The collection of tomatoes greatly exceeded my expectations. Besides collecting 10 for the quest, I could actually gather more for my own consumption. Adding 0.5 HP per second might not seem like much, but if you think about it, recovering 30 HP in a minute without any effort means I wouldn't need to spend too many potions when leveling on low-level monsters.
I spent a full 10 minutes in the tomato patch before I collected all of them. Looking at my inventory, besides the ten for the quest, I had nearly 60 more tomatoes. At this rate, I probably wouldn't need to buy potions for about 30 hours.
The tomato Garden disappeared as soon as I picked the last tomato. It seems this quest must be a one-time thing; otherwise, the tomato patch definitely wouldn't vanish.
After tidying up, I was about to leave for Wild Wolf Valley when suddenly a Cyan Wolf spawned not far away. A closer look confirmed it was the same type that had dropped three pieces of green equipment for me earlier. What was I waiting for? I charged straight in!
(Equipment rarity in moons constant: Divine Artifact, Spirit Tool, Orange Equipment, Purple Equipment, Blue Equipment, green equipment, White Equipment (no attributes), Grey Equipment. Generally, from green equipment upwards, they will have more or less additional attributes. The green equipment I currently own all have added attributes. White equipment has no attributes and its base stats are much worse than equipment of the same level. For example, a level 4 white greatsword usually has 3-4 attack, but my Beast Longsword reaches an abnormal 7-12 attack.)
With a crisp 'whoosh,' the longsword struck the Cyan Wolf's skull.
"-58!"
The red numbers were incredibly satisfying! At level 3, the highest damage I had dealt to a Cyan Wolf was 6, but now, this non-critical hit dealt a terrifying 58 damage. Keep in mind, this Cyan Wolf was 4 levels higher than me, and killing monsters above your level grants bonus experience. At this rate, wouldn't I level up more than twice as fast as other new players?
The Cyan Wolf immediately retaliated with a claw, dealing 6 damage, which also surprised me. My current 168 HP was more than enough. The level 8 Cyan Wolf's 450 HP meant I defeated it in less than 10 attacks, and the total damage it dealt to me was just under 100. After eating a tomato, I didn't even need to sit down to recover HP!
I searched the Cyan Wolf's corpse and found nothing but 40 copper coins. However, the 240 experience bonus for killing a monster above my level already made my heart bloom with joy.
Behind the tomato Garden was Wild Wolf Valley. I continuously killed level 8 Dire Wolves on my way to Wild Wolf Valley, and by the time I reached it, I had already rapidly leveled up to 5. However, the frustrating part was that after killing nearly 20 Dire Wolves, I didn't get a single piece of equipment, only collecting 6 quest items—Cyan Wolf teeth. Could it be that killing monsters 5 levels higher also increased their drop rate? I later learned that it was because I dealt full damage to the level 8 monsters, which greatly increased the drop rate. But even with an increased drop rate, one level 8 monster shouldn't drop three pieces of green equipment. This could only be explained by my good luck.
I continued to allocate the 5 points I gained from leveling up to attack. Anyway, it wouldn't be too late to add agility and wear Thief agility equipment after I reached level ten and got my job. Attack was always necessary. With this, my attack had already reached 19-33, making quick work of level 8 monsters in just a few swings.
A narrow mountain path appeared between two peaks. According to the quest display, this path led directly to Wild Wolf Valley.
Cautiously looking around, I walked along the path. Rustling sounds from the bushes on both sides gave me goosebumps. The first night of moons constant had arrived, and as darkness fell, my vision became increasingly limited. I wondered if coming to Wild Wolf Valley at night was too reckless, but I couldn't wait for the next day. Otherwise, who knew how many players would flood into the Cyan Wolf Valley? For a lone wolf like me, if I didn't get in early, I'd just be cleared out by others. This kind of experience was common in old games like Legend.
In the distance, a Cyan Wolf, noticeably larger than the common Dire Wolves, was moving through the forest. A closer look revealed:
Forest Cyan Wolf
Level: 9
Attack: ???
Defense: ???
Type: Beast
...It's a level 9 monster, 4 levels higher than me!
I ran a few steps forward, entering the Cyan Wolf's line of sight. It immediately sensed another creature invading its territory and turned to sprint towards me.
Turn, run! Turn again, drag sword!
"Pfft~"
The sound told me that my movement had dodged the Cyan Wolf's bite, but my sword had indeed struck its body. A damage value of 62 floated up high. In the displacement, I raised my sword in the gap, and another 62 floated up. This time, the Cyan Wolf's claws landed on me, dealing 11 damage, which surprised me. It seemed level 9 monsters' attacks were significantly higher than level 8 monsters; otherwise, the attack wouldn't have doubled.
Fighting monsters while moving was quite foolish, but I started to enjoy it. Unintentionally, I seemed to have noticed something, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. The game felt so real that even monsters could be fooled.
"128!"
After a critical hit, the Cyan Wolf finally let out a wail and fell, leaving me a tooth and 63 copper coins. I carefully put away the money; game currency was very sought after at this stage. Perhaps to promote fairness, the game did not allow real-world currency exchange for game currency for one month after its launch. This meant that even rich young masters had to honestly earn money from monsters, just like us paupers.
Constantly moving around in the forest, as long as I carefully lured and defeated level 9 monsters one by one, there would be no danger. My sensitivity to distance allowed me to control the flexibility of luring monsters very well. If a new monster spawned nearby, I would run away, escaping with a pack of fierce Dire Wolves. This added a bit of excitement to the otherwise tedious leveling.
"Beep beep~"
A message notification came in. I saw it was from a female player named Vegetable Cocoa, but I didn't know who she was.
"Lin Fan, I'm Lu Xuehan. Sister Lin asked everyone to gather in the hall. Find a safe place to log off!"
So it was Lu Xuehan. I smiled and immediately added her as a friend, then logged off in a place near a hillside barrier where monsters didn't spawn much.