CHAPTER 210: CHAPTER 210: THE LAST TASK BEFORE LEAVING THE VILLAGE_1

"Success." Wang Linchi saw a second Talent appear on his game character’s profile, though it was just a string of garbled text.

It seemed the database of "God-given World" lacked the relevant data, so it couldn’t parse the Talent’s function.

He hadn’t brought in a Clone of the Book of Records, but the complete Book of Records itself. However, like him, it was subject to certain suppressions.

For example, the attribute enhancement from his Soul Kind dropped from the original 200% to just 2%, clearly scaled to Wang Linchi’s current level. The same applied to the Saint Master; its various terrifying amplification effects were also tied to Wang Linchi’s level. Although significantly nerfed, the combination of various status buffs still made it very powerful.

However, some compatibility issues also arose; for instance, all items in his Storage Space were obliterated, seemingly due to being incompatible with this world.

Fortunately, these were all minor issues.

Without hesitation, Wang Linchi summoned the Saint Master and checked its attributes, which were far superior to his own.

Setting other things aside, defeating the Level 5 Elite Monster, the Single-horned Wolf King, would not be an issue.

"Let’s go, monster hunting!"

Full of pride, Wang Linchi, accompanied by the Saint Master, headed towards the Single-horned Wolf King’s location.

Although called a Wolf King, it was actually a lone monster, likely to ensure players could defeat it.

[Elite Single-horned Wolf King LV5, Health (500/500)]

Due to the level difference, Wang Linchi couldn’t see the Single-horned Wolf King’s detailed attributes or skills.

However, 500 Health was indeed quite a lot.

Despite players starting with 100 Health, each point of Root Bone only increased Health by 10 and Mana by 5. Spiritual Power was the opposite, increasing Health by 5 and Mana by 10.

As for attack power, each point from either attribute increased it by 10—one for physical attack, the other for spell attack.

From a distance, Wang Linchi launched a Fanciful and Fickle skill at the Single-horned Wolf King.

[You used an unknown skill on the Single-horned Wolf King, dealing 1 damage and inflicting 1 stack each of Armor Break, Chaos, Poison... lasting for 1 second.]

Seeing this description, Wang Linchi’s eye twitched. Fanciful and Fickle was usable, but its effect was extremely poor.

In "God-given World," it had lost its power due to incompatibility. Ten Mana only inflicted 1 point of damage, and its Mana cost for damage output couldn’t be altered. As for its debuffs, a wave of them applied for 1 second, followed by a long 10-minute cooldown.

The damage was even lower than his Scholar Profession’s Literary Warfare skill. He could deal more damage just by auto-attacking twice with his Qingyun Ink Brush.

After being attacked, the Single-horned Wolf King immediately locked its aggro onto Wang Linchi and charged towards him.

The Saint Master intercepted it immediately, taking the damage for Wang Linchi.

[-100]

Wang Linchi couldn’t help but gasp. "That attack instantly took out one-twentieth of the Saint Master’s Health!"

After attacking the Saint Master, the Wolf King let out another howl.

[You are affected by the Single-horned Wolf King’s Roaring: Damage Dealt -10 for 1 minute.]

"It can even combo? And it has super armor during the combo, making it uninterruptible..."

While the Single-horned Wolf King was using Roaring, the Saint Master was also attacking, trying to interrupt its skill. However, due to game mechanics, the Wolf King had super armor, making it impossible to interrupt, so they had to endure this debuff.

The awkward part was that after this combo from the Single-horned Wolf King, the Saint Master had already battered it to critical Health, forcing it to quickly enter its second phase.

Wang Linchi felt this mechanic was a bit off. Just as the Single-horned Wolf King finished its wind-up animation for the second phase transformation, the Saint Master killed it.

Then, a brilliant shower of loot scattered across the ground.

Wolf pelts, wolf bones, armor, weapons, accessories, items—it dropped everything imaginable.

"You dropped everything you possibly could, didn’t you?"

Wang Linchi collected everything. Among the loot were many quest items. Turning these in to NPCs like the blacksmith or tailor in the Novice Village would yield rewards.

Then, with a flash of golden light, he leveled up.

[Your summon killed Elite Single-horned Wolf King LV5. Experience Gained: 1000 × (Higher-Level Kill Multiplier: 3) = 3,000]

He gained 3,000 Experience points directly, and his level shot up to 8 in an instant, leaving Wang Linchi stunned.

Killing higher-level Elite Monsters was indeed incredibly profitable.

[LV8 (300/800)]

If he had been Level 5 when he killed it, he definitely wouldn’t have gotten so much Experience—at most around 1,000 points.

