Chapter 27 : Black Wolves

Shrrak.. shrak...

Ragna marched through the eerie looking forest by himself. The forest had a sinister atmosphere which could make one's hair stand on end. The combination of crimson red leaves and black trunks made the trees looked horrifying. Everything made him a little bit scared. Well, he never had a great affinity toward spooky things. At least, not when he was alone.

While he was walking, he kept his perception at his highest. He had long since left the safe area of this place. The fact that he was alone made him always have to stay on guard. Naturally, there was a reason why he was alone outside the safe zone.

First Quest : Clear the Perimeter

The expedition armies want to set a safe base to secure the Portal. While they are doing so, players need to clear the surroundings of the Portal. Players who killed a monster will be given a contribution points according to the monster's level.

Level Level 20-25 = 2 Points

Level 25-30 = 3 Points

Level 30> = 5 Points

Those who found useful information would also be given contribution points according to its importance.

Time Limit : 1 Day

Everyone quickly made some parties to hunt. All of the high leveled players had long since grouped up and left the base. Their target was the level 25-30 monsters. Those who were left was middle and lower leveled players.

Naturally, no one would want useless player when they were hunting, except if the player was someone they knew or was their friend. Therefore, the natural selection began, leaving the majority of lower leveled player behind. Obviously, that included Ragna.

In Maya, players could choose to hide their name, except when they were battling each other or were joined together in a party. The only information which was being shown were Level and Class. In this case, Ragna had his meager level shown together with his class. Strangely, the information window only showed his class as a Mage, not as an Ancient Blood Mage. It seemed like the Ancient Blood Master really wanted to hide his power from anyone.

Obviously, Ragna had no qualms about it. He too would be concerned if people started pestering him because of his hidden class.

His incredibly low level made him unable to join any decent party. He was left with those with a level that was around his. Naturally, he decided to refuse their invitation. He had no time to hunt small fries.

His target was level 25+ monsters!

He had the power to do so. By relying on his insane extra stats he could practically solo a group of level 20+ monsters. The problem was that the level 20-25 monsters' area had long since packed with players. Most of them were hunting them because of their lack of confidence in dealing with higher leveled one. Only a group of experts with level 30+ was bold enough to challenge the 25-30 one. Well, that didn't include Ragna.

Hrrr....

Ragna quickly found his first prey. It was a huge black wolf with crimson teeth. Its level was 25. The wolf was isolated from its pack. A perfect target for the current him.

Ragna quickly sneaked to its back. He regulated his breath, hiding his presence. He slowly crept toward the wolf. He was hoping that he could somehow manage to sneak in a surprise attack before actually fighting. Unfortunately, before he got into the range of his magic, the wolf suddenly howled toward him!

The wolf had detected him!

Ragna clicked his tongue. It seemed like the black wolf actually had a quite high perception. However, he was ready for every possible outcome. He quickly released the magic that he had chanted while sneaking toward it.

Earth Spike!

The charging wolf suddenly got hit on its front by Ragna's Earth Spike. The Earth Spike didn't skewer it because the power disparity wasn't enough unlike the last time when he fought the bear. However, Ragna had already achieved his goal. It was to stop the wolf's momentum.

He sped toward the staggered wolf while charging his Soul Strike. The wolf quickly recovered and started charging toward him too. Unfortunately, its charging power was clearly lower than Ragna because it had lost its momentum.

Ragna dodged the wolf's pounce by moving to the right. He twisted his body toward the wolf and released his punch to the wolf's side.

Bang! Soul Strike!

The wolf got blasted away to the trees a distance away from it. The attack was clearly effective!

Ragna felt a tinge of pain in his left hand. The wolf managed to sneak in a scratch. He looked at his health, it was slightly reduced from the exchange. That was the importance of agility. By having a high enough agility stats, one could dodge an attack perfectly. Completely negating the damage. Of course, that wouldn't happen if the enemy had enough Dexterity.

Dexterity was closely related to one's accuracy, critical rate and its multiplier, and damage for their ranged attack. Ragna had no way to adjust his points, therefore sometimes he automatically added a point or two toward that stat. It was beyond his control. Luckily, this stat proved its usefulness sometimes. He had quite a high critical strike chance when attacking.

Before the wolf could recover, Ragna quickly closed in. He chanted a spell while moving toward the wolf. An Earth Spike sprang from below its feet. Unfortunately, the wolf dodged it while pouncing toward him.

Ragna grinned, he parried the wolf's claw by using his fist. The force the claw contained was enough to break a tree. Still, it wasn't enough to push him back. Both of them exchanged a few attacks. Ragna couldn't dodge all the strike as the wolf was too agile. It was different from fighting a golem which had too many opening.

Finally, he found an opening. The wolf overextended its body, making it easier for him to counter. He released the force he had contained from his left hand!

Soul Strike! Critical Hit!

The wolf shrieked miserably as it flew through the air. Unfortunately, it didn't hit a tree. Instead, it hit the Earth Spike Ragna cast before the exchange!

Everything had been predicted!

The wolf was skewered by the Earth Spike. Its low health meant that it no longer had the capability to resist the piercing effect. If it had more health, maybe it couldn't be skewered by the spike. But currently, its health was below 50%. Adding Ragna's Critical Hit from Soul Strike, its health was further reduced to 20%.

Ragna didn't stop. He threw a punch toward its body, making the spike pierced deeper into its body. The wolf couldn't do anything, the battle was over.

Ragna calmed down and looked at his experience bar. It was now filled with an astonishing amount of 50%. It seemed like he could gain several levels here.

He sat down and collected the wolf's essence. He couldn't wait to hunt another wolf!