Chapter 12

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

After some hesitation, Wang Shuo sent a message.

“There are three levels in the trial, each more difficult than the last. If you want to live, try your best to increase your strength.”

His single message caused a huge commotion on the forum.

Instantly, countless messages flooded the initially lifeless forum.

“Where did you get the news from?”

“Upvote.”

“Big shot, did you clear the second trial?”

…

At that moment, people who were shocked, doubtful, curious, and so on gathered on the forum.

As a fellow player, coupled with there being no competition currently, Wang Shuo decided to bestow them with more kindness and sent another message.

“The second trial isn’t as simple as just clearing a camp. If there’s a way to increase your strength, then try to do it.

“Everything can turn its back on you, but your own strength definitely won’t. That’s all I have to say. Everyone, take care.”

After sending this message, Wang Shuo closed the forum.

By this time, the morning sun had gradually risen. He stood up and stretched his body. Looking at the young sprouts that had already started budding around him, he somehow felt a ball of emotion well up within him.

If he had seen such a scene in the past, he would have definitely been so excited that he wouldn’t be able to sleep for days.

Sprouting in one day, then budding the next, this quick life cycle was simply a miracle of life.

But this was just a game. Knowing this, he was very calm, without a trace of fluctuations.

He took out the Green Flood Dragon Staff and warmed up. After glancing at the time, Wang Shuo gradually tensed up.

The kobold camp spawned at this time yesterday.

About half an hour later, just as he was about to start doubting himself, a dense forest suddenly appeared 100 meters away.

The forest was about the size of a football field with trees that Wang Shuo had never seen before. They were not too thick, but their foliage was very dense. The trunks were brown and resembled locust trees’. The leaves looked like parasol trees, dark green and very thick.

From the outside, it was impossible to see the situation within the vegetation.

Even after a long time, Wang Shuo didn’t see any creatures coming out.

After some hesitation, he slowly approached the edge of the forest with the Green Dragon Staff in hand.

As he got closer, a soft sound came from the forest. It sounded a little like a woman’s cry, a little sorrowful and very familiar.

“No!”

A sudden realization struck Wang Shuo. This wasn’t a woman! It was a cat’s cry!

He had raised a cat himself, and sometimes, it cried out very similarly in the middle of the night.

“Before, it was kobolds. Now, it’s catgirls?”

As the image of 2D catgirls floated into his mind, Wang Shuo became a little excited.

Of course, he quickly regained his composure.

After all, other than in novels, it was rare for men to lose themselves to sexual desires under such circumstances. Fortunately, Wang Shuo was obviously not one of them.

“If it’s really catpeople, then it will be troublesome…”

Although the kobolds earlier were unable to withstand a single blow from the mystic-tier Green Dragon Staff, they were still formidable.

Especially the kobold leader… Even with Wang Shuo’s Physique of 3 points, he couldn’t gain any advantage in strength. It was apparent how powerful the kobold leader had been.

But catpeople were different.

In Wang Shuo’s memory, regardless of whether it was games or anime, any feline creatures with combat strength would almost always have absurd agility.

All thanks to the cat’s body structure.

Cats had extremely flexible spines and long and slender limbs, where most of their muscles were concentrated. As a result, their heads and bodies were lean and compact. Not only were they light and agile, but their streamlined bodies were perfect for sudden bursts of strength.

With the same Physique, the speed and agility of cats far exceeded those of most creatures.

“If kobolds are strength-type warriors, then catpeople and feline monsters are agility-type assassins.”

To be honest, Wang Shuo would be lying if he said that he wasn’t nervous when facing this type of enemy. But nervousness was different from fear.

After a few days, he was no longer a newbie who knew nothing about fighting.

As his strength increased, his comprehension of the combat system improved significantly.

When he read novels in the past, he would always find it pretty satisfying to see high-agility assassins using their speed to toy with their enemies.

After genuinely understanding combat, he discovered that it wasn’t impossible to achieve this. But it required the former to have a domineering superiority in ability.

After all, speed and attack speed were two completely different concepts.

For a simple example, two people of similar Physiques fight—one was lean and fast, while the other was fat and slow.

In terms of speed alone, the latter was far inferior. But when the opponent attacked, it was easy to defend and counterattack. (Simple concepts from games or real-life fights. No further elaboration needed.)

Based on the strength of the kobolds, Wang Shuo estimated that even if the cat-type monsters were fast, he could deal with them as long as there weren’t too many.

After a short wait, Wang Shuo didn’t see any signs of the monsters in the forest coming out, so he decided to make the first move.

He took a deep breath, expanded his perception to the maximum (advanced auditory position tracking), and slowly stepped into the forest while holding the Green Dragon Staff.

The forest ground was very flat, and the gaps between the trees were spacious. So thankfully, there would be little effect on staff techniques.

As soon as he entered, the faint meowing stopped.

Instantly, the forest fell into pin-drop silence.

Wang Shuo subconsciously held his breath as his nerves tensed up.

After about a minute, there were still no movements. He lifted his foot and walked forward again.

Crunch!

The moment his foot landed, there was a sudden movement on his right.

In his peripheral vision, he saw something zooming straight at him.

In a split second, Wang Shuo suppressed the thought of striking with his staff and dodged.

Swish!

With a slight sweeping sound, a short wooden spear about two feet long pieced into the ground under his feet.

At the same time, a petite figure pounced over. “I’ve been waiting for you!”

Wang Shuo didn’t even raise his head. He instantly condensed all his strength into a single burst, and the Green Dragon pierced upward like lightning.

His arm shook slightly, and then he heard a mournful wail.

With a swing of his staff, a monster fell to the side. It had yellow fur and the body of a girl but the face of a cat. The monster clutched her abdomen while groaning and panting heavily.

Wang Shuo sized her up carefully. She was thin, but her muscles were well-developed, just like a female leopard’s.

Other than her face, hairy limbs, and sharp claws, she mostly looked similar to a human.

On the ground beside him, two green daggers, each about 30 centimeters long, caught his attention.

To be honest, the moment he saw the appearance of the ‘catgirl’, he felt something shatter in his heart.

At this moment, he felt that he had grown up.

“The 2D world is indeed a lie! Goodbye, my youth!”

The next second, with tears glistening in his eyes, Wang Shuo smashed the catgirl’s head.