The Hunt for the Demon Gods

By the time Jack reached Level 3, his defense had climbed to a respectable 5 points. At this point, the slimes' attacks barely scratched him, making his grinding efficiency skyrocket. However, he noticed something troubling—the experience points from killing slimes had plummeted from 10 at Level 1 to a measly 5. Half the reward for twice the effort?

"No loot, no coins, and now half the XP…" Jack sighed deeply, tempted to challenge tougher monsters. But after a moment's hesitation, he decided to stick with the slimes.

It wasn't that slimes were the only option in the newbie village. Far off in the grasslands, he'd spotted herds of black wild bulls roaming freely. But there was just one problem—those bulls weren't your average livestock. They were more like tanks on hooves.

[Wild Bull] (Normal Monster) Level: 6 Health: 500 Attack: 12-15 Defense: 10 Skill: [Tough Hide] Description: Though they may look like ordinary bulls, these beasts have been tainted by death energy, making them far more ferocious than before. Adventurers who can't even beat villagers stand no chance against them.

The game designers clearly had a twisted sense of humor. Not only did the bulls pack a punch, but their defense was absurdly high. With Jack's current stats, even landing a hit would be a struggle. Grinding bulls might sound heroic, but it would likely take longer than farming slimes—and that was saying something.

Resigned to his fate, Jack spent another grueling two hours smashing slimes. After calculating that he was just shy of leveling up again, he dashed back to the village to confront the white-haired old man who'd given him such a frosty reception earlier.

"Old man," Jack said coolly, "I've proven my strength."

"Proof?" the old man shot back, raising an eyebrow. "Talk is cheap."

"This is proof."

Jack pulled out a blue, rag-like object from his inventory—the slime's corpse. As for the gooey liquid inside? It had exploded all over the ground, leaving nothing behind.

You sneaky old geezer! Jack silently congratulated himself for thinking ahead. Even though the quest didn't explicitly require bringing back evidence, he'd figured the old man might try to weasel out of acknowledging his success.

Better safe than sorry, right? Jack was starting to get the hang of this game's "quirks."

"..."

The old man looked mildly surprised, then snorted. "Looks like there are actually a few adventurers whose IQs scrape the bottom of the barrel required to match us natives."

"Ding!"

System Prompt: Congratulations! You've completed the quest [Prove Your Strength] and earned 20 experience points!

Shimmer!

Golden light rained down on Jack, enveloping him in warmth as if he'd stepped into a hot tub. Ahh, sweet relief.

Nice. Another level-up!

"Got any more quests for me, old man?" Jack asked bluntly, his tone dripping with impatience. He had zero affection for this cantankerous NPC.

Honestly, he couldn't understand why the game designers made the NPCs so hostile toward players. It was like they were deliberately trying to make life difficult.

"Yes," the old man replied curtly, eyeing him with thinly veiled disdain. "I'll let you hunt down the Ten Demon Gods. Think you're up for it?"

"Ding!"

System Prompt: Would you like to accept the quest [Hunt the Demon Gods] (Difficulty: SSS)?

[Hunt the Demon Gods] (Difficulty: SSS) Description: The continent of Tianheng is divided into the Light and Dark factions. The ten strongest beings in the Dark faction are known as the Demon Gods. Slay them, and you'll earn unparalleled glory and be treated like a savior! Reward: The old man's mysterious family heirloom! Time Limit: One week! Failure Penalty: -100,000 Reputation with the Light faction, -50 Levels, and a fine of 10,000 gold coins payable to the old man!

"..."

Jack stared at the quest prompt, utterly speechless. "Old man, you really think highly of me, don't you?"

If the deadline were, say, a year or two, he might've considered it. But one week? To hunt down literal demon gods?

Where's your shame, old man? Do you even have any left?

"A true adventurer should fear nothing! Surely a mere demon god won't stop you!" the old man declared dramatically, puffing out his chest. "Face it—you're just too cowardly!"

"Oh?" Jack smirked, pointing at himself. "Me? Cowardly?"

"Isn't that obvious?" the old man retorted, his expression smug.

"Heh…" Jack chuckled, his eyes narrowing as he read the penalty for failing the quest. Suddenly, inspiration struck. Why not flip the script?

"If you want me to take this quest, fine," he said smoothly. "But first, hand over your precious heirloom."

Debt doesn't weigh you down when you're already drowning in it!

These NPCs loved to scam players, so why not give them a taste of their own medicine?

"Why should I?" the old man scoffed, shaking his head. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"A generous native should support adventurers wholeheartedly, ensuring they have no worries while bravely forging ahead," Jack declared with mock righteousness. "Clearly, the issue here is your stinginess."

Technically, angering NPCs was a bad idea. But Jack wasn't here to let the game play *him*. If these NPCs wanted to act salty, he wasn't about to roll over and play nice.

"Stingy? Me?" The old man blinked, genuinely shocked that this adventurer would willingly walk into such an obvious trap. "Fine, if you're so eager to die, here!"

He pulled a scroll from his inventory and handed it over.

"Ding!"

System Prompt: You have received one of the old man's mysterious heirlooms—the Fire-element Forbidden Spell Scroll **[Wrath of the Fire God]**!

"Ding!"

System Prompt: You have successfully accepted the quest **[Hunt the Demon Gods]**! Time limit: one week. Use your time wisely!

[Wrath of the Fire God] (S-Rank Item) Description: Tear open the scroll to unleash a low-tier forbidden fire spell. Effect: Deals 5,000,000 fixed damage to all enemy units within a 200-meter radius in front of you. Uses: 1/1

"That's it? Your legendary heirloom is just a one-time-use scroll?" Jack frowned, disappointed. He'd been expecting some kind of god-tier weapon or artifact. Hunting demon gods sounded like a big deal—shouldn't the reward reflect that?

The old man remained impassive. "Don't worry. This is just a down payment. Complete the quest, bring me the head of one of the Demon Gods, and I'll grant you a combat class no ordinary adventurer can obtain."

"!!"

Jack was floored. A combat class unavailable to regular adventurers? That sounded like a hidden class straight out of legend.

This grumpy old man in a newbie village had access to that kind of treasure?

"Get out of my sight," the old man waved dismissively, clearly done with the conversation. "Let's see how you manage to defeat the Ten Demon Gods, who've dominated Tianheng for tens of thousands of years, in just one week."

In his mind, this somewhat competent adventurer was already dead meat. Those Demon Gods were untouchable legends—crushing a newbie-village-level player would be easier than squashing an ant.

Seeing the old man's disinterest, Jack didn't waste time groveling. Turning on his heel, he strode confidently away, heading straight for the wild bulls.

"You'd better watch closely, old man," he called over his shoulder with a grin. "In a week, I'll show you what I'm made of!"