Chapter 7

The Toxic Swamp is shrouded in dense miasma, with venomous snakes rampant. Even the monsters at the outermost edge are over level 20, let alone deeper in. For Ye Luo, who is at his current strength, going to gather herbs would be a death sentence. Thinking about this, Ye Luo became troubled. It wasn't just him; even the top player in the新手村 (newbie village) would likely not return if they went.

"What can I do?" Ye Luo muttered. He wasn't worried about failing the quest and not getting the reward; he was genuinely concerned about Uncle Li's safety.

"Oh, right, I remember I once accidentally refined a Concealment Pill." Suddenly, Doctor Hua exclaimed, somewhat excitedly: "It's a Tier 2 pill. Those level 20 venomous snakes won't be able to see through it. With this, you can enter the Toxic Swamp. Are you willing to accept this quest, Ye Luo?"

As he spoke, Doctor Hua rummaged through his cabinets and soon found a small porcelain bottle, which clearly contained the Concealment Pill.

"I am willing," Ye Luo said, but he soon became troubled: "Doctor Hua, solving the problem of how to safely enter the Toxic Swamp is one thing, but I don't know how to gather herbs. What do you think?"

"That's easy, I can temporarily teach you the herb-gathering skill," Doctor Hua said casually, and then he found another porcelain bottle from the cabinets: "Not only that, I'll give you a few Antidote Pills. This way, you won't have to worry about the miasma in the Toxic Swamp. How about it, are you ready to accept the quest now?"

"I accept!" Ye Luo said. As soon as he spoke, a new quest appeared in his quest log:

【Rescue Decursin】 (Newbie Village Quest, Difficulty: Medium)

Quest Content: Enter the Toxic Swamp outside the west gate of the newbie village, gather 10 Decursin plants, and bring them to Doctor Hua.

Quest Requirement: Within 1 hour.

Quest Rewards: Completing the quest will earn you the favor of the entire newbie village, experience, copper coins, and a lifetime mastery of the life skill 【Herb Gathering】. If you don't bring back 10 Decursin plants within the specified time, the temporary 【Herb Gathering】 skill will be invalidated, and you will never be able to learn this skill again.

Quest Reminder: The Toxic Swamp is shrouded in dense miasma, with venomous snakes rampant. It's best to enter at around level 20, and you should bring enough supplies and Antidote Pills.

The difficulty of this quest is medium, which is much higher than gathering wolf fangs, indicating the challenge of this quest.

After Ye Luo accepted the quest, Doctor Hua handed him the two porcelain bottles. Then, he extended his palm, and a white light flashed. Ye Luo's life skill bar gained the 【Herb Gathering】 skill, but it was marked as 'temporary' with a 1-hour limit.

Doctor Hua then instructed Ye Luo to go quickly and return quickly. Of course, before Ye Luo left, he reminded him to buy a herb-gathering shovel from Sun the Blacksmith, as he couldn't gather herbs bare-handed.

Without hesitation, Ye Luo headed to Sun the Blacksmith's forge at the fastest speed (a fixed 1 meter per second). On the way, he checked the properties of the Concealment Pill and Antidote Pill:

【Concealment Pill】 (Tier 2 Pill)

Pill Description: After consumption, you will be in a hidden state for half an hour, invisible to monsters below level 30, but not to players. You will become visible after attacking.

【Small Antidote Pill】 (Tier 1 Pill)

Pill Effect: After consumption, you will be immune to basic toxic attacks and common miasma.

Pill Duration: 10 minutes.

Usage Interval: 10 minutes.

"Hmm, this Concealment Pill is quite powerful. Although it doesn't work on players, it's almost a divine drug for monsters below level 30. I can almost act freely in the newbie village after taking it," Ye Luo praised. Then, he found his first skill in the life skill bar.

【Herb Gathering】 (Life Skill * Beginner)

Skill Description: Can gather Tier 1-2 herbs. Requires a herb-gathering shovel to activate, consumes 1 magic point.

Skill Proficiency: Beginner 0/10.

Through this, Ye Luo learned that life skills have levels, from Beginner to Intermediate, Advanced, Master, Grandmaster, and Divine. Herbs are also classified by tier, from Tier 1 to Tier 9, and there are also Immortal Herbs and Divine Herbs, but these would only be encountered much later.

Running at full speed, Ye Luo arrived at Sun the Blacksmith's forge. Upon inquiry, he learned that a herb-gathering shovel costs 15 copper coins. However, since Ye Luo was a regular, Sun the Blacksmith gave him a 20% discount, so Ye Luo spent all 12 copper coins he had just received.

"Buying things here can get a 20% discount, it must be because of my villager favor," Ye Luo quickly realized. But looking at his empty backpack, he sighed: "After working hard on quests for so long, I'm back to square one. I need to work hard to earn money, as I'll need it for buying medicine, learning skills, and changing professions in the future."

