Chapter 4: Harvesting Calming Grass, Level Up

This quest card was clearly different from the others.

Noticing Luca's surprised expression, Old Charlie winked and said, "This is the best of the new beginner quests. If you get the chance, I hope you can say a few good words for me in front of Miss Sophia."

Luca couldn't help but chuckle.

This old man really knew how to play the game. Unfortunately, he had picked the wrong person; it was uncertain whether he'd even meet Sophia again, let alone help him out.

Luca shook his head. "Sorry, I can't help you with that. Just give me a regular quest instead."

"Don't, don't, don't!" Old Charlie became anxious and jumped up, shoving the quest card into Luca's arms while waving his hands. "It's fine if you don't say anything nice; just remember me!"

In the entire Iron Mountain Mages' Association, everyone knew Sophia's status and personality. A boy who caught her attention, even if it wasn't in a special way, was certainly exceptional. Even if he couldn't build a good relationship, he should at least not spoil it.

Thinking of this, Old Charlie slapped his forehead in realization. "Oh, I almost forgot! The Mages' Association has a rule that an Apprentice Mage must receive a staff on their first quest."

As he spoke, a flash of light appeared in his hand, and he pulled out a black staff from seemingly nowhere, handing it to Luca.

[Ding! You have received Old Charlie's gift: "Blackwood Staff (Black Iron Level)"!]

[Blackwood Staff (Black Iron): No level requirement, Magic Attack +15, Spirit Attribute +10, usable by Mages.]

A nearby mage looked astonished. "Old Charlie, how come I didn't know our association had this..."

"You don't know anything, just get lost." Before he could finish, Old Charlie shot him a glare, sending him flying with a kick.

Seeing this, Luca couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia.

Having someone backing you felt entirely different. If it were him in his previous life, he would have been scrambling with other players for quests.

There was no way he would have had a NPC handing out quests and gear like this.

After expressing his thanks, Luca decided not to refuse any longer. He took out the purple quest card from his pocket and opened it.

[Ding! You have accepted the beginner quest "Harvest Calming Grass"!]

[Description: Go to Starlight Lake outside of Starlight City and harvest 10 stalks of Calming Grass, then deliver them to the alchemist Franklin on West Street.]

[Reward: Refreshing Potion (Black Iron Level), which increases Spirit Attribute by 10, usable only once.]

Upon seeing the quest reward, Luca's eyes lit up.

No wonder Old Charlie said this was the best quest at the Mages' Association!

Calming Grass might be tough to find, but with a little effort, it shouldn't be too difficult. However, a potion like the "Refreshing Potion" that could boost attributes was worth at least 10 gold coins!

In the Eternal continent, 10 copper coins equal 1 silver coin, and 10 silver coins equal 1 gold coin.

Since the game had just launched, Luca estimated that the current exchange rate for real-world currency to game gold coins was at least around 1000 yuan for 1 gold coin.

This meant that just this quest was worth 10,000 yuan!

With this in mind, Luca was more determined than ever. He needed to find a solid backing in this world!

After that, he left the Mages' Association.

Starlight Lake was located on the Wind Plain to the east of the city, not too far away.

Along the way, he noticed many players wandering around like headless chickens. Fortunately, following Cassman's display of power, there hadn't been any more serious incidents in the city.

Before long, Luca exited Starlight City.

Under the blue sky and white clouds lay an expanse of vibrant green plains, where low-level monsters like Slimes, Violent Rabbits, and Goblins roamed, along with many players who were constantly spawning monsters.

This plain was called "Wind Plain," and it extended far beyond what was visible.

Various monsters inhabited the area, including some higher-level ones. However, the area outside Starlight City had long been cleared, leaving only low-level monsters for new players to practice against.

"Starlight Lake" was situated in the level 5 region of this beginner zone, and Luca could see the massive silver lake from a distance.

He equipped the Blackwood Staff, which raised his Spirit Attribute to 20 points and his attack power to 68 points.

Since the monsters outside the city were too weak, Luca didn't linger and headed straight for Starlight Lake.

However, he hadn't gone far when he was spotted by a small rabbit holding a wooden stick, roughly the size of a small dog.

