Hearing the shout, Roy was startled and quickly pulled the rope, hauling it upwards with force.
However, at that moment, Old Nelson's urgent and terrified voice rang out again.
"Roy, don't come down—"
Old Nelson's voice seemed to cut off abruptly before he could finish his sentence, and then, the previously taut rope suddenly went slack!
When I pulled the rope back again, I only saw that the other end was broken, still stained with warm blood.
Something had happened to Old Nelson!
"…"
Roy's pupils contracted at the sight.
He had long considered this kind and stubborn old man as his friend.
And now, he had died right before his eyes.
For a moment, anger, self-blame, and sorrow flooded his heart.
But soon, he snapped back to reality.
No, I can reload a save, why panic!
At this thought, Roy immediately calmed down.
Just as he was about to exit the Real View and reload the game, he paused.
Let's go down and check the situation first.
With that thought, Roy didn't even bother to tie the rope, sliding directly down into the Cave.
A cold sensation spread, and Roy's heart felt uneasy.
But this feeling didn't last long.
With a thud, Roy's feet landed.
A spacious grotto, a tall, locked stone door.
However, before he could clearly see anything else, a pale, blood-stained figure suddenly turned its head, staring intently at him with crimson eyes.
This humanoid monster was gaunt, with skin as white as snow, covered in a few dusty, blood-stained rags, sharp fangs, and crimson eyes, making it utterly terrifying.
Beneath it was Old Nelson's corpse, gutted and still twitching.
Old Nelson was indeed killed by this monster!
Roy, seeing all this from the Real View, felt his scalp tingle.
At the same time, the game also provided information about the monster.
[CaveDread Wraith]
[Type: Monster]
[Quality: Elite]
[Level: 3]
[Tier: Extraordinary]
[Description: The snow-pale Dread Wraith only allows one color to stain its terror claw: red. It possesses an almost insane desire to attack.]
The game categorized creature levels as Normal, Elite, Boss, Lord, and Overlord.
Roy hadn't expected the first monster he encountered to be an Elite.
But even so, he quickly calmed down.
The Gate-Guarding Dread Wraith's level was higher than his, but he wasn't without a chance of winning.
After all, even if he wanted to leave now, he couldn't.
Besides, even if he died, it wasn't a big deal; he was going to reload a save anyway.
"Hiss!"
The Dread Wraith let out a sharp, ear-piercing shriek, then raised its two sharp claws and rapidly approached Roy.
Roy remained calm, using his leg muscles to shift his body, attempting to dodge the attack.
The Dread Wraith's reaction speed was extremely fast; seeing Roy try to dodge, it opened its gaping maw and lunged to bite Roy's shoulder.
With a tearing sound, Roy's shoulder was ripped open, leaving a bloody hole.
[Health -82]
Despite not hitting a vital spot, this attack still severely wounded Roy.
In pain, Roy raised his dagger and swung it wildly, while the Dread Wraith nimbly dodged, leaping onto the rock wall, staring at Roy with cold eyes, waiting for the next hunting opportunity.
Roy gripped his dagger tightly, enduring the pain, and watched the Dread Wraith intently.
Soon after, the Dread Wraith shrieked again and lunged.
Roy, fully focused this time, did not dodge.
Only when the Dread Wraith was less than a foot away from him did Roy's body suddenly disperse into a cloud of Mist.
Then, the Mist rapidly reformed behind the Dread Wraith.
With a tearing sound.
Roy stabbed his dagger into the Dread Wraith's neck.
Immediately after, he cautiously activated Mist Flash in advance, guarding against the Dread Wraith's berserk state.
Sure enough, accompanied by a heart-rending, mournful shriek, a wave of pale sound exploded rapidly like a bomb within the Cave, making even Roy, in his mist form, feel somewhat uncomfortable.
It seems this is also a Extraordinary skill.
After the shriek, the Dread Wraith fell to the ground with a thud.
Roy used Mist Flash to get close and stabbed it again.
"Hiss!"
When the first dagger was plunged into its chest, the Dread Wraith suddenly sprang up, swinging its claws to ambush Roy, but it was useless, as Roy in his mist form was immune to physical attacks.
Thus, the Dread Wraith could only die with resentment, watching Roy deliver the finishing blow.
"It really was playing dead."
If it weren't common knowledge that killing monsters dropped loot, Roy might have fallen for the Dread Wraith's trick.
Speaking of which, this Dread Wraith suffered from being brainless; if it had used its ultimate skill immediately, Roy might have died once already.
After all, Roy was also a rookie who didn't understand combat yet.
[You have slain the Gate-Guarding Dread Wraith, gained combat experience, and your character level has increased.]
[Your current character level is: 3, with 4 unspent attribute points remaining.]
Sigh, it's not easy. I've been playing this game for days, and I've only just killed my first monster.
But come to think of it, for Old Nelson, I guess I'll have to reload and fight it again… but let's loot the body first.
Roy approached the Gate-Guarding Dread Wraith, and a prompt appeared over its corpse.
[Do you want to pick up items?]
Roy mentally selected 'yes'.
[You search the Gate-Guarding Dread Wraith's corpse…]
[You found terrorclaw x1.]
[You found Dread Wraith's Vocal Cords x1.]
[You found Fiend's Congealed Oil x2.]
[You found Blood-Stained Map Fragment x1.]
[You found 6 gold coins.]
[You found Gentle Breeze Cave Key x1.]
[You have obtained a key to an underground Cave. The system has recorded its coordinates. You can teleport here to explore when it is safe.]
A great harvest!
Roy was very excited.
Especially after seeing the last piece of information, he felt a surge of excitement.
It even has a teleportation function; is this game really made according to a power-fantasy script?
This cheat is a bit too overpowered.
But, I like it.
Roy chuckled, and after putting everything away, he smacked his lips and looked at Old Nelson's corpse beside him.
"Old man, this time I won't let you go down first."
With that, Roy exited the Real View and returned to the real world.
Immediately after, he paused the game and unhesitatingly reloaded his save.
Like a shattered and erased script, the original game progression ceased, and time returned to the moment before departure.
In front of the Cave, the game character reached out and stopped Old Nelson.
Old Nelson's attitude remained firm at the sight.
Roy didn't waste any more words, directly having his game character snatch the rope and then descend into the Cave.
Old Nelson could only sigh at the sight, clutching the rope tightly and waiting anxiously.
"Hiss!"
It was the familiar surprise attack from behind, the familiar pale Dread Wraith.
Roy, however, began to ponder.
This Dread Wraith is easy to kill, but can I capture this guy and use it as a clone?
Roy abandoned the idea in less than a second.
Regardless of how difficult it would be to capture this Dread Wraith, even if Roy captured it and successfully turned it into a clone, would he still need the key it carried?
The Cave behind the stone door surely hid more good things.
Moreover, this Dread Wraith is so ugly; taking it out would be a loss of face.
In short, this idea was somewhat putting the cart before the horse; abandon it.
With that thought, Roy pulled out his dagger, his gaze fixed on the Dread Wraith before him.
"Hiss!"
The familiar mournful shriek rang out.
The Dread Wraith, hungry for blood after a long time without feeding, leaped up excitedly, intending to devour Roy whole.