Chapter 4

Update Time: 2014-02-10

Returning to the village, Lin Zheng once again stood before the village chief. This time, there were no more players who had been speculating around him. It seemed the village chief was much more at ease.

"Oh! It's you, young man. Did you find my glasses?" The village chief immediately recognized Lin Zheng, his eyes sharp. "What glasses?!" Lin Zheng secretly cursed in his heart. "Why would they fall off after so long?" Of course, he only thought this and politely replied, "Not yet. The crows there are too powerful. I plan to continue searching after I level up!"

"Haha! That's true, those damned thieves are quite powerful. You need to be careful! Hmm! In just a short while, you've grown a lot! If you want to advance further, I can give you some guidance!"

"Triggering the first-class advancement quest, please choose the direction you want to grow in!" After the prompt, a menu appeared before Lin Zheng, listing all the first-class professions for archers and their descriptions.

The Marksman is a pure ranged attacker, with the highest single-target damage among all professions and the longest attack range. The Musketeer has a high attack frequency and the fastest attack speed, as it's just a matter of pulling the trigger. The Trap Hunter, as the name suggests, is skilled at setting traps to control enemies, making it very effective for boss fights. The Blade Archer is a bit special. While the other three professions mainly rely on ranged attacks, the Blade Archer hardly uses a bow at all, relying instead on close combat. Lin Zheng chose the Blade Archer. Why? Well, it wasn't because he had any particular insight. After all, he was just a beginner. He simply wanted something new and exciting. The data said this profession was great for both solo and group battles, so he chose it without much hesitation.

Lin Zheng selected the Blade Archer on the menu, and the old village chief immediately said, "Oh! You want to become a powerful Blade Archer! I understand!"

"The combat skills of a Blade Archer were developed by archers to deal with sudden close combat. To become an excellent Blade Archer, you need not only superb archery skills but also strong legs to quickly repel close enemies. Go to the Green Forest and practice. When you break three trees, come back, and I will give you further instructions!"

"Accept the Blade Archer first-class advancement quest, quest objective—break three trees in the Green Forest!"

What the heck! Break three trees? Lin Zheng's mouth twitched. If a normal person kicked a tree, they would likely break their leg. Only in a game could such a ridiculous task exist! Well, he had already accepted it, so he might as well get it over with and finish the advancement before bedtime!

Returning to the Green Forest, Lin Zheng noticed that the number of people hadn't decreased much. There were a lot of night owls. Looking around, he saw someone else kicking trees, their face contorted in pain. This quest was really a pain. Although the pain system could be adjusted, it couldn't be completely turned off. Kicking a tree was a high-difficulty action that caused significant pain, even at the lowest setting. Some might say, "Why not use the sole of your foot?" But that would be a kick, not a strike, and the quest system wouldn't recognize it!

Lin Zheng chose a relatively small tree, about the size of a bowl, to start. Kicking it once, "Smack!" -60. The tree's health was displayed: 10,000 HP. It would take nearly 200 kicks to break one tree, and three trees would require 600 kicks! Lin Zheng was speechless. Was this a Shaolin leg training? This first stage would likely make many people give up on this profession! Well, let's get it over with!

Lin Zheng's speed was relatively fast, and he could endure the pain. On average, he kicked three times every two seconds. Even so, it took him seven minutes to complete the task. Looking at the other players still kicking trees with grim faces, Lin Zheng gave them a sympathetic glance and limped back to the village. The numbness in his right foot, even in the game, didn't disappear immediately. He sincerely despised the person who designed this quest.

"Oh! You're back so quickly, young man! Very good! Excellent! You are the fastest to complete this trial among all the people I've seen!" The old village chief said with a smile. At the same time, Lin Zheng heard a prompt:

"Completed the first stage of the first-class advancement quest, completion time 7 minutes and 12 seconds, task completion evaluation S-grade, received additional item reward, please check your inventory!"

Lin Zheng's eyes lit up. All that kicking was worth it! He actually received an additional item reward! He quickly opened his inventory and saw a red gift box lying there. What could be inside? Lin Zheng was full of anticipation as the old village chief continued, "Power is a necessary quality for every warrior, and a Blade Archer must not only be powerful but also have quick reflexes! Go defeat the big crows in the cornfield to train your reflexes. When you defeat 100 big crows, come back, and I will give you further instructions!"

