Deep in the Wilds, a Chance Encounter with Other Players

His younger sister Su Yu, also works in the guild as a mage.

Although his combat skills are not outstanding, he has developed an extraordinary sensitivity and passion for the herbs and materials in the game due to his long-term illness.

She made an indispensable contribution to the guild's recent successful development of several new potions.

Due to their outstanding performance, the brother and sister gradually rose in rank within the guild.

In contrast to the opaque real world, guild contributions in the game world are transparent and visible to everyone.

Although nepotism played a role, it was far better.

Because changing jobs is easy, and leaving a game is too simple, plus there's no burden of a house or car.

Their lives are much more comfortable than before. Not long ago, he even bought his sister a gaming pod—he could work himself to the bone, but he couldn't neglect his sister's health.

However, after purchasing the gaming pod, they had almost no savings left.

Therefore, he decided to go to the newly opened map area today: partly to explore more suitable places for farming, and partly to find possible new medicinal herbs for his sister.

Whether it's discovering new information about wild areas or collecting rare materials, he can report to the guild and receive rewards, which is also an important way for him to maintain a high income.

To consistently gain benefits, one must continuously improve their combat capabilities.

He didn't neglect either aspect, and he still put in his full effort to level up by grinding monsters every day. Now, he can be considered one of the most powerful members in the guild.

Moreover, some time ago, perhaps due to some leniency from the game developers, he obtained a new talent after completing a side quest.

It's like having a little cheat code: "Diligence: Experience gain increased by 15%".

This 15% may not seem like much, but in the world of online games, those in the know understand that it's actually quite good.

This means that in the later stages, players can use 15% less time than players who spend the same amount of money.

Therefore, after leveling up to level 40 more quickly, he decided to venture into more dangerous areas.

Few players dare to venture deep into that area, so the possibility of it remaining undiscovered is naturally higher.

"Crazy, is it a bit like suicide for just the two of us to venture into a place like this...? I'm genuinely a little scared."

The one speaking was his companion Su Yueban.

In the game "God's Domain," he had the deepest friendship with "Sharp Blade," also known as Su Feng, and was one of the few people he could truly call a friend.

The two met while hunting monsters in the wild, long before Su Yueban joined the "Brotherhood".

Seeing his desperate effort in fighting monsters, Su Yueban simply called him "madman".

Later, when Fatty Su learned about the siblings' situation, he often helped them out.

Seeing his two teenagers working so hard, he always felt he should keep a closer eye on them, and their bond deepened through this care.

Su Yueban invited them to join her guild, "Contending for the World," several times, but Crazy politely declined each time.

The other party always said he was too lazy to make changes, but he knew in his heart that this young man was nostalgic—he was able to gain a foothold in <God's Domain> thanks to the "Excavator" guild's hospitality.

Therefore, Su Yueban stopped trying to persuade him.

"I didn't ask you to come along in the first place. I was planning to scout ahead by myself, but you insisted on coming. Wouldn't it be better to use this time to grind monsters and level up?"

Su Feng knew that the fat man was worried about him getting into trouble traveling alone, which was why he insisted on accompanying him, but he didn't want to delay the other man's leveling up.

"Who do you think you are! I'm level 40 now, on par with you! Don't let my main role of Priest fool you, I'm one of the top fighters in the guild, I'm pretty tough! You can rest assured, I've got your back."

"So, you and your brother should just join our guild. With your combat strength and level, everyone would be fighting over you."

"The rewards for simply transferring skills to lower-level members are substantial."

"The 'Excavator' group is, in essence, a gold-farming group. Not many people are focused on improving their combat capabilities, since they still have to serve the boss."

"You'll only become stronger here!" Su Yueban wanted to persuade him one more time.

The guild not only offers rewards for passing on skills, but also provides extra subsidies for leading teams through dungeons every week, which is much better than him currently having to take on tasks at the mercy of others in the guild.

"I'm fine here, stop trying to persuade me."

"My sister's combat strength is average; she'd only be a burden to you guys." Su Feng shook his head, then reminded him, "The high-level Warcraft area is just ahead. Do you really want to go in? I myself can't guarantee I'll come out unscathed."

Fatty Su said nonchalantly, "I'm Priest, if I can't beat them, I can always run away."

"You should worry more about yourself. Don't end up losing your life and a whole day's worth of experience without making any money."

"As long as we don't run into any particularly troublesome monsters, I should be able to handle it. Let's take it slow and be careful not to attract too many."

The two cautiously ventured deeper into the dangerous area, first stepping into a domain belonging to the Bone Demon.

The ground was littered with stark white bones, some still bearing traces of flesh and blood.

