"The thief in the fields?" Xiao Ai was perplexed.
"Good, not completing it yet is good. Let us finish this trial quickly and get to it. If we are lucky, we can jump a few levels with that mission."
Having spent a long time with Xiao Ai, Ye Chen knew she was here to complete her apprentice trial. However, she not only had to kill 1000 Kobolds but also collect 100 pieces of Kobold's teeth.
"What? We can level up that much?" Xiao Ai's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
"But we need your necklace to work, or else we probably can only level up by half a level…"
"Alright! Alright! Let's go later!" Blinding rays of excitement radiated from Xiao Ai as she lept on the spot.
"But… I still really wanna get my hands on that Boss…" Looking at the colossal creature looming close by, Xiao Ai pouted gloomily.
"No worries. When we finish the apprentice trials, I will be able to learn a super powerful skill. At that time, let's give it a shot."
Since the start, Ye Chen had always had a lingering desire to clinch the Boss loot. Now, learning how revolutionary Xiao Ai's necklace was, the conviction to defeat the Boss raged harder than ever.
While the Boss loots of such low-level Bosses were generally mediocre, it did not mean that top-tier loots were not present. If they were lucky, he might receive some ultra-rare items. Within the Boundless World, some items were not location-locked or event-locked. Of them, the most valuable and common were skill books.
Skill books were highly sought after within the game. They were only attainable as ultra-rare loot from Boss fights or exchangeable with the Achievement Points. However, the difficulty of even getting a single Achievement Point was astronomical. It had left countless adventurers looking at the skill books with heated eyes at the exchange counters, yet they could only sigh and walk away empty-handed.
"Really?" In that instant, Xiao Ai felt energy and power bursting through her veins.
"Of course!" Ye Chen nodded vigorously.
"Then, let's kill them all! As fast as possible!" Xiao Ai couldn't wait to finish the apprentice trial.
With two exciting events awaiting their attention, the duo flurried through their trial missions. Needless to say, Ye Chen's impeccable skills and precise control dished out substantial DPS on Kobold after Kobold. On the other hand, Xiao Ai performed way beyond Ye Chen's expectations. Not only did she consistently and carefully maintain the health of the two Iron-Armored Willows, she even began to take the offense and attack with the Holy Bullets.
As seconds melted into minutes, the recovery of the Iron-Armored Willows strengthened. Ye Chen took on a more offensive positioning, taking all of the Kobolds' aggression onto himself, keeping the attacks on the Iron-Armored Willows to a minimum. With the need to heal the Iron-Armored Willows decreasing, Xiao Ai's attacking frequency increased, increasing the overall damage by the duo.
Coupled with the Blessings of the White Angel's Necklace, the collection of the required items were met before long. What was left was only to kill enough Kobolds.
The number of killed Kobolds rose at an increasing rate. Throughout the process, the equipment loot and bronze coins never stopped dropping. Xiao Ai had already collected a full set of the Priestess Apprentice Equipment Set, boosting her DPS and Healing Capabilities by several folds. Ye Chen, too picked up half a collection of the Botanist Apprentice Equipment Set. While he did not require this equipment, their scarily high drop rate still had him shaking his wide-eyed face.
If the White Angel's Necklace did not have a killed monsters limit, this one necklace would literally be priceless.
SHUAH! SHUAH!
The 700th Kobold dropped dead on the forest grounds. As the low thud resounded, two blinding glows accompanied.
Ye Chen's Iron-Armored Willows had leveled up. A Botanist's plants were just like adventurers. When planted and alive, they would gain experience from killing monsters. When the experience was sufficient, they would level up. However, they could only become a level higher than the adventurer's skill. As the Planting: Iron-Armored Willow skill Ye Chen had was Level 1, his Iron-Armored Willows were capped at Level 2 after killing several hundreds of Kobolds.
Compared to a Level 1 Iron-Armored Willow, the Level 2 counterpart did not gain much attack power. However, the defense and HP and regeneration abilities were on a much higher level. From now on, Xiao Ai did not have to heal these plants anymore. She could focus her MP entirely on attacking the monsters.
If Ye Chen was alone, preventing the death of the Iron-Armored Willow was not impossible, but highly inefficient. With his impatient attitude, he would choose to fight monsters after monsters without stop. If the Iron-Armored Willow died, he just had to plant a second one.
Now, with a Priestess by his side, not only did the Iron-Armored Willow not die, it had even leveled up. It was no wonder any adventurer who was a Priest was the most popular party member in any corner of the Boundless World.
