The aftershocks of **[Enchanting Howl]** lasted far longer than Lin Yao had imagined.
Not the skill effect—**[Tusk Charge]** regained consciousness after chasing his two companions for over ten seconds, ramming down two saplings. Shaking his pig head groggily and sporting a crown of grass leaves, he looked at Lin Yao with eyes full of fear and bewilderment, then the three of them rolled away miserably into the forest depths.
It was the players' reactions.
After the announcement spam, a vacuum circle rapidly formed within ten meters around Lin Yao. Outside the circle, layer upon layer of beast-kin players of various forms were staring at him with burning gazes. Whispered conversations merged into a buzzing wave of sound containing excitement, curiosity, disbelief, and undisguised evaluation and calculation.
"Did you see that? It actually worked! That boar beat up his own people!"
"System announcement! Hidden skill! How long has the server been open?"
"Silvermoon Fox… Berserker War… this combination can actually work?"
"Quick, record! Post to forums! I've got the title ready—'Shocking! Whimpering Rage Fox Defies Fate, One Howl Creates Hidden God-Tier Skill!'"
"That skill icon is temporary! Means it's still unstable!"
"Free attribute points +3! Opening day bonus! Such luck…"
Lin Yao could clearly feel those gazes landing on him, especially on his ears and tails. His fox ears unconsciously rotated, catching fragmented keywords: "analyze the skill," "recruit," "possible bug," "report to officials"… The fur on his three tails bristled slightly—a sign of tense nerves, the blue lights at the tips also flickering irregularly with his breathing.
Must leave here. Immediately.
He imperceptibly stepped backward half a pace, his paw pads making almost no sound. His golden amber vertical pupils quickly scanned, searching for weak points in the crowd. East was where the boar-kin disappeared—no good. North had the most people. West led to denser forest, but several wolf-kin players were blocking there, eyes sharply watching him. South…
"Friend, please wait."
A gentle but firm voice rang out, using the in-game area channel to ensure everyone nearby could hear.
Lin Yao's ears snapped toward the sound source. The southern crowd automatically parted to create a passage.
Walking over was a White Deer-kin male player.
He was tall and elegant in posture, covered in moon-white short fur with light brown cloud-like markings. Atop his head was a pair of gracefully branching, jade-carved antlers that flowed with gentle luster in the sunlight. His facial features were soft, with the deer clan's characteristic moist large eyes of clear amber, currently showing just the right amount of friendliness and curiosity. His ID was **[Forest Trace]**.
White Deer-kin—a race with excellent intelligence and spirit growth, natural healers and nature communicators. This **[Forest Trace]**'s temperament perfectly matched his race, giving an impression of peace and trustworthiness.
"Hello," **[Forest Trace]** stopped five paces before Lin Yao—a distance neither too distant to seem cold nor too close to feel oppressive. He nodded slightly, his antlers tracing an elegant arc. "That scene just now was quite… impressive. Congratulations on triggering the hidden mechanism."
His voice carried the deer clan's characteristic gentle nasal resonance, very appealing.
Lin Yao didn't relax his vigilance. His fox ears maintained their slightly backward pressed alert angle, tails remaining fluffy. He simply nodded lightly, emitting a short, "Mm"-like breathy response common to the fox clan from his throat. Before determining the other's intentions, maintaining silence and observation was the best strategy.
"Let me introduce myself—I'm **[Forest Trace]**, a White Deer who… rolled Forest Druid." He smiled, revealing a row of neat white teeth suitable for chewing plants. "I know you probably want to find a quiet place to organize your gains and study your new skill. However, before you leave, perhaps we could chat briefly? I'm very interested in the skill mutation mechanism. Of course, not for free."
He paused, his slender fingers (deer-kin fingers were delicate with rounded nails, suitable for gathering and spellcasting) lightly tapping the air, sending Lin Yao a trade request.
"A small gift as congratulations for that wonderful 'performance' just now, and also some support for the 'excitement' you may face next."
In the trade window appeared a stack (10) of **[Basic Healing Herbs]** and one **[Soft Deerskin Bracer]** (Constitution +1).
For newbie period less than an hour into the server, this was quite a practical gift. The herbs could provide emergency healing, the +1 constitution bracer could slightly improve survival, and judging by the style, it was relatively lightweight and shouldn't trigger **[Bloodline Conflict]**'s equipment restrictions like heavy armor would.
Lin Yao's fox eyes narrowed slightly. The other was clever. Directly giving equipment and supplies was more sincere than empty words of recruitment or probing, and more easily lowered one's guard. And he specifically mentioned the "excitement you may face"—hinting that more people would come looking for him, whether with good or ill intentions.
He needed supplies and intelligence. This **[Forest Trace]** seemed like a good entry point.
