Chapter 5

Yeluo came to the outskirts of the village, where it was already crowded with people. Not only were several people vying for a single monster, but after seeing the attributes of those monsters, he couldn't help but curse.

【Young Toad】 (Semi-Tamed)

Level: 1

Attack: 3—4

Defense: 4

Health: 100

Description: A semi-tamed monster in the beginner village. It does not attack on its own, but it still has some demonic nature.

Looking at the toad, which was about the size of a small dog, Yeluo felt like crying. It wasn't the ugly bumps on the young toad or the realism of the game that shocked him, but the attributes of the monster that frightened him.

Based on Yeluo's understanding of the game's damage calculation, his 2-point attack would only deal 1 to 2 points of damage to the toad. To kill it, he would need to attack at least fifty to sixty times. The toad's attack would deal about 6 points of damage to him, and with his current frail body, he would die after just twenty attacks.

In other words, with his current strength, not only could he not kill the toad, but he was also very likely to be killed by it.

Although he thought this, he had no choice but to tough it out. A toad appeared in front of him, and he quickly swung his iron sword. A "1" point yellow damage number appeared above the toad's head, consistent with his calculations.

Seeing other players' attacks deal 8 or 10 points of damage to the toad, Yeluo felt like crying again.

In a daze, the toad's sticky tongue shot out, and Yeluo felt a pain in his body. A "7" point damage number appeared above his head, and his health bar instantly decreased by a small segment, and he also gained some wounds.

A cool sensation emanated from the soul crystal, and the wounds on Yeluo's body slowly disappeared, vanishing completely after a short while.

"Tsk, tsk, so the soul crystal can heal injuries. This is a setting not found in other virtual games, and it makes a lot of sense," Yeluo marveled. However, he soon had no time to think about it, as the toad's next attack was coming.

The beginner's sword attacked the toad again, dealing only 1 point of damage. However, when Yeluo was attacked, a red "14" appeared above his head, and his health bar, which was already reduced, decreased by a large segment, almost a fifth of the entire bar.

"Oh no, it's a critical hit," Yeluo exclaimed, seeing the red damage number above his head.

The game "Heaven's Wrath" has specific settings: normal damage numbers are yellow, double critical hits are red, and healing numbers are green. There are also other colored numbers, but players have to discover them on their own.

The young toad's health and attack frequency were similar to Yeluo's, but the damage they inflicted on each other was vastly different. Without any health potions to support him, Yeluo had no chance of winning.

Yeluo soon realized this. He originally thought he could rely on his speed or agility to outmaneuver the toad, but found that his speed was only about one meter per second, and the young toad's speed was similar. As for agility, his 1 point of agility was not enough to play with the toad; he might be the one being played with.

"Ah, it seems impossible to defeat this toad," Yeluo sighed and then decisively retreated.

The hate value of the monsters in the beginner village was not high. The young toad chased Yeluo for a few seconds and then returned to its original position. It was quickly torn apart by several players and transformed into an energy orb, which was absorbed by one of the players.

"Hmm, this energy orb should be the experience in other online games, but unfortunately, it doesn't belong to me," Yeluo muttered and then angrily said, "What a lousy rule in this game. In other games, the experience is given to the first player who attacks."

In "Heaven's Wrath," the first player to attack must reduce the monster's health by more than half to receive the experience when the monster dies. Yeluo had only reduced the young toad's health by less than a tenth, so he didn't get any experience.

"The weakest monster in the game is a level 1 beginner monster. I can't even defeat this small toad, let alone other monsters," Yeluo muttered to himself. Seeing other players easily kill the small toads and even level up, he smiled bitterly, "It seems I have to team up with other players. In this game, teaming up with others gives experience bonuses, so many people should be willing to team up with me."

"Besides, in the beginner village where there are more people than monsters, each additional team member increases the chances of getting a monster."

With this in mind, Yeluo began looking for a team, and some people did accept him. However, after seeing his pitiful attack power, most teams quickly kicked him out. After more than an hour, he had only gained 30 points of experience, which was a long way from leveling up to level 1.

It only takes 100 points of energy experience to level up from level 0 to level 1, but it took Yeluo more than an hour to gain just 30 points. He would need at least another two hours to reach level 1.

However, Yeluo soon discovered a frustrating fact: no one was willing to team up with him anymore.

