Chapter Eighteen: Mage Equipment

More than three hours had passed in the blink of an eye, and my stomach was already rumbling with hunger. Just a few minutes ago, Xue Han had finally reached level 10. She told me joyfully that her world ranking had now broken into the top 10,000!

"Just a little more and I'll be ranked 13,000," she said, "but I'm not in a rush." Glancing around, I saw that there weren't many monsters left outside. Calculating the time, it had been twelve hours since I last cleared out the Wolf Chieftain. That little boss must have respawned by now.

After wiping out the lingering mobs, I led Xue Han around the rocks, and sure enough, the Wolf Chieftain was already sitting peacefully atop a stone.

"Wow, it's a boss!" Xue Han exclaimed in surprise.

I smiled and said, "That's right. I'll go in first. You should hit it a few times too—try to land the final blow if you can."

"Okay," she replied sweetly, nodding her head.

I charged forward immediately, landing a heavy strike—astonishingly, it was a critical hit!

"244!" flashed above the boss, making Xue Han's mouth form a perfect O. I was surprised too, but my next swing was more normal—"119!"

With my current attack and defense, I no longer needed to hide in the cracks between rocks to rest. Besides, with a pretty girl watching, I couldn't let my reputation as a skilled player slip. With Xue Han's not inconsiderable damage added in, the Wolf Chieftain's health bar visibly shrank at an impressive rate.

About ten minutes later, only a sliver of health remained on the Wolf Chieftain, while I still had about a third of my own. Clearly, I'd grown quite powerful.

"Xue Han, you attack now; I'll keep the boss on me!"

At my command, Xue Han enthusiastically began pummeling the boss with her "delicate fists and slender kicks." The Wolf Chieftain fell once more, this time dying at the hands of a young priestess.

"There's loot!" Xue Han cried out excitedly but didn't move to pick it up.

I knew what she was worried about. She probably thought that since I did most of the work, any equipment should rightfully go to me.

Without further ado, I picked up the gear—two items in total: a staff and a ring.

Without examining them in detail, I immediately shared the attributes with Xue Han:

[Sorcerer's Staff] (Green Equipment)
Magic Attack: 8–15
Intelligence: +7
Stamina: +3
Required Level: 8

[Ring of Healing] (Green Equipment)
Intelligence: +5
Stamina: +1
Bonus: Increases healing effects by up to 5 points
Required Level: 7

A sweet smile spread across Xue Han's fair face as she blinked in delight.

A ring! Finally, a ring! And it even boosts healing effects!

I couldn't help but wonder if the system had tweaked the loot table. By the third time I’d killed this boss, the required levels for the drops were getting lower and lower. Perhaps it was to prevent players from endlessly farming the boss for high-level gear.

The staff added a significant amount of intelligence and boosted magic attack, making it perfect for Xu Lin, our mage. As for the ring, it was practically designed for Xue Han.

Without hesitation, I traded the ring to Xue Han. "This ring is for you. I’ll let Lin know. I’ll take the staff and give it to her along with the bracers," I said.

Xue Han nodded. "Okay. I’m going to head back and change my class now, and then we can leave the beginner’s village together."

"Alright, wait a second!" I quickly stopped her and traded her three gold coins. "Changing classes costs quite a bit. Make sure to learn as many skills as you can!"

Watching Xue Han head back to her village, I looked at the three pieces of equipment in my pack: two for Xu Lin and a bow I’d set aside for Xin Yu. I’d promised her the bow, and I wasn’t one to go back on my word. Otherwise, if she ever became invincible, she might publicly humiliate me for it.

Not long after, Xue Han returned from changing her class. From a distance, she cast a skill at me. Checking my status, I saw:

Buff—Fire of the Mind: Increases the defense and attack of self or teammates by 1%, depending on skill level.

It wasn’t much, but every bit helped.

"Nice! How many skills did you learn?" I praised.

Xue Han smiled. "I learned five. One’s a major healing spell—it takes a while to cast but restores a lot of health. Another is a minor heal, which is faster but recovers less. There’s also a curse, probably for leveling, and two buff skills."

"Let’s go to Hurricane City now. We’ll pick up some quests and find good spots to train," I suggested.

"Okay," she agreed sweetly, her obedient manner utterly charming.

We bid farewell to the village chief and received a pass—an essential document for entering any of the main cities.

Hurricane City was one of the hundred major cities on the China server. Players from Jiangsu, Shanghai, and surrounding areas were generally born in the beginner villages near Hurricane City. This made it easy for players from the same city to team up without hassle. For those who dreamed of wandering the world, it was simple: every main city had a teleportation portal. For just ten gold coins, you could visit any city in China. In time, when intercontinental travel was unlocked, you could even go abroad.

Presenting our passes to the city guards, they immediately enabled our entry.

Unlike the beginner’s village, the main city was built from massive stone blocks. Rows of shops lined the central district, but aside from the NPCs and ourselves, the streets were empty of other players.

Glancing at the excited Xue Han, I asked, "Shall we split up to grab quests? Many are unique, so the sooner we get them, the less chance others have. It’s a rare opportunity!"

Xue Han immediately agreed. "Let’s do it! Once we’ve got a good batch, we can complete them together."

I nodded, and we divided up, she heading east and I west, each in search of quests.

Just like in the beginner’s village, I received a monster-hunting quest from the city’s defense officer:

[Clear the Farmland]
Quest Description: The Matthew Farm east of Hurricane City has recently suffered attacks from a vicious group of Serpentfolk, resulting in the loss of large quantities of grain meant for the city’s border troops. Due to an undead plague in the nearby settlement of Sunset Town, most of the city’s defense forces are battling the plague’s spreaders and cannot assist the farm. You are asked to clear out the Serpentfolk and bring back fifty Serpentfolk Eyes to Squad Leader Roger.

According to the quest details, the Serpentfolk were generally levels 12 to 14. With my current strength, I was confident I could handle them alone.