John said, “Hello, I don’t need any potions. Do you need any help with anything?”
“Not buying anything?”
Enzo’s smile faded, and after a moment of contemplation, he said, “I do have some trouble, but you’re too weak to help me.”
“I can try.”
John knew that the alchemist had a quest that required players to be Level 3 to accept.
However, if you persist, the alchemist will still give it to you.
“Alright.” Enzo thought for a moment and then nodded. “These past few nights, the Tusked Wild Boars in the forest have been sneaking out to destroy my herb field. If you can kill the Tusked Wild Boars and bring back their tusks, I will exchange each set of tusks for a low-level magic or health recovery potion.”
[Ding! You have triggered the E-level novice village quest: The Alchemist’s Request. Kill Tusked Wild Boars and bring back their tusks to exchange for low-level health or magic recovery potions. Do you accept?]
“Accept.”
John accepted the quest without hesitation.
Leaving the novice village, John headed straight to the Demonize Hare territory.
The Tusked Wild Boars were Level 3 monsters, and John was only Level 1, far from being their match.
He needed to level up to Level 3 first, then head into the forest to hunt the Tusked Wild Boars.
n the Demonize Hare territory, there were many players, most of whom were in teams of three to five, barely able to kill a single Demonize Hare.
Demonize Hares had 40 health points, 7 agility points, and their strongest attribute was their physical attack, which reached 8 points. When using the skill “Strike,” their damage reached 12 points.
Novice players would be doomed if a Demonize Hare got close to them.
John’s base magic attack reached 9 points, and his Level 1 Fireball spell could deal 13 points of damage (base magic attack + spirit attribute * 50%).
As long as he kept his distance, John could kill a Demonize Hare with four Fireball spells. John distanced himself from the grouped players and soon found a lone Demonize Hare.
Keeping at maximum distance, John waved his staff, and a Fireball shot out, hitting the Demonize Hare precisely.
-13
The Demonize Hare’s fur was scorched by the flames. It looked up with blood-red eyes, locking onto John, and charged rapidly.
John quickly retreated, waiting for the Fireball spell to cool down.
The Demonize Hare’s speed far surpassed John’s, and the distance between them closed rapidly.
Whoosh!
The Demonize Hare leapt and used its skill, Strike.
John’s eyes were sharp, closely watching the Demonize Hare’s movements.
“Now!”
With the Fireball spell cooled down, John waved his staff, and a Fireball shot out, hitting the Demonize Hare precisely.
Boom!
-13
The flames surged, and the Demonize Hare staggered and fell to the ground, its expression dazed.
Interrupted!
The Demonize Hare’s “Strike” skill was forcibly interrupted by John’s Fireball spell.
This level of combat technique was something John had learned through countless life-and- death battles.
Clearly, this was beyond the Demonize Hare’s comprehension.
John quickly retreated, widening the distance between them.
The Demonize Hare, recovering from its surprise, bared its sharp fangs and charged at John again.
Fireball!
-13
As soon as the three-second cooldown ended, John fired another Fireball spell, taking the opportunity to pull back further.
John’s expert kiting ensured that the Demonize Hare could never get close; each time it did, John’s Fireball spell would precisely interrupt its attack.
With the fourth Fireball spell, John successfully killed the Demonize Hare, remaining unscathed.
[Killed Level 1 Demonize Hare, gained 10 experience points]
No items dropped.
A player needed 100 experience points to level up from Level 1, so killing 10 Demonize Hares
would suffice.
“Carry on!”
John targeted another Demonize Hare and repeated the process.
[Killed Level 1 Demonize Hare, gained 10 experience points]
[Plunder talent triggered, Strength +1]
The notification flashed.
He had gained 1 point of Strength.
John was delighted.
The Plunder talent had a 10% chance to plunder an attribute point from ordinary monsters upon killing them.
This was only the second Demonize Hare John had hunted, and he had already gained an attribute point.
Unfortunately, it was a Strength attribute, which wasn’t particularly useful for John.
John continued to search for solitary Demonize Hares.
…
[Killed Level 1 Demonize Hare, gained 10 experience points]
[Plunder talent triggered, Agility +1]
[Your level has increased to 2, you have gained 4 free attribute points and 1 skill point]
The notification flashed. John had finally reached Level 2,
and his Plunder talent had triggered again, granting him 1 point of Agility.
John opened the attribute panel and distributed the free attribute points.
