Chapter 6

After diving into the water, Lu Li's vision immediately showed a gray energy bar, indicating the time he could stay active underwater, which was about thirty seconds. Exceeding thirty seconds would result in health loss, and if it ran out, he would die.

Transform into a seal!

The skill activated, and Lu Li instantly turned into a clumsy little seal. He smoothly twisted his body and dived towards the lake bottom.

There were monsters in the lake, including fish, shrimp, crabs, and snails. Since the seal transformation reduced enmity, and most of these aquatic monsters were between levels 1 to 5, none of them were more than five levels higher than Lu Li, so he did not encounter any battles.

It took about two minutes for Lu Li to reach the lake bottom, which was over a hundred yards deep.

Amidst the swaying aquatic plants, fish swam around. After searching for a while, Lu Li found what he was looking for.

A treasure chest!

This was exactly the kind of effect he wanted. It had only been about four hours since the server opened, and who could find a locked chest like this?

The rewards from the chest were no less than those from killing elite monsters. In his previous life, those treasure chest thieves were all incredibly wealthy.

Approaching, he activated the lock-picking skill.

Lock-picking: Ten-second casting time, two-minute cooldown, opens locked chests and doors. Current level: 1/1000.

Lock-picking was not an attack skill, so it could be used in seal form. Lu Li was very lucky; he successfully picked the lock on his first try.

The chest slowly opened. Reaching in, he felt around, and his little seal paws picked up two items.

One of them was equipment.

Crab Claw Wristguards (Bronze): Armor 8, Agility +2, Requires Level 3, Durability 9/20.

An attribute-enhancing piece of equipment!

And it was leather armor suitable for a rogue!

The bronze equipment in front of him had excellent attributes, perfectly suited for a rogue like Lu Li who focused on agility. Once he reached level 3 and equipped it, his efficiency in grinding monsters would increase.

Looking at the other item, it turned out to be a skill book.

It was early in the game, and while low-level skill books were relatively easier to obtain, practical skill books were far more valuable than bronze equipment.

Frost Nova: Instant cast, 50-second cooldown, impacts all enemies within 12 yards of the caster, dealing 9-11 frost damage and freezing them in place for up to 8 seconds. Damage to a frozen target may interrupt this effect. Requires Level 5, can be upgraded.

Damn!

Lu Li couldn't help but curse, feeling as if a million horses were galloping through his mind.

He had just given a 5-7 damage white staff to Root Three, which was worth a skill book. Now, a 9-11 damage skill was incredibly powerful, and this Frost Nova was not just about damage; it was a crowd control skill!

12 yards, all enemies, 8 seconds—these factors combined made Frost Nova an incredibly powerful skill!

Even two years into the game, not all mages had this skill.

It couldn't be found in the level 3 Spider Nest dungeon, the level 10 Death Mine, the level 12 Wailing Caverns, or the level 15 Darkmoon Castle...

Oh, the final boss of the level 15 Darkmoon Castle had a very small chance of dropping it, extremely small.

If it had to be compared to an equipment level...

Bronze?

Ha! Don't joke!

Iron?

You're showing your limits!

Silver?

No silver equipment could be exchanged for this skill book!

...

Lu Li was completely stunned. He never thought he would find Frost Nova in such a low-level treasure chest. He even wondered if he was dreaming or if there was a bug in the system.

This book alone was worth 20 gold.

20 gold could wipe out the savings of all members of a large studio or an old guild, leaving them with not even a single copper coin!

After a long while, he calmed down, put the skill book back in his backpack, and continued searching for more treasure chests.

Moonshadow Lake had three treasure chests that randomly spawned at the bottom.

If all three chests dropped Frost Nova...

Slap! Lu Li slapped himself. Forget about Frost Nova, don't get your hopes up.

The lake bottom was full of aquatic plants, and elite monsters occasionally appeared, making his search slow. After about ten minutes, he found the second treasure chest.

His heart started racing again!

Being a rogue was so exciting; he had definitely chosen the right profession.

Monte's Sickle (Bronze): Damage 15-23, Strength +1, Requires Level 4, Durability 12/18.

Another piece of bronze equipment, and it was a weapon. This was a two-handed weapon that could be used by hunters, druids, paladins, and warriors. The attributes were excellent, with significant damage and a +1 strength bonus, which was a premium attribute for physical attack classes.

Black Pouch (Common): Container, 6 slots.

This was also a good item. In the game "Dawnlight," players started with only 10 slots in their backpacks. This wasn't noticeable at low levels, but as levels increased and various items accumulated, the backpack would become insufficient.

A 6-slot backpack was refreshed daily by the general store in the newbie village, priced at 80 silver. Lu Li's pouch could sell for at least 50 silver, assuming someone could afford it.

After opening two treasure chests, Lu Li had to swim to the surface because the 20-minute seal transformation time was almost up. If he didn't leave, he might drown.

Floating to the surface, Lu Li quickly reverted to his rogue form and climbed ashore to kill a few Lesser Imps.

When the seal transformation cooldown was over, he quietly dived back down.

The third chest contained a piece of silk cloth, a material for the tailoring profession, which wasn't worth much.

Additionally, there was a ring.

Sturdy Ring (Bronze): Damage 2-6, Constitution +3, Requires Level 5, Durability 20/20.

Tsk tsk, it was mouth-watering.

This was a ring, not only increasing significant damage but also adding 3 points of constitution.

In the game, players gained a certain amount of health with each level, which was related to their class and constitution attribute.

Directly increasing constitution meant that for classes like rogues and mages, each point of constitution added 7 health points, while for paladins and warriors, each point added 10 health points. This was known as growth potential.

Using this ring himself would be a bit of a waste; it would be better to use it for something else. He was sure that the kid Azure Sea Breeze would love it.

The next treasure chest would spawn in 24 hours. For the time being, Lu Li could only grind monsters to level up. He didn't grind Lesser Imps but went back to grind Nightblade Leopards, hoping to find a "Transform into a Cheetah" skill book.

Unfortunately, he didn't find any skill books even after grinding to level 3, which took about six hours of game time and was midnight in real life. Apart from some fur and other items, he only found one piece of mail armor.

The sky in the game started to darken. According to the official explanation, this meant the game was entering its 8-hour night cycle from midnight to 8 AM, reducing visibility in the wild and randomly spawning Nightwalkers in all leveling areas.

Nightwalkers were special monsters, always ten levels higher than the highest-level player in the area, with high attack, defense, and health. They also had an incredible healing rate, making them nearly invincible until weapons with the "rending" attribute appeared.

This setting was mainly for the players' well-being.

Virtual technology was advanced, but it still couldn't completely solve the players' rest issues.

At this time, it was not cost-effective to risk grinding monsters outside, as encountering a Nightwalker and dying would result in a 40% experience loss for the current level, and the death penalty was double that of a normal death.

Of course, there were always ways around the rules. Wealthy players would hire cannon fodder to attract the Nightwalkers, giving them time to escape.

Lu Li didn't fight the system. He returned to the village and, like most players, set up a stall in the open area in front of the inn.

Soon, when the first player opened Lu Li's stall, the Night Elf girl's scream made the entire Shadowglen boil.

"Good heavens, am I seeing things? Two... two pieces of bronze equipment, and a skill book!"