It was enough to give him peace of mind until level sixty.
However, acquiring just one Hunting King's Greatsword was far from sufficient; there were many other valuable items he needed to grab urgently.
Otherwise, once the creature in the cauldron emerged, there would be no chance to obtain them, and even Letixia and Jed would perish here.
Although he could reload a save, this time he was determined to clear the game in one life.
He left the basement.
Xi Mu sneaked out like a ghost, weaving through the streets, occasionally coming upon a lone Giant and couldn't help but stealthily deliver a fatal blow before quickening his pace to depart.
Minutes later, he arrived at a dwarven forge, where the battle was much fiercer—dozens of Giants and dwarves were locked in combat.
"Don't underestimate dwarves, or I'll cut your balls off!" a fiery female dwarf shouted, raising her fist and cursing.
She was entirely fearless before Giants much taller than herself.
"How about we make a deal?" Xi Mu approached the female dwarf and gestured toward the Giants nearby.
"Give me that bow, and I'll kill all those Giants for you." He pointed at a pile of weapons next to the female dwarf.
Following Xi Mu's direction, the female dwarf's eyes locked onto a purple great bow. She ran her fingers over her chin, "Do you know how expensive this bow is?"
"That's why I'm robbing you in the face of disaster." Xi Mu answered boldly, seeing the speechless expression on the female dwarf's face, he explained:
"Give me five minutes to finish off those Giants, and the bow's mine, how about it?"
The female dwarf narrowed her eyes, looking at the thief wrapped in curtains before her. She pondered for a moment, then laughed heartily.
"Deal."
"Start the timer then." Xi Mu stepped over to the weapon pile, grabbed the purple great bow, and pulled back the string.
Magic Power surged in, and an arrow spontaneously formed.
"Begin!" the female dwarf declared, actually starting the countdown, while Xi Mu released the bowstring, sending a purple arrow through the air, piercing a Giant's throat.
Immediately after, Xi Mu fired two more arrows, killing two more Giants, then he reached behind to grab the Hunting King's Greatsword and charged toward the remaining three Giants in the distance.
The meteor bow had good killing power and came with gravitational pull and explosive effects, but it also consumed a great deal of Magic Power, so he couldn't fire many arrows.
Therefore, Xi Mu preferred the more Magic and stamina-efficiency of melee combat. By timing it right, he could quickly finish kills and gain as much experience as possible.
The female dwarf crossed her arms and watched the thief enter the battleground, taking less than three minutes to slay the remaining Giants.
Then, without looking back, he left.
"Who the hell is this guy?" the female dwarf blinked, showing a subtle expression; he seemed average in strength, but he could easily kill a Giant.
"Forget it, as long as he didn't steal the bow and arrow." She shook her head, abandoning the pursuit of the thief's identity.
After all, he did fulfill his promise to kill the Giants.
Meanwhile.
Elsewhere.
Xi Mu, carrying the meteor bow on his back and wielding the Hunting King's Greatsword, moved through the streets and alleys to a dilapidated shop. This time, encountering no one, he accurately located an oval shield and unhesitatingly took it.
But that wasn't all; there was still one more item he needed to take.
An amulet, a blessing from the Goddess of Life.
This was an amulet that could enhance one's recovery abilities and increase the upper limits of Magic Power and stamina, invaluable to any warrior.
However, under normal circumstances, to possess such an amulet, one's devotion had to reach a certain level to be rewarded by the church, or one had to show devotion through a significant amount of money, thereby buying the Goddess of Life's blessing.
But Xi Mu couldn't afford it, and his faith wasn't strong enough, so he had to resort to extraordinary means.
...
…
The church.
The hall.
Xi Mu glanced around and his gaze finally settled on a statue of the Goddess of Life, locked onto the pendant hanging between the statue's breasts.
That was the blessing from the Goddess of Life.
"Goddess, surely you won't mind parting with a small pendant, will you?" he said, not hesitating to take the pendant from the neck of the Goddess of Life's statue.
Then he vaguely felt the air grow still for a moment, as if someone had cast their gaze upon him.
It was the gaze of the Goddess.
