After going into the sea, I met the witch.

Time passed slowly as Ryan practiced his swordsmanship. Since there was no timer, Ryan could only check the panel every now and then to see if the [Travel] function was available.

After an unknown amount of time, when Ryan glanced at the panel as usual and saw that the black "Travel" text had turned back into a usable gray, he immediately showed a look of joy.

"Finally done."

Ryan let out a sigh of relief, tidied up briefly, and lay down on the wooden bed—that way, even if someone entered the room while he was traveling, they would only see the illusion that he was fast asleep.

After making the preparations, Ryan did not hesitate.

The journey begins!

……

The sensation of his body rapidly ascending returned, but this time, Ryan did not witness the vast sea of ​​spirituality again.

As the darkness receded and his vision returned to himself, the scene of the isolated island was reflected in his eyes.

The only difference is that the small sailboat under his feet has become extremely tiny, only half a meter long, just enough for him to stand on.

A person is standing on a half-meter-long wooden raft, which is quite an awkward sight.

Ryan expressionlessly swiped his hand in front of him, and a gray page popped up, listing some basic equipment exchange options.

He spent 30 spirit points to redeem a new set of longsword, log shield, and leather armor—the initial equipment provided by the [Nameless Ship Carving] had been damaged and lost during the last attack by the four giant beach crabs.

This time, he will definitely avenge this!

Ryan's eyes were sharp.

Stepping outside the raft's perimeter, a vibrant sense of life washed over him, making the world feel real and beautiful. Ryan observed his surroundings and found that the raft's location hadn't changed, and he didn't see any beach crabs within his sight.

Does this mean that each beach crab has its own territory, and that after the previous one was killed, this place has not yet been occupied by a new beach crab?

Ryan muttered to himself.

Following the route to the beach crab's lair that he remembered, Ryan proceeded cautiously. To avoid being surrounded by beach crabs again, he constantly observed his surroundings to make sure there were no more beach crabs around.

Ryan stopped when he was about 200 meters from the giant crab's nest on the beach. Not far from his line of sight, the huge and familiar figure came into view again.

"Found you!"

A hint of coldness flashed in Ryan's eyes.

Although the death of a wandering clone does not mean death, the pain before death is not reduced in the slightest.

He still vividly remembers the excruciating pain caused by the slight squeezing after being clamped by the pincers.

After careful observation, no other beach crabs were found in the vicinity. Obviously, in order to maintain the energy required to sustain their enormous bodies, these beach crabs would scatter to forage in various parts of the island on good weather days. This gave Ryan the opportunity to take them down one by one.

Just to be on the safe side, Ryan did not choose to fight in this place not far from the lair.

He picked up a small pebble from the ground, weighed it in his hand, and then, with a "whoosh" sound, the pebble landed precisely on the beach two meters away from the giant crab.

"Ahem." Ryan coughed lightly twice.

Given the distance and his lack of throwing skills, it was inevitable that he would make a mistake "once" in the throw.

Although the giant crab on the beach wasn't hit, the goal of "luring the monster" was still achieved.

The sound of pebbles flying through the air and landing immediately alerted the giant crabs on the beach.

It used its unique body-turning technique to turn around, saw the enemy in the distance, and immediately began to stride arrogantly with its crab-like gait, quickly approaching.

Ryan turned and ran.

During the run, he roughly tested his distance.

Using the speed of the beach crab as a reference, he found that his running speed increased by about 20% after leveling up to level 1.

It's important to know that increasing running speed isn't easy; friction, air resistance, and other factors all affect running speed.

Even the most difficult stat to improve, running speed, has increased by 20%. Ryan estimates that the improvements in strength, stamina, and other aspects will only be greater.

After running more than a hundred meters, Ryan stopped, turned around to face the giant beach crab that was crawling sideways towards him, gripped his longsword tightly, and revealed a fighting spirit in his eyes.

This time, he's going to fight the giant beach crab head-on!

Chapter 9 Upgrade

"Wow..."

The waves crashed relentlessly onto the beach, leaving trails of white foam behind.

Ryan stared solemnly at the giant beach crab that was rapidly approaching him.

After the upgrade, his nerve reflex speed also improved. When he was highly focused, the objects in his eyes would move slowly, which helped him to make the right reaction in the blink of an eye.

The beach crab raised its powerful pincers. Although it was unclear why this "hateful standing monkey" had suddenly stopped running, it did not hinder its continued attack. Its massive body moved rapidly sideways, like a speeding car, which was awe-inspiring.

Just as the two were only three meters apart, Ryan made his move.

His legs, which had been taut and ready to spring, propelled him forward with fierce speed. From a distance, he looked like a pathetic creature overestimating his abilities and trying to move a "driving car" with his own strength.

"Boom!"

