Chapter 64
However, Ye Bai merely waved his hand at the crowd. At this moment, instead of retreating, he charged forward, dodging the tail swipe of the Crocodile King and heading straight for it.
“Ah!”
“Boss!”
The mercenaries were incredulous, unable to comprehend why he would do such a thing. The rabbit was cornered and had even bitten back; they could hardly imagine how terrifying the Crocodile King’s desperate struggle would be at the brink of death. Yet, their boss was charging in! He didn’t seem like the type to act recklessly without thinking!
Sure enough, in the next moment, the Crocodile King opened its massive jaws and swung its powerful forelimbs at Ye Bai as he advanced.
**[Bloody Assault]**
As Ye Bai closed in, the enormous shadow of the Crocodile King loomed over him, just under five meters away.
In a flash, Ye Bai leaped into that shadow—
**Shadow Step!**
“Boom…” The Crocodile King’s attack missed entirely. This skill dealt damage in the thousands; if it hit someone without heavy armor, it could easily trigger a fatal blow.
However, Ye Bai once again nimbly evaded the attack, emerging unscathed from the shadow beneath the Crocodile King’s belly.
In a moment of calm, Ye Bai executed a slide, slipping through the gap under the giant crocodile and, as he did, he slashed with his snow-white longsword, dealing a precise damage of ‘-24’ to its abdomen.
Then, taking advantage of his weapon’s special effect, he calculated the distance and cast a spell towards the shallow bank.
“Splash!”
Sharp spikes erupted from the ground.
Just as the mercenaries were trying to figure out Ye Bai’s intentions, the Crocodile King, having missed its attack, suddenly turned its eyes and, as if in agreement, began to frantically paddle backward, retreating into the water with lightning speed.
Then—
“Roar!”
The Crocodile King’s retreating legs stepped right onto the spikes Ye Bai had summoned, causing its movement to falter.
‘-778’
Caught off guard, the Crocodile King triggered a critical hit.
As it let out a pained cry, Ye Bai stepped forward for a quick strike, then retreated a step to begin casting his first spell of the battle. After 0.5 seconds, a strange gray light enveloped the Crocodile King.
**[Slow Spell]**
Energy Cost: 42
Effect: Reduces target’s movement speed by 86% (80%), maximum casting distance 21 meters, duration 5 seconds.
Originally, this skill’s standard reduction effect was 80%, but due to his class’s -30% spell power, it became 56%. However, thanks to the ‘Focus’ and ‘Charm’ attributes from his snow-white sword, Ye Bai’s spell power was boosted back up, resulting in the current effect.
Once the spell was cast, the Crocodile King’s previously agile retreat became sluggish and heavy, as if it were rusted.
“Attack!”
With Ye Bai’s command, the mercenaries snapped back to their senses. They finally realized that the Crocodile King wasn’t fighting to the death; it was trying to escape!
Their boss was incredible; she had calculated everything!
In an instant, the mercenaries were filled with admiration and quickly followed Ye Bai’s orders, firing their crossbow bolts at the Crocodile King once more.
**[Mercenary ‘Blaze’’s Affection +20]**
**[Mercenary ‘Roland’’s Affection +20]**
**[Mercenary…]**
Hearing the notifications of increasing affection from the system, Ye Bai couldn’t help but smile. Who would have thought that this battle would yield even more affection than the first time he treated them to drinks? It seemed that strength was indeed the best way to make a good impression.
Ye Bai had anticipated the Crocodile King’s actions.
It was a common phenomenon for a boss to unleash a powerful attack when its health was critically low. However, different creatures in this world had different traits. For aquatic bosses, when their health dropped to a certain level, their big move was to feign an attack and quickly retreat to the depths of the water to recover.
If not stopped in time, they could easily recover their health from 5% to 40%, becoming a formidable foe once again. This tactic was something the boss would repeat every time its health hit 5%. Without a proper countermeasure, players would truly understand what it meant to be tormented.
