Salt Mine & Salt Snakes- V

The salt critters outside the safe room continued their relentless assault, their screeches and hisses echoing through the chamber. Saad watched them with a mix of fear and fascination. They were like an unending tide, pushing against an invisible barrier that separated them from their prey.

Slowly, Saad began to realize that no matter how hard they tried, the salt critters couldn't breach the protective barrier of the safe room. It was as if an impenetrable force field surrounded the chamber, keeping him safe from their onslaught.

The revelation filled Saad with a newfound sense of hope. Could he, perhaps, use this to his advantage? The thought struck him like a bolt of lightning. With cautious optimism, he decided to test his theory. He raised his whip and, with a burst of confidence, unleashed the [Whip Snap] skill.

The whip crackled through the air, striking the salt critters just beyond the barrier. To Saad's surprise, the attack landed successfully, and he watched with a sense of satisfaction as the critters were knocked back and their health bars dwindled.

Excitement surged through Saad as he realized that he could safely attack the salt critters from within the safety of the room. It became like a grim but oddly satisfying game, as he whipped the creatures one after another, their numbers gradually diminishing. He had found a strategy that allowed him to slaughter the critters with ease while remaining protected.

As he continued to whip away at the relentless horde, Saad's experience points steadily climbed. The salt critters became like an assembly line of experience, and he soon reached the threshold for leveling up. He ended up so easily leveling up level 3 and took a break as he ignored the remaining critters as background noise and started to invest his skill points.

He didn't want to wait when everything was so uncertain. Not to mention, he had enough skill points to level up [whip snap]. He really wished that he could take this skill outside due to its explosive damage. Then again, the skill needed to penetrate the barrier and hadn't worked so well on the salt snake because of his limited stamina.

Character Window - ID: 1221

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Name: Kael Emberflame

Age: 15

Race: Human

Main Class: Whip Master (In Progress)

Main Weapon: Basic Whip

Level: 3  65/150 

HP: 70/70

Wealth: 430 SC

Attributes:

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Stamina: 10  Strength: 10

Agility: 14  Intelligence: 10

Charm: 7  Dexterity: 7.75

Vitality: 23  Arcane Points: 7.75

Status point: 0

Skill points: 12

Effects: >>>expand for detail<<<

Saad had invested his points and now his stats looked just a little better than before, and he could also feel the increase in his strength and agility. He also put the points in to level up [whip snap].

And skill window had an effect of glowing gently as the skill became more powerful.

[Whip Snap]

Description: Unleash a rapid snap of the whip that creates a powerful sonic boom, delivering a burst of damage to a single target and potentially knocking them back.

Damage: 225-350 points of physical damage.

Knockback Chance: 45% chance to knock back the target.

Cooldown: 7.5 seconds.

Range: Melee range (up to 2 meters from the player character).

Special Effect: The sonic boom created by the whip snap may temporarily disorient the target, reducing their accuracy and movement speed for 3 seconds.

Skill Level Upgrade: The damage is increased by 15% and the knockback chance by 8%. The cooldown is reduced by 0.5 seconds.

(Required skill points: 10)

Skill Mastery: At maximum skill mastery, the damage is increased by 25%, the knockback chance is increased by 15%, and the disorientation effect lasts for an additional 1 second.(Locked)

Consumption: 4 stamina

As Saad invested his skill points, he noticed that the skill window seemed to shimmer gently. The [Whip Snap] skill had become more powerful, and he couldn't wait to see its enhanced performance in action.

With his skill points invested and his stats slightly improved, Saad's character profile looked more promising than before. He could feel the increase in his strength and agility, which filled him with confidence.

But it wasn't just his stats that had improved. He also noticed that his currency had increased to 430 SC, indicating that he had indeed killed a substantial number of salt critters. The earlier depression and frustration that had plagued him were now replaced by a thrilling sense of anticipation.

Excitedly, Saad accessed the shop once more. He remembered a particularly intriguing item he had seen earlier—a magical robe priced at 200 salt crystals. It was a sort of cheat robe that offered incredible defensive properties. Earlier he had felt like he wouldn't be able to ever get so many points but now that he had them, he wanted that robe.

[Magical Cheat Robe]

Price: 200 Salt Crystals

Description: This mystical robe enhances your defense dramatically, with a 60% chance to ignore incoming damage. Additionally, it grants a 30% chance to counter incoming attacks. The robe also provides a 60% bonus to stealth, allowing you to move quietly and avoid detection.

(Requirements: Level 5)

Saad couldn't resist the allure of the robe even it would unlock at level 5. He had high hopes that he would be easily able to get that level with that many salt critters still slamming against the invisible barrier. He also noticed another enticing item—a skill that cost 150 salt crystals. It was a skill that seemed too good to pass up even if it had a ridiculous arcane point consumption.

[Soulrend]

Description: Unleash the ancient power of the soul-infused whip, tearing through the fabric of reality and rending the essence of your enemies. This rare whip skill taps into dark energies, causing devastating damage and inflicting a unique debuff on the target.

Damage: 800-1000 points of dark damage.

Debuff: Soul Corruption - The target's life force becomes tainted by the dark essence, reducing their damage output by 20% and increasing the damage they receive by 15% for 10 seconds.

Cooldown: 25 seconds.

Range: Melee range (up to 2 meters from the player character).

Skill Mastery: At maximum skill mastery, the damage is increased by 30%, and the duration of the debuff is extended by 2 seconds.

Arcane Cost: 50

Casting Time: 2 seconds.

The cost of 150 salt crystals and 50 arcane points for [Soulrend] didn't concern Saad. After all, he had plenty of experience points to spare. With 430 salt crystals remaining, he was still in a good position to make further purchases.

Determined to acquire both the robe and the skill, Saad left 40 salt crystals as reserve and cracked his whip once more. He unleashed the [Whip Snap] skill on the remaining salt critters outside the safe room, relentlessly killing them one by one.

As the critters fell before him, their experience points added up, and Saad quickly reached level 5 after going at it for another two hours. His speed had slowed down because of increased experience points needed for the level up. It was a real struggle to level up, given the small experience rewards from the critters, but he was determined to achieve his goal.

Having reached level 5, Saad had accomplished what he set out to do for the day. He had leveled up his [Whip Snap] skill and gathered enough experience points to make his purchases. With a sense of satisfaction, he logged out, knowing that he would start from the safe room when he returned to the game.

Saad slowly removed the VR headset once the screen went black, his senses gradually returning to the real world. He blinked as the room came back into focus, the familiar surroundings of his bedroom replacing the virtual landscapes he had just traversed. It felt strange, almost disorienting, to transition from the immersive virtual reality game back to his everyday life.

He sat up on the edge of his bed and began the process of changing out of his virtual reality suit and back into his comfortable clothes. The cool fabric of his sky blue shalwaar kameez felt nice against his skin, grounding him in reality.

As Saad settled back onto his bed, his mind was filled with the thoughts of what Amir had said. The words lingered, echoing in his thoughts. He stared at his palm, spread open before him, lost in contemplation.

They were right in a way, he thought. It was indeed foolish to invest so much money and time into something as extravagant as a virtual reality game. His roots were in a small village, far removed from the luxuries and conveniences of the modern world. Life there had been a struggle, and he vividly remembered his parents working tirelessly to provide him and his siblings with bare necessities.

The world was changing rapidly, but those advancements and technologies seemed like distant dreams in his village. Saad had grown up with a clear understanding of the stark contrast between his reality and the headlines about technological progress. He didn't concern himself with politics or complex issues. What mattered to him was the harshness of his daily life, the endless toil that seemed to offer no respite.

He knew it so well, they were bottom feeders.