As a seasoned gamer, Li Miao's learning curve and adaptability were naturally quite good.
After stepping on a few traps in the beginning, he quickly wised up.
His reactions sharpened, and he learned to actually pay attention to his surroundings.
More importantly, he soon began to display that unique "player initiative."
Whoosh! Pa!
"Raaagh!"
The Tidemire Murloc hit by the rock immediately turned toward the culprit, roaring in fury as it leapt toward Li Miao.
Snickering, Li Miao rolled aside, sprang up, and cleanly decapitated it with one swift slash.
"This rock-pulling mechanic is actually pretty nice."
He picked up the loot, then weighed the stone in his hand.
"Even without item prompts, it still works like this… this game is way too realistic!"
He couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
The scattered pebbles on the ground didn't show up as items.
In a normal game, they'd do absolutely nothing.
But here, he could use them to pull aggro, letting him avoid stepping into danger zones. Very convenient.
"…Didn't even realize I've been playing this long…"
Seeing the time, he felt he should log off.
Although the seller claimed the VR helmet could perfectly replace sleep while gaming, this was his first time using it. Best to step out, check his condition, and grab breakfast.
"Hm?"
But just as he was about to leave, he suddenly noticed something unusual happening along the shoreline where the Tidemire Murlocs usually spawned.
Splash!
Where another ordinary murloc should have appeared, an enormous wave crashed—
And when it receded, a large, muscular Tidemire Murloc holding a bone trident stepped into view.
[Tidemire Murloc Chieftain]
Rank: Remnant Ash
Level: 8
Talent: Sticky Scales
Skills: Bone Trident Throw, Slime Spit
Description: With how many murlocs you've murdered, you should know why it has shown up.
Sticky Scales: A thick, sticky secretion coats its scales, slightly reducing incoming damage.
"Rrrgh…"
The Chieftain let out a low, heavy growl, flexing its corded arm muscles as it twirled the bone trident.
Its fish-eyes swept the beach as it paced back and forth.
"A boss spawn?"
Li Miao's first reaction wasn't fear—his eyes lit up.
If you kill a boss, it must drop something good!
Thinking of that, he glanced down at himself.
Bare-chested.
Tattered underwear.
Looking worse than a beggar…
This "Murloc Chieftain" definitely looked strong—but compared to danger, Li Miao simply could not accept his current poverty aesthetic.
He was the server's first player!
Wearing underwear at spawn was fine—
but logging off still wearing only underwear? Absolutely unacceptable.
Besides, who knew when this Chieftain would despawn, or when another would appear…
"Screw it—I'm going for it!"
Li Miao gritted his teeth, rolled up sleeves that didn't exist, and decided breakfast could wait.
He would slay this Chieftain.
Anyway, he had no morning classes.
Take the gamble—turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!
"All right, let's do this!"
He hefted a stone, took a breath, and hurled it straight at the Chieftain.
It flew true—
—but the problem was…
Plop.
Thanks to the thick slime, the stone simply slid off the Chieftain's head and fell into the sand.
"Rrrgh?"
The Chieftain scratched its head, swept its gaze around, spotted nothing, then resumed patrolling.
"…"
Li Miao's expression went blank.
Then he decided: forget throwing—just pull it directly.
Ordinary murlocs hadn't respawned yet.
If he got surrounded, he'd be doomed.
He crouched low and snuck forward.
Despite its intimidating size, the Chieftain seemed to have terrible eyesight.
Li Miao easily slipped behind it.
"One good stab!"
Seeing the perfect moment, Li Miao narrowed his eyes and drove the blade straight into the Chieftain's backside!
The sticky slime couldn't negate such a direct thrust.
With a puchi, the blade sank deep.
"RUAAAAAH!!!"
A thunderous roar shook the whole shoreline.
BOOM!
A shadow shot out like a cannonball—Li Miao.
He skidded across the sand, leaving a long trail, before slamming into a reef and stopping.
"Damn it… dodge failed… unlucky…"
Even with pain dampened significantly, he still felt a surge of discomfort, baring his teeth.
The Chieftain was absurdly fast.
Unable to widen the distance in time, he could only gamble on the 50% dodge chance of his talent.
And of course—he hit the 50% failure…
If he hadn't leveled up twice from collected Wax Oil, raising his Constitution, he'd probably already be toast…
Whoosh—!
Before he could get up, he sensed something tearing through the air.
The bone trident grew larger and larger in his vision—hurtling straight toward him!
A jolt shot through him.
He jerked his head aside—
BOOM!
The reef he had been leaning on exploded into pieces.
"Holy sh*t…"
His scalp tingled.
If that thing had hit him squarely, he'd be black and blue all over…
"RUAAAAH!!!"
Before he could catch his breath, the Chieftain lunged at him again.
He rolled away and tried to look for a counterattack—but then realized:
His knife was gone.
Only to spot it still stuck in the boss's backside.
"Oh crap—crap crap crap—"
His heart went cold.
He wasn't stupid enough to try pulling the blade out now—that'd be suicide.
But without the weapon…
how was he supposed to kill the Chieftain?
1v1 barehanded, man to fish?
He glanced at the enemy's arm—almost as thick as his waist.
Yeah, no.
He immediately abandoned the idea.
"Retreat! I'll reset the aggro!"
Without hesitation, Li Miao sprinted toward the reef cave.
As for the knife—no need to worry.
He had tested it: weapons bound to his body would reappear once he reached the Spirit Candle alive.
Alive being the key word.
If he died, he'd have to loot his own corpse…
He ran full-speed toward the cave.
But unlike normal murlocs, the Chieftain didn't stop chasing after a set distance.
It pursued relentlessly.
Once inside the reef cave, Li Miao figured the aggro must've reset, so he turned to check—
And instantly froze.
The Chieftain was still chasing him.
AND IT WAS ABOUT TO ENTER THE CAVE.