Online Game Era: Hundred Times Reward
Chapter 24 - Lava Beast

Chapter 24: Lava Beast

[Green Valley Town Warrior].

Quality: ???

Level: ???

HP: ???

Attack: ???

Goodness, even the level can’t be seen this time.

That meant this NPC was more than 10 levels higher than Jiang Chen.

When the level difference is more than 5, the specific stats become invisible. When it exceeds 10, even the level and stats are completely hidden.

“Adventurer, I truly appreciate your willingness to help Green Valley Town, but you’re far too weak right now—this matter is beyond what you can handle.”

The NPC said.

“You’d better head back to Green Valley Town. I need to inform Mayor Duolin and let him decide what to do.”

Uh… Looks like I’ve been underestimated.

Without another word, Jiang Chen immediately raised his longbow and started shooting at the NPC.

The best way to prove your strength is to let them experience it firsthand.

“Flame Infusion!”

A blazing arrow trailing flames struck the NPC.

-499!

“What are you doing?! Damn adventurer, you must be up to something!”

The NPC drew his longsword in fury and dismounted, ready to teach this ‘weak’ adventurer a lesson.

In the next instant, another flaming arrow whizzed through the air.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Four consecutive shots forced the NPC to stagger several steps back.

“Such powerful archery!”

Now he was truly shocked. This adventurer is incredibly strong—completely unlike the others he’d met on the road. What in the world is going on?

He never expected this seemingly weak adventurer to possess such immense power. And so young, yet already wielding elemental force—he’s even an archer!

Jiang Chen didn’t fire again. Though the NPC’s level was high, his stats were mediocre. A single Barrage Arrow had taken out half his health.

This level of strength was comparable to elite monsters in the area. If he kept going, a critical hit might finish the guy off.

“Can I help now?”

The warrior NPC gave a bitter smile and said helplessly, “Respected adventurer, your strength is impressive, but the enemy we face is even more terrifying. Our squad has already suffered heavy casualties. The captain sent me to get reinforcements—I must reach Mayor Duolin as soon as possible. He’ll know what to do.”

It didn’t take much to figure it out—they must have encountered a boss. Otherwise, things wouldn’t be this disastrous.

“All the soldiers from Green Valley Town are out hunting. The town is full of adventurers now, and most of them can’t even handle the minor monsters. What good would going back do?”

Jiang Chen clearly had no intention of giving up the chance to fight a boss.

And what he said wasn’t just to stir fear—it was the truth.

“T-Then what should we do? If I can’t find reinforcements, the captain and the others will all die at the hands of that monster.”

The young warrior panicked immediately.

“I’ll go with you. What you’ve seen is only a portion of my true strength.”

Jiang Chen stepped forward confidently.

“Well… I suppose we have no choice.”

…

Ten minutes later.

Jiang Chen was following the NPC through a quiet mountain valley.

Ancient trees and dense undergrowth surrounded them, and faint traces on the ground suggested the NPC squad had passed through here.

“We’re almost there. The monster is just—”

“Captain!”

The young NPC warrior cried out.

Ahead in the valley, a burly warrior stumbled out, his armor in tatters and his body covered in blood.

“Damn it! Why did you come back…”

The captain finally lost his strength and collapsed to the ground.

He was on the verge of death. Three massive charred wounds scarred his chest, revealing bone underneath. There was even a faint smell of roasted meat.

“I… I… found reinforcements. I’ve come to save you all…”

“No one in Green Valley Town could possibly defeat that thing.”

The captain glanced at Jiang Chen and shook his head.

With a bitter smile, he said, no one could have guessed that such a powerful monster lurked so close to Green Valley Town. He’d originally thought they could take it down. Only after engaging it did he realize how laughable that notion was.

“Go back. Tell Mayor Duolin. He needs to organize an evacuation. The farther away… the better…”

And with that, the poor captain drew his last breath.

Jiang Chen had hoped to trigger a quest here but was interrupted halfway.

No longer paying attention to the young NPC, he headed deeper into the valley. He wanted to see what kind of monster could terrify the NPCs this much.

Players had five resurrection chances. Even if faced with a god-tier monster, Jiang Chen wouldn’t flinch.

At this moment, he reached the deeper part of the valley. The space suddenly opened up—narrow entrance, wide interior.

Strangely, the area was extremely hot. The vegetation abruptly stopped growing at the entrance, making the interior look barren and lifeless.

Inside were many strange creatures, their bodies resembling red rocks. There weren’t many of them—probably cleared out by the NPC squad.

[Lava Beast].

Quality: Elite Monster

Level: lv18

HP: ???

Attack: ???

Defense: ???

Description: A group of stone-armored insects that, influenced by the terrain, successfully evolved into powerful Lava Beasts.

These were evolved from stone-armored bugs?!

Stone-armored bugs were basically crab-like creatures made of stone, while Lava Beasts looked more like humanoid beings made of molten rock.

Two completely unrelated species…

Jiang Chen was speechless and silently drew his Wind Spirit Longbow.

-361!

-337!

-345!

Each arrow unleashed a cascade of damage numbers.

Rock-type monsters had always had high defense. These level 20 elite Lava Beasts had defense rivaling that of a level 17 boss.

“Flame Infusion!”

The fiery arrow struck the target, but the damage output was disappointing.

-323!

“Not even as good as Elemental Arrows?”

Seeing this, Jiang Chen quickly switched the element of his arrows. A Frost Arrow imbued with chilling energy flew out—

-655!

Jiang Chen’s eyes widened.

655 damage?

An odd number meant it wasn’t a critical hit. Against these fire-element monsters, frost arrows boosted damage by at least 50%. Overjoyed, Jiang Chen kept using Bone-Chilling Frost Arrows.

-671!

-1350!

-701!

-665!

-653!

Using Frost Arrows made monster grinding much more efficient. Despite their high HP, the Lava Beasts couldn’t withstand even ten shots.

This grinding speed was insane.

Every four seconds or so, Jiang Chen could kill a Lava Beast and earn 3,500 units of Primary Magic Crystals.

“Ding! Congratulations on killing a Lava Beast…”

“Ding!…”

“Ding!…”

Soon, all the remaining Lava Beasts in the area fell to Jiang Chen’s longbow.

In total, he harvested 120,000 units of Primary Magic Crystals.