The First Lv. 5

[Player: Golden Shovel - First to kill an Elite monster solo, without taking damage, and at a higher level. Reward: Hidden Profession Clue Chest! This is an official announcement!] x 3

The announcement sounded in all players' minds three times in a row, causing the various chat channels to explode.

"No way?! Soloing an Elite monster at a higher level? And without taking damage?! What kind of monster is that?"

"He's cheating! He must have used a bug! Or maybe some terrain exploit!"

"Am I the only one curious why they're called Golden Shovel?"

"Dude, you probably haven't even left the novice village yet. You can only pick your game nickname after leaving the village."

"Golden Shovel... the names of big shots are really extraordinary... Could it be that they smashed the Elite monster to death with a shovel..."

"Stop talking, I can already picture it, hahahaha."

In short, the moment the continent-wide announcement sounded, almost all players were in an uproar.

However, the culprit behind it all, Comrade Li Xunsheng, was examining the treasure chest in his hand.

[Hidden Profession Clue Chest: Upon opening, you will randomly receive a clue for a hidden profession. This can be used on a suitable NPC to trigger a hidden quest.]

Another hidden profession... Why do I feel like these things always fall into my lap?

Looking at the chest in his hand, Li Xunsheng clicked his tongue.

It would be great if there were potions that directly increased stats, or if he could directly get some equipment that provided a significant boost.

However, he could still replicate the novice village operation, put this thing up for sale, and then use the currency to buy equipment.

Of course, Li Xunsheng would absolutely never consider such a thing...

Regardless of any hidden profession, their true value is immense.

It's just the early game. Whether the system is malfunctioning or doing this intentionally, there are quite a few hidden profession clues available.

Once it reaches the late game, obtaining hidden profession transfer quests or clues will be much more troublesome.

I'll keep it for now and see later.

Just as the young man was thinking this, another continent-wide announcement sounded.

[Player: Qingyi - First player on the continent to reach Level 5. Reward: One Hidden Profession Clue. This is an official announcement!] x 3

[Notification: Only three Hidden Profession Clues remain. They will be given to the first player to reach Level 10, the first player to kill a boss, and the first player to solo a boss. After this, the difficulty of obtaining Hidden Profession Clues will increase significantly. Please pay close attention.]

"Oh ho, someone's already reached Level 5... That's ridiculous."

Glancing at his experience bar, which was less than 200 experience points away from leveling up, Li Xunsheng shook his head.

He was already grinding monsters as fast as possible, using a green-grade weapon, fighting monsters higher level than him, and even soloing an Elite monster, yet he was still slower than that 'Qingyi'...

Wait, hold on, this name sounds a bit familiar...

Ignoring the chat interface that had exploded again, Li Xunsheng opened his friend panel.

[Qingyi (Yi Qing) Lv.5]

Cold sweat trickled down his forehead. Li Xunsheng twitched the corner of his mouth, instantly admitting defeat.

Alright... So it's you... But reversing your name like that, you've really got some nerve...

This big shot's talent is definitely combat-oriented, not a life-skill talent like the Golden Shovel Crown. At the same time, she must possess powerful monster-grinding abilities.

After all, Miss Yi Qing slayed the Elite Wild Boar at Level 1 in the novice village, even though she paid the price of an arm. To achieve that level, Li Xunsheng believed it was impossible without talent.

Hmm... If she just leveled up... she might be out in the wild. I shouldn't disturb her.

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.

Just as he was about to close the friend panel and return to turn in his quest, the young man received a flood of private messages...

"How did you kill the Elite monster without taking damage? I'll pay one million for this information. I advise you not to be ungrateful!"

"Killed an Elite monster without taking damage! You must have used a bug, hurry up and tell me the specific details, or I'll report you!"

Many of the messages he saw were these half-witted remarks, causing Li Xunsheng's brow to furrow.

He directly blacklisted these people, and as he headed back into the city, he continued to clear his private messages.

"Big shot, I'll pay one Silver Coin for your method of killing Elite monsters, please! Sending a private message to a non-friend costs one Copper Coin. Big shot, please don't ignore me... cries."

Players with this kind of sincerity were a minority. Li Xunsheng scrolled through all the private messages and found only this one that had some value.

After accepting the small contract attached to the private message, Li Xunsheng sent back a few words:

"Shields can parry. As long as the difference in Strength and Agility isn't too large, you understand."

[Silver Coin +1]

"Oh~ Thanks, big shot, I get it. I'll find some weaker monsters to practice with my shield."

Seeing that the other party wasn't being unreasonable or prying further, Li Xunsheng nodded with satisfaction. He returned to the city.

Without further delay, he quickly went to the Adventurer's Guild and turned in the quest to clear twenty Demonic Energy Villagers. Li Xunsheng then planned to return to the Blood Rose Tavern.

[Quest: Clear ten Demonic Energy Villagers. Completed. Reward: 100 Experience Points, 1 Silver Coin] x 2

[Lv up!]

[Current Level: Lv 5 Experience: 2/630 Balance: 0 Gold 5 Silver 50 Copper]

Upgrading is pretty fast... I reached level five in just one afternoon.

If I had turned in quests a bit faster, maybe I could have reached level five before Yi Qing.

The young man happily heading to the tavern didn't realize how terrifying his monster-grinding speed was when combining his bullet time and shield counter.

In reality, other players, due to insufficient supplies, generally had to spend a lot of time waiting for HP and MP to recover after grinding monsters. They also had to fight cautiously, not daring to attack elite monsters at all.

Only players like Xunsheng, who could grind monsters without taking damage and at high speed, and Yi Qing, who could one-shot enemies from the start, could sustain prolonged combat without worrying about battle damage slowing them down.

The current situation was that over eighty percent of players were still struggling around the middle of level three, and they simply couldn't speed things up!

"Boss, do we really have any provisions left in the warehouse..."

Arriving at the tavern's counter, Li Xunsheng, who had wanted to go all out and brush up his cooking proficiency by opening for business today, deflated upon seeing the dust-covered stove and the long-dried-up wine barrels.

For him, upgrading and grinding monsters were secondary. The most important thing was to play his role as a deity well, gather faith, and strengthen himself.

However, since the game itself required him to reach level ten, he had no choice but to grind levels. But when he had the leeway, he preferred to stay in the safe zone and grind life skills, focusing his attention on playing the role of a deity.

Alas, tonight, he couldn't even open for business...

"I didn't plan on opening a shop before, so of course, I didn't prepare anything. Since you're an employee, you should just get to work honestly for now~"

Mo Rui, seemingly having accepted their current relationship, said with a smile, showing no intention of hiding anything.

"I still have a quest to complete, so I don't have time to accompany you. Here's the warehouse key. There should still be some things in there."

"Alright, alright, I'll do it myself."

While switching his view to the world where the Divine Stone was located to see how his tribe's development was progressing, Xunsheng picked up the broom, preparing to start a thorough cleaning