[Common Novice Longbow] (Common)

Attack: +2

Required Level: 1

“Nice, nice!”

Although it was only one extra point of attack, this was just the beginning.

Immediately after, Jiang Bai fused another white Common-quality novice weapon, then placed both Common novice longbows into the Fusion interface simultaneously.

Of course, the longbow remained in the "Main Equipment" slot; clearly, the final result was based on the item placed there.

He pressed "Fusion" again. This time, the fleeting white light turned into a faint green glow.

Jiang Bai excitedly rubbed his hands together and picked up the weapon.

[Uncommon Novice Longbow] (Uncommon)

Attack: +3

Agility: +1

Required Level: 1

“Awesome!”

Jiang Bai couldn't help but shout. Just this 1 point of Agility, converted through his Growth Aptitude, meant a whole 5 points of P.ATK!

His starting power had basically doubled!

Repeating the process until he had two Uncommon bows, he fused them again. With a flash of blue light, a longbow shimmering with a faint blue glow appeared before Jiang Bai.

[Rare Novice Longbow] (Rare)

Attack: +5

Agility: +1

Strength: +1

“Strong!!!”

Jiang Bai immediately equipped the blue longbow. His P.ATK instantly soared from 5 to 15!!

His Attack Power also became 4.

Attack Power essentially represented additional physical damage added on attack; you could simply understand it as another form of attack statistic.

At the same time, Jiang Bai fused all the novice cloth armors in his bag, obtaining one piece of blue cloth armor.

[Rare Novice Cloth Armor] (Rare)

Defense: +5

Constitution: +1

Agility: +1

After Jiang Bai equipped both blue items, his stats underwent a dramatic change.

Level: 1

Class: Archer

Race: Human

HP: 60

MP: 20

P.ATK: 20

M.ATK: 1

Attack Power: 4

Defense: 9

Attributes:

Constitution (CON): 2

Spirit (SPR): 1

Strength (STR): 2

Intelligence (INT): 1

Agility (AGI): 3

“Now this is great!”

“A normal level 1 player, even an attack-focused class, would have 5 P.ATK at most. I'm already several times stronger!”

“Sweet!”

“Compared to the cost of buying equipment...”

“Total score!!!”

“This is pure profit, baby!!”

Wielding likely the only blue longbow in the entire starting zone, he looked again at the Demonized Wild Rabbits, his heart pounding with excitement.

“Including Attack Power, one arrow should deal 24 damage now. The rabbits have 80 HP, so it takes four hits. If I kite properly and maintain the 30-yard attack range, I should only need to tank one hit at most to kill one!”

Thinking this, Jiang Bai took a deep breath, and an arrow sōu shot out.

-24

Just as expected. With 0 Defense, the Demonized Wild Rabbit had no damage reduction; one arrow took off a quarter of its health bar.

Of course, the Demonized Wild Rabbit wasn't slow. The moment it was hit, it bared its fangs and claws, lunging towards Jiang Bai.

Thirty yards wasn't extremely far, nor was it very close. By the time Jiang Bai fired his second arrow, the rabbit had already closed nearly half the distance.

-24

With more than half its health gone, Jiang Bai repeated the process. After the third arrow, the rabbit only had 8 HP left.

But at the same time, Jiang Bai took a hit from the Demonized Wild Rabbit.

The -11 damage barely stung; after all, Jiang Bai now had a solid 60 HP!

Simultaneously, the fourth arrow finally whistled through the air. After another "-24" damage tick, the Demonized Wild Rabbit finally collapsed, dissolving into a white light of experience that flowed into Jiang Bai.

[You have slain Demonized Wild Rabbit. Obtained 5 EXP.]

Staring at the empty ground where the rabbit died, Jiang Bai couldn't help but spit fiercely.

“Ptooey! Not even a single copper coin!”

“Still, it feels damn good!”

Watching the hillsides teeming with newbies struggling in parties, Jiang Bai felt a strong sense of accomplishment. Given "Genesis"'s difficulty, there were probably very few players capable of soloing monsters right now, unless they'd had a lucky break like him.

