Chapter 8: The Lottery—Obtaining the Eye of the Ferocious Beast!
"Roar!"
After a brief respite, the Six-Tailed Venomous Centipede King readjusted its stance, its powerful muscles flexing beneath the brown-violet carapace.
At last, gathering all its strength and focusing it into its hardened jaws, it lunged forward.
In an instant, the Totem Water Pillar, which had barely held on for so long, collapsed with a thunderous crash, green blood spraying everywhere.
Seeing this,
"Nature Totem!"
Wang Chen hurriedly waved his staff, causing mist to swirl again atop the Forest Gale.
Though the water pillar, not yet fully charged, lacked the cutting force it once had, it still possessed considerable defensive power.
Wang Chen manipulated it to block the Venomous Centipede King.
So,
Just after escaping the torment of a thousand cuts and bursting from the cave, the Six-Tailed Venomous Centipede King was struck once more by a water pillar.
The familiar pain returned, leaving the creature bewildered.
In its limited intelligence, it believed it had already destroyed that strange water pillar—why had another appeared?
"Chss—"
The Six-Tailed Venomous Centipede King roared in fury, its aching body contracting even tighter, mustering greater force to smash through.
But this time, Wang Chen would not allow it to break through the water pillar. With a flick of his wrist, the detox bracelet released a stream of venom into the pillar.
Instantly, the once-clear water visibly changed, toxins spreading within like the venomous kiss of a Mandrake Serpent.
Due to its enormous size, the venom took longer to reach its bloodstream than it had with the Ironback Lizard.
Wang Chen was in no hurry.
He believed that with his barrage of attacks, he could wear down this beast.
All he needed was patience.
But fate was not so kind.
Just as the Venomous Centipede King, battered by three skills, seemed on the verge of collapse, a crimson light suddenly flashed across its body.
At the same time,
Its aura surged.
The brown-violet carapace burst open, revealing a fresh layer of crimson armor.
The dark energy of the Death Chains vanished in an instant, the electric sphere flickered and sputtered, then exploded under the strain.
The water pillar, once as immovable as a severed dragon stone, now thundered as the enraged king crashed into it.
In Wang Chen’s senses, the swirling vortex inside the pillar lost its rhythm.
Alarmed, Wang Chen pushed off with his back foot, retreating swiftly.
"It seems to have used some skill—or perhaps triggered its survival instinct?"
Wang Chen’s heart burned with anxiety.
"Now, all my abilities are on cooldown; even if I can soon unleash Death Chains and Lightning Sphere again, I’ll be no match for this monster!"
Glancing at the sprawled, incapacitated centipedes, Wang Chen made his decision.
"I need to level up. Refresh my skills and regain the strength to fight!"
Thus,
Wang Chen drew the Iron Lizard Dagger and grabbed a nearby Six-Tailed Venomous Centipede, foaming at the mouth. He stabbed the dagger deep into its skull.
Blood splattered.
[Successfully killed Six-Tailed Venomous Centipede, gained 40 experience]
"Not enough. Far from enough!"
He tossed aside the corpse and dashed to the next centipede.
...
Moments later,
Crack—!
Hearing the water pillar collapse behind him, Wang Chen knew the Venomous Centipede King had broken free.
He turned to see the crimson, savage king charging straight at him.
Wang Chen narrowed his eyes, brandishing the Forest Gale, white light flashing.
"Power of Swift!"
Instantly, a shimmering brilliance rippled from the tip of his staff, thickening the air as if it had become viscous.
When the centipede king touched the brilliance, its movement slowed abruptly, the frantic thrashing of its legs dropping dramatically.
Even so,
Its speed remained formidable.
So,
Wang Chen dropped a beast corpse and leapt away.
"Reverse Forest Gale skill effect!"
He shouted to the system.
[Reverse effect activated, restoring original skill effect!]
Wang Chen whipped the Forest Gale.
A brilliance, utterly different from the previous stagnating light, erupted, and Wang Chen’s running speed surged.
The Venomous Centipede King, closing in, was instantly left behind.
...
Who knows how much time passed.
When Wang Chen seized the moment and withdrew the Iron Lizard Dagger from another centipede’s skull, he deftly rolled to the side.
The next second, the king barreled forward like a speeding locomotive, smashing into Wang Chen’s previous position.
Dust and earth exploded, the ground shaking violently.
