Chapter 38：Ring of Frost

Tian Kuang and the others did not appear flustered at the sight of the charging Scarlet Barbarian Warrior. Tian Xin planted himself before Tian Fei and gauged the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's charging speed and the distance. He waved his staff calmly and said the incantation.

Three seconds later, the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior was upon Tian Xin.

Ring of Frost!

A layer of faint white frost spread outward swiftly. The ground was covered in a thick layer of ice, which emanated and struck the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's body. His feet were instantly immobilized by thick blocks of ice. The Scarlet Barbarian Warrior wanted to charge forward, but his feet would not budge from the ice. He could not move.

Tian Fei and Tian Kuang were still casting their spells without restraint. Lin Fei caught up to the monster as well and hacked away at the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's back. Fresh blood sprayed everywhere as she landed hits in rapid succession. The damage of the attacks was not high, but they were numerous. The most striking feature of a high-agility Rogue was the extremely high speed of attack. The Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's health bar decreased rapidly.

They had come prepared! Xiao Ling had never thought that a Frost Mage's Ring of Frost could be used in such a way. As expected of a class renowned for its crowd-controlling abilities.

"Ring of Frost," Xiao Ling muttered. He seemed to remember that one of the gargoyles he wanted to build had a skill called Ring of Frost as well. He wondered if it was the same Ring of Frost as the Frost Mages'. Xiao Ling could not help but feel excited. If they were the same, the mechanical gargoyle he wanted to build would have a much higher value. He never expected a mechanical gargoyle to possess such a powerful crowd-controlling skill.

Xiao Ling had been studying the blueprint of a gargoyle during his free time. He noticed that the blueprint of the gargoyle was at odds with many of the concepts outlined in the book Majoring in Mechanical Alchemy. However, Xiao Ling could tell that the designs of the gargoyle were much more logical and advanced. Xiao Ling guessed that this was the difference between the technologies of goblins and humans. 

As for how Uncle Bald got his hands on the wall clock, Xiao Ling decided not to think about it now. Uncle Bald had the knack to find the most broken of items for him to fix. Most of them were old machines 1,000 years old. Nobody collected these antiques on Endace Continent, and they ended up becoming rubbish. Coming across something from the Goblin Era was not surprising. Xiao Ling never understood how he managed to unlock a rank-5 runelock with his Apprentice rank engineering knowledge and obtain this amazing item.

Goblin technology was certainly mysterious.

Xiao Ling looked at the terrifying impact Tian Xin's Ring of Frost had on the ground. He felt a surge of emotions. How flashy would he look if he had a gargoyle capable of casting Ring of Frost. Naturally, being flashy was secondary. Xiao Ling's own strength would be greatly improved as well.

Xiao Ling did some calculations about how he should go about making money. It would be very slow for him to earn money by farming monsters and doing quests. He might have a higher income fighting Bosses with a party, but his own level was on the low side. Good parties might not even want him, while joining a weak party would not be of much help. He wondered if he could earn more by mining ores while farming monsters. After all, he was an Artisan rank miner. Also, if he sold everything he did not need in his vault, he might just be able to save up enough for a mechanical gargoyle.

Ever since he'd obtained the Hilaire's Demon Ring, this was the first time he felt such an urgent need to build a mechanical gargoyle.

Xiao Ling seemed to be out of it while hitting the monster with his attacks. Fortunately, he was not the main ADC, so it did not matter if he slacked off for a bit.

Every time the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior broke free of the Ring of Frost's control, Lin Fei would stun it again. Although the period where the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior stayed stunned or frozen became shorter and shorter, Lin Fei and Tian Xin worked very well together, and the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior could not stay unafflicted enough to break free.

For a minute and a half, the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior was put under control until it died. It did not even manage a retaliation before it was killed.

The melodious system sound of a level up rang in his ears. Xiao Ling was elated; he had finally leveled up. He called up his character panel and added five points to his Intellect.

"I've leveled up," he said.

"Congratulations." Tian Kuang and the others smiled. They were already used to leveling up. A beginner's level up was child's play to them.

The Scarlet Barbarian Warrior's Berserk-state body withered away. Xiao Ling remembered his encounter on the path beside the waterfall, and felt a lingering fear within his heart. As expected, there was a huge difference between killing a monster alone and with a party. Xiao Ling's conviction of solo leveling faltered slightly.

Xiao Ling had an idea. What if he farmed monsters with the four of them for now? If leveling alone was not quicker than leveling in a party, he had no reason to stubbornly insist on leveling alone.

Lin Fei collected the items dropped by the Scarlet Barbarian Warrior. She passed a warlock robe to Xiao Ling.

Demon Robe: Cloth. Defense: 5-8. Intellect, +13. Agility, +5. Fire Magic Resistance: 5%. Required level: 12. Class: Warlock.

"It's yours." Lin Fei passed the Demon Robe to Xiao Ling.

Xiao Ling studied the attributes of the robe. It was not bad, especially since fire-resistant warlock robes should be expensive in Tilia. However, he was as poor as could be, and did not think he had the money. His face flushed as he asked, "How much for this?"

"How much?" Lin Fei said with a smile. "You don't have to pay. Our party doesn't subscribe to the PB principle. Everyone can take what they need as long as it's under 1,000 gold coins."

Xiao Ling gaped. No words came out of his mouth. He mumbled inwardly about how they were as rich as he thought to ignore items below 1,000 gold coins' worth. Xiao Ling would never be courteous to rich people. He accepted the warlock robe gladly.

Tian Kuang looked at Xiao Ling as he said, "Alright, let's not dawdle. Shall we do some leveling here or head for the Boar Mine right away?" 

Xiao Ling shrugged, and noncommittally said, "The time limit for the Crazed Boar Fang quest is three days. There aren't any penalties for failure."

"That's good to know. We'll do some leveling here before heading in, then," said Tian Kuang. That was his original plan. The monsters' levels in the Boar Mine were too high. It would be difficult for them to enter it prematurely.