Esher's Tavern.
George kicked the door open and walked in boldly.
The noisy players fell silent right away. All of them looked at George.
Some players showed no shame in their hatred for George. They had all been trained by George's Peacekeeper group.
"Hey, isn't that George, the big shot? What brings you to a place like this, among us regular players?" A职业assassins, a sissy named Burn, came over with a drink in his hand, leaned in close, and whispered into George's ear: "George, soon, I'll make you kneel at my feet and let you really feel... uh..."
George threw Burn down with a backflip, and Frost Moon Blade pressed against Burn's throat.
"Interfering with law enforcement. First warning. Repeat, and I'll kill you!"
The players all avoided George's gaze and went back to drinking.
George stepped over Burn, pulled out three medium healing potions, and placed them on the table.
Medium healing potions: restore 300 health at once, then 20 health per second for 10 seconds.
This was a potion only players above level 20 could exchange for. George was in the Peacekeeper Office, and he got three of them a month as pay.
As soon as the healing potions came out, the players' eyes lit up. For players below level 20, this was like getting an extra life!
The player who ran the tavern, Esher, quickly came forward and smiled: "George, how to exchange? I have everything here..."
"Where can I find Wraithroot herbs?" George asked. "If you tell me where, the healing potions are yours!"
"You, you also know about Wraithroot herbs?" A female player, dressed in a hooded robe, said excitedly. "It's said that Wraithroot herbs can bring souls back to life and resurrect the dead. It's the goal of every alchemist's life..."
"Do you know where it is?" George asked.
"Yes!" The female player nodded strongly. Her eyes, hidden under her hood, shone with excitement, but she looked around nervously.
George grabbed the healing potions and left the tavern.
The street was cold and windy, with few people around.
"Now you can say it," George said.
"I, I can tell you!" The female player said. "But, but you have to take me with you, and, and you have to give me one too! Oh, by the way, my name is Dorothy."
"George," George threw the potion to Dorothy. "But I can't guarantee your safety."
"Thank you, thank you!" Dorothy took the potion and smiled happily. "With these healing potions and my alchemist's Life Barrier skill, I'm as good as having several lives. I won't die this time. I'll definitely succeed!"
Dorothy said that, and she raised her fist, which was wrapped in animal hide gloves, and looked full of energy.
"Enter the coordinates," George said, pulling out a teleport scroll. He felt a little sad.
Teleport scroll: the Peacekeeper Office only gave out three a month. This was the second one. He only had one left. If this failed, he'd be taken down by a group of level 20 players the next day for sure.
Dorothy entered the coordinates, and the teleport scroll glowed white, covering George and Dorothy.
[Warning! Warning! You have entered the advanced map Island Swamp. You will take continuous damage. Please level up before coming back!]
[Warning! Warning! You have entered the advanced map Island Swamp. You will take continuous damage. Please level up before coming back!]
Red light flashed in front of George, and he was losing 10 health points per second.
"Get on my back!" George shouted to Dorothy as he turned around.
"No, no, I have poison resistance. I'm fine," Dorothy said quickly, waving her hands.
"I don't!" George snapped. "You want to watch me die?"
"Healing potions..." Dorothy pulled out a bottle and nervously handed it to George.
George stepped forward, crouched down, and put Dorothy on his back. Then he started running.
"Ahh... ahh..." Dorothy kept shouting in fear.
"Stop screaming! Just point the way!" George shouted.
"Oh, left... right... here! I see it! I see it!" Dorothy said excitedly. "Do you see it? The one glowing red is the one!"
George saw it. The herb was glowing red and lighting up the whole swamp.
He ran faster with Dorothy on his back.
"Be careful! There's a guardian beast!" Dorothy shouted.
Before she finished speaking, a big snake rose from the mud. It was clean, and the part that was out of the mud was three meters long. Its golden eyes were cold and stared straight at George.
[Swamp Serpent]
Level: 35
Attack: 44-78
HP: 1300
Skill: Frostbite Swamp: Activates when HP drops to 1/3. Area skill. Everything around the snake, including the snake itself, gets Frostbite. Frostbite lasts 3 seconds. Instant HP loss of 1/2, then 300 HP per second for the next 3 seconds.
George looked at the description and froze.
His current stats were:
Level: 29
...
HP: 730/820
MP: 130/300
Strength: 71
Power: 71
Agility: 64
Reflex: 70
Talent: 33
Insight: 32
Skill: Bloody Hands.
...
According to the description, George was dead for sure.
At that moment, the snake swung its tail and attacked.
George dodged while carrying Dorothy and shouted, "Why did you come if you knew it was a sure death?"
"It's not a sure death!" Dorothy shouted, her voice shaking:
"With your healing potions and my Life Barrier, if I take the potions the moment Frostbite hits, I can survive. If I survive, I can kill the snake. I did the math!"
"That's because you have Life Barrier..." George shouted as he dodged. Then, Boom!
George was hit by the snake and both he and Dorothy fell into the mud.
He pulled himself out of the mud, took a deep breath, gripped his Frost Moon Blade, and shouted as he ran toward the snake.
When George had only 30 HP left, the snake's HP dropped to 1/3. The snake swung its tail again, and blue ice flames appeared on its body. The Frostbite skill activated!
In that moment, Dorothy quickly drank two healing potions.
George pulled out a bottle of milk from his pocket and drank it.
Frostbite hit!
Just a small sip of milk, George was back to full health. After the damage, he recovered instantly.
The milk had a little bit of a sour taste, and it carried the scent of Louise.
During the three seconds of Frostbite, George's mind couldn't help but imagine Louise milking.
Louise's milk was the strongest healing potion ever... this NPC, could he take her and make her his?
In his fantasy, three seconds passed. George was surprised to find that the milk in the bottle... was gone!
He realized that after being Frostbitten, the milk wasn't affected. It kept pouring into his mouth. That's why he recovered so fast.
This was Louise's milk, and he hadn't even had a chance to taste it properly.
George got angry. He put the bottle away, swung his Frost Moon Blade, and charged at the snake again.
The snake kept swinging its tail. Every five hits, it hit George at least once.
But its HP was down to 300. Under George's crazy attacks, the snake finally crashed to the ground!
[Ding! Congratulations, host! You have killed the giant snake. You have gained the skill: Frostbite!]
[Frostbite: Passive skill. No mana cost. Increases host's HP by 100. Each attack has a 60% chance to Frostbite the opponent. Three hits in a row will definitely Frostbite the opponent. Each Frostbite lasts 0.3 seconds and can stack!]
George went from shock to total happiness.
0.3 seconds of Frostbite was enough to let him do three hits in a row. And three hits in a row would definitely Frostbite the opponent. That meant, once he Frostbitten someone once, the fight was all his. The enemy would just have to watch and die.
The only weakness now was that he lacked a long-range skill and extreme speed.
If he had either one, he would be... unbeatable!
George was very satisfied. He didn't forget what Louise had told him. He was excited to see what ultimate skill she would give him next. He was also curious if she would give him more milk.
He ran forward and picked the five Wraithroot herbs that grew together.
Of course, he didn't leave the snake's body behind. Maybe he could trade it with Louise for more milk.
Dorothy ran over and looked at the Wraithroot herbs with eyes full of hope.
"There's some left for you," George said.
Dorothy nodded strongly. "Thank you!"
"No need," George smiled and used his last teleport scroll.
The view in front of them changed. The two appeared at the Peacekeeper Office.
"Louise!" George shouted excitedly, carrying the snake.
The golden door opened. George pulled the snake and ran inside with energy.
Dorothy watched as George didn't even look at her. Suddenly, she felt a little sad.