Now, I faced two choices: either be killed or fight the mutant bat to the death!
If I had enough potions, I could defeat this mutant bat without much danger. But the crucial fact was that I only had five potions left, each restoring 100 health points. Even with my current health, my total hit points were only 780. Whether I could take down this mutant bat remained uncertain!
Realizing this, I had no choice but to go all in, chugging potions as I fought. There was no other option!
"Slash! Slash!"
Two consecutive sword strikes exploded on the mutant bat's back, chopping off over 200 hit points. But the bat's counterattack forced me to down another potion.
The battle intensified rapidly. I had no time to think and just wildly swung my iron sword at the mutant bat. Suddenly, as the sword swept past the bat's mouth, it landed with a loud smack, dealing a critical hit of 256 damage!
I was momentarily stunned, then suddenly realized - in games, many monsters have weak points. If you can find and exploit their weak spots, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort! The weak point of this mutant bat was very likely its large green mouth!
So I swung my sword sideways into the bat's mouth, feeling the blade sink into soft flesh. The mutant bat took another 248 points of weak point damage!
Watching the health of this mini-boss plummet, I felt elated. I continued my assault, landing a critical hit every two or three attacks!
At this moment, I reached into my bag but found nothing. My heart sank: Damn! At this critical moment, I was out of potions. This could be deadly!
By now, the mutant bat was down to its last sliver of health. It opened its blood-red maw and lunged at me!
I only had 140 hit points left. I had no choice but to go for broke!
Gritting my teeth, I thrust my sword straight up into the mutant bat's gaping mouth!
A sharp pain shot through my body as I lost another 120 hit points. But then I heard the incredibly satisfying system chime:
"Ding!"
System: You have slain the Mutant Flame Bat. You gain 480 experience points!
System: You have leveled up!
"Ding dong!"
The Mutant Flame Bat dropped an item, mixed in with a few silver coins on the ground!
It was a faintly glowing axe!
My heart skipped a beat: Jackpot! A glowing weapon meant it had special attributes. Could this be my first magical item?
I quickly picked up the axe and examined it in my inventory:
[Gleaming War Axe] (Iron-grade)
Attack: 12-18
Strength: +4
Required Level: 6
Ha! It was an iron-grade weapon with bonus attributes! It even added 4 points to my strength, exactly what I needed most right now!
Overjoyed, I quickly equipped the Gleaming War Axe. My attack instantly jumped to 33-40, definitely qualifying as high-tier damage for this newbie village!
Thrilled, I gathered up the silver coins on the ground. As expected of a mutant monster, it was more generous than regular ones, dropping silver coins directly. Four in total!
I happily pocketed the silver coins. Combined with the copper coins I'd collected so far, my wealth now amounted to 23 silver coins and 68 copper coins!
However, this was still far from the 2 gold coins required by the studio. But no worries, it was still early. I was confident I could gather two gold coins to complete the task today!
So, after tidying everything up, I headed straight back to the newbie village.
By now, the village was almost overflowing with people, both inside and out. Of course, 9,999 out of 10,000 players were still wielding those crude wooden clubs. So, with my Gleaming War Axe on my back, I had suddenly become one of the top players in this village. Countless envious gazes were cast my way!
Frightened by the attention, I quickly turned off my name display. The fat fear the pig, and the strong fear the sturdy. It wouldn't be good to be targeted. I didn't mind PvP, but that was for later. Right now, time was precious, and I should focus on leveling up!
I found Sergeant Mason, the militia leader, and handed over 20 bat blood samples. Mason's eyes widened in surprise as he exclaimed, "Brave warrior, you actually did it! I can't believe you defeated those vicious bats. Well, here's your reward!"
"Ding!"
System: Congratulations! You've completed the quest [Clear the Fields]. You gain 2400 experience points, 24 silver coins, +10 Reputation, and the quest reward item [Wilderness Boots]!
I was ecstatic. Another piece of equipment!
[Wilderness Boots] (Iron-grade - Armor)
Defense: 14
Strength: +2
Agility: +1
Required Level: 6
Another iron-grade item with attributes! This one was even more impressive, with bonuses to two secondary attributes, albeit small ones...
The quest reward experience had already pushed me to level 7. After equipping the Wilderness Boots, my defense rose to 26, and my attack reached 35-45!
Looking at the iron sword in my hand, I ran to the village entrance and shouted, "Iron sword with 1-4 attack for sale! Rich buyers come quickly, only selling for three minutes!"
To my surprise and delight, the effect was almost like shouting "Beautiful girl's first night for 10 bucks!" In just a few seconds, I was surrounded by a sea of people, countless faces desperate for a weapon, shouting at me: "Damn! Sell it to me! Sell it to me!"