[lv3 Violent Rabbit (Normal)]

[Health: 180/180]

[Attack: 55]

[Defense: 12]

[Skill: Heavy Strike]

Luca glanced at the monster's panel but kept walking, calm and composed.

Although his current attack power wasn't very high, it was more than enough to deal with this ordinary monster.

As Luca approached, the Violent Rabbit's previously cute face twisted into a snarl.

It kicked off the ground with its hind legs and charged at Luca like a white shadow.

At the same time, the Violent Rabbit swung its large stick menacingly toward Luca's groin.

Heavy Strike!

Seeing the large stick coming his way, Luca twitched the corner of his mouth, recalling some unfortunate memories.

His gaze sharpened, he shifted his foot slightly, turned his body, and easily dodged the rabbit's attack.

At that moment, the staff in his hand lit up with a faint white glow.

Basic Spell!

Upon use, this spell could deal 12 points of basic magic damage to the target!

Luca swung his staff in a wide arc and struck the Violent Rabbit squarely on the head.

"Bang!"

The magical light erupted above the Violent Rabbit's head, sending it flying.

-82!

Before the rabbit even hit the ground, a red damage number appeared above its head, and its health instantly dropped by more than half!

Luca quickly moved forward, not giving it a chance to recover, and swung down another strike.

[Ding! You have killed the "lv3 Violent Rabbit (Normal)" and earned 80 experience points!]

As the kill notification appeared, a surge of experience flowed into Luca's body.

At the same time, a glow of leveling up surrounded him.

[Ding! Your level has risen to lv2! You have received 10 free attribute points!]

[Current Experience: 40/110]

As a Demonic Rune Mage, although he had dual mastery of monsters, he primarily relied on boosting his Spirit Attribute, so Luca allocated all his points to Spirit.

Then, he looked at the corpse of the Violent Rabbit.

A copper coin caught his eye, making Luca's spirits lift.

He actually dropped something!

Under normal circumstances, low-level monsters rarely dropped items. It was easy to guess that his max-level luck had kicked in.

Luca stepped forward, feeling delighted as he picked up the copper coin.

Regardless of the world, the importance of money was undeniable, and the same held true in the Eternal continent.

If players wanted to enhance their strength, spending money—Pay to Win—was always the fastest route.

Luca came from an average family, so he certainly didn't have the spare cash to Pay to Win.

But with a maxed-out loot drop rate, things were different. Not only could he satisfy his own needs, but he could also exchange excess gold coins for some cash to improve his family's living conditions.

As he pondered this, Luca took out the small knife he had prepared in advance and approached the corpse of the Violent Rabbit to skin it.

[Ding! You have obtained the material "Violent Rabbit Fur (Normal)"!]

[You have mastered the skill "Skinning," current level: lv1!]

In the Eternal continent, players had to gather materials themselves, whether from monsters or herbs, which could be a hassle. However, with his maxed-out qualifications, Luca learned everything much more efficiently, so he didn't have to worry about this aspect.

After storing the Violent Rabbit Fur in his storage ring, Luca headed deeper into Starlight Lake.

Although the monster levels in Starlight Lake were slightly higher than those outside Starlight City, it made little difference to Luca. Before long, he found 10 stalks of Calming Grass.

His level increased to 5, and he also gained a new skill.

[Water Arrow Spell: Beginner skill. Upon use, it can deal 25 points of water attribute magic damage to the target. Cooldown: 3 minutes, costs 100 mana.]

In the Eternal world, skills were categorized into several tiers: Beginner, Low-tier, Mid-tier, High-tier, and Superclass. To acquire skills, players could either level up or use Skill Scrolls, or they could seek out a profession mentor for training.

Although Luca had maxed-out qualifications and experience from his previous life, he wasn't familiar with mages, so he would still need to find a magic tutor to learn skills.

Additionally, Luca also looted 1 silver coin and 8 copper coins, along with a Black Iron Level dagger.

Unfortunately, this equipment was intended for the assassin class, which he couldn't use, but it could still be sold for a few gold coins, which was decent enough.

Having gathered enough Calming Grass, Luca didn't linger. He returned to Starlight City and headed straight for West Street.

West Street was the commercial district of Starlight City, filled with various shops of all sizes, offering everything from fruits to tailoring and blacksmithing, and countless other goods.

In the shops, he could see many players working for NPCs.