Chapter 4

After upgrading, Ding Hao's combat attributes in the game were: Attack 155, Defense 155. The system automatically added 30 points to his health, bringing it to 160. With these stats, dealing with Level 2 monsters in the game was quite easy, and in real life, he should be quite powerful. His strength was already 1.1 times that of an adult male, and his agility was 102, meaning his attack speed was 2% faster than an average person's. The improvements in his combat skills were even harder to quantify with simple numbers, but he was definitely much stronger.

However, Ding Hao didn't stop there. Although he had killed several hundred big-eared monsters, he had only earned 1200 copper coins, which could barely be exchanged for one gold coin. Ding Hao didn't want to go to the bank every day to exchange copper coins for gold coins. Since he had taken a leave of absence, he decided to go back to sleep and continue leveling up after he woke up.

The next morning, as the sky was just beginning to lighten, Ding Hao got up, had breakfast, and entered the magical space. This time, he didn't plan to kill any more big-eared monsters because reaching Level 3 required 1000 experience points, and even with good luck, he would need to kill at least 800 big-eared monsters.

"Xiao Die, are there any higher-level monsters nearby?"

"Yes, there's a group of centaurs to the west, which are Level 3-4. To the east, there's a group of cave people, also Level 3-4, but they use ranged attacks and magic, so it would be a disadvantage for you..." Xiao Die knew that Ding Hao hadn't added any points to his intelligence or spirit, so his magic defense was still weak.

"Take me to the west!" The fact that he hadn't obtained any equipment from the previous two levels made Ding Hao lose interest in killing big-eared monsters. He had put all his upgrade points into strength, so his magic defense was lacking. Therefore, he decided to use brute force against the centaurs.

After walking about 500 meters, Ding Hao saw a large group of monsters. These monsters had human torsos and horse bodies, with four hooves on the ground. They also had arms, and most of them held spears.

*Smack!* Ding Hao didn't hesitate and threw a punch. -8! What was going on? Ding Hao, who had been easily defeating big-eared monsters, was shocked by the damage number.

"Hehe, Master, this centaur is in a lucky state, so you didn't break through its defense..."

"Why didn't you tell me earlier!" Ding Hao gave Xiao Die a disdainful look.

"I didn't have time to say, and besides, all these centaurs are in a lucky state..."

"What should I do?" Ding Hao didn't want to go back to killing big-eared monsters, and he had no confidence in fighting the cave people.

"Master, don't worry. Monsters with status effects have a high drop rate for equipment. This centaur has only 150 health. With your -8 damage, you just need a critical hit, and you can defeat it in about ten more hits."

"What about its attack?"

"165"

"If it lands a critical hit on me, won't I be the one to die first?" Ding Hao was on the verge of tears. These Level 3-4 monsters were so strong, how could he level up?

"Master, you still have red potions. The monsters don't heal, and the beginning is always the hardest. Once you get one or two pieces of equipment, you can easily suppress them."

"Alright." Ding Hao didn't want to fight big-eared monsters, and the cave people's ranged attacks would be even more troublesome. So, he had to tough it out. Fortunately, the centaurs' attack was 165, dealing 10 points of damage each time. With a critical hit, it would take about 13-14 hits to defeat him. During this time, he could attack 15 times and drink a red potion, which should be enough to wear down one centaur.

Ding Hao checked his inventory and saw he had 21 red potions. He decided that if he didn't get any equipment from 21 centaurs, he would have to go back to bullying big-eared monsters.

-8, -10, the human and the centaur exchanged blows, making Xiao Die on the side nervous. After about ten rounds, a centaur finally fell, and Ding Hao gained 7 experience points and 5 copper coins. Without considering the equipment drop rate, it was still more efficient to fight big-eared monsters.

However, for the potential equipment, Ding Hao continued to fight the centaurs. His red potions were quickly consumed, and by the time he drank the 19th potion, perhaps out of pity for Ding Hao, a centaur dropped a piece of equipment.

Ding Hao picked it up and saw it was white. Centaur War Axe, +25 attack, required level 1. For Ding Hao, who started with 100 attack, 25 attack was insignificant, but it was enough to break through the centaur's defense! Breaking through the defense meant the possibility of critical hits. The damage increased from -8 to a minimum of -15, and the speed of killing monsters clearly increased.

One hour, two hours, ten hours... After thirty hours, Ding Hao finally obtained a bronze shield, +30 defense. He no longer had to worry about the centaurs' attacks and began to dominate them like he did the big-eared monsters. After forty hours, Ding Hao successfully reached Level 3, and after eighty hours, he reached Level 4. However, at Level 4, the experience gained from each centaur dropped from 7 to 3, and reaching Level 5 required 5000 experience points.

