After leaving the village, I looked out and saw the vast forest filled with small green monsters, but no players. Looking back, I saw players swarming out of the newbie village!
I quickly raced away. Just as I was about to start, I noticed a young girl in linen clothes standing not far away. She kept looking around, as if seeking help.
"Hmm? Looks like there's a quest!"
Being the first person to leave the village, I didn't hesitate and immediately ran over.
When I reached the NPC girl, she said to me: "My grandfather recently lost his axe while out chopping wood. I heard it was taken by some nasty little goblins! Brother, can you help me get my grandfather's axe back?"
"Ding~!"
System prompt: Do you accept the quest [Collect Goblin Battle Axes]?
...
There's no reason to refuse such a good opportunity!
I immediately clicked accept, and another system chime followed—
"Ding~!"
System prompt: You have accepted the quest [Collect Goblin Battle Axes]! (Beginner quest, current difficulty 10)
Quest content: Help the young girl Lily find the lost axe. The axe should be in the possession of the goblins outside the village. Kill the goblins and collect 10 battle axes from them!
I was slightly stunned. She clearly said her grandfather only lost one axe, but now I'm asked to collect 10. This game is clearly to my liking, doing the same kind of business as me - getting something for nothing!
After our dialogue, Lily sat down under a big tree, seemingly no longer able to give out quests.
I gathered my gear, deciding to deal with these goblins first!
Just then, a goblin very close to me discovered my presence - someone who shouldn't be here. It quickly raised its axe and charged at me. Its short body looked like a small winter melon, and it wore a ridiculous green helmet!
I took a look and found that I could easily see the attributes of this low-level monster—
[Little Goblin] (Common Monster)
Level: 1
Attack: 1-3
Defense: 1
Health: 100
...
The little goblin's attack was only 1-3, so with my 2 points of defense, it shouldn't be too difficult to fight!
So, I quickly stepped forward, swinging my short club and smashing it hard on the goblin's forehead!
"Bang!"
A crisp sound, and a damage number of "12" floated above the goblin's head!
The goblin's axe also slowly fell on my shoulder, causing a slight pain and 5 points of damage!
Fortunately, my health wasn't much different from the goblin's, so I should be able to withstand it!
The important thing was that my attack frequency was much faster than the goblin's. As a beginner monster, the goblin naturally wouldn't cause instant death to players!
After several consecutive hits of my wooden club on the goblin's head, it let out a wail and slowly fell down. A few copper coins gleamed on the ground!
"Ding!"
Battle prompt: You killed a Little Goblin, gained 10 experience points!
I immediately bent down to pick up the copper coins, a total of 3, and put them all in my inventory!
However, after defeating this goblin, my health had dropped to below half. If I were to fight another goblin, it would be dangerous!
I quickly looked at my personal attributes and suddenly realized that I hadn't allocated the 5 attribute points given by the system when creating the account and entering the game!
Damn! And I called myself a veteran?!
Feeling ashamed and embarrassed, I immediately added all five attribute points to strength. How could I level up in the early stages without attack power? Besides, the profession I was going to choose would definitely be a combat one!
After adding 5 points to strength, my attack immediately changed from 0-3 to 0-8. This should make dealing with a little goblin much easier!
So, I quickly chose a nearby idle goblin to attack. With one strike of my club, a damage number immediately floated above its head—
"34!"
I was slightly shocked, not expecting it to be this powerful!
Two more thunderous blows, and the poor goblin let out a cry and fell down. With a "plop", a rusty axe fell to the ground along with a few copper coins.
[Goblin Battle Axe] (Quest Item)
...
Picking it up, I saw it had no attributes, which was slightly disappointing. I quickly threw the battle axe into my inventory and continued killing monsters!
The drop rate for axes wasn't high. On average, I had to kill about 5 goblins to get one axe to drop. What's worse, players were gradually increasing in number. By the time I had collected 9 axes, the field was filled with all sorts of players. Almost every goblin was being hit on the head by several short clubs as soon as it spawned!
It seemed I couldn't continue training here, otherwise, it would be impossible to level up faster than these ordinary players!
Just then, a little goblin had just spawned near me, looking around sneakily.
I immediately swung my club at it, and simultaneously, four other people around me also swung their short clubs!
"Whack! Whack! Whack!"
Three consecutive sounds, and the little goblin had fulfilled its purpose as soon as it spawned, dropping an axe before hanging on the edge of the forest!
I was confident. My strike had been as fast as lightning; it would be strange if I hadn't hit the monster first!
Quickly picking up the battle axe and throwing it into my inventory, I had collected all 10 axes!
Those few players who had tried to steal the kill looked at me blankly, seeming to want to ask something, but I had no time to deal with them. I just turned around and returned to Lily.
Taking out the 10 axes, Lily's face immediately lit up with a smile. She said, "Thank you, you've helped me find my grandfather's axe. This is your reward!"
"Ding~!"
System prompt: Congratulations on completing the quest [Goblin Battle Axes]. You've gained 500 experience points, 2 silver coins, +1 reputation, and received the quest reward item [Crude Iron Sword]!
"Ding~!"
System prompt: You've leveled up!
"Oh? Equipment dropped!"
I was overjoyed and immediately opened my inventory to see an iron sword lying quietly inside!
[Crude Iron Sword] (Crude quality)
Attack: 1-4
Required level: 2
...
So it was a level 2 equipment. Although it was still the lowest quality tier, its attack power was much stronger than the system-issued club in my hand! (In Ethereal Surge, equipment levels are: Crude quality, White equipment, Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Dark Gold, Ghost-grade, Earth-grade, God-grade. Of course, there are rumored to be even more powerful Super God-grade items beyond these, but who knows if we'll ever see them in our lifetime.)
I quickly equipped the iron sword, instantly becoming the only expert in this newbie village with an iron sword!
Many players cast envious glances at me. In their eyes, I was undoubtedly the most impressive character in this newbie village so far!
I was now level 3, and little goblins were no longer sufficient for my needs. Moreover, now that I had a new weapon and had added all 5 of my level-up points to strength, my attack had reached an impressive 1-17. With such formidable attack power, it would be a waste not to fight more challenging monsters!
So, I quickly returned to the village and bought 10 small health potions from the pharmacy owner, each restoring 100 health points. They were outrageously expensive, selling for 20 copper coins each! Fortunately, I had just completed a quest and received two silver coins as a system reward, so I was able to buy all the potions!
High investment brings high returns - I understood this simple principle.
Just as I was leaving the village, I noticed a soldier in armor had appeared at the village entrance, holding a steel sword and looking around.
I walked over, and as expected, this NPC was the captain of the village militia. He looked at me and said, "Brave young man, you are strong enough now. Would you be willing to help me with a small favor?"
I nodded immediately.
The militia captain said loudly, "Recently, a group of annoying fire bats has appeared south of the village. They have a certain toxicity, and several of my soldiers have been poisoned by them. I hope you can go kill these fire bats and collect some bat blood for an antidote!"
I was slightly surprised and quickly clicked the confirm button!
"Ding~!"
System prompt: You have accepted the quest [Clear the Fields]! (Beginner quest. Current difficulty: 50)
Quest content: Kill the flame bats south of the village and collect 20 portions of bat blood to give to Militia Captain Marco!
...
My heart skipped a beat. The previous goblin-killing quest had a difficulty of 10, but now this quest's difficulty had jumped to 50. Looking at the militia captain's eyes, it seemed to convey a sense of "The wind howls, the river freezes, the hero leaves, never to return."
I couldn't help but shudder, quickly gathered my gear, and hurried towards the south of the village!