Players dying during the Newbie phase (before leaving Newbie Village) do not lose levels, experience, equipment, or items. As for money…
It's laughable, Shen Mu doesn't even have a single copper coin right now!
Just hearing it sounds like a tear-filled, sad story!
Watching the 'Drinking Poison to Quench Thirst' buff tick down its