Like two maniacs, Kobold after Kobolds fell onto their knees, turning into dust. In the process, their eyes sporadically glanced at the giant Kobold by their sides. As their numbers of Kobolds killed approached 1000, there were still no signs of any other adventurers within the area. No one else had found this isolated spawn point of the Kobold Leader.
"Fuck! Where the heck is the Kobold Leader?!"
Within the other areas of the Kobold Forest, the scenes were precise, as Ye Chen had suspected. Countless parties swapped across all of the common spawn points. A full hour had passed since the spawn of the Kobold Leader. However, not a single party found the Kobold Leader. As they combed another area, the adventurers could feel their patience stretching to the breaking point between the party members. They were all clear of the unsaid fact: the Kobold Leader had spawned in a new unknown location.
"Argh! We give up! You all go ahead. If this Boss spawned in a different and uncommon location, finding it would be a waste of time!"
Several more minutes passed, and countless teams threw in the towel. Left behind were the carefree and bored adventurers, slowly and nonchalantly looking for that one spot within the massive, sprawling Kobold Forest.
As the adventurers ferreted about for the Kobold Leader, Chu Bailong had linked up with Jack of All Trades, bringing the hired mercenaries into the Kobold Forest. Leading his large group of fighters, Chu Bailong scoured for Ye Chen and Xiao Ai.
Unbeknownst to this man, Ye Chen had brought Xiao Ai out of the deeper regions to the isolated and quiet edge of the forest in caution. Not only had, but they were also so blessed to meet the highly sought after Boss.
After charging through the forest for some time, Chu Bailong's patience snapped like twigs. "FUCK! Did he run off into the city?"
"If you wish to give up, we can head back." Smiling, Jack chimed in from the side. This was not new to him, and he did not care as well. For him, the payment had been made. Whether or not the client could find his target was none of their business.
"Go search for him! I don't believe I can't find him!"
Chu Bailong had steeled his resolve to vent his anger. He could not live with this embarrassment, especially not after the cruel lashing Crimson Rose had given him. He would rather die than to swallow and live with the shame!
...
"Finally done!"
Under the watchful eye of the Boss, Ye Chen and Xiao Ai completed the trial mission at an absolutely fantastic speed. Within less than three hours, they wiped 1000 Kobolds off the forest's grounds, much less than Ye Chen had anticipated!
"Let's go back and report to the guild!"
Jotting down the Boss's coordinates, the duo took out the Town Return Scroll and teleported back to Titan Megacity.
"Quickly report, and I will see you later."
The instant their feet hit the city, they hurried back to their respective guilds, looking forward to killing the Boss.
Hastily, Ye Chen entered the Botanist Guild. He headed in a beeline to Trousse, reporting the successful completion of his trial. With shocked eyes, Trousse sized up Ye Chen. Then, he nodded and praised.
"Hmm, nicely done on the mission. From now, you are an official Botanist. The Botanist is not any weaker than the other professions. I hope you will shine brightly in your career and become a Master Botanist. Only then are you in the true world of Botany."
"Thank you, Professor Trousse." While Ye Chen was in a hurry, manners were not sacrificed.
Before Level 15, the guild could only provide some unrewarding but straightforward lower-tier mission. Ye Chen only stopped by the vault to collect the skill book, Planting: Durian Bomb Tree, and he headed out.
The skill book sparkled with a golden glimmer in his hands. Taking a deep breath, Ye Chen tapped on it to learn the skill.
[System Notice, you learned the skill, "Planting: Durian Bomb Tree"]
From the vault, he also took the precious fifty Durian Bomb Tree seeds. Just as he was about to leave, a dark red bottle caught his attention. His eyes narrowed onto it as his thoughts rumbled. He took it out as well.
As he reached the meeting point at Titan Megacity's gates, he met up with Xiao Ai. She, too, finished reporting to the Priest Guild. Brimming with excitement, the duo left to hunt the Boss.
A Priestess and a Botanist, this odd combination drew puzzled expressions from the passersby along the way. After all, what could a party fully built on Spirit points do in a mission?
However, their condescending and befuddled gaze fell on blind eyes. Xiao Ai was skipping about, bursting with adrenaline, far too busy to bother about the others. On the other hand, Ye Chen's mind was scouting for a safe place to plant his plants. He found a secluded spot and planted the two Durian Bomb Tree seeds.
Within twenty minutes, they neared the location of the Boss.
However, before the Boss entered their sight, vibrantly colored equipment caught their attention. Within the half-hour which they left, other adventurers had found the Boss.
"AHHHH! People are fighting the Boss! OMG, they even reduced its health by half!" Panic tore apart Xiao Ai's heart. She could not believe it. All her efforts yet others would take her reward...