The Truly Ruthless

Li Xunsheng opened his eyes. The man before him stood tall and straight, his expression complicated.

This person seemed to be one of those who had pooled their money together earlier...

[He appears to be a former soldier, elected by over forty military personnel in this novice village—absolutely loyal and reliable.]

The timely information from the Eye of God made Li Xunsheng realize what was going on, and he understood how those guys had managed to scrape together a Silver Coin.

So they were comrades-in-arms after all...

"Hmph... Scraped together through crowdfunding, huh? Fine, get on."

Letting out an ambiguous snort, the Coachman waved his hand and took the Silver Coin from the man.

"Thanks."

Zhao Jun awkwardly cupped his hands, shot a meaningful glance at Li Xunsheng, and sat down on the other side of the carriage.

He was the one his comrades had elected... The money they'd pooled earlier to buy a Job Change Scroll had gone to waste, interrupted by the Tavern Owner, and a hidden class had slipped through their fingers.

From that perspective, maybe he should blame Li Xunsheng.

But in truth, he knew that buying a hidden class with a single Silver Coin was wishful thinking to begin with.

Being interrupted by that Tavern Owner was only to be expected.

Still, having a class so close at hand vanish into thin air left him feeling bitter.

Anyway, the Silver Coin had been pooled, and the situation outside the novice village was taking a sharp turn for the worse. His companions had suggested picking the strongest among them to catch the first carriage out, secure a longer-term development, and then come back to save the rest.

And Zhao Jun was the one those twenty-odd people had pinned their hopes on.

But still.

"Brother... I remember that Tavern Owner gave you two Silver Coins, right?"

Though a bit embarrassed, Zhao Jun still spoke up:

"The fare is only one Silver Coin. Could you lend us the other? We'll pay you back double later!"

"Hmm..."

Spending money as an investment?

Weighing the options, Li Xunsheng fell into thought.

He did indeed have an extra Silver Coin in hand, just as this soldier had said.

But that coin was actually his starting capital for Lone Star City.

Before the main force arrived in Lone Star City, the prices of goods there probably wouldn't fluctuate much.

In other words, with careful spending, that one Silver Coin could buy enough supplies to last him at least two or three days.

But he also knew that this Silver Coin was incredibly precious in the novice village—its value far exceeded the coin itself, and using it now would maximize its worth.

But lending it all to someone else...

"We can write an IOU. We've tried it before—the game has contract clauses to enforce it!"

Noticing the hesitation on Li Xunsheng's face, Zhao Jun quickly pressed on.

"Sorry, I—"

[Ding! Congratulations! Player 1111 of Novice Village No. 1111 has become the first to kill a Level 5 Elite Monster (Tusked Boar)! Special announcement!]

[Player 1111, please proceed to the main city as soon as possible to claim your achievement reward.]

"Huh?!"

Opening the chat panel, Li Xunsheng froze.

"Damn, some big shot just one-shot that Elite Monster!"

"Big shot is awesome! Big shot is domineering!"

"Big shot, take me with you!"

Seeing the player code in the announcement, Li Xunsheng turned to his own panel in confusion.

True Name: Li Xunsheng

Game Name: None

ID: 1101

That player with ID 1111 had killed the Elite Monster?!

How did he do it?

Was it a special combat talent?

With the novice village's overcrowded population, that guy couldn't have possibly leveled up to two—he killed an Elite Monster a full four levels above him...

"Sorry, I came over to ask."

A clear, cool voice sounded from outside the carriage, making the two inside turn their heads toward the window.

"I only have fifty copper coins..."

She was a tall, beautiful woman in a white shirt and tight jeans.

Her smooth black hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her delicate features on a pale neck made Zhao Jun in the carriage widen his eyes. Xunsheng, however, was slightly startled.

[No. 1111 170 89 56 88 D...]

Damn! What kind of useless info was this Eye of God giving him?

Li Xunsheng frowned, old man, subway, phone.

Can't it be more detailed—ah, forget it, can't it see what's happening right now? Is this appropriate?!

At the right shoulder of this stunning beauty, her entire right arm was missing, blood still seeping from the wound.

A few drops of blood splattered to the ground, scattering into fine threads of red.

The woman's face was somewhat pale; the injury had clearly drained a good amount of her Life, leaving her swaying unsteadily.

"This one's tough..."

His initial amazement instantly turned into shock. Zhao Jun muttered under his breath, a trace of respect emerging in his expression.

Even as the soldier with the highest physical fitness in his squad, he didn't think he could stay so calm after losing an arm.

After all, the pain in this world was utterly real!

"How about it?"

Saying this to the Coachman, the woman's clear black eyes were fixed on the handsome man in the carriage.

Li Xunsheng had come into possession of a Silver Coin—word of that had spread throughout the village.

Yi Qing didn't want to owe anyone favors casually, but circumstances forced her hand. This newbie village had nothing good to offer; the sooner she left, the better.

A step ahead meant staying ahead. If she missed this carriage, the next one wouldn't come for a week.

"An Elite Wild Boar only dropped fifty copper coins?"

That drop rate didn't seem right... It was an Elite Monster, after all.

Li Xunsheng raised an eyebrow, reaching into his pocket as he asked.

"...There's also a dagger. If you want it, you can take it as collateral... It's the most valuable thing I have."

Since she knew he was aware she'd made the kill, he wouldn't let this go easily—she'd already prepared for that.

Yi Qing gritted her teeth and produced a gleaming white weapon.

[Tusk: Dagger-type weapon, Advanced (Blue), Attack +80, Strength +2, Agility +3, Critical Hit Rate +5, Required Level: LV5 and above, Durability: 50/50]

"Whoa!"

Seeing this blue advanced equipment, Zhao Jun's eyes went wide.

The plain white sword he'd gotten from the village chief only added ten Attack and nothing else; it took several hits just to kill a rabbit.

If he could use this dagger as his weapon, his Attack would multiply eightfold!

With this, who'd be afraid of ordinary wild boars?!

It seemed players in this game had no inherent Attack power; the Attack added by Strength only boosted damage dealt by weapons or skills, not the Attack stat itself.

In other words, even if you had high levels and high Strength, without a good weapon, you were out of luck!

"Selling this to an NPC would get you far more than fifty copper coins, right?!"

"It's just collateral. I hope to buy it back for fifty copper coins later... Of course, I'll owe you a favor..."

Seeming to realize her own argument wasn't very convincing, Yi Qing's face flushed. She turned away and offered the dagger.

Hah, just a woman, she didn't think...

[Yi Qing: Talent—Lord of Shadows (S-grade Damage Type) (Upgradable)]

So what? Who doesn't have an S-grade talent? Get lost...

[Golden fortune; this one is bound for greatness, the most suitable investment in this newbie village. Of course, this amount of money won't be worth as much in the main city.]

Huh?! This woman was the one with the greatest potential in the village... Wait! What about me?!

[You are not human.]

"Damn!"

His expression shifted rapidly. Xunsheng's face stiffened...

"It's fine. I don't use daggers anyway. Keep it."

He transferred fifty copper coins over, Li Xunsheng giving a calm smile.

Whoever he invested in, it had to be the one with the most potential.

Whatever. She'd taken down an Elite Monster with a severed arm—she was indeed the strongest in this newbie village for now.

If the other party's talent was a damage type... maybe he could hitch a ride later and leech some experience by teaming up.

This Divine Spark talent was impressive in style, but it had no offensive output...

If it were fully grown, would he still care about all this?

He wouldn't have to pay attention to anyone!