First Frontier (2)

*>Name: Small Lesser Mayfly*

*>Level: 1*

It was an insect, yet it was too big and cute to look like a real fly. Similar to the slime, it wasn't so cute that one would have trouble killing it. However, if one were a super-pacifist in real life, they might have some trouble.

Unlike the slime, which was slow and predictable, the mayfly was quicker as it whizzed around the air. However, at the end of the day, it was still a level 1 mob.

*>+1 Lesser Insect Wing*

*>+1 Copper*

Jisha easily swatted it out of the air with her bare hands. She didn't want to waste time on killing weak mobs, but this one was quite fast and it wouldn't leave her alone.

*>Name: Young Clay Doll*

*>Level: 1*

After passing some more Green Slimes, Jisha found another unique level 1 mob. It was an earthen mass guarding a tree. Though it was called a doll, it wasn't very humanoid in shape. Rather, it looked like a bell with legs sticking out from the bottom. It was quite a bit bigger than the other monsters; the slimes were not much bigger than a football. While the mayfly was around the same size, it was less physically dense than the slime.

The Young Clay Doll, on the other hand, was wider than an average human and its height reached Jisha's stomach. It moved even more slowly and predictably than the slime, but its constitution was much sturdier. However, at the end of the day, it was still just a level 1 mob.

*>+1 Clay*

*>+2 Copper*

With a couple of punches and kicks, the Young Clay Doll met its end. This monster wasn't of the Common rarity, but rather of the Uncommon rarity, which was why Jisha gained 2 Copper out of it. Even though she couldn't appraise it precisely, Jisha could still approximate its worth due to her experience in the game.

*I wonder if it was protecting anything?*

This mob was another exception to Jisha's "too weak to kill" rule, as it was likely guarding items. Upon a quick inspection, the Young Clay Doll seemed to have been sitting atop a small pile of leaves. Unsurprisingly, Jisha found an item underneath them.

*>Name: Small Wooden Dagger*

*>Type: Weapon (Melee)*

*>Class Restriction: Batonista or Fracasier-branch*

*>Description: An introduction to a slightly different fighting style to a traditional Batonista or Fracasier.*

*>Rating: Level 5, Common*

*>Abilities:*

*>Passive: +33 ATK while equipped.*

*Hmm...*

Though it wasn't an exceptional item by any means, it was still a rare find this early in the game. It was uncommon for a level 1 or 2 monster to drop or protect a level 5 item.

*I guess it's my lucky day. I'll save this for Syny.*

Jisha knew Syny would become a dagger-wielder in the future, so she stored it in her inventory for the near future.

*I want to find something better, though...*

Even though it was a level 5 item, it was of common rarity. Gifting her best friend with a common item didn't sit right with her, but if she couldn't find anything better, the wooden dagger wasn't a bad backup plan.

---

*>Inventory*

*>Clay: 1*

*>Lesser Insect Wing: 7*

*>Melee Starter Stick: 26*

*>Ranged Starter Pellet: 797*

*>Slimeball: 14*

*>Twig: 3*

*>Coin Pouch*

*>Copper: 468*

After a few minutes of running, Jisha had encountered various types of monsters, but none of them were over level 1. The density of mobs she was encountering was unusually decreasing as well, so she still hadn't used any ammunition.

*This is a bit odd...*

It's not like she intended to encounter anything strong in this area, but the lack of mobs worried her. She had an idea of what was coming up, but it didn't make much sense to her.

*Is there a Wild Boss here somewhere?*

The sudden decrease in mob density was a telltale sign of a Wild Boss in the area.

Wild Bosses were similar to ordinary mobs in the fact that they roamed around in random wild areas. They were Bosses because they were much tougher to deal with than ordinary mobs, whether they were stronger, smarter, faster, or something else entirely.

*But this is a level 1 area?*

Wild Bosses didn't appear until level 5 at the very earliest, which was why Jisha was confused. However, her confusion was exacerbated when she entered a clearing in the forest.

*Traveling Corrupted Land???*

It was something that was even stranger than a Wild Boss to appear this close to a starter hamlet.

Traveling Corrupted Land - a rare biome. A phenomenon that was aptly named - it was a mobile biome that poisoned and "corrupted" land as it randomly traveled.

Half of the grass in the clearing was reduced to a dark green, almost blackened hue. Some of the grass had even turned a shade of purple due to some unknown effect.

Natural mobs would instinctively flee from it, and those unlucky enough to be caught in this natural disaster would be transformed into something more horrible.

It was a dangerous area for players.

Jisha now had two options: Ignore the mobile biome and continue towards Inkling Village, or follow the number 1 rule of a Synergy front runner.

*Always explore the more dangerous side.*

Was it even a choice to begin with? After all, in Synergy, difficulty was appropriately rewarded.

*I wonder what I'll find in this one?*

Without a second thought, Jisha sprinted directly into the Corrupted Land.