Laotou stood his ground, declaring his aggression towards the beast. The Players stood watch, too stunned to speak.
The elemental wolf growled menacingly. But it didn't move, instead lingering in the distance, observing the strange man.
After a period, it finally made its move. It attacked! The beast charged towards Laotou, closing the distance in a blink!
The beast lunged forward, opening its jaws. Laotou scoffed. He leaned back, evading the danger.
"The elemental wolf has a predictable attack. Their main weapon is their jaws, and they aim at the neck or limbs."
Whilst explaining, Laotou remained unfazed, not moving a single step from where he stood. The Fire elemental wolf continued its desperate attempts, but no matter how hard it tried, it could never touch a single strand of Laotou's hair.
"Other than their above-average mobility and lethality, they have weak defences. However, these creatures can manipulate the basic elements."
The elemental wolf rushed in, its canines set ablaze as it attacked. Laotou remained unfazed. When the beast closed in, he swung the sheathed side of the blade, hitting the underside of its jaw.
"The elemental wolf has an ability called Fire Bite. This is the only troubling feature of this foul beast."
The monster jumped back, feeling threatened. None of its attacks worked, and it felt he was facing an undefeatable opponent! Feeling this unnerving sense of doom, the elemental wolf turned around… and fled for its life!
Escape? Impossible. Laotou took a step, but that single step allowed him to travel tens of metres as if he teleported! Laotou had a pitiful look, then swung his blade.
He struck the beast's head, but that single strike caused it to lose consciousness. The beast trembled, then lost its strength and passed out.
"Its attacks are strong but one-dimensional. Its agility is high, but not unfathomable. And there are countless shortcomings to exploit."
Turning around, Laotou had an indifferent expression. "Yet you couldn't even land a scratch! Pathetic. Go home. The path of cultivation is not for you."
And with this, the sect leader flew in the air, disappearing from the scene.
The players were all stunned. Compared to all those fighting shows they see on TV, or those large-scale battles in other MMOs, there is a profoundness in the way Laotoou fought.
He didn't swing his blade like a maniac. He didn't shout like a hot-blooded youth. From beginning to end, he has only dodged with a delicate grace.
"Awesome! That cutscene was so cool! How much did they spend on CGI?"
"That NPC… could we unlock any skills from him?"
"That sword… is that a legendary weapon? I must get my hands on it!"
However, none of the players were more taken aback than Blood Emperor. As an expert PVP player, he had delved into countless battle systems of various games… but it was right here that he found he was just a frog in a well.
"This combat system… so deep!" Blood shouted, racking his head with new ideas. "I have underestimated this game's mechanics!"
"This game is unlike other MMOs where the core gameplay revolves around: attack, block, evade."
"It is entirely different! It is real combat! This… This is impossible!"
Thinking back to the previous attempts of killing the elemental wolf, they tackled it with the same mentality as other MMO games— Tank, DPS, Support.
But after witnessing Laotou's performance, they realised how foolish they were!
From the beginning to end. Laotou did not use a single ability, let alone proper martial arts technique. All he did was stand there and mumble!
"Bro, I've been dodge-rolling like a maniac. You're telling me all I needed was to lean slightly to the side?"
Blood shook his head. "No, no. It's not that simple! That NPC evaded the trajectory of the attack! If my theory is correct, we don't need to do combat rolls, we can just evade the attack vector!"
"Not to mention. It appears this game has deep gameplay mechanics that are grounded to reality! Did you see how the elemental wolf tried to use fire bite? That NPC struck the underside of its jaw, forcing its mouth shut. Thus cancelling its special ability!"
BloodEmperor was speaking faster and faster, and countless thoughts ran through his head. "This… this game is realistic. 100% realistic!"
"Then what should we do boss? How can we finish the mission?" The players looked at Blood, unofficially appointing him their leader.
Blood went into deep thought, walking around in circles. "Did you remember what that NPC said? — To know your enemy, you must know yourself."
"This must be the key to finishing the first mission!"
The players all shone an admiral gaze towards the big shot. No wonder such a player is the guild master and former PVP champion! Not only did he have a knack for understanding a variety of games, he even grasped such an obscure clue that escaped them.
"What should we do then?"
"I… don't know."
BloodEmperor sat down, completely lost. "There is no point fighting those beasts. The game has hinted that we must first 'know ourselves'."
Saying this, Blood walked into the distance, leaving the group. "I'll try to… know myself. We'll regroup when everyone has figured something out."
And with this statement, the players all went their separate ways, trying to "know themselves".
Some players went to the sect, knocking on the doors of Clear Sky Pavilion. Much to Laotou's dismay.
Some players have been exploring mountains, trying to make a discovery.
Some have dissected the elemental wolf defeated by Laotou, trying to get "loot".
Overall, it could be said the players were like wild monkeys discovering the world.
But for Laotou, it was none of his concern. The sect leader was cultivating diligently, humbly gathering world Chi and nourishing his core.
Although a certain evil spirit pestered him to stop. The strong mental fortitude of a spiritual realm cultivator allowed him to shut out all distractions.
Like this, the night passed quickly.
The next morning, Laotou opened his eyes, and the shining glare from the morning sun pierced through the windows. The old man stood up, welcoming a new day.
It was a refreshing sight, and it would be a great day… if not for the fact that an evil spirit was in his head!
> Host! How many times do I have to repeat myself?
> I'm a System! SYSTEM!!!
Laotou felt his vein-popping, but he suppressed his disgust.
Over the night, he had tried numerous methods of separating the evil spirit from his body, but nothing worked.
Luckily, Laotou realised the evil spirit can only communicate with him but can not control his body.
Therefore, he decided to attack the spirit mentally rather than brute force. He decided to use.. the power of silent treatment!
> Host! Stop ignoring me?! Why don't you listen to my suggestions?
> We have to plan out new quests, a comprehensive levelling system, and an endgame plot. You have to help me! HOST!
For such trickery, Laotou spared no thoughts! With the power of silent treatment, he would ignore this evil spirit until it left his body!
However, the moment he stepped outside, he heard a loud noise.
Ding!
[ Player EdgeLord69 has successfully slain an elemental wolf! ]
[ Quest Progress: 1/100 ]
Laotou: "What!?"