Chapter 7: Surprise, Equipment Quality Improved!

Killing thirty goblins in over half an hour felt inefficient to Jack.

But there wasn't much he could do about it.

Perhaps due to more people mustering the courage to leave their wooden houses and hunt, the goblins in the area had started banding together.

Previously, groups of three or four goblins were easy prey. Jack could cut them down with his eyes closed. But now, the smallest goblin teams had at least five members, and dealing with them had become more troublesome. With more enemies in each battle, his efficiency naturally dropped.

What frustrated him even more was that out of all the goblins he killed, not a single one dropped equipment or special items.

Each kill only yielded the usual experience points and energy coins.

"The drop rate is awful. No wonder so many people are still stuck using wooden sticks."

Jack sighed, thankful that he'd managed to secure three first-kill rewards earlier.

He gripped his Tang sword with relief, but then he noticed something—after all the fighting, its durability was down to just two points.

The same went for his boots. Though they still had nine points of durability left, he needed to repair them before attempting any further upgrades.

"Let's fix them up first," Jack muttered, opening his inventory.

A notification popped up:

[You have consumed 1 Energy Coin to restore the durability of "Worn Tang Sword +2."]

[You have consumed 1 Energy Coin to restore the durability of "Poor Leather Boots +1."]

Jack furrowed his brow.

"Only one energy coin is needed, regardless of how low the durability is? Or does the cost depend on the item's quality?"

He wasn't sure yet. Since he only had two pieces of equipment and had only repaired them once, he didn't have enough data to draw conclusions.

But now that his weapon and boots were fully restored, it was time to enhance them.

Strengthening Equipment

Jack activated his enhancement ability and started upgrading his Tang sword.

[You consumed 300 experience points, "Worn Tang Sword +3," attributes slightly improved.]

[You consumed 400 experience points, "Worn Tang Sword +4," attributes slightly improved.]

He then noticed something new.

[Do you want to consume 1,000 experience points to strengthen "Worn Tang Sword +4"?]

[Note: This enhancement has a 33% chance to improve the equipment's quality.]

Jack's eyes widened.

"A chance to upgrade its quality?"

Without hesitation, he confirmed the enhancement.

A moment later, a system notification popped up:

[You consumed 1,000 experience points and successfully triggered a 33% chance to upgrade "Worn Tang Sword +4" to a high-grade item, greatly improving its attributes!]

Jack quickly checked the updated weapon details:

[Equipment: Fine Iron Tang Sword]

Quality: Lv1 High Grade

Type: Light weapon (Increases attack speed by 10%)

Durability: 25/25

Requirement: Lv1 or above

Attributes: Physical Attack +24, Strength +2

Evaluation: This Tang sword surpasses most weapons of the same grade!

Jack grinned.

"Nice, the name even changed! And the stats got a solid boost!"

Now that he had a better weapon, Jack debated whether to upgrade his boots next.

But after some thought, he decided against it.

He hadn't taken any damage so far, and his agility was more than enough to keep dodging attacks. Instead, he focused on strengthening the sword even further.

[You consumed 1,000 experience points, "Fine Iron Tang Sword +1," attributes slightly improved.]

[You need 1,500 experience points to strengthen "Fine Iron Tang Sword +1." You do not have enough experience points to proceed.]

Jack checked his remaining experience—only 500 points left.

Shrugging, he decided to use the rest on his boots.

By the time he was done, he had successfully upgraded his "Poor Leather Boots" to "+3."

Exploring Beyond the Wooden House Area?

Jack considered his next move.

"Should I stay and keep hunting goblins, or should I explore beyond the wooden house area?"

Goblins were still a reliable source of experience, but he had noticed more people discussing exploration in the chat channel.

"The goblin drop rate is terrible. If I want good loot, I need another first-kill reward."

High risk often came with high rewards. Exploring outside might be dangerous, but it could lead to better gains.

Just as he was about to make a decision, several notifications flooded the chat.

---

[Announcement: Bao Lan (ID: IG1557) was killed by a Cat Demon (Lv2 Ordinary Creature).]

[Announcement: Zhu Za (ID: DG7777) was killed by a Cat Demon (Lv2 Ordinary Creature).]

[Announcement: Xiao Hu (ID: NG2200) was killed by a Cat Demon (Lv2 Ordinary Creature).]

---

Jack's eyes narrowed.

Three people had died in an instant.

The chat erupted.

"Oh my god, another person just died!"

"A Level 2 Cat Demon? That's terrifying!"

"Bao Lan, Zhu Za, and Xiao Hu were all strong players! They wiped out teams of goblins like it was nothing!"

The situation became even grimmer when a survivor from their team sent a desperate plea for help:

"Ahhh! Three of my friends just died! Please, someone, help me! Urgent!"

His final message contained crucial intel:

Cat Demon Attributes:

Level: 2

HP: 400

Strength: 12

Agility: 14

Spirit: 10

Endurance: 12

Stamina: 12

Location: Eastern edge of the wooden house area

Warning: These creatures hide in the dark and attack suddenly. There are many of them…

Then, another notification appeared.

---

[Announcement: Xiao Qu (ID: LG2800) was killed by a Cat Demon (Lv2 Ordinary Creature).]

---

A complete team wipe.

The chat fell silent for a moment. Then, chaos broke out.

"Damn! Four people just died in a row!"

"Level 2 creatures are way too strong! Their stats are insane!"

"Does anyone know how many free attribute points we get when leveling up?"

A lucky player who had received 4,000 experience points from a Novice Blind Box replied:

"We get five free attribute points per level-up. Even after leveling up and distributing points, we're still weaker than the Cat Demons. This is bad!"

"Not just that—these monsters hide and ambush players. You won't see them coming until it's too late!"

"I'm staying in the wooden house area. No way I'm risking that."

"Same here."

Jack exhaled sharply.

"The Cat Demon's agility isn't far off from mine."

That was the scariest part. If this was just a Level 2 ordinary creature, he couldn't even imagine how strong Level 3 or 4 monsters would be.

And what about elite monsters or boss creatures?

Jack shook his head.

"It's too dangerous. I'll just keep hunting goblins for now."

Grinding for More Experience

With his decision made, Jack got back to work.

Everyone in the wooden house area continued killing goblins, but strangely, their numbers never seemed to decrease.

New goblins kept wandering in from outside, maintaining their population.

However, something had changed—they were more coordinated than before. Now, goblin teams had at least eight members per group.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye.

Jack checked his experience points.

[Total Experience: 10,600]

He smiled.

"Time to take a break and upgrade again."

---

For more episode visit patreon

patreon.com/Jutsu_143