Chapter Three: The Conflicted Mission

Chapter Three: The Troubling Quest

The cornfield lay on the opposite side of Rabbit Hill, bordering the green forest, with monsters ranging from level 8 to 14. Lin Zheng arrived at the cornfield and took in the sight: the corn was thriving splendidly, each stalk bearing several large ears of corn, their size almost unbelievable, and they looked quite appetizing! However, this bumper crop had attracted many uninvited guests.

Big Crow: Level 8, physical attack 65-174, physical defense 55, HP 500. These grain-thieving bandits often appeared in flocks, frequently leaving the villagers with no harvest at all.

Lin Zheng was currently level 6. Each level-up granted five attribute points, which he allocated as three points to strength and two to stamina. Consequently, his physical attack ranged from 68 to 141, defense stood at 60, and HP reached 600. By all measures, he was clearly stronger than these level 8 crows, so fighting them posed little challenge.

Nearby, a few players already at level 7 were struggling to kill the crows. Birds were naturally nimble, and their ability to fly gave them a tremendous advantage. When a big crow swooped in, players with less skill were often hit, and to succeed, they needed to strike the crow before it hit them—a true test of anticipation and reflexes. From what Lin Zheng observed, these players were not very adept. After finally killing one crow, their health was more than halfway depleted, making the endeavor hardly worthwhile.

“Damn! Killing these crows isn’t worth it. Let’s move elsewhere, guys!” growled a burly warrior, with his companions nodding in agreement. Thus, a small squad left the area.

Lin Zheng was unfazed. Though the crows moved quickly, they were still far slower than real crows. After all, this was a game monster—if it flew at real-world speeds, few could ever hit it! At this pace, Lin Zheng found the challenge manageable. Deciding to test his skills, he hurled his dagger at a big crow, dealing -96 damage. The crow squawked and lunged at him. Lin Zheng threw another dagger, causing -94 damage, interrupting the crow’s attack mid-air. Seizing the moment, Lin Zheng leapt forward, slashing twice with his dagger for -82 and -75 damage. The crow counterattacked with its claws, scratching him for -65, but it was nothing serious. Another strike of -78 followed, and the crow fell to the ground, still wounded. No difficulty at all. Lin Zheng gripped his dagger and moved on to the next crow.

After dispatching seven or eight crows, Lin Zheng paused to meditate and recover his health, which had dropped significantly. Meditation sped up his HP regeneration, and in about ten seconds, he was fully healed and ready to continue. Afternoon slipped by as waves of players came and went from the cornfield, many cursing and leaving in frustration. Only Lin Zheng and a few skilled players remained, relentlessly killing crows. The experience gained was decent; Lin Zheng had reached level 8, but the coveted glasses had yet to drop. This vexed him deeply. Would he still be unable to complete this cursed quest even by level 10? The thought was enough to sour his mood.

At eight o’clock, Lin Zheng logged off to eat. Stretching his neck, he entered the kitchen where Yang Qi was already impatiently waiting for the kettle to boil.

“Is the water boiling yet? I want to make some instant noodles!” Lin Zheng asked.

“Hey! You couldn’t have come at a better time!” Yang Qi replied just as the kettle began to whistle. She turned off the stove, poured water into her noodles, and said, “Not too much, not too little—just enough broth to get by.”

“Doesn’t matter, I can’t finish too much soup anyway!”

“...”

Each took a bowl of noodles back to the living room, eating with relish. Halfway through, Yang Qi asked, “How’s the game going, Lin Zheng? What level are you? Want me to help you level up?”

Her smug expression made Lin Zheng want to punch her—if only she were a man. Comparing a professional gamer to an amateur was hardly fair. Of course, Yang Qi found it amusing and felt quite accomplished.

“I’m level 8 now, stuck on a quest that’s giving me a headache,” Lin Zheng said gloomily.

Yang Qi was momentarily surprised. “Level 8 already? Not bad! I’m only level 9, almost at 10. You’re doing well, kid!”

“What quest is giving you trouble?”

“Finding the village chief’s glasses. Damn it! I spent an entire afternoon killing crows, and none dropped them. I’m starting to doubt if I can finish this before my first class change!” Lin Zheng said, taking a big bite of noodles, as if trying to swallow his frustration.

Yang Qi showed little interest. “Hmph! I thought it would be some tough quest! These fetch quests are a waste of time with no real rewards. Better to give up early.”

“You don’t know!” Lin Zheng said mysteriously. “This quest’s reward is insanely good. The prerequisite task gave me one gold coin!”

