Chapter 21: Elvos!

Shadow Killer was somewhat surprised. He had to admit — Lin Tianhao's idea was a little crazy.

But having witnessed Lin Tianhao's skill firsthand, Shadow Killer knew the method was entirely viable.

"Alright."

"Then let's find Elvos first."

Lin Tianhao sent Shadow Killer a party invitation.

"I'll help you level up first."

For experience distribution, Lin Tianhao set it to ninety-ten — there was no way around it; ninety-ten was the absolute limit.

After that, Lin Tianhao began one-shotting monsters!

One arrow, one Stone Beetle.

And thanks to Lightning Leap, some Stone Beetles were already dead from the chain lightning before Lin Tianhao even targeted them directly.

Although Lin Tianhao suffered an experience penalty for carrying a lower-level player, his farming speed was simply too fast to be held back.

In just ten minutes, Shadow Killer was back to Level 6.

Another fifteen minutes, and Shadow Killer hit Level 7.

Then it took only ten more minutes for Shadow Killer to reach Level 8.

By this point, Lin Tianhao had already moved on to Elite-grade Stone Beetles, which naturally yielded far more experience.

"Snow Emperor, your damage output is the most absurd I've ever seen from anyone. Did you awaken a talent?"

"Yeah."

Lin Tianhao gave a nod.

Shadow Killer was tactful enough not to ask what Lin Tianhao's talent was.

That would have been crossing a line.

A talent was everyone's personal secret.

Even after Lin Tianhao's rebirth, he only knew of many players' talents by hearsay — or had a rough idea of their tier, but the actual effects remained completely unknown to him.

Shadow Killer was a prime example.

Lin Tianhao knew he had a Divine Grade talent, but what its attributes were, neither of them could say.

Just then, both Lin Tianhao and Shadow Killer heard a furious shout echoing from deep within the cave.

"Elvos, you ungrateful wretch! Master has treated you so well, and you dare steal his ore!"

Lin Tianhao and Shadow Killer crept forward cautiously.

Ahead, Lin Tianhao spotted three NPCs.

Elvos was a somewhat short and slight young man, while the other two were burly, powerfully built men.

Elvos: Level 10.

HP: ???

Attack: ???

Skills: ???

The other two NPCs had similarly hidden stats — HP, Attack, and Skills all displayed as question marks.

The difference was that their description read: "Disciples of Blacksmith Wang — help them and you may receive unexpected rewards."

An ordinary player would almost certainly choose to help those two NPCs.

But Lin Tianhao didn't. Even though he already had a plan, he wanted to wait and see whether any new story developments would emerge.

Ragnarok could never be treated as a simple game.

This world had to be approached as a parallel reality, and NPCs had to be treated as living, breathing people.

Only then could one obtain greater rewards.

Shadow Killer stayed at Lin Tianhao's side, watching from a distance without making a sound.

"Blacksmith Wang harbors treacherous ambitions. As a resident of the novice village, I will expose his schemes to the village chief and have him dealt with!"

Though Elvos was small in stature, his eyes burned with unwavering resolve.

"He actually intends to use the Frost-Flame Demon Ore to release a boss that surpasses the limits of the novice village — if he succeeds, our village will be reduced to ruin!"

Hearing this, Blacksmith Wang's two disciples let out a cold snort. "Enough. What our master chooses to do is none of your business."

"The old village chief is incompetent and senile. Our master is the only true candidate for village chief."

The two sides were at a standoff.

Just as he suspected!

Blacksmith Wang had been deceiving him all along!

Lin Tianhao's expression grew complicated.

The Frost-Flame Demon Ore wasn't for upgrading weapon quality as Wang had claimed — it was to release some kind of boss.

What hidden boss could there possibly be in this novice village?

Could it be a Drought Demon?

There was no time for Lin Tianhao to think further. Elvos and Blacksmith Wang's two disciples had already broken into a fight.

The three were evenly matched in strength, but the numbers disadvantage quickly put Elvos on the back foot.

Whoosh!

An arrow tore through the air.

Lin Tianhao made his move.

His arrow sliced across the sky and struck Wang San squarely in the head.

-2512.

A massive critical hit damage number appeared.

At the same time, an equally large damage number appeared above Lin Tianhao's own head.

-1256!!

Damage reflection!!

Lin Tianhao's eyes narrowed. His lifesteal at this stage wasn't sufficient — against an enemy with damage reflection like this, he absolutely couldn't sustain himself.

The opponent was a Level 10 boss after all. Even at the low end, their stats wouldn't be worse than the Twisted Treant King's — and might even be higher.

Caught off guard by the sudden ambush, Wang San turned his cold, sinister gaze toward them.

"Adventurers? So the old village chief sent you to back up this traitor Elvos."

"In that case, you can all die."

The words had barely left his mouth before Wang San raised his great blade and brought it slashing down.

Whoosh!

With sharp reflexes, Lin Tianhao fired an arrow that broke through the air and disrupted Wang San's attack rhythm.

However, Wang San's fifty-percent damage reflection made Lin Tianhao's scalp tingle.

That kind of reflection was absolutely brutal in the early stages of the game.

Lin Tianhao's own set also had a damage reflection effect — but it was only ten percent.

The gap between the two was stark.

Shadow Killer was also aware of the reflection, and it gave him a headache as an assassin.

"How do we fight this?"

Shadow Killer asked in a low voice.

"Kite them."

Lin Tianhao's expression was calm.

The reflection was clearly a problem, but it didn't mean there was no room to maneuver.

After all, their primary role was to assist Elvos in the fight.

"Wang San and Wang Si both have Reflection Armor — the reflection stat is extremely high, but their HP isn't particularly impressive."

Elvos's voice rang out. He raised his hand, and two jets of pitch-black radiance flew into Lin Tianhao's body.

[Ding — You have received Elvos's Blessing. Damage taken reduced by 10%.]

Lin Tianhao's eyes lit up. This blessing was like a lifeline arriving at exactly the right moment.

He immediately switched to the Jungle Longbow.

The reason was simple — the Jungle Longbow added five hundred HP and provided two percent lifesteal.

Against an enemy with damage reflection, lifesteal became a critical attribute.

Your reflection is fierce?

As long as my lifesteal is fiercer, you can glare all you want.

Even without his main weapon being part of the Treant Set, Lin Tianhao's base HP regeneration per second was still as high as one hundred and eighty points.

Combined with the Jungle Longbow's lifesteal, plus the ten-percent damage reduction from Elvos's Blessing, he just might be able to kite Wang San and Wang Si effectively.

Whoosh!

Another massive critical hit damage number appeared.

Lin Tianhao's HP dropped by just over a thousand.

HP began steadily regenerating across his body.

Shadow Killer stood his ground, still waiting — he hadn't made a rash move.

As an assassin, when faced with a combat situation that wasn't in his favor, the key was to stay calm and wait for the perfect opening before striking.

"Kill that kid first."

Wang Si let out a furious roar and charged straight at Lin Tianhao.

Bowstring Twist!

Lin Tianhao used the powerful impact force of Bowstring Twist to forcefully push Wang Si back.