed the value of these potions, which weren’t worth much anyway. After a wild bout of drinking, Lin Jia finally managed to pick up all the items and immediately used a teleport scroll, as the small monsters were already starting to respawn nearby.

Once he appeared in Red Name Village, Lin Jia, hands trembling, pressed F9 to open his bag. Inside were three level-20 class weapons, several low-grade accessories and garments. Old Fourth’s sly eyes scanned the screen, then suddenly froze. Big Brother craned his neck to look, only to find both brothers stopped dead, staring at the screen in stupefaction.

Puzzled, Big Brother pushed his chair aside and ran over. A rustic broadsword lay quietly amid Lin Jia’s chaotic bag. Its old blade looked unimpressive, but its attributes were enough to make any warrior drool:

Moon in the Well: Level requirement 28, Attack power 7–22, Weight 58, Durability 30!

With a range of 7–22, the combined total was nearly thirty points—this weapon’s stats were even better than the legendary Frost, which had once commanded astronomical prices. Frost was already depreciating, so how much could a weapon like this sell for?

The three brothers were stunned. The server had opened only a few days ago, and Lin Jia’s luck was simply extraordinary!

Old Fourth was elated: this was a warrior’s weapon!

Old Fourth was dismayed: it required level 28 to use!

Old Fourth raged, “Second Brother, are you messing with me!? Why is it that everything you get is something I can’t use yet?!”

Lin Jia turned to look at Old Fourth and said matter-of-factly, “You don’t want it? Perfect! I’ll trade it for something a mage can use.” Old Fourth said nothing, eyes red, lunging at Lin Jia as if ready for a fight!

Big Brother, near tears, lamented, “Why is it always stuff for you guys? Why is there never anything for me?” Strangely enough, most of the equipment Lin Jia found was for warriors and priests, while Old Fourth’s drops favored priests and mages, and Big Brother never got anything for himself. Was this some rule set by the game to encourage player interaction and trade? Was it a mechanism to stimulate the game’s economy? It seemed the lifeblood of the economy was still firmly in the hands of the developers.

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[Apologies: This chapter is a mess. The internet café was just too noisy! Forget it! I’ll stop here and wait until I get home to write in peace—only then can I guarantee quality!]