Chapter Three: The Shadowy Forest

When I arrived at the entrance to the village, I saw quite a few players gathered there. Little white rabbits, fluffy and adorable, hopped around, but as soon as one appeared, a crowd of players would swarm it. The poor creatures barely had time to enjoy the sunlight before being pummeled to death. These days, there seem to be few people left who care about protecting animals.

Clearly, there was no chance of earning experience here, and my destination lay in the fields. After running for ten minutes, I finally saw a stretch of farmland. Even before I got close, I spotted a field mouse gnawing at a stalk of corn.

Field Mouse
Level 1
Common Beast.

I crept up quietly and swung my sword. With a soft thud, a -10 appeared above the mouse’s head. The mouse bit back— -5. No matter; this was surely one of the weakest monsters in the newbie village, and if a player can’t handle such a creature, how would they ever level up? On my fifth strike, the field mouse let out a plaintive wail and died, leaving behind a glowing copper coin on the ground.

“Gained 25 experience points.”

My experience bar filled to 25%. Looks like four of these would be enough to level up. After one kill, I still had 70 health left. I pocketed the coin and hunted another mouse. Targeting another, I slashed at it, and before long, it too had departed for the afterlife. With no healing potions, I sat down to rest, waiting for my health to recover before continuing my swordplay.

After dispatching the fourth mouse, a golden light flashed—I had reached level 2. I checked my stats:

Weiwei Long
Class: Novice
Level: 2
Health: 120
Mana: 60
Attack: 7
Defense: 4
Reputation: 0
Luck: 0

It seems that each level grants 20 health, 10 mana, and 3 freely assignable stat points. But I also noticed a new section in my attributes:

Strength Mastery: 0
Agility Mastery: 0
Defense Mastery: 0
Magic Mastery: 0

Interesting. Still, I dared not assign the three stat points just yet—best to save them for after the first class change.

Closing the status window, I continued slaughtering mice. With a few more swings, another mouse fell, and this time, in addition to experience and a copper coin, it dropped a piece of clothing:

Shoddy Cloth Tunic
Grade: Pure White
Defense +1
Required Level: 0

Not bad—an item with +1 defense. The clothes I was wearing, given by the system, had no stats at all—probably just for decency’s sake. I quickly put on the tunic; field mice now posed no threat.

Sure enough, with defense raised to 5, the mice could only deal around 2 damage per bite. I could finish the quest without having to heal. After a while, the quest menu indicated completion, so I hurried back to the village chief and said, “Task completed.”

“Ha ha! Well done, young man. I knew those field mice couldn’t trouble you. Here’s your reward.”

“Ding~! Field Mouse extermination complete. Reward: 500 experience, 1 silver coin, 5 reputation points, and quest reward item: Iron Helmet.”

A golden flash—I leveled up again, and received a new item:

Iron Helmet
Grade: Pure White
Defense +3
Required Level: 0

After donning the helmet, I asked, “Chief, what does the grade mean?”

The village chief replied, “Let me tell you, young man: an item’s grade is crucial in determining its quality. Grades are, in order: Pure White, Pale Blue, Crimson, Violet Gold, Emerald, Silver, Golden, Orange Red, and finally, Dark Gold. Beyond that, I don’t know if there are other levels.”

“So that’s how it is. Do you have any other tasks I can help with?” I asked.

The chief said, “Confident, are you? Very well—if you’re willing to train in the Shadowy Forest, you’ll grow quickly. Are you willing?”

“Ding~! Quest available: Explore the Shadowy Forest.”

I nodded and accepted. The chief continued, “Brave child, take these supplies. I hope they help you survive a night in the forest. When you return, I’ll reward you handsomely.”

“Ding~! Received: Chief’s Special Steamed Buns x10, Novice Health Potion x10.”

Packing my supplies, I bid farewell and headed toward the Shadowy Forest. Many players watched me enter the woods, their expressions odd, as if mourning my fate. It felt unsettling.

