Chapter Seventeen: The Exquisite Bird Gun

“Hm? Where’s the world announcement? Why isn’t there an announcement? Could it be that someone else has already defeated this boss?” Lone Rider, lying on the ground, asked in frustration.

“I doubt it. It’s really hard to organize a group to fight a boss during the novice village phase. If it weren’t for Secretary’s orange shield and Guardian’s Heart skill, we wouldn’t have stood a chance, let alone anyone else. Besides, if someone else had triggered a world announcement, we’d have known. But it is strange—no announcement for the first kill of a boss,” Wind Chime said, equally puzzled.

“Maybe only bosses above orange grade trigger a first kill announcement. Whatever, we’ll figure it out as we go. Even with two fallen members missing out on experience, we still got over forty thousand experience points. Ha!” Storm’s World exclaimed happily.

“Open the loot, quick! My level’s going to drop down to eight, so depressing. I hope the gear can at least comfort my wounded soul.” Secretary was unhappy; if the boss hadn’t landed that critical hit, he could have lasted till the end. Now, not only did he miss out on experience, he’s dropping a level—utterly frustrating.

Originally, Zhang Shan was the team leader, but before the boss fight, he’d handed over leadership to Storm’s World.

Storm’s World immediately displayed the dropped items.

Exquisite Birdshot (Purple): Physical Attack 92-105, Agility +21, Required Level 10. Durability 20/20.

Exquisite Brass Necklace (Purple): Magic Attack 23-30, Intelligence +12, Required Level 10. Durability 20/20.

Sheepskin Cap (Blue): Defense 8, Intelligence +5, Required Level 10. Durability 15/15. Cloth Armor.

Goatskin: Purple material.

Totem Art: Summons a totem pillar on the map. Allies near the totem continuously regenerate health and gain boosts to attack power, attack speed, and movement speed. Duration 15 seconds, cooldown 1 minute, mana cost 2000. Class requirement: Witch Doctor.

“What a trash boss, only dropped these worthless pieces of gear. Two deaths for nothing!” Lone Rider complained loudly from the ground.

No one had revival skills yet; dying meant returning to the novice village for resurrection. Both of them still lay on the ground, not rushing back—they might as well see the loot before going.

“Quit whining, look at the skill book! It’s a group heal with attack, speed, and movement boosts—this is a god-tier skill, absolutely priceless, isn’t it, Boss?” Zhang Shan said.

He hadn’t played games in ages, but he could still read item descriptions. This Totem Art skill book was an insanely powerful group support skill. Who knows how frequently it’ll drop; if it’s rare, its value would be unimaginable.

“Yes, this skill book is extremely valuable, and its drop rate is likely very rare. Skills like this won’t be mass produced. It’s a divine support skill for large-scale boss fights. If a team has four Witch Doctors, each with this skill, they can keep placing totems, drastically reducing boss difficulty. The game wouldn’t be set up that way; I’d wager only a handful of these group heal and buff skill books drop each year across the whole game,” Storm’s World mused.

“Haha, does that mean I’ve struck it rich lying down?” Lone Rider exclaimed excitedly.

“A small gain, perhaps. This skill book is hard to price for now. I’ll ask Windy Clear, she’s a Witch Doctor—let’s see what price she offers,” Wind Chime chimed in.

“Alright. As for the other gear, nothing much to split. The birdshot goes to Six Barrel, I’ll take the necklace and the cap, purple material will be rolled for,” Storm’s World announced.

It was somewhat unfair—Storm’s World took two pieces of gear, but since both were intelligence-based and Wind Chime didn’t contest, they went to him without objection from the others. The real prize was the skill book, so no one minded the rest.

“Clear replied—she’s offering a million. If you all agree, I’ll help her purchase it now,” Wind Chime said shortly after.

Zhang Shan was stunned—a skill book could fetch a million? Was it really that valuable?

Storm’s World: Such a skill book ought to be worth more, but it’s best to keep good things within the guild. It’ll make future boss fights smoother. After leaving the novice village, this kind of skill book will be hard to find. What do you two think? If you disagree, we’ll auction it after reaching level ten.

OK

No problem.

Zhang Shan and Lone Rider had no objections. After all, it was a team effort, and even if it went to a vote, they were only two out of the group. Why argue when they could easily pocket two hundred thousand each?

Besides, Windy Clear was taking a risk buying the skill book early. If, after leaving the novice village, these skill books drop frequently and aren’t worth much, she’d lose out—she’s gambling, really.

