Sunshine Forest, a territory that was being fought over. The withering of the World Tree had plunged the continent into misery and suffering. On the ruins, humans, barbarians, elves, and succubi had rebuilt cities to fight against the Night Creatures. These novice villages were around the graveyard, intersecting with the Night Creatures' territory. Fans of the book also liked to read: War
Sunshine Forest was a high-level leveling ground outside the beginner village. Not only did the Night Creatures appear, it was also a place where many high-level players leveled up.
According to the official information, Sunshine Forest was a place where monsters between Level 5 and 12 frequently appeared. If a player wasn't Level 5, it was best not to go there. Even a Level 5 player would need to form a party at the very least, or it would be almost certain death.
Before Level 10, players did not have any skills. Even cloth-armored classes like Mages, Priests, Tacticians, and Bards had to use physical attacks. That was why melee classes were highly sought after in the Newbie Village, while Mages and Priests were left out in the cold. Other readers would read it normally.
However, after players reached Level 10 and entered a Level 2 Main City to learn skills, the Cleric class would become the most sought-after class. This was especially true for beautiful female Clerics, who were even more of a hot topic.
… …
I couldn't form a party because I didn't have a suitable teammate. I didn't belong to the true Night Creatures, and I didn't belong to the human alliance either. It was very likely that I would be alone in this situation. The players of the Light faction might not be willing to form a party with an ugly little skeleton like me.
Rustle rustle...
When I arrived at Sunshine Forest, the sun had just risen. Rays of morning light shone into the forest, casting mottled shadows on the ground. It was a very serene scene.
I opened the world map. The quest indicated the distribution of the Green Praying Mantises. If I went any further, I would enter their territory.
I braced myself and burrowed into the forest with my broken sword. I didn't go far when I suddenly felt danger approaching!
Hiss...
A green blade cut through the wind. Something was attacking me!
Puchi!
My Defense was penetrated. Even my top-tier + 9 Defense clothing couldn't block the attack. A huge damage number flew up from my head — 41!
Wow, this guy's attack power is really high!
I looked up and saw a green armored monster hanging from a short tree. It was a horrifying praying mantis. It had a tough green carapace, and its two front claws had turned into green blades. This was the thing that had attacked me earlier!
Green Praying Mantis was a Level 7 common mob. Hmph, a Level 7 mob. No wonder it hurt so much. However, I immediately realized that the Green Praying Mantis's Attack was very high, but its movement and attack speed were very slow. The gap between each attack was as long as 4 seconds. It looked like I could solo this Level 7 Green Praying Mantis without a problem. Fans also liked to read:
I slid to the right side of the praying mantis and raised my sword. Kacha!
“31！”
My damage wasn't bad, but the main problem was that the Green Praying Mantis's Defense wasn't too OP. Otherwise, I'd be lucky if my crappy sword could pierce through its Defense.
It was a Level 7 monster with less than 300 HP. Grinding it down would not take long.
"Hiss hiss …"
The Green Praying Mantis shouted and slowly turned around. It swung its blades and attacked together.
I abruptly retreated and moved smoothly behind the Green Praying Mantis. Crack crack crack. I swung my sword three times in a row. The super rhythm made me feel like I was in a good place. It had been a long time since I'd last leveled like this. Hehe, after being tortured by the 3 second delay for half a year, I felt like a fish in water.
I kept moving closer and farther away, wasting the Green Praying Mantis's attack opportunities. I kept slashing at it with my crappy sword. Even though the Green Praying Mantis was 2 levels higher than me, it still died.
Inside the forest, one man and one praying mantis perfectly demonstrated the efficiency and tactics of a top-tier player. Killing mobs that were four levels higher than me was incredibly easy.
"Puchi!"
Green blood splattered everywhere. After being attacked a dozen or so times, the Level 7 Green Praying Mantis finally let out a wail and dropped a Small Magic Stone. I picked it up and saw that it was the lowest-grade Magic Stone, 14 Quality. It should be worth around 140 copper. It wasn't much, but it was too precious for the early stages of the game. After all, I needed to save up enough money to learn skills before I reached Level 10. Otherwise, I'd be pissed if I couldn't learn all the beautiful skills I had.
I tossed the Small Magic Stone into my bag and noticed that my experience bar had increased by a lot. Killing mobs that were higher level than me was really rewarding.
I continued to move deeper into the forest, searching for stray Green Praying Mantises to kill.
