Chapter 40

"Damn it!" Fang Yixin said, feeling things had gone wrong. After weathering so many storms, he had ended up capsizing in a shallow creek. This guy was actually pretending to cast a Lightning Claw with a Scroll of Flash Powder. Is this really a level 11 monster?

Realizing he had fallen for the trick, Fang Yixin's movements were quick. The moment his eyes were blinded by the flash powder, he swiftly retreated and then moved to the left, trying to avoid the next spell. Sure enough, after a few quacks, Fang Yixin felt himself being tightly bound by ropes, and the blindness effect gradually faded, allowing him to see the fishman mage casting a spell not far away.

Fang Yixin couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. A level 11 rare monster dared to toy with him! He was about to use an escape skill and fight the fishman to the death.

At that moment, Fang Yixin敏锐地 noticed a hand made of faint black smoke floating behind the fishman mage. The hand, with its glowing red flames, was clearly no joke.

Steal the kill or help? Fang Yixin couldn't make a quick decision and had to cancel the escape skill he was about to activate, waiting for the newcomer to reveal themselves.

The unknown mage's spectral hand spell gently pressed against the back of the fishman mage, and the burning hand firmly imprinted on the fishman's back. As expected, the rising magical flames interrupted the fishman's spellcasting, and Fang Yixin noticed three players emerging from the bushes.

"High-level player, don't misunderstand!" The round-faced mage at the front spread his hands in a standard peace gesture and shouted to Fang Yixin, "We're here to help. Can you turn on the option to allow teaming up?"

Fang Yixin was taken aback and broke into a sweat. He had turned off messages and team requests from strangers to avoid trouble. It seemed the others had initially wanted to team up with him, but of course, he hadn't responded. Fang Yixin quickly changed the settings and joined their team.

With reinforcements, a mere level 10 rare monster was no match. They quickly dispatched the fishman, and Fang Yixin, who had the right to loot first, picked up the fishman's drops and gold, glanced at them, and then had a chance to look at the two new arrivals.

The first to act was an elf mage. The human paladin, who was a bit slender, had a short haircut and looked very spirited but somewhat shy, stood slightly behind the mage. Both were in their early twenties, with youthful faces that still carried the distinctive aura of students.

Fang Yixin looked at them and saw a younger version of himself from a few years ago, when he had just started in the gaming world. Back then, he had been working to make a living, while most young people were just looking for entertainment.

"Thank you," Fang Yixin said sincerely, "I would have been in real trouble without your help." Fang Yixin wouldn't ruin the mood by mentioning that he had other survival skills and could have held on without them. Kindness always deserved respect.

"Hehe, no problem," the mage, who was clearly more talkative, said with a smile, "I know this monster. Some players have seen it on the forum. There are a few places near Tashil that spawn rare monsters, and the Golden Beach is one of them. But from your skills, you must be a high-level player, right? The last rare monster wiped out a three-person team."

If he told the truth, he might be called unmodest. Fang Yixin gave them a hearty smile but didn't answer. Instead, he posted the items dropped by the fishman mage in the team chat.

Rare monsters are actually a small reward from the system for players leveling up in the wild. These monsters pose a threat to players but have simple moves. Except for the first player to encounter them, subsequent players generally face no danger. Fang Yixin, being the first, had a bit of a rough time. However, the rewards from rare monsters are quite generous.

Valuable Gilded Shell Headpiece (Fine Cloth Armor)

Light Armor

Level Requirement: 12

Durability: 7

Weight: 2

Armor: 9 + 2

Casting Speed +1%

Spell Penetration +1

"Selling it can get you five shiny gold coins, five of them~"

Baburun's Pearl Necklace (Fine Chain Belt)

Heavy Armor

Level Requirement: 13

Durability: 8

Weight: 20

Armor: 18 + 7

Quick Use Slots +4

Shield Block Skill Damage Reduction +3%

Large Pearl (Passive): Each time you deal damage to an enemy, the splattered blood nourishes the pearl on the belt. When you kill enough enemies or deal enough damage, a pearl shield will activate, absorbing nine points of physical damage. This effect can only trigger once every twenty seconds.

"This heavy necklace can wrap around your waist three times and more."

Mud-covered Bag

"Inside, it feels long and hard."

As soon as the items were posted, the paladin's eyes went wide, and the elf mage was also pleasantly surprised. The other two items were fine, but the Baburun's Pearl Necklace had attributes that seemed tailor-made for a tank, with no useless stats. No warrior or paladin could resist it.

The paladin kept giving the mage meaningful glances, and the mage also felt this was a rare opportunity. However, with limited money, he was hesitant about how to bring it up.

Fang Yixin also saw the attributes of the items and found their expressions amusing. Perhaps because of his real-life role as an older brother, he always felt at ease around young people.

Making up his mind, Fang Yixin said, "Look, without you two, I would have been done for. How about this: you take the chain belt and headpiece. I need the money to learn skills, so I'll keep the bag. What do you think?"

The paladin, seeing Fang Yixin already making the trade gesture, darted to the front with his peak agility of 100 points, clicked the trade, and mumbled a thank you with a red face, then darted back behind the mage.

The mage glared at the paladin, who was trying to hide his head, then shook his head and turned to smile, "Bro, we're newbies, and we know how much this belt is worth. But we're really broke. The two of us have less than two gold coins combined..."

"No problem," Fang Yixin interrupted with a smile, "Let's do it this way. I can tell you're still students. When I first started playing, I had just left school. I just find you two really likable, hehe~"

The elf mage, hearing Fang Yixin's words, couldn't be too picky. He scratched the back of his head and laughed with the paladin.

It was already past noon. Due to their habits, the fishmen had all retreated to their underwater nests to avoid the direct sunlight, and their numbers on the beach gradually decreased. Fang Yixin took a break to chat with the two, giving them some basic pointers on what the mage and paladin should pay attention to. He finally gathered the twenty pairs of fishmen's fins needed for the "Fishman Slayer" quest.

Fang Yixin politely declined their friend requests and quickly parted ways with them. In other games, his enemies were all powerful players, and almost all of them would definitely join "Miracle." To maintain a safe distance, both for himself and for others, this was Fang Yixin's consistent approach.

But why did he lose his principles with Caisangren and Heishan Xiaoyao? Was it because they were beautiful? Facing this sudden question in his mind, Fang Yixin wisely chose to avoid it. *Another update in the evening*

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