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Hao Yun was amazed.
His skills used energy, while Evelyn's were based on mana consumption. And... by using Abyssal Throne, his mana regeneration speed increased...
However, he was only able to sense energy in my body; there was no mana.
It appeared that both mana and energy had a similar component that worked on the same principle. Only that explains why Hao Yun was able to use Evelyn's mana-based technique.
BOOM!
Suddenly, both Hao Yun and the Bartender heard a loud sound.
Hao Yun looked below. His eyes enlarged, and heartbeat increased.
The airplane from which they jumped out crashed on the land and exploded.
A large, smoke cloud formed, and neither of them was able to shift their gaze from it.
At least 200 people died in front of their eyes.
STOP!
A sudden thought came to Hao Yun's mind. It made him remember that the Abyssal Throne only worked for 1 minute; if he didn't move fast enough, it would be all in vain.
Hao Yun focused on the ground and ordered the blades to move.
At their full speed, Hao Yun and the Bartender were just a few meters away from the ground when the skill went into a cooldown period and both fell.
BUFFFF...
"BWHAA..." Hao Yun came out of the snow. His body was fine since the distance wasn't much for him, but... the same couldn't be said for the Bartender.
He looked for him, "Master! Where are you?" he shouted, while walking around.
DSSSH...
A hand came out of the snow.
Hao Yun stared at it... It was the Bartender's hand.
He pulled it.
BHWA...
Cough-Cough...
The Bartender had eaten a bit of snow. "Cough, I'm fine, cough."
"Master, do you know where this place is?" Hao Yun asked the Bartender.
The forest was completely covered with snow and surrounded by mountains. Hao Yun didn't know which direction could possibly lead them to the road or a town.
The Bartender looked around the forest, "Oh God! It's the Taiga Forest!" For the first time, the Bartender was a bit scared.
He explained, "The Taiga Forest covers most of Siberia, but now it's a breeding ground for monsters."
"What?" Hao Yun was confused. "Didn't Hunters do anything?" He asked.
The Bartender explained that the Taiga Forest was too large for Hunters to explore and hunt the monsters, so, except for the areas near cities or settlements, most of the Taiga Forest had become a nest of monsters.
"If such a thing is possible, then isn't it bad for us to be here? The longer we stay, the more dangerous it'll become. Forget about me, what would happen to Master?" Hao Yun thought.
He and the Bartender began walking, with the Bartender leading the way.
They walked for a few kilometers, but then the old man started to feel tired.
He asked for a break, so Hao Yun watched over for monsters.
It was too cold outside.
If not for being powered up by their system, Hao Yun and the Bartender wouldn't have survived in this extreme cold weather.
Clack-Clack-Clack...
Hao Yun's body was shaking from the cold.
Suddenly, he noticed something...
Something red...
"What's that?" He used his smartphone's flashlight.
There was a wolf...
Grr...
Slowly, the wolf came out of the bushes.
Graaa... Graaah...
"Wait! This is a monster!"
"Master, wake up. Monsters are coming."
The old Bartender immediately woke up and took his stance.
Although he was old, but thanks to the system, he was way more powerful than an average person.
Aaaaooooo...
The wolf monster howled...
However, in the next moment, Hao Yun killed it with a single punch.
"Master, don't let your guard down. Even if it was a monster, it was still a wolf; more will be coming our way."
Since they didn't know how many of them were coming, or even if only wolf monsters were coming, Hao Yun carried the old Bartender on his back and began running.
Unfortunately, he couldn't exert his full speed because the ground was covered with snow.
Aaoooooo....
Grrr...
Roar.....
Suddenly, they heard different types of voices; They must not be coming from the same type of monster.
"Look, there's light. It must be a human settlement." The old Bartender told Hao Yun.
It was their new hope.
Hao Yun was excited. If it were really a human settlement, he could leave the old Bartender there and fight the monsters as much as he wants.
He transferred his body's power to his legs and leapt outside the forest.
"Phew..."
It was really a human settlement.
Hao Yun put down the old Bartender, who screamed.
When the villagers came out, he conversed with them as if he were experienced in this.
Hao Yun shouted from a distance, "Old Master! You remain there, I'll deal with those monsters and return in a while." His voice was brimming with confidence.
The villagers were a bit worried about Hao Yun, but the Bartender told them it would be all right. After all, he had also seen a fraction of Hao Yun's power.
Here, Hao Yun jumped inside the forest once again and screamed. Grabbing the monster's attention.
In no time, he was surrounded by not only wolf monsters, but bears with spikes and fangs, and large snakes with a turtle-like shell as well.
Their number were countless.
Grrr...
At first, Hao Yun just used his skill to suppress them.
VOID CROWN...
All of the wolf monsters felt a sudden pressure. They knelt on the ground, their aura weakening as if someone was sucking their strength.
It seemed like only wolf monsters were the weakest among them; the spikey bears and turtle shell snakes weren't affected by the skill at all.
Once again, Hao Yun jumped. But vanished in the next moment, the monsters were unable to see him.
The Next moment, he was behind them.
SINGULARITY BLADE.
Countless void blades manifested once again. Killing the wolf monsters in an instant, while injuring the turtle shell snakes, and barely scratching the spikey bears.
Hao Yun frowned, "They're too tough!"
He had no choice but to use his fists. He felt like he would be much stronger if only he had a weapon.
One by one, He lunged at the monsters, sending some of them flying, while punching some to smithereens.
The spikey bears attacked him; their thick skin made their defense too strong, while their poison-laced spikes and fangs were too dangerous.
One of the bears sneaked an attack at Hao Yun, injecting the poison into his body.
Aaaaaaa....
Hao Yun screamed.
Before turning back and giving the bear an evil smile.
The poison didn't affect him since Hao Yun had an ancient-grade skill, Poison House, that negated every kind of poison below the ancient-grade monster.
Then...
He ripped apart that bear, kicked the rest, killing them one by one.
The term one by one sounds slow, but with Hao Yun's speed, it took him just a few seconds to kill one spikey bear.
After 30 minutes, the forest was filled with corpses of hundreds of monsters.
Hao Yun received a new alert.
[Triat Devourers Claim in effect.]
[Devouring 1% essence of each monster.]
[Stats upgraded.]
[STATS
Strength: +245
Speed: +214
Vitality: +289
Endurance: +256
Intelligence: +186
Willpower: +275
Charisma: +0
System Affinity: +0
Luck: +34
]
Hao Yun was overjoyed with this result. "Wow, farming these monsters is the best way to become stronger, but it looks like they lack in charisma, system affinity, and luck."
Out of nowhere, the ground shook...
Hao Yun felt something... something larger... far stronger than these monsters was coming...
THUMP-THUMP...
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