I glanced at the clock—it was already past 4 AM. In about an hour, dawn would break.
Yet, I felt no trace of sleepiness. Holding the silver-tier Golden Bow in my hands, my heart raced with excitement. This was currently the most powerful equipment in Ethereal Surge, and it was right here in my possession. No matter how many skilled players there were in the world, none could surpass this novice, could they?
However, I knew this was merely due to my luck in defeating a top-tier newbie village boss. In two or three days, others would surely obtain new silver-tier equipment. Therefore, I had to make the most of this precious time and significantly increase my level in the near future. Only with a higher level could I solo even more formidable monsters and potentially acquire more and better equipment.
For the first two weeks after the game's launch, the currency exchange service would not be activated. This meant players couldn't convert their in-game wealth into real-world money. However, after a fortnight, when personal bank accounts could be linked to game accounts, those financial powerhouses aiming to make it big in the game could invest heavily. As for me, a solo player only seeking to obtain a few epic items, slay some villains, and perhaps woo a few gorgeous ladies, I'd be able to exchange my in-game currency for real money to spend!
Of course, the prerequisite for all this was to reach a high level.
When I returned to the spot where the Golden Slime King had fallen half an hour ago, I found it already occupied by numerous players. There was even a small team of several dozen people guarding the area, anticipating the boss's respawn.
I chuckled to myself. I had studied Ethereal Surge's information half a month ago and knew that normal bosses respawned roughly once a week. Unless these folks were willing to forgo leveling up and entering the main city to wait here for a week, they had no chance of seeing the Slime King respawn!
Without lingering, I passed through the basin and walked for nearly a quarter of an hour. The surroundings gradually brightened, probably due to daybreak. Some diurnal monsters began to appear in the forest: level 14 Eagles, level 15 Short-haired Boars, and level 16 Bloodthirsty Antelopes. However, I didn't focus on them. My target was the level 20 Blue-eyed Lizard!
A shallow river flowed through the forest west of the newbie village. This area was rarely visited by players. In the shallow, grassy banks of the river lay several Blue-eyed Lizards. Their iron-like scales glinted in the grass, and their blue eyes looked somewhat terrifying.
My level was just high enough to see the Blue-eyed Lizard's attributes. I immediately checked its stats:
[Blue-eyed Lizard] (Common Monster)
Level: 20
Attack: 45-70
Defense: 60
Health: 1200
Attack Type: Inflicts paralysis effect, chance to paralyze target
Damn! Such high attack power, almost on par with the Slime King!
I was shocked. The Blue-eyed Lizard's attributes were indeed powerful. Not only was its attack high, but its defense was also nearly absurd at 60 points. This made the lizard almost impenetrable. If I didn't have the Golden Bow, I might not be able to break through its defenses!
So, I nocked an arrow, drew the bow to a full moon, and with a "whoosh," the arrow flew!
"Thud!"
The arrow struck the Blue-eyed Lizard's head, causing it to stumble back a couple of steps. A damage number of "245" floated above its head.
As I was slightly startled, the Blue-eyed Lizard had already closed in. Its mouth gaped open, and that disgusting tongue flew out, suddenly licking my chest and instantly depleting 87 points of my health!
I retreated several steps and fired another arrow, this time using the Ice Arrow skill!
"Bang!"
A blue light exploded above the Blue-eyed Lizard's head, immediately covering its entire body with a layer of frost and greatly reducing its movement speed!
Looking at my available skills, I suddenly realized—Armor-piercing Arrow! This skill, which ignored 50% of the target's defense, wasn't it the perfect counter for iron-clad monsters like the Blue-eyed Lizard?
So, as I retreated, I skillfully nocked another arrow. As the bowstring vibrated, the Armor-piercing Arrow transformed into a milky white light that pierced the Blue-eyed Lizard's head. A damage number leaped high!
"624!"
I was almost dumbfounded. I had to rub my eyes to confirm that it really was 624 points of damage! This level 20 monster had lost nearly half its health with just one hit from me!
