Chapter 51: Level 10, I Am Unrivaled
"Piccolo, get up there and fight it!"
Piccolo: "..."
king brought Piccolo along, following the Monster's tracks. They finally discovered a Horned Dragon Monster in a small alley. The Monster was over two meters tall; its appearance was identical to a prehistoric horned dragon. Its head was quite large, with a wrinkled protrusion on its neck, shaped like a shield. It had a long horn on its head, sharp as a spear, a slender snout with pointed teeth, and a stout build, somewhat resembling a modern rhinoceros.
"Roar~"
The Monster roared angrily, without any language. Either it was too lazy to speak, or it was just a simple animalistic Monster, unlike an intelligent Monster like Piccolo, and was incapable of speech.
Boom!
Piccolo didn't say a word, just went up to fight... ah, whatever, he directly fired an explosive energy blast. However, the energy blast only slightly staggered the Monster after hitting its neck shield, causing no significant damage. It was evident that the Horned Dragon Monster's defense was extremely high.
"This must be a Tiger-level Monster!"
Based on the Horned Dragon Monster's strong defense, king estimated its disaster level.
"Roar~"
Piccolo's energy blast enraged the Horned Dragon Monster. It roared angrily, lowered its horned head slightly, stomped its hind legs, raked its front legs, and charged towards king and Piccolo.
Whoosh!
However, after the Horned Dragon Monster charged past furiously, it didn't hit anything. Its path was filled only with air. It raised its head in slight confusion and scanned around, only to find that king and Piccolo's traces were gone. It suspiciously twitched its nose, snorted out two streams of air, and turned its body back and forth, searching for king and Piccolo.
"Explosive Energy Blast!"
From the air, two angry shouts suddenly rang out, and immediately two egg-sized energy blasts flew down.
Boom! Boom!
After two explosions, a cloud of dust rose.
"Roar~"
The Horned Dragon Monster roared furiously, raising its head to glare at the two people hovering in the air. It anxiously circled on the ground, wanting to attack them but unable to reach. When it tried to leave, Piccolo would pester it with energy blasts, driving it mad with frustration.
Damn it, they're playing dirty!
"We can't break its defense!"
king frowned in annoyance. He was suspended five meters in mid-air. Two days prior, he had comprehended "Flight" after using a Vaccine Man card, allowing him to soar freely within Earth. However, his Flight Skill was only Level 1, limiting his flight altitude to five meters and making his flight speed extremely slow, barely faster than walking.
Piccolo glanced at king reproachfully. If it were his past self, this kind of small fry would truly be easily crunched and devoured in a single bite. But now, facing a Tiger-level Monster, all he could do was hover and avoid battle.
However, he wasn't surprised that king could use explosive energy blasts. Piccolo had been hatched by absorbing the Vaccine Man's energy from king's body as power. Therefore, it was quite normal for king to have Vaccine Man's energy and thus be able to use explosive energy blasts.
king ignored Piccolo's reproachful gaze. He selected a card from his card satchel, preparing to consume it. He had already leveled up to Level 9, just one level short of Level 10. He then checked his attribute panel:
Name: king
English Name: King
Level: 9
Experience: 2985/4000
Stamina: 5
Strength: 4
Speed: 14
Defense: 12
Luck: Hidden attribute, cannot be viewed, cannot be changed.
Attribute Points: 20
Skills:
1. Liquid Spray Lv.1: Sprays liquid to attack enemies.
2. Explosive Energy Blast Lv.1: Gathers surrounding energy to fire an energy blast like a laser cannon.
3. Enhanced Transformation Lv.1: Enhances one's own abilities, increasing the power of one's skills.
4. Flight Lv.1: As an agent of Earth, one can soar freely within its confines.
Skill Points: 10
"I only need a little over a thousand more experience points to level up to 10." king stared at his attribute panel, lost in thought. "Based on the experience from previous star-level cards, consuming a one-star card yields over a hundred experience points, and consuming a two-star card yields around a thousand. If I want to level up, I just need to consume one two-star Monster card."
"System, consume the Two-star Monster Card - Primal Power Pig."
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, you have gained 1283 experience points."
"Ding! Comprehension of card character skill failed."
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, your character has leveled up to 10, gaining 5 Attribute Points and 1 Skill Point."
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, your reputation has changed from 'Unknown' to 'Slightly Famous'! The system specially rewards the Host with a special card—a Starless Card!"
"Ding! The Starless Card is a blank card. The Host only needs to mirror and copy a target to create the corresponding card!"
"Ding! Friendly reminder: The Starless Card is a special card. Using it will not grant experience, nor will it allow comprehension of card character skills."
"Slight... slightly famous?"
king was startled, his face full of disbelief. "I am the strongest man on Earth, King, famous throughout the world! You're telling me I'm only 'slightly famous' now? Aren't you afraid someone will laugh their teeth out? Haha... hahaha... Ouch, my tooth fell out."
"Ding! The system calculates the Host's reputation relative to the game. In the game, the Host is merely a rookie. 'Slightly famous' is perfectly accurate!"
"..."
Forget it, I won't argue with you over these minor details.
king pulled up his attribute panel again:
Name: king
English Name: King
Level: 10
Experience: 268/5000
Stamina: 5
Strength: 4
Speed: 14
Defense: 12
Luck: Hidden attribute, cannot be viewed, cannot be changed.
Attribute Points: 25
Skills:
1. Liquid Spray Lv.1: Sprays liquid to attack enemies.
2. Explosive Energy Blast Lv.1: Gathers surrounding energy to fire an energy blast like a laser cannon.
3. Enhanced Transformation Lv.1: Enhances one's own abilities, increasing the power of one's skills.
4. Flight Lv.1: As an agent of Earth, one can soar freely within its confines.
Skill Points: 11
Cards: Four-star Monster Card - Lustful Arbiter, One-star Monster Card - Magic Power Bird...
Special Cards: Starless Card x1
Friendly Reminder: 1. A normal person's attributes are all 5! The max value is 100!
2. Skill power is determined by its level and is not affected by the character's stats, but the number of times a skill can be used is affected by the Stamina stat!
king casually glanced at it, not examining it in detail. He immediately added 10 of the 25 Attribute Points to his Stamina. As the saying goes, "There are no barren fields, only exhausted oxen." Skills could be cast endlessly, but his Stamina could run out. When that happened, his body would truly be depleted.
The remaining 15 Attribute Points were all added to Defense. He had to admit, his philosophy was still, "Let them be strong; I am an unbreakable diamond." To hit others, one must first learn to take a hit.
Now, his Defense had already reached 27. With a bit more effort, focusing purely on Defense until he reached the max value of 100, he estimated his defense would surpass that of the vast majority of people in the world.
At that time, when facing battle, with his Defense maxed out and an endless supply of cards, he could simply wear down his opponents to death.
Anyway, you can't hurt me. You'll tire yourself to death before you can!
(Author's note: I've been back at my hometown for the past two days, and it's been quite busy. The internet isn't great either; refreshing a webpage takes forever. I won't be checking the comment section for now. I'll reply after I return to the city in a couple of days. Also, because I'm busy, I'm giving myself permission to add some filler: Ah, the great sea, you are made entirely of water...)
(end of chapter)