A distant howl of a wolf echoed through the air. A mix of excitement and fear welled up inside me. After all, this game was hyper-realistic—who wouldn't be terrified facing a living, breathing wolf?
Mottled Wild Wolf
Level: ???
Attack: ???
Defense: ???
Strange, how could I not see this monster's level? It wasn't like it was some kind of boss; could its level be far too high above mine?
Beside the wolf, a patch of tomato plants was heavy with ripe fruit. A sweet aroma wafted over from afar. Considering I had already turned my taste and pain perception systems down to 10%, the fact that I could still smell them made me wonder if the tomatoes were exceptionally fragrant or if my nose was just hyper-sensitive.
As usual, I gripped my sword and charged!
"4!"
The glaring red number was an eyesore. I had only managed to shave off 4 points of its health? The entire health bar barely shrank at all, while the single swipe of its paw that followed hurt so much I nearly screamed. I checked my health bar—that one hit had stripped away 15 points of my health! With my current max health at 100, going toe-to-toe with it was a complete suicide mission!
I swiftly pulled back and bolted. At that moment, my speed certainly wasn't any slower than Liu Xiang's. The wild wolf chased closely behind me, attacking me over and over again. Clearly, its speed seemed to have surpassed Liu Xiang's!
"Whoosh!"
The wolf finally gave up the chase and headed back. Looking at the pitiful 4 health points left on my bar, my heart leapt into my throat. If the wolf had hit me just one more time, I probably would have been sent all the way back to level 2 to grind again! (Accidental deaths cost 1 level, while PK deaths cost 2.)
What should I do? Was I really going to abandon the quest over this beast?
After much deliberation, I still refused to give up and walked back over. From a distance, I saw the wolf lazily biting at the fleas on its fur, looking completely relaxed.
"Beast!"
I cursed bitterly, quietly sneaking around the wild wolf to the other side of the tomato patch. With a heart pounding in my chest, I stretched one hand out toward a bright red tomato. God willing, this wolf was just passing by and wasn't actually guarding this patch!
The gathering progress bar slowly filled. Just as I was about to get my hands on a tomato, the wolf stirred, turned around, and glared right at me!
Damn it! The brute had spotted me after all!
I quickly yanked my hand back and broke into another mad sprint. This time was even closer; by the time the wolf turned back, I was on my last legs with only 2 health points left! Talk about a heart-pounding rush!
I checked my inventory and was thrilled to find that the tomato had indeed been successfully harvested, resting quietly in my pack!
A-Hua's Tomato (Quest Item)
Effects: A tomato meticulously cultivated by A-Hua. Fragrant to the taste, eating it restores 0.5 health points per second. When used against an enemy, it prevents them from recovering health for 30 minutes!
Unable to recover health for 30 minutes? That's it!
A bold idea flashed through my mind. No wonder these tomatoes smelled so good—their effect was ridiculously overpowered! If I could stop the wild wolf from regenerating health, taking it down in a head-on fight suddenly became possible. Given the current situation, most players were likely desperately grinding to level 10 for their job advancement; nobody would wander up to this remote back mountain. That meant I actually had a shot at wearing this wolf down to death!
A wolf with an invisible level—what an incredible temptation!
No sooner thought than done! Once again, I carefully approached the vicinity of the wolf. After checking my gear, I gripped the tomato in my hand, rushed forward, and slashed at the wolf. It clawed me back. I struck it with another blow, and—ouch—it opened its jaws and bit me!
My former superhuman reaction time kicked in instantly. I accurately jammed the tomato straight into the wolf's mouth. The system prompt immediately chimed: Mottled Wild Wolf has consumed "A-Hua's Tomato", unable to recover health for 30 minutes!
That did it! After landing one more strike, I immediately turned on my heels and bolted. Three strikes had drained 15 points of the wolf's health, accounting for roughly 1/20 of its total HP. Still, thankfully, I could already see its health bar steadily dropping.
A 40-second break later, my health was fully restored. Here we go again!
Repeating this routine, I timed every window with absolute precision, executing a near-flawless series of attacks against the wolf. Of course, my heart never stopped hammering against my ribs. If a heart patient tried pulling this stunt, they'd probably drop dead within a few tries.
Twenty-five minutes passed, and the wolf's health bar was down to the sliver at the bottom!
Panting heavily, I approached once more. The durability of my pathetic beginner's sword was almost completely gone. If I didn't finish off this overpowered wolf soon, I'd be forced to resort to bare-fist combat for leveling up...
Following another flawless tactical maneuver, I leaned against a tree to recover my health. Not far away, the wolf's health bar was completely empty. It looked like a single touch would finish it off!
Health full—here I come!
With a swift flash of steel, I didn't hesitate this time, ruthlessly landing the fourth blow!
"Ding~!"
"System Prompt: Your level has increased to Level 4!"
I stood there in a daze. In webnovel MMORPGs, didn't the protagonist always grind hard against some overpowered mob and instantly skyrocket to the highest level on the entire server? How come I only went up by 1 level? Still, it wasn't bad at all; I hadn't been level 3 for long before hitting level 4. Definitely worth the effort!
I could finally see the wild wolf's level!
Level 8!
A full five levels higher than level 3! No wonder I couldn't see it before.
Wait, it looked like it dropped gear too!
I quickly scrambled to collect the loot: 40 copper coins, a wild wolf tooth, a pair of greaves, a cloth robe, and a glowing longsword.
Everything else could wait—time to inspect the sword's stats immediately:
[Beast Sword] (Green Equipment)
Attack: 7-12
Stamina: +3
Strength: +1
Required Level: 4
Wuahaha~! Drooling...
This was an absolute top-tier item! A longsword wearable at level 4 with an attack power as high as 12—mind you, the short sword I'd been using until now only had an attack of 2. Armed with this green-grade sword, I had an essential weapon for leveling up and taking down players!
Right, there were also the greaves and the robe. Let's check those out quickly!
[Wild Wolf Greaves] (Green Equipment)
Defense: +8
Stamina: +3
Strength: +2
Required Level: 4
[Shaman Robes] (Green Equipment)
Defense: +6
Intelligence: +4
Required Level: 6
...
I was practically dizzy with joy. The bonus stats on the Wild Wolf Greaves were even more overpowered than the Beast Sword, and they were melee gear to boot. I immediately equipped them! The Shaman Robes added 4 points of intelligence, which was quite substantial in the early stages. Whether I gave them to the Mage Xu Lin or the Priest Lu Xuehan, it would be a solid choice. Now, I just had to pray they'd feel generous enough to treat me to some KFC or something.
After equipping the new greaves, I strutted around for a bit, brandishing my greatsword, and then dumped all 10 attribute points accumulated over the past two levels straight into strength. Only then did I realize I could finally be considered a powerhouse!
Qingcai Baiyutang
Level: 4
HP: 168
Attack: 15-29 (Beast Sword 7-12)
Defense: 20
Reputation: 0
Luck: 0
...
Ah, a powerhouse! Time to start gathering tomatoes!