The giant crab's claws slammed down viciously, and the strong gust of air made Ryan's medium-length hair fly backward.

At the critical moment, his foot slipped, and his forward momentum instantly turned into a sidestep. This dangerous move, like walking a tightrope, stemmed from his experience in dealing with giant crabs on the beach.

In terms of strength, the beach crab is far superior to him. Even now, after the upgrade, he is still inferior in strength. However, Ryan also has his own advantages.

That is, his movements are more agile.

Due to its natural body structure, the bulky beach crab does not easily turn around, requiring the use of its pincers. However, in battle, its pincers are used as weapons. In this situation, as long as you get behind the beach crab, it becomes difficult for it to attack.

The sturdy carapace is a "body armor" that the beach crab evolved to defend against attacks from behind. Unfortunately, it is not facing ordinary animals, but intelligent humans, also known as the "terrifying upright ape"!

Taking advantage of the moment when the giant crab on the beach was struggling to turn around, Ryan's eyes narrowed, and he stepped forward to thrust.

"Pfft!"

With a popping sound, the sharp sword tip precisely pierced the eyeball of the giant crab on the beach.

Devastated by this blow, the beach crab went berserk.

Pale red veins spread across its entire body, and even its previously difficult turning became much faster. Its pincers swung, and the red shadows moved with fierce force. Ryan, who had anticipated this, had already created a two-meter distance and avoided the beach crab's counterattack.

He learned from his mistakes. He was injured by the unexpected "rage" of the giant crab when he first encountered it on the beach, so how could he possibly repeat the same mistake now?

Without hesitation, Ryan turned and ran when faced with the "raging" beach crab, and the beach crab chased after him without hesitation.

This moment seems to be a replay of the scene when I first met the beach crab, but the difference is that the speed of the now rampaging beach crab can hardly surpass that of Ryan.

The inability to catch up means that the positions of the two parties have undergone a fundamental change.

With the raging beach crab in tow, Ryan began circling the beach.

Even when entering "Berserk mode," the beach crab's speed is still not particularly fast when making sharp turns. And the ability of "Berserk" must have a time limit; otherwise, the beach crab would not choose to unleash it only in a dangerous situation.

One lap, two laps...

After running five laps around the coconut grove not far from the beach, taking nearly two minutes, the pale red veins on the beach crab finally faded, and it collapsed to the ground as if exhausted, seemingly without even the strength to lift its pincers.

Ryan stopped, slightly out of breath, a smile playing on his lips.

—You finally couldn't hold on any longer, could you?

To be honest, the fact that the beach crab's berserk state lasted for a full two minutes was far beyond Ryan's expectations.

This thing lasts a little too long.

Now, it's time to hunt!

Carrying his longsword, Ryan approached the giant crab on the beach and thrust it out, accurately blinding its other eye.

The sound of bursting liquid rang out again. The fallen beach crab tried to struggle, but firstly, Ryan was standing behind it, in its blind spot, and secondly, after the berserk state ended, it really had no strength left. In the end, it only trembled slightly.

The scene before him confirmed a piece of information for Ryan: after the beach crab enters a berserk state, it can still retain some stamina if it quits halfway through, but once the berserk time is completely over, it will inevitably collapse from exhaustion and be unable to move, and this time is two minutes.

The thoughts in his mind did not affect Ryan's actions.

Completely blind, the beach crab was utterly powerless to resist. As Ryan plunged his longsword deep into its eye area and swirled it around forcefully, the beach crab, its internal organs shattered, quickly succumbed to its trembling and lost its life.

-

[Level]: 1 (47%)

[Spiritual Value]: 170

-

Ryan looked thoughtfully at the display on the panel in front of him.

The first time he killed the beach crab, he leveled up from level 0 to level 1 and still had 7% more experience left. But now, killing the beach crab only gives him 40% more experience, leaving him 53% short of level 2.

Does a higher level mean less experience gained from killing the same monster? Or is it related to individual differences?

Or is it because the higher the level, the more experience is needed to level up?

Shaking his head, Ryan stopped thinking about it and turned his gaze toward the direction of the giant crab's nest on the beach.

Since killing one beach crab doesn't level up, let's kill another one.

Having gained a deeper understanding of the beach crab through this battle, Ryan believes that hunting it will become even easier.

After leveling up to level 1, his physical abilities improved in every way, making him much more at ease when facing attacks from the beach crabs.

This time, they killed the giant beach crab without taking any damage.

Carrying his longsword, Ryan walked step by step toward the giant crab's nest on the beach.

……

Three hours later.

"Thorn..."

Ryan pulled his longsword from the eye area of ​​the fallen beach crab, ignoring the fading pale red veins on its convulsing body, and looked at the panel in front of him.

-

[Level]: 2 (40%)

[Spiritual Value]: 470

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