"Ding... Village Chief of Newbie Village No. 60001 requests your help in collecting one hundred wolf teeth. Task Type: Normal, Task Deadline: None, Task Reward: 1000 Experience Points, and a random Level 5 Steel Implement. Note: Originally a normal task that requires level five to trigger, completing it may yield additional rewards."
Wolves... it's wolves again. First, it was the eyes of the wolves, and now it's their teeth. Alex chose to accept, and immediately heard the village chief nod with satisfaction, "Young man, I await your triumphant return. Here, I hope these things can be of help to you."
"Ding... You received 10 bottles of Small Recovery Potion, 5 apples, and 5 steamed buns as a gift from the Village Chief of Newbie Village No. 60001."
Small Recovery Potion: Instantly restores 100 health points, cooldown time of 5 seconds, effect cannot be stacked with similar recovery items.
Apple: A common fruit, eating it restores 50 health points and reduces hunger by 10.
Steamed Bun: A common staple food, eating it restores 10 health points and reduces hunger by 30.
Indeed, there's a silver lining... Alex collected these items and said to the village chief, "Thank you, Village Chief."
"Hehe, before that, let me teach you a basic life skill." The village chief waved his old hand, and a faint white light appeared both in his hand and around Alex.
"Ding... You have learned 'Basic Gathering Technique', which allows you to gather some low-level items from monster corpses."
"Master, master! That thing called an apple looks like it can be eaten! I want to eat it, I want to eat it!" Candy, who had finally quieted down for a while, scratched Alex's ears and called out. Alex, who was listening to the village chief, felt a vein pop on his forehead and whispered, "Don't talk!"
"Oh? What did you just say?" The village chief raised his head in confusion.
With an almost identical look of confusion, Alex looked at him innocently and said, "I didn't say anything."
The village chief couldn't help but wonder if he was getting old and his ears were failing him. Without dwelling on the matter, he smiled and said, "Right, it seems like Old Wang in the blacksmith's shop has something he wants help with, why don't you go and see him?"
Alex nodded and bid farewell to the village chief before heading towards the house where the rhythmic sound of hammering could be heard.
"Wuwu, Master, I want to eat that thing called an apple. Master... you promised not to bully the cutest and most obedient Candy anymore, wuwu..." With a tearful expression and a pitiful voice, coupled with those starry eyes that would overflow with tears at the slightest refusal, Alex had no choice but to give in. He took out an apple he had just acquired and handed it to Candy. As soon as Candy got the apple, her body suddenly sank, almost falling to the ground, before she struggled to float up with the apple in her hands.
"Wow! It's so big, and it looks so delicious." Candy opened her small mouth and bit hard into the apple, finally managing to make a small dent in the skin after much effort. Then she happily started eating, making occasional sounds of satisfaction at the sweet taste.
The sight of a girl holding an apple almost as big as her head and eating it eagerly was indeed delightful and amusing, even Alex couldn't help but smile imperceptibly.
"Hello, Uncle Blacksmith, may I help you with something?" Walking into the blacksmith's shop, Alex addressed the blacksmith who was forging.
Hearing the voice, the blacksmith turned around, a smile appearing on his dark face. "Hello, adventurer from another world, there is indeed something I need your help with. The materials for forging in my shop have been running low recently. Could you help me collect some boar tusks?"
"Ding... Due to your extraordinary charm, the blacksmith Old Wang's favorability towards you has increased by 20 points. Blacksmith Old Wang asks you to help him collect twenty tusks from mountain forest boars. Task Type: Normal, Task Deadline: None, Task Reward: 200 Experience Points, and a random Level 3 Pale Implement. Do you accept?"
With the sound of Candy gnawing on the apple in his ears, which had not stopped since she got the apple, Alex thought for a moment but chose not to accept. Instead, he smiled and said, "Uncle Blacksmith, although boar tusks are good forging materials, I believe wolf teeth are tougher. How about I collect some wolf teeth for you?"
Boars are level 2 monsters, and the territory of wild boars is now occupied by a surging army of levelers and task doers. It's hard to say how much time it would take to collect these twenty boar tusks. And he had just accepted the task of collecting wolf teeth from the village chief... What a wonderful coincidence.
The blacksmith's eyes lit up, and the smile on his face grew even stronger. "It's rare to see such enthusiastic young people like you. But wolves are ferocious animals, and collecting wolf teeth is much more dangerous. Are you really willing to collect twenty wolf teeth for me?"
"Ding... Due to your charm, the blacksmith Old Wang's favorability towards you has increased by 10 points. The task content has been changed to collecting twenty wolf teeth. The deadline and reward remain the same. Do you accept?"
"Of course, I'm willing. I'll bring the wolf teeth to you as soon as possible," Alex said with a smile. Although the task reward hadn't changed, the +10 favorability was already satisfactory enough for him. Just as he was about to leave, the blacksmith called out to him, "Young man... , it's rare to see young people like you who are so approachable and enthusiastic. Could you spare some time to help me with something, if you can, perhaps?"
Alex's steps immediately stopped, and he smiled broadly, "Helping others is my honor."
If his words were heard by anyone who knew his reputation, it would surely be met with widespread disdain and ridicule.
The blacksmith dropped the hammer in his hand and sighed deeply. A deep sense of sadness appeared on his weathered face as he spoke, "I have a seven-year-old son. He is the most precious treasure of my wife and me in this lifetime. But a month ago, a giant black bat suddenly appeared in the sky above the newbie village. After circling for a long time, it suddenly swooped down here and grabbed my son with its huge claws, then flew off to the distant south... It was a giant bat that had been enchanted by evil forces, or perhaps, it was a terrifying demon that had escaped from the Tower of Destiny. From the moment my son was taken away, I knew I would never see him again in my lifetime. Under the grasp of that dreadful demon, he couldn't possibly survive... Young man, could you comfort my wife for me? Ever since our son was taken away by the bat, she's become a completely different person. Her body grows weaker by the day, her spirit becomes more and more abnormal, and she keeps obsessively repeating our son's name every day. If this continues, she will leave me just like our son did... Everyone in the entire newbie village has tried to persuade her, but to no avail. Young man, could you help me with this? Even if she doesn't change, I will be grateful to you."