Suppressing his excitement, Ye Hen carefully examined the silver-tier leather armor he had found.
Deep Blue Leather Armor (Silver-Tier)
Armor Type: Leather
Physical Defense +18, Magic Defense +15
Strength +6, Agility +5
Requirements: Strength 15, limited to Warrior, Assassin, Swordsman, and Archer classes.
Having known the attributes of the Deep Blue Leather Armor from his previous life, Ye Hen wasn't too surprised by it this time.
Containing his eagerness, Ye Hen first equipped Daisy's Weeping, raising his strength to 18 points—enough to wear the Deep Blue Leather Armor. With both items equipped, Ye Hen's stats reached a new height, making him a match for even the current level 4 or 5 players.
After Honning both pieces of equipment and concealing their distinctive glow, Ye Hen decided not to linger. Even with his enhanced stats, there was no way he could take on so many level 10 Desert Red Scorpions, not to mention the Desert Gold Scorpion leader.
Ye Hen retraced his steps carefully, avoiding the scorpions as he made his way back to Whispering Sands Town.
Despite acquiring two high-quality pieces of equipment, Ye Hen's experience bar remained empty. Now, catching up in level was his priority. The highest level in the game had already reached level 6, and although Ye Hen had some advantages as a reincarnator, he was already four days behind. If he didn't work harder, the level gap would only widen.
Ye Hen took a quick loop around the town, locating three different NPCs and accepting three quests: collecting 20 Flame Squirrel tails, 20 Flame Squirrel teeth, and 20 Flame Squirrel pelts. These three quests came from different NPCs, but all required materials from the same monster, the Flame Squirrel. Whispering Sands Town was vast, and without knowing the exact coordinates of the NPCs, it would have been impossible to collect all three quests at once.
After accepting the quests, Ye Hen headed westward, where Flame Squirrels respawned.
Ten minutes later, Ye Hen arrived in the Flame Squirrel spawn area. It was a flat expanse of light yellow sand dunes, with minimal terrain variation.
Flame Squirrels were level 3 monsters, resembling ordinary squirrels aside from their fiery red fur. There weren't many players in the area—just a few small groups fighting the squirrels, though it was unclear if they were farming quest items or grinding for experience.
Ye Hen found a spot with a high respawn rate and began hunting.
He swiftly approached a Flame Squirrel from behind, stabbing it with a Backstab into its thickly furred back. A large "-70" floated up, and the squirrel's HP dropped sharply by 65%. With the combined power of Daisy's Weeping and the Deep Blue Leather Armor, Ye Hen's attack now reached a maximum of 35 points. With Backstab's 280% damage boost, the 70 points of damage was far from his limit.
The Flame Squirrel, wounded, turned and countered, swiping at Ye Hen with its sharp claws—a typical attack pattern of scratching and biting.
Ye Hen stepped back, dodging its swipe, then countered with a Thrust. With an agility stat of 25, his reaction speed far outpaced that of a mere level 3 monster. Ye Hen wasn't a novice; while he may not have been a top-tier player, his skill level was certainly high.
"-37, -32, -35." Three successive Thrusts drained the squirrel's life. Although the creature landed a last swipe before dying, inflicting 12 HP of damage, Ye Hen remained unfazed—his max HP was 200, making it negligible.
He picked up a Flame Squirrel tail from the ground, stood still to restore his health and mana, and observed a nearby team. It was a group of five—two Warriors, a Mage, an Archer, and a Priest—efficiently drawing in three squirrels at a time, likely all around level 3.
Of course, their efficiency couldn't compare to Ye Hen's. At this stage, having even a single bronze-tier item was rare, as ordinary monsters only dropped white gear; elite-tier items required boss monsters. This rarity made high-tier equipment extremely valuable.
As Ye Hen observed the group, another Flame Squirrel respawned at his spot.
Without hesitation, he charged forward with a Frontstab, followed by a Reverse Thrust. The Flame Squirrel's health displayed three red numbers: "-75, -35, -11." The first two reflected the damage from Backstab and Thrust, while the last was the 10% combo damage boost.
System: Dagger Mastery proficiency increased; current level: Beginner 5%.
In Sword of Dominion, unlike other online games, any melee class could gain combo damage if skills were chained smoothly, without significant pauses or evasive movements—combo points weren't required. However, only skills unique to a class could trigger combo boosts.
For example, for Assassins, a Thrust + Backstab sequence could generate combo damage, but adding the general skill Stab wouldn't. There were only a few free class-specific attack skills available before level 10, and skill books had notoriously low drop rates, frustrating players.
The Flame Squirrel, furious after taking three hits, lunged at Ye Hen. He dodged with a side step, retaliating with another Thrust. The game offered side-stepping, rolling, crouching, leaning, and jumping to avoid enemy attacks. Dodging effectively required precise timing and execution for flawless avoidance.
Ye Hen sidestepped the squirrel's claws and landed a Backstab, dealing -70 damage. The squirrel had only 5% of its health left.
"A critical hit." Ye Hen smirked as he finished off the creature with one last strike. Due to the critical, he only needed four attacks. But with fortune also came disappointment—the squirrel dropped nothing this time.
Just as Ye Hen was feeling frustrated, a strong voice sounded behind him.
"Hey, want to join our party? We've got a Priest for healing."
Ye Hen turned to see a tall Warrior, probably around thirty, with a muscular build and a hidden name wielding a two-handed sword. Recognizing him as one of the nearby party members, Ye Hen shrugged and replied indifferently, "Sorry, I'm just here for questing."
"Got it. Thought you were grinding levels." The Warrior chuckled and went back, knowing Ye Hen wouldn't want to share valuable materials with strangers.
Turning down the invitation, Ye Hen resumed his work. Time passed quickly as he continued farming.
With one last Thrust, Ye Hen finished off another Flame Squirrel, then checked his bag. He had collected all 20 of each material.
"Finally done." Ye Hen stretched and started heading back to town. His experience had also reached 60% of level 1.
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