“It even triggered an advanced quest? This counts as a small hidden quest, right?” Jiang Bai was instantly beaming.

“No doubt about it, these Ironback Wild Boars must be Level 4 monsters. It's a bit difficult right now, but once I reach Level 4, or even Level 3, it shouldn't be a big problem.”

However, Jiang Bai, whose mental abacus was clicking away merrily with optimistic calculations, found his smile freezing halfway.

[Quest Note]: This quest requires the player to complete it at their current level. Therefore, the player will not gain any experience points until the quest is completed. Time limit: 6 hours. Player is not allowed to form a party during the quest period. [Failure Penalty]: If the quest is failed, the player may re-accept the quest. This cycle continues until the quest is completed. However, until the quest is finished, the player will be permanently stuck at their current level.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Seeing these two lines, Jiang Bai couldn't help but applaud the Old Blacksmith.

“You're badass!” he said sarcastically.

“This is just too damn ridiculous!”

Never mind his two unique blue items; even a full party of five Level 2 players probably couldn't take down a single Level 4 boar right now.

“And if I fail, it means my journey in 'Genesis' is over! Permanently stuck at Level 2!”

After being dumbfounded for a while, Jiang Bai silently opened the Trading Market. It was his only hope now for fusing Epic gear to get stronger.

But the market had gone completely insane.

When Jiang Bai watched a Common-quality dagger priced at 5555 copper coins get instantly sniped, he immediately gave up on that idea.

Only then did he realize just how absurd the equipment market currently was.

After all, the start was too important, and "Genesis"'s drop rates were simply too low. While spending hundreds or thousands on a trashy item might not be worth it for ordinary players, it was absolutely necessary for wealthy families, guilds, and even professional players.

Looking again at the blue gear he wore, Jiang Bai swallowed hard.

“If these were tradable, wouldn't my two blue items sell for tens of thousands?”

With that thought, Jiang Bai opened the Skill Trading Market.

Even the most basic [Basic Shot] skill book cost at least 1 Gold Coin!

“Ten thousand RMB!? Ten thousand for a basic skill!?”

Jiang Bai clicked his tongue inwardly and quickly closed the market interface, not daring to look any longer.

As expected, everything was sky-high priced right after launch.

"Genesis" had no readily available skill trainers; all class skills had to be obtained by players, leading to the bizarre situation of basic skills fetching astronomical prices.

“Whatever. I should go check the 'Ironback Wild Boar's stats first, just to be mentally prepared.”

Feeling somewhat helpless, Jiang Bai bought 1 health potion and left the beginner village again.

It wasn't that Jiang Bai was being stingy, but the system store was a total rip-off.

The lowest-grade Level 1 Health Potion cost 10 copper coins per bottle. Jiang Bai finally understood why "Genesis" dared to set a fixed currency exchange rate—the game's money sinks were bound to be enormous, eliminating worries about inflation.

“Looking for party, little bro? 4=1 need DPS!” “Hey, buddy! That bow looks decent. Join our team, power-leveling group, 4=1 with healer.” ...

Perhaps because his weapon looked different from the standard novice gear, Jiang Bai attracted quite a bit of attention. As he walked through the crowd, a series of party invitations popped up.

Jiang Bai had no intention of dealing with these passersby. He rejected them one by one and walked out of the village.

“Tch, actually thinks he can grind alone. Overestimating himself!” “Idiot. Thinks carrying a trashy bow makes him somebody?” “You'd think he had an exclusive Talent or something, the way he's acting.” ...

Passing the Level 1 Demonized Wild Rabbit area, the territory of the Level 2 Fanged Wild Dogs was noticeably less populated. After all, the vast majority of players were still stuck at Level 1; few had leveled up as quickly as Jiang Bai.

Reaching the right edge of the Fanged Wild Dog area, boar-like monsters began to appear sporadically. Jiang Bai immediately used [Inspect].

[Ironback Wild Boar] Level: 4 Attack: 40 Defense: 15 HP: 300

“Damn it!”

Afraid that even looking too long would get him trampled to death by the dark boar, Jiang Bai immediately retreated.

“This damn thing's attack isn't ridiculously high, but its HP and Defense are insane! A normal Level 2 player, even specced fully for offense, would only have around 20 P.ATK. After factoring in the boar's defense, one hit would deal less than ten damage—not even one-twentieth of its health!”

“Nope, can't fight it at this stage!”

“And I can't even party up!”

If other players knew about Jiang Bai's quest, they'd probably piss their pants in fear.

After all, "Genesis"'s difficulty dictated that even farming same-level monsters required at least a three-person team—that was just the game's mechanics. Jiang Bai soloing same-level mobs was already astonishing; soloing higher-level ones was unthinkable!

It was simply impossible! At least, at this early stage right after launch.

“That Old Blacksmith! #…#&¥”

In his mind, Jiang Bai was cursing the Old Blacksmith up and down.

Just as Jiang Bai, face dark with anger, was furiously complaining internally, a green name suddenly entered his field of vision.

[Rabid Fanged Wild Dog] (Elite) Level: 3 Attack: 35 Defense: 5 HP: 180

“An Elite monster?”

Jiang Bai paused.

“Normal Fanged Dogs have 30 Attack and 110 HP. This Elite one has 180 HP and 35 Attack... Higher attack and HP than normal dogs, but lower defense than the boar. Maybe doable.”

“Besides, an Elite monster can't possibly drop only copper coins, right?”

Slowly, a plan began to form in Jiang Bai's mind.

Slowly increasing his distance from the Rabid Dog, Jiang Bai calculated, "Factoring in its defense, one arrow should deal 34 damage. With 180 HP, it'll take 6 hits."

“One hit from this dog deals 26 damage. I currently have 90 HP. Including the small health potion that instantly restores 30 HP, I can tank 4 hits at most!”

“That's enough!”

Plan set, action taken. After pulling back to thirty yards, Jiang Bai unhesitatingly fired an arrow.

-68

A bright red number popped up above the dog's head. Jiang Bai's spirits instantly lifted.

“It was a critical hit!”

The Archer class inherently had a hidden critical hit chance; it was just that players' stats were low at the start of the game. This was Jiang Bai's first time triggering a crit.

“Awooo!”

Its health instantly dropping below 112, the wild dog took off, charging straight at Jiang Bai, its long, sharp fangs glinting menacingly in the sunlight.

This wild dog was much faster than the rabbits, and it was a Rabid one to boot. By the time Jiang Bai fired his second arrow, only half of the thirty-yard distance remained.

-34

The dog only had 78 HP left!

The third arrow flew.

Simultaneously with the "-34" appearing on the dog, a "-26" popped above Jiang Bai's head. His health instantly dropped to 64!

Since Jiang Bai wasn't faster than the dog right now, positioning was meaningless. Tanking the dog's attack head-on, Jiang Bai fired his fourth arrow!

-34 -26

At this point, the dog only had 10 HP left!

But Jiang Bai's health, due to a critical hit from the dog, was also down to a mere 12 points!

So the "Rabid" prefix on Elite monsters meant they could land critical hits.

Now, for both man and dog, it all came down to the final blow.

But at this critical moment, Jiang Bai didn't use his precious health potion. His expression unchanging, he continued to draw his bow!

Sōu!

A cold glint shot out. The dog's claws, mere inches from Jiang Bai, stopped abruptly, frozen in mid-air.

Then, blood spurted. The light faded from the dog's eyes as it slowly collapsed. That final swipe never landed on Jiang Bai.

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