System Prompt: Ding! You have attacked the Rabbit. Rabbit HP -100. Rabbit is dead.
My brute force attack, boasting 151 Physical Attack (Novice Wooden Sword: P. Attack +1, Weight 1, Durability: 10/10), instantly obliterated the rabbit. I was the living, modern gaming embodiment of the idiom 'Waiting by the Tree for a Rabbit' (Shou Zhu Dai Tu).
The first rabbit to die by my hand dropped 1 Copper Coin (10,000 Copper = 100 Silver = 1 Gold = 1 RMB). I immediately cursed the System for being stingy, but didn't forget to use my Gathering skill on the carcass.
System Prompt: Ding! You obtained 1 Rabbit Hide. You obtained 1 piece of Rabbit Meat.
As soon as I gathered the two materials, the rabbit's corpse vanished in a flash of white light.
My troubles, however, seemed to arrive right on schedule. A girl in the crude novice clothing, much like mine, stared at me coldly. She wasn't strikingly beautiful, but she had a pure, appealing appearance.
"Miss, is… something wrong?" Being stared at by a girl who looked around my sister's age made me slightly nervous.
"That rabbit was mine," she stated flatly.
"Huh? Yours? Wasn't it just a wild monster?" I was confused.
"You stole my kill!" she accused heatedly.
"Oh, is that so? But it ran into the tree by itself…"
"You—you—if I hadn't been chasing it, would it have run up here?" she spluttered furiously.
"Well, it's dead now. What do you want to do?" My direct question caught her off guard.
What is wrong with this man? He's so agreeable? Usually, guys either run or completely ignore me, she thought, surprised.
"How about this?" I pulled out the recently gathered rabbit hide and the copper coin the rabbit had dropped. "I have one hide and one coin. You choose."
The girl eyed the items, then me, suspiciously. "My Life Profession is Tailor. I need the Rabbit Hide. Wait, you have the Gathering skill?"
"Yes. You want the Hide? Then how about we make a deal? You help me herd the monsters over here. The coin drops go to me, and the materials gathered from the bodies go to you. What do you say?" I looked at her with utmost sincerity.
My forced cooperation was calculated. With my current Speed score of 10, no one would team up with me, and I couldn't chase anything down myself. I absolutely needed help, even if she demanded everything.
"But wouldn't that put you at a massive disadvantage?" she asked, puzzled.
"No, not at all." (I didn't actually know that Life's Mirage drop rates were pitifully low, and even my Advanced Gathering skill was far more reliable than the standard drop rate. She was actually getting the better deal.)
"Okay, then," the girl reluctantly agreed, secretly calculating the profits.
She immediately began sprinting across the small field, chasing down chickens, ducks, and rabbits. Her speed was respectable; she always managed to stay close to the running mobs, aiming a swift kick at their backsides. She missed once, and I watched, thoroughly amused, as she executed a spectacular 'bicycle kick' fall, landing hard on the ground.
I burst into loud, unapologetic laughter. She glared at me, her eyebrows furrowed. Since player-killing (PK) was disabled in the novice zone, she couldn't touch me. But she was not one to be easily defeated. She intentionally lured a pack of monsters towards me, hoping to exact revenge via the mobs.
But she hadn't accounted for my freakish 30 Strength. The small monsters died in a single hit. She was shocked not only by my damage but also by the success rate of my Gathering skill. Nine kills yielded nine hides/feathers and nine copper coins.
Just then, the chime I was waiting for rang out:
System Prompt: Ding! Player 'Liu Yun' Level +1!
I immediately opened my stats and allocated the 10 attribute points to Agility (since Level 1 granted 10 free points).
Instantly, I moved like a normal person. The stored frustration from being ignored earlier boiled up. Clutching the wooden sword, I launched myself into a frenzied massacre. Chicks squawked, ducks flapped, and rabbits bolted—nothing could withstand a single blow. Blood splattered everywhere. Fueled by the sight of the red mist, I felt like a butcher wielding his cleaver. I heard the satisfying System chime twice more, signaling two more level-ups.
I surveyed the small hill, littered with freshly vanished corpses, and quickly ran over to collect the copper coins and minor healing potions they had dropped. I didn't forget the girl's share, relentlessly casting Gathering until my Stamina hit zero.
Life Skills consume Stamina (or Energy), which only regenerates at 1 point per second. Stamina potions were prohibitively expensive, forcing most players to wait for natural recovery. This was the System's countermeasure against power-leveling Life Skills; otherwise, a player could theoretically gain 300 proficiency per minute, reaching the Intermediate bottleneck in less than an hour, resulting in streets full of master craftsmen.
Despite my best efforts, my Stamina recovery couldn't keep pace with the mobs' vanishing time, and I watched helplessly as several bodies faded into white light.
"Miss, thank you. This is what you earned." I walked up to the girl, who was staring at me, and generously handed over all the materials I had gathered.
"Why?"
"Huh?" I was confused by her sudden, blunt question.
"You clearly leveled up and moved fine. Why did you still need my help?" she asked, frowning. Why was he frozen a moment ago, and then suddenly transformed into a ferocious tiger? Is he plotting something?
"Oh, you mean that? Before, my Speed was only 10, I couldn't possibly catch those monsters. If you hadn't helped, I really don't know what I would have done, haha." I laughed foolishly, completely oblivious to the suggestive implication of my excuse.
The girl, however, was clearly more sensitive. Her face flushed slightly, though I missed it entirely in my daze.
"Oh, right. I need to get back to the village. Be careful." I turned and sprinted back towards the Novice Village.
The girl stared until my figure disappeared over the hill. Then, she stamped her foot in frustration. "Why is he running? I wasn't going to eat him! I might be ugly-fied, but I'm not that scary! Running, running, I'll show you running, you stupid guy…"
Cluck! Da!
