When I woke up, it was already two in the afternoon. On the bedside table was a note from Lu Xuehan: "I've gone to play the game. Your food is in the microwave; just heat it up and eat."
Honestly, Lu Xuehan was indeed very well-behaved, the type who would write, "Food's in the pot, I'm in bed." I just wonder when Lu Xuehan will write that kind of note for me... After a period of fantasizing, I ate and entered the game.
I skirted around Silverpine Forest, trying to avoid contact with the monsters inside. I directly set my sights on the ore behind the forest, and also that legendary Rhino Monster.
After walking for nearly half an hour, the trees in the forest gradually thinned out. Beyond that was an open grassland with few trees and more scattered stones. It seemed the ore mountains were not far. The scenery behind was completely blocked by a thick mist. The forest, too, began to be enveloped in fog as night descended upon this mysterious forest.
Hmm, wait, there seems to be some firelight ahead.
I quickly walked over. It turned out to be a few adventurers making a fire. They seemed to be in a rather miserable state. Out of five people, there were three Swordsmen, one Mage, and one Priest. The Swordsmen were chopping trees nearby with their greatswords, their armor, which looked too damaged to wear, lay discarded. The Mage had his eyes closed, his deep blue magic robe was yellowed, full of holes and patches, probably long having lost its magic-enhancing effect. Now its purpose was likely just to keep him warm. The Priest was even worse off; his Priest's robe was nowhere to be seen, and he was only wrapped in a piece of wolf hide for modesty. If it weren't for the half a healing staff in his hand, I wouldn't have been able to tell he was a Priest.
"Who's there?"
The Mage was exceptionally alert, detecting my presence when I was still more than ten meters away from them. Since I was already exposed, I simply walked out and said, "I am a Swordsman sent by the Kingdom to rescue you. May I ask if you are the adventurer party that came out for a mission half a month ago?"
A Swordsman stood up in surprise and said, "Yes, the Guild sent someone to rescue us! Is it just you?"
"Of course. Tell me about the situation here. Where is that Rhino Monster?"
The Swordsman's expression flashed with a hint of disappointment before returning to calm. He said, "That monster is too powerful. Out of more than 30 of us, only 5 remain now. If it weren't for that monster being afraid of fire, we would probably have been completely wiped out by now. That monster is resting in the cave ahead. We no longer have the strength to kill him. Just a few days ago, a group of fiery red wild wolves suddenly appeared in the forest behind us. There, we lost another six teammates. We're running out of edible things nearby. Young man, can you help us eliminate the Flame Dire Wolves in the forest?"
I immediately chose yes. The Swordsman continued, "Alright then, go eliminate the Dire Wolves in the forest and bring me back 50 of their pelts. I will give you a worthy reward."
I was delighted when I heard this. It turned out that killing so many Flame Dire Wolves last night wasn't in vain. These 50 pelts were exactly the quest items needed. I immediately handed the pelts to the Swordsman.
"Ding~"
System Prompt: You have completed the quest [Eliminate Flame Dire Wolves], gained 8,000,000 experience, 60 gold coins, +1500 reputation, and received the quest reward: Flame Battle Armor.
[Flame Battle Armor] (Plate Armor, Blue Equipment)
Defense: 110
Stamina: +32
Strength: +36
Agility: +28
Required Level: 36
...It's much better than my original Guard's Armor. Due to the higher equipment level, its defense is almost comparable to Murong Shanshan's purple armor, just with fewer additional attributes.
After changing into the new battle armor, my HP finally broke through 3000, and my attack limit reached 700. This quest was truly worth it. When I spar with Murong Shanshan again, I won't have to constantly rely on the bug-like Enhanced Stealth... With my worries gone, our only target left was the Rhino Monster in the cave ahead. These five adventurers looked so down-and-out that they didn't seem like they could help me much. In fact, they really had no intention of helping me. After the Swordsman gave me a respectful salute, he said apologetically, "Brave warrior, my friends are too severely injured. We must return to the Guild for treatment now. The Rhino Monster is in the cave ahead. When you go to hunt him, be sure to bring a torch, otherwise, it will be too dark inside, and you will get lost in the darkness."
Watching these five people walk away without looking back, I cursed angrily, "NPCs these days are so disloyal! Damn it, I'll kill him myself!"
A bonfire was burning on the ground. I casually picked up a torch that still had plenty of fuel, and walked through the grass. The closer I got to the cave, the stronger the foul, fishy smell became. NND, it seems there are still unreasonable aspects in this game's setting. Rhinos are clearly herbivores, so why would there be a foul, fishy smell?
Turning a corner, I confirmed that the game designers were not stupid, but very perverse. Under a large rock lay a huge pile of people, mostly decomposed, with white bones and tattered clothes scattered on the open grassland. Waves of fishy smell made one want to vomit.
Holding a torch in one hand and covering my nose with the other, I walked in. I hadn't gone far when a strong gust of wind nearly made me stumble. Looking up, I almost fainted from fright... Heavens, why did no one tell me this was the Rhino King and not a Rhino Monster? This thing was so massive! Just a snort from him almost blew me out of the cave. His head alone looked like a large shipping container, and if his entire body stood up, he would surely be like a small mountain, incredibly huge.
The Rhino Monster didn't disappoint me; he stood up, indeed like a small mountain.
He moved, he chased me out, and I could only run... I sprinted out of the cave, and under the moonlight, I finally saw the full appearance of the Rhino Monster.
[Rhino King] (BOSS)
Level:...
Attack:...
Defense:...
The field of vision opened up, and I unceremoniously drew my weapon and slashed at him. The Rhino King also Charged over.
System Prompt: You have been hit by the Rhino King's Charge, losing 185 HP and stunned for 3 seconds.
It seems the Rhino King's attack isn't very high, but what surprised me more was my attack on the Rhino King, which only dealt 324 damage. How high must his defense be? My 700 attack only dealt 324 HP damage. If my attack were below 300, it would be questionable whether I could even deal double-digit damage... 3 seconds, the stun effect ended, and the attack began again.