Chapter 11: Grass Snake
“Your strength is undeniable, I won’t stop you anymore,” the young man nodded.
“Just… be cautious of the Grass Snakes.”
“Grass Snake?”
“Yes, the Grass Snake was originally a non-venomous water snake, but as you can imagine, like wild boars and other animals, the Grass Snake has been infected by an unknown force. Their attacks may not be poisonous, but they can drive a person insane.”
“Got it,” Zane acknowledged.
…
Zane looked at the time, it was exactly 10 o’clock, not in a hurry to eat, and could continue to take on missions.
“Grass Snakes… this could be a bit troublesome,” Endless Sea frowned.
“What’s wrong? Are you familiar with Grass Snakes?” Zane asked.
“Sort of, I’ve caught quite a few when I was younger. Grass Snakes are cautious by nature and won’t attack unless they are absolutely sure. We should try to avoid places with water, as Grass Snakes can dive. Plus, their attack speed is definitely faster than wild boars, making them very hard to dodge.”
He paused for a moment and said, “What worries me more is what to do if four or five Grass Snakes appear at the same time.”
“Regardless, we have to give it a try,” Zane said.
“That’s true, let’s go,” Endless Sea replied.
…
“Achen, what level are you now?” Brother Shiu’s voice came from across the way.
“Level 6,” Zane replied casually.
“Only level 6? You won’t believe I’m already 5… wait, you’re level 6?” Brother Shiu seemed unable to accept this.
“Yeah, level 6, what’s wrong with that?” Starry was already level 7, so he was just slightly above 6.
“…” Brother Shiu was silent for a few seconds before exclaiming, “What have you been doing to level up so fast!?”
“Just grinding monsters, what else could I be doing?”
“Of course, but my mission progress is so much faster than yours! How could you possibly overtake me in levels just by grinding?”
“That’s why I said I’m an old hand at this. Ah, the truth is often not accepted by the masses,” Zane said arrogantly.
“If you keep this up, don’t think about borrowing money from me!”
“Hey hey, I was wrong! It’s because a skilled player was helping me level up that I reached this fast,” Zane confessed honestly.
“A skilled player? What’s their name?”
“Their ID is Dropping Stars, I don’t know much else.”
“Don’t remember. I’ll check later when we eat. By the way, what are we having for lunch?”
“Of course, instant noodles! Who has time to go out to eat?”
“Got it.”
…
Zane did not expect that Brother Shiu was only level 5 now, despite having gone to the Slime territory much earlier.
But thinking about it, it makes sense; he probably lost a level just figuring out Slime attack patterns, and without any gear, his damage to the Slimes would be very limited. It’s not surprising he’s still level 5.
“I say, could you guys not use private chat? It’s eerily quiet in the whole team,” Endless Sea complained.
Private chat? Once he thought about it, he realized both characters were controlled by him, so there was no need for him to talk to himself. Throughout the journey, it was basically Endless Sea doing all the talking, and it was painfully uncomfortable, especially since the environment was so gloomy.
“Brother Sea, you misunderstood us. She and I have a telepathic connection, we don’t need to chat privately,” Zane said seriously.
“…” Endless Sea struggled to suppress the urge to strangle them for throwing dog food at his face, thinking he might never be able to find solace as a single dog!
Just as he wanted to say something else…
“Be careful!” A “green arrow” suddenly shot out from the bushes, heading straight for Endless Sea.
Starry swiftly stepped forward, intercepting it perfectly with a click that struck right in the abdomen.
-125
Endless Sea heard the notification and hurriedly turned around, but he was still a step too late, and his arm was hit.
-98
Seeing the situation going south, the Grass Snake decided to retreat, but an unprepared Zane stepped on its tail just in time.
“Hmph, you think you can run?”
The next moment, Zane was thrown to the ground by a massive force, and the Grass Snake whipped its tail at Zane.
-49
“…” Zane stood up in a disheveled state.
Fortunately, it wasn’t all for naught; Starry had already scanned the Grass Snake’s stats.
Mutated Grass Snake
Rarity: Blue
Level: 8
Health: 200
Attack: 30-35
Defense: 13
Skills: Diving
Description: Grass Snakes move quickly and are cautious by nature. Do not attempt to provoke them; otherwise, you will face a merciless attack.
