Chapter 3

On his way to the town hall, the road was crowded with people.

The narrow streets were filled with players, much like a bustling market, where they tried to get information from NPCs to obtain quests.

Unfortunately, quests in Divine Realm were not easy to obtain, mainly because the NPCs had high intelligence and could converse one-on-one with players. Players had to be careful with their words, or they might be ignored. Moreover, with the overwhelming number of players competing, it was extremely difficult to get a common quest.

In the short time since Divine Realm had opened, no player in Maple Town had received a common quest.

In comparison, Shi Feng, as a reborn player, had a significant advantage. Not only did he obtain a quest, but it was a unique quest. Although it was somewhat troublesome, the rewards for a unique quest were very generous. Even top players a month after the game's launch would drool over the rewards of this unique quest.

As a reborn player, Shi Feng had once led the Shadow Studio with thousands of members, establishing ten major city-states. The information he possessed about Divine Realm far exceeded what ordinary players knew, especially in terms of leveling strategies and money-making methods. These were essential for making a studio with thousands of members powerful.

Reborn into this life, playing Divine Realm again, Shi Feng intended to leverage these accumulated advantages to lay a solid foundation for future development. He would not waste hours on the street like ordinary players to grab a common quest, nor would he go to the wilderness to kill monsters like some professional players, where there were probably more people than monsters.

Shi Feng needed to avoid these crowds, so he chose a very difficult unique quest.

However, completing this quest required some money, which Shi Feng currently lacked.

At the beginning, each player could receive 10 copper coins. Although they couldn't buy equipment or weapons, they could buy food and drinks to solve the problem of low health and mana.

Arriving at the town hall, a two-story building, players were already queuing up, with over a hundred people.

In any game, whether it was a village chief or a town mayor, they were undoubtedly a symbol of quests, and players would not let this opportunity pass.

"Newbie, if you don't want to cause a public outrage, go to the back of the line," a burly male warrior in the middle of the queue said, raising his hand and pointing to a spot a few people behind.

"I'm not here to receive a quest," Shi Feng said calmly, looking at the long queue in front of the town hall.

Compared to other quest-giving places, this one was very orderly and efficient, even though receiving quests was a bit slow. It was still better than no one getting any quests at all.

The male warrior looked at Shi Feng with suspicion. Everyone was eager to get quests, and someone saying they weren't interested in quests was hard to believe!

"I really am not here for a quest," Shi Feng saw the hostile look in the male warrior's eyes and smiled, "But I suggest you go elsewhere to receive quests. Waiting here will be in vain."

"How can it be in vain? Several people have already received quests," the male warrior relaxed a bit, seeing that Shi Feng had no intention of cutting in line. He had been waiting for over ten minutes and didn't want to be cut in line, but he was curious why waiting would be in vain.

Shi Feng smiled but didn't explain, instead changing the subject, "You seem like a good person. I'll give you a tip. Go to the wilderness to kill monsters; it's more promising than here."

"I won't go. There are too many monsters in the wilderness, and I can't compete with those people. It's better here," the male warrior shook his head. He wasn't stupid; the wilderness was surely crowded, and with his skills, he probably couldn't even get one monster. It was better to wait here.

"That's because you're going to the wrong place. Go to an area with fewer monsters, and no one will compete with you. The leveling efficiency is several times higher than in crowded areas, and the monsters respawn slowly, making it easy for one person to handle," Shi Feng said with a smile.

"Is there really such a place?"

The male warrior's expression became excited. He was very interested in this place. Waiting for a quest would take at least an hour, and the reward would be minimal. If he could farm monsters undisturbed for an hour, the experience gained would be much more.

"Of course, if you want to go to such a treasure spot, I'll give you a discount. For 20 copper, you can farm for a day. You'll earn more than 40 copper in materials alone, and if you get lucky and find equipment, you'll make a fortune," Shi Feng leaned in and whispered to the male warrior.

"You're not lying to me, right?" The male warrior looked at Shi Feng hesitantly. Such a treasure spot would give him a significant advantage over other players, but 20 copper was a lot. In Divine Realm, monsters rarely dropped money or equipment, making copper coins very precious.

"If you don't believe me, you can give me 10 copper as a deposit. Try it out, and if it's real, you can pay the remaining 10 copper. I'm telling you this because you seem like a good person. If you don't believe me, it's fine," Shi Feng said and turned to leave.

If Shi Feng didn't need money, he wouldn't have done this. He could earn money in other ways.

