Chapter Twenty: Precious Ore

I tossed the two white pieces of equipment into my backpack, logged off with Xuehan, and returned to reality.

The dishes were already laid out on the table. Besides the usual milk and bread, there were two plates of stir-fry, which was a pleasant surprise. I quickly heated the stir-fry in the microwave and then began eating with Xuehan.

“Lin Fan, I’m almost level eleven now. What about you?” Xuehan asked, biting into her bread.

“Level thirteen and a half. The speed isn’t too shabby.”

“Mm, I’ve finished my quest. What about you?”

I thought for a moment. “I’ve still got two quests left, one of which is unique. Why don’t you train solo for a bit? I’ll help you out once I’m done.”

Xuehan pouted unhappily. “You’re afraid I’ll drag you down, aren’t you?”

I hurried to explain, “Not at all! I’m just worried that helping me with my quests will slow your leveling.”

“How could it? I level up quickly when fighting with you. Besides, you want me, a priest, to train alone?”

She had a point, so I nodded. “Alright, come with me for the quests. Any equipment we get from monsters will be yours.”

“That won’t do. You’re helping me level, so I don’t want the gear!”

“In that case, you can keep anything you can use.”

“Deal.”

A few minutes later, we finished eating and quickly returned to our rooms to log into the game.

The serpent-headed monsters hadn’t respawned yet, so we continued eastward. In the distance, we could just make out the outline of Halfhill Mountain.

On the way, the variety of monsters increased: level 14 Carrion Vultures, level 16 Savage Werewolves, level 17 Mutant Gray Wolves… Clearing the path of monsters, we arrived at the foot of Halfhill Mountain half an hour later. My level had risen to fourteen, while Xuehan had reached eleven twenty minutes earlier. Checking on everyone else, Lin-jie and Xinyu were still struggling toward level ten, the rest were at eight, and my only friend whom I hadn’t met in person, Murong Shanshan, was already at level eleven. With that green sword, she really was a leveling goddess.

Xuehan pointed ahead excitedly. “Look, that’s a One-Clawed Werewolf! I can’t see its level—do you think we can handle it?”

“It’s an eighteen-level monster. Try pulling one first.”

Xuehan immediately cast a curse, luring a One-Clawed Werewolf over. I stepped in to block its path, my longsword drawing a graceful arc through the air as I unleashed a heavy strike upon it. The damage number, 124, was satisfying, but the werewolf struck back, dealing 34 damage to me, which startled Xuehan. She quickly began casting Greater Heal continuously. Even so, by the time I finished off the werewolf, my health was at less than half.

I traded the small blue potions I’d just found to Xuehan and, catching my breath, said, “Let’s not clear all the monsters. We’ll carve a path from the base of the rocky mountain. The ores should be somewhere on the slope.”

“Okay, I’ll pull the monsters, you just focus on killing. With the blue potions we have, we can clear a path.”

I nodded and, just to be safe, drank a bottle of tomato sauce before rejoining the battle.

We moved cautiously along the rocks. The One-Clawed Werewolves clustered in groups around campfires, seemingly plotting something. After two days of practice, Xuehan had adapted to the fast-paced gameplay. Whenever she pulled two monsters, she’d deftly use her curse to lure one away, then maneuver to reduce the damage I took. Sometimes, though, it got so tense I was left with barely a sliver of health—she nearly scared me to death. Who knew if I’d survive her antics.

A few minutes later, Xuehan suddenly stopped. “Lin Fan, behind those monsters, there’s a yellow glow—could that be the ore you need?”

I immediately checked the quest prompt—yes, this rare copper was exactly what I needed!

Xuehan quickly pulled the monsters, and with her help, I took down four level eighteen beasts one by one. Luck was finally on our side: after eight hours of drought, we finally obtained another piece of green equipment!

[Werewolf Guard] (Shield—Green Equipment)
Defense: 42
Stamina: +2
Strength: +1
Equip: Physical Dodge Rate +2%
Required Level: 12
…

It was a shield, but unfortunately, as a swordsman, I couldn’t use shields. Only knights—those who pursue defense—could equip them. Still, a shield granting forty-two defense was impressive; any knight wearing it early on would be an absolute fortress.

Xuehan smiled, “This equipment’s not bad. It should fetch a good price, right?”

“Yeah. In three days, the price will peak—right when a wave of knights take their jobs. A shield of this caliber will be in high demand. If we sell it, we’ll split the proceeds fifty-fifty.”

Xuehan chuckled, “Whatever you say. By the way, hurry and mine the ore. If the monsters respawn, it’ll be too late.”

I nodded, walked over, swapped my longsword for the small iron shovel from my pack, and used my mining skill on the ore. The progress bar slowly crept forward.

“Ding~!”

System prompt: You have obtained Rare Copper Ore x5!

The copper ore gradually disappeared, but my pack held only five pieces. Looks like this quest would need more than one batch.

“Let’s keep looking for ore. We don’t have enough quest items yet—might as well treat it as leveling up.”

Xuehan nodded. “Okay. By the way, you’re treating everyone to dinner tonight, right? Have you talked with Lin-jie about the time? I can’t wait!”

Girls always have a fondness for food. I glanced at Xuehan’s flat stomach and teased, “Don’t get your hopes up too much—watch out for a barrel waist, you know~”

“Hmph, I won’t!”

…

Fighting level eighteen monsters, Xuehan at eleven and myself at fourteen, the experience gains were substantial—especially for Xuehan, who was seven levels below the monsters and couldn’t even see their levels. Her experience must have been through the roof, judging by the constant grin on her face.

We searched the mountain slope for nearly seven hours, clearing the monsters several times. Eventually, I collected enough ore, Xuehan jumped from level eleven to thirteen, and I reached fifteen and a half. The only regret was that, despite fighting monsters several levels above us all afternoon, aside from that shield, we hadn’t found any more equipment. The drop rate in “Moon Eternal” was clearly abysmal—no wonder players fighting monsters of their own level rarely saw green equipment.

Hearing my stomach growling and seeing it was already five in the evening, I realized the last quest was beyond my current level. I suggested to Xuehan that we log off, then notified the others so we could all log off and go for drinks together.