All to Spirit.
Ordinary novice mages typically allocated points to Constitution and Agility to increase
survivability.
But with the Plunder talent, John had no such concerns.
At this point, John’s Spirit attribute reached 12 points, giving him 120 mana points and a base
magic attack of 13 points.
Fireball had also increased to Level 2, with damage scaling to 55% of the Spirit attribute as
fire magic damage.
John’s Fireball damage now reached 19 points.
“Time to hunt Level 2 Green Snakes.”
John decided to head to the Green Snake territory to hunt them for experience.
In the novice village, each level increase in monsters resulted in a significant boost in their strength, though the experience gained only increased by 1 point.
Many players, even at Level 2 or Level 3, still chose to hunt Demonize Hares for leveling up. The Demonize Hare territory was becoming increasingly crowded with players. Many, seeing John’s formidable strength, invited him to join their teams, but John declined
them all.
Not wanting to be disturbed, he chose the territory of the Green Snakes as his next target.
The Green Snakes, being magical monsters with high Spirit attributes, had a chance to drop
Spirit attribute points upon being plundered.
John left the Demonize Hare territory and entered the Green Snake territory.
There were only two teams of physical attack players here, busy killing the Green Snakes to
level up.
Green Snakes had a Spirit attribute of 9, which meant they had 9 points of magic resistance,
making them a nightmare for novice mages.
No mage would choose to hunt Green Snakes to level up, especially not alone.
The two teams noticed John but showed no intention of inviting him to join.
To them, a mage in this area was just a burden.
John didn’t mind. He kept his distance from the two teams to avoid any unnecessary conflicts.
Soon, he found a hidden Green Snake in the grass.
Green Snakes were Level 2 monsters with 60 health points, 9 base magic attack, and the Wind
Pierce skill, a basic wind magic attack.
John raised his staff, but before he could cast a spell, the Green Snake attacked first.
The snake raised its head, and with a burst of magic, a Wind Pierce shot toward John.
John stood his ground, taking the hit head-on.
-2
A damage number floated above his head.
With 12 points of magic resistance, John’s defense reduced the Green Snake’s attack to just 2
points of damage.
The snake seemed momentarily stunned by the negligible damage it had caused.
John then launched his attack, casting a Fireball spell that struck the Green Snake.
Boom!
-10
Despite the snake’s 9 points of magic resistance, it still took 10 points of damage,
which was acceptable to John.
Hissing in pain, the Green Snake flicked its tongue and abandoned its magic attacks, opting to
slither rapidly across the grass towards John.
Remaining calm, John quickly retreated and fired another Fireball as soon as its cooldown
ended.
Boom!
-11
John continued to hit and run the Green Snake.
Its speed was far inferior to the Demonize Hares, making it easy prey.
With the sixth Fireball spell, the Green Snake fell.
[Killed Level 2 Green Snake, gained 11 experience points]
[Plunder talent triggered, Spirit +1]
As expected, the Green Snake provided a Spirit attribute point.
John was lucky, as his Plunder talent triggered on his first Green Snake kill.
To reach Level 3, John needed 200 experience points,
which required killing 19 Green Snakes.
This time, John didn’t hold back. Instead of attracting one snake at a time, he lured three
simultaneously.
The Green Snake’s magical attacks posed no threat to John, and their speed was no match for
his. He easily overwhelmed them.
Soon, John leveled up to Level 3,
gaining an additional 2 points in Spirit from his Plunder talent.
He allocated all 4 free attribute points to Spirit.
Now, his Spirit attribute reached 19 points.
Fireball had also leveled up to Level 3, dealing 60% of his Spirit attribute as fire magic
damage.
This brought his Fireball’s damage to an impressive 31 points.
“Should I continue hunting Green Snakes?”
John hesitated. With his current strength, he could handle the Level 3 Tusked Wild Boars.
However, the Spirit attribute points from the Green Snakes were too enticing.
“Forget it. Let’s complete the quest first.”
After some thought, John decided to focus on the novice village’s hidden quest. Although he had four days to complete it, he needed to be fully prepared.
Just as John was about to leave, a massive Green Snake suddenly emerged from the grass.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind surged, transforming into a blade that slashed towards John.
Slash!
His robe was torn.
-9
A damage number floated above his head.
“A boss!”
John was thrilled. The creature before him was clearly a leader-level Green Snake boss!