Lin Yao accepted the trade. Herbs and bracer fell into his inventory. He didn't immediately equip the bracer, just emitted another soft throat sound representing "received," his tail swaying lightly once, the blue tips' rhythm slowing—the fox clan's body language for "initial approval, may continue communication."
**[Forest Trace]**'s smile deepened in his eyes, clearly understanding. "Thank you. Long story short—the skill mutation announcement is server-wide visible. Right now, Emerald Forest has at least three somewhat organized temporary groups—the 'Warcry Regiment' led by the tiger-kin 'Mountain Tyrant,' mainly recruiting physical melee fighters; the 'Shadow Society' led by the spirit cat-kin 'Night Shadow,' focusing on agility systems; and those of us magic and support types temporarily gathering in 'Nature's Whisper.' Additionally, there are definitely more small gangs like those boar-kin earlier, or solo high-level players who've noticed you."
His speech was steady, information clear: "Your skill is quite unique—control plus confusion effects. In the early phase when everyone lacks skills and has white-grade equipment, this ability is highly valuable. Some will want to recruit you, and some will… want to test if they can loot anything, or simply want to step on you for fame."
Lin Yao's ears twitched. This information was important. He'd been so preoccupied with dealing with the class mismatch that he hadn't yet analyzed the in-game player ecosystem.
"My suggestion is," **[Forest Trace]** continued, lowering his voice to a private audio channel only they could hear clearly, "leave this densely populated 'spawn point' area as soon as possible. Emerald Forest is vast—the East District is just one of the warrior-oriented player gathering points. Head west, through 'Whispering Valley,' where monster levels are slightly higher (3-5), but player density is low and resource points relatively hidden. Moreover, near the valley there's 'Moonlight Moss' and 'Silverleaf Grass,' which may have special effects for your… um, Silvermoon Fox-kin."
He deliberately mentioned resources potentially beneficial to fox-kin, making his goodwill even more obvious.
"As for those 3 free attribute points…" **[Forest Trace]** looked at Lin Yao, his deer eyes clear. "That's your biggest advantage and your biggest risk. How you allocate them determines your future path. Berserker Warcry Shaman itself has chaotic attribute requirements—Strength affects physical damage and some warcry effects, Constitution affects survival and rage cap, Agility affects dodge and some skill release speeds, Intelligence affects the Shaman portion's spiritual perception, Spirit affects mana (though you don't seem to have a mana pool currently) and resistances… Add to that your Silvermoon Fox-kin talents likely leaning toward Spirit, Agility, and Charm…"
He shook his head, antlers swaying gently: "Complex choices. I suggest you don't rush to allocate points. Leave here, find a safe corner, carefully experience your new skill—see what it consumes, what affects it—then decide."
Very sound advice. Lin Yao's evaluation of this White Deer-kin rose another notch. The other had provided not just intelligence and supplies, but genuinely valuable growth guidance.
"Thank you." This time, Lin Yao responded with clear, fox-clan magnetic voice in two words. Simultaneously, his three tails performed a coordinated, small-amplitude wave motion from right to left—the fox clan's gesture expressing gratitude and friendliness.
**[Forest Trace]** smiled and nodded: "You're welcome. Hope we can cooperate in the future. Well then, I won't delay you further." He courteously stepped aside, clearing the path toward the south-leaning-west direction where the crowd had already thinned due to his presence and conversation.
Lin Yao hesitated no more. His paw pads pushed off, and the silver-gray figure merged into the forest's light and shadow like flowing wind, swiftly darting toward the western direction **[Forest Trace]** had indicated. The fox clan's agility was fully displayed in running—his three tails swayed behind, maintaining balance while disturbing airflow, making him more like a drifting silver breeze.
Several players trying to follow quickly lost sight of him in the complex terrain and visual dead angles Lin Yao deliberately utilized.
After nearly ten minutes of running, completely beyond hearing range of the spawn area's clamor, Lin Yao finally stopped at a streamside location hidden by massive ferns and hanging vines. He crouched low, ears alertly rotating 360 degrees, confirming no pursuers. His nose lightly sniffed the air (fox clan's sense of smell wasn't bad)—only moist earth, stream water, and aquatic plant freshness.
Safe.
Only then did he relax, his slightly bristled tail fur gradually smoothing. The blue lights at the tips also returned to steady breathing rhythm.
First, handle attribute points.
He opened his character panel, consciousness sinking in.
