Rubbing the Tree

The village was indeed as the Old Village Chief had described: sparsely populated. The sprawling settlement held only a few dozen people, appearing quite desolate.

Most of them were the elderly, the weak, the sick, or the disabled.

As Xiao Jie wandered through the village, searching for any potential NPCs, he arrived at the Back Mountain and spotted a middle-aged man with a severed arm, looking at the mountain of trees with a face full of sorrow.

Although there was no quest marker above his head, Xiao Jie felt certain there was something to be found here.

"Excuse me, sir, I'm looking for work. Is there anything I can do for you?"

The man eyed Xiao Jie warily, but his expression brightened the moment he saw his attire.

Wang Da Niu (Woodcutter): "You're a Returning Villager, aren't you? I've heard of your kind. You've come at the right time. I'm the village woodcutter, but a few days ago, I was bitten by a venomous snake. Though I saved my life, my hand is ruined. The village is in urgent need of firewood, but I can no longer perform my trade. If you're willing, help me chop some wood."

"It's hard work, but I certainly won't have you do it for free. I'll give you ten copper coins for every bundle. How about it? Are you interested?"

A dialogue box popped up before his eyes—

[System Prompt: Wang Da Niu has offered you a task [Firewood Chopping]. Do you accept?]

Firewood chopping? It didn't sound too difficult.

Ten coins per bundle meant a thousand coins for a hundred bundles—enough to buy some starter gear.

Xiao Jie decisively chose to accept.

"Here, borrow this for now."

System Prompt: Obtained temporary profession [Woodcutter].

System Prompt: Obtained temporary item [Rusty Firewood Chopper].

[Rusty Firewood Chopper (Single Handed Blade) Attack: 12 (Chopping) Weapon Effect: Woodcutter (Deals 50% increased damage to tree-type monsters) Item Description: A rusty firewood chopper, a tool meant for chopping wood rather than killing. It is quite crude as a weapon, but better than being empty-handed.]

He even got a weapon out of it; not bad at all.

Wang Da Niu (Woodcutter): "Come now, lad, let me teach you the essentials of chopping wood."

"See those trees on the slope of the Back Mountain? Chop there, but remember not to wander too far, or you might run into danger. Also, make sure to pick the dead branches; fresh ones won't burn. Don't chop the thick trunks either—this is firewood, not logging. As long as it burns, the size doesn't matter. Once you have fifty pieces, tie them into a bundle with some nearby Mountain Vine. If you're short on pieces, I'll have to deduct your pay. Well, did you get all that?"

System Prompt: You have learned [Firewood Chopping (Novice)]. Your skill book has been updated.

Xiao Jie couldn't help but grin. According to what that man in the Black Windbreaker had said, life skills could be brought into reality. He had technically learned a new skill, even if it would likely be useless in the real world.

"I've got it, sir. You go get some rest; leave the rest to me."

Once Wang Da Niu left, Xiao Jie began chopping wood on the hillside.

The work wasn't difficult. First, he had to identify which trees were dead; he couldn't just hack away at the lush, green ones. He focused only on the withered, yellowed trees.

Whether it was due to the barren soil or not, such dead trees were scattered all over the mountain, while healthy green trees were few and far between.

Then, he simply swung his blade at the branches. This "tree-whacking" resource gathering was a mechanic he was very familiar with from various survival games.

The progress of his work kept appearing in the bottom right corner.

Clack! Firewood chopping failed. Clack! Firewood chopping failed. Clack! Firewood chopping successful, Dry Firewood +1. Clack! Firewood chopping failed. Clack! Major failure, Firewood Chopper durability -1. Clack! Firewood chopping successful, Dry Firewood +1.

These prompts seemed to follow no particular pattern, appearing entirely at random. Sometimes a single swing yielded a piece of wood, while other times several attempts in a row resulted in failure.

Occasionally, he would even get a notification that his durability had decreased.

Fortunately, the chopper had 50 points of durability, so it wasn't a major concern for the time being.

After working for ten minutes, Xiao Jie had gathered enough for a bundle, tied it with a Mountain Vine, and secured his ten copper coins.

Haha, this job was simple enough. A thousand copper coins were within reach.

After working for over an hour, Xiao Jie had finished five bundles. Though the process was tedious, the thought of earning money for gear and skills kept him motivated.

He wasn't aiming for the stars just yet. He wouldn't think about immortal arts or divine powers; he would start by getting an Inner Power Cultivation Method, develop some internal energy to experience what it felt like to be a martial arts master, and then learn some Light Body Technique to enjoy the thrill of Wall Climbing and Treading on Snow Without a Trace.

Then, he would learn some blade or sword techniques...

He tied up the latest bundle of Dry Firewood and went back to whacking trees.

However, after only a few more swings, Xiao Jie noticed his character's chopping speed had slowed down.

Xiao Jie hurriedly checked his status, only to find that his stamina bar had bottomed out.

Xiao Jie felt a bit strange. Stamina was supposed to recover continuously; as long as he wasn't doing strenuous exercise, the bar shouldn't be empty.

He sat on a rock to rest for a while, watching his stamina slowly recover. The recovery speed was significantly slower than before, and it stopped rising once it reached the halfway mark.

A ghost-face icon had appeared above his head.

[Hunger: Your satiety is too low. Maximum stamina reduced by 50%, stamina recovery speed reduced by 75%.]

