Opening the beginner area map, I saw that it was just as Lu Xuehan had said: Wild Wolf Village and Wild Dog Village were right next to each other, and it looked like it wouldn't even take ten minutes to walk there.
Along the way, I effortlessly dealt with the monsters blocking my path, and by the time I reached Wild Wolf Village, I had miraculously leveled up to level 6. The EXP from level 9 monsters really hits different!
Right, there seemed to be a level leaderboard!
Opening the leaderboard, I saw that all of the top ten players in the China region were level 6. It seemed that leveling speed in this game was indeed quite slow, otherwise people would have already completed their class advancements nine hours after the server launch!
After carefully scanning the top 50 several times, my name wasn't there. Others must simply have higher EXP than me! At the very bottom of the leaderboard was a line of small text: Your current world rank is 98,652, and your China rank is 60,231.
I was somewhat speechless. Out of the top 100,000 players in the world, 60,000 were Chinese. My compatriots were truly insane!
……
At the village entrance, a pretty MM was standing there looking around. That gorgeous face was clearly Lu Xuehan, without any modification whatsoever! Weren't grandpappy-types like her afraid of being recognized in real life?
"Lu Xuehan? Is that you?" I walked over and asked.
Her ID, Qingcai Keke, was floating right above her head. I awkwardly changed tack and said, "I'll just call you Keke, it feels more natural. Let's drop the full names from now on."
Lu Xuehan nodded, looking at my long sword with a trace of envy. That was when I remembered I had some things to give her. I immediately opened the trade window and placed two items inside:
【Shaman Robes】 (Green Equipment)
Defense: +6
Intelligence: +4
Required Level: 6
【Mining Staff】 (White Equipment)
Attack: 4-6
Required Level: 3
The staff was a lucky drop from a minor mob along the way. Lu Xuehan was clearly still holding a pathetic sword with 1-2 attack, so trading it for a staff was just right.
"You're only level 3 right now, so you can't wear the robes yet, but you can already wield this staff. It's way better for bashing monsters than that piece-of-junk sword. Well? Why aren't you clicking trade?"
Lu Xuehan hesitated for a moment and said, "This robe could probably sell for nearly a thousand RMB right now. Are you really just giving it to me like this?"
I couldn't help laughing. "Silly, this is an assignment from the organization, not a gift from me. No need to feel embarrassed. Take it so you can level up faster—surely you understand what Sister Lin meant?"
Lu Xuehan finally accepted the clothes, but in return, she playfully traded me one hundred copper coins. This was probably all the money she had on her right now; she really was having a miserable time. Unlike Xinyu, who could rely on her pretty face to trick men into carrying her through leveling zones, these three levels were probably hacked and slashed out through sheer, exhausting effort. I accepted the money—I could give her more once she advanced her class. There was no time to dawdle over such details right now, and this probably helped her conscience rest a little easier.
"Alright, let's go grind some levels. Stay close! My gear is good, so I'll tank the monsters later. Just start attacking after I do!"
"Okay," Lu Xuehan replied obediently.
After forming a party with Lu Xuehan, I returned to Wild Wolf Valley. There were still no other players around, but down on the hillside, we could already see groups of players mobbing level 8 Mottled Wild Wolves. Ridiculously enough, we kept hearing people scream in agony before turning into pillars of white light and respawning.
"Are the monsters we're going to fight even stronger than these?" Lu Xuehan asked, looking at those clusters of white light with lingering fear, her voice trembling slightly.
"Of course. These are level 8 monsters, but we're going after level 9 ones. Don't worry, I've got everything handled!" My tone was calm, and Lu Xuehan quickly settled down, following closely behind me into the mist-shrouded forest.
With my previous experience, I didn't bother with any flashy moves; I just took down the monsters in the simplest way possible. If I hadn't spent time earlier hunting alone to figure out battle tactics and skills, I'd probably be close to level 7 by now, and breaking into the global top ten wouldn't have been too difficult.
I brought my sword down hard on the head of a Canglang, and a massive "-64" floated up. Lu Xuehan stared wide-eyed in amazement from the side.
"Aren't you going to come over and hack at it?"
Prompted by me, Lu Xuehan joined the battle, striking the Canglang's head with her short wooden staff.
"-2"
I stared at the number in disbelief. That was a bit absurd—Lu Xuehan should have had at least 8 attack power by now, so how could she only deal 2 damage? It must have been due to the massive level gap—a full 6 levels!
Undeterred, Lu Xuehan kept fighting diligently, and I refocused on the battle.
"Awooo—"
The Canglang collapsed, dropping two teeth!
Just as I was surprised, Lu Xuehan smiled and said, "I accepted the quest too, so that's why quest items drop in duplicate."
So that was how it worked. I immediately clicked to loot, only to find I could only take my own share; I couldn't touch Lu Xuehan's portion. After a moment, Lu Xuehan suddenly cried out.
"What's wrong?"
Lu Xuehan's mouth fell open. "I... my EXP just shot up by half!"
"……"
Fighting monsters 6 levels higher—it would be a miracle if the EXP didn't skyrocket. But perhaps because Lu Xuehan's damage output was so low, the Canglang didn't drop any equipment for us, which was a minor pity.
I walked on toward the next monster, and Lu Xuehan stuck her tongue out playfully before following.
"Lin Fan, your sword must have a really high attack, right?" My consistently high damage had piqued Lu Xuehan's curiosity.
"Yeah, 7-12 attack. It's not exceptionally high, but it's not bad either. The reason you were hitting for so little earlier is because of the huge level difference between you and the monster."
"Oh I see! Then I need to level up fast!"
"That's right. Once you hit level 6 and can wear those robes, you should be able to solo the monsters here."
Lu Xuehan nodded, then asked, "By the way, why don't I have any mana right now?"
I thought about it and said, "It'll probably show up after you do your class advancement."
"Mm."
Chatting and killing monsters along the way made the time fly without feeling boring. Lu Xuehan's mechanics went from clumsy at first to gradually proficient, and I even taught her a few tricks for pulling monsters and escaping, which she managed to apply quite decently.
Four hours passed in the blink of an eye, and it was already one o'clock in the afternoon. Lu Xuehan had astonishingly reached level 6, while I—because of her lower level taking a cut of the EXP—had gained slightly less, though I still rapidly climbed to level 8. Opening the leaderboard, I saw I had broken into the global top 10,000. There really were plenty of powerhouses out there!
Lu Xuehan put on the robes, and her entire figure instantly turned elegant. Her towering breasts and pert, rounded hips looked utterly alluring beneath the fabric.
Catching me taking such a frivolous look, Lu Xuehan instantly blushed and murmured, "Let's go back and turn in the quest."