The sweltering summer night was made a little cooler by the sudden wind and snow.
But what was more chilling were the pairs of crimson eyes in the darkness beyond the lights.
The convention center's lights only extended about ten meters, and within this radius, dense bloodstains were spread everywhere.
It was easy to imagine what many had gone through before escaping into the safe zone.
Seeing the scene, Hu Tao, behind him, pressed herself tightly against Chen Luo's back. Chen Luo, amidst the flying snow, silently extended his right hand.
"Fireball!"
Spiritual energy was quietly drawn from his body. Under the control of his will, following an unknown trajectory and principles, a burning fireball slowly gathered before Chen Luo's eyes.
The fireball's heat drove away the surrounding chill. Chen Luo casually swung his arm, and a fireball, the size of several basketballs, flew straight into the darkness!
The fireball's speed was a bit slower than a person running. If a person were prepared, they could easily dodge it.
The crimson eyes in the darkness showed no intention of dodging. Their eyes were filled with madness and malice, as if Chen Luo were their mortal enemy.
The fireball plunged directly into the darkness, its light illuminating the monsters within.
They were giant wolves, over a meter tall, with pitch-black fur and blood-red eyes.
The moment the firelight illuminated them, the collision also occurred.
The fireball directly hit a black wolf, erupting in bright flames.
Boom!
Like a small bomb exploding, the flames instantly engulfed the black wolf.
[Your attack dealt 85 damage to the Night Wolf. You can obtain partial information about the Night Wolf.]
[Night Wolf]
Level: 5
Health: 415 (500)
Skill: Bite
Talent: Pack Tactics
Attitude: Mortal Enemy
————
The flames quietly dissipated, and the black wolf, its fur slightly singed, emerged from the fire.
If not for the slight blood oozing from its mouth and the health bar Chen Luo saw, he might have thought his attack had been ineffective.
"Magic defense is about 15 points, health is 500, and my fireball deals 85 damage."
Looking at the Night Wolf in front of him, its fur slightly singed but its gaze still fierce, Chen Luo's lips curved into a smile.
"It was hit by a fireball, yet it's still glaring at me and has no intention of running. It seems this 'apocalypse game' has fixed monster aggression towards players?"
"But that's good, it's rare to have a moving target!"
Chen Luo casually waved his hand. Ten seconds later, a newly formed fireball flew straight towards the Night Wolf he had hit before.
As the explosion sounded, a new fireball began to condense in front of Chen Luo.
"Unlimited firepower, the only things restricting me now are casting time and mana!"
"Since you won't dodge, prepare to turn into roasted wolf meat!"
Within a short minute, several fireballs in a row struck the same Night Wolf.
When the sixth fireball hit, the Night Wolf let out a mournful cry and turned into ashes. Chen Luo's ears then heard a new prompt.
[You have killed a Night Wolf of a higher level, gaining 200 experience points.]
[Your level has been raised to 1, and you have gained five attribute points to allocate.]
[Congratulations on breaking through level 0 and receiving a class skill reward. Please choose between the following two skills. The unchosen skill will no longer appear as a level-up reward.]
Chen Luo glanced at his level. He was level 0 before, and now, after killing a higher-level Night Wolf, he had reached level 1.
After the level bar, an experience bar also appeared (100/200).
So, it took 100 experience points to go from level 0 to level 1, and 200 experience points to reach level 2? He hoped the experience required for subsequent levels wouldn't be too terrifying.
Chen Luo didn't immediately allocate the five attribute points. Instead, he looked at the skill reward prompt.
As the owner of "Unlimited Firepower," more skills meant more terrifying combat power.
Now, Chen Luo had to choose one of the two offered skills.
[Ice Shard (F)]: Consumes 10 mana, deals 8 times spirit damage, and applies a slowing effect. Maximum attack range 20 meters, cooldown 40 seconds, casting time 8 seconds.
[Meditation (F)]: Enter a meditative state, increasing mana recovery speed. Cooldown thirty minutes, maximum duration is 5 seconds multiplied by spirit.
Chen Luo didn't rush to choose. He calculated his previous consumption.
It took a total of seven fireballs to kill the Night Wolf, including the one he used when he woke up. Chen Luo had consumed 70 mana.
With the talent bonus, Chen Luo currently had 10 spirit attribute points, which meant 100 mana.
From the moment he started using skills, Chen Luo had been calculating the mana recovery time. Under normal circumstances, it took about one minute to recover one point of mana.
This meant that the mana Chen Luo consumed to kill one Night Wolf would take an hour to fully recover.
"The efficiency is too slow!"
Unlimited Firepower helped Chen Luo eliminate the cooldown problem, but mana and casting time were still big issues.
The previous Night Wolf couldn't get close to Chen Luo because of the safe zone.
Furthermore, under the influence of some will, it had never chosen to flee, thus becoming a live target and experience for Chen Luo.
But even so, Chen Luo had fired six fireballs in a minute to finally kill one Night Wolf.
If he encountered these level 5 Night Wolves alone outside the safe zone, they could have turned Chen Luo into dinner before his fireballs could kill them.
But did this kind of safe zone design truly fit the so-called apocalypse?
Melee classes might not have many options, but ranged classes like himself could level up leisurely in the middle of the night.
Or perhaps, the so-called safe zone wasn't truly safe?
Just as Chen Luo stood there frowning, a warm white light suddenly shone upon him.
Chen Luo turned his head and saw Hu Tao's hand emitting a white light, healing him.
[Health +5, current 45 (60)]
Seeing Chen Luo turn, Hu Tao blushed and said, "Um, my healing spell can only be used once every thirty minutes. Don't mind my small healing amount."
Why are you blushing! And what do you mean by "small healing amount"!
While complaining inwardly, Chen Luo scratched his head helplessly. This Hall Master was too beautiful to look at too much.
But was the cooldown for the healing spell really that terrifying? Perhaps it would improve after the skill level increased?
He remembered that skill levels increased naturally with more usage?
With Hu Tao's interruption, Chen Luo had roughly clarified his thoughts.
Ice Shard would only add another means of damage, which was not essential at the moment.
Meditation, however, could alleviate his mana shortage problem.
"I choose Meditation!"
Instantly, a new wave of memories flooded into Chen Luo's mind.
A faint blue light flashed in Chen Luo's eyes, and he suddenly had an interesting idea.