Overjoyed, I fired another Armor-piercing Arrow to satisfy my curiosity. This time, the arrow's light clearly embedded itself in the Blue-eyed Lizard's head, dealing 678 points of damage!
"Roar..."
With a miserable howl, the Blue-eyed Lizard died, dropping a few silver coins!
Killing a monster 5 levels higher than me yielded a lot of experience—a single Blue-eyed Lizard gave me 550 experience points. Moreover, the equipment drop rate would significantly increase. Of course, this Blue-eyed Lizard only dropped 5 silver coins and nothing else.
This was understandable. The chance of equipment dropping from normal monsters was quite low. I had killed Slimes for five hours and only got one white-grade item. So, it was necessary to get used to monsters not dropping equipment—this mindset was crucial.
Looking around, I saw that this small map was called Shallow Swamp. It was populated with Blue-eyed Lizards ranging from level 20 to 25, enough for me to reach level 20. Suddenly, at the edge of the nearby forest, I spotted an NPC lying there, seemingly emitting a faint groan!
My heart skipped a beat, and I immediately ran over. Sure enough, it was a middle-aged soldier wearing full armor, lying in the grass with his legs covered in bloody wounds. He appeared to have been attacked by something!
The NPC looked up at me and suddenly exclaimed with joy, "Young warrior, it's wonderful that you've found this place! Could you help me with something?"
"Ding!"
System Notification: Do you accept the Squad Leader's request?
I quickly clicked confirm, and the system immediately chimed again:
"Ding!"
System Notification: You have accepted the quest [Collect Lizard Hides] (Current Quest Difficulty: 80)
Quest Details: Kill the nearby Blue-eyed Lizards and collect 50 Lizard Hides for Squad Leader Aaron. He will craft a useful piece of leather armor for you!
I couldn't help but smile. There wasn't even a forge here, yet he could craft equipment. The game designers must have lost their minds!
The quest difficulty had increased again, this time to 80 points. It made sense—the system assumed my level, and a level 15 player challenging a group of level 20 Blue-eyed Lizards would naturally be like an egg against a stone. However, the system overlooked the existence of my exceptional weapon, the Golden Bow, which was enough to tip the balance!
Now that I had a quest, leveling up would be twice as efficient!
I checked the level ranking board. My current position was 4,087th in the US region. Upon further inquiry, I found that even the 1,000th ranked player was only level 16!
Alright then, I'd aim to reach level 18 before going to sleep, breaking into American top thousand!
Full of enthusiasm and without a hint of sleepiness, I turned and shot an Ice Arrow at a Blue-eyed Lizard. Slowed down, the lizard crawled towards me sluggishly. But during this process, my two Armor-piercing Arrows were already guaranteed to finish it off. In fact, if a critical hit occurred, the Armor-piercing Arrow could even one-shot this level 20 monster!
Time flew by under the stimulation of abundant experience. When I finally felt a hint of fatigue, I looked at the time—it was already 5 AM. My monster-killing speed was unimaginable, taking down 3-5 Blue-eyed Lizards per minute. In just one short hour, I had leveled up twice to level 17, and I had collected all the required Lizard Hides!
Seeing that it was getting late and I had to be at work by 9 AM, I decided to sleep for about 3 hours starting at 5 AM. It would be just enough, and I could always catch a nap during work hours if needed. I'd continue the grind when I got home in the evening. Youth is capital—I could handle it!
So, I gathered my potions and went to turn in the quest!
From a distance, I could see that the Soldier Leader lying on the ground seemed to have improved significantly. After receiving the 50 Lizard Hides, he immediately laughed heartily and said, "Brave warrior, your courage has conquered this swamp. Please wait a moment, I will craft a brand new piece of leather armor for you!"
The Soldier Leader got busy, and I couldn't quite tell how he was crafting it. After a flash of rainbow-colored light, a shiny piece of leather armor appeared in his hands!
"Ding!"
System Notification: Congratulations! You have completed the quest [Collect Lizard Hides]. You have gained 25,000 experience points, 5 gold coins, +150 reputation, and received the quest reward [Shimmering Leather Armor]!