Faced with this crowd of eager buyers, my intention was clear. I said, "Highest bidder wins!"
Quickly, people started pooling their money. One shouted, "I'll give 1 silver coin!"
Another sneered, "1 silver coin? You think you're buying a chicken? I'll give 2 silver coins..."
A hulking player roared, "Handsome! Give me the weapon, I'll video chat with you and be your wife!"
The crowd jeered, "Damn! Looking like that and you dare to show off? Go back to Mars!"
Just then, someone pushed through from the outer edge of the crowd and said, "I've got 20 silver coins. Sell it to me!"
At this price of 20 silver coins, the surrounding area immediately fell silent. Everyone looked in amazement at this player who could afford 20 silver coins so early in the game!
Seeing his travel-worn appearance, and noticing that no one else seemed able to match this price, I directly initiated a trade with him. 20 silver coins changed hands, and I made sure to remember this player's name - Sword Fire Dragon Soul!
He seemed to be a professional player. Otherwise, it would be unlikely for someone to amass so many silver coins in such a short time!
I was overjoyed. If a broken sword could fetch such a high price, what would happen if I sold my Gleaming War Axe or Wilderness Boots? It would be unimaginable!
Of course, I had no intention of selling either of these items. After all, with them, I could level up faster and obtain even more equipment!
Pushing through the crowd, I quickly made my way to the apothecary. Checking the list of potions, I saw that a health potion restoring 100 HP cost 20 copper coins, while one restoring 300 HP cost 2 silver coins. The price difference was huge, but so was the effect. With my current level 7 and 320 HP, the 300 HP potions would be perfect for critical moments. After all, the higher the level of the potion, the faster it restores health. Small potions that slowly regenerate HP can be deadly in dire situations!
Looking at my inventory, I now had 43 silver coins and 68 copper coins. Without hesitation, I bought 15 of the 300 HP potions and used the remainder to purchase 27 of the 100 HP potions. I'd use the stronger potions in emergencies and the weaker ones for regular top-ups.
Just like that, I was broke again!
But every investment pays off eventually. When I returned to the militia captain to speak with him, he furrowed his brow and said, "The village elder seems troubled..."
Hmm? Was this a hint?
After a moment's thought, I headed back to the village center and found the white-haired elder in the main hall. All the other players were out leveling up, so I was the only one wandering around the village like an idle visitor.
Seeing me approach, the old village elder sighed and said, "The demons have begun attacking the towns around Twilight City again. Our village has already been hit. A large number of liquefied evil creatures have appeared to the west of the village. Young man, can you help me with something?"
"Ding!"
System prompt: Do you accept the quest?
I quickly clicked confirm.
The village elder continued, "A brave group of militiamen is trapped in an outpost to the west of the village. I hope you can help them!"
"Ding!"
System prompt: You have accepted the quest [Clear the Outpost]! (Beginner quest. Current difficulty: 80)
Quest details: Go to the west of the village, find the village outpost, kill the slimes there, and collect 100 Slime Medallions!
...
I was momentarily stunned. Slime Medallions? What on earth were those?
Never mind, I'd find out when I got there!
The quest difficulty was 80, which meant that relative to my current level 7, those slimes must be quite high-level. And the requirement to collect 100 Slime Medallions was daunting. The drop rate for normal quest monsters was usually around 20%, which meant I might have to kill up to 500 slimes to complete the quest!
So, with my Gleaming War Axe on my back, I set off towards the western outskirts of the village.
The Gleaming War Axe, being an iron-grade weapon, was quite eye-catching. Soon enough, many curious glances were thrown my way, but that was all they were – just glances of surprise.
However, not far from the village, I heard a voice behind me: "Friend, may we have a word?"
I turned around to find three level 6 players standing behind me. They seemed to have been following me for a while. Their names were similar: "Arrogant Madman", "Arrogant Rain", and "Arrogant Bloodlust".
Notably, Arrogant Rain was actually a female player, a pretty young woman whose simple beginner clothes couldn't hide her curvaceous figure. Her ample bosom looked like it might burst out of her clothing at any moment!
If I hadn't already met a beauty like Emma, I might have been stopped in my tracks by Arrogant Rain.
I glanced at them and said, "What can I do for you?"
Arrogant Madman laughed and pointed at my Gleaming War Axe. "Your weapon, are you selling it?"
I shook my head firmly. "Of course not!"
Arrogant Madman's eyes turned cold. "What if I insist on buying it?"
I felt a chill run down my spine, but I squinted my eyes and smiled. "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"