“What! The prerequisite gave you one gold coin?!” Yang Qi jumped up in shock. “I’ve had a string of lucky breaks, but after a hard afternoon, I barely earned 13 silver coins. What kind of quest gives a whole gold coin just to start? You’re so lucky!”

“What’s the quest called? How did you get it? Maybe I can try it too!” After calming down, Yang Qi’s eyes gleamed with greed. A quest starting with a gold coin reward was truly tempting.

Lin Zheng didn’t hide anything and recounted his afternoon’s experience. Upon hearing that he had obtained the quest item dropped by a boss, Yang Qi deflated; she couldn’t take the quest. But she quickly perked up again.

“The quest you’re doing is a ‘special item quest,’ which the official website describes. These quests require you to collect rare items dropped by bosses—extremely rare!” Yang Qi licked her lips, excitement undiminished. “Putting difficulty aside, the monetary rewards are incredible! You saw it yourself: an item from a level 8 boss gave you one gold coin just to start. There’s more to come! And the best part is—”

“Gear! Completing these quests guarantees you a piece of equipment whose attributes match or exceed the boss that dropped the item. You said the boss was bronze-tier, right? What a pity! If it were gold-tier, you’d get at least a gold piece of gear!” Yang Qi exclaimed with both excitement and regret.

Lin Zheng rolled his eyes. “Gold-tier? Then we wouldn’t be killing it ourselves—it’d be slaughtered by others. And do you even know what level gear drops at that stage?”

“True!” Yang Qi stroked her chin, then smirked mischievously. “No matter what, you have to finish this quest. Even after you reach level 10 and change class, you’ll need to return and complete it. Once done, you’ll get bronze equipment—hopefully a weapon, and a sword at that. Then you can mail it to me, and I’ll wield the sword to sweep across the land and dominate the world! Ha ha ha!”

“Shameless!” Lin Zheng sighed. This female rogue was truly something else. “Sweep across the land and dominate the world—should you also build a harem while you’re at it?”

“Don’t worry! When I build my harem, you’ll be queen!”

“...”

Lin Zheng ignored the rogue. Continuing this conversation was dangerous—who knew what outrageous words she’d come out with next!

“By the way, what’s your in-game name? Add me as a friend so we can stay in touch,” Yang Qi asked.

“I’m called ‘Yiping Daoist,’ an archer. What about you?”

“‘Yiping Daoist’? Seriously? You chose archer? You should have picked mage and then changed to a priest! Playing a shaman so unprofessionally—I’m disappointed!” Yang Qi mocked him as expected. Lin Zheng had anticipated this reaction when he chose the name.

“My name’s ‘Dust and Rain,’ a warrior. After class change, I plan to become a greatsword knight.”

“Wait, what?!” Lin Zheng was taken aback. “A girl playing a knight?!”

“I despise you!” Yang Qi coquettishly rolled her eyes. “Who says girls can’t be knights? I’ve been gaming for decades, always playing knights! And I’ve knocked down plenty of those stinky men!”

Lin Zheng rolled his eyes again. Decades, huh? She was only 23! Setting that aside, he focused on finishing his food.

When Lin Zheng logged back in, there were even fewer players in the cornfield. He didn’t pay much attention but immediately added ‘Dust and Rain’ as a friend. Soon after, a notification appeared: “Player Dust and Rain has accepted your friend request!” She was quick to come online.

“Hey, Lin! Which newbie village are you in?”

“Hmm—number 017 newbie village. What about you?” Lin Zheng checked the map.

“Oh! That’s far away! I’m in 011 newbie village. Wait until you level up and change class, then meet me in Frost City! Finish your quest first.”

“Alright, sounds good!” Lin Zheng closed the chat and gripped his shiny new dagger, charging into the crow horde again. He silently prayed for the glasses to drop soon; he didn’t want to come back after his class change to redo the quest. But his prayers seemed futile. He kept killing crows until 1 a.m., and still no glasses dropped. His experience was at 97% of level 9, nearly ready to hit level 10 and trigger his class change.

Irritation crept in. Anyone would be frustrated after so much effort with no drop. Probably nine out of ten would have given up. Only the promise of rich rewards kept Lin Zheng going.

“Congratulations! You have reached level 10. Return to the village and find the chief to begin your class change quest!” Finally level 10. Lin Zheng sneered; the glasses still hadn’t dropped. Oh well, time to complete the class change quest first. Yang Qi had already changed class at midnight and had been bragging about it for a while. Lin Zheng had heard that after completing the class change quest, a weapon reward would be granted—though basic, it would still be better than his starter dagger.

The night stretched on as Lin Zheng prepared for the next phase of his adventure.