Lost and Found Sprite

Xiao Jie and Wang Ke were right; I Want to Become Immortal truly did not dare to venture too far from the village.

Although he had made up his mind to kill monsters to level up and increase his strength, and despite his confidence in his own gaming skills, I Want to Become Immortal was no fool. He would not gamble with his own life.

In fact, he was well aware of the dangers of this game. In the suicide note his brother left behind, the lethality of this world had been heavily emphasized.

Even the low-level monsters at the village entrance were incredibly dangerous, let alone those further away. Many monsters possessed speed that far exceeded a human's; once surrounded, there was no hope of escape.

Therefore, at the very beginning, he only intended to grind low-level monsters in the woods near the village.

In addition to the suicide note, his brother had also left him a game strategy journal. The log was not entirely complete—likely due to a lack of patience—and while the section on the Newbie Village was quite detailed, the subsequent adventures were mostly glossed over.

However, this was enough. The guide detailed several types of low-level monsters in Ginkgo Valley, noting which were dangerous and which were easy to handle. This was why I Want to Become Immortal felt confident enough to leave the village to kill monsters and level up.

At this very moment, he was flipping through the strategy journal, which was already worn to the point of falling apart.

[Lost Soul Bandit: Humanoid monster. Randomly possesses one combat skill. Drops various white-tier weapons and equipment. If you are lucky, it can even drop a primary skill book. However, its combat power is quite formidable. Do not touch it if you are alone in the early stages; I once soloed one and almost died.

Man-Eating Flower: Does not move. Can be safely killed from a distance, but it excels at camouflage and usually hides in the lush vegetation deep in the forest. It has a Devour skill that can instantly kill a newcomer. Do not touch it in the early stages. I knew a poor soul who was eaten by one; his death in reality was truly miserable.

Wild Dog: A relatively weak monster in the early stages, but never underestimate it. This thing is a "newbie killer." It has a very high desire to attack, is extremely agile, and loves to fight in packs. A single Wild Dog is not strong and is easy to deal with, but once there are more than two, they can pose a threat to players. If there are more than three, nine times out of ten, a newcomer will suffer.

Demonic Scarecrow: Its attack power is very weak, and even a level 1 player can easily kill it. However, before it dies, it will use a move called "Flame Embrace." After grabbing the player, it self-combusts along with them. The damage is massive and it is easy to be one-shot, so try not to provoke it. I was once at full health when I was grabbed, and it burned me down to a sliver of health.

Rat Demon Descendant: Usually appears near caves and ancient tombs. It likes to hide in the dark to ambush players. Its damage is high, and it has a poisoning skill. Do not, under any circumstances, provoke it in the early stages. If you encounter caves or ancient tombs, be extremely careful of this wretched thing. Try not to enter caves or tombs before level 10.

Wandering Marco: An enhanced version of the bandit. Usually appears on horseback and has extremely high mobility, making it exceptionally dangerous. Once spotted, it is hard to run away, so do not provoke it in the early stages. If you encounter one, hide immediately. It is best not to be discovered at all...]

Basically, according to the guide, most monsters in the early stages had the potential to kill a player, so it was not recommended for newcomers just entering the game to provoke them.

However, not all monsters were a threat.

Wild Rabbit: A common small animal in the forest. It has no attack power, but killing it only grants 1 Experience Point—its merit lies in safety.

Goat: A common animal in the forest. It has a Charge skill, but the damage is low. Killing it grants 3 Experience Points—its merit lies in safety.

Wild Deer: A common animal in the forest. It has a Charge skill, but it is not much of a threat. Killing it grants 5 Experience Points. However, sometimes a Demonic Wild Deer will appear, so be sure to distinguish it; the Demonic Wild Deer has red eyes and poses a certain threat. These three are the safest monsters for grinding experience. The only problem is that all three run fast.

Soulless Walking Corpse: The trashiest monster. They usually appear in groups, have basically no threat, and move slowly. They are suitable for early-stage experience grinding.

However, be aware that groups of Soulless Walking Corpses are usually interspersed with elite monsters like Yin Fiend Zombies, Venomous Ghoul Hounds, or Corpse Driving Warlocks. Therefore, do not provoke large groups of Soulless Walking Corpses, but you can bully the stragglers as you please.

It is best to find a fixed spawn point. These things usually respawn every half hour. In the early stages, you can camp the point to kill them. It might be slow, but its merit lies in safety.]

I Want to Become Immortal closed the strategy journal. Before him lay a clearing beneath a cliff, where over a dozen Soulless Walking Corpse bodies lay scattered. This was the grinding spot he had found. Every half hour, two Soulless Walking Corpses would respawn. Just then, the air distorted, and two more appeared.

They looked like humans, but their faces were withered and their bodies gaunt. Their skin was a dark green and black, dry and shriveled. They wore tattered rags and emitted meaningless whimpers as they wandered blindly through the woods.

They looked terrifying, but their combat power was exceptionally weak. I Want to Become Immortal swung his sword, and the Soulless Walking Corpse before him was knocked to the ground. He followed up with another strike, and it was finished.

The other Soulless Walking Corpse stretched out its arms, wailing as it slowly lunged toward him. Its speed was so slow that I Want to Become Immortal had plenty of time to reposition, strike it down, and finish it off with a second blow.

He was in luck; this one even dropped a few Copper Coins.

At that moment, a white light flashed, and I Want to Become Immortal finally reached level 2.

He couldn't help but sigh in his heart: Finally leveled up.

He had spent the entire day guarding this clearing, hacking at two Soulless Walking Corpses every half hour. While this method of leveling was safe, it was truly slow and incredibly boring, to the point where he felt he couldn't stand it anymore.

He allocated the 5 attribute points gained from leveling into Constitution, as suggested by the strategy guide, but he felt less and less inclined to stay here to level up.

Fighting Soulless Walking Corpses was just too dull. Furthermore, their drops were trash—worn-out cloth clothes, wooden sticks, rusted iron swords, linen loincloths, and the like. Occasionally, they would drop a few Copper Coins, and the experience was meager. At this rate, it would take forever to become a great expert and learn resurrection spells.

Should I walk further out? Find some other monsters to test my skills?

It doesn't feel all that dangerous, anyway.

But his brother's warning still echoed in his ears, making him hesitant.

Just then, a small blue-skinned monster suddenly darted out of the woods, snatched up the few Copper Coins on the ground, and turned to run.

Although it only appeared for a second or two, I Want to Become Immortal clearly saw the monster's appearance.

It had blue skin, stood less than a meter tall, and had a large head on a scrawny, diminutive body. It looked like a big-headed doll, and its expression was exceptionally wretched.

It carried a wooden stick over its shoulder, from which hung a cloth bag with the character "Goods" written on it.

A Salvage Goblin!

A surge of wild joy erupted in I Want to Become Immortal's heart.

His brother had heavily emphasized the Salvage Goblin in that strategy journal.

[Salvage Goblin: This thing is extremely rare. It has no offensive capabilities and cannot cause damage to players. It is extremely fast and very hard to kill.

It usually appears suddenly to steal items dropped by monsters killed by players, then flees rapidly.

Remember, if you encounter this thing, you must not let it go. Killing it can drop a large amount of treasure, coins, jade, materials, equipment, potions, and skill books—it drops everything. If you are lucky, it will even drop an ancient secret treasure. If you encounter one, do your best to kill it. If you kill one, you've hit the jackpot.]

According to his brother, this thing was a walking treasure vault.

Unable to restrain himself any longer, he hurriedly gave chase.