MMORPG: Crowd Control

With Kate laying on the corner, Lei Zhen made sure to check on her condition one last time before standing up.

He turned around and smiled gently at the two hounds, who had just broken out of his [Stun] duration.

"Well, you know what they say? It's time to beat the dogs to know who's the owner." Lei Zhen smirked, equipping his staff again.

His confidence was not unfounded because he had checked the two hounds status screen already.

[Species: Hounds of Nightmare

Level: 65

HP: 464/1354

Description: Hounds of Nightmare, it was said to be a type of beast that guards hades' door back in ancient times. They are ferocious beings that have no fear when facing their opponent. Relentless in their pursuit and with teeth capable of gnashing even the strongest metals.]

If the two hounds were actually full hp, then Lei Zhen might be in a pickle.

However, Kate had managed to deal such a heavy blow to them before fainting from fatigue.

The hp of the current two hounds was below half, and it was better to fight them now before they can regenerate.

And although it seemed hard, this amount of hp was still doable as long as he proceeded with caution.

After all, Lei Zhen didn't expect he was capable of picking up the sword that Kate was using. The stats of the sword was unbelievable, and he was simply borrowing the sword for now.

For a game to not have any restriction on using another class weapon, this was a surprise to him.

There was no penalty for equipping a sword, but that doesn't mean he was capable of utilizing any sword skill. The only thing he could do was swing the sword around and deal the damage based on its stats.

"RAWR!"

While Lei Zhen was admiring the sword that was still shining despite being covered in blood, the Hounds of Nightmare broke free from the stun.

"Tch, do you really need to woof in front of me?" Lei Zhen clicked his tongue, holding his staff with another hand, and cast [Decaying Poison] at them.

Instantly, a large field turned into a poison mist, and the hounds that were caught had their movement decreased by 20 percent.

Not to mention, the poison mist was purple in color and it created an effect of making the hounds look more frightening.

Alas, appearance being frightening doesn't mean it could pose a threat. Oftentimes, appearances are a form of deception and Lei Zhen was not a bit worried.

Although the hounds were slowed and received continuous DOT damage, Lei Zhen dared not act arrogant. He remained calm and collected, analyzing the situation overall.

Kate was not in any form of danger and simply needed rest, so he doesn't need to rush at all.

In fact, this could be a good opportunity for him to learn more about the combat system of Magnolia.

With a stomp on the ground, Lei Zhen propelled himself toward the closest hounds and activated [Stun] on him.

Unfortunately for him, the timing of the cast was a bit late and the hounds detected its action, dodging right in time to avoid the stun.

Afterward, the hounds pounced toward Lei Zhen and raised its claws. Its claws soon turned into a fiery red color, seemingly activating a skill of its own.

"Damn it," Lei Zhen clicked his tongue and hurriedly stabbed the sword into the ground to change his trajectory of direction.

Alas, his speed was still not good enough, and was hit by the hounds.

Ding!

[You have been hit by the Hounds of Nightmare]

[Hp decreased by 128]

While the system prompt told him the damage he received, Lei Zhen quickly resumed his composure and took a few steps back.

'As expected of a level 65. The reaction speed and awareness to counterattack at the perfect time cannot be underestimated.' He thought.

Since a frontal clash doesn't work, Lei Zhen could only play the slow game and stall for time, hoping that his [Stun] would land.

However, expectations were always different from reality. Every time Lei Zhen thought he had landed the stun perfectly at the hounds, it was able to dodge and tried to attack him in return.

The stun was cast directly on him at his location, yet his accuracy was even below 10 percent at this rate.

'Does that mean aiming at their location is bad?' Lei Zhen wondered silently.

If the target didn't move at all and stood in its place, then his stun would land perfectly.

"This is a miscalculation on my part." Lei Zhen smiled bitterly.

How could a live monster possibly stand still and wait for you to hit them?

A live monster would always dodge on instinct at any danger, so what he must do was not aimed at their location, but predict their movement.

To hit them, Lei Zhen needed to study the opponent's movement and where they would normally dash toward to dodge his skill.

Although he had some setbacks, this was a good lesson for him. It was a lesson that would help him in the future whenever he would have to fight.

Enemies' movements need to be analyzed for him to predict their next action and once analyzed, it could be said that any enemy would be in his control.

After learning this lesson, Lei Zhen made sure to improvise his method.

Meanwhile, the Decaying Poison duration had ended, and the hounds began their pursuit.

As much as Lei Zhen wanted to cast another Decaying Poison, his mana had run out after his consecutive miss of Stun.

Taking a deep breath, Lei Zhen narrowed his eyes at the closest hounds and recalled its previous movement.

'Last time it dodged toward the left side on my first stun and then the right side on my second stun. When it was dodging, it tilted its back left leg first to maneuver its movement.'

With that thought in mind, Lei Zhen raised its staff and made the casting animation.

And soon, the closest hounds began tilting their back left leg in an attempt to dodge.

"Gotcha!" Lei Zhen grinned wickedly and cast his [Stun] from the saved slot.