Fortunately, Ye Bai was prepared and successfully prevented the Crocodile King from diving into the water on the first attempt.
The rest was simple.
‘-201’, ‘-214’, ‘-247’…
As the mercenaries continued to unleash their crossbow bolts, Ye Bai called out “Stop!” and the sound of the crossbows fell silent. By now, everyone was following her commands without question.
Of course, Ye Bai wanted to deliver the final blow herself. It would be too disheartening to let the NPCs steal her kill after all her hard work.
**[Lightning Spell]**
With the final, deadly bolt of lightning, the Crocodile King, which had dominated this pond for who knows how long, transformed into a flash of white light and vanished at the water’s edge.
“Great!”
“Long live the boss!”
The mercenaries erupted into excited cheers.
When the Crocodile King had first appeared, everyone had feared the worst, unsure of how many would fall during their retreat. They never expected their boss, who had never lifted a finger before, to be such a powerful mage… a melee mage, no less! Not only did she turn the tide, but she also managed to slay the Crocodile King.
This legendary tale would be something they could boast about in the tavern for a lifetime.
“Bang!”
At the same time, a pile of items in blue, purple, and gold burst forth.
Ye Bai’s eyes lit up, fixating on the golden item among the rest, silently praying: Please be a skill book, please be a skill book…
**Acquired [Crocodile King’s Essence] X1**
Ye Bai: “…”
Had her luck finally run out?
Killing a boss-level creature had a 5% chance of dropping a skill book. While the drop rate was indeed low, she recalled her glorious achievement of obtaining a legendary blueprint in a dungeon and thought that getting a skill book this time would be a piece of cake.
It seemed one should never get too cocky…
Ye Bai shook her head, a hint of resignation in her expression as she picked up the other dropped items.
**Acquired [Crocodile King’s Fangs] X4**
**Acquired [Crocodile King’s Hide] X8**
**Acquired [Blood of Transformation] X1**
**Acquired [High-Quality Beast Meat] X16**
**Acquired [Gold Coins] X10**
Though she hadn’t received the skill book she wanted most, this haul was still quite impressive.
The first golden legendary item she obtained, **[Crocodile King’s Essence]**, was similar to the **[Furious Horn]** in terms of being a biological item.
**[Crocodile King’s Essence]**
Attributes: Ingredient / Potion Material
Level: Legendary
Effect: Consuming it increases maximum health by 400.
Description: The essence of the Crocodile King, can be consumed directly or crafted into other potions with various effects. Requires the profession of **[Alchemist]**.
Items that directly increase maximum health are rare. Consuming the same type of item a second time halves the effect, and the third time reduces it further until it becomes negligible.
Currently, Ye Bai’s level 20 health is 600. After her class change, the health increase per level went from 25 to 50. By the time she reaches level 40 and undergoes her second class change, if she doesn’t gain any other bonuses, her maximum health will only be around 1600. One **Crocodile King’s Essence** provides an 8-level increase in health, and if crafted into a potion, the effect can be further enhanced, certainly living up to its legendary status.
As for the other two purple materials, **[Crocodile King’s Fangs]** and **[Crocodile King’s Hide]**, they could be used to craft equipment.
**[Blood of Transformation]** had also dropped when she defeated the Furious Horn Beast before, and it was one of the materials that boss-level creatures were prone to drop.
It was used to help NPCs break through their personal limits. If given to an NPC without special talents, there was a chance of developing a unique talent. However, it was more suitable for NPCs who already had special talents, as it had a high chance of enhancing their original talent level. For example, Lucy’s **Healing Light II** might upgrade to **Healing Light III** after using the Blood of Transformation.
Of course, there was also a chance of generating entirely new talents. In short, **[Blood of Transformation]** was a material used for nurturing professionals.
High-quality beast meat goes without saying; it’s just a type of ingredient.
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