"Want me to take you seriously?" The old man remained unmoved, pointing impatiently at the lively blue slimes outside the village. "It's simple, just kill a slime to prove your strength."

"Ding!~"

System Prompt: Do you want to accept the quest [Prove Strength] (Difficulty: D)?

"Yes!"

Although Jiang Han felt like a thousand galloping horses were rushing through his mind, now was clearly not the right time. Regretting that the old man couldn't witness the praise centered around his mother, he accepted this rather inexplicable quest.

[Prove Strength]

Description: Brave adventurer, kill a slime to prove your might, if you can.

Reward: 20 experience points.

Time was precious, so after receiving the quest, he quickly left the Novice Village. His eyes scanned the creatures that seemed filled with viscous liquid, and without hesitation, he raised his right hand to retrieve the only top-tier equipment from his ten-slot backpack.

Heaven did not create Jiang Han, and the Novice Village would be in eternal darkness!

Bring it on!

"Swish!"

A half-meter-long, wrist-thick novice wooden stick appeared in Jiang Han's hand, which he then heavily smashed onto a slime's head.

-5!

The bright red damage number popped up, indicating the terrifying power of Jiang Han's attack.

Is the game's initial damage control this low?

Jiang Han was somewhat surprised.

"Bang!"

However, in the next second, he realized he was gravely mistaken, as the slime bounced back with astonishing speed. Caught off guard, Jiang Han felt a tightness in his chest and stumbled backward, losing half of his health.

-50!

"No way?" Jiang Han was stunned.

The slime's damage was ten times mine, this isn't scientific!

Just as the slime was about to launch another attack, Jiang Han decisively retreated, returning to the safety of the Novice Village. He hurriedly opened his panel to check if something was wrong—

[Yi Jiang Han Shui]

Level: 1

Health: 100

Attack: 2

Defense: 1

Reputation: 0

Luck: 0

Skills: [Scout Skill] (Effect: Can scout basic information of creatures or items no more than five levels higher than oneself)

...

Apart from having a three-digit health, the highest stat was attack at two, thanks to the wooden stick's bonus. Overall, the panel data was impressively high.

"Something's not right, there's no so-called free attribute points to add..." Jiang Han was puzzled, unable to grasp the situation. It seemed that from the opening scene, the game was filled with oddities.

"Damn it, I can't even beat a slime!"

Meanwhile, a flash of white light beside Jiang Han revealed a burly young man who appeared, cursing, seemingly killed by a monster and resurrected at the starting point.

Jiang Han couldn't help but glance at his game ID, and was instantly shocked—

Nicknamed the Pile Driver.

Even the mightiest in kindergarten got rejected, so how did someone manage to snag such an excellent name? I'm not convinced!

However, since they weren't acquainted, Jiang Han didn't ask further, just watched as more and more players were stumped by the slimes, stuck in the village. He thought for a moment and directly entered the game's official forum. As expected, the forum was in an uproar, with countless complaints about the slimes being too strong.

One post titled [I Am the Slime, Suppressing All Enemies in the World] had already topped the trending list, going viral!

Afterward, Jiang Han browsed the comments section, hoping the all-knowing netizens might find a solution.

Old Ma's Father (Player): Everyone, stop arguing. The officials must have their reasons for doing this. Let me be fair, official NMSL!

Obviously (Player): Sorry, no competition, so they can do whatever they want.

Handsome Suspect (Player): I've asked all the villagers, and they're just short of flipping me off as encouragement. Thank you, officials.

...

No one has cracked it yet?

Jiang Han was utterly speechless.

"Ding!"

System Prompt: You have received an email!

Email?

Quickly clicking it open, Jiang Han saw a message from the officials—

"Dear adventurer, hello. This game uses a unique method to allow the Tianheng Continent to evolve its own worldview. All NPCs have their own stories and emotions. Therefore, we regret that we cannot arbitrarily modify any in-game data. However, we assure you that the Novice Village is not a dead end. We believe adventurers can impress the natives with their strength, courage, and wisdom."

"Are they dead set on disgusting the players?" Jiang Han raised an eyebrow, expressing admiration for the official email.

Unable to arbitrarily modify any in-game data, just listen to that. In his view, perhaps the officials' real intention was to stir things up, thereby increasing the game's popularity. After all, even negative publicity is still publicity, and if used correctly, it can be as effective as positive marketing.

All NPCs have their own stories and emotions...

Carefully rereading the email, Jiang Han pondered for a moment, then wandered around the Novice Village, finally setting his sights on a sword-wielding soldier in tattered armor—

[Novice Village Soldier·???]

A bunch of question marks, indicating that Jiang Han's current strength and level couldn't accurately scout the other party's information panel.

"It seems the Novice Village Soldier is at least level five or above..." The reason for targeting the Novice Village Soldier was also due to his strength.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward quickly and smiled, "Brother, can I ask you a favor?"

"No."

The Novice Village Soldier's refusal was straightforward.

However, Jiang Han was persistent, slowly raising a finger, just about to speak when the other party bluntly replied, "You adventurers should first think about how to protect yourselves from the slimes' attacks. Do you really think a little petty profit can tempt me? Let me tell you, even for ten gold coins, don't expect to get anything from me!"

Wow, indeed, there are many talented players, already using benefits as a bargaining chip to test the waters!

Jiang Han took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Ten thousand gold coins!"

Although the official information about the game was scarce, the currency system had been explained.

In Eternal, there are three types of currency: copper coins, silver coins, and gold coins. Like in typical games, one hundred copper coins exchange for one silver coin, and one hundred silver coins exchange for one gold coin. As for the recharge system, it hasn't been opened in the early stages.

Therefore, no matter how wealthy a player is now, it's impossible to produce even a single gold coin. After all, if gold coins were obtainable early in the game, the copper and silver coin settings would be utterly meaningless.

"!!"

Clearly, the Novice Village Soldier was stunned by Jiang Han's boldness, unable to speak for a long time.

After a while, he coldly said, "Adventurer, do you know what the concept of a full ten thousand gold coins is?"

"Believe it or not, among adventurers, my wealth is considered vast, enough to last several lifetimes." Jiang Han spoke off the cuff.

Several lifetimes!

Of course, this was a lie because just before entering the game, he had finished a pack of instant noodles. The so-called beef was plentiful, and after drinking all the broth, he finally found a single piece at the bottom. That feeling could only be described with three words: a treasure found.

We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google.

"Although I can't bring my wealth to this Tianheng Continent for now, I can assure you that I will become one of the richest adventurers on this continent in the future," Jiang Han said solemnly. "If you don't believe me, we can make a contract. If I breach it, you can hunt me down."

Hunt down!

As a player, the last thing he feared was being hunted. Once his level was high, what waves could a mere Novice Village Soldier make?

"This..."

The Novice Village Soldier hesitated.

It was the first time he had encountered such a generous and confident adventurer. As a soldier with a monthly income of only fifty silver coins, he couldn't help but be tempted. Moreover, these adventurers were so weak that even if they breached the contract, they couldn't possibly escape his grasp.

"If you think I'm lying, then forget it," Jiang Han said, retreating to advance, "I believe someone in the village will be willing to help me."

With that, he turned to leave.

"Wait!"

Hearing Jiang Han was going to find someone else, the Novice Village Soldier quickly called out to stop him, then said seriously, "Young adventurer, your generosity has convinced me. Tell me, how do you want me to help you?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han, with his back to the soldier, curved his lips into a smile.

Though the bait was obvious, he had still managed to reel him in!

---

Proofreader: Peter Pan