“In a party, loot and EXP are split. This means my farming efficiency is five times that of a normal player!”

“It might not seem like much in the short term, but over time, the difference will be terrifying!”

The crucial point was, even their entire party's killing speed couldn't match his alone.

“Just twenty rabbits are enough for me to reach Level 2!”

Instantly, Jiang Bai was full of motivation. While discreetly killing monsters, he didn't forget to pick up novice gear dropped by dead players. After all, theoretically, with another eight novice weapons, he could upgrade his longbow to Purple!

“That's Epic-quality gear! I heard Epic and higher equipment comes with special attributes!”

As a professional gold farmer, diligence and enduring hardship were basic requirements.

Jiang Bai dealt with twenty Demonized Wild Rabbits in less than two hours. Bathed in a golden light, he successfully leveled up to Level 2.

The drop rate was also appallingly low. Twenty whole monsters yielded zero equipment drops and only 3 copper coins!

“Made three RMB. Feels like I'm getting closer to becoming the richest man,” Jiang Bai quipped sarcastically.

[Congratulations on reaching Level 2. You have gained 2 Free Attribute Points.]

Each level up granted +1 to all attributes and 2 additional Free Attribute Points. Jiang Bai unhesitatingly allocated both points to Agility. This increased his P.ATK to 35.

“So strong!”

“Now it only takes three shots to kill a rabbit! Damage-free farming!”

“Of course, farming monsters at the same level is boring. Farming higher-level monsters is the way to go!”

As Jiang Bai walked back to the village, he mused, "With the power of the Heart of Genesis, if I can't even farm higher-level monsters, I'd be letting down these two pieces of blue gear."

“This is too awesome! My Heart of Genesis is at least comparable to a Tier 1 Talent!!!”

After turning in a quest [Implied starter quest completed], Jiang Bai received 50 EXP and 10 Copper Coins.

“One quest gives 10 RMB? Can you believe it?”

Jiang Bai strolled gleefully around the village. Perhaps because the Old Blacksmith's quests had higher level requirements, unlike other NPCs swarmed by players, there was currently no one around him.

“Hey, my dear Grandpa Blacksmith! Got any quests? Hand 'em over!”

Jiang Bai spoke respectfully to the bare-chested, dark-skinned Old Blacksmith.

“Scram.”

The Old Blacksmith didn't even glance at Jiang Bai, continuing to hammer away at his forge. "With just you? Level 2? Are you worthy?"

“The hell?”

“Such a fiery temper?”

Jiang Bai was momentarily stunned by this highly intelligent NPC. "First time seeing an NPC with this kind of service attitude."

“Simply outrageous.”

Jiang Bai glared at the blacksmith. "Old man, you've got no manners! Why look down on people like that?"

“Want my respect?” The Old Blacksmith slowly raised his head, his eyes full of disdain. "Show me your strength. The lowest level quest I have here is Level 4. How could you possibly do it?"

“Just give it here! Is a Level 4 quest that amazing? I'm telling you, I will do your quest today!”

“Heh.” The Old Blacksmith tilted his head, a cold sneer on his lips. "Kid, you should have experienced the difficulty of 'Genesis' by now. Taking on a quest far above your level... are you sure you're not looking for death?"

“Old man, stop blabbering. I'm here today to challenge myself.”

“There are penalties for failing my quests!”

“Old man, you say one more word of crap and I'll chop you down.”

Jiang Bai stood defiantly, like a beggar pretending to be a martial arts hero.

“Hahaha!” The Old Blacksmith suddenly burst out laughing. "Then die, you little bastard!"

[You have triggered the advanced version of "Blacksmith's Trial": "Blacksmith's Wager." Quest has been forcefully accepted.]

[Blacksmith's Wager] (Difficulty: D-Rank)

[Quest Description]: Arrogant and suicidal adventurer, this quest will teach you the meaning of cruelty!

[Quest Objective]: Hunt 50 "Ironback Wild Boars".

[Quest Reward]: EXP ???, Copper ???, 1 Random Equipment Piece

“Holy sh*t? Forcefully accepted?”