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Chapter 42: Liu Family Village
Wu Shaochen led the two women, with the silver-tailed wolf, Silver Taro, walking alongside him. The village they were heading toward was Liu Family Village, as described by them. Beyond the Blackwind Ridge, they would soon enter the Tiger Roar Forest. From the name alone, one could guess that there were many tigers inside. Wu Shaochen couldn’t help but wonder about their strength.
The three of them, along with the wolf, entered the Tiger Roar Forest. The two women were visibly frightened, cautiously following Wu Shaochen, who, on the other hand, appeared calm and indifferent. Having significantly improved his strength, he was eager to test his skills against some monsters.
A loud roar echoed through the forest, and a giant tiger blocked their path. The two women were so scared they took two steps back. Wu Shaochen, however, remained unfazed and quickly cast the Insight skill on the creature.
[Jungle Tiger]
Skill: Pounce: Leaps at the target, dealing 160% physical damage. Can knock down targets with lower health than the tiger. Cooldown time: 20 seconds.
After inspecting the tiger’s attributes and comparing them with his own, Wu Shaochen chuckled. Am I really that strong now? A level 21 monster can’t even break through my defense?
With a defense of 543, the tiger’s attack of 520 couldn’t break through Wu Shaochen’s defense. Even its skill attack only caused about 200 points of damage, which was negligible considering Wu Shaochen had over 1,000 health.
This was due to his equipment, but Wu Shaochen had also invested nearly 200 points in his Constitution attribute. For players in the 0-10 level range, each level provided 5 attribute points. So, a level 10 player would have only 50 points, and from level 11 to 20, it increased to 10 points per level, giving a total of 100 points. Therefore, even a level 20 Shield Warrior wouldn’t have that much. This boost was due to Wu Shaochen’s various first kills and rewards from leveling up, allowing him to far surpass typical players in terms of attribute points. As for the Shield Warrior, they naturally prioritized adding to Constitution, as it provided better returns than the Root Bone attribute.
Wu Shaochen’s immortal body meant his Constitution was already formidable, and his current goal was to be a tank-like assassin.
With a slight smile, he muttered to himself, Not breaking through my defense? Now this is getting interesting. I’m done being sneaky—time to fight head-on!
Wu Shaochen immediately activated his speed boost and rushed at the Jungle Tiger, executing a combo of skills—Backstab, Heavy Strike, and Weakness Exploit.
-1769 (Backstab ignores 50% of defense, equipment ignores 15% defense)
-1754 (Silence!)
-2490 (Critical hit!)
The three skills combined dealt over 1,000 damage to the Jungle Tiger, and the poison effect stacked three times.
Wu Shaochen then started auto-attacking. With his attack speed at 154%, he was dealing 2.5 hits per second.
-1007
-1007
-1712 (Four stacks of poison damage!)
His total damage per second hit over 3,000, and the Jungle Tiger, with its 48,000 health, fell after just a few seconds.
Wu Shaochen licked his lips. “This feels pretty good. After playing it safe for so long, now it’s time to go full-on.”
“On second thought, why waste energy when I can just poison it?” Wu Shaochen grinned, opting to finish off the tiger with poison.
Meanwhile, the two women, standing at a distance, were stunned. “That’s incredible! A tiger that big went down in just a few moves.”
“Let’s go.” Wu Shaochen waved and continued on his way.
The two women quickly followed, looking at him with admiration.
Wu Shaochen, with the two women and the wolf in tow, fought through the forest for over an hour before they finally reached Liu Family Village. If Wu Shaochen had been alone, he would have made the journey in 20 minutes, but with the two women, it took much longer.
Along the way, they killed 24 Jungle Tigers, gaining 10,080 experience points, and their experience was now at: Level 16: 17,486/80,000. His poison damage had increased to 452, and his Immortal Body added 24 more health, bringing his total health to 5,511.
After putting Silver Taro back into the pet space, Wu Shaochen entered Liu Family Village. It was a small village with just a few dozen families, nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains. The only way in was through the Tiger Roar Forest, and Wu Shaochen couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, though he couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
Once they returned, the two women, no longer meek, rushed ahead, calling out, “Father, mother!”
The villagers hurried out to greet them, overjoyed that they had safely returned.
The two women’s parents were simple, honest villagers. Upon learning that Wu Shaochen had saved their daughters, they thanked him profusely. They even attempted to kneel, but Wu Shaochen quickly stopped them, inwardly muttering, Why is everyone so eager to kneel? Can’t they just offer something practical instead?
He had thought returning the women would trigger a quest, but to his surprise, no quest prompt appeared. This meant that, from start to finish, he had simply done a good deed.
Sigh, why does this game always surprise me?
The women’s parents insisted on having Wu Shaochen stay for a meal, but he declined. He needed to return to the city to complete a task and also needed to log off for lunch. By now, it was already noon.
Just as Wu Shaochen was about to leave, an elderly man with a cane approached him and asked, “Young man, are you heading back to Jinling City?”
Wu Shaochen nodded.
The elderly man hesitated for a moment before saying, “Young man, could you do me a favor?”
Wu Shaochen’s eyes brightened. Is this a quest?
He quickly responded, “Of course! I love helping others. What do you need?”
The old man shakily pulled out an old sheepskin scroll and handed it to Wu Shaochen. “Young man, could you take this scroll to the City Lord of Jinling and tell him that the seal is loosening? He needs to send troops to guard it!”
Ding! The village chief of Liu Family Village has issued a quest: Take the sheepskin scroll to the City Lord of Jinling and inform him of the situation. Quest rewards: Reputation points. Do you accept?
“Wait, reputation points? Another hidden quest?” Wu Shaochen was excited and quickly accepted.
After accepting the quest, Wu Shaochen was about to leave when he was stopped by the system notification: Special quests in progress. Return scrolls cannot be used.
What?! I can’t use the return scroll now? Wu Shaochen was frustrated. The distance to Jinling City was over 20 kilometers. He couldn’t use the return scroll and had to walk all the way back.
Sigh, I’ve never even used the return scroll before… now I actually need to walk. This is so annoying.
But there was no turning back. This was a hidden quest, and the rewards were surely worthwhile.
“Well, guess it’s time for some exercise,” Wu Shaochen sighed and prepared to walk back to Jinling City.