Silver Wolf

Next, let's examine the attributes of a level 10 monster to see if it's possible to defeat it. If I can, I'll be able to continue farming talents.

Crossing the Wild Wolf Plains, I kept moving forward, a pack of wild wolves trailing behind me. There was nothing to be done about it—wild wolves were aggressive monsters. Once within their aggro range, they would relentlessly pursue you. But with Wu Shaochen's movement speed of 33, I wasn't concerned; they couldn't catch up.

After walking for some time, a valley appeared ahead. From a distance, I saw several majestic silver wolves patrolling the area.

"Another wolf?" Wu Shaochen sighed, feeling deflated. At this point, I still had to use health potions to fight the wild wolves, and these wolves looked far more formidable than the ones I had been fighting.

Reaching the valley's entrance, I cast an Insight skill on the nearest silver wolf.

[Silver Wolf] 

Level: 10 

Health: 6000 

Attack: 140 

Defense: 60 

Speed: 30 

Skill: Swift Strike – Letting out a howl, the wolf gains 50% attack speed and 50% movement speed for 30 seconds, with a cooldown of 2 minutes.

Well, this creature counters me completely. There's no way I can fight it… time to go. Wu Shaochen turned and left without hesitation.

Forget it, I'll log off and grab a bite to eat. I've been playing for six hours straight, and I've only had a single piece of bread. My body won't hold up if this continues. I've earned a decent amount of money, so I should treat myself.

I found a safe spot, logged off, and removed the helmet. Sitting up on the bed, I shook my head and felt no discomfort. Suddenly, my stomach churned violently. Rushing to the bathroom, I had an urgent and prolonged visit.

Half an hour later, I emerged from the bathroom, completely drained. "Ugh, it must have been the expired bread from lunch. I need to be more careful with what I eat next time."

I sat on the shabby sofa in my rental, took out my phone, and decided to splurge on a bucket of fried chicken. I had planned to go out, but after feeling so weak from the trip to the bathroom, I couldn't bear to walk, so I ordered delivery instead.

After placing the order, I browsed the forums on my phone. Nearly every post was about "The Oracles." Surprisingly, two of the top three pinned posts were about me, each with millions of views.

1. [Speculation on High Attribute Equipment at the 8365 Newbie Village Auction House] 

2. [The Auction Price of Common Equipment at 8365 Newbie Village Reaches 60,000] 

3. [Discovery of the Newbie Village Boss Wild Boar King, Attributes Included – For Those Interested in Boss Strategies]

Curious, I clicked on the first post. The author, a self-proclaimed game analyst, speculated on the equipment listed in the auction. Surprisingly, their guesses were rather accurate.

"Currently, three pieces of top-tier equipment are known to be listed in the 8365 Newbie Village auction. I speculate that the first two pieces are likely dropped by the level 6 Wild Boar King, while the third, the Wolf's Fang Necklace, may have been dropped by the level 9 wild wolves."

"I strongly urge the officials to investigate this person. I suspect they are using cheats. There's no way a player can defeat a wild wolf, let alone the level 6 Wild Boar!" 

The comments section exploded with over a hundred thousand responses, most calling for an investigation into potential cheating. A few speculated that it might be legitimate skill, but these were quickly drowned out.

Then, the post received an official response:

"The Oracles does not support cheating!"

It was a simple, direct response, devoid of any unnecessary words, effectively silencing those eager to continue the witch-hunt.

"Wow, the officials are really bold," Wu Shaochen muttered. Then he glanced at the other two posts and thought, "I didn't expect someone to discover the Wild Boar King already. I need to take care of it soon. While no one will likely kill it for a while, being watched doesn't feel good."

After another ten minutes, the food finally arrived. I ate heartily and then wiped my mouth, lying down and putting on the helmet to log back in.

I appeared at the spot where I had logged off earlier and checked my attributes. I still couldn't handle the Wild Boar King, and fighting wild wolves would waste too many potions. Damn, do I really have to go back to hunting wild boars? Can I say just the sight of them makes me want to vomit?

Maybe I should check out the level 8 monsters? If I can defeat them, I might get different equipment and, with luck, gather enough stats to face the Wild Boar King. The level 8 monsters should be located beyond the spiders, so I'll need to be cautious not to get trapped by the disgusting spider webs. If I do, even with my current attributes, I won't survive more than a few hits.

Sigh, the monster distribution in this game is completely chaotic. How many players will be doomed because they think the level 3 Green Serpent is no challenge and decide to push forward, only to get caught by the level 7 spider? That feeling of despair would definitely leave a psychological scar.

I navigated through the spider jungle with ease, thanks to my high movement speed. Soon, I reached the deepest part of the jungle and found the level 8 monsters. However, just the sight of the toad in front of me made me uncomfortable.

[Toad] 

Level: 8 

Health: 3200 

Attack: 100 

Defense: 48 

Speed: 15 

Skill: Tongue Strike – The toad extends its tongue toward a target, ignoring 50% of its defense and dealing 145% physical damage, while reducing the target's movement speed by 30%. Cooldown: 10 seconds.

Hmm, I can take this one. The toad's skill only ignores 50% of my defense, meaning it will deal just 137 damage to me. With 290 health, I'm more than capable of handling it. With my 23 poison damage, three hits should do the job. And even if its speed reduces mine by 30%, I'll still have 20 speed, more than enough to outmaneuver it.

Ugh, it's ugly, but I'll endure it. I'm not dating it after all.

Each level 8 toad yields 30 experience plus an additional 9 experience for being 3 levels higher. That means killing one gives me 39 experience, and with 77 kills, I'll level up. In addition to 4 copper coins, the toad drops a sticky saliva, likely a quest item. Every monster in the Newbie Village seems to have a related quest. With that, I began my journey to exterminate the toads.

Meanwhile, the more advanced players in Newbie Village had mostly reached level 3 and were already tackling crabs. Most had at least a few pieces of equipment, with the strongest players fully geared in defense equipment. However, most of their gear, obtained from the goats, offered only 2 additional defense, so their improvements were marginal. Even with groups of five or more, the crab's stats were too strong for them to handle easily.

At the same time, players in the 8365 Newbie Village eagerly watched the auction house, hoping the mysterious figure would once again list equipment. While many items had appeared, most were low-tier, offering just 2 additional attributes. Some sellers, likely encouraged by the high price of Wu Shaochen's equipment, had listed items for 20,000-30,000, but none sold.

At this point, many players realized the vast difference in equipment attributes and regretted not claiming the earlier items. Watching Junlin's group of five, who had obtained two pieces of equipment, it was clear that their monster-killing speed far outpaced everyone else. But their advantage wasn't just from their gear—it was their skill, awareness, and teamwork.

Then, a pair of shoes appeared in the auction house, priced at 5000. Within a second, someone had already purchased them.

"What the hell just happened?"

"I think I saw a pair of shoes show up and then disappear."

"No way! I checked the auction record—shoes with 5 attributes, only 5000? It has to be that big shot listing them. Who the hell has hands that fast! Probably single for 30 years!"