In countless Novice Villages, while the majority of players were still struggling to defeat slimes, Jiang Han already felt that success was within reach.

"I hope you can teach me everything you know!" Jiang Han said, trying to remain calm to avoid giving himself away.

"...Alright!"

After a moment of consideration, the Novice Village Soldier agreed.

"Ding!~"

System Notification: You have received the teachings of [Novice Village Soldier · Cairo], learning [Basic Swordsmanship] (D Rank)!

"Ding!~"

System Notification: You have received the teachings of [Novice Village Soldier · Cairo], learning [Basic Combo] (C Rank)!

Although these skills seemed "basic" just by their names, Jiang Han was in high spirits, eager to go out and trouble the slimes again. At least with these two skills, his strength had improved—

[Basic Swordsmanship] (Passive) (D Rank)

Description: Mastering basic swordsmanship allows you to refine your skills further.

Effect: Attack +5!

Restriction: 100% effectiveness when equipped with sword-type weapons, only 50% with other weapons.

[Basic Combo] (Active) (C Rank)

Description: Just a straightforward two-hit combo, don't expect too much.

Effect: Quickly inflicts two attacks based on your own attack on a single enemy, dealing 75% damage with the first hit and 80% with the second!

Cooldown: 20 seconds.

Cairo let out a breath, seemingly exhausted, but his gaze was fixed on Jiang Han: "I've taught you everything, now you must make a contract with me!"

"Alright!"

Jiang Han nodded in agreement; now was definitely not the time to turn hostile.

"Ding!~"

System Notification: You have made a contract with [Novice Village Soldier · Cairo], agreeing to pay 10,000 gold coins within a week as gratitude for his teachings. If you break this contract, you will be hunted by the entire Novice Village, never to find peace.

Jiang Han frowned: "Why just a week?"

In truth, he didn't intend to break the contract; after all, he proposed the terms himself. Once he leveled up, paying it back wouldn't be impossible, but the one-week demand was indeed unreasonable.

"If you don't pay 10,000 gold coins within a week, don't even think about leaving the Novice Village." Cairo grinned, his eyes carrying a warning.

Truly intelligent!

Jiang Han couldn't help but grumble inwardly, nodding with a smile: "Fine, but you must give me suitable weapons and clothing!"

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"Why should I?"

"10,000 gold coins for just two basic skills, you tell me why?" Jiang Han said coldly.

Cairo shrugged, indicating helplessness: "But I have indeed taught you everything."

"Add another 10,000 gold coins!" Jiang Han raised two fingers, though anger surged within him, he spoke calmly.

Playing this game with me, huh?

Being hunted by the whole village? I'm not afraid!

If we're going for thrills, let's go all the way!

"...Alright, you've convinced me." Cairo, indeed swayed by money, took out a worn leather armor and a rusty iron sword from his backpack and handed them to Jiang Han—

[Soldier's Leather Armor] (Whiteboard Grade)

Defense: 2-2

Description: The uniform of a Novice Village Soldier.

[Soldier's Iron Sword] (Whiteboard Grade)

Attack: 3-3

Description: The sword of a Novice Village Soldier.

Whiteboard Grade, undoubtedly the lowest weapon grade. According to official descriptions, equipment on the Tianheng Continent is ranked from low to high as Whiteboard Grade, Bronze Grade, Silver Grade, Gold Grade, Dark Gold Grade, Spirit Grade, Earth Grade, Heaven Grade...

The equipment grades beyond Heaven Grade are not specified by the officials, seemingly left for players to discover.

"Ding!~"

System Notification: The contract you made with [Novice Village Soldier · Cairo] has been modified, adding an additional 10,000 gold coins to the terms.

Ignoring the system information, Jiang Han took the two pieces of equipment and immediately put them on, making his character panel's stats look more impressive.

[Yi Jiang Han Shui]

Level: 1

Health: 100

Attack: 9-9

Defense: 3-3

Reputation: 0

Luck: 0

...

"Farewell for now!"

Having achieved his goal, Jiang Han wasted no more words, turned, and headed straight out of the Novice Village to trouble the slimes.

"Hey there, take me with you!"

Seeing Jiang Han's success, a young female player with a delicate appearance clung to him, hoping for some guidance.

Who starts the game with a pretty face in tow?

As a high-quality human player, Jiang Han decisively and righteously refused: "Sorry, ma'am, I'm a heartless slime-killing machine."

"......"

At this moment, many players who witnessed Jiang Han receiving the "favor" of the Novice Village Soldier also became eager, attempting to use money to open the door of convenience with Cairo. However, Cairo's single sentence made them beat their chests in regret for being a step too late—

"Native residents can only teach adventurers skills once a week, and there are no spare uniforms."

...

Leaving the Novice Village, Jiang Han struck the slime with a stick!

He had already checked the slime's information panel: Level 3, with a total of 300 health points, but only a mere 5 attack points. His impressive 3-point defense was more than enough to withstand it.

-21!

A bright red damage number popped up, finally no longer a single digit.

At the same time, the slime was enraged, bouncing up and charging at Jiang Han's chest. However, he reacted swiftly, sidestepping to dodge and stabbing it in the back—not once, but twice.

Basic Combo!

-32!

-38!

Large numbers appeared, a critical hit, and the slime's health bar visibly decreased by a third.

Afterward, Jiang Han quickly dealt with the slime, successfully achieving the game's first monster defeat, and also completed the task given by the village elder.

"Ding!~"

System Notification: Congratulations on killing [Blue Slime], gaining 10 experience points.

Keep going!

Jiang Han didn't return to the Novice Village but immediately sought out the next slime.

It might be hard to believe, but he had managed to get ahead of countless players through sheer bluffing.

Since that was the case, he naturally had to seize the opportunity to widen the gap quickly, aiming to be among the first players to leave the Novice Village.

In just five minutes, Jiang Han had slain over ten slimes, suddenly feeling a warmth all over, golden light scattering, successfully reaching Level 2.

Checking his attribute panel, Jiang Han found no free attribute points; the only advantage of leveling up was an increase of 1 in both attack and defense, and a 100-point boost in health.

Uh...

Great!

At least the efficiency of killing slimes had improved!

"The designers of this game are truly geniuses," Jiang Han glanced at the many frustrated players in the village, secretly admiring.

He had never seen such a bizarre setup; if he hadn't successfully bribed Cairo, he might have been stuck in the village like the others.

Later, spending two hours as a heartless slime killer, Jiang Han reached Level 3, his strength increasing once again!

Of course, if it were just about killing slimes, Jiang Han wouldn't need to spend so much time leveling up. The issue was that at the start of the game, with no money or potions in his backpack, he had to rest on the spot to slowly recover his health when it was low.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Jiang Han felt something was off. After pondering for a moment, he realized: "Damn, after grinding for over two hours, these slimes haven't dropped a single copper coin!"

Not even a copper coin, let alone any equipment.

"Starting with just a stick, and adventurers are supposed to conquer the world?" Jiang Han looked down at the iron sword in his hand, which was hardly different from scrap metal, thinking about how far ahead he was of others, he was momentarily speechless.

Damn, I'm at a loss for words.

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Proofreader: Peter Pan