Chapter 5

As the blinding light gradually dissipated, Fang Yi felt his body become free to move, and before his eyes appeared a slightly narrow stone-paved street. The constantly flickering lights around him indicated that one player character after another was being born in this place.

On both sides of the narrow road, stone-built houses were lined up in a staggered manner. Although somewhat uneven, they gave Fang Yi, who was familiar with the Western fantasy world, an unusually warm feeling. The sunlight cast a dappled shadow on the street, creating a peaceful scene typical of a small town in the Forgotten Realms.

After a quick glance at the surroundings, Fang Yi immediately opened the map. The world map was pitch black, but in the corner, Fang Yi's character position was clearly marked: Dragon Coast - Farview Town.

The territory of Faerûn was vast, comparable to the real world. Player characters' birthplaces were scattered across the Faerûn continent with no discernible pattern.

During the beta test, Fang Yi's luck was abysmal, being born in the port city of Oph south of the Border Kingdom. The number of local players was so few that Fang Yi once thought he was playing a large single-player game. If it weren't for the hidden task of the Shadow Path he received later, he probably wouldn't have seen a large city like Calimshan in three months of beta testing.

Now, however, things were different. After the official launch, there were millions of players worldwide, and the small town of Farview, located on the edge of the Fallen Star Sea, was bustling with life due to the many players.

In his 45-slot backpack, there were only a pair of short swords and a one-time use thief's tool kit (players could choose to receive materials for any level 1 trap). Fang Yi casually hung the short swords on his waist, tightened the dark red thief's headband (a three-nothing product with no armor, no durability, and no attributes, merely a symbol of the thief class), and quickly made his way through the excited players to the small square at the center of the town.

This was a special area unique to the newbie village, where newbie tasks were concentrated and new players could get a preliminary understanding of the game's rules—there wouldn't be anyone with a big exclamation mark waiting for you to take a task in the world of Faerûn.

After wandering around with various NPCs giving him the cold shoulder, Fang Yi sadly discovered that the game hadn't changed in this aspect since the beta test; low charisma still wasted time when trying to get tasks from NPCs. However, the system was fair; low-charisma players still had the opportunity to do tasks and level up, such as the task bulletin board next to the square.

Fang Yi stepped up to the bulletin board and looked at the parchment casually nailed to the wooden board—this task actually had a challenge level: 1 (Note 1).

What was the difficulty? Fang Yi couldn't help but frown slightly. Upon seeing the task location, he felt a sudden urge and quickly clicked to accept the task on the retinal screen, then hurriedly headed out of town.

It was early summer in the Dragon Coast, and the sun was scorching the earth, causing even the monsters to hide in the shade. Fang Yi used two skill points from his racial talent rewards to activate Stealth and Dual Weapon Defense.

Stealth (Level 1): The user hides their form, allowing them to approach targets without being detected. The effect lasts until canceled or the user takes damage.

Movement speed is reduced by 40% while in Stealth. Attempting to increase movement speed while in Stealth increases the chance of being detected.

Each level of the Stealth skill reduces the movement speed penalty by 2% and decreases the cooldown by 4 seconds. Dexterity, Stealth skill level, Silent Movement, and Stealth skills increase the success rate against Listen skills.

Cooldown: 2 minutes, starts counting down after leaving Stealth.

Dual Weapon Defense (Level 1): When holding two weapons, successful parries and dodges reduce the damage you take by an additional 1%.

Fang Yi immediately entered Stealth mode to gain proficiency, while casually observing the terrain around the town. It took him over 10 minutes to reach the destination, walking and stopping along the way.

The forest in front of him was lush, but it didn't have the eerie feeling often found in novels. At least, there wouldn't be any disgusting monsters like parasitic vines on the outside. Watching players swagger into the forest, Fang Yi shook his head and drew his dual swords, stepping into the forest far enough away from the noisy players.

System notification: You have entered the Low Howl Jungle.

The light in the forest was better than expected. Fang Yi avoided the dead branches and decaying leaves on the ground, maximizing the effect of his Stealth skill. His low-lying figure slowly disappeared among the thick tree trunks.

The black wolf lying in the shadows had a streamlined body, over five feet long, clearly indicating its strength and speed. Even when lying down, its thick tail stretched straight back, like a drawn saber, indicating that this cunning black wolf was not truly asleep but ready to deliver a fatal blow to any approaching creature.

Fang Yi didn't encounter the target of his task long after entering the jungle. The official website of "Miracle" had already revealed some attributes of low-level monsters. A level 1 black wolf typically had 12 points in Strength and Dexterity, with 14 points in Perception. Out of curiosity, Fang Yi tried to approach the target within ten feet while in Stealth. The wolf, with its eyes half-closed, immediately sensed someone approaching, growled, stood up, and scratched the decaying leaves on the ground with its front paws, fixing its gaze on Fang Yi's direction.

The black wolf was clearly furious that someone dared to enter its territory. Its eyes, glowing with an eerie green light, instantly saw through Fang Yi's clumsy Stealth. With a terrifying roar, it bared its teeth and pounced at the frail human.

After a month since the end of the beta test, there had been no improvement. It was the same old trick, trying to scare who? Fang Yi saw the black wolf's pounce route and quickly took a step back while mentally casting the Detect skill. A standard casting motion flashed by—palm down, index finger pointing at the black wolf—and the Detect skill was cast.

Black Wolf

Beast

Class Level: 1 Warrior

Fang Yi was already well-versed in the black wolf's attributes and combat style. He immediately crossed his dual swords to barely block the black wolf's claws (Note 2), then smoothly slashed, causing the black wolf to "howl" as it passed by Fang Yi, leaving two long wounds on its front legs.

The fresh blood seemed to ignite the black wolf's ferocity. It roared and pounced again. After the first strike, Fang Yi had a clear understanding of the strength difference between them and immediately changed his combat style.

Fang Yi fully utilized the speed advantage brought by his high Dexterity, retreating and advancing at times, his dual short swords flying up and down, cutting away with great enthusiasm. Due to the significant Dexterity difference, he no longer had to worry about the monster retaliating with elbow strikes or kicks. Ignoring the black wolf's ferocious appearance, Fang Yi felt like he was playing with a child in real life.

Note 1: Challenge Level: 1 is the lowest challenge level in the game, requiring at least four level 1 players to form a team to participate in the battle; most newbie tasks do not have a challenge level.

Note 2: Detect: View information about hostile NPCs, the surrounding environment, etc. The amount of information obtained depends on the level difference between the two parties and the level of the Detect skill. Certain protective effects, such as spell anticipation, are immune to Detect spells.

Actions like pouncing have a strength bonus. For a regular black wolf, it is 12 + 1, which is why Fang Yi could barely withstand the black wolf's pounce.

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