Continuing past the village into the woods, I soon came upon a pack of wild dogs, prowling in small groups. Drawing my battered sword, I charged at the nearest dog and slashed!

-6

A number burst above the wild dog’s head—these were clearly tougher than field mice. My subsequent strikes dealt between 6 and 8 damage. Fortunately, as level 2 monsters, each dog had only about 30 health—manageable.

The first dog went down quickly. I rummaged through its body, finding three copper coins and a piece of hide: Dog Hide—Wild dog skin suitable for crafting clothes.

After each kill, I’d sit to rest and recover health. Resting was slow but saved money—my potions were precious, and who knew what monsters awaited ahead? Better to save resources.

I stood and continued hunting until night fell, reaching level five in the process. After all, surrounded only by level 2 monsters, leveling up was slow, especially since I was healing by resting, not potions.

Night descended, a crescent moon hung in the sky, and now and then, wolf howls echoed in my ears, sending chills down my spine.

Just then, I saw a burly man and a female player running toward me, apparently fleeing for their lives. The man brandished a white greatsword, shouted fiercely, and hacked at a black animal leaping at him. The beast howled and rolled away.

I now saw clearly: it was a wolf.

The man had just slain one, but immediately another wolf lunged from the side, biting him. He cried out, shook his arm, and flung the wolf off, but three more black wolves burst from the shadows, moving with terrifying speed.

I shouted, “Watch out!” and leapt forward.

Suddenly, a streak of crimson light shot through the air, striking one of the wolves lunging at the man. The force of the blow sent the wolf flying, where it crashed heavily to the ground, howling in agony.

It was the female player who had fired—she wielded a red shortbow, and after loosing one arrow, she nocked a second.

She fired again. I was a step behind the arrow but threw myself into the fray, swinging my sword with all my might into one wolf’s head. The wolf shrieked and flew backward.

With my help, the burly man was relieved of some pressure. He lifted his greatsword, slashing open a third wolf’s belly; blood spurted, and the wolf rolled away, entrails spilling everywhere.

Almost simultaneously, seven or eight more wolves emerged from the darkness.

The three of us were stunned.

Focused on the wolves before us, we were caught off guard as the new pack leapt; we were instantly overwhelmed, knocked to the ground.

The burly man let out a scream as his white greatsword vanished into thin air. A wolf bit through his throat.

“Brother Cha—!” the female player cried out in terror. At the same time, three wolves sank their fangs into me, tearing at vital spots. Blood sprayed as my health plummeted, but a surge of strength welled up inside me. With a roar, I summoned all my power and hurled the three wolves off, flipping to my feet and driving my sword with all my strength into the hindquarters of one wolf. Blood spattered my face as the wolf howled in agony and died.

“Ah—!” I screamed as the remaining wolves pounced on me again, bringing me down.

“Damn it!” I shouted, dropping my sword to grab the wolf biting my throat. With a sickening crack, I snapped its spine with brute force, then kicked another wolf in the belly, sending it flying. It landed on a tree branch as thick as a baby’s wrist, which pierced its belly. The wolf howled, then its cries faded into silence.

Each wolf killed granted me 50 experience points; soon my experience bar was nearly full.

Arrows whistled through the air one after another—from the female player’s bow, each arrow brought down a wolf with a dying wail. When I finally tore the corpses off me and stood, I saw her calmly wielding her shortbow, eyes cold and determined. Arrow after arrow flew, and not far from her, five or six wolf corpses lay. The remaining wolves, seeing the situation turn, tried to flee but were brought down by her arrows.

Surveying the field of wolf corpses, I felt almost dazed—tonight, I had encountered a pack of more than a dozen wolves.

Just as I stood and drank a potion, preparing to retrieve the greatsword the man had dropped, the female player suddenly shouted, “Don’t go!” grabbing me tightly. Her face was tense, and she began backing away.

Startled, I suddenly felt the hair on my body stand on end—a chilling, primal terror swept over me.