Life-Saving Herbs

The Poisonous Swamp was thick with miasma and teeming with venomous snakes. Even the outermost monsters were level 20 or higher, let alone anything deeper within. With Ye Luo's current strength, attempting to gather herbs there would be suicide. He became troubled, realizing that not only he, but perhaps even the highest-ranked experts in Novice Village, would not return from such an endeavor.

"What should I do?" Ye Luo muttered. He wasn't worried about failing the quest and missing out on rewards; he was genuinely concerned for Uncle Li's safety.

"Oh, right! I remember I accidentally refined an Invisibility Pill years ago," Doctor Hua exclaimed suddenly, sounding excited. "It's a Tier 2 pill. Those level 20-something little poisonous snakes won't be able to see through it. With it, you can enter the Poisonous Swamp. Ye Luo Zhi Qiu, are you really willing to accept this quest?"

As he spoke, Doctor Hua rummaged through his cabinets and drawers. Before long, he found a small porcelain bottle among a pile of vials and bottles, clearly containing the so-called Invisibility Pill.

"I am willing," Ye Luo replied, but then he hesitated. "Doctor Hua, that solves the problem of safely entering the Poisonous Swamp, but I don't know Herb Gathering. You see..."

"That's simple, I'll temporarily teach you Herb Gathering," Doctor Hua said casually. He then rummaged through the vials and bottles again, pulling out another porcelain bottle. "Not only that, but I'll also give you a few Detoxification Pills. That way, you won't have to worry about the miasma in the Poisonous Swamp. So, do you accept the quest now?"

"I accept!" Ye Luo declared. As soon as he finished speaking, another quest appeared in his quest log:

[Life-Saving Cassia Seed](Novice Village Quest, Difficulty: E-Medium)

Quest Content: Enter the Poisonous Swamp outside Novice Village's west gate, gather 10 Cassia Seeds, and bring them to Doctor Hua.

Quest Requirements: Within 1 hour.

Quest Rewards/Penalties: Upon completion, you will receive the favor of the entire Novice Village, experience points, copper coins, and lifelong mastery of the life skill [Herb Gathering]. If you fail to bring back 10 Cassia Seeds within the time limit, the temporarily acquired [Herb Gathering] skill will become void, and you will be permanently unable to learn this skill.

Quest Reminder: The Poisonous Swamp is thick with miasma and teeming with venomous snakes. It is best to enter around level 20 and bring sufficient supplies and detoxification medicine.

The difficulty of E-Medium was significantly higher than gathering wolf fangs, indicating the quest's challenge.

After Ye Luo accepted the quest, Doctor Hua handed him the two porcelain bottles. Then, he extended his hand, and a white light flashed. A [Herb Gathering] skill appeared in Ye Luo's life skill slot, though it was marked as 'Temporary' and had a one-hour time limit.

Doctor Hua then instructed Ye Luo to return quickly. Of course, as Ye Luo was about to leave, he reminded him to buy a Herb Gathering Shovel from Blacksmith Sun, as he couldn't gather herbs empty-handed.

Without delay, Ye Luo headed towards Blacksmith Sun's shop at his fastest speed (a fixed 1 meter per second). On the way, he checked the attributes of the Invisibility Pill and the Detoxification Pill:

[Invisibility Pill](Tier 2 Pill)

Pill Description: Grants invisibility for half an hour after consumption. Monsters below level 30 cannot see you. Ineffective against players. You will become visible upon initiating an attack.

[Minor Detoxification Pill](Tier 1 Pill)

Pill Effect: Grants immunity to low-level poison attacks and common miasma for 10 minutes.

Usage Interval: 10 minutes.

"Tsk, this Invisibility Pill is quite powerful. Although it's ineffective against players, it's practically a divine medicine against monsters below level 30. After taking it, I can basically move around Novice Village unchecked," Ye Luo praised. He then located his first skill in the life skill bar.

[Herb Gathering](Life Skill * Beginner)

Skill Description: Allows the gathering of Tier 1-2 herbs. Requires a Herb Gathering Shovel to activate. Consumes 1 mana.

Skill Proficiency: Beginner 0/10.

Through this, Ye Luo learned that life skills also had levels, progressing from Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, Grandmaster, to God-tier. Herbs were also divided by tiers, from Tier 1 to Tier 9, with additional categories for Immortal Herbs and Divine Herbs, which he wouldn't encounter for a long time.

Ye Luo rushed to Blacksmith Sun's. He learned that a Herb Gathering Shovel cost 15 copper coins. However, as Ye Luo was a regular customer, Blacksmith Sun gave him a 20% discount. Consequently, all of Ye Luo's 12 copper coins, which he had just acquired, were spent.

"I can get a 20% discount here when buying and selling. It seems my villager favorability is the reason," Ye Luo quickly understood. However, looking at his empty inventory, he gave a wry smile. "All my hard work on quests for so long, and I'm back to square one. I guess I need to work hard to earn money from now on, as I'll need it for buying medicine, learning skills, job changes, and so on."

In the Heavenly Tribulation game, 100 copper coins equaled 1 silver coin, and 100 silver coins equaled 1 gold coin. Although game accounts were linked to real-world bank accounts, players couldn't exchange real-world currency for game currency in the early stages. They could, however, exchange game currency for real-world currency, but most players didn't have enough game currency for themselves in the early stages, let alone for exchange.