“This is deadly. I lost 98 health in one hit. My total health hasn’t even gone over 300, at most three hits and I’m definitely dead,” Endless Sea said with concern.
“I’ll scout ahead,” Starry proactively suggested.
“…Fine,” he knew this wasn’t the time to be stubborn; only Starry could effectively counter the attacks.
“Swish, swish, swish.”
As Endless Sea was about to remind, he saw Starry swing the Qiu Yue Sword to the right, predicting! The Grass Snake crashed hard into the blade.
-80
Dead!
It dropped a poison fang and some copper coins.
Although he had seen such feats several times, Endless Sea was still speechless in amazement. Such skill and reaction speed; this must be the prowess of a national-level athlete…
“What are you dawdling for? Let’s go!” Zane shouted.
“Oh, I’m coming!”
…
Afterward, they encountered several Grass Snakes along the way. Starry led the charge, and not a single Grass Snake could attack her, becoming souls under the sword. Copper coins and poison fangs were consistently piling up.
“Brother, how did you charm this girl? That’s pretty impressive!”
I charmed myself? Although Starry was extremely beautiful, she was still another version of myself… Zane shook his head, “She’s probably the closest person to me.”
“What? So that means, Brother封尘, uh, no, brother-in-law! I…” Endless Sea said excitedly.
“Shut it,” Zane replied flatly.
The Grass Snakes provided substantial experience; an 8-level monster is no joke. After continuously defeating 30 Grass Snakes, Zane and Endless Sea reached level 7, while Starry’s experience was at 97% of level 7, just a little more to go.
The Grass Snakes in this area should have been completely cleared.
They shouldn’t reappear before the next respawn. And they had also spotted various herbs of different shapes.
Some grew on the ground, while others thrived in the crevices of rocks.
What they needed to do now was to collect the herbs as much as possible, as it related to their final rewards.
…
“Miss He, here are the herbs we collected.”
The three of them spilled out all the herbs they gathered, creating a green mound.
“My goodness… there’s so much! You didn’t empty out that area, did you?” He Caixia exclaimed.
“It was you who told us to get as many as possible…” Zane replied, speechless.
“Regardless, you’ve helped the entire village immensely! Here’s your reward, please accept it.”
“Beep.”
System Notification: Gained 5000 Experience Points, 1 Gold Coin, Yao Tie Sword.
A flash of golden light, Starry reached level 8, while the other two were halfway to their next level.
Yao Tie Sword?
Yao Tie Sword:
Rarity: Blue
Use Level: 7
Attack Power: 8-10
Strength: 3
Description: Originally the sword of guard He Dong, who died of illness, it became an ownerless sword thereafter.
Great! I finally have a weapon to use in combat! Moreover, this is level 7 gear that I can use immediately.
He quickly equipped it, replacing his iron sword, raising his attack power to 31-33, and even if a wild boar reappeared, it wouldn’t be able to break through his defense.
Looking over to Starry’s reward, she also received an additional equipment.
Boots of Speed:
Rarity: Blue
Use Level: 8
Agility: 2
Movement Speed: 3%
Description: Shoes filled with speed.
Movement speed and agility are essential attributes for Starry; she slipped them on, and the Boots of Speed transformed into a pair of sandals on her feet, revealing her smooth and delicate skin.
“Brother Sea, did you get any gear?”
“What gear? Didn’t we only get experience and coins?”
“Starry and I both received gear, look,” Zane sent over the equipment stats.
“Damn, am I the only one without anything?” He then turned to He Caixia and said, “Beauty, aren’t you forgetting something?”
“Now that you mention it… right, I need to handle these herbs quickly. You all can leave, don’t disturb my work!”
“Bang!” The door was slammed shut.
“Damn, this is unfair treatment! I want to file a complaint!” Endless Sea shouted.
But unfortunately, no one paid him any mind.
“Forget it, I have the Shattering Hammer, that’s enough for me. You giving me things, I wouldn’t even want them!”
“So what do we do next…”
Before Endless Sea could finish his sentence, loud noises came from behind.
“Boss! They are here!” Zane recognized the voice of Yuhua Zhang San.
