After Ye Yi left the Martial Arts Field, he didn't linger in the village.
By now, his level had reached Level 6. With the Growth-type heaven-swallowing demon sword in hand, his attributes crushed 99% of players at this stage. But he knew well that the true challenge had just begun.
"The first kill announcement for the Novice Village, I must take it."
Every Novice Village in the era of apocalypse has a hidden world BOSS. The first kill not only provides rich rewards but is also key to making a name for oneself.
He opened the map, his gaze locking onto the very edge of the Novice Village map—a gray area covered in thick fog.
Abandoned Mine.
That was a place of nightmares for countless novice players in his previous life, and it was also Ye Yi's destination for this trip.
To avoid the crowds, Ye Yi specifically chose an extremely remote path. Along this road were Level 7-8 "Forest Wolves" whose attacks carried a bleed effect and had a huge aggro range.
But under the blessing of "Double Experience," these high-level mobs that others avoided like the plague were nothing but walking experience packs in Ye Yi's eyes.
"Ice Spike!"
Ye Yi raised his hand. Although he held a sword, it didn't affect his casting. A sharp icicle condensed out of thin air and stabbed hard into the leg of a pouncing Forest Wolf.
"-35!"
"Slowed!"
The Forest Wolf's movements stalled.
Ye Yi immediately closed in, the heaven-swallowing demon sword sweeping out with the sound of breaking wind.
"-50!"
"-52!"
With two sword strikes combined with the damage from Ice Spike, the Level 8 mob collapsed directly.
This was the terror of an embryonic Magic Swordsman: spell control and melee burst.
Killing his way through, when Ye Yi stood before the entrance of that eerie mine, golden light shone upon him once again.
Level 8.
In just three short hours, he had leveled up from Level 1 to Level 8. If this data were posted on the forums, someone would definitely report him for cheating.
At this time, the mine entrance was hidden by vines and boulders, and a foul stench permeated the surroundings.
"This is the place."
Ye Yi stepped forward and cut the vines with the heaven-swallowing demon sword.
A cold wind blew out from the depths of the cave, mixed with low growls.
In the memories of his previous life, a Mine Troll resided here, with a level as high as 15.
For players who were generally only Level 3-4 at this stage, a Level 15 BOSS was simply a god-like existence. The damage reduction from level suppression alone was enough to make a team of dozens despair.
"If it were an ordinary mage or an ordinary warrior, it would indeed be impossible to fight."
Ye Yi took out several pieces of white-grade equipment he had just obtained from killing mobs from his backpack.
They were a few pieces of leather bracers and cloth shoes with trash attributes.
"Eat up."
He pressed the equipment against the blade of the heaven-swallowing demon sword.
A strange scene occurred.
The hard equipment seemed to turn into candle wax, melting the moment it touched the demon sword, and then was completely swallowed by the black blade like a sponge absorbing water.
"Buzz—"
The heaven-swallowing demon sword emitted a satisfied low hum, and the dark red patterns on the blade became a bit clearer.
[heaven-swallowing demon sword devouring successful.]
[Attack Power +2.]
[Current quality improvement progress: 5%]
Although the improvement wasn't large, this sword could grow infinitely. As long as it was fed enough "fodder," it would eventually become a divine artifact.
Ye Yi took a deep breath and took out all the "Junior Magic Water" and "Inferior Whetstones" he had bought from the village grocery store from his backpack.
He rubbed the whetstone hard against the heaven-swallowing demon sword a few times. Although it couldn't increase attack power, it could temporarily increase the "Bleed" chance by 5%.
"Preparations complete."
Ye Yi tightened the goggles on his face and stepped into the dark mine.
The light inside the mine was extremely dim, with only the occasional glowing moss growing on the walls providing faint illumination.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Footsteps echoed in the empty tunnel.
Not long after walking, two green lanterns lit up in the darkness ahead.
No, those weren't lanterns.
Those were eyes.
A "Mutated Miner Zombie" about the size of an adult was dragging a rusty iron pickaxe, wobbling toward him.
[Mutated Miner (Elite)]
[Level: 10]
[Health: 800]
A Level 10 elite mob, which would require a team to farm outside as a mini-BOSS, was just a gatekeeping lackey here.
"Roar!"
The zombie let out a roar and swung the iron pickaxe down.
Ye Yi didn't block it head-on. Although his mage's physique had intelligence added (converted to attack by the demon sword), his defense was still a weakness.
"Blink... oh wait, I don't have Blink yet."
Ye Yi gave a self-deprecating smile, but his body made a reaction even more precise than Blink. He lowered his center of gravity, slipped under the zombie's armpit, and stabbed the back of the zombie's head with a backhand strike.
Battle broke out.
Compared to the wild mobs outside, the intelligence of the elite mobs here was clearly a level higher; they even knew how to protect their vital points.
But Ye Yi was more patient.
He utilized the narrow terrain of the mine to constantly block the zombie's line of sight, cast an Ice Spike for a slow whenever it was off cooldown, and then went in for two slashes before running away.
A typical "kiting" playstyle, except others kited from a distance, while he kited in melee.
Ten minutes later, the massive zombie crashed to the ground.
[Killed Mutated Miner, obtained 200 (+200) experience.]
The experience bar grew by a visible chunk.
"The experience density here is simply paradise."
Ye Yi licked his lips.
He wasn't in a hurry to go deeper, but began clearing these elite mobs in the outer area of the mine.
Firstly, it was to level up, and secondly, it was to accumulate "Rage" for the demon sword. The heaven-swallowing demon sword had a hidden mechanism: continuous killing would accumulate baleful aura, doubling the damage of the next strike.
No one knew how much time had passed.
By the time Ye Yi finished clearing the 20th Mutated Miner, he had already reached Level 9.
And now, he finally arrived at the deepest part of the mine.
It was a huge underground grotto with a glowing altar in the center.
And beside the altar lay a massive creature.
It was five meters tall, its skin grayish-white like rock, holding a huge beast-bone club in its hand. Its breathing was like thunder, each exhale blowing a cloud of dust on the ground.
[Mine Troll (Lord-tier BOSS)]
Level: 15
Health: 15000
Skills: Earth Stomp, Mighty Swing, Berserk.
15,000 health.
And Ye Yi now had less than 300 health.
As long as he was grazed once by that big club, it would be an instant kill.
This was an absolutely unequal battle.
But there was no fear in Ye Yi's eyes, only absolute calmness. He looked at the stalactite above the BOSS's head, then at the complex terrain around him, and dozens of tactical plans instantly formed in his mind.
"Big guy."
Ye Yi raised the heaven-swallowing demon sword in his hand, the tip pointing straight at the troll's closed single eye.
"Your heart belongs to me."
He took out a bottle of blue potion from his backpack, tilted his head to gulp it down, and then stomped his foot hard.
A fireball whistled out, accurately hitting the troll's forehead.
"Boom!"
The sleeping giant beast awakened.