"To protect the city's residents, I had no other choice." Xi Mu stated righteously, feeling that gaze tinged with both helplessness and gentleness.
"I will repent to the Goddess afterward!" He added, and then he felt the gaze retracted from him.
Hmm, the Goddess of Life allowed him to take the charm.
Among the many gods, the Goddess of Life is known for her exceptionally good temperament. Even if he took the charm and attracted the attention of the Goddess of Life, he could easily fool her with a few reasonable fabrications. Other gods would not be so easily deceived.
It was very easy to incur the wrath of gods or to be hunted down by the church.
However, with the Goddess of Life, as long as he repented afterward and explained his reasons, she was unexpectedly easy to talk to.
After putting on the charm, he felt the grace from the Goddess of Life working on him.
Now, he was a man who had been blessed by the goddess.
Xi Mu clenched his fists, feeling the charm taking effect, slowly healing his wounds and even accelerating the recovery of his strength and magic power.
It was truly a grace from the Goddess of Life.
Unfortunately, this time he did not plan to follow the path of the Goddess of Life. Otherwise, his vitality and health points later on could have reached unimaginable levels.
Leaving the church.
Xi Mu quickly ran toward the safety base established by the city guards, killing a few giants along the way as a gesture to the Goddess of Life that he took the charm to help the city's residents.
At this moment, his attribute panel.
Xi Mu.
Attribute panel.
Race: "Human."
Level: "21"
Skills: "Ten Shadow Magics, Healing Prayer, Protection of Death, Nest of Life."
Talent: "None"
Achievements: "Impossible Miracle, Guardian of the Princess, Ten Men Slash, Flowing Wealth, Touch of the Hero's Blade, Giant Slayer."
His level saw a leap in improvement and his strength was greatly enhanced. All his needs for coming to Forge City were now fulfilled.
Therefore.
"Let's go, it's time for us to leave this place."
Inside the city guards' safety zone, Xi Mu looked at Letixia and Jed in front of him and said succinctly,
"There will definitely be more tactics from the giants later on. It's not safe to stay here."
"...Okay." Letixia hesitated slightly, but after seeing Xi Mu's serious gaze, she agreed.
She trusted Xi Mu's choice, even if it was wrong.
Jed was even more straightforward, saying to Xi Mu, "Get a carriage; running on foot is too slow."
"Let's go." Xi Mu nodded, turned around, and left with the two, running far away under the watchful eyes of the city guards until they were out of sight.
"By the way, was that silver-armored knight's equipment always that luxurious?" one of the guards asked, his words filled with confusion.
"I remember he only had a thick greatsword before?"
"He's been out killing giants for so long; is it surprising that his equipment is upgraded?" another guard shook his head and explained to his companion.
"To survive and kill more giants, it's reasonable to borrow some weapons or even be gifted some, isn't it?"
"Oh~ I also want to borrow some weapons." the guard said enviously, while his companion rolled his eyes.
Without real strength, venturing out could mean not only getting no equipment upgrades, but also whether one could survive was in question.
Fifteen minutes later.
Outside Forge City.
Jed drove the carriage at high speed, pulling away from Forge City, which was gradually coming into full view.
"Boss, where are we escaping to?" Jed turned to ask Xi Mu but immediately widened his eyes in disbelief.
She saw a magma-flowing giant climb out from a large pot, wielding a magma-flowing flame greatsword.
With a light swing toward Forge City, a sea of flames instantly submerged the entire city, and the rolling lava spread out like waves.
After that, the lava giant made another casual chop, and a blaze fell toward their direction, as if the whole world was about to be split in half.
"What… What is this thing, has the Flame Giant Surter been resurrected?" Jed's forehead sweat with panic as she drove the spooked carriage at breakneck speed.
She saw the ground being split by a river of molten lava, stretching to the end of her line of sight. If it weren't that the lava giant wasn't targeting them,
they would all be dead by now.
"It's a saint, not the Flame Giant Surter." Letixia turned her head to look at the lava giant, her green eyes showing tension.
"But the sword he's holding is a prototype of the Sword of Light!"