Zhao Kai was exhilarated to find the very Ironwood Treant in disguise on their first attempt, unaware that it wasn't by luck or anything.
With his long experience, how could Xu Feng fail to spot one of the Ironwood Treants?
Even if it was incorrect at times, the chances of him getting correct were definitely higher than most new players.
"Don't be so happy just yet, Shadow Blade." Xu Feng subsequently warned, having witnessed Zhao Kai jumping and running around in joy.
"The Ironwood Treant recovery ability is not to be underestimated. Look at the shot you did earlier."
"What's wrong with my shot—"
Before Zhao Kai could finish his sentence, he noticed the shot he made earlier was gone.
The Ironwood Treant itself was intact, almost as if it had never been shot at all. The bark had seamlessly knitted back together, erasing any trace of damage.
Zhao Kai rubbed his eyes repeatedly to ensure it was the correct tree that he had just shot and wasn't some other tree. After all, the fields ahead were just trees, so mistaking them accidentally was understandable.
"Damn, you didn't tell me they can recover, Feng!" He turned around and complained, clearly not expecting such an outcome.
"I've already said it, but you just didn't listen." Xu Feng shrugged his shoulders, denying any sort of responsibility.
"Y-You did?" Still skeptical, Zhao Kai was unable to recall as his mind was occupied previously with the realization that monsters could be cooked and the flavor of it could be enhanced further.
Thus, he indeed could not remember if Xu Feng did reveal the matter to him or not.
The truth was that Xu Feng purposely neglected such information, afraid that Zhao Kai's motivation might be quenched.
However, there was no need to be honest, especially when all that mattered was Zhao Kai's Gluttony skill had affected him quite a bit. Food had nearly become his highest priority now, so it would be rude to conceal such information on how to eat better food.
"Anyway, you should keep shooting at the Ironwood Treant, lest we will never kill one." Xu Feng warned kindly.
"I'll be searching for more Ironwood Treant in disguise in the meantime." He added, passing on the responsibility to him seamlessly.
Although Zhao Kai felt like something was wrong, he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. After all, Xu Feng's words made logical sense and didn't have any flaws in it.
Feeling like his brain was about to be overwhelmed, he scratched his head and responded, "Alright then, leave this monster to me."
He decided not to overthink like Xu Feng and focused on the important task.
With his rifle angled at the Ironwood Treant, he began to fire without any scrupulousness.
"Don't just shoot randomly, Shadow Blade! You want to aim at their critical flesh points as well!" Shouted Xu Feng, hinting to him that every monster had critical flesh points that would maximize their damage.
"Hah? Even this ordinary bark tree has critical flesh points to hit?" Zhao Kai was astounded by the news. From top to bottom, he couldn't spot any area that might injure the Ironwood Treant dearly.
It was not like it had some actual flesh compared to the Stonehide Boars or the Shadow Wolves they fought earlier. There were only identical barks spread all across.
Zhao Kai squinted his eyes, trying to spot any critical flesh to target, but alas, he was unable to. "Are you trying to make fun of me, Feng? There is clearly no critical flesh point in this monster!"
What he received in response was a smack in the back of his head.
"Stupid, if it's that easy, then can this still be considered a training exercise?" Xu Feng scolded harshly.
Although he was swindling him into doing manual labor, he wasn't kidding when he truly planned on making this a training exercise for Zhao Kai.
The area here only had trees that didn't pose any danger to players. Thus, this was the ideal training exercise in his past timeline in which multiple guilds and teams sent their members here to train.
Not only could doing the same repeated attack on a defenseless target could improve their aim, stamina, and mentality, but it could also help them improve one critical aspect.
And it was the ability to locate a monster's critical flesh point. Most of the time, similar to monsters like the Ironwood Treant, critical flesh points are not visible and straightforward.
Hence, one must train oneself to determine where the critical flesh points are, and the Divine World System isn't generous enough to teach players these mechanics.
Aside from the skills granted by the system itself, players must also learn and adapt to the world themselves and explore things to improve. This was also what separated the pros and the noobs.
"If you don't want to be stuck here all day and night long trying to kill the Ironwood Treants slowly, then you must find their critical flesh points." Xu Feng warned sternly.
"I understand…" Gripping tightly on his Ironbolt Rifle, Zhao Kai took a deep breath and closed his eyes tightly.
By the time he reopened them, a firm and determined expression appeared on his face.
"Isn't it just about spotting them? How hard could it be if I shoot each part and analyze the specific pattern of their location?" He murmured, angling his aim to shoot at the previous shot.
With a loud bang, the same effect appeared, and Zhao Kai could subtly sense there was no damage multiplier occurring.
Now that he confirmed it, Zhao Kai walked forward and drew an X on the spot he shot. The Ironwood Treant could regenerate themselves, but they couldn't possibly remove a marking he drew.
Meanwhile, Xu Feng watched on the side with a satisfied smile.
'At least he knows to mark the location he tested already. It seems like I don't have to give him more advice on how to spot them.' He was joyful at Zhao Kai's thoughtfulness and solution to tackling a seemingly difficult problem with ease.