[Player: Golden Shovel The first to solo-kill an Elite Monster above their level without taking damage. Reward: Hidden Profession Clue Chest! This is hereby announced!] X 3
The notification rang three times in succession inside every player's mind, instantly sending all the chat channels into an uproar.
"Seriously?! Solo-killing an Elite Monster above your level? Without taking damage?! What kind of monster is this?"
"It's a bug! It has to be a bug! Or maybe they used the terrain to kill it or something!"
"Am I the only one curious why he's called Golden Shovel?"
"Upstairs, you probably haven't left the Novice Village yet. You can only choose your in-game nickname after leaving the village."
"Golden Shovel... That expert's name is truly extraordinary... Could it be that he smashed the Elite Monster to death with a shovel...?"
"Stop, I can picture it now. Pfft, hahaha."
In short, the instant the announcement rang across the entire continent, nearly every player boiled over with excitement.
However, the culprit behind everything, Li Xunsheng, was currently examining the chest in his hands.
[Hidden Profession Clue Chest: Upon opening, randomly obtain a clue to a hidden profession. It can be used on a suitable NPC to trigger a hidden quest.]
Another hidden profession... Why did it feel like things like this always came crashing down on him?
Looking at the chest in his hands, Li Xunsheng clicked his tongue.
If only he could get a potion that directly increased his attributes, or some equipment that provided a substantial boost.
Still, he could replicate what he had done in the Novice Village: put this thing up for sale, exchange it for some currency, and use that to buy equipment.
Of course, Xuan Sheng would never even consider doing such a thing...
Regardless of the hidden profession, its true value was enormous.
It was only in the early stages of the game—whether because the system was malfunctioning or had arranged it deliberately—that clues to hidden professions were relatively common.
Once the game reached its later stages, obtaining a hidden profession's advancement quest or clues would become truly troublesome.
He would keep it for now and see what happened later.
Just as the young man was thinking this, another announcement rang across the entire continent.
[Player: Qingyi has become the first player on the entire continent to reach Level 5. Reward: one hidden profession clue. This is hereby announced.] X3 [Notice: Only three hidden profession clues remain. They will be awarded to the first player to reach Level 10, the first player to kill a boss, and the first player to solo-kill a boss. After that, the difficulty of obtaining hidden profession clues will increase substantially. Please be sure to take this seriously.]
"Oh? Someone's already reached Level 5... That's ridiculous."
Glancing at his experience bar, which was still less than two hundred experience short, Xuan Sheng shook his head.
He was already farming monsters as quickly as possible. He was using a green weapon, fighting monsters above his level, and had even solo-killed an Elite Monster, yet he was still slower than that "Qingyi"...
Wait a second, why did that name sound familiar...?
Ignoring the chat window that had exploded once again, Xuan Sheng opened his friends list.
[Qingyi (Yi Qing) Lv.5]
Cold sweat suddenly streamed down from his head. Xuan Sheng twitched the corners of his mouth and immediately felt convinced.
Well, well... So it was you... Though reversing your name to make your nickname was quite something...
That expert's talent was definitely combat-oriented, not a life-oriented talent like Golden Shovel Crown. She should also possess powerful monster-farming capabilities.
After all, Miss Yi Qing had already killed an Elite Wild Boar while still Level 1 in the Novice Village. Although she had paid for it with one arm, Xuan Sheng felt that accomplishing something like that without relying on a talent was absolutely impossible.
Hmm... If she had just leveled up, she might be out in the wild. He would avoid disturbing her.
If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you won't lose it next time.
Just as he was about to close the friends list 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 difficult!"
"Killing an Elite Monster without taking damage! You must have exploited a bug, right? Hurry up and tell me the exact details, or I'll report you!"
Most of the messages before his eyes consisted of this sort of brainless drivel, making Xuan Sheng frown deeply.
He directly blacklisted those people, then continued clearing out his private messages while heading back toward the city.
"Expert, I'll pay one silver coin for your method of fighting Elite Monsters, please? Sending a private message to a non-friend costs one copper coin, so please don't ignore me... sob."
Very few players were as sincere as this one. After Li Xunsheng finished going through all his private messages, this was the only one that still held some value.
After accepting the small contract attached to the private message, Xuan Sheng sent back a few words:
"Shields can parry attacks. As long as the gap between your Strength and Agility isn't too large, got it?"
[Silver Coin +1]
"Oh~ Thank you, expert. I understand. I'll find some weaker monsters and practice with my shield."
Seeing that the other party neither argued nor continued asking questions, Li Xunsheng nodded in satisfaction. He returned to the city.
Without making any further inquiries, he hurried to the Adventurer's Guild. After turning in the quest for twenty Demonic Energy Villagers, Xuan Sheng planned to return to the Blood Rose Tavern.
[Quest: Clear out ten Demonic Energy Villagers. Complete. Reward: 100 Experience, 1 Silver Coin] x2 [Level Up!] [Current Level: Lv 5 Experience: 2/630 Balance: 0 Gold 5 Silver 50 Copper]
Leveling up was pretty fast... He had reached Level 5 in a single afternoon.
If he had turned in his quests a little faster, he might even have reached Level 5 before Yi Qing.
The young man hurried happily toward the tavern, completely unaware of how terrifying his monster-farming speed became when combining Bullet Time with shield parries.
In reality, because of insufficient supplies, most other players had to spend a great deal of time waiting for their Life and mana to recover after finishing a round of monster farming. They also had to be extremely cautious in battle and simply did not dare to fight Elite Monsters.
Only people like Xuan Sheng, who could quickly farm monsters without taking damage, and Yi Qing, who could instantly kill them the moment she attacked, could sustain long battles without worrying about combat losses slowing them down.
At present, more than eighty percent of the players were still struggling in the middle of Level 3. There was simply no way for them to speed up!
"Boss, do we really still have provisions in the warehouse...?"
When he arrived at the tavern's counter and saw the dust-covered stove and the long-dried-up wine barrels, Li Xunsheng had originally intended to get to work, open for business, and raise his cooking proficiency. Instead, he immediately lost all his energy.
To him, leveling and farming monsters were secondary. The most important thing was to properly fulfill the duties of a deity, gather faith, and strengthen himself.
However, since the game itself required him to reach Level 10, he had no choice but to level diligently. But whenever he had the spare time, he preferred staying in a safe zone to practice life skills and focus his attention on playing the role of a deity.
Unfortunately, he could not even open for business tonight...
"We never planned to open a shop before, so of course we didn't prepare anything. Since you're an employee, just get to work obediently for now~"
It seemed that Mo Rui had already accepted the relationship between the two of them. Her face was full of smiles, and she showed no intention of hiding anything.
"I still have a quest to complete, so I don't have time to keep you company. Here's the warehouse key. There should still be something inside."
"All right, all right. I'll handle it myself."
As he shifted his vision to the world where the Divine Stone was located to see how far his people had developed, Xuan Sheng picked up a broom and prepared to begin a thorough cleaning...
Before you continue