**[Foxmotion]**
Race: Silvermoon Fox-kin (Adult Male)
Class: Berserker Warcry Shaman (Level 1)
Title: Skill Innovator (Reputation gain +10%)
HP: 82/82
Rage: 0/100
Attributes: Strength 7 (-2 racial modifier) | Agility 14 (+3 racial modifier) | Constitution 9 | Intelligence 11 (+1 racial modifier) | Spirit 13 (+2 racial modifier) | Charm 15 (+3 racial modifier, hidden)
Free Attribute Points: 3
As expected, Silvermoon Fox-kin had penalties to Strength and Constitution, bonuses to Agility, Intelligence, and Spirit, with Charm having a hidden bonus. And Berserker Warcry Shaman… Lin Yao carefully read the class description, discovering this class's damage skills (like Savage Strike) scaled with Strength, warcry effect range and duration related to Spirit, the Shaman portion (though currently just one passive) affected by Intelligence, and rage cap and recovery speed tied to Constitution.
A tangled mess.
He recalled the sensation of releasing **[Enchanting Howl: Shatter Morale]**. No rage consumed, but his spirit seemed exceptionally focused, emotions fluctuating intensely. At the moment of release, his throat and chest cavity had a peculiar resonance, as if mobilizing energy belonging neither to "strength" nor "rage"—more akin to spirit, or perhaps charm?
Charm… In most games, this attribute affected NPC favorability, trade discounts, etc. But in this "Bloodline Era," did charm also influence "intimidation," "persuasion," and "charm" type effects? His new skill clearly carried "charm" and "confusion" characteristics.
Perhaps he could take a gamble.
After contemplating, Lin Yao allocated all 3 free attribute points to Spirit.
Spirit increased from 13 to 16.
No earth-shattering changes, but he vaguely felt his perception becoming clearer, capturing sounds and subtle airflow movements in the environment more keenly. More importantly, when he looked again at that temporary **[Enchanting Howl: Shatter Morale (Mutated)]** skill icon, he seemed able to sense an elusive connection between it and his spirit.
Below the skill description, a line of faint text appeared that wasn't there before:
**[Skill Tendency: Spirit/Charm driven. Emotional fluctuations can briefly enhance effect intensity. Current form unstable—risk of degradation or further mutation exists.]**
Indeed! Spirit affected this mutated skill! Charm probably played a role too!
Lin Yao's heart leaped with excitement. This path might be viable—abandon traditional warrior or shaman routes, focus on Spirit (even Charm), use mutated skills as the core, walk an extreme path of "control" and "chaos."
He equipped the **[Soft Deerskin Bracer]**, HP cap increasing by 5 points. He also pulled out the wooden stick and gripped it, feeling it out. Still awkward, but better than nothing.
Next: test skills and search for the "Moonlight Moss" and "Silverleaf Grass" **[Forest Trace]** mentioned. If they truly had special effects for Silvermoon Fox-kin, they might further unlock bloodline potential or even alleviate **[Bloodline Conflict]**.
Just as he was about to rise and explore upstream along the creek—
"Rustle… rustle…"
From the fern thicket on the left came extremely faint sounds of leaves being pushed aside.
Not wind. Too rhythmic.
Lin Yao's ears instantly erected, turning toward the sound source. His nostrils flared slightly. He detected a trace… faint fishy smell mixed with moisture, resembling reptiles.
Not a player.
He slowly crouched lower, three tails silently spreading flat against the ground, maintaining balance while reducing his exposed profile. His claws (though not sharp enough) extended slightly from the paw pad tips, gripping the ground. Golden amber eyes locked onto those swaying fern fronds.
"Hiss…"
Accompanied by a scalp-tingling tongue-flicking sound, a slender triangular head covered in dark green scales emerged from behind the ferns.
Cold yellow vertical pupils locked onto Lin Yao.
**[Emerald Forest Viper]** (Level 3, Common Beast)
**[HP]**: 65/65
**[Traits]**: Poison Attack (Basic), Stealth, Agility
Level 3 mob! And a poisonous snake! For a level 1 him with shoddy equipment, this was a deadly threat!
The viper's body slowly slithered out—as thick as an adult's arm, nearly two meters long, scales glinting with ominous luster in the dappled streamside light. It seemed to sense Lin Yao's tension, provocatively raising its front half, tongue flicking faster.
Run? Vipers were probably quite agile—chasing prey through forest terrain was instinctive.
Fight? Head-on, zero chance.
Lin Yao's brain raced, gaze sweeping the surroundings—stream, rocks, vines… and the ridiculous wooden stick in his hand.
The viper apparently lost patience. Its body coiled and released like a spring, shooting toward Lin Yao's face like a green whip! Its open maw revealed two poison fangs gleaming coldly!
Can't dodge!
In that split second, Lin Yao acted almost purely on survival will, opening his mouth again—
Not at the viper, but toward a moss-covered slippery rock across the stream behind it!
He used every ounce of strength to emit a sharp, brief fox shriek full of "warning" and "directional" intent!
