If the beasts were evenly distributed across the arenas, Su Fan should have at least three more in his area, though he hadn't found them yet.
As dusk approached, Su Fan returned to reality briefly to tell Su Yutong not to disturb him for the next three days, as he would remain in the game world.
As a player, Su Fan didn't need sleep and could maintain full energy as long as his status was optimal.
Other contestants, while not as resilient as Su Fan, were also capable of enduring three days and nights without sleep at this level of strength.
Su Fan moved through the darkening surroundings, searching for beasts, when he sensed movement nearby.
Invisibility Spell!
Su Fan immediately activated the Invisibility Spell to conceal himself.
The movement didn't sound like a beast; the approaching entity was cautious, their footsteps faint, barely detectable even to Su Fan's keen ears.
Su Fan held his breath, hiding behind a rock and waiting silently.
A middle-aged man walked into view, cautiously scanning his surroundings.
"Huh? Where did they go?"
The man seemed puzzled. He had sensed someone here moments ago, but they had vanished.
He had set his sights on Su Fan from the start. Upon learning Su Fan was in Arena 9, he had moved towards this area.
Among all the contestants, only Su Fan and Long Jianye were young. In his mind, youth equated to inexperience and low strength, making them prime targets.
He had dealt with numerous beasts along the way and had spent the entire day searching before finding a trace of activity in this vicinity. Sensing movement, he had crept closer, only to find his quarry gone.
The sudden disappearance of his target left him bewildered.
He scratched his head, scanning the area, but found no sign of anyone.
A thought struck Su Fan as he glanced at the tokens on the man's waist. There were five in total: three silver and two bronze, totaling forty points!
Su Fan himself only had twenty-eight points.
This man had to be eliminated. Without hesitation, Su Fan decided to act.
Qiankun Ring!
A blue ring of light suddenly appeared around the man, startling him. He tried to dodge but couldn't. The blue ring ensnared him, freezing him in place.
Su Fan revealed himself, causing the man's eyes to widen.
Su Fan's current advantage was that no one knew he possessed control skills. This meant no one would band together against him, allowing him to pick them off one by one with the Qiankun Ring.
"What is this thing! Let me go!"
The middle-aged man shouted at Su Fan, his face contorted with anger.
He was a martial artist and unfamiliar with spellcasters, unaware that Su Fan was using a magical technique.
"Heh, coming to my territory so early? You must have bad intentions. Stop wasting my time. I'll make your death quick."
Su Fan sneered.
He wouldn't believe the man was here for a friendly chat. Sneaking into his area clearly indicated malicious intent.
If the man had been adorned with tokens from multiple arenas, Su Fan might have understood. But here, with his own area's beasts not yet cleared, and venturing this far, it was an open declaration of trouble.
Su Fan recognized him as the winner of Arena 1, far from his own. Crossing so many areas to reach him was a clear sign he was targeting Su Fan.
"Bastard! Have the guts to release me! I challenge you to a duel, man to man, one on one!"
The winner of Arena 1 taunted Su Fan.
Unable to break free from Su Fan's control, he resorted to verbal provocation.
"Do you think I'm an idiot? Die!"
Su Fan had no time for pleasantries. He immediately began launching fireballs at the man.
The opponent was a level 50 boss, and Su Fan couldn't defeat him quickly.
"Can you at least give me a quick death!"
The winner of Arena 1 was terrified by Su Fan's torment. Not a single part of his body was uninjured; he was almost roasted, and would have died long ago if not for his strong vitality.
"Shut up! Do you think I don't want to!"
Su Fan retorted angrily.
The Five Elements spells had good endurance but lacked attack power, only dealing damage incrementally.
He could use Meteor Shower, but its large area of effect might attract more people, which would be troublesome.
Although the fireball attacks were torturous, Su Fan was not the one suffering. He ignored the man's screams and continued to cast fireballs until his life force was depleted.
Su Fan gained a considerable amount of experience. The experience from a boss of the same level was quite substantial.
He was a bit disappointed that nothing dropped.
"This game is getting stingier. Even bosses don't drop equipment anymore."
Su Fan collected all the tokens from the man's waist.
He now had sixty-eight points. Su Fan didn't know how many points were in each area, as it hadn't been specified.
Su Fan had already eliminated seven beasts in his own area. If his earlier assumptions were correct, there were three more beasts remaining.
If they were evenly distributed, there would be at least one boss.
The remaining two were likely elites, as the winner of Arena 1 had obtained three silver tokens. If these three silver tokens were all from his own area, Su Fan would have a clearer understanding of the beasts' strength.
Three monsters below level 50, three normal level 50 monsters, three elite level 50 monsters, and one level 50 boss.
That made a total of ten.
This meant Su Fan's area still had two elites and one boss yet to be found.
Su Fan continued his search. Night was when the beasts usually rested, making them less mobile and easier for Su Fan to find.
Before long, Su Fan spotted a target.
Nine-Eyed Mountain Cat (Elite)
Level: 50
Health: 1,500,000
It was a mountain cat, but its size was tripled, and its face was covered in nine eyes, densely packed, enough to induce trypophobia and cause immediate death.
"Holy crap! That's disgusting!"
Even Su Fan, who didn't have trypophobia, felt his skin crawl. Had the game taken a Lovecraftian turn?
"Meow!"
The Nine-Eyed Mountain Cat noticed Su Fan and let out a meow.
Su Fan immediately felt a wave of dizziness.
Not good!
Su Fan realized the danger instantly. This creature used mental attacks!
Su Fan knew some monsters possessed abilities akin to magic, but their powers were innate. Such monsters were generally much stronger than creatures of the same level.
Su Fan's health began to decrease, dropping by 30 points per second.
Mana Shield!
Su Fan had no choice but to activate the Mana Shield to defend himself.
Su Fan's mind immediately cleared.
The dizziness vanished.
"Damn! Almost capsized in a ditch!"
Su Fan was furious.
Qiankun Ring!
Without any further hesitation, Su Fan unleashed a barrage of attacks on the Nine-Eyed Mountain Cat.