He didn't know who spread it, but a "top-tier waste" had appeared in the beginner village, with attack and defense so poor that it was laughable. Yeluo became famous, and he was pointed at and whispered about by many people in the beginner village, often hearing the word "waste." Even those who entered the game later than him knew his "fame," so no one was willing to team up with him.

"I'm really in a sorry state. If I had chosen the Mage class, at least I could attack from a distance, retreat, and wear down a small toad," Yeluo muttered to himself, smiling bitterly, "Even if I could just level up to level 1, my attributes would improve a lot, and killing these small toads would be much easier."

For the Human Soul, each level up increases 2 points of strength, 1 point of agility, 1 point of constitution, and 1 point of intelligence. 1 point of strength increases 1 point of physical attack, and 1 point of constitution increases 10 points of health and 1 point of physical defense.

Additionally, each level up grants 5 points of free attributes. According to Yeluo's plan to max out his attributes, his attack would become 9—9, and his defense would become 3—3, making it much easier to kill the young toads.

"I have to level up to level 1, or I won't be able to move in this game. I might not even be able to leave the beginner village, let alone seek revenge on the Dongfang family," Yeluo said, but then shook his head, "But no one is willing to team up with me now. How can I level up to level 1?"

Suddenly, an idea came to him, and his eyes lit up. "Right, I can ask Yue'er for help. Bringing me to level 1 should be easy. We started the game almost at the same time and are in the same small courtyard, so there's a good chance we're in the same beginner village."

Thinking this, Yeluo hurriedly contacted Zhiyue through the game's built-in communication function.

Of course, this communication function is not the special equipment "Communication Device" in the game, but the built-in video phone of the device.

Zhiyue's communication was soon connected. Seeing Yeluo take the initiative to contact her, she was quite excited and said, "Brother Ye, what's up? I'm currently fighting monsters with a group of people. Hehe, I've already leveled up to level 2. What about you?"

"Uh, already level 2...," Yeluo thought to himself, but didn't directly ask Zhiyue to help him level up. Instead, he asked, "Yue'er, which beginner village are you in? Knowing your location will make me feel more at ease."

"0088 beginner village, hehe, isn't it a lucky number?" On the other side, Zhiyue was swinging her staff and attacking while speaking. She asked, "Brother Ye, which beginner village are you in? Will we be together? If we are, you can bring me to level up. You're so strong, so you must be good at the game too."

Hearing that Zhiyue was not in the same beginner village, Yeluo smiled bitterly, but seeing her expectant look, he replied, "I'm in the 0099 beginner village. It seems we can only meet when we level up to level 40 and leave the beginner village."

Hearing that Yeluo was not in the same beginner village, Zhiyue was also quite disappointed. She muttered, "What a pity. I was planning to have you bring me to level up. In the early stages, summoners don't have summons, and remote attacks can't compete with melee classes for monsters. My leveling speed is very slow. Now, in my beginner village, some people have already reached level 5."

"At least you've reached level 2. I'm still stuck at level 0," Yeluo thought to himself. Knowing that Zhiyue couldn't help him level up to level 1, he asked, "Yue'er, do you know any other ways to level up in the early stages besides fighting monsters?"

"Doing quests, especially those that don't require fighting monsters," Zhiyue blurted out, then asked curiously, "The fastest way to level up is to fight monsters while doing quests. Purely doing life quests is very slow. Brother Ye, are you planning to level up this way?"

"Cough, cough, you know, the beginner village is crowded with players, and fighting for monsters is troublesome. After careful consideration, doing life quests might be faster," Yeluo tried to choose his words carefully and then quickly changed the subject, "Yue'er, focus on leveling up and try to reach level 40 as soon as possible. I'll bring you to level up when the time comes."

"Hehe, okay, Brother Ye, see you later!" Zhiyue, not suspecting anything, quickly ended the communication and continued to fight and kill monsters.

"At least Yue'er doesn't know my current predicament. Otherwise, she might laugh at me for a long time," Yeluo sighed in relief, and a smile appeared on his lips, "But at least I know how to level up to level 1. Although doing life quests is slow, it's better than not being able to level up at all. Once I reach level 1, things will be relatively easier."

With this in mind, Yeluo no longer watched the crowd fighting for monsters behind him. He headed straight for the villagers' residences in the beginner village, saying to himself, "So much time has passed. Most of the people in the beginner village have probably finished their quests. Hopefully, there's no queue now, which would save a lot of trouble."