Another crow-killing quest. Lin Zheng was already annoyed by crows, but it was good to combine the two quests. He hoped the 100 big crows would drop the glasses! It was past two, and he wanted to finish the advancement and go to bed!

Arriving at the cornfield, Lin Zheng didn't immediately start killing crows. Instead, he eagerly took out the gift box from his inventory. The box was bright red and looked very appealing!

S-grade Evaluation Gift Box: 100% chance to receive a silver item, small chance to receive an item of a higher grade than silver.

What a great item! Lin Zheng was ecstatic. If he got a weapon, even a silver one, it would be like a legendary item at this stage! He couldn't wait to open the gift box. As a white light flashed and disappeared, the gift box vanished, replaced by a small black box.

Lin Zheng scratched his head, wondering who had equipment that came in a box! He suddenly remembered that the gift box description said "item," not necessarily "equipment." Looking at the small, dark box, he felt a bit disappointed. He had been hoping for a legendary weapon. Frustrated, he still checked what the box was. It was a simple, square box, about a foot long and two inches wide, with no special decorations, making it very ordinary.

Fake Treasure Box: A failed imitation of a treasure box, but still possesses mysterious power. Placing equipment in the box can fuse with the equipment (only for equipment level 10 and below), Epic item.

What the heck! An epic item?! Lin Zheng's eyes widened. This was the highest-grade item in the game! He was excited but also a bit frustrated. It could only be used with equipment level 10 and below, which didn't offer much at this stage. This thing was truly a double-edged sword! Lin Zheng wanted to ask the system if it had forgotten a zero, as level 10 equipment wasn't very useful!

After a moment of frustration, Lin Zheng took out his beginner's dagger. He had no other equipment! Cloth armor? No way! He wasn't going to run around naked! Opening the treasure box, he found it was also very ordinary, with nothing inside. He placed the dagger in the box and closed it with a "snap." Immediately, the box emitted a faint purple light and disappeared, leaving the dagger, which looked unchanged. This seemed very unreliable! After muttering to himself, Lin Zheng checked the dagger's attributes:

Beginner's Dagger: Level Requirement 1

Physical Attack 326-350, Magic Attack 326-350

Extraordinary Level 1: Base Attack +10%

Spirit Gathering Level 1: Restores 50 HP and 20 MP per second

Severing Tendons and Veins: Target cannot restore HP for 10 seconds

Self-Taught: Skill proficiency gain +10

Piercing Armor: Ignores all armor effects

Spirit Bond: Automatically absorbs 20% of the owner's experience

Bound, never wears out

"Wow!" Lin Zheng shouted, drawing the attention of nearby players. He was extremely excited! He had been a bit disappointed at not getting a silver item, but now he had this amazing equipment! The base attack was at least as good as a level 10 gold item, and the additional attributes were even more impressive. The only downside was the Spirit Bond attribute, which consumed 20% of his experience, but it could grow, though he didn't know how. Still, this was undoubtedly a legendary item at this stage! Equipping it, Lin Zheng's attributes soared!

One Daoist (Archer)

Level 10

Strength: 31

Intelligence: 1

Stamina: 20

Agility: 1

Energy: 1

Physical Attack: 494-504

Magic Attack: 328-356

Physical Defense: 117

Magic Defense: 2

HP: 1000

MP: 100

504 attack! Lin Zheng wanted to laugh out loud. He was sure few could match him at this stage! He took the dagger and attacked a level 10 crow, dealing 480 damage. He felt great! Another strike finished the crow, and he moved on to the next. With this powerful dagger, he killed 100 crows in less than 10 minutes, though he still didn't get the glasses. Nevertheless, he was very happy to return to the village chief to complete the quest.

"Young man, I must look at you differently. I didn't expect you to complete the second stage of the trial so quickly!" The old village chief looked at Lin Zheng with surprise.

"Completed the second stage of the first-class advancement quest, completion time 8 minutes and 48 seconds, hit 5 times, task completion evaluation SS-grade, received an SS-grade evaluation medal!"

Evaluation medal? What was that? Lin Zheng suppressed the urge to open his inventory and waited for the third and final stage of the first-class advancement quest. Suddenly, he heard a prompt: "Item quest has been inactive for a long time, overlapping with a new quest!"