The skeletons here are probably replenished by creatures that have strayed into this place, layer upon layer, a truly shocking sight.

"The Bone Demon... Someone mentioned it on the forum; it's a recorded Spirit-Type monster."

"The Priest's skills are effective against them, but you need to have high enough attack power."

"Should we fight here? Nobody knows exactly what they drop."

Before the words were even finished, the scattered bones beneath their feet suddenly began to wriggle and quickly coalesce into a shape. One after another Bone Demon rose from the skeletons and instantly surrounded the two of them.

"How sneaky! They waited until we were deep inside before surrounding us? Are these monsters that intelligent? What do we do now, fight them head-on?"

Looking at the densely packed skeleton puppets all around him, Fatty Su felt his legs go weak.

"What's the point of fighting? We can't possibly defeat so many! You focus on healing, we'll fight our way out!"

Fortunately, Su Feng remained calm under pressure, quickly identified a relatively sparse corner of the encirclement, and pulled the fat man in that direction to break through.

Despite their health lines repeatedly dwindling, they gritted their teeth and struggled to move between the bone claws and sharp teeth.

Fortunately, the fat man's Priest had reached level 40, so he wasn't just all show and no substance.

Perhaps it was the desperate situation that brought out his potential, but he managed to pull the two out of the encirclement using his healing magic and retreat towards the edge of the area.

Bone Demon gathered from all directions, and the two dodged and weaved among the bone claws, unknowingly venturing into the heart of a place teeming with High-Rank Warcraft.

The number of Bone Demon following them gradually decreased—these monsters adhered to the boundaries of their territory, not daring to venture into higher-level areas.

Sensing that the pressure of the pursuit had eased, the two immediately turned around and counterattacked, taking the opportunity to kill many of the Bone Demon, but failed to obtain any loot.

"Finally shaken them off... but where are we now?"

Su Feng unfolded the map and compared the coordinates, his brows furrowing slightly. "We've entered the advanced zone."

"The Bone Demon dared not pursue any further, but to return the way it came, it would have to pass through their territory."

Fatty Su immediately deflated upon hearing this.

"I'll call someone from the guild to come and help us. They're going to farm the Bone Demon anyway, so it won't be too much trouble for them to give us a hand along the way."

Su Feng knew his teammate was trying to comfort him.

Most players are used to staying in familiar monster areas and rarely change locations—this unfamiliarity with Warcraft skills will significantly reduce their efficiency.

Unless the experience gained in the current area is no longer sufficient, no one is willing to venture into unknown territory rashly.

It's too easy to get scammed.

This is true for most online games, let alone realistic ones like this.

He didn't want the fat man to owe him a favor, but he really didn't have a better option at the moment.

"Thanks, Fatty." His gratitude came from the bottom of his heart.

"Wow, he only calls me 'brother' at times like this. It would be perfect if he could drop the 'fatty' part." Fatty Su grinned. "It's all arranged. Their team will be here as soon as they're full."

"Let's wait here and not wander off."

The two dared not wander around the high-level area and could only stand still and cautiously survey their surroundings.

This place is completely different from the wasteland where the Bone Demon had previously entrenched itself. The trees are lush and the grass is dense, making it look like a deep and secluded forest.

Except for the absence of birdsong and wind sounds, it appears no different from an ordinary dense forest.

But they knew in their hearts that this area had not yet been officially recorded, which meant that the Warcraft inhabiting it were of extremely high level, far beyond what current players could handle.

Aside from the legendary "Chongxing" Cheater, probably no one else knows what's hidden inside.

"I reckon only the Chongxing has been here before," Su Feng said.

"Yes, nowadays, what map wouldn't people dare to explore?"

"That's what playing games is all about! No wonder it's the face of our Priest profession." Fatty Su tried to Dispel the awkward silence with a topic of conversation. "By the way, isn't your sister also a member of the 'Excavator' elite team?"

"Our guild even purchased a batch of their 'Confinement Pill'."

"Although its effect is weakened against high-level targets, it often has a surprising effect when used suddenly."

"Everyone in the guild is amazed—Little Fish is such a top student!"

"Fish's Memory" is Su Feng's sister Su Yu's in-game ID.

When his younger sister was mentioned, Su Feng became more talkative. "When she was still healthy, she always ranked first in every exam, a true academic star."

"If he hadn't gotten sick later, he'd probably be in college by now."

"I know you're a siscon, you can't stop talking about Xiaoyu once you start." Fatty Su shook his head with a smile, then looked around warily. "Speaking of which, it's too quiet here. No birds chirping, no wind, just trees and grass... It's kind of creepy."