In the Sky Calamity game, 100 copper coins equal 1 silver coin, and 100 silver coins equal 1 gold coin. Although the game account is linked to the real bank account, you can't exchange real money for game money in the early stages, but you can exchange game money for real money. However, most players don't have enough game money to exchange in the early stages.

Despite these thoughts, Ye Luo didn't slow down. After getting the herb-gathering shovel, he immediately headed to the Toxic Swamp outside the northwest. Doctor Hua had given him only one hour, and he had already wasted about seven or eight minutes.

Soon, he left the west gate and entered the outermost edge of the Toxic Swamp. A faint gray mist filled the air, carrying a slight stench that made him slightly dizzy. Every second, a red '2' appeared above his head, indicating damage. With his current 120 health points, he could barely last a minute.

Seeing this, Ye Luo immediately took a Small Antidote Pill. The effect was immediate; the damage numbers above his head disappeared, and his health started to recover at a rate of 1 point per second. He muttered, "The Toxic Swamp is indeed troublesome. Just the miasma at the outer edge is so terrifying. It will only get worse deeper in. I need to be well-prepared for future leveling here."

As he walked, a green shadow suddenly shot towards him. Ye Luo, with his quick reflexes, knew a monster was attacking. Without hesitation, he took the Concealment Pill. Instantly, his body was enveloped in a mist, indicating he was in a hidden state.

The monster that attacked Ye Luo missed and wandered around for about 10 seconds before leaving, finding nothing unusual.

After becoming invisible, Ye Luo saw that the attacker was a green snake, about two to three meters long, with a flickering tongue and two fangs, emitting a faint stench that made him feel nauseous.

The Sky Calamity game is quite realistic. The snake looked just like a real one. If it weren't for Ye Luo's bravery, anyone else would have screamed. He carefully avoided the snake and checked its properties:

【Bamboo Leaf Green】 (Common Monster)

Level: ???

Physical Attack: ???

Defense: ???

Health: ???

Skills: ???

The Bamboo Leaf Green's level exceeded Ye Luo's by 5, so he couldn't detect its properties, only seeing a series of question marks. Shaking his head, he stopped thinking about it. Seeing that the various venomous snakes ignored him, he finally felt at ease and began searching for Decursin, as the Concealment Pill had a limited duration, and Doctor Hua's quest also had a time limit.

Following Doctor Hua's advice, Ye Luo continued deeper and soon found a Decursin plant, a Tier 1 herb. Using the herb-gathering shovel to activate the skill, he successfully gathered a Decursin plant, and his herb-gathering skill proficiency increased slightly, which made him quite happy, as it wouldn't take long to reach the intermediate level.

However, he noticed that he only had about 40 minutes left of the one-hour time limit. Without hesitation, he continued searching for herbs.

Perhaps because few people came to the Toxic Swamp, there were many herbs here. Besides Decursin, there were other herbs, but most were Tier 2 and above, which Ye Luo's current herb-gathering skill level couldn't gather. He could only gather Tier 1 and some Tier 2 herbs.

Of course, Ye Luo focused on gathering Decursin.

About ten minutes later, Ye Luo successfully gathered over 10 Decursin plants and some other herbs. He noticed that the Concealment Pill still had about 10 minutes left, so he continued gathering herbs, as he wouldn't be able to enter here for a long time without the Concealment Pill, and by then, the place might be crowded with players.

After gathering 10 Tier 1 and 2 herbs, Ye Luo's herb-gathering skill successfully reached the intermediate level.

【Herb Gathering】 (Life Skill * Intermediate)

Skill Description: Can gather Tier 1-4 herbs. Requires a herb-gathering shovel to activate, consumes 5 magic points.

Skill Proficiency: Intermediate 9/100.

Now, Ye Luo could gather Tier 4 and below herbs, which made him very happy. He hurriedly gathered herbs he couldn't gather before, but he found that gathering Tier 1 and 2 herbs no longer increased his proficiency; only Tier 3 and 4 herbs did.

With only 5 minutes left of the Concealment Pill's effect, Ye Luo started leaving the Toxic Swamp while gathering herbs. When he left the swamp, the Concealment Pill's effect disappeared, and his herb-gathering skill proficiency reached 35/100, meaning he had gathered at least 35 Tier 3 and 4 herbs, a significant harvest.

"I don't know when I'll come back here again," Ye Luo sighed. Then, he looked at the Toxic Swamp and headed to Doctor Hua's residence, as he only had about 10 minutes left of the one-hour time limit.

After handing over the 10 Decursin plants to Doctor Hua, Ye Luo received 3000 energy experience points, 100 newbie village favor, 100 copper coins, and 10 pills. What made him happiest was that the 'temporary' mark on the herb-gathering skill disappeared, meaning he had permanently mastered the skill.

The 1500 energy experience points directly leveled Ye Luo to level 2, and his battle soul crystal also grew.

Adding all 5 free attribute points to strength, Ye Luo's attack increased to 16, defense to 4, and health to 130. This was enough to kill young toads.

Of course, after killing a few young toads, he needed to replenish his health, as his defense and health were much lower than other players.