Miguel had expected a fight on his way back, but the path to the Newbie Village was strangely quiet. Not a single wild beast crossed his path—not even a low-level forest wolf. It was as if the forest itself acknowledged the power of what he'd just done and chose to stay out of his way.
With zero delays, Miguel stepped back into the village. His first destination was clear—the old blacksmith's forge.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Even before reaching the forge, the sharp, rhythmic sound of metal being hammered against the anvil rang through the air. Miguel followed the sound, stopping just outside the blacksmith's open-air workshop.
"Boss!" he called out, loud and direct. "Mission complete. I handled what you asked."
Inside, the blacksmith—Huang Tao, the village's strongest and most respected craftsman—paused mid-swing. His hammer froze in the air, and slowly, he turned to face Miguel with cautious anticipation.
"Adventurer," he said, eyes narrowing. "You're saying... you actually did it?"
A flicker of emotion passed over his face. Then he frowned, his voice dropping with suspicion.
"But hold on. It's only been a few hours. There's no way you killed the Wild Boar King that fast. Are you trying to fool me?"
As his voice rose, his expression darkened from disbelief into pure rage.
"You little—after I lent you my family's treasured sword, this is how you repay me?! Lying through your teeth?!"
Miguel raised a brow, utterly speechless. He watched the old man's emotions spiral from hope to doubt to fury in the span of seconds.
Without bothering to explain, Miguel simply reached into his ring inventory—and dropped something massive onto the ground.
BOOM.
The body hit the earth like a meteor, sending up dust and shaking the stones beneath their feet. It was enormous, almost tank-sized, and covered in bristling tusks and torn flesh—the corpse of the Wild Boar King.
The moment it hit the floor, the forge went dead silent.
Huang Tao's jaw dropped. He glanced at Miguel. Then at the corpse. Then back at Miguel again. His lips trembled as he tried to form words.
"This..." the blacksmith choked, tears brimming in his eyes. "This is the one... This damn fat monster that's taken the lives of so many good people from this village."
He took a shaky step forward, his voice cracking.
"Adventurer, thank you. On behalf of everyone here—thank you for putting an end to that beast. You've done what none of us could. You're... a hero to this village."
He lowered his head, his shoulders trembling.
"My little brother... he was one of the victims. Now, maybe... maybe he can finally rest in peace. If he's watching from the afterlife, I bet he's smiling."
There was a long pause. Miguel didn't interrupt.
Moments later, Huang Tao wiped his tears and turned away, disappearing briefly into his home.
When he returned, he held something small in his palm—a ring, glowing faintly with a deep electric blue hue. He extended it toward Miguel, his expression complicated.
"I don't have much to offer," he said. "But I want you to have this. I found it in the forest when I was young. Never knew what it really was. But it feels right giving it to you."
Miguel's eyes lit up the moment he saw it.
Ding! You have completed the hidden quest: 'Huang Tao's Vengeance.'
Reward: [Ring of Lightning] obtained!
Miguel grinned wide, sliding the ring onto his finger.
"Finally," he muttered. "The god-tier item for the newbie zone is mine."
[Ring of Lightning]
Grade: None
Requirement: 20 Intelligence
Base Attribute: +20 Intelligence
Effect 1: Slight increase to Lightning resistance
Effect 2: Consumes 10 MP to cast [Lightning Spark]. Cooldown: 6 seconds
Description: A ring found by Blacksmith Huang Tao during his youth. A small trinket that contains the wrath of a storm.
Unlike most Newbie Village gear that had no requirements, this ring needed 20 Intelligence points to even equip.
But what it gave back was worth ten times that: +20 Intelligence. For early-stage players, especially in a jobless state, that was absurdly overpowered. Even strength-type players would kill to get their hands on something like this.
Of course, Miguel didn't care about just the stats.
What truly caught his attention was the active ability:
[Lightning Spark]
Grade: None
Effect: Targets a single enemy within 20 meters, dealing damage equal to 15 + 100% Intelligence as Lightning damage.
Miguel's eyes gleamed.
His current Intelligence stat? Over 8000.
That meant a base skill damage of 8000+.
And that wasn't even the terrifying part.
Miguel had awakened the Supreme Sacrifice Talent: Heart of the Thunder God, a Divine-rank trait. It gave 100x amplification to all lightning-based damage.
So this humble little spark skill? It now packed over 800,000 base damage per hit.
It was the kind of firepower that made even city-level monsters tremble.
And with the talent's passive ability—50% cooldown reduction on lightning skills—the 6-second cooldown of Lightning Spark dropped to just 3 seconds.
Every 3 seconds, he could unleash a lightning strike that, at this stage of the game, might as well be a forbidden spell.
And better yet?
It cost zero mana, thanks to the passive effect of Heart of the Thunder God.
Sliding the ring firmly into place, Miguel flexed his hand. It fit perfectly.
He turned to the blacksmith again.
"Alright, mission complete. About that Heavenly Sword you lent me?"
Huang Tao's face twisted with reluctant pain, but he nodded slowly.
"It's yours now. Just… take care of it, alright?"
Ding! You have obtained [Heavenpiercer Sword]!
Miguel smiled.
The sword was great, of course, but in truth, the real prize of this quest was the Ring of Lightning. With his unique talent, the ring was now a weapon of mass destruction.
In his previous life, he remembered someone from the U.S. servers doing this same quest. That player hadn't received the Heavenpiercer Sword—due to regional differences, the reward was something else entirely.
Miguel turned to leave, storing the Wild Boar King's corpse back into his inventory with a wave of his hand.
But just as he was about to step away, Huang Tao suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Wait—Adventurer," he said urgently.
Miguel stopped, confused. This wasn't in any of the forum posts he remembered. In his past life, the U.S. player had simply left, and Huang Tao had let him go without a word.
"I owe you more than just an apology for doubting you earlier," Huang Tao said. "As a token of gratitude… I want you to have this map."
He pulled out a faded, hand-drawn parchment and handed it to Miguel.
"This is something I charted myself during an expedition into the forest, years ago. You see this red marker? That's the location of a mysterious Dimensional Gate."
"I tried everything, but no matter how hard I pushed, I could never open it. But you? You have the strength. You might be able to force that gate open."
Miguel took the map, his fingers brushing over the red mark drawn in faded ink.
His eyes narrowed, and a smirk slowly crept across his lips.
"A hidden gate, huh? Interesting."