C25 In the Basic Attributes

"Damn it, three coyotes! One false move and I'm a goner!"

Trapped by the coyotes, escape was not an option.

Lin Yuan shook his head and pointed his staff forward. Since escape was futile, there was no point in running. Death seemed to be the only certainty.

"Charge!"

Strike first to gain the upper hand, hesitate and suffer the consequences. Lin Yuan charged at the coyote that had just attacked, raising his staff to deliver a crushing blow.

But before his staff could strike, a red glow appeared once more. Without hesitation, Lin Yuan spun around and charged again, this time landing a solid hit on another coyote's nose.

"Awoo! Awoo!"

The noses of canines are critical targets. This blow sent blood, snot, and tears flying. The coyote clutched its shattered snout, writhing in agony on the ground.

Lin Yuan readied his staff for another strike, but the remaining two coyotes were already upon him. He quickly pivoted and swung at one of them.

A dull thud resounded as the staff connected with the coyote's body. Yet, it seemed unfazed and clamped its jaws onto Lin Yuan.

"Awoo!"

"Awoo!"

The armor on his arm, along with a piece of flesh, was ripped away. The searing pain elicited a wolf-like howl from Lin Yuan. As he tried to strike with his staff, another coyote seized it in its teeth.

"Damn it!"

Realizing his staff was stuck, Lin Yuan let go, grabbed the biting coyote by the neck, and swung it into its companion.

"Clang!"

The two coyotes tumbled into a heap. Seizing the moment, Lin Yuan quickly pulled out a tear gas grenade, yanked the pin, and tossed it to the ground before donning a gas mask.

With a loud pop, the white fog billowed out. The coyotes, momentarily dazed, then began to howl in torment. Their acute senses of smell and sight were overwhelmed by the lethal chemical weapon.

It was in this instant that Lin Yuan drew his rapier and plunged it fiercely into the nose of the injured coyote!

With a wet thud, bright red blood sprayed from the heart.

Lin Yuan didn't pause for a second. He charged toward another disoriented coyote, slashing at its neck.

"Clang!"

The coyote's neck gaped open, blood gushing out. But the slender rapier snapped upon hitting the tough bone.

The coyote, with a powerful shove, knocked Lin Yuan aside and stumbled away.

Lin Yuan wouldn't let this chance escape. He surged forward in pursuit.

With a solid kick, he toppled the coyote, grabbed its neck, and slammed it to the ground with ferocity!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The earth shook, a deep pit forming from the impact.

Standing on the coyote's back, Lin Yuan grasped its head and, mustering all his strength, gave a vicious twist!

"Snap!"

The coyote's pupils dilated, its eyes' luster slowly dimming. Lin Yuan released his grip, and the massive wolf carcass slid to the ground.

Three wisps of pale green mist rose and swiftly merged into Lin Yuan. A voice echoed in his mind:

"Race: Human; Level: Bronze First Rank."

"Devouring increases basic attributes: 1 point."

His muscles quivered, strength flooding back, the bleeding in his arm ceasing.

Moving away from the tear gas, Lin Yuan removed his gas mask and lay back on the ground, catching his breath.

It seemed one of the wolves had been of a significant level, allowing him to ascend to First Rank.

Though his strength had returned, exhaustion weighed on him. Any misstep in the encounter could have been disastrous. Even as a newly minted Bronze, the world remained perilous.

After resting for a good seven or eight minutes, Lin Yuan felt somewhat refreshed. He stayed lying down, pondering the recent advancement.

What did it mean to increase basic attributes by 1 point?

He had assumed devouring meant seizing the opponent's abilities, but it appeared to be more than that. What were these basic attributes?

After a long contemplation, an epiphany struck Lin Yuan. Could these 'basic attributes' be the ones he possessed before becoming superpowered?

Lin Yuan bolted upright, his mind racing with the implications. If this was truly the case, it was nothing short of astonishing! With a base attribute of 100, adding a single point might seem trivial. However, the Devour Talent's ability to continuously consume and accumulate would one day yield a staggering total. And with each advancement, the amplification of his abilities could mean that an increase in his strength might equate to that of two or three ordinary people. The power of the Devour Talent was indeed fearsome. It was no wonder that Mo Sanqiu had ascended to the status of a Gold Legendary in his previous life.

The thrill of potential progress banished any sense of fatigue from Lin Yuan. He was eager to slay more beasts and further enhance his basic attributes. Upon retrieving the totem staff from the ground, he immediately noticed something amiss. The staff's tip bore a series of deep bite marks, with the two deepest punctures going right through. Clearly, he needed a better weapon; his current Dark Iron-grade equipment wouldn't stand a chance in the battles to come.

After some deliberation, Lin Yuan pried out the fangs from three coyotes, ending up with twelve in total, each over thirty centimeters long and resembling a collection of short rapiers. With the totem staff and the fangs at hand, he set to work. Despite his considerable strength, the effort left him drenched in sweat.

Two hours later, Lin Yuan rose from his task, his back aching but his spirits high. The totem staff had been transformed; it was now a genuine wolf fang club, bristling with the twelve fangs he had forcefully embedded into it. The result was uneven but exuded a raw, menacing charm that resonated with Lin Yuan's intentions.

Swinging the club, it whistled ominously, the wind singing through the fangs in a way that seemed to strike at the very soul. "Beautiful," he mused, "it feels even better than the weapons I crafted in my past life."

Pleased with his handiwork, Lin Yuan shouldered the Wolf Fang Club and ventured deeper into the jungle. If Bronze Rank coyotes roamed these parts, other creatures of the same caliber were sure to be nearby. After all, like attracts like.

The thrill of boosting his basic attributes made Lin Yuan's grin grow wider and wider. He knew he had to quickly slay more monsters to level up—the more he killed, the stronger he'd become!

True to his expectations, within ten minutes of trekking along the base of the mountain range, he encountered two coyotes.

Lin Yuan had wised up this time. Moving with stealth, he crept up behind the coyotes and launched a sudden charge!

With a resounding "Bang!" one coyote's head was cleanly pierced by the razor-sharp Wolf Fang. Lin Yuan yanked out the weapon and swung it viciously at the second coyote.

"Awoo~!"

A red halo flashed into existence, and the Wolf Fang seemed to bounce off as if it had struck rubber, refusing to penetrate.

"Damn it, I refuse to accept this!" Lin Yuan cursed.

He hoisted the Wolf Fang high and hammered down on the halo with a frenzy.

After one, two, three powerful strikes, the halo's color swiftly dimmed. Now at Bronze First Rank, Lin Yuan possessed the strength of 110 men, a solid 10% increase from Zero Rank.

With a final "Bang!" the halo vanished, and the Wolf Fang crushed the coyote's skull without resistance.

Lin Yuan looked down at the coyote's limp form, his surprise evident. Was it really that simple?

Why then had the previous fight felt so grueling?