"What do the monsters here look like? They must be higher level than the Bone Demon, probably between forty-six and fifty?"

Su Feng was also pondering. "Based on the map's distribution, it's at least stronger than a level 44 Bone Demon, and should be between level 45 and 50."

"Any higher and it won't meet the zone settings -- wait, did you hear anything?"

Fatty Su immediately held his breath and focused.

Sure enough, a rustling sound came from the bushes not far away, indicating that something was approaching.

A figure resembling both a tiger and a lion appeared in the sky, and system information immediately appeared in view:

"Lionheart Tiger (Level 48) Intelligence: 899, Physical Defense: 1289, Magic Defense: 1437"

Skill: Magic Missile (Can attack targets within 35 meters)

"Level 48 magic-type monster! Try to lure it this way, and don't move around too much to avoid alerting more!"

The moment they saw the data, the two immediately decided to strike first—to kill it before it could summon its own kind.

In the God's Domain, many wild monsters possess summoning abilities, and once a battle begins, they often provoke hatred from their own kind in the surrounding area.

Facing monsters eight levels higher than them, their attacks and defenses are no less than those of a boss fight.

Fortunately, only one has appeared so far. The two of them are handling the Lionheart Tiger with relative ease, especially since there is a healer in the team, so their safety is not a major issue.

Within ten minutes, the Warcraft collapsed under their attack, and a large amount of experience points poured in.

It can kill monsters eight levels higher, and the experience gained is astonishing compared to others of its kind.

"Luckily, only one came; it's a blessing in disguise."

"Once I reach a high enough level, it'll be quite worthwhile to grind monsters here; the experience points are really generous."

Su Yueban stared at the experience reward notification from the system and felt that the hard work was worthwhile.

"Look how many levels we are compared to it, a full eight levels! Of course we'll get much more farmed than usual junglers."

"Why did it take so long for one to appear? I was prepared for it to summon its own kind. Does this thing not like to huddle together? Does it not have any summoning skills?"

No one dared to verify this speculation easily, so the two decided to play it safe and wait for the main group to regroup before making any decisions.

But after only a short rest, another Lionheart Tiger appeared from the forest.

After the two of them worked together to defeat the monster, one or two more monsters would keep coming to them one after another.

While not posing a fatal threat, the way they appeared sporadically was truly unexpected.

"Could this be a trap? Luring us in before catching us all in one fell swoop? Is it really worth going to such lengths to deal with just the two of us...? Should we go ahead and explore, and have a little adventure?"

The series of victories made the fat man a little arrogant.

If the monsters in this area truly only appear alone, the two of them can easily handle them.

Su Feng also wavered a little—not for the experience, he never believed that there were monsters in the God's Domain that allowed players to easily surpass their level and that didn't gather in groups;

There's definitely something strange about this place; it's worth investigating.

If he were alone, he would have gone ahead long ago, but with the fat man by his side, he ultimately dared not let his companion take the risk.

He voiced his thought, but the fat man seemed indifferent.

So the two decided to venture deeper into the area together.

We walked for a long time, and along the way we only occasionally encountered one or two monsters; most of the time there was only endless grass.

Is it possible that the number of wild monsters in this area is simply sparse?

Until the faint sounds of fighting came from ahead, judging from the noise, there were at least a hundred monsters.

Has a major guild already discovered this place and is organizing a team to wipe it out?

"No wonder there were no monsters on the road; they were all gathered at the front."

"Should we go any further? If we get any closer, we might bump into someone."

When large teams are farming in the God's Domain, other groups or individuals are strictly prohibited from interfering, in order to avoid conflicts arising from experience distribution.

Smart solo players know to avoid other players' monster-hunting areas.

Of course, other large teams will send people to investigate and try to make a quick buck.

They'll at least share some; they won't avoid it entirely.

This is the advantage of a large team.

What are the advantages? Even newcomers can force their way in by leveraging their size.

One's own strength is the only truth.

Individuals must reason in order to garner sympathy on public forums and use public opinion to suppress the bullying of larger groups.

"That's right."

"Now that we know why there are so few monsters, let's go back to our original spot and wait for the others to regroup. We can also hunt down any lone monsters and gain some experience."

"But I'm a little curious, how strong must a team be to be able to take down level 48 monsters these days? Which guild is willing to spend so much?"

In the God's Domain, even large guilds typically choose areas close to the team's average level when farming, rarely challenging monsters far stronger than themselves.

Players have already calculated the efficiency: the experience gained per unit time from fighting monsters of the same level is actually more than from fighting monsters of a higher level.