Lying Down to Level Up and Pick Up Gear

A flash of light, and a dark green figure appeared. It was a large insect resembling a praying mantis, as tall as an adult, with ruby-like eyes and three tough claws on each side, capable of cleaving metal and stone.

"Gujī, gujī..."

The Insect Warrior appeared before Xiao Wen, bowing its head with reverence in its eyes.

Xiao Wen nodded, gesturing for it to stay by his side as they walked deeper into the Nightmare Forest.

After only a few steps, a slight tremor ran through the ground. Xiao Wen's gaze fell upon the dead leaves to his front right.

Hiss!

A sharp, ear-piercing sound echoed as a white beam of light shot out, aimed at Xiao Wen.

It was a thin, long strand of spider silk, emitting a crystalline glow.

Xiao Wen's eyes narrowed. Just as he prepared to dodge, the Insect Warrior beside him lunged forward. Its sharp claws slashed down vertically, severing the spider silk. Filled with rage, it let out a cry towards the source of the attack: "Gujī, gujī!"

After a few more cries, the Insect Warrior turned back, looking at Xiao Wen with a questioning gaze.

"Go on, be careful."

"Gujī, gujī!"

The Insect Warrior nodded and charged towards the spot.

Raising its claws, it swung them down with immense force, stirring up a gust of wind that cut through the surrounding withered leaves, digging into the soil.

Just as the Insect Warrior attacked, a dark shadow sprang from underground. Eight spider legs clung to the trunk of a large tree nearby, its scarlet eyes fixed on the Insect Warrior and Xiao Wen below.

[Poisonous Tree Spider]

Level: 11

Attack Power: 220

Defense: 160

HP: 1800

Attribute: Poison

Temperament: Ferocious

Description: A tree spider that nests in the Nightmare Forest. Constantly affected by miasma, it possesses a venomous poison sac within its body. It lurks in the shadows, awaiting prey.

"An eleventh-level tree spider? Its attributes are decent, but it's far inferior to the Insect Warrior."

The Insect Warrior stared at the tree spider clinging to the tree. It instantly sprang up, moving with incredible speed. Before the spider could react, both its sharp claws were raised and brought down simultaneously.

HP -840. HP -840. Player EXP +1855

In the blink of an eye, the Poisonous Tree Spider's health bar was depleted, its essence becoming Xiao Wen's experience points.

"One monster every two seconds?"

Xiao Wen blinked, suddenly realizing he'd found an excellent method for leveling up.

"Go, engage in your own battle. Just remember to bring back any dropped equipment or items," Xiao Wen said, looking at the battle-eager Insect Warrior.

"Gujī!"

The Insect Warrior cried out and walked to the corpse of the Poisonous Tree Spider. Its mouthparts opened, and it began to devour the spider. A small opening appeared on its tail abdomen, and a pale green egg rolled out, landing on the dead leaves.

After another ten seconds or so, faint cracking sounds came from the egg. Cracks spread across its surface, and a miniature Insect Warrior crawled out from within the shell.

"What is this?"

Xiao Wen watched this scene unfold, his face filled with shock. He opened his game system to check the Larva Warrior's information.

[Larva Warrior]

Attack Power: 100

Defense: 100

Description: A larva born from the powerful reproductive capabilities of the Insect Warrior. Though weak in combat, it can assist its parent in handling minor tasks.

"Larva Warrior? Is this a special ability of the summoned Insect Warrior? After killing a monster, it can use its corpse as nourishment to reproduce?" Xiao Wen murmured, a look of understanding dawning on his face.

"Gujī gujī."

Looking at its offspring, the Insect Warrior nodded with satisfaction. It then turned and chirped twice at Xiao Wen before moving forward.

Xiao Wen was completely in the dark. He wondered if he should learn Insect language or Monster language himself, so he could converse with these monsters.

As Xiao Wen pondered this, a faint fluctuation was detected in the distance, which then dissipated, only to reappear.

Player EXP +1425. Player EXP +1855. Player EXP +1855. ...

System prompts chimed one after another. Xiao Wen watched his experience bar grow at a visible rate, inching closer to level 7.

"Goo-goo..."

As Xiao Wen leaned back against a large tree, eyes closed, savoring the quiet solitude, a soft sound reached his ears.

He lazily lifted his eyelids and saw a Larva Warrior had returned at some point, carrying a spear on its back.

[Iron Spear]

Required Level: 10

Rarity: White

Attack Power: 40-45

Description: A spear forged from fine iron, possessing good hardness and penetration. A handy weapon.

Xiao Wen blinked, took the [Iron Spear], casually tossed it into his backpack, and then closed his eyes again.

With Insect Warriors handling monster kills, gaining experience, and dropping equipment; and Larva Warriors responsible for transporting the equipment; as the master, Xiao Wen only needed to lie around and slack off. Occasionally, he'd open his eyes, pick up a piece of equipment or two, throw it into his backpack, and then continue to rest with his eyes closed.

This, was life!

Leveling up while lying down.

Ding! Congratulations to player Halfway Through the Mortal World for reaching level 7.

Leveled up?

Xiao Wen blinked and, without hesitation, put all five extra attribute points into Strength.

As his level increased, Xiao Wen noticed that the equipment in his backpack had also increased by seven items.

Although they were all white-grade equipment, if these seven level 10 white-grade items were put on the market, their price would be no less than level 5 green-grade equipment.

Just as Xiao Wen was enthusiastically grinding monsters to level up, outside Novice Village No. 96508, the group of players who had come to cause trouble for Xiao Wen finally depleted the Defensive Wall's health.

A group of players glanced at the time they had spent. They didn't bother looking for Xiao Wen anymore. Instead, with grim expressions, they returned to their respective novice villages through the teleportation array to report the news to their leaders.

It was true that they were assigned to cause trouble for Xiao Wen.

But they all knew in their hearts that their role was merely to test Xiao Wen's strength. The people above had never placed their hopes on them.

Inside Novice Village No. 010, a plaque bearing the Flame Dragon Guild's name hung in front of an NPC civilian house. Below the plaque stood a woman with a fiery figure, her long fiery red hair cascading over her shoulders. Her face was resolute and handsome, and she wore a long sword at her waist, truly embodying the spirit of a heroic woman.

This person was the Guild Leader of the Flame Dragon Guild, and the younger sister of one of the Four Emperors, the Flame Emperor—Lu Qingsha.

"G-Guild Leader, we failed. That person called Halfway Through the Mortal World refused to hand over the Guild Founding Token." A guild member said in a low voice in front of Lu Qingsha.

"Refused? Does he think the Flame Dragon Guild's sincerity isn't enough?"

Lu Qingsha's voice deepened as she glanced sideways at her subordinate.

The subordinate dared not speak, merely lowering his head and standing there, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

"The first task failed, so what about the second? Did you manage to test that person's strength as much as possible?"

Lu Qingsha narrowed her eyes and asked in a low voice.

A player who had appeared out of nowhere had managed to kill a level 7 lord BOSS before the Wind Emperor.

Such a dazzling achievement made it impossible not to notice him.

Seeing the subordinate's hesitation to answer, Lu Qingsha's expression grew uglier. "Fine! Very fine! It seems you alone cannot gauge that person's strength. In that case, let the Four Wolves..."

Just as Lu Qingsha was speaking, a figure rapidly approached, shouting loudly:

"Miss, please wait! The Flame Emperor has ordered that you proceed with caution and not act rashly until he returns!"