The Great Thief

A huge spider fell onto the ground from a tree. A damage number of over 10,000 appeared over its head and the spider was paralyzed. It looked quite miserable.

Meanwhile, Lu Li was hiding among the bushes and remaining motionless. He had no intention of attacking the downed monsters.

The big spider struggled while its formidable regenerative abilities healed its wounds. It then dragged its body back into the dense forest, not noticing the Thief nearby that was in Stealth.

Logically speaking, it was supposed to be impossible for Lu Li to escape the detection of this Black Ring Spider.

It could be up to level 55 and had natural detection against Stealthed units. Countless Thieves who had tried their hand against it had complained about how overpowered it was.

However, this Thief wasn’t just in Stealth – he had smeared a Hinterlands-specific grass pulp onto himself to mask his scent.

Moreover, the fact that he was hiding in the grass gave him another layer of physical stealth. These factors combined were enough to put him beyond the spider’s detection abilities.

The Darkmoon Card could be used four times, but he didn’t want to waste it on the journey.

Right now, it was quite early in the game, and Lu Li managed to reach the next level after farming in the Hinterlands for a while.

He suddenly remembered that this map had an ancient ruin to explore. Perhaps there was something good he could find in that place.

After entering the forest, he realized that his level was a little low.

The 10+ level difference between the monsters nearby and him made their attacks feel like Boss attacks. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was familiar with the terrain, he probably would have already died.s

There was an underground ruins beneath this decaying forest in the Hinterlands. This was the legacy of the forest Trolls and had been abandoned for thousands of years. He didn’t know why it had suddenly been restored once again.

There was a chance you would find some treasure there which could contain a random, but generous reward.

After a month or two, this place would be quite sought after. Major guilds would contest this map and it would get quite busy, but right now, no one knew about it and Lu Li intended to make use of his advantage.

As the first one to explore the area, he would make huge profit.

However, there were also huge risks associated with it, the most troublesome of which were the high-level monsters in the surrounding area. There wasn’t a single team with enough strength to deal with them, and ordinary players who came here were basically asking to die.

This was Lu Li’s dilemma as he approached the ruins, but he could only brace himself as he went in.

The Black Ring Spiders, like the one from before, were lurking about everywhere. They hid on branches as they waited for their prey to pass underneath.

Lu Li, who was still shaken from the previous encounter, decided to take a very careful approach. After moving a short distance, he would stop and observe his surroundings. Not only did he take the monsters into consideration, but he also took note of the plants.

Man-Eating Vines were a common plant monster in this forest.

They dropped their seeds upon death, which could be used by major guilds to boost their defenses. Later on, these Man-Eating Vines would be hunted for their seeds.

Man-Eating Vines varied from level 20 to 50, and there was quite a distribution in this area. They lived in harmony with the animal monsters and generally did not attack unless provoked.

Lu Li wasn’t afraid of this individual monster; he was more concerned about attracting the attention of bigger monsters if he started fighting.

However, the good thing was that those monsters were plants, so they were fixed in a certain position. They posed little threat beyond their effective range, which wasn’t that large.

Lu Li had to wait for the other monsters to leave before moving. In his previous life, he had spent some time here studying them. Others could be fooled by these camouflaged monsters, but not him.

For example, there was a Man-Eating Vine in front of the big tree to his left. Its leaves were purple, which meant that it was at least level 40, so it had a relatively large range. It would be wise for him to try his best to avoid it.

Another example was the patch of wildflowers that was further ahead. The white bulb with a yellow center indicated that it was a Man-Eating Vine. This plant was blooming, so it was at least level 50. The reason why Lu Li hadn’t moved yet was because he was waiting for the monkeys on his right to leave. He wanted to avoid the Man-Eating Vines that were to his left and ahead of him.

He slowly moved around for an hour before finally reaching the gate of the ruins.

As his shoes stepped onto the mossy slabs of rock, he knew he had finally reached his destination.

All that remained was the key for entry, which could be obtained by killing the monsters nearby. Lu Li chose to kill the Man-Eating Vines that were below level 40 as they wouldn’t make too much noise.

Man-Eating Vines that were about level 20 wouldn’t drop anything as his level was too high.

He could kill ones that were at level 40, but that was too much effort. Moreover, Man-Eating Vines had a certain probability of splitting while in battle. Solo players didn’t want this kind of trouble.

As for the Man-Eating Vines that were level 50 and above, you could think of them as Bosses, or even two to four Bosses combined into one.

According to some incomplete reports, a player had once seen a level 55 Man-Eating Vine split three times. This meant that they had to fight 8 Bosses, which must have been a desperate fight.

The first Man-Eating Vine that had been attacked by Lu Li was quite angry; it sent two of its whip-like arms at his face.

No wonder they were a hated monster in his previous life – did they really have to attack the face?

Lu Li rushed forwards with his dagger indignantly and stabbed it. This damned monster was only level 35; how dare it do such a thing against a level 40 player like himself?

He then found himself in an unfortunate situation.

In his previous life, he was a Druid, but now, he was a Thief. This meant that his attacks and their effects had changed significantly.

When dealing with this plant monster, claws were far more effective than daggers. Most of Lu Li’s direct attacks were misses and he cursed the damned designers. Why did they make the Man-Eating Vines so slender?

This time, his efforts were rewarded with nothing.

Lu Li was truly unlucky and began to miss having Remnant Dream around. Everything that that girl touched would almost always drop something.

After spending a dozen minutes and killing seven or eight more level 30+ Man-Eating Vines, Lu Li finally found the key to the ruins.