Chapter 4: The Outlier of the Novice Village
Novice Village No. 999, also known as "Fallen Leaf Village."
At this moment, the village entrance square was so crowded that there was no place to even step. White light flashed continuously as thousands of players poured into this area, which was only the size of a football field.
"Stop pushing! You're stepping on my foot!"
"Party up, party up! Need a healer, even a male one will do!"
"You guys in front, go kill some chickens already! I need to turn in my quest!"
On the grass outside the village, the Level 1 monsters "Spotted Chickens" and "Slimes," which had been strolling leisurely, were now facing a catastrophe. As soon as a chicken spawned, before it could even let out a chirp, it would be struck on the head by a dozen wooden clubs and iron swords simultaneously, instantly turning into white light.
This wasn't monster hunting at all; it was a mugging.
Ye Yi stood on the edge of the crowd, watching this scene coldly.
His experience from his past life told him that staying at the village entrance to compete for monsters during the first two hours of the server opening was the height of stupidity. Although the monster respawn rate was fast, there were simply too many players; on average, a person couldn't even snatch one monster every ten minutes, making it extremely inefficient.
He tightened his grip on his "Rusty Iron Sword," turned around, and walked against the flow of people toward the southeast corner of the village.
His attire looked completely out of place in the crowd.
While other Mages were waving staves that looked like withered branches, trying to cast "Fireball" with a 2-second cast time, he had thrown his staff into his backpack and was carrying a broken sword with light footsteps.
"Hey, look at that guy. A Mage holding a sword?"
"Probably a total newbie who doesn't know about equipment class restrictions, haha."
"Ignore him. One less person to compete for monsters with is better."
Scattered sounds of mockery drifted over, but Ye Yi remained indifferent.
He passed through the crowded residential area and arrived at a relatively deserted, abandoned martial arts field. Level 3 "Wild Dogs" roamed here.
For Level 1 novices, Level 3 monsters not only had high health and attack power, but due to level suppression, the hit rate against them would be significantly reduced. Ordinary players wouldn't dare provoke them even in a party.
But Ye Yi was different.
A Wild Dog spotted him, bared its teeth with a low growl, and suddenly lunged forward.
Ye Yi didn't retreat; instead, he took half a step forward to meet it. At the exact moment the Wild Dog's sharp claws were about to touch his cloth robe, his body twisted at a strange, minute angle.
"Miss!"
The Wild Dog lunged into empty air.
At the same time, the iron sword in Ye Yi's hand lunged forward.
Although a Mage's Strength attribute was extremely low, the sword seemed to come alive in his hand. The tip of the sword accurately pierced the Wild Dog's softest spot: its throat.
"-8!" (Weak Point Attack)
A normal attack would only deal 1-2 points of damage, but a Weak Point Attack quadrupled that.
The Wild Dog yelped in pain, landing and turning back to bite again. However, Ye Yi seemed to have predicted its movement; with a slide of his feet, he had already circled to its side-rear and delivered another fierce strike to its lower back spine.
"-6!"
There were no flashy skills or explosive special effects, only surgical precision in positioning and basic attacks.
Twenty seconds later.
The Wild Dog let out a mournful cry and collapsed to the ground, dropping two copper coins.
[System: You have killed a Wild Dog. Gained 15 Experience Points (Base) + 15 Experience Points (Talent Bonus).]
30 experience points!
In this early stage where reaching Level 2 required 500 experience points, this one monster was worth more than half a day of snatching chickens outside.
"As expected, the 'Growth' talent is a god-tier skill for snowballing."
Ye Yi picked up the copper coins and, without any pause, rushed toward the next Wild Dog.
He moved continuously along the edge of the martial arts field like an elegant dancer. His fragile Mage physique forced him to maintain a high level of mental concentration, because if he were bitten even twice, he would be sent back to town for free.
Half an hour later, a golden light washed over Ye Yi's body.
[Congratulations, you have reached Level 2.]
[Gained 5 Free Attribute Points.]
Without hesitation, Ye Yi put them all into "Intelligence."