Just as Shi Feng took a few steps, the male warrior stopped him.

"Wait, expert, let's talk. It's just 10 copper as a deposit, right? Here, I trust you won't lie to me," the male warrior smiled and handed over 10 copper.

"Since you seem like a good person, I'll give you a good spot. It's a bit remote, but it's a 0-level magic-using green-skinned goblin. It has weak defenses, respawns quickly, and has a high chance of dropping money. It's perfect for a berserker," Shi Feng was happy to receive the 10 copper and gave the male warrior a good farming spot.

The male warrior was relieved to see how familiar Shi Feng was with the wilderness monsters, even knowing which small monsters dropped more money. He felt lucky to have met a Divine Realm expert, possibly even a beta tester, and became even more excited.

"Big brother expert, do you know where berserker skill books drop? I only have one skill initially, and it's hard to farm monsters," the male warrior became closer to Shi Feng, treating him like a big brother.

"I can tell you, but it costs 2 silver," Shi Feng smiled. It was impossible to get such valuable information for free.

Hearing the price of 2 silver, the male warrior's face turned pale. 2 silver was 200 copper, which even a regular guild couldn't afford.

"Expert, add me as a friend. My name is Lonely Snow. When I have enough money, I'll contact you," the male warrior sent a friend request.

"Sure," Shi Feng agreed to Lonely Snow's request.

"Big brother expert, I'll go farm monsters now. When I have the remaining 10 copper, I'll send it to you," Lonely Snow happily said goodbye to Shi Feng, left the queue, and ran towards the farming spot.

With money in hand, Shi Feng walked to a fruit stand next to the town hall.

"Boss, how much is this tomato?" Shi Feng picked up a bright red tomato and asked.

Fruits and vegetables could help players recover health and mana, and they tasted good, but the recovery effect was poor. Most players wouldn't buy them, especially in the early stages when money was scarce. Buying fruits and vegetables was considered a shameful waste.

"2 copper each."

"I'll take 10."

Shi Feng paid 20 copper and took the 10 tomatoes, then entered the town hall.

"Hey, new player, go to the back of the line. Can't you see others are waiting?"

"Hey, swordsman, what are you doing? Do you know how many people are waiting behind you?"

The players in the queue were furious at Shi Feng's approach to the mayor. If attacking players in town didn't result in imprisonment, they would have already taken him down.

"Sorry, I'm not here for a quest. I just want to take a look," Shi Feng smiled at the players and looked at the fat, chubby mayor, Cross.

Cross, Friendly, Level 15 Elite, HP 2400/2400, MP 1500/1500. No player at this stage could defeat him, even a whole team.

Shi Feng then took out a bright red tomato and started eating it.

"What is he doing?"

"Damn, that's so extravagant. He's eating a tomato, which costs 2 copper each."

The players didn't understand what Shi Feng was doing. Was he showing off his wealth by eating tomatoes in the town hall?

Halfway through eating the tomato, Shi Feng threw it at Mayor Cross's face.

The tomato hit Cross's face precisely, and the bright red liquid dripped down his face.

System: Cross's goodwill towards you has decreased by 100 points.

Shi Feng wasn't satisfied and took out another tomato from his backpack, throwing it at Cross.

"You hypocrite, fatso, vampire! You don't deserve to be mayor!"

Shi Feng threw and cursed, and Cross's goodwill towards him kept decreasing. Cross's entire body turned bright red, covered in tomato juice, and his angry expression made him look ridiculous.

However, no one in the town hall could laugh. It was completely silent, and all the players were stunned by Shi Feng's actions.

Twenty minutes into the game, a player dared to attack an NPC, and not just any NPC, but the leader of the newbie area, the mayor!

This person was insane. Wasn't he afraid of being imprisoned?

Did he not want to stay in Maple Town?

Was he trying to rebel against society?

Just as the players thought Shi Feng would be arrested by the guards or killed by the mayor, neither of these things happened.

The players didn't know that insulting an NPC wasn't considered an attack, so the guards and Cross wouldn't attack Shi Feng. However, such behavior would make the NPC extremely dislike him, making it impossible to receive quests in the future.

When Shi Feng threw the last tomato at Cross, Cross's goodwill towards him dropped to hostile, and his level display changed to a question mark, with the yellow marker turning bright red.

"Damn insect, I'll send you to hell!"

The bright red Cross roared and suddenly charged at Shi Feng.