Chapter 4: Completing the Task, Eliminating the Scorpions!I
It was hard to imagine—a Level 3 adventurer who had just entered the Otherworld now possessed an A-rank skill!
Given that energy in the Otherworld couldn't be transferred or traded, it normally took a new adventurer at least three to four months to upgrade a skill to A-rank!
However, Zhang Yue frowned as he looked at the mana cost. "45 mana points per cast... With my current 216 mana, I can only cast Super Fireball four times."
At this moment, he recalled that he had yet to allocate the 12 free attribute points he earned from leveling up from 1 to 3.
Zhang Yue distributed 5 points into Spirit, gaining an additional 90 mana, thanks to the 18-star mana growth of the first-rank Necromancer class.
"Hmm, now I can cast it six times."
He then assigned the remaining 7 points into Intelligence and Agility, with a 4-to-3 split.
Looking at the field full of dead Venomous Spiders that the system hadn't refreshed yet, Zhang Yue couldn't help but grumble, "The drop rate in this world is so low, it makes you question your life choices."
He had killed over a hundred monsters but hadn't seen a single piece of equipment drop!
However, a variety of materials had dropped, such as two 1-Star Equipment Blueprints, one Level 1 Mana Crystal, and a Level 1 Meat Chunk.
These materials were useless to core class adventurers like Zhang Yue but could be sold at the Other World's marketplace for some cash.
For life class adventurers, these materials were treasures.
Unlike core adventurers, life adventurers couldn't enter the Other World to kill monsters and level up. Instead, they processed the materials dropped by core adventurers to craft equipment, potions, and food, which they sold for experience points to level up.
In this way, the two types of adventurers complemented each other.
With his skill upgrade complete, Zhang Yue left the abandoned school behind. Now that he had grown stronger, it was time to hunt higher-level monsters!
The Iron Armored Scorpions—Level 5 to 7 monsters—were Zhang Yue's next target!
Still holding only a single piece of equipment, Zhang Yue looked at the "Flame · Pioneer Staff" in his hand and sighed, "I really need to get some new gear."
He couldn't possibly face the First World boss with just a Level 0 staff, right?
Although the drop rate for gear from monsters in the Other World was notoriously low, there was one guaranteed way to get equipment. In fact, the gear obtained this way was often better than what monsters dropped!
Leaving the Level 3 Abandoned School, Zhang Yue ventured further into higher-level monster territory.
Before long, he arrived at a desolate factory—Doomsday Factory—a paradise for Iron Armored Scorpions.
Massive scorpions crawled in and out of the factory, their armored bodies gleaming under the dim light.
Instead of immediately engaging them, Zhang Yue carefully avoided the scorpions and slipped into the factory.
Inside, he found a middle-aged man lying in a corner, groaning in pain with one leg missing.
The blue ID hovering above the man's head read Carl, confirming his status as an NPC.
In the Other World, there were both monsters and NPCs, and while players who died in this world would die for real, the rest of the game's mechanics were similar to an online RPG.
Above Carl's ID was a yellow "?".
Zhang Yue approached and initiated a conversation.
"Hello, do you need help?"
Seeing Zhang Yue, Carl weakly replied, "My wife and children were killed by those scorpions outside. Adventurer, can you help me kill them?"
As soon as he finished speaking, a system notification rang out:
[Ding~ Do you accept the quest: [Eliminate the Scorpions]?]
Zhang Yue accepted the quest.
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[Eliminate the Scorpions] (Normal Quest)
Difficulty Level: 10
Description: Kill Iron Armored Scorpions in Doomsday Factory.
Progress: 0/30
Rewards: 500 EXP, 1 silver coin, 300 energy points, 1 random 1-Star Equipment
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With the quest accepted, Zhang Yue returned to the outside of the factory and locked his gaze on the scorpions.
He activated his scouting ability—
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[Iron Armored Scorpion] (Physical-type · Common Monster)
Level: 5
Physical Attack Power: 40
Physical Defense: 28
Magic Defense: 25
Health: 290
Skills: Iron Armor, Charge
Description: Mutated due to environmental pollution, these scorpions' tough iron armor allows them to withstand significant damage...
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"Thirty scorpions for a 1-star piece of equipment... Worth it."
With that, Zhang Yue raised his Flame · Pioneer Staff and locked onto the nearest Iron Armored Scorpion.
He cast his skill—Super Fireball!
Boom!
A scorching fireball slammed into the scorpion, instantly dealing -151 damage!
The scorpion's health bar plummeted by more than half!
The damage from an A-rank skill was nothing short of impressive.
Hiss! Hiss!
The Iron Armored Scorpion roared in fury as its health continued to drop, suffering from the dual burn effects—20 points per second from the Flame · Pioneer Staff and 18 points per second from the Super Fireball's burn.
Enraged, the scorpion activated its Charge skill and rushed toward Zhang Yue with blinding speed.
Zhang Yue quickly sidestepped the attack and followed up with a basic magic attack, launching a mana-infused orb from his staff, which delivered an 81-point critical hit to the scorpion.
With the additional 38 points per second from the burn effects, the Iron Armored Scorpion soon collapsed in defeat!
[Ding~ You have slain a Level 5 Iron Armored Scorpion. Gained 15 EXP and 50,000 Energy Points!]
As the massive scorpion fell to the ground with a thud, Zhang Yue heard a soft "clink" as a dark, black pair of leggings dropped from the corpse.
"Well, well, a gear drop?"
Zhang Yue's eyes lit up as he bent down to pick up the item.
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[Iron Armored Leggings] (Level 5)
Quality: 1-Star
Rarity: White (Refinable)
Physical Defense: +7
Magic Defense: +6
Class Restriction: None
Description: Sturdy leggings that offer some degree of protection to adventurers...
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Equipment below Level 10 generally didn't have class restrictions or require identification.
Unfortunately, Zhang Yue wasn't at the required level to use them just yet.
Still, that didn't stop him from refining the item right away.
As usual, he selected the Auto-Refine option.
[Ding~ Auto-refine completed in 158 attempts. Total energy consumption: 2,985 points. Congratulations! You have obtained gold-rarity equipment: Iron Armor · Hero's Protection!]
The higher the equipment level, the greater the energy cost for refining.
The white-rarity leggings had gone through green, blue, purple, orange, and red stages before finally reaching gold-rarity status. As a result, their defense stats had jumped from 7 and 6 to 28 and 25!
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Additional Attribute: Stamina +3
Bonus Effect: Protection (Reduces 30 points of damage from each attack taken by the wearer).
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"I'll leave it for now and equip it once I hit Level 5." Zhang Yue stashed the Iron Armor · Hero's Protection in his storage space.
Just then, another pleasant system notification sounded—
[Ding~ Congratulations! While slaying the Iron Armored Scorpion, you triggered the Necromancer class's special effect: Soul Reaping. Would you like to absorb the Iron Armored Scorpion as a pet?]
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