As Wu Shaochen journeyed on, he found himself unable to take any action—everywhere he looked, there were people, and everything was chaotic. Whenever a rabbit spawned, a swarm of players would rush over and hack at it wildly. However, with his sharp eye, Wu Shaochen noticed a few well-organized groups—players who were clearly trained, waiting at the spawn points, coordinating their efforts seamlessly. Their roles were clear: some took the final blow while others chipped away at the monsters' health, concentrating all the resources on one person. No matter the method, it was far more efficient than the disorganized mobs of players, and Wu Shaochen mused, *This must be the power of a guild.*
Anxiety crept into Wu Shaochen's chest. He hadn't even touched a rabbit's fur yet. At this rate, he was sure to be left far behind. But he didn't want to compete with others; not only would it be difficult, but even if he managed to steal a kill here and there, the efficiency was dismal.
"Should I go to the level 2 monster zone?" Wu Shaochen pondered, then decided to venture on. It was better than standing around doing nothing. Monsters below level 5 wouldn't attack unless provoked, so he would be safe as long as he didn't bother them.
Nearby, a few players waiting for the rabbits to respawn saw Wu Shaochen heading toward the second-level monster zone. One of the shorter players remarked, "Do you think that guy is really heading for the level 2 monster zone?"
"Looks like it. Probably can't get any kills here, so he's going to try his luck there. Ha, wait until he gets in. He's going to feel so hopeless. I had the same idea at first. But when I saw the monsters' stats, I ended up running back in a hurry," said one of the chubby youths.
"Fatty, have you actually been there? Are the monsters really that tough?" the short player asked.
"Yeah. Not something the average player can handle. You'd need a full group, and even then, it's not worth it. Better to just stick to grinding rabbits," the fat player replied with a nervous tone.
After walking for a while, Wu Shaochen finally came across different monsters: a group of goats leisurely grazing on the grass. Looking around, he noticed that no players were present, and none of the goats were being attacked. Curious, Wu Shaochen approached and used *Insight* on one of them.
[Mountain Goat]
Level: 2
Health: 300
Physical Attack: 21
Physical Defense: 8
Speed: 7
Skill: Headbutt: The goat lowers its head and charges at the target with its horns, dealing 120% of physical attack damage. Cooldown: 5 seconds.
Wu Shaochen's mouth twitched as he read the stats. *Is this really a level 2 monster?* he thought. A level 2 monster with a skill? What were the developers thinking? Who could withstand that kind of power at this stage?
Suddenly, he remembered his talent. He needed to kill monsters that were five levels higher than him to increase his toxin damage. He had initially thought it would be easy—he would soon become rich and powerful, win the heart of a beautiful woman, and reach the peak of life. But now, it seemed like he had been overly optimistic. If monsters were all like this, how could he ever level up his talent?
Reluctantly, Wu Shaochen continued forward. He came to a fork in the road: ahead was a bamboo forest, to the left was a forest, and to the right, it seemed to be a beach, probably leading to the sea. Surprised, Wu Shaochen decided to go right to check out the beach—it would be nice even if he didn't fight monsters.
Not long after, he reached the beach, and before him stretched an endless ocean. The scenery was beautiful. *Is this really a game?* It felt so real. The air was refreshing, a rarity in the real world. Wu Shaochen spread his arms, inhaled deeply, and said, "In the real world, fresh air like this is long gone."
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a massive crab emerging from the sand. With pincers as large as basins, it was slowly waddling toward him.
Wu Shaochen quickly cast *Insight* and then ran, faster than a rabbit.
[Giant Crab]
Level: 4
Health: 800
Physical Attack: 45
Physical Defense: 15
Speed: 8
Skill: Double Pincer Strike: The crab swings both of its pincers, dealing two consecutive 70% physical damage hits. Cooldown: 10 seconds.
After running a safe distance, Wu Shaochen looked back at the crab and muttered, "Damn developers, are you sure this game is for humans? A single crab can easily kill someone. How are we supposed to survive?"
*Sigh, I guess I'll have to go back and join the others to fight rabbits.*
As he prepared to leave, Wu Shaochen noticed a giant turtle slowly crawling across the beach. Curiosity piqued, he cast *Insight* on it.
[Sea Turtle]
Level: 5
Health: 1800
Physical Attack: 50
Physical Defense: 40
Speed: 3
Skill: Thorn Shield: Blocks the next attack and reflects 50% of the damage back to the attacker. Cooldown: 10 seconds.
Looking at the sea turtle's stats, Wu Shaochen realized most players would have immediately turned away. With 40 points of defense and 1800 health, even at higher levels, no one would want to fight such a monster—the reward would be too little for the effort.
However, Wu Shaochen's eyes gleamed with an unexpected insight. While the turtle's stats were formidable, its speed was only 3. He could easily kite it. Even though the turtle's attack dealt 50 damage, Wu Shaochen's defense of 6 meant it could only take away 44 health with each hit. Its only skill was useless against him. He could avoid breaking its defense, and even if it reflected damage, it wouldn't matter. With his toxin damage, he could poison it for 60 points per minute, and since it couldn't heal, he'd be able to kill it in 30 minutes. During that time, he could return to the village to compete for rabbits.
The best part was that the turtle's level was exactly five levels above his, triggering his talent's effect. It was time to go!
With newfound resolve, Wu Shaochen approached the turtle. At level 5, it wouldn't attack unless provoked. Wu Shaochen stood beside it, raised his wooden sword, and struck its shell.
-1
-1
A red -1 appeared above the turtle's head, a forced damage tick, followed by a white -1 indicating true damage. The turtle reacted quickly, stretching its neck and snapping at Wu Shaochen, biting him with its powerful jaws.
-44
With only 50 health, Wu Shaochen was left with only 6 HP. Panicked, he quickly ran, taking full advantage of his speed. The turtle, slow and sluggish, could only watch as Wu Shaochen pulled further away, its health slowly ticking down from the poison.
After running a good distance, Wu Shaochen looked back, grinning. "Come on, try and catch me."
The poor turtle could only continue its slow pursuit, step by step.
After 10 seconds, Wu Shaochen had regained 1 health per second, and continued taunting the turtle. In *Divine Oracle*, both characters and monsters followed the same combat rules. If no attack or damage occurred for 10 seconds, the system considered the combat over and the health would begin to regenerate at a slow rate. Since Wu Shaochen's health was below 100, his regeneration was capped at 1 point per second. Without potions, this was the only way to recover.
And so, Wu Shaochen engaged in this scoundrel-like strategy, using the turtle as a punching bag while keeping his health full through careful timing.