"Yii—kah!!!"
**[Enchanting Howl: Shatter Morale (Mutated)]**—Activated!
The cone-shaped sound wave mixed with silver-blue light particles erupted again, but this time Lin Yao consciously controlled the direction and emotion! He channeled all "charm/confusion" intent toward that rock's shadow behind it, as if something even more terrifying lurked there!
The sound wave swept past the viper.
The viper's forward strike abruptly halted! Its cold yellow pupils flashed with humanized confusion and alarm. It forcibly twisted mid-air, abandoning Lin Yao, landing coiled with head raised alertly toward the stream's opposite side—toward that "empty" rock—emitting threatening "hiss" sounds as if something truly attracted all its hostility there.
Success! The skill worked on non-humanoid monsters! And through emotion and intent, he could somewhat control the "hostility transfer" target!
Lin Yao's heart pounded wildly, but his movements didn't pause. He seized these precious seconds not to flee, but to—
Charge!
Full fox clan agility burst! He circled to the viper's rear-left flank while it was fully alert to the rock, wooden stick gripped in both hands, using all his strength (7 Strength points) to smash toward the viper's relatively vulnerable neck area behind its head!
**[Savage Strike]**!
The stick glowed faintly white (skill effect) as it struck the scales!
"Thwack!" A dull impact.
A red "-4!" floated up from the viper's head.
Pathetically low damage, but enough!
The viper flinched, whipping its head around, yellow vertical pupils filled with fury at being ambushed! It completely forgot the rock's "threat," its long body lashing out, sweeping toward Lin Yao with a fishy wind!
Lin Yao had already leaped backward, narrowly avoiding the sweep. He didn't hesitate, turning to sprint upstream toward denser forest!
The viper hissed furiously in pursuit.
While running, Lin Yao constantly used trees and rocks to change direction, his three tails flexibly swaying during high-speed movement, helping him maintain incredible balance during sharp turns. He could hear the scales scraping ground behind him drawing closer.
Can't run straight! Must use terrain!
Ahead appeared a patch of low shrubs and exposed tree roots. Lin Yao's eyes flashed with determination. He leaped high—not over them, but deliberately stepping heavily on a protruding, slippery root!
"Shloop—"
Even fox paw pads couldn't prevent a deliberately staged slip. He lost balance, pitching forward, but twisted his body mid-fall to face the pursuing viper while hurling his wooden stick with remaining strength toward the viper's head!
The stick had no power, but forced the viper to instinctively dodge, slowing its speed momentarily.
And Lin Yao, following his falling momentum, rolled into a crevice behind the shrubs—half-concealed by fallen leaves and vines, an inconspicuous gap!
"Thud."
He dropped down about a meter, landing on soft humus.
Above, the viper's furious hissing and sounds of it ramming the shrubs came through. But it clearly couldn't squeeze into this narrow crevice.
Safe… temporarily.
Lin Yao sat at the crevice bottom panting, heart threatening to burst from his chest. HP had dropped over ten points from the earlier slip and fall. He leaned against the cool, damp earth wall, ears alertly upright, listening to the activity above.
The viper prowled for about a minute, finally hissing reluctantly several times before gradually slithering away.
Only then did Lin Yao completely relax, breathing heavily. But the next second, his nose twitched.
A cool, faintly sweet scent like condensed moonlight drifted faintly from deeper in the crevice.
He turned his head. By the dim light filtering through the crevice entrance, he saw a small patch of moss growing on moist rocks in the corner, emitting a faint silvery-white glow. Beside it grew several plants with slender silver-gray leaves, veins flowing with faint luminescence.
**[Moonlight Moss]** (Basic Material)
**[Silverleaf Grass]** (Basic Material)
Exactly what **[Forest Trace]** mentioned!
And at the center of this moss and silverleaf grass patch, a half-buried, inconspicuous stone bore what seemed like blurred markings.
Lin Yao struggled to stand, carefully approaching.
Those weren't ordinary markings. They were a partial, ancient fox-shaped paw print totem, resonating with some vague memory deep in his bloodline.
**[Ding!]**
**[Ancient Silvermoon Fox-kin remnant marking (incomplete) discovered.]**
**[Attempt to sense using 'Shaman's Heart' (passive)?]**
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**(End of Chapter 02)**
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**[Current Status]**
- HP: 68/87 (Minor injury)
- Rage: 15/100 (Generated from combat and emotion)
- Attributes: Spirit 16 (points allocated)
- Skill Usage Insight: [Enchanting Howl] effective on non-humanoid creatures; can guide hostility transfer target through emotion/intent.
- New Discovery: Moonlight Moss, Silverleaf Grass, ancient fox-kin marking.
- Location: Inside hidden crevice, relatively safe.