Chapter Five: The Slime

So it turned out that I had completely twisted the wolf king’s neck, and it finally died. That last charge was the final burst of its strength.

“We finally won!” I shouted loudly.

A golden light of leveling up flashed, and the system instantly notified me that I had reached level eight. The boss’s experience was indeed impressive. Immediately after, a strong white radiance rose from my body. Bathed in light, my wounds rapidly healed until I was as good as new. Apparently, leveling up had plenty of perks.

I glanced at what the boss had dropped on the ground and was overjoyed—it was a simple piece of armor and a glove.

Wolfbone Armor
Quality: Pure White
Defense +10
Required Level: 5

Attack Glove
Quality: Light Blue
Attack +5
Attack Speed +1%
Required Level: 7

Wow, a blue-grade piece of equipment! Not only was there a +5 attack, but also +1% attack speed. I was lucky this time. Most importantly, this wolf generously gave me a gold coin. Gold was hard to come by in the early stages, and here I was with one already. Boss, I love you. After equipping the new gear, I checked my stats.

Wei Wei Long
Class: Novice
Level: 8
Health: 260
Mana: 120
Attack: 12 (Base 2 + Iron Sword 5 + Glove 5)
Defense: 14 (Base 1 + Round Shield 3 + Wolfbone Armor 10)
Reputation: 0
Luck: 0

Not bad at all. Suddenly, the system reminded me that my body needed rest, so I logged off and went to sleep. It wasn’t until noon the next day that I finally got up. When I stepped out of my room, Ye Shuang came out as well. Without a word, we both headed to the fast-food restaurant opposite our building, as was our habit.

“How’s it going, man? What level are you now? I just hit level six,” he asked.

“I’m at level eight,” I replied.

“Man, I thought I was fast, but you’re way ahead! In my starter village, I haven’t seen anyone higher level than me.”

“I was at level five, but just before I logged off, I killed a boss.”

Ye Shuang immediately put down his chopsticks, tense with excitement. “What boss? Did you take it out on your own? Did you get anything good?”

I had no choice but to recount the whole story truthfully.

“Wow, you lucky dog! You were born in Idiot Village and even killed the boss there? No way, a fast-food meal is too cheap for you. You need to treat me to KFC,” he exclaimed, still thrilled.

“Why?” I asked, puzzled.

“You really don’t know?” Ye Shuang grabbed my shirt and shook me hard.

Startled, I said, “What’s wrong with you?!”

“Haven’t you checked the forums? Idiot Village is the hardest starting area of all the beginner towns—the monsters there are terrifying. Especially in the Dark Forest, there are plenty of bosses, and all of them are deadly. The worst part is, unlike other starter villages where monsters don’t attack unless provoked, in Idiot Village, monsters are aggressive and ferocious. You’ve got some real luck,” Ye Shuang explained.

“No way, the beginner monsters are tough and attack on sight? That place is really called Idiot Village? Fitting, only an idiot would go there.”

“You’ve got good luck, brother. Eat more. Tonight, let’s play till we log off, then get some food and go shopping.”

“I don’t need to buy anything,” I said.

“I do. Don’t worry, I still have some money. This meal’s on me,” Ye Shuang said.

After finishing, we headed back to log into the game. I reappeared in the Dark Forest and, seeing my quest was done, hurried back to the village. I stood before the village chief and said, “You old man, why didn’t you tell me this was the most dangerous starter village?”

The chief laughed, “Ha ha! Young man, you completed the task splendidly, proving that you are strong. Only the most dangerous places are suitable for people like you to train. Here’s your reward.”

“Ding~! Dark Forest Exploration complete. Reward: 4,500 experience, 2 gold coins, 10 reputation, and one Brawler’s Glove.”

A flash of golden light, and I leveled up again with new equipment. I immediately checked it.

Brawler’s Glove
Quality: Crimson
Attack +75
Health +100
Effect: 3% chance to stun the target when attacking
Required Level: 8

What a great item! No wonder it’s red gear, I love it. I unequipped the iron sword and shield and put on the Brawler’s Glove. The glove looked just like a boxer’s glove. I checked my stats:

Wei Wei Long
Class: Novice
Level: 9
Health: 380 (Base 280 + Glove 100)
Mana: 130
Attack: 82 (Base 2 + Glove 75 + Other Glove 5)
Defense: 11 (Base 1 + Wolfbone Armor 10)
Reputation: 10
Luck: 0

Looking at this equipment, it was well worth last night’s life-and-death struggle. Plus, I now had three gold coins in my pocket—not bad at all. The chief continued, “Young man, now that your strength isn’t low, you can go train elsewhere and take the first step of your journey.”

Indeed, being level nine was decent, but where should I go? The area around the village was out of the question—the monsters there gave too little experience. I’d have to head back to the Dark Forest. I still had the ten buns and five health potions from the chief, so I set out for the forest.

Along the way, I hardly encountered any monsters—were they all nocturnal? But soon, I saw about thirty players gathered in a standoff. I thought I might get to watch a good show.

Just then, a few small green creatures spawned near me. I struck one—230 damage popped up, and the creature’s info appeared:

Green Slime, Level 10, Common Beast. Slimes are green, mud-like monsters. The slime was clearly enraged by my attack and rushed toward me, but stopped a few steps away. Suddenly, it spat a jet of green liquid at me. Pain shot through me as my health instantly dropped by 70!

These creatures’ attack method was a real headache—ranged attacks! So cunning.

Luckily, I had the Wolfbone Armor for extra defense. Otherwise, I would have lost more than a third of my health in one hit!

Without hesitation, I stepped forward and punched, but, to my surprise, the slime bounced backward, and I completely missed! I cursed inwardly, hurried to catch up, and this time, instead of acting rashly, I watched as the slime spat another green glob. I dodged and landed a powerful punch—this time, the slime’s shape warped, a stream of venom oozed from its wound, and its health dropped by 254!

So, while slimes had high attack, their defense was pathetic—high attack, low defense, perfect for leveling, provided you had enough potions!

I was rather pleased with myself for being so well-prepared—I hadn’t brought much, but I had plenty of potions!

After several slimes dodged my attacks, I’d completely figured out their movement patterns. At this point, if a slime so much as twitched its rear, I knew exactly which corner it was heading for, and my fist would land squarely every time. Each slime had about 800 health; after four punches, one finally let out a pitiful squeal and died, dropping some copper coins.

I gained 260 experience—not bad.

Soon more slimes spawned around me, but I ignored the arguing players and focused on slaying slimes one by one. I could handle one at a time, but if more came, even chugging health potions might not keep me alive. After all, their attack wasn’t low—without at least level five gear, most players would be instantly killed!

Time ticked by. Each slime took about a minute to kill. At first, they came one at a time, but after a while, they began charging me in groups. I had to gulp down potions frantically and nearly died on the spot!

After two hours of grinding, the group behind me had also been arguing for two hours—such persistence. Unfortunately, for all the monsters I’d slain, almost nothing dropped. After the first one, which gave me 20 copper coins, nothing else dropped at all.

By now, I had reached level ten. Normally, that meant I could take on a class advancement quest and finally leave this damned Idiot Village.

Just then, I heard screams behind me. Turning, I saw a gigantic green slime rampaging through the crowd, spraying green liquid everywhere, each blast followed by a flash of white light.

I grinned. A boss had appeared! Time for some loot!