With the experience from killing the first boar, the rest was easy and familiar.

Targeting the second boar, he fired [Concussive Shot]. A stun icon appeared above the boar's head—he had actually triggered the 3% stun chance!

The 2-second stun was enough time for Jiang Bai to fire an extra arrow with time to spare. As a result, this boar collapsed before even reaching him.

“Nice!”

“D-Rank skills really are strong.”

As usual, Jiang Bai picked up the copper coins from the ground and advanced deeper.

“Wonder where to get Skill Enhancement Scrolls?”

While searching for monsters, Jiang Bai looked at the [Concussive Shot] skill description again, noticing a line of small text below.

"Current Enhancement Level: 0"

“The official 'Genesis' guides did say that although skill ranks are fixed, skills can be strengthened through enhancement. Once enhanced to a certain level, skills can even advance in rank. However, the enhancement material, [Skill Enhancement Scroll], hasn't had its source revealed.”

“Not on the market either.”

Jiang Bai searched the Trading Market; it was empty as well.

Meanwhile, in the "Yuncheng Under Heaven" guild chat channel.

Yuncheng GuTianle: "Boss! Boss, you there? Urgent call for the boss!" Yuncheng Emperor: "What? Speak!" Yuncheng GuTianle: "Holy crap, Boss, I got insta-killed! That +4 longsword you gave me dropped too." Yuncheng Emperor: "F*** YOUR MOTHER! Why the hell are you fighting now? This is the golden phase for development! I gave you the weapon to level up, not to pick fights, you waste!!!" Yuncheng GuTianle: "No, Boss, it's serious! Remember that system announcement earlier? Someone got Purple gear and an achievement." Yuncheng Emperor: "Remember. 'Old Dream of Empty City' or something?" Yuncheng GuTianle: "Yeah, that's him, Boss! The Purple gear is his. That longbow's attack is insanely high, otherwise how could I have been insta-killed? I was just thinking of making him drop the weapon so I could give it to you for leveling, Boss! That thing's good until at least Level 5!" Yuncheng WuMengda: "Holy crap! Purple gear? Old Dream of Empty City? Let's kill him and take it, Boss!" Yuncheng LiuDehua: "That item is incredibly valuable early on, Boss. You should really consider getting it. It's wasted in the hands of some nobody player." Yuncheng Emperor: "I messaged him. Offered 500,000 [RMB], didn't even reply." Yuncheng GuTianle: "Just kill him! Make him drop it! Why waste time talking to someone like that? He doesn't deserve to wield something like that!" Yuncheng Emperor: "Alright." Yuncheng Emperor: "Wait until our group finishes leveling, then we'll go find him. His attitude did indeed piss me off a bit." ...

In the thorny bush forest, Jiang Bai had no idea he had caused such a commotion in the Yuncheng guild. Full of enthusiasm, he was thoroughly enjoying the fun of farming higher-level monsters.

Through repetitive actions, Jiang Bai now faced almost no pressure farming damage-free. After an hour, his quest progress reached 26 boars killed. The harvest wasn't bad either; he managed to get two white equipment drops and some boar materials.

[Wild Boar Staff] Magical Attack: +5 Required Level: 3

[Wild Boar Leather Boots] Defense: +3 Required Level: 3

Both were decent white items, and Level 3, perfectly matching the gear requirements for the mainstream player level.

Jiang Bai listed the staff for 1 Gold Coin and kept the boots, as he could wear them himself.

The longsword he listed earlier had also sold. After the fee deduction, adding to his previous funds, Jiang Bai's assets now reached 1.4 Gold Coins, equivalent to over fourteen thousand RMB.

“Just a short while after launch, I've already earned over ten thousand!”

“Equipment prices are still staying high.” Jiang Bai glanced briefly at the Level 1 and 2 gear, thinking about buying some for fusion once prices dropped, but even the cheapest Level 1 white gear was still too expensive right now; the value wasn't good.

“Whatever, I'll wait. This stuff will drop in price fast.”

Closing the market, Jiang Bai was about to continue grinding when a rapid alarm sounded within the game. He saw a system prompt: his physical body needed energy replenishment.

This was a function of the virtual cabin. Players immersed in the game world were unaware of their physical condition, so the cabin automatically monitored their body. If needs like eating or excretion arose, it would issue an advance warning automatically.

Usually, this warning came one hour in advance. If the player didn't log off within that hour, they would be forcibly ejected from the game.

“Time passed so quickly?”

Jiang Bai felt quite reluctant to leave. "Still one hour left. I'll push to finish the quest."

During the launch phase, time truly was more valuable than money. Every extra monster killed meant gaining a bigger lead. For this, Jiang Bai was willing to be forcibly kicked from the game.

“Concussive Shot...” “Auto-attack...” “Auto-attack...” ...

Despite the tedious grinding process, Jiang Bai enjoyed it immensely. Lone wolf players always liked the feeling of grinding alone, especially the burst of light from a monster's drop upon death, which always brought Jiang Bai a moment of excitement.

However, "Genesis"'s drop rates rarely offered pleasant surprises. After finishing all 50 boars, apart from the two earlier equipment drops, there was nothing else.

“Quest finally completed.”

Jiang Bai let out a long breath. Because of the quest, he hadn't gained a single point of experience for a long time, so honestly, his level was now lagging behind.

“Old man, you better not be too stingy...”

Looking at the row of question marks under the quest reward, Jiang Bai reluctantly opened his Town Portal Scroll [or equivalent item]. At this point, only 4 minutes remained before the forced logout, and his interface had already turned red.

“Gotta hurry back...”

Just as Jiang Bai was about to crush the Town Portal item, a violent rustling suddenly came from deep within the forest, followed by a rough bellow that pierced through the trees and shot towards the sky.

“ROAR...”

“Holy crap!?”

Jiang Bai froze, staring straight ahead. Deep in the forest, a massive shadow was slowly moving.

“This shape...” “This aura...” “This damn...”

Jiang Bai swallowed hard, his eyes instantly burning with fervor.

As he silently approached the shadow, a blood-red name appeared before his eyes.

[Ironback Wild Boar Lord] (Lord-level BOSS) Level: 5 Attack: 110 Defense: 40 HP: 2000 Skills: [Savage Charge], [Tenacious Defense], [Tusk Thrust]

“Damn, it really is a Boss!”

Jiang Bai couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. This was the first Boss he had encountered since entering "Genesis."

The Boar Lord looked incredibly imposing. Its massive body was taller than a person, standing before Jiang Bai like a sturdy hillock. Its black bristles stood erect like steel needles, and its pair of snow-white tusks gleamed with sharp light.

“But these stats are too insane...”

Jiang Bai had the heart to fight it but lacked the strength. With the boar's stats, going over now would just be suicide.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The system's alarm grew more urgent. Only one minute remained before he would be kicked from the game.

“Forget it. I'll go back, turn in the quest, get a power boost, and then come back.”

“Besides, no other players should be able to explore this far yet anyway.”

For various reasons, Jiang Bai could only suppress his heartache and temporarily give up on the boar. Reluctantly crushing the Town Portal item, his gaze still lingered, unwilling to leave the Boar Lord.

“Bro, wait for me, I'll be back!”