What the hell is this?

Xiao Jie hurriedly studied it. It turned out this game had a satiety mechanic. The maximum value was 100 points; falling below 30 triggered the [Hunger] debuff, while exceeding 80 triggered the [Satiety] buff.

Xiao Jie hadn't eaten anything when he went out to fight monsters yesterday, and he had been chopping wood for half the day today, so he had triggered the hunger effect.

This... Xiao Jie hadn't expected the game to be this detailed, requiring him to eat. He wondered if Wang Da Niu provided meals.

When he walked down the hillside, Wang Da Niu was sitting on a wooden stump, resting with a worried expression on his face.

Xiao Jie chose to hand over the chopped firewood, received 50 copper coins, and then asked, "Uncle, this is the wood I chopped. Do you have any food you could give me? I'm hungry. Let me eat my fill before I continue."

Wang Da Niu (Woodcutter): "You youngster, you don't do much work but you have plenty of demands. This isn't a charity house; where would I get free food? Go check the village tavern; they sell steamed buns and sesame cakes."

Xiao Jie arrived at the tavern, and sure enough, there were all kinds of food.

Steamed Buns (Satiety +10), 5 copper coins each.

Sesame Cake (Satiety +20), 10 copper coins each.

Wild Boar Jerky (Satiety +50), 25 copper coins per piece.

Secret Roasted Chicken (Satiety +50, bonus effect: Contentment), 50 copper coins each.

Lao Bai Gan (Satiety +5, bonus effect: Dizzy), 15 copper coins per pot.

Du Kang Wine (Satiety +5, bonus effect: Hearty Satisfaction), 40 copper coins per pot...

Xiao Jie didn't even consider the items further down the list. He bought six of the cheapest steamed buns, eating them all at once to bring his satiety to 90. Seeing his wallet shrink by more than half in an instant made his heart ache.

It wasn't that he was stingy with the copper coins, but he suddenly realized he hadn't factored food costs into his calculations for chopping wood.

The more he worked, the faster he got hungry. The profit of 10 copper coins per bundle of dry firewood wasn't high to begin with, and now, after subtracting the cost of food, saving up 1000 copper coins would be no easy task.

However, Xiao Jie soon discovered that food wasn't the only expense.

Returning to the mountain to continue chopping, Xiao Jie observed the rate at which his satiety dropped while he worked. Fortunately, it wasn't falling too quickly, and with the [Satiety] buff, his stamina recovered very fast. He could chop away mindlessly, and his efficiency in felling trees actually improved for a moment.

The reason he had gotten hungry so quickly today must have been because he hadn't eaten after fighting monsters yesterday.

Under normal circumstances, this 90 points of satiety should last for several hours.

However, after only half an hour of work, a red notification suddenly appeared in the bottom right corner.

[System Prompt: Your woodcutter's axe durability is too low to be used.]

Xiao Jie opened his inventory and took a look; sure enough, the durability had dropped to 1/50.

A sense of foreboding rose in his heart. Surely he wouldn't have to pay for the repairs himself?

It was exactly what he feared. When he found Wang Da Niu and told him the axe was broken, the man didn't look pleased at all.

Wang Da Niu (Woodcutter): "Listen here, lad, you have to pay for the repairs yourself, of course. The axe was perfectly fine when I handed it to you; you're the one who broke it through reckless use. You can't blame me. Look at my hands—they're ruined. Hiring you to chop wood is just an emergency measure. The village pays me ten copper coins per bundle, and I've been giving it all to you. If I have to pay to fix the axe, I'd be losing money. There's no such logic in this world."

Wang Da Niu sounded so pitiful that Xiao Jie was truly at a loss.

Fortunately, he had sold two more bundles of wood for 20 copper coins. Including what he already had in his bag, he had 66 copper coins in total, which should be enough.

He went straight to the blacksmith shop, but the bearded blacksmith wasn't there. Only the black-skinned, chubby apprentice was present, forging the blank of an iron sword.

Xiao Jie thought that since it wasn't a major job, the apprentice would do just fine. Maybe it would even be cheaper.

"Hello, could you help me repair this woodcutter's axe?"

Wang Kai (Blacksmith Apprentice): "No problem. Let me see... hmm, fifty copper coins to fix it."

Fifty copper coins! Xiao Jie was speechless. He had earned a total of 70 copper coins all morning, and buying six steamed buns had cost him 30. If he spent another 50 to fix the axe, he would actually be losing money! It was a good thing he had the 26 copper coins dropped by the bandits earlier, or he wouldn't even be able to afford the repairs. Are you kidding me?

This game couldn't be this predatory, could it?

Xiao Jie didn't agree immediately; instead, he started thinking. Since the game was designed with a mechanic for players to earn money through labor, it shouldn't be impossible for players to survive, right?

It shouldn't result in a net loss, no matter how you looked at it.

Besides, he hadn't forgotten the high degree of freedom in this game. Maybe the repair fee was negotiable.

"Brother, can you make it a bit cheaper? It's not easy for a Returnee like me to make a living."

Wang Kai (Blacksmith Apprentice): "You're a Returnee? Do you think I'm not? My price is already cheap enough. If you go to an NPC to get it fixed, it won't be less than 50 coins, guaranteed."

The other man's words made Xiao Jie pause for a moment, and then he suddenly realized something.

"Wait? You're a player too!"