Seeing it missed him, the king coiled its long body and charged again.
That foul, blood-soaked maw was now inches from Wang Chen.
[Successfully killed Six-Tailed Venomous Centipede. Gained 80 experience]
[Congratulations, leveled up to level nine, all attributes increased by 90!]
"Die!"
Dodging another charge, Wang Chen gripped the Forest Gale with both hands, mist swirling.
"Nature Totem!"
A torrent of water spun into a pillar, standing between the king and Wang Chen. The charging king, unable to dodge, swallowed the pillar whole.
Wang Chen activated the detox bracelet, shooting emerald venom into the water.
"Let the Nature Totem dance!"
Wang Chen shouted.
After leveling up, he felt all his skills had strengthened.
This time, under the water pillar’s assault, the king’s body convulsed violently, its thick legs twisting in agony, crushing many robust trees in its rampage.
After several breaths,
The king’s bright red eyes dimmed completely.
The next moment, a notification sounded, lifting Wang Chen’s burden:
[Successfully killed Six-Tailed Venomous Centipede King, gained 320 experience]
[Task complete: Hunt the Beast King, awarded 10,000 lottery points]
At the same time,
A silver orb appeared above the corpse.
Wang Chen collapsed to the ground, chest heaving as he gasped for breath.
It took a long while for him to recover.
He propped himself up and examined the orb:
[Agile Strike (Silver)]
[Type: Skill Book]
[Class Restriction: Water Mage]
Seeing the class restriction, Wang Chen lost interest—it was useless to him.
"Even so, it should fetch a good price; skill books rarely drop!"
"At least this ordeal wasn’t for nothing!"
He put away the skill book.
Then began clearing out the paralyzed centipedes.
Earlier, pressed by battle, he’d confirmed they posed no threat and ignored them. Now, he swept through them for a flood of experience.
[Successfully killed Six-Tailed Venomous Centipede, gained 120 experience]
[Successfully killed Six-Tailed Venomous Centipede, gained 80 experience]
...
[Congratulations, leveled up to lv10, all attributes increased by 100!]
[Level upgraded to First Transition, level 10. Please complete Second Transition quest, or experience will not increase.]
Seeing the notification on his panel, Wang Chen stopped—grinding monsters further would be fruitless.
"In that case, let’s try the lottery!"
He summoned the panel.
Moments later, the pointer on the huge virtual wheel came to a halt.
"Lottery complete!"
Wang Chen began examining his rewards one by one.
[Eye of the Savage Beast]
[Description: Upon use, allows the user to discern a beast’s level and skills!]
"This is great, a monster-fighting artifact! With this, I won’t get caught off guard like I did with that venomous worm!"
"I’ll even be able to tell if the king triggered a survival instinct or used a skill!"
His eyes lit up.
Moving to the next item:
[Rusty Kitchen Knife]
[Description: Neglected maintenance has left this knife covered in rust, carrying its own tetanus effect. Every chef dreams of wielding a mighty blade to conquer the land—just as every butcher yearns to dance. Take it, and chase your glory!]
"Thanks a lot!"
Seeing this reward, Wang Chen felt a sense of foreboding.
Sure enough,
The subsequent lottery results confirmed his fears:
[Half-Eaten Nougat]
[Description: Do you remember the girl who gave you nougat when you were young? Eat it, and return to those beautiful beginnings!]
[Solar-Powered Flashlight]
[Telephone Disguised as a Shoe]
...
Eight consecutive lottery rewards, all utterly useless and laughable, left Wang Chen fuming.
"Traitor, what’s going on? ‘Traitor’ is the perfect name for you, always secretly tripping me up!"
"Do you believe I’ll hang myself from the southeast branch and destroy your server?"
[System lottery uses completely random numbers...]
"Fine, it’s my bad luck, you’re totally innocent!"
With such an unflappable system, Wang Chen was helpless, and could only check the last lottery reward.
[Storage Ring]
[Description: When worn, allows manipulation and storage of items via mental strength. Storage capacity: ten cubic meters!]
"Oh-ho!"
"Finally, something worthwhile!"
Wang Chen was ecstatic.
"Now this is right! What transmigrator doesn’t get a space ring? If I’d had this before, moving the Ironback Lizard would’ve been so much easier!"
"Traitor, I admit I spoke harshly earlier!"
[...]
The system remained silent.