A Fight for A Root

Tang Ling completed his usual procedure to exit the city and rushed to the place where the herb was growing.

With his superhuman speed and stamina, he was able to run all the way to the location and climbed to the top of the abode. Drinking a mouthful from the natural spring, Tang Ling noticed a small shadow in the distance. About 10 meters.

Cautiously, Tang Ling crouched as he sneaked to the location he saw the shadow and after a few meters have passed, sure enough, he finally saw a living being. Another beast.

Sure enough, the scent of Pauli's Root attracted the few local hiding beasts into this place. After taking a better look, Tang Ling saw a trail of blood scattered around. There was a fight.

As long as one wasn't stupid, he would know what happened.

Tang Ling took out his bow and readied the arrow. The figure was of a coyote which was similar to the snow and grey wolves he fought last night. However, it was leaner and smaller than the wolves, boasting more agility than the latter.

Filling the bow with Flux, Tang Ling let the arrow loose, going straight through the coyote.

[Host has dealt 400 damage to target.]

Although the arrow was stuck into its flesh, it did not die. Rather, as soon as it got the signal of pain, the beast rushed quickly into a hiding spot, where Tang Ling could no longer see it.

'It's fast!' Tang Ling was shocked, 'Even the supposed drop of blood leaking can't be seen!'

What he used was a Penetration Arrow since he wanted to kill it in one shot, however, it had a surprisingly had a high vitality and defense. In this case, he should have used the Bloodletting Arrow...

But how could he have known?

This type of damage would be able to kill a man four times over but a beast not known for their vitality was still able to tank this damage...

However, Tang Ling was sure that his target was extremely close to death. If the coyote was so terrifying, why did it not contest the territory with the Uruvian Bear and instead waited for its death before controlling the area?

Because it was weaker than the bear!

In that case, Tang Ling was confident that it had around 500 to 700 HP!

[Wasteland Coyote LV 16

HP: ???

ATK: 50

DEF: 10

Skills: Conceal, Dash, ???

Evaluation: Not a Flux Creature but a simple beast.]

Beasts are naturally stronger than humans and it was even more evident after they have been corrupted with Flux. As volatile the energy is, it has enhanced the physique of every animal which made even the weakest rabbit into an opponent to take note of.

That Wasteland Coyote was still in the realm of ordinary beast and did not even accumulate Flux. If it did eat the Pauli's Root, there was little chance that it could transform into a Ferocious Beast, something that even the esteemed Fluxers would fear.

Tang Ling took a deep breath and went to search for the coyote.

Wush!

A bush rustled and Tang Ling immediately drew, aimed, and shot at it!

"Wuuuuuu!"

Fatality!

That was the last howl it shall ever do, the last gasp before slowly returning to death's embrace.

Finally, the coyote collapsed as Tang Ling slowly walked towards his corpse. The body was still warm but the heart stopped beating.

Not wanting to repeat last time's incident, Tang Ling chose to put the coyote's corpse inside his [Inventory] and noticed that it occupied three boxes of space.

It did not matter since he had enough space but it was something that he would keep in mind in the future.

After looting the poor beast, Tang Ling proceeded to approach the herb and took out his sickle...

Spak!

With one clean cut, the herb fell and Tang Ling grabbed it and put it in his [Inventory].

The attribute did not change but it was clear that the root was at its prime and would remain so in his [Inventory].

Tang Ling let out a sigh of relief. Now that he had harvested Pauli's Root, he had acquired the main ingredient for the Strong Vitality Potion but most importantly, he managed to stop a beast from reaching a Ferocious-class!

What is Ferocious-class?

In the dictionary, it is stated to be the next level in the pyramid of life after the ordinary-level. In some others which were more specific, it was a new classification of lifeform which are superior to normal beasts, six stars, and above in the hunter's difficulty.

A beast reaching this level is a league on its own, incomparable to the ones under him!

In the words of a now-famous bystander who witnessed a beast evolving while fighting an Orderer, it was like two dogs fighting each other and suddenly, a dog turned into a lion; beating the sh*t out of the other.

Although the difference isn't as large as heaven and earth, it would be a qualitative change that makes one beast defeat twenty others.

At that stage, only qualified Orderers can defeat one of them! There were only four or so Orderers in Bao Feng City and one Protector!

Anyway, after resolving a hidden danger for the city, Tang Ling went to an underground tunnel, the one with a medium evaluation from the newbie guide. He equipped the night vision goggle but soon noticed the difference between with and without.

The vision goggle filtered most things in the cave but the vision was blurred and so, the range shortened. It made it hard for him to aim at a target 10 meters away...

'Maybe I should have bought the Night Vision Potion...' Tang Ling thought for a moment but soon rejected it. The potion only lasted for three hours and is simply not cost-effective, that is, for a newbie like himself. He simply did not know the terrain enough to warrant a three hours perfect clear vision at the same price as a watered-down permanent dark vision equipment.

Rustle!

After walking twenty minutes, he finally heard the sound of his first underground enemy.

Piak!

Tang Ling knew that he could not rely on his vision and so, closed his eyes to carefully listen to the footsteps of his prey.

Plop. Plop. Plo...

"Hiss....!!"

Over here! Tang Ling's eyes widened and quickly turned around, letting loose an arrow!

"KRRiiii!!!"

Touched!

However, before Tang Ling could celebrate his shot, he became serious.

Twenty Grey Rats!

In the beginner Hunter's Guide, it is said that Grey Rats are one-stars creatures. However, everyone knew that number makes all the difference. If their mind was right, even an army of peasants can kill a Protector!

And these rats have no fear!

They were born to be part of a collective, if the group decides to flee then they shall flee; if the group decides to fight, it shall be a fight to the death!

Although Tang Ling wasn't afraid of them, their eyes indicated that they were desperate and would attack any food sources they could find! And that food source is him! Fighting them is almost a guarantee to be injured and being bitten by a rat living in those dirty environment, it wouldn't be surprising if tomorrow, he would spend the entire day on the bed!