He then cheerfully headed back to turn in his quests.

As for this equipment and various materials, he would sell them later. He figured he’d probably never wear them, because when he returned to his real body, he planned to use all the Experience to strengthen it.

No matter how strong his game character became, even if it could be converted to real-world assets in the future, that was still in the future. In contrast, farming the game to strengthen his real self now was the more tangible benefit.

After all, strength in the game was an external force. What if "God-given World" stripped it away one day? He trusted in his own power more.

Therefore, he estimated he would spend most of his future time in the game at Level 1.

Back at the academy, he quickly turned in the quest.

[Confucianist Robe]

[Level: 5]

[Profession: Scholar]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Attributes]

[Fixed Defense +10]

[Effect: Spell Mana Cost -10%]

Wang Linchi immediately put on this Confucianist Robe.

As for the "Gang Chang Analects," it was previously a quest item but had now transformed into a usable item.

[Lost Gang Chang Analects]

[Type: Item]

[Quality: Rare]

[Use: Gain 1 additional attribute point and 1 additional skill point upon your next level up.]

[Use: Gain 2,000 distributable Skill Proficiency points.]

[Use: Learn Scholar Profession Skill: Know Self, Know Other LV1.]

Wang Linchi used it without any hesitation.

[Active Know Self, Know Other LV1 (0/1,000)]

[Skill Description: Observe the enemy to increase your own hit rate.]

[Mana Cost: 50]

[Effect: Increases user’s hit rate by +10%.]

[Duration: 10 minutes]

[Cooldown: 5 minutes]

The effect was quite good. Its only drawbacks were that it couldn’t be stacked and could only be cast on himself.

He had noticed that, apart from the initial basic skill Literary Warfare which started at 100 Proficiency, other skills required a minimum of 1,000 Proficiency to learn or level up.

Furthermore, at low levels, the effect was rather lackluster, only increasing hit rate by 10%. Even if maxed out at LV10, it probably wouldn’t reach a 100% increase.

"Your learning is sufficient to undertake the novice trial. However, you still require proof. If you complete the final trial, I will give you a letter of recommendation," the Private School Teacher said, reciting the lines as if from a script.

Simultaneously, five quests appeared. The objective was the same for all, but the difficulty and rewards varied.

[Academy’s Recommendation V]

[Quest: Clear the Black Wind Stronghold dungeon on Abyss Level difficulty.]

[Rewards: Scholar Profession Level 10 Special Advancement Proof ×1, 1 Set of Level 10 Scholar Profession Set Equipment, Newcomer Title: ’Supernova’]

Wang Linchi naturally chose the highest difficulty. The first four quests were also for the Black Wind Stronghold dungeon, but at different difficulties: Simple, Normal, Difficult, and Nightmare.

The rewards also varied. The Simple difficulty dungeon only offered a Level 10 Special Advancement Proof, without the ’Scholar’ prefix. Normal difficulty added one piece of Excellent Level Scholar Profession equipment. For Difficult, the Advancement Proof gained the ’Scholar Profession’ prefix, and the equipment was upgraded to Good Level.

As for Nightmare Level, the equipment was upgraded to Rare Level, and it awarded the title ’Excellent Novice.’

"Very good. I hope you can successfully complete the novice trial." After uttering this routine line, the Private School Teacher became still again.

Wang Linchi left by himself, planning to head to the Black Wind Stronghold dungeon.

This dungeon wasn’t easy; it was a Level 10 dungeon.

However, this didn’t mean one had to be Level 10 to enter; it was merely recommended for Level 10 players. Furthermore, for difficulties other than Simple, Level 10 players generally couldn’t clear them solo and required a party, unless they were highly skilled.

As for the so-called letter of recommendation, it was actually the Advancement Certificate.

When players reached Level 10, they could advance. Upon leaving the Novice Village, each player would complete a trial quest to obtain an Advancement Certificate. The quality of this certificate varied with the quest’s difficulty.

The one Wang Linchi was aiming for should be the highest-quality certificate.

I wonder if the Saint Master can hold up. Wang Linchi mused, then opened the game forums and began searching for information related to the Black Wind Stronghold dungeon.

Unsurprisingly, there were capable people out there. Many guilds or expert players had already cleared Black Wind Stronghold on Nightmare difficulty and had even published guides. However, for Abyss difficulty, not a single clear had been reported for any dungeon yet, not even the lowest Level 10 ones.

Currently, as long as an Iron Triangle Team’s skills and attributes were up to par, even average players could clear the Difficult Black Wind Stronghold by following a guide. However, achieving a high rating was out of the question; they could only expect the minimum guaranteed rewards, with no hope for extra loot.