Chapter 17: Pick-up Little Monster

Xiao Jie and Wang Kai were right; I Want to Be Immortal did not dare to stray too far from the village.

Although he had made up his mind to kill monsters to level up and enhance his strength, and although he was confident in his gaming skills, I Want to Be Immortal was not foolish enough to joke with his own life.

In fact, he was well aware of the dangers of the game, which had been heavily emphasized in the will left to him by his older brother.

In this game, even the little monsters at the village entrance were extremely dangerous, let alone those far from the village. Many of the monsters were faster than humans, and once surrounded by them, escape was impossible.

So, initially, he only planned to farm the little monsters in the nearby woods.

In addition to the will, his brother had also left him a game strategy journal. The recordings weren't complete, probably due to lack of patience, but the part about the Newbie Village was detailed, while later adventures were merely glossed over.

But that was enough; the guide detailed several types of little monsters in Ginkgo Valley, indicating which were dangerous and which were easy to handle, which was why I Want to Be Immortal was confident to venture out to kill monsters and level up.

At this moment, he was flipping through the strategy journal, which was almost falling apart.

[Lost Soul Mountain Bandit: Humanoid monster, randomly possesses one Combat Skill, drops various plain weapons and Equipment, and with good luck, might even drop Basic Skill Books. However, they have quite strong combat power; don't engage them alone in the early stages. I once fought one alone and nearly died.

Cannibal Flower: Doesn't move, can be killed at a distance safely, but is good at camouflage, usually hiding in densely vegetated areas of the deep forest. It has a devouring skill that can instantly kill a newbie. Don't touch this in the early stages. I knew an unfortunate guy who got eaten by one; he died miserably in reality.

Wild Dog: A weak monster in the early stages, but don't underestimate them. These creatures are known as newbie killers, with very high attack instincts, very agile, and they particularly like to fight in groups. A single Wild Dog is not strong and easy to deal with, but having more than two can pose a threat to the player, and having more than three generally spells disaster for a newbie.

Demonized Scarecrow: Weak in attack power, Level 1 players can easily kill it, but just before dying, it uses the skill "Flame Embrace," holding the player and self-igniting. The damage is tremendously high, and it's easy to get killed instantly, so try not to provoke it. Once, I was full health and got hugged; it nearly burned me down to a sliver of health.

Rat Demon Descendant: Generally found near caves or ancient tombs, likes to hide in the dark to ambush players, inflicts high damage and has poisoning skills. Absolutely do not provoke them in the early stages, and be very careful around caves and tombs. Avoid entering them before Level 10.

Roaming Horse Bandits: An enhanced version of the mountain bandits, usually appearing on horseback, extremely mobile, and hence particularly dangerous. If spotted, it's hard to escape, so do not provoke them in the early stages. If encountered, better to hide. If they don't notice you, that's best...

Basically, according to the strategy guide, most monsters in the early stages have the potential to kill a player, and it's not recommended for new players to provoke them when they first enter the game.

However, not all monsters are a threat.

Wild Rabbit: A common small animal in the forest, with no attack power, but killing one only gives 1 experience point—it's safe, at least.

Goat: A common animal in the forest, with an attack involving a charge, not highly damaging, killing it gives 3 experience points—it's safe, too.

Deer: A common animal in the forest, also has a charging skill, not much of a threat, killing it gives 5 experience points. However, sometimes a Demonized Deer appears, so it's important to distinguish them; Demonized Deer have red eyes and are somewhat dangerous. These three are the safest monsters to farm for experience. The only problem is that these three beasts run fast.

Soulless Zombie: the lousiest monster, usually appearing in groups, posing virtually no threat, and they move slowly, making them suitable for farming experience in the early stages.

But be wary, as large groups of Soulless Zombies typically include a few elite monsters like Yin Sha Zombies, Poisonous Corpse-eating Dogs, and Corpse Chasing Mages, so it's best not to provoke large groups of Soulless Zombies, but you can bully isolated ones.

It's best to find a fixed respawn point; these creatures generally respawn every half hour. You can camp out at one spot to kill them. It's slow—it's safe.]

I Want to Seal Immortal closed the strategy journal, looking at an open area under a cliff where about a dozen Soulless Zombie corpses lay scattered across the ground; this was the farming spot he had found. Every half hour, two Soulless Zombies would respawn, and at this moment, the air twisted, and two more Soulless Zombies spawned.

They looked almost human, except their faces were withered, their bodies skeletal and covered in dry, bluish-black skin, wearing tattered clothes, and emitting meaningless wilting sounds as they aimlessly wandered through the woods.

Though it looked terrifying, its combat strength was rather weak. "I Want to Be Immortal" swung his sword, flipping the soulless zombie before him onto the ground, and then he delivered another strike, settling the account then and there.

Another soulless zombie stretched out its arms, alternating between groaning sounds and slowly lunging towards "I Want to Be Immortal." However, its slow speed gave "I Want to Be Immortal" ample time to turn around and slice it down, then finish it off with another sword strike.

Luckily, this one even exploded with a few copper coins.

At that moment, a flash of white light signaled that "I Want to Be Immortal" had finally leveled up to 2.

He couldn't help but sigh with relief; he had finally leveled up.

He had spent the whole day on this clearing, chopping down two soulless zombies every half hour. Although this leveling method was safe, it was incredibly slow and super boring, making it almost unbearable for him.

He allocated the 5 attribute points he gained from leveling up to his constitution as advised in the Strategy Guide, but "I Want to Be Immortal" no longer wanted to continue leveling up here.

Fighting soulless zombies was just too dull, and their drops were terrible—tattered clothes, wooden sticks, rusty iron swords, hemp belts, and other junk equipment. They occasionally dropped a few copper coins and gave little experience; he had only leveled up once the entire day. To become a grandmaster and learn Resurrection Magic would take ages.

Maybe he should venture further out? Try fighting some different monsters?

After all, it didn't seem too dangerous.

But his brother's warning still echoed in his ears, making him hesitant.

Just then, a blue-skinned little monster suddenly emerged from the forest, scooped up a few copper coins from the ground, and ran off.

Even though it appeared only for a second or two, "I Want to Be Immortal" still got a clear look at the monster.

It had blue skin, less than a meter tall, with a big head and a skinny, short body, resembling a bobblehead doll with a sleazy appearance.

It was carrying a wooden stick and had a cloth bag slung over its shoulder, with the character for "goods" written on it.

Pick-up little monster!

Thrill surged through "I Want to Be Immortal."

His brother had stressed the importance of the pick-up little monster in that Strategy Guide journal.

[Pick-up little monster: This creature is extremely rare, has no attack capabilities, and cannot cause harm to players. It is very fast and hard to kill.

It usually appears suddenly to steal items dropped by monsters that players have defeated and then quickly escapes.

Remember, do not let it get away if you encounter it. Once killed, it can drop a huge amount of treasure—coins, jade, materials, equipment, potions, skill books, anything. If you're lucky, it might even drop an ancient treasure. If you come across one, try your best to kill it, one kill could make you rich.]

According to his brother, this creature was like a walking treasure trove.

Now he couldn't hold back any longer and hurriedly chased after it.