A poor little chicken, having just respawned, didn't even have time to register its surroundings before falling victim to the girl's furious sword, dying a miserable death.
Back in the Novice Village, still feeling the sting of being looked down upon earlier, I allocated my Level 2 points: 10 points to Agility, 5 points to Constitution, and 5 points to Strength.
The raw exhilaration of the earlier slaughter was still buzzing in my veins. The 95% realism factor was no joke.
I stood by the village entrance, watching players rush in to buy potions and rush back out to grind. I felt lost, unsure what my next move should be.
Just then, a conversation between two players caught my attention. A tall Warrior said to a short Mage: "Little brother, haven't you chosen a Life Profession yet?"
"Boss, I don't know what to choose… they all look promising."
"You idiot! The only real money-makers are Alchemist and Blacksmith! Don't you know anything?"
"Why?"
"You defeat me! The game just started. Everyone is scrambling to reach the highest level. Who has time to grind Life Skills? Weapons and potions are the biggest drain during grinding. We'll make a fortune now, and before the RMB exchange opens, we'll buy a couple of land plots, flip them to a big corporation for ten times the price! Ten thousand becomes a hundred thousand, a hundred thousand becomes a million! Hahaha!"
I was instantly fired up. I immediately headed toward the village Blacksmith shop.
"Then, Big Bro, what are we waiting for? Let's go…"
"Go where?"
"To get a Life Skill! Our dream of a million is about to come true!"
"I was just speaking hypothetically! Do you really think Life Skills are that easy? They require huge capital investment. Do you have that money? And do you really think we're the only ones who thought of this?"
"Then, Boss, what should we do now?"
"What should we do? Go power-level and become the 'Number One under Heaven'! That doesn't cost much!"
"…"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The Novice Village was small. I quickly found a makeshift shed with a large iron sign hanging outside. Inside, a bare-chested middle-aged man was hammering a metal rod over a furnace. His muscles were like small buns; looking at my own thin frame, I knew I couldn't achieve that even in ten years.
I politely approached him. "Hello, Blacksmith Uncle. I'd like to learn your Blacksmithing skill."
The Blacksmith glanced at me contemptuously, then returned to his hammering, ignoring me completely.
Unbelievable. Is he a real person? How can a mere program be so arrogant? I was furious but suppressed the urge to leave.
"Hello, Blacksmith Uncle. I'd like to learn your Blacksmithing skill," I repeated, maintaining my politeness.
The Blacksmith continued to hammer, silent.
"Hello, Blacksmith Master. I would like to learn your Blacksmithing skill," I tried again. This time, he finally reacted. He looked up, revealing a flash of remarkably white teeth. A breakthrough!
But my excitement died immediately. The Blacksmith was looking past me. Behind me, a handsome man, about 1.8 meters tall, approached.
"Haha, little brother, what can I get for you? I have long weapons (spears, etc.), short weapons (daggers, etc.), flying weapons (bows, etc.), and armor. Everything!" the Blacksmith greeted the newcomer warmly.
"Oh, I don't want to buy anything. I just want to learn Blacksmithing."
"Ah! You wish to learn Blacksmithing! Excellent! That is a very promising profession!" After a stream of polite formalities, the Blacksmith placed his hammer on the man's head. A bronze-yellow light enveloped the man.
The Blacksmith smiled. "You have learned Mining and Forging. Also, here is a small gift. I hope you will become a great Blacksmith one day."
No way! Such a huge difference in treatment? And he got a gift?! I maintained a stone-cold expression, an unflappable skill honed by years of being treated like dirt.
After the handsome player left, I stepped forward. "Blacksmith Master, I also want to become a great Blacksmith. Please teach me the skill!"
"Eh? You're still here?" The Blacksmith looked genuinely surprised, instantly reigniting my fury. I fought down the urge to scream and leave. "Yes, I am."
"Ugh, you're annoying. Go, go!" The Blacksmith tossed two skill books and a simple package at me, similar to the one he gave the other player, then shooed me away with a gesture of profound disgust, like swatting a fly. I collected the items and walked away.
I hadn't gone far when the System chimed:
System Prompt: Ding! Player 'Liu Yun' has triggered the Hidden Quest 'The Snobbish Blacksmith'. You have obtained the item Blacksmith's Heirloom.
The announcement of a Hidden Quest instantly washed away my bad mood. I opened my storage bracelet. The simple package was gone, replaced by three items:
Blacksmith's Heirloom: Hammer – Silver-Tier. Increases crafting success rate by 50%. 30% chance to craft Bronze-Tier items. 5% chance to craft Silver-Tier items. 0.05% chance to craft Gold-Tier items.
Blacksmith's Heirloom: Anvil – Silver-Tier. Weight 1. Increases crafting success rate by 30%. 20% chance to craft Bronze-Tier items. 3% chance to craft Silver-Tier items. 0.02% chance to craft Gold-Tier items.
Blacksmith's Heirloom: Shovel – Silver-Tier. 50% chance to reveal mineral veins.
I stared blankly at the loot, barely stopping myself from laughing maniacally in the middle of the village. It was so hard to hold it in!
After admiring my treasures, I took out the skill books the Blacksmith had grudgingly given me. I opened one, and the System chimed pleasantly:
System Prompt: Ding! Player 'Liu Yun' has opened the 'Mining' skill book. Learn?
Yes!
System Prompt: Ding! Player 'Liu Yun' has learned 'Mining'!
I checked my status panel. The skill bar now showed: Mining: Intermediate, Proficiency 0/10,000.
Huh? Why Intermediate? Does this have something to do with my 9 Comprehension? Hahaha! It must be! I was overjoyed.