Despite these thoughts, Ye Luo didn't slow down. After obtaining the Herb Gathering Shovel, he immediately headed towards the Poisonous Swamp to the northwest. After all, Doctor Hua had only given him an hour, and he had already wasted seven or eight minutes.

Soon, he exited the west gate and entered the outermost fringe of the Poisonous Swamp. A faint gray mist permeated the area, carrying a slight stench that caused mild dizziness. Above Ye Luo's head, red numbers showing '2' appeared every second. With his current 120 HP, he could barely last a minute.

Seeing this, Ye Luo immediately took out a Minor Detoxification Pill and consumed it. The effect was immediate; the damage numbers above his head disappeared, and his HP began to recover at a rate of over 1 point per second. He muttered, "The Poisonous Swamp is indeed troublesome. Even the outermost miasma is this potent. Deeper in, it's probably even more extreme. I'll need to prepare properly if I want to level up here in the future."

As he walked, a green blur suddenly shot towards him. Ye Luo's reaction was immediate; he knew a monster was attacking. Without hesitation, he took out the Invisibility Pill and consumed it. Instantly, his body was enveloped in a mist, clearly indicating he was now in stealth.

The monster that attacked Ye Luo missed. After lingering around for over 10 seconds without detecting anything unusual, it left in disappointment.

After Ye Luo went invisible, he saw that the attacking monster was a green viper, two to three meters long. Its forked tongue flicked in and out, occasionally revealing its fangs. A faint, foul odor wafted from it, making one feel nauseous.

The Heavenly Tribulation game was quite realistic, much like real snakes. Ye Luo was brave; anyone else might have screamed in terror. He carefully avoided the snake and took the opportunity to check its attributes:

[Bamboo Viper](Normal Monster)

Level: ???

Physical Attack: ???

Defense: ???

HP: ???

Skills: ???

The Bamboo Viper's level was more than 5 levels higher than Ye Luo's, so he couldn't detect its attributes, only a series of question marks. Shaking his head, he stopped thinking about it. Seeing the various poisonous snakes around him acting as if he were invisible, he finally relaxed and began searching for Cassia Seeds, as the Invisibility Pill had a limited duration, and Doctor Hua's quest also had a time limit.

Following Doctor Hua's reminder, Ye Luo ventured deeper and soon found a Cassia Seed. It was a Tier 1 herb, and with his current Herb Gathering skill level, he could gather it. After activating the Herb Gathering skill with his Herb Gathering Shovel, he successfully obtained a Cassia Seed, and his Herb Gathering proficiency increased by one point, which pleased him greatly. After all, his Herb Gathering skill would soon reach Intermediate level.

However, he then noticed that less than forty minutes remained within the one-hour time limit. Without delay, he continued searching for herbs.

Perhaps because few people ventured into the Poisonous Swamp, there were many herbs here. Besides Cassia Seeds, there were other herbs as well, but most were Tier 2 or higher. Ye Luo's Herb Gathering skill level was insufficient, so he could only gather Tier 1 and some Tier 2 herbs.

Of course, Ye Luo focused primarily on gathering Cassia Seeds.

About ten minutes later, Ye Luo had successfully gathered over 10 Cassia Seeds and also collected some other herbs. He noticed that the Invisibility Pill still had over ten minutes of duration left and didn't want to waste it, so he continued gathering herbs. After all, without the Invisibility Pill, it would take him a long time to enter this area again, and by then, it would likely be crowded with players.

After gathering 10 Tier 1 and Tier 2 herbs, Ye Luo's Herb Gathering skill successfully leveled up to Intermediate.

[Herb Gathering] (Life Skill *Intermediate)

Skill Description: Allows the gathering of herbs from Tier 1-4. Requires a Herb Gathering Shovel to activate, consumes 5 mana.

Skill Proficiency: Intermediate 9/100.

At this moment, Ye Luo could gather herbs up to Tier 4, which delighted him. He hastily gathered herbs he couldn't collect before. However, he found that gathering Tier 1 and 2 herbs no longer granted proficiency; only Tier 3 and 4 herbs did.

While the Invisibility Pill's effect still had 5 minutes remaining, Ye Luo exited the Poisonous Swamp while gathering herbs. After leaving the swamp, the Invisibility Pill's effect completely wore off, and his Herb Gathering proficiency increased to 35/100. This meant he had gathered at least 35 herbs of Tier 3 and 4, a considerable harvest.

"Who knows when I'll be back here next," Ye Luo sighed. After glancing at the Poisonous Swamp one last time, he headed towards Doctor Hua's residence, as the one-hour time limit was now less than ten minutes away.

After handing over 10 Life-Saving Cassia Seeds to Doctor Hua, Ye Luo received 3000 energy experience, 100 Novice Village reputation, and 100 copper coins, along with 10 pills. What made him happiest was that the word "Temporary" next to Herb Gathering disappeared, signifying he had permanently mastered the skill.

1500 energy experience directly leveled Ye Luo up to 2, and his Battle Soul Crystal had also grown somewhat.

After allocating all 5 free attribute points to Strength, Ye Luo's attack became 16, defense became 4, and HP became 130. These stats were now sufficient to kill Young Toads.

Of course, after killing a few Young Toads, he would need to replenish his HP, as his defense and HP were much lower than other players.

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