"Master, the former kobold chieftain once created a map of the surrounding magical creatures' distribution. Please wait a moment; I'll go find it."
With that, Bolikri scrambled to his feet and darted toward a cave where the kobolds used to store important items.
These items had been untouched by the Ettercaps, but there was one particularly revolting issue: the cave was filled with colorful spider eggs laid by the giant spiders.
When Bolikri and a group of kobolds began cleaning up, they had to endure their disgust as they punctured and destroyed the eggs.
Meanwhile, Su Nian wasn't idle. He was studying his digitized body panel. To keep Anna entertained, he even used system points to exchange for a lollipop for her.
"Eat more lollipops now, and you'll get better at it later. Habits take time to build," he thought to himself.
[Name: Su Nian Wotru]
[Gender: Male]
[Race: Black Dragon (Variant)]
[Level: 30 (Tier 3) (Level 21-30)]
[HP: 60,000 (Constitution x 100)]
[Strength: 300 | Attack: 6,000 (Strength x 20)]
[Constitution: 600 | Armor: 6,000 (Constitution x 10)]
[Spirit: 150 | Magic Resistance: 1,500 (Spirit x 10)]
[Skills: Variant Dragon Breath, Primal Hunt, Dragon's Might,
Experience Sharing (50% of subordinate experience gained),
Menacing Intimidation (A terrifying appearance that instinctively instills fear in enemies).]
[Note: Attributes like Strength, Constitution, and Spirit can be improved through training or by leveling up.]
There wasn't anything particularly surprising. If his guess was correct, this information was meant for the players. The natives of this world were completely unaware of such panels and couldn't see their own stats.
They would remain in the dark, oblivious to the fact that their vibrant lives were reduced to cold strings of data in the eyes of the so-called players.
"Is this the conspiracy of that entity?"
"And what about me?"
Su Nian furrowed his brow in thought. Since "Fate" allowed him to see this information, it was clearly hinting for him to use it—to leverage this knowledge to counteract the players.
"Attributes can be improved through training? This might be a breakthrough point."
Su Nian's dragon eyes lowered as he pondered.
Natives killing natives yielded no experience points; they had to kill players to gain any. But players had no such restriction. Moreover, the sheer number of natives provided players with far more opportunities to level up.
This was a war of unequal resources.
The masterminds behind this setup were clearly pitting players and natives against each other in a life-and-death struggle. Perhaps their wager was on the outcome of this conflict.
Now, Su Nian was the only anomaly in this world—a native who knew too much.
Originally, magical beasts relied solely on eating, sleeping, and their bloodline luck to grow stronger. But after digitization, a new path seemed to have emerged.
Training.
At this thought, Su Nian couldn't help but recall those times on Earth when he passed by large commercial centers. There were always one or two scantily-clad young ladies holding a stack of flyers, approaching with an admiring expression and saying:
"Hey handsome, interested in an exhilarating fitness program?"
"Hey handsome, how about a membership card?"
Su Nian now wanted a membership card—not for himself, but for his magical beasts. However, before implementing this plan, he needed to test the effectiveness of this so-called training.
The players were growing too fast. With their worldwide deployment, he couldn't focus on one front while ignoring another. Enhancing the capabilities of his subordinates was of utmost importance.
With this in mind, Su Nian's gaze casually landed on a kobold cleaning the battlefield. The kobold happened to be facing him, making it convenient for Su Nian to call him over.
"You, come here."
The kobold, though confused, obediently approached Su Nian, trembling as it prostrated itself before him. The black dragon's oppressive presence was simply overwhelming.
"Great Master, Hak is at your service."
"Mm." Su Nian let out a soft hum and stared at the kobold named Hak. A pathetic stat panel popped up before him:
[Name: Hak]
[Gender: Male]
[Race: Kobold (Black Dragon's Follower)]
[Level: 4 (Tier 1) (Level 1-10)]
[HP: 800]
[Strength: 4 | Attack: 80]
[Constitution: 8 | Armor: 80]
[Spirit: 1 | Magic Resistance: 10]
[Skills: Trap Setting, Cave Design, Mining, Trash Collecting, Howling, Pouncing, Playing Dead.]
Good grief. Su Nian knew kobolds were weak, but he hadn't expected them to be this pitiful. Truly the disgrace of magical beasts—no wonder they struggled to defeat even a human of the same level.
But it didn't matter. If his method worked, these kobolds might yet become formidable warriors.
"Hak, follow my orders. You are to run laps around the cave for half an hour without stopping. If you dare stop, I'll eat you!"
Su Nian bared his menacing dragon teeth, his raspy and brutal voice accompanied by the sulfuric breath spraying onto Hak's face. The poor kobold immediately collapsed in fear.
"Mercy, Master! Hak will run laps around the cave. I won't stop until you say so!"
With a pitiful cry, Hak scrambled to his feet and began running around the massive cave on his short legs. Afraid that slowing down might lead to his demise, he started at full speed.
This quickly led to him panting heavily within two minutes. By the five-minute mark, he had to slow down, but he still didn't dare stop.
Half an hour passed quickly. Su Nian called Hak back, signaling that he could stop. Hak crawled back to Su Nian, leaving a trail of sweat on the ground as he moved.
"Great... great Master, Hak... has finished... running..."
"Mm."
Su Nian nodded noncommittally. He checked Hak's stat panel and noticed a slight change in his baseline attributes:
[HP: 810]
[Constitution: 8.1 (+0.1) | Armor: 81]
Half an hour of intense running had increased Hak's Constitution by 0.1. Of course, this improvement was unlikely to remain consistent. As training continued, the rate of growth would inevitably slow down or even stop entirely.
After all, if attributes could be endlessly stacked, Su Nian could eventually train an army of kobold warriors capable of challenging gods.
Perhaps this was one of the keys to countering the players.
Satisfied, Su Nian nodded to himself. Even he could enhance his own attributes through this method.
He decided not to push Hak further. Relieved, the kobold left with a grateful expression. Kobolds had decent stamina; a bit of food would quickly restore them.
Just then, Bolikri finally returned with the map, eagerly presenting it to Su Nian.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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