The Kobold Leader exploded, scattering loot across the ground. Copper coins lay everywhere, their gleam lighting up the entire mine as if celebrating Shi Feng's victory.
By now, Heizi had slumped to the ground, cold sweat soaking him through. He felt as if every last ounce of strength had been drained from him, and he had no interest in checking the loot. That battle had been far too grueling. It had given them no time to catch their breath—not a single second had passed without some heart-stopping moment.
Every second of the fight had been a gamble with their lives. Without a strong heart, no one could have endured it.
It was hard to imagine what kind of heart Shi Feng had, to keep fighting the Kobold Leader the entire time.
"Thank goodness! We won, Brother Feng! You're my idol!" Heizi cried out, brimming with excitement. Looking at Shi Feng's calm expression, he felt nothing but admiration.
Shi Feng had been pretty skilled before, far better than the average player. He'd been about as good as an ordinary professional player, but his technique hadn't seemed impossible to catch up to. And he used to get worked up over the smallest things—even arguing over an ordinary piece of equipment. He'd been like a keen blade fresh out of its sheath. But the Shi Feng of today was completely different, almost like a new person. He was always unruffled and calm, giving others a sense of security. It was as if a giant dragon lay in wait, silent until it suddenly took flight.
"Heizi, wasn't Bai Qingxue your idol?" Shi Feng asked with a faint smile.
"Bai Qingxue is definitely my idol, but you're amazing too, Brother Feng! You used to keep your head down, but now you've soared to new heights. You even took down a Kobold Leader this powerful. You're every bit as good as a true professional expert. How could I not admire you? They say it's nice to have a big tree to shelter under, so teach me how to play a Cursemancer, Brother Feng. I've dreamed of becoming a gaming expert!" Heizi gazed at Shi Feng as if he were a mountain of gold, glad he'd made the right choice. If he'd gone to Shadow Studio, he'd probably still be an unknown gold farmer, with no chance to meet experts, let alone become one himself.
"Sure." Shi Feng smiled. Heizi had always been so straightforward.
In his previous life, when Shi Feng had been fired, Heizi had quit without a second thought, giving up a job that paid a million a year to stand by him through thick and thin. Shi Feng wouldn't let him down. He'd teach Heizi everything he could. He'd never played a Cursemancer himself, but he'd seen plenty of experts play one and knew the class's general development paths. He had more than enough knowledge to guide Heizi.
"Brother Feng, how should I spend my attribute points early on? Should I put them all into Intelligence?" Heizi asked.
Shi Feng shook his head, then thought for a moment before replying, "Putting everything into Intelligence at first is a good choice, but if you want to become a strong Cursemancer, you can't neglect Agility. Besides increasing movement speed, Agility also increases casting speed. Cursemancers have few defensive skills, and they're slow. They also have a lot of channeling skills, and their spells don't deal much damage. Most of their skills rely on curses to wear down their targets, so they need time to deal their full damage. They're nothing like Elementalists, who can act as turrets. Once your Intelligence reaches 20, put half your free attribute points into Agility. That'll help keep you safe while letting you deal more damage."
In his previous life, there had been a Cursemancer who was exceptionally skilled. He'd broken with convention and invested heavily in Agility. Not only had his damage output been incredibly high and fast, but he'd also been terrifying in PK. He'd made Assassins, who were supposed to counter magic classes, look utterly helpless. Those Assassins couldn't even land a hit before they died. He'd broken the rule that magic classes were doomed if melee fighters got close, and after that, many Cursemancers began investing in Agility. It had left countless Assassins frustrated, bullied by Cursemancers every day.
Heizi nodded. Shi Feng's advice made sense to him, and he grinned. "All right. Once my Intelligence reaches 20, I'll put everything into Agility."
After they finished discussing the Cursemancer's attribute allocation, Shi Feng and Heizi began collecting the loot.
The Kobold Leader had certainly lived up to its title. With the first kill bonus, it had dropped a very generous haul.
It had dropped a total of eight pieces of Bronze Equipment: one Dull Great Axe, two pieces of plate armor, two pieces of leather armor, and three pieces of cloth armor. They also found 273 copper coins and three skill books: Taunt for Shield Warriors, Silent Step for Assassins, and Evil Lash for Cursemancers.
"Heizi, you're really lucky. Evil Lash is a rare skill with an extremely low drop rate. It's also one of the Cursemancer's few control-and-damage skills. Once you're a higher level, it'll be an amazing skill for farming monsters." Without hesitation, Shi Feng tossed the Evil Lash skill book to Heizi, then gave him two pieces of level 2 Bronze Equipment for cloth armor.
Evil Lash had a casting time of three seconds. It bound a target within a certain range with five thorny vines. If the target moved beyond that range and snapped the vines, each one dealt 20 base damage plus 30% of spell damage. Its cooldown was 20 seconds.
Heizi was overjoyed when he saw it and quickly learned the skill. With this, his combat ability would improve by a whole level. After putting on the two pieces of equipment, he'd gone from a musket to a cannon. His spell damage had risen to 48, and his Intelligence had reached 20. This unlocked Intelligence's hidden basic skill, Spell Activation, which let players skip the incantation for spells with a casting time under 1.5 seconds and use only the required gestures. This made it easier for casters to focus on attacking their targets.
The two pieces of plate armor were Recruit Heavy Armor and Black Iron Gauntlets. Of the Bronze Equipment, however, the only one that caught Shi Feng's eye was the Black Iron Gauntlets.
Black Iron Gauntlets, plate armor, Bronze rank. Equipment requirement: 9 Strength. Required level: 3. Defense: 14. Strength +2, Stamina +2, Agility +1. Durability: 20/20.
The Recruit Heavy Armor was mediocre. The level 5 Recruit Heavy Armor couldn't compare to the Sky Armor at all. Still, plate armor was valuable, and it could fetch a good price.
The two pieces of level 3 Bronze leather armor could be sold.
Of all the equipment, the most valuable was the Dull Great Axe. It was undoubtedly a Berserker's favorite.
Dull Great Axe, Bronze rank. Equipment requirement: 15 Strength. Required level: 5. Attack: 21. Strength +5, Stamina +2. Durability: 30/30. It was a weapon built for pure violence. In the hands of a Berserker, it would produce terrifying damage.
"If I hype up the Dull Great Axe a little, it'll definitely be worth a lot." Shi Feng smiled faintly, already hatching a plan to make a fortune from it.
Afterward, Shi Feng and Heizi returned to the Blacksmith Workshop.
"Master Jack, I've killed the Kobold Leader. Here's its head," Shi Feng said respectfully, taking out the Kobold's head.
Master Jack, who had been hammering away at his work, glanced at the Kobold's head and confirmed Shi Feng had done it. He nodded with satisfaction. "Young man, you've impressed me. You truly are worthy of inheriting my forging techniques."
System: Completed the hidden quest "Path of Forging." The player learned Forging and became an Intermediate Blacksmith Apprentice. The player acquired the forging talent "Forging Genius" and received 10 pieces of Hundred-Refined Steel.
Forging Genius: After successfully forging an item, there is a chance to gain an additional 2 points of proficiency.
Two extra points of proficiency might not seem like much, but a beginner Blacksmith Apprentice only had a 20% chance of successfully crafting an ordinary piece of equipment. Even when successful, there was only a 40% chance of gaining 1 point of proficiency. Now, every successful forging attempt had a chance to grant 2 extra points of proficiency, increasing advancement speed several times over.
Moreover, becoming an Intermediate Blacksmith Apprentice required 1,000 points of proficiency. It would take ordinary players at least ten days to reach that rank, and they couldn't afford to run out of materials. The frightening failure rate would waste a huge amount of supplies. Forging talent would save them a great deal of material—and money.
Hundred-Refined Steel: An excellent auxiliary material for crafting Bronze Equipment. Increases the success rate of crafting Bronze Equipment by 10%.
With his forging talent and the Book of Forging, Shi Feng could hardly wait to start crafting equipment. But crafting required a lot of materials, and gathering them himself would waste too much time. He'd have to buy them in bulk, which would cost plenty of money. Crafting ordinary equipment wasn't worthwhile; it was a guaranteed loss. Only Bronze Equipment could sell, but that required designs, and he didn't have a single one yet.
"I have to go to Dead Silence Forest." Shi Feng thought of the Bronze Equipment design in Dead Silence Forest. The equipment made from that design was cheap to craft and had excellent attributes. Many Blacksmiths had made a fortune from it back then.
Just as Shi Feng turned to leave, Master Jack called out to him. "Young man, you never cease to amaze me. I've forged weapons for many years, but this is the first time I've seen a magic weapon." His gaze fell on the black longsword at Shi Feng's waist. Though it was covered in rust and looked like a fire poker, the master blacksmith's keen eye hadn't missed it.