The next day.
Chen Lang got up early, checking the time—it was not yet half past five.
Despite having slept for less than five hours, Chen Lang felt completely refreshed and full of energy.
After a quick wash, he went downstairs for breakfast, then took a stroll around the neighborhood. It was close to six o'clock when he returned upstairs.
"Jiao Jiao, I'm aiming to reach level four today. At this rate, we can leave the Novice Village in three or four days at most."
"Yeah, I'll try too. But yesterday, our team leader kept sneaking glances at me. I don't want to team up with him today."
The couple next door was also up, chatting about the game while washing up in the bathroom.
Chen Lang ignored them, went back to his room, took care of some personal needs, and then put on his helmet to enter the game once more.
...
Swipe!
With a flash of white light, Chen Lang appeared in the plaza of Qingfeng Village.
Even though it was only six in the morning, many players were already online, making Qingfeng Village lively again.
Especially the tailor shop, which was doing exceptionally well today—perhaps everyone had money to buy equipment, even if it wasn't that great.
"Young Hero, you've finally arrived!"
Chen Lang headed to the blacksmith shop, which was deserted compared to the bustling tailor shop.
Upon seeing Chen Lang, the Old Blacksmith hurried over to greet him, accompanied by a cute little girl, his granddaughter Xiao Tong.
What surprised Chen Lang was that Xiao Tong, like the players, also had a level indicator—a green (lv3) above her head.
"Xiao Tong, come, greet your benefactor!"
The Old Blacksmith said to Xiao Tong.
"Big Brother, thank you for saving me."
Xiao Tong, well-mannered, bowed gracefully to Chen Lang.
"You're welcome. Are you feeling better now?"
Chen Lang patted the little girl's head and asked with a smile.
"Yes, I'm all better."
Xiao Tong nodded.
"That's good. Don't run off by yourself again. Your grandpa was worried sick these past few days."
"Mm-hmm, don't worry, Big Brother, I won't do it again."
While Chen Lang was talking to Xiao Tong, the Old Blacksmith had already taken out a short, blue dagger.
"Young Hero, this is crafted according to your specifications. Are you satisfied?"
The Old Blacksmith carefully handed the dagger to Chen Lang, a hint of pride in his eyes. This was the best weapon he had forged in years.
"I didn't expect you to finish it so quickly, Master. Let me take a look."
Chen Lang took the dagger, and instantly, a sharp aura made his heart tremble.
[Qingfeng Dagger]
Grade: Bronze-grade
Attack: 18-22
Strength: +6 Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Special Effect: Lifesteal, with a 3% chance of recovering health equal to the damage dealt with each attack.
Required Level: 5...
"Wow... it's actually Bronze-grade, this is amazing!"
Looking at the dagger's attributes, Chen Lang was overjoyed.
The dagger's attack power reached a terrifying maximum of 22 points, with an additional 6 points in strength, meaning it added a total of 28 points to the attack cap!
Not to mention, the most surprising part for Chen Lang was the special effect—a 3% chance to recover health equal to the damage dealt with each attack. That's quite powerful.
On average, one in every thirty-three attacks would restore health!
Though the probability was low, it was still impressive!
"Master, you truly are a Master Smith!"
Chen Lang carefully put away the dagger, then bowed to the Old Blacksmith, speaking with genuine sincerity.
"Young Hero, you're too kind, too kind!"
The Old Blacksmith waved his hand with a chuckle, though his smiling face betrayed his delight at the compliment.
After chatting for a while, Chen Lang bid farewell to the Old Blacksmith and Xiao Tong and set off once more on his monster-killing journey.
The Qingfeng Dagger required level 5 to equip, and reaching level 5 would also bring a significant boost to his attributes. Chen Lang was eager to achieve this.
Before leaving, Chen Lang stopped by the apothecary, spending a gold coin to buy 200 bottles of Minor Healing Potion, so he wouldn't have to wait for his health to regenerate.
Without healing potions, it would take seven to eight minutes to recover health after each monster kill, which was a huge waste of time.
Of course, not many people dared to be so extravagant at this stage.
...
In the outskirts, amidst a mountain forest, porcupines roamed around, with not a single player in sight.
Most players were stuck at the Poison Bees, as they had skills, and their stinger's damage was considerable. Even knights might not withstand it in solo combat.
Chen Lang didn't hesitate, casting an Insight Art.
[Porcupine]
Level: 4
Attack: 25
Defense: 16
Health: 600
Skill: Roar...
Not bad, 16 points of defense wasn't too high, weaker than a Turtle, though the attack was quite high. But with Chen Lang's current 29 points of defense, it shouldn't be too difficult to kill.
In the next moment, Chen Lang dashed forward, raising his Rusty Dagger, and activated Assault, fiercely stabbing at the porcupine's neck!
"-20"
No critical hit, but the damage was decent. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Chen Lang's current attack was 23-24, while the porcupine's defense was only 16 points, reducing damage by about 33%. With the 20% bonus from Assault, the damage dealt wasn't low.
Swoosh!
With a successful hit, Chen Lang followed up with a regular attack, dealing another 16 points of damage, causing the porcupine's health to drop significantly.
"Roar!"
The porcupine, enraged, rammed Chen Lang's stomach, making him stagger back a few steps.
"-11"
However, Chen Lang's defense was too high. Even with the porcupine's attack reaching 25 points, it barely scratched a tenth of Chen Lang's health bar.
Steadying himself, Chen Lang gritted his teeth and charged again, this time sliding behind the porcupine and delivering a Backstab to its brow!
"-44"
A blood-red number floated up—a critical hit!
Having found the porcupine's weak spot, Chen Lang showed no mercy, following up with another regular attack to its brow!
"-34"
Another critical hit!
The slaughter continued, and in less than two minutes, with the porcupine's final cry, its massive body crashed to the ground.
"Ding!"
"System Alert: Congratulations on killing [Porcupine], gaining 30 experience points."
"30 experience points, not bad."
Chen Lang picked up the twenty-odd Copper Coins that dropped, feeling quite pleased.
He was now level 3, and killing Poison Bees only yielded 16 experience points (same-level monsters only give 80% experience), which wasn't worth it. Killing porcupines was more cost-effective, though a bit expensive.
After drinking a Minor Healing Potion, Chen Lang's health instantly returned to full. Without wasting time, he moved on to the next porcupine.
He needed just over a hundred experience points to reach level 4, so killing five or six more would suffice!
A dozen or so minutes later.
After consuming five Minor Healing Potions, Chen Lang smoothly reached level 4.
He allocated all 5 Free Attribute Points to strength, raising his attack to 28-29, catching up with his defense.
After a moment's hesitation, Chen Lang decided not to leave but continued hunting porcupines.
With his increased attack power, killing porcupines became quicker. However, as his level increased, the experience from porcupines decreased to 24 points.
Reaching level 5 required a total of 2000 experience points.
Meaning, he needed to kill over 80 porcupines to reach level 5.
"Today, I'm a butcher!"
Chen Lang wasn't discouraged, wielding his dagger and slaughtering wildly. The porcupines' cries of agony echoed continuously...
As time passed, Chen Lang's movements became more skilled, and his reactions noticeably quicker.
By eleven o'clock, after over three hours of slaughter and consuming more than sixty healing potions, a flash of golden light signaled Chen Lang's long-awaited ascent to level 5.
In an instant, a surge of berserk energy erupted from within him, with all his attributes significantly boosted!
Without hesitation, Chen Lang allocated another five Free Points to strength and equipped the Qingfeng Dagger.
Then, opening his attribute panel, he felt an indescribable surge of power!