Chapter 10：The First Performance of The Three-Specs Warlock

Alchemy Warlocks had no offensive skills other than Arcane Bolt, so there were no skills to buy. Most of their time was spent in improving the power of their mechanical puppets, and therefore their physiques were very weak. Without the help of mechanical puppets, they were good for nothing.

After browsing for some time, Xiao Ling finally found some useful skills, including Demonic Warlock's Repellent Ring and Drain Life, Destruction Warlock's Force Blast and Searing Pain, Affliction Warlock's Corruption, and some skills shared by all three specializations such as Shadow Bolt. These skills cost him about 30 gold coins in total.

A level-1 warlock could only learn five skills at most, but Xiao Ling had learned ten. Such an amazing achievement made his blood boil. He had a feeling that one of his feet had stepped into the Warlock Temple, and perhaps his name would be inscribed on the temple's memorial plaque at some point in the future.

Clenching his teeth, he spent another 50 gold coins and bought some basic Uncommon equipment from the Auction House. Although their attributes were slightly poor, they were much better than the novice clothes he was wearing now. He could wear them after gaining a few more levels.

After buying some bread and spring water from the inn and storing all his valuable possession such as the Titan's Heart and amethyst bars in the NPC's warehouse, Xiao Ling eagerly made his way to the Skeleton Forest. After all, it was the ideal place for beginners to grind and gain levels.

'I have to level up as soon as possible. I'm too far behind now.'

...

From time to time, bursts of shrill laughter could be heard ringing out from the depths of the forest, echoing through the quiet air and adding an eerie atmosphere to the place.

A skeleton soldier in ragged leather armor was wandering aimlessly in the distance; it was a level-1 undead. Xiao Ling was a little excited and nervous, because this was his first attempt to kill monsters and level up. In the past, he had fled whenever he saw a skeleton soldier.

He approached the enemy slowly until he was about twenty yards away, just within the attack range of his spells.

Corruption!

His first attack was a curse spell. The skeleton soldier's attribute was slightly reduced due to it, which caused its physique to weaken and be no longer as strong as before.

Shadow Bolt!

The black Shadow Bolt arced perfectly through the air as it went for the skeleton soldier while Xiao Ling quickly moved backward.

Searing Pain!

The damage of these offensive spells to low-level monsters was amazing. By the time the skeleton soldier saw Xiao Ling, its health was already down to 37%. Waving the broken sword in its hand, the undead charged at him.

Drain Life!

Xiao Ling drained the health of the skeleton soldier. Drain Life could extract 10 points of the enemy's health per second and convert it to the caster's health, but the caster had to stand still. A basic-level Drain Life was pretty useless, but when its level reached high enough, it was very powerful.

He waited for the skeleton soldier to rush before him, and then...

Force Blast!

A blast of force erupted from his body, slowing down the enemy.

Repellent Ring!

The skeleton soldier was pushed away by a white ring of light. Warlock was a class specializing in controlling spells. Their controlling spells were derived from the mages' controlling spells, but due to the warlock's spiritual expertise and weak fit with elements, their spells had been strengthened in control effect while being weakened in damage. Many of their skills, including Force Blast and Repellent Ring, were typical warlock controlling skills.

By the time the skeleton soldier came to its senses, the cooldown of Xiao Ling's other skills was over.

Shadow Bolt!

Searing Pain!

It took twelve seconds for the battle to end. The skeleton soldier fell to the ground and dropped several silver coins. One hundred silver coins were only equivalent to one gold coin, so this money was really nothing to an artisan-rank miner. However, they were of great significance to Xiao Ling, because it was the money dropped from the first monster he had killed.

Without even suffering an injury, he had killed a skeleton soldier easily. Was this the power of multiple skills? A three-specs warlock was just too strong! Xiao Ling could hardly imagine how high the combined spell damage between a mechanical imp and him would be if he brought one with him.

He glanced at his experience bar: it was at 32% now. He would be leveled up after killing a few more skeleton soldiers.

He sat down on the ground, drank some spring water, and waited for his mana to recover. When it was full again, he stood up and moved on. Mana was very important to a spellcaster. When a spell could not be cast because it was short of just 1% of mana, it usually meant the end of a spellcaster's life. Therefore, mana must be fully recovered before any battle. That was not the case when there were instant mana potions, but most of them were too expensive for ordinary players to use.

Ten minutes later, a white light lit up after Xiao Ling had killed three more skeleton soldiers. He was extremely happy, because he had finally gained a level after the game was launched over a month ago!

He was given 5 attribute points, which he added to his intellect without hesitation. As a warlock, the higher his intellect was, the greater was his spell damage. Although his physique was slightly weaker, as long as he managed it well and did not let any monster come close to him, he should be safe. With so many controlling skills, he was full of confidence.

After gaining a level, his spell damage was increased by 10%. And after he equipped himself with an Uncommon staff, which added 2 to his intellect and 1 to stamina, killing skeleton soldiers became much easier.

Xiao Ling familiarized himself with the skills as he explored the area, moving through the dark Skeleton Forest. Soon, he saw a group of six level-1 skeleton soldiers in the distance. With the pale-gray staff in hand, he wondered if his plan would work.

At that moment, he aimed at one of the skeleton soldiers.

Shadow Bolt!

Searing Pain!

As soon as both spells fell on the enemy, all six of them came running at him.

Force Blast!

Boom! All the skeleton soldiers were hurt.

Repellent Ring!

They were then pushed far away.

Shadow Bolt!

The first skeleton soldier fell to the ground. Affected by the Force Blast, the remaining skeleton soldiers moved toward Xiao Ling at an extremely slow speed.

Yet, he changed his target.

Searing Pain!

Instead of retreating, he pressed on and approached the enemies, choosing a suitable position.

Force Blast!

Then, he backed off several steps and glanced at his mana, which was down to 11%, and patiently waited for the Force Blast's cooldown. When he could cast it again, he moved up, dodging the attack from a skeleton soldier.

Force Blast!

Another skeleton soldier fell to the ground.

Shadow Bolt!

Searing Pain!

After killing two more, his mana was almost completely empty, with only 2% left, which was only enough for him to cast a Repellent Ring. Meanwhile, the health of the last two skeleton soldiers was down to about 3%.

'Why didn't I calculate my mana properly before the battle?' thought Xiao Ling in exasperation.