“Let me have the skill book for now. I’ll transfer the money to you both, two hundred thousand each. But until I leave the novice village, you have to protect me! Without a warehouse, if some reckless player kills me and it drops, we’ll all lose big,” Wind Chime joked.

“Don’t worry, anyone who tries to kill you, I’ll cut them down. I’m off to resurrect,” Lone Rider said, turning into a flash of white light as he returned to the novice village.

Material roll.

Storm’s World 65, Lone Rider 52, Zhang Shan 70, Secretary had decent luck with a 91, but Wind Chime topped it with a 96, so the material went to her.

Two returned to the novice village to resurrect; Zhang Shan and the remaining three formed a temporary party to grind monsters. Without Secretary, Storm’s World couldn’t tank level ten monsters, but with a healer, they managed.

Everyone hurried to level up. They fought another boss; Zhang Shan finally reached level nine, with more than thirty thousand extra experience—just over sixty thousand short of level ten.

The Exquisite Birdshot required level ten to equip, so Zhang Shan couldn’t use it yet. Now, with more motivation to grind, even if it was just a purple weapon with stats comparable to Lone Rider’s level five orange gun, it lacked special effects.

Still, it was better than nothing. He was still using the novice musket. Purple gear wasn’t bad either; likely, purple gear would become mainstream for players, with only high-end gamers able to equip orange or higher in quantity.

Zhang Shan checked his post-level-up stats. At level nine, not much changed—just a few attribute points. His health was only 240, frighteningly fragile, while Secretary had over two thousand. It was just the beginning, but the gap was already huge. Imagine how many times greater it would be later—this setup was terrifying.

“Boss Storm, why do agility and intelligence classes have so little health? How are we supposed to survive in the late game? The gap with strength classes is enormous,” he complained.

“Strength classes naturally have high health, nothing strange. Secretary’s health is so high mainly due to gear and class skills; other strength classes only have a bit more than us, which is normal. For us glass cannon classes, health depends on gear—capes add health, and quite a lot. Even a level one white cape adds a hundred health. Better capes should add thousands, which will close the gap. Of course, that excludes Guardian Warriors,” Storm’s World explained.

“Brother, how much do you need to reach level ten? Any chance you’ll be the first to leave the novice village?” Wind Chime asked.

“Just over twenty thousand experience, but it’ll be tough. Depends on luck,” he replied.

At this point Zhang Shan suggested, “How about we help you reach level ten first? Don’t team with anyone else; we’ll pull monsters, whittle them down to low health, and you finish them off for full experience. That way you might have a shot—others are probably doing the same, or they wouldn’t be leveling so fast.”

“That’s not fair, you guys need to level up too. There’s no need for me to rush for first,” Storm’s World hesitated.

“No worries, helping you reach level ten won’t take long. Each monster gives over a hundred experience; at most we’ll need to kill two hundred or so. There should be a good reward for being the first to leave the novice village—worth trying,” Zhang Shan insisted.

He wanted Storm’s Guild to grow stronger. The first to leave the novice village would surely trigger a system announcement, boosting the guild’s reputation and attracting new members. In gaming, brotherhood is everything. The way Storm’s World played before, the guild would never become strong—soon it might lose its top ten status.

Although Zhang Shan just wanted to grind quietly, it’s always better to have a strong backing. If the guild isn’t strong, he’d be targeted often, and even grinding monsters in peace wouldn’t be possible.

“Exactly, brother, seize the opportunity. When Secretary and Lone Rider return, the four of us will team up and help you grind. Let’s aim to get you to level ten within an hour,” Wind Chime urged.

When Lone Rider and Secretary returned, they discussed and happily decided to help Storm’s World reach level ten first.

So, Lone Rider pulled monsters, Secretary tanked, Zhang Shan and Wind Chime weakened each one, then Storm’s World finished them off for experience. His experience bar soared.

Three people attacking a monster simultaneously meant it died in under ten seconds, sometimes in five or six. Occasionally they misjudged the health and killed it outright, but it didn’t affect the overall plan; most monsters were left for Storm’s World.

After half an hour grinding this way, light rose from Storm’s World—he’d reached level ten.

“I’m level ten! I’ll head back to the novice village and find the village chief. Since there’s no announcement yet, I must be the first,” Storm’s World said happily.

“Should we escort him? Don’t let the boss die on the way back,” Lone Rider joked.

“No need. In the novice village, if I want to run, no one can kill me,” Storm’s World replied confidently.

OK

Go ahead, we’ll wait for good news.