Seeing no hope of leveling up for the time being, Ding Hao began to pack up. He had added points to strength for two consecutive levels, and now his strength was 124, his attack and defense were 215, and his health was 260. His attack speed was 120, 1.2 times that of an average person. This was enough to deal with people like Yu Feng.

The eight-hour game session, plus the copper coins from the previous night, could be exchanged for 5 gold coins. Considering the game's needs, Ding Hao only exchanged 4. When he returned to real life, he had 4 shiny gold coins in his hand!

Ding Hao checked the time; it was just past 2 PM. He put the gold coins in his pocket and headed to the nearest bank.

"Mr. Ding, these 4 gold coins have a nice design and high purity. After discussion, we decided to buy them at a premium of 1500 yuan each. What do you think?" Although the branch manager initially ignored Ding Hao, when the three gold coins were tested with professional equipment, he immediately changed his attitude. Knowing that appearances can be deceiving, he realized that Ding Hao might have other treasures...

"Alright." Ding Hao tried to suppress his joy. Although the day of fighting monsters was tiring, the value of the gold coins made it worthwhile. 4 gold coins were worth 6000 yuan, which would cover his tutoring fees and next semester's tuition!

"Here is 6000 yuan. If you have similar gold coins in the future, please come to our bank for exchange. We can also provide home service..."

"Sure, we'll see." Ding Hao knew that the purity of the gold coins he brought from the magical space far exceeded that of the gold currently in circulation. He didn't care about the manager's attitude; high-purity gold and gold bars were always welcome. He would decide where to exchange them next based on his mood.

After exchanging the gold coins for cash, Ding Hao went to the Xinhua Bookstore to buy some study materials. He had fallen behind in his studies over the past six months, and now that his intelligence had improved, he needed to catch up. When he handed the tutoring fees to his homeroom teacher the next day, Mr. Huang Rongwu finally smiled. Before leaving, he reminded Ding Hao, "School is starting soon. You need to think about next semester's tuition."

"I know." Ding Hao didn't have much to say to Mr. Huang Rongwu. This was a materialistic era, and in the real world, if he didn't pay the tuition, the school leadership wouldn't allow it. This day of study, Ding Hao was very focused. It was the first time in the past six months that he felt learning wasn't so difficult; he seemed to understand everything the teacher taught. Of course, this was due to his improved intelligence.

During the lunch break, Yu Feng and his group surrounded him again. "I heard you paid the tutoring fees? If you have money for the tutoring fees, why don't you pay me back?" Yu Feng tilted his head and shouted at Ding Hao.

"It's class time now. Can we talk about it after school?" Ding Hao wanted to punch Yu Feng right away, but he thought it wouldn't be worth getting a disciplinary action. Most mischievous students behaved well in school and usually resolved issues during physical education classes or after school.

"Hmph... I'll see how long you can drag this out. If I don't see the money after school, you'll be in trouble!" Yu Feng knew that Ding Hao had skipped class yesterday to raise money. Seeing him pay the tutoring fees in the morning, he assumed Ding Hao would have money in the afternoon.

Yu Feng was a small-time thug who collected protection fees. Ding Hao didn't want to fight him in school, thinking that it was important to follow the rules. So, he safely made it through the afternoon. His desk partner, Su Jin, was very worried about him. "Brother Hao, Yu Feng is not someone to mess with. I have 40 yuan, my dad's living expenses. You can take it."

"Thanks, brother, but if you give me the money, what will you eat for lunch next week?"

"Just take it for now."

"I have money, and besides, I don't owe that lunatic anything. I'd rather feed a dog with money than give it to him!"

"Shh, keep it down, keep it down. Do you want to die? Why don't you leave a bit later after school, and I'll stay with you in the classroom."

"No need, I'm fine!" Ding Hao was very grateful to Su Jin. His desk partner had often lent him money in emergencies. Yesterday, when he didn't come to school, Su Jin knew he was out raising money. Now, with Yu Feng demanding payment, Su Jin wanted to help him out. In the past, Ding Hao might have accepted Su Jin's money, as 40 yuan would prevent Yu Feng from beating him up, and he could pay the rest later.

But now, things were different. His body was full of strength, and he wanted to test it out on Yu Feng to see if the old man's words were true. With strength at 124, constitution at 104, and agility at 104, his attack power was 24% higher than an average adult male, and his attack speed was 4% faster. Yu Feng, after all, was just an 18-year-old high school student.

Ding Hao estimated that Yu Feng's strength was at most 80% of an adult male's, making his overall combat ability less than half of an adult male's. In other words, three Yu Fengs wouldn't be a match for him! Yu Feng, you're in for it...

Besides Su Jin, another person was quite nervous. She was Xia Lin, who sat two rows in front. She had seen Yu Feng talking to Ding Hao and knew it was about collecting protection fees. So, after each class, she always turned around to check on Ding Hao.