Almost two hours later, I killed 87 Green Praying Mantises and rose to Level 7. I gained 20 Strength and my Attack rose to 22 ~ 37. Killing Level 7 Green Praying Mantises was a piece of cake, but the deeper I went into the forest, the higher the levels of the mobs became. When I encountered a Level 10 Green Praying Mantis, I was nearly one-shot. I could only resentfully retreat to the outskirts of the forest to kill Level 8 mobs.
Heavenblessed's death penalty was very severe. Once a player reached Level 10, they would lose a level and produce a soul. The soul would revive next to their corpse at the cost of 1 level. Of course, it was possible to revive in the city, but the price was 3 levels. Sunshine Forest was at least 20 minutes away from the starting village, and I didn't want to waste my time running to the corpses.
I checked the time. It was already past 4 am, but the server was still crowded. One could imagine how many people were online and trying to enter the starting village.
"Mn, I'll try to reach Level 10 tonight and get a class skill before logging off!"
I cheered myself on as I roamed the depths of Sunshine Forest alone. I killed Green Praying Mantises one by one until I had enough to turn in my quest.
Suddenly, I heard voices from the distance. Clearly, players were coming!
I quickly picked up a Small Magic Stone from the ground and jumped into the lush foliage. All I could see were my eyes. Oh, wait, they weren't really eyes. They were just two black holes in a skeleton's eye sockets.
A rustling sound later, four people walked out of the forest. They were all around 25 years old, three men and one woman. The woman was a Rank 7 bard, and the other three were a Rank 8 magic knight, a Rank 7 warrior, and a Rank 6 tactician. It was a pretty standard setup for leveling up. Of course, tacticians and bards weren't very useful until they learned their skills.
"Old Three, are you sure that the Green Praying Mantis King is in Sunshine Forest?"
The warrior said in dissatisfaction. "We've been killing praying mantises for half an hour now. These Level 6 praying mantises don't give us any experience at all. Fans love to read:!"
The magic knight said calmly, "Boss, it's here. An assassin friend of mine was one-shot by a boss here half an hour ago. He didn't dare to resurrect here, so he resurrected in the city and lost three levels. His two hours of grinding was for nothing."
The warrior nodded. "Hmph, I hope so too. If we came here for nothing, you'll have to treat us to supper tomorrow."
"Ha, no problem!"
… …
We quickly passed through the forest. Less than half a minute later, the magic knight suddenly raised his hand and shouted, "Careful, it's here, hahaha!"
Through the messy leaves, I also saw a huge green praying mantis in front of us. It was swinging two blades, and its green carapace glowed with golden light. It looked very powerful.
I immediately slapped my thigh in regret. If I had taken a few more steps, I might have seen this boss!
But on second thought, I would probably die even if I saw this boss because I couldn't even see its level.
The Level 7 warrior couldn't help but laugh. "Brothers, it looks like we're going to be rich today. A Level 12 + F boss, this Green Praying Mantis King is the strongest boss in the entire starting village. If we kill it, it will definitely drop a powerful weapon or equipment!"
The magic knight said calmly, "Boss, wake up. This is a Level 12 boss, and the highest level among us is only Level 8. We haven't learned any skills yet, so our chances of beating it are less than 20%!"
The warrior snorted coldly. "Even if we can't beat it, we have no choice but to do it. It's not my style to leave such a powerful boss in front of me and not attack it."
"Mn, let's go!"
… …
After the four of us divided the work, the magic knight was the first to attack, and the rest of us were to assist him.
"Go!"
The magic knight let out an angry roar and charged toward the Green Praying Mantis King. He brandished a rusty spear and thrust it into the Green Praying Mantis King's lower jaw.
“27！”
I broke out in a cold sweat. This guy's Defense is way too high, isn't it?
That Level 8 magic knight's full-power attack seemed to barely scratch the boss's itch.
"Not good, I'm not a match for it at all!"
The magic knight retreated in shock, but the Green Praying Mantis King's sword landed on his head!
“201！”
That was close. He had almost been killed instantly. Even though his class was known for its high HP, if it had been anyone else, they would have died.
Right now, the highest level player in the starting village was Level 9. This Level 8 magic knight was a top-tier expert, but he was a complete noob in front of a boss.
The magic knight turned and ran away. The mantis was slow, so there was a chance it could escape.
… …
However, the four of them hadn't run far when a large group of players suddenly appeared in the forest. They were all between Level 4 and Level 7, and they were all elites. Moreover, their IDs all had the word "Mad Dragon" in front of them. Their leader was a Level 9 magic knight called "Roaming Dragon". He was the highest-leveled player in the nearby starting village.
Roaming Dragon rushed to the front and shouted, "Mad Dragon is clearing the area! Unauthorized personnel, leave now, or face the consequences!"