Refreshing Leveling

The Red Leaf Forest is composed of beautiful maple trees and is filled with level 5 monsters roaming about. For players below level 3, it is an absolute forbidden zone; even though Shi Feng has reached level 1, he is no match for a level 5 monster.

Shi Feng, however, ran into the Red Leaf Forest without hesitation, moving cautiously toward the depths of the forest.

From time to time, level 5 Forest Wolves could be seen patrolling and looking around. Shi Feng is only level 1; if he does not maintain enough distance, the wolves' keen sense of smell will surely detect him.

A level 5 Forest Wolf has 400 HP and high attack power. For Shi Feng, who only has 120 HP, two bites would be enough to kill him.

Shi Feng had no choice but to quietly avoid the Forest Wolves and take a detour.

Along the way, besides the Forest Wolves, there were also honest and cute bear cubs, rolling around on the grass in a daze. They looked adorable but were actually ferocious. Although they are also level 5 monsters, bear-type mobs are more annoying in melee combat because of their high HP and defense, making them more exhausting to fight.

Just as Shi Feng used the trees to bypass a bear cub, he heard a wolf howl behind him.

Damn it, a wolf den! Even the calm Shi Feng couldn't help but exclaim.

In his previous life, many level 4 to 5 players would group up to grind in the Red Leaf Forest. It wasn't just because of the abundance of monsters, but mainly because they dropped many good items like skill books, leatherworking materials, and equipment. Furthermore, the forest contained a large amount of herbs and ores to gather. However, one could easily be wiped out in the Red Leaf Forest if not careful, and one of the dangers was the wolf den.

The wolf den is very hidden and difficult to discover. If you aren't careful and step into the den's detection range, a pack of Forest Wolves will pounce on you—anywhere from 3 to 5, or even 6 to 8. It can be called a party-wipe trap.

As a reincarnator, Shi Feng had terrible luck; seven Forest Wolves rushed out at once. A "fresh meat" like Shi Feng wasn't enough to go around.

Forest Wolves are very fast, but Shi Feng is no slouch either. He put all his attribute points into Agility, giving him a movement speed of 6. He is definitely a speedster, but as a level 1 Swordsman, even with full Agility, he is still slower than the Forest Wolves.

Seeing that he was about to be caught, Shi Feng couldn't worry about anything else and immediately activated his life-saving skill, 'Gravity Liberation'.

He suddenly felt his body as light as a feather, his speed instantly increasing by a large margin. He quickly shook off the Forest Wolves behind him, leaving them in the dust.

Mobs are just mobs after all; they gave up once he reached a certain distance, and Shi Feng managed to save his life.

Ten minutes later, Shi Feng arrived before a range of towering mountains. Several massive peaks, over a hundred meters tall, stood in the center of the Red Leaf Forest. The summits were shrouded in clouds and mist, appearing like a fairyland on earth.

"Finally here."

Shi Feng gazed at the majestic mountains and, after looking around, discovered a small waterfall and walked toward it.

In his previous life, players were already over level 20, so their attributes were naturally high. They could do many things that low-level players couldn't, so they loved exploring every corner of God's Domain. The Central Mountain Range in the Red Leaf Forest was quite famous, which is why Shadow Studio sent a team of Assassins to investigate the mountain.

They didn't know until they checked, but the Central Mountain Range turned out to be a treasure trove. They discovered many things while climbing: rare ores, rare herbs, and treasure chests. At the very top of the mountain sat a Mithril Treasure Chest.

In the wild of God's Domain, many hidden places contain treasure chests waiting for players to discover. The contents of these chests are extremely varied, ranging from copper coins to Dark-Gold equipment.

The quality of treasure chests is divided into Common, Bronze, Mysterious Iron, Mithril, Adamantite, and Dark-Gold. Even a Common chest is comparable to the drops from an elite mob, let alone a Mithril-grade chest.

Because of this Mithril Treasure Chest, Shadow became a well-known studio in White River City, accumulating quite a bit of wealth in the early stages.

The Mithril Treasure Chest not only provided equipment but also a Pharmacy secret recipe and a Blacksmithing design.

In the early stages of God's Domain, the drop rate for Pharmacy recipes is less than one in ten thousand, not to mention Blacksmithing blueprints. Blacksmithing can create Bronze-grade equipment, which is exactly what players lack the most, so the drop rate for blueprints is even lower. Having these makes earning money very easy.

Shi Feng wants to earn 16,000 Credits within ten days, and he is counting entirely on this. Naturally, he won't leave it for Shadow Studio. Low-level players cannot climb mountains because they lack the 40 Agility required to unlock the hidden basic skill "Wall Walking," and there is no path up the Central Mountain Range; one must climb.

Although Shi Feng doesn't have 40 Agility, he has the Gravity Ring, which allows him to climb just the same when activated.

With Gravity Liberation active, Shi Feng climbed with ease, scaling 5 meters in just a few movements.

Seeing that Gravity Liberation had 5 seconds left before expiring, Shi Feng found an open space to rest and wait for the Gravity Ring's cooldown.

Just as Shi Feng was about to sit down, the rock wall suddenly shook, and a Rock Giant emerged, letting out a series of roars.

Rock Giant, normal monster, level 5, 550 HP.

"You came quickly."

Seeing the Rock Giant approach, Shi Feng was well-prepared. He took out the Burst Berry from his bag and threw it hard at the giant's feet, splashing orange, sticky juice all over the ground.

Although the Rock Giant is a level 5 monster with super-high attack, massive HP, and high defense, its reactions are very dull, its attack speed is slow, and its turning and movement are even slower. As long as one has 20 Agility, they can run circles around the Rock Giant. Many Assassins love these stupid monsters because they can kill them easily without losing a single drop of blood.

Shi Feng doesn't have 20 Agility, but he has the Burst Berry. It affects a 3x3 yard area, slowing movement speed by 30% and reducing turning speed by 70% for 1 minute. It is an artifact for dealing with slow-witted monsters. Two months after God's Domain opened, many players used this method to kill sluggish high-level monsters, though such monsters are a rare minority in God's Domain, making it impossible to level up this way indefinitely.

With the Burst Berry, the Rock Giant's movement speed plummeted.

Shi Feng drew his Novice Sword and rushed behind the Rock Giant, slashing down.

A 3-point damage value appeared above the Rock Giant's head. Compared to its 550 HP, it was truly insignificant. Plus, monsters regenerate 1% of their HP every 5 seconds during combat—that is, 5.5 HP every 5 seconds—making it very difficult to kill within a minute.

After being attacked once, the Rock Giant tried to turn around to strike back, but its turning speed was already slow, and now, reduced by another 70%, it became extremely sluggish. Shi Feng landed two more normal attacks followed by a Slash, triggering a series of numbers: -3, -3, -6.

Due to the level suppression, the effect of Slash wasn't great, but because the Rock Giant was 4 levels higher, the skill proficiency gained was increased. Combined with the Swordsman's talent, his Slash proficiency increased by 3 points instantly.

This is definitely a great place to increase skill proficiency.

The Rock Giant finally managed to turn around to face Shi Feng, but Shi Feng didn't give it a chance, circling back to its rear to continue his assault.

Wind Thunder Flash!

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed out, dealing 4 damage, followed by another dealing 5, and a final one dealing 7 damage.

All three lightning strikes hit, and the proficiency for Wind Thunder Flash increased by 3 points instantly.

He followed up with a few more sword strikes.

A series of -4, -4, -4 damage appeared. Compared to before, although each strike dealt 1 more point of damage, the total damage added up to quite a bit. The follow-up effect of Wind Thunder Flash is very powerful; although the damage amplification only lasts 15 seconds, it greatly speeds up the kill, allowing him to finish the fight within a minute and save the expensive Burst Berry.

Even though the Rock Giant has high HP and high attack, it couldn't hit Shi Feng, turning it into a practice dummy that provided Shi Feng with experience and skill proficiency.

Skill proficiency doesn't increase just by using the skill; there is a 20% chance to gain 1 point against a monster of the same level. Being 1 level higher increases the chance to 40%, 2 levels higher to 70%, 3 levels higher to 100%, 4 levels higher to 150%, and 5 levels higher to 200%, with it continuing to rise thereafter, capping at 1000%.

Since Shi Feng is currently killing a level 5 Rock Giant, his skill proficiency gain is several times higher than anyone else's.

In less than a minute, the Rock Giant finally collapsed.

System: Killed a Level 5 Rock Giant 4 levels above your own. Experience gain increased by 400%. Received 120 EXP.

Shi Feng's experience bar grew significantly. He was only 880 EXP away from reaching Level 2, meaning he only needed to kill 8 more Rock Giants to level up.

The Central Mountain Range was absolutely a prime location for leveling and looting, though unfortunately, it wouldn't be discovered by the masses until two months later.

After killing the Rock Giant, Shi Feng searched the remains and obtained a piece of Bronze Ore, a material used for crafting bronze equipment, along with a Hard Stone. He then searched the open ground and soon discovered a rare herb, the Bailing Flower, which was the main ingredient for crafting Basic Recovery Potions.

As soon as he approached, another Rock Giant emerged, and he tossed a Burst Berry at it once more.

Wind Thunder Flash!

Slash!

Before long, he obtained another Hard Stone, 120 EXP, and a large amount of proficiency.

The cooldown for the Gravity Ring had finished, so Shi Feng continued his climb.

He spent the journey searching for rare herbs and killing Rock Giants.

As the eighth Rock Giant fell, Shi Feng reached Level 2. He put all his attribute points into Agility, bringing it to 16. He was now only 4 points of Agility away from unlocking Nimble Agility. His Slash proficiency reached 300 points, leveling it up to Level 2; the next level would require 600 points. Its additional damage increased to 12 points, and its cooldown was reduced by one second.

If other players knew of this leveling speed, they would likely go insane. It took five or six hours just to go from Level 0 to Level 1, not to mention the seven or eight hours required to go from Level 1 to Level 2. Yet, Shi Feng had reached Level 2 in less than twenty minutes—a leveling speed that was practically rocket-powered.

Shi Feng walked up to the Rock Giant and searched it once again.

My luck isn't bad; it actually dropped a piece of equipment. Shi Feng discovered it was a piece of cloth armor and felt slightly disappointed.

Gorgeous Cloth Garment, Common equipment, Level 4, Defense +3, +10 Magic, Durability 20/20.

However, since God's Domain had just opened, the drop rate for equipment was extremely low. Even common equipment was very rare, let alone Level 4 common gear, which would certainly be bought by someone at a high price.

Shi Feng put the equipment away and, just as he was about to continue climbing, he suddenly noticed a cave not far ahead.

He walked over to take a look, and his heart rate suddenly accelerated.

A massive Rock Giant was lying inside the cave, fast asleep. Its entire body was not the usual dark gray, but a shimmering silver-white.

Shuoluosi, Special Elite, Level 6, HP 900.

Special Elites were even more formidable than Elites. A 6-man party could take down an Elite of the same level, but a Special Elite of the same level would require at least 12, or even 15 players to defeat. In other words, the Shuoluosi before him would require 15 Level 6 players working together to take down.

Shi Feng did not hesitate. He charged forward and immediately unleashed Wind Thunder Flash, streaks of lightning flashing across Shuoluosi's massive body one after another.

Damage values of -1, -2, and -3 popped up above Shuoluosi's head.