Chapter 25: The Necessity of Close Combat Skill

After the two brothers finished their conversation, they looked at Ling Yi again. But now that they have cleared their suspicions, the other boy doesn't look as intimidating as they thought. 

And they stopped paying attention to him.

Ling Yi's mind was sharp, and he quickly noticed the change in their attitude.

If they were a little curious about him before, now they treated him like how many would treat other strangers, unconcerned.

Ling Yi wasn't sure what had brought about this sudden change in attitude, but he could make an educated guess.

'They probably think that the person who summoned the meteorite is still somewhere further into the forest, but since I'm here, they weren't suspicious of me anymore,'

Ling Yi was happy to see this development.

He ignored the two of them and walked down the grass slope.

As he walked, he looked at the remaining time.

[Remaining time from descent: 16 minutes]

The daily roulette would be available in 16 minutes, so he would walk around until the time ran out.

...

In addition to the Combat Chickens in the Cypress Forest, many Little Grass monsters also hid in the area.

It was a monster that usually disguised itself as green grass and would shoot its grassy blades like an arrow at players upon sight.

Despite the name, they were easy for the players to discover.

After all, although their appearance was no different from weeds, their bodies were not small. Most of them were at least half the height of an average adult man.

The naked eye could easily distinguish them.

When Ling Yi walked through a narrow path to an open area in the forest, he saw five people fighting fiercely with three Little Grass monsters not far away.

The three Little Grass monsters were standing in a row. Since they were rooted to the ground, they had less mobility. But their sharp blades were enough to replace their limited movement.

The grassy blades flew all over the area with a swoosh.

The five people were so busy dodging its attacks that they couldn't retaliate. It was clear that they were at a disadvantage.

Behind them was a fat man with a round waist and a fierce face.

The fat man was about two meters tall and was looking around as if he was keeping a lookout for them and an eye on the surroundings.

The moment he saw Ling Yi, the fat man frowned impatiently and waved his hand at him. "Go away! Leave!"

The level of the little grass monster would not be higher than 10.

The current Ling Yi wouldn't get any experience points from killing them. So he didn't even bother to waste his energy engaging them in battle.

He just continued his walk forward.

When the round man saw that Ling Yi wasn't paying any attention to him, the round man's face immediately darkened.

"I'm talking to you, bastard! Are you deaf?" He yelled in a loud and clear voice.

No one had dared disobey him, especially those weaker than him.

He had already reached Level 3 on the second day, so he was confident that the young man in front of him was no match for him.

As such, the young man's attitude irks him.

Ling Yi stopped in his tracks and glanced indifferently at the five people who were still being suppressed. Then, he shifted his gaze to the round man.

He sized the latter up and immediately smiled.

"I'm only passing through. Who are you to tell me where to go?"

"You can't take this path. Go back the way you came from." The round man's face darkened as he warned him in a cold, unquestionable tone.

"There's no place in the Cypress Forest that players can't go. Besides, I'm not heading toward your battle zone."

"Are you here to cause trouble?"

"?"

"Leave! Otherwise, don't blame me for squashing you!" The fat man shouted and was about to walk towards Ling Yi.

However, after taking three or four steps, he was still unable to take the fifth step.

'This guy… he's not afraid of me?'

The fatty's name was Zhang Yuan. Although he looked fierce, he was more meticulous than his peers.

In the past, people would be scared away every time he took action.

And those who were not scared off were people who had enough confidence in their strength.

He was at a disadvantage whenever he fought with this kind of people.

'Is this guy also a Level 3 player?'

He stared at the teenager a few meters away in surprise and bewilderment and decided to test him first.

"What's your level?" He stood in place like a robot and asked expressionlessly.

Ling Yi was dumbfounded.

He raised his eyebrows and looked at him as if he was looking at an idiot. "You think I'll tell you?"

"You're right. " Zhang Yuan nodded and took a step back. He waved at him and said, "Forget it, you can go."

This guy's attitude towards him made Zhang Yuan feel intimidated.

He didn't want to offend a player who was likely stronger than him over some trivial matter. Only idiots would do that.

However, Ling Yi didn't want to let him off so easily.

That guy just randomly and somewhat rudely sealed off the road as if he was a king and got offended when he only wanted to walk by. Now, he shamelessly pretended nothing had happened by saying, "you can go"?

"You have to apologize to me."

As Ling Yi spoke, he moved his arms and legs. In his heart, he was already thinking about how to fight later.

Speed is power.

His high agility made him confident that he could quickly defeat the fatty.

"Apologize?"

Zhang Yuan's expression changed when he heard that. He glared at Ling Yi, and his fierce eyes seemed to shoot out a terrifying light.

"No way! I'm not going to—"

"Then stop with the nonsense." Ling Yi interrupted him and walked closer to him.

Ling Yi's words only seemed to fuel Zhang Yuan. And it made the other man so angry that he started to laugh. He snorted and said, "Alright, let's talk with our fists, then. Let's see whose fist is bigger!" He declared.

Zhang Yuan raised his right hand, palm facing the sky, and shouted, "Fireball." Immediately after, a red-orange fireball about 1.4 meters in diameter appeared in his palm.

Before he could make his next move, Ling Yi's figure suddenly appeared in front of him!

"What the–!" Zhang Yuan's eyes widened, and before he could say anything, the fist in front of him was coming closer and closer.

The next moment, Ling Yi's fist was like a piece of iron that smashed into Zhang Yuan's face, causing his face to cave in.

"Argh!" Zhang Yuan let out a blood-curdling scream. His brain seemed to have lost consciousness at that moment, and his fat body fell heavily to the ground without any resistance.

With a dull "thud", the leaves around were blown away, and dust several centimeters high was stirred up.

"Tsk." Ling Yi frowned and waved his hand. "I'm not used to this. "

Maybe it was his first time fighting, or maybe it was because he hadn't fought for a long time, but he wasn't used to face-to-face combat.

Ling Yi looked at fatty, who was on the ground with a bleeding nose. He didn't continue to attack. Instead, he turned around and walked back to his original path.

Conflicts between players were very common.

As long as they weren't mortal enemies, they wouldn't mind.

He didn't take this small matter to heart.

However ...

This incident made Ling Yi realize the importance of close combat skills.

After all, not only did his [Starfall] have a delay, but it could also hurt him if he couldn't get away fast enough.

There was no problem in using it to grind levels, but it was not suitable for solo fighting.

"I have to get a close-combat skill."

Even though he said that, Ling Yi couldn't help but sigh when he saw that he only had four Star Slots left.

"I don't have enough slots. I didn't even have enough to use [Ice Emperor Summoning]. How would I be able to learn other things..." He suddenly stopped.

He abruptly remembered that after he reached level 10, he could activate Support System.