Chapter 10: The First Kill!

Su Liu watched with satisfaction and gestured for the little furball to follow her out of the space.

Across the grassland, endless darkness stretched in every direction, punctuated by the occasional eerie roar of monsters. A small, bean-sized lamp illuminated a radius of about ten meters, acting like an invisible barrier that carved out a patch of safety.

Within the system interface, there was a dedicated "Bestiary" tab. It automatically recorded any monsters the player encountered, providing a brief description and a list of potential loot. Fortunately, the beginner protection period didn't include any monsters above level three, which was quite merciful.

Seeing the light appear in the center of the path, the monsters lurking in the surrounding black mist began to converge, circling the ten-meter mark around the kerosene lamp and letting out intermittent growls.

To their surprise, Su Liu did not retreat. Instead, she led the little furball toward the edge of the light. Standing about a meter away from the monsters, she pointed at a patch of slowly creeping, blood-colored moss and said to the furball:

"Look, this is called Thirsty Moss. It continuously drains your health if you get too close, but it moves extremely slowly. Its attack power and individual health are very low, but they usually swarm in large groups."

"That translucent figure in the distance, made of dust and dried grass, is called a Soul Shepherd..."

As Su Liu patiently explained each monster that spawned, the furball would occasionally fire an [Empty Mark], or Su Liu would step to the edge, swipe her dagger a few times, and retreat into the safety zone the moment a monster noticed her.

These underhanded tactics left the monsters gnashing their teeth in frustration. *Wait, isn't a normal person supposed to either run or be terrified of us? Why is this woman and her pet hitting us, and why do they run away the second they land a blow? Have some guts and fight us one-on-one!*

Su Liu seemed to sense the monsters' inner thoughts. As it approached eleven o'clock, she looked at the seemingly despairing crowd of monsters and whispered to the furball:

"Get ready, Tuanzi!" Her voice dropped, her eyes sharp as a hawk's, her grip tightening on the dagger she had pulled from a silver secret chest.

The dagger flipped nimbly in her hand, its cold blade reflecting the dim light and radiating a dangerous chill.

Tuanzi stood beside the kerosene lamp, its two fluffy tails standing slightly on end. Pale blue space and wind-attribute energy flowed silently through its body, its eyes gleaming brightly in the night.

Su Liu locked her target onto the humanoid monster closest to the edge of the light—a "Soul Shepherd" made of twisted dust and withered hay, with ghostly green soul-fire flickering in its hollow eye sockets.

"Now, Tuanzi! [Empty Mark]!" Su Liu hissed. Her body launched forward like a phantom, her dagger aimed straight for the most solid-looking core area of the Soul Shepherd’s chest.

Tuanzi’s claws responded with lightning speed, slicing forward. Two imperceptible silver lines tore through the air, silent yet carrying the heart-stopping force of spatial shearing.

These two [Empty Marks] perfectly intersected the Soul Shepherd’s path—one sliced through the joint of its raised "arm," while the other tore through the chest energy it was trying to condense for defense!

"Hiss-roar!" The Soul Shepherd’s movements were forcibly stalled and shattered by the invisible force. It let out a pained whimper as parts of its dusty body scattered.

In that split second, Su Liu closed the distance.

Having practiced this maneuver several times, she didn't hesitate. With all her strength behind the blade, she plunged the dagger into the most unstable, core point of the creature's energy!

*Squelch!* The dagger felt as if it had pierced a clump of loose, sticky dust.

Then—a sound like leaking air hissed out. The Soul Shepherd’s body twisted violently, the dust and hay losing their cohesion and collapsing into a heap. Only a few withered grass blades and a faint, nearly extinguished green soul-fire remained, floating in the air as proof of the kill.

Su Liu flicked her wrist, withdrawing the dagger with practiced ease as a drop of dark, sludge-like "blood" slid off the tip.

"Beautiful! Use [Wind Gale Step] to slow the other one down and create an opening for me!" Su Liu didn't stop. Her eyes locked onto a sturdier Soul Shepherd that was trying to bypass its companion’s remains to lunge at the light barrier.

She retreated, but not back to the center of the safe zone. Instead, she maintained her position at the very edge, dancing on the knife's edge like a master assassin.

Tuanzi understood perfectly. It pushed off with its hind legs, its small body leaping lightly into the air and stepping three times in succession!

With every step, a pale green pressure ring formed above the target, slamming down with crushing force!

*Bang! Bang! Bang!* Three pressure pulses struck the Soul Shepherd in quick succession.

The monster’s movements became visibly stiff and sluggish, as if it were trapped in an invisible bog, every step becoming an immense effort. The slowing effect of [Wind Gale Step] had taken hold!

"Good job!" This was the moment Su Liu had been waiting for.

She kicked off the ground, turning into a blurred shadow, and flashed right behind the slowed Soul Shepherd.

Simultaneously, her dagger traced a lethal arc of cold light, striking from below with pinpoint accuracy into the most stagnant gap of the monster’s energy flow, burying the blade to the hilt!

She twisted the dagger. With another dull hiss of escaping air, this powerful Soul Shepherd followed its companion, collapsing into a pile of useless, withered debris.

*As expected,* the Soul Shepherd thought to itself as it fell, *Mom wasn't lying—the prettier the woman, the more dangerous she is.*

The other monsters outside the barrier were enraged by the successive deaths of their kind.

Densely packed, slowly writhing Thirsty Moss, exuding a faint scent of blood, began to creep toward the edge of the barrier. Their numbers were vast, forming a dark red "tide."

A patch of moss less than a meter away sensed the life force of the living and suddenly shot out several blood-red, tentacle-like vines, lashing toward Su Liu’s ankles! The vines hummed with a sensation of intense vitality-sapping power.

Su Liu exerted her will, activating the slowdown effect of the Hourglass of the Morning, while simultaneously applying a boost of equal magnitude to herself. With an incredibly agile backflip, she not only evaded the vines but, upon landing, stomped down hard on the patches of moss closest to the barrier, splashing green fluid mixed with the scent of blood.

She retreated half a step like a nimble cat, looking provokingly at the surging moss.

Just then, two [Empty Marks] flashed once more across the air in front of her!

*Rip!*

Like the sound of coarse fabric being torn, the leading blood-moss tentacles were instantly severed by the invisible spatial blades. The severed ends leaked thick, dark red liquid, and the remaining parts recoiled like they had been electrocuted.

Tuanzi, its cooldown finished, had delivered a timely strike, driving back the Thirsty Moss.

The halo of the kerosene lamp flickered stubbornly in the darkness. Inside the light, Tuanzi panted slightly, though its eyes shone ever brighter, its two tails swishing with excitement as it cheered for their successful coordination.

Sweat dampened Su Liu’s bangs, but her smile was filled with the sharp, exhilarating thrill of being in total control.

[Congratulations, player, for achieving the first kill of a monster in the entire zone. A zone-wide announcement has been generated for you!]