After getting chewed out, Rex was actually pretty happy.
Finally, someone was pointing him in the right direction.
"Thanks for the tip, Fatty. I'll head there right now."
Rex's attitude was sincere.
Being thanked so earnestly, the chubby guy actually felt a bit embarrassed.
"Look, at least level up to three or four before coming back. If you want people to carry you, you gotta show some sincerity."
The chubby guy actually started giving Rex real advice.
"The newbie trial ground gives almost no experience, but hey, it's free."
"Free? You mean entering these dungeons costs money?"
"Holy crap, you're a newbie and all, but how do you not know basic stuff? Even the lowest-level dungeon requires a ten silver coin entrance fee. Even split among five people, that's two silver coins each."
Rex had confirmed it—he definitely didn't belong here.
Opening a dungeon cost two silver coins. That was highway robbery.
If he'd known about the newbie trial ground earlier, he never would've come here.
"Thanks a lot, man."
Rex was genuinely grateful, his tone very sincere.
"Alright, add me as a friend. Name's Jordan. I'm a summoner. Once I level up, I'll help you level too."
You could tell Jordan might have a hot temper, but he was a decent guy.
Rex was naturally happy to add him as a friend. At least he'd have someone to ask when he didn't understand something.
Back at the orphanage, nobody would tell him about this stuff.
This world was full of orphans. Having something to eat so you didn't starve was already good—who had time to care about everything else?
Gotta kill monsters early. Even though it was already late at night, Rex wasn't sleepy at all.
"Perfect—no place to sleep anyway. This free grinding spot is just right for me."
Rex hurriedly said goodbye to Jordan. Time to start his grand killing spree.
What monsters were easier to kill than the ones in the newbie trial ground?
One in Ten Thousand—might as well earn that first stat point.
Rex immediately pushed through the crowd and jogged toward the newbie trial ground.
"Screw teaming up for dungeons. I'm gonna be a lone wolf."
There were two kinds of lone wolves: the kind that was ridiculously strong and could solo dungeons, and the kind that was pathetically weak and couldn't keep up with a team.
The game had been on Earth for hundreds of years. Through several generations of exploration, everyone could quickly find their most efficient leveling route.
For poor people like Rex, entering the newbie trial ground was the best option.
There were tons of newbie trial grounds. Each area was huge, and monsters were incredibly dense.
You could say there were endless low-level monsters to kill here.
You could say this was Rex's ideal place.
There were plenty of diligent people. Even late at night, people were going in and out of the newbie trial grounds.
[Newbie Trial Ground: Professionals level five and below can enter freely.]
[You have entered Trial Ground #5115.]
Walking out of the teleportation array, Rex saw a vast, endless grassland.
The grass was real, and naturally the monsters on the grassland were real too.
[Angora Rabbit]
[LV: 0]
[Attack Power: 8]
[Defense: 2]
[Health: 32]
Rex's attack power was now 20 points—two arrows would take down one angora rabbit.
"Angora rabbits are gentle by nature and won't actively attack people. But if they're attacked, even a cornered rabbit will bite."
The grassland was full of angora rabbits. Rex easily found a spot where no one was leveling.
"This is literally my monster-killing paradise!"
His first hunt—Rex was pretty excited.
"Sorry, rabbit buddies. Don't blame me for being cruel. If you're gonna blame something, blame your bad luck."
For each hunt, Rex even took a picture of himself.
"Even if my strength's weak, I still gotta have some sense of ceremony."
A boy in rough cloth, carrying a broken wooden bow, with a bright smile.
"Let's do this."
Rex pulled back the wooden bow. Whoosh! Three arrows shot out simultaneously.
The arrows traced a beautiful arc through the air, then stuck straight into the ground.
"Almost hit it—missed by less than a meter!"
The angora rabbit just stopped eating grass and looked at Rex suspiciously.
"My bad!"
His attack power was enough, but his accuracy was still lacking. Even Triple Shot couldn't save him.
If he were a mage, tossing out one fireball might hit three targets at once.
"That's the problem with archers—gotta practice this archery."
Rex shot several more arrows and couldn't hit a single one.
"Damn it, I'm just not cut out to be an archer!"
Rex was really angry. His first monster kill gave him a massive sense of failure.
"If only I were a melee class. One slash, one little rabbit."
"Wait, I can't use arrows like this!"
His archery wasn't good enough right now, and he was keeping his attack range too far.
He needed to treat himself like a warrior.
"Get closer before shooting. No way I'll miss then."
Once he changed tactics, the results were immediately different.
Rex got right up close to an angora rabbit and shot it twice. He finally got his first kill.
Of course, he also got bitten twice, losing over ten health points.
"Got a hundred health. No big deal."
After killing a few angora rabbits, he had to recover his health before continuing.
[Killed angora rabbit. Experience +1, copper coins +1.]
[Killed angora rabbit. Experience +0, copper coins +1.]
Zero-level monsters could actually give zero experience? That was just excessive.
Luckily, Rex didn't care about experience right now. He wanted copper coins and kill count.
Actually, the less experience the better.
"Even if the earnings are tiny, at least I'm getting started."
One copper coin was one hope.
Even though he was getting bitten and it hurt like hell, Rex was still motivated.
"Need 100 experience to hit level two—so kill two or three hundred angora rabbits."
The experience was really low, but Rex didn't mind at all.
Less was good—that way he could level up to five more slowly.
"Got a place to grind monsters. Don't gotta think about anything else—just grind."
"Besides eating, just sleep three or four hours a day. Sleeping a little less won't kill me, but not earning copper coins definitely will."
"Don't need to go out to eat anymore either. Buy some dry rations—won't starve."
"My path to becoming a master archer starts with these angora rabbits."