Even though he was fighting in close quarters, he knew very well that the core of a Magic Swordsman was Intelligence. It didn't matter if his physical damage was low in the early stages—he could compensate with Weak Point Attacks and positioning—but his future skill burst would have to be supported by high Intelligence.
Just then, a raspy sound of sweeping reached his ears.
"Sha... sha..."
It was the sound of a broom frictioning against the ground, the rhythm extremely slow yet possessing a peculiar cadence.
Ye Yi's heart stirred. He immediately stopped killing monsters and turned to look at a corner of the martial arts field.
There was a withered old locust tree, and beneath it stood a white-haired old man dressed in grey cloth. He held a balding bamboo broom in his hand and was sweeping the fallen leaves one stroke at a time.
No matter how the surrounding Wild Dogs roared, or even when a few ran past him, they seemed unable to see him.
Wang Saoting.
The most inconspicuous NPC in Novice Village No. 999, a "background character" in the eyes of countless players.
But in his past life, it wasn't until six months after the game launched that someone accidentally discovered that this seemingly frail old man was actually a legendary Sword Sect Master who had once shaken the Nine Provinces, now living here in anonymity.
Ye Yi put away his iron sword, straightened his cloth robe, and walked over respectfully.
He didn't click to talk directly as he would with an ordinary NPC; instead, he stood three meters away from the old man and watched him sweep in silence.
He stood there for ten minutes.
Occasionally, a few lost players passed by, looking at him as if he were a fool.
"Is this guy crazy? Staring at an old man sweeping?"
"Probably AFK. Let's go, ignore him."
Ye Yi remained unmoved. He knew this was the necessary condition to trigger the quest—"Sincerity."
Finally, the broom in Wang Saoting's hand stopped.
He slowly raised his head, and in those clouded old eyes, a sharp light that was not at all clouded suddenly flashed as he sized Ye Yi up.
"Young man, your grip on the sword is unsteady."
The voice was aged, yet it struck Ye Yi's heart like a heavy hammer.
Ye Yi immediately cupped his fists and performed a standard ancient salute: "This junior's body is weak and lacks strength. Though the sword is unsteady, my heart is steady."
"Oh?" The corner of Wang Saoting's mouth curled slightly, seemingly showing a bit of interest. "You are clearly a talent for practicing spells. Why don't you study Fireballs and Ice Spikes instead of insisting on showing off with a piece of broken iron here?"
"Spells can borrow the momentum of heaven and earth, while swordsmanship can guard the space within one's reach."
Ye Yi looked directly into the old man's eyes and spoke the only passkey from the past life's guide: "I want to walk a path that no one has ever walked before. To control the sword with magic, and to carry magic within the sword."
Wang Saoting's expression changed instantly.
His originally hunched frame seemed to straighten up in an instant, and an invisible aura emanated from him. The surrounding fallen leaves actually danced without wind, forming a small vortex around him.
"To control the sword with magic..."
The old man murmured to himself, seemingly lost in memory. After a long time, he let out a long sigh.
"What bold words. However, I have been sweeping here for twenty years, and you are the first to see that the broom in my hand is not a broom."
Wang Saoting tossed the broom aside casually, and the bamboo broom actually pierced directly into the hard bluestone floor, sinking three inches deep.
"Since you want to walk this path, you must prove you have the qualification."
[Ding! Hidden NPC Wang Saoting has issued a Unique Hidden Trial Quest to you: The Choice of Sword and Magic.]
[Quest Content: Without using any magic skills, rely solely on the weapon in your hand to continuously kill 100 'Iron-Beaked Crows.']
[Quest Restrictions: You must not die during the process, and you must not leave combat for more than 1 minute.]
[Failure Penalty: Wang Saoting's favorability drops to zero, and you will permanently be unable to trigger subsequent events.]
Iron-Beaked Crows?
Ye Yi was slightly startled. Those were Level 5 aggressive monsters that flew extremely fast and moved in flocks. They were a nightmare even for melee classes, let alone a Mage who couldn't use magic.
This difficulty was even higher than what was mentioned in the posts from his past life!
But he didn't hesitate for a second; instead, a flame of excitement ignited in his eyes.
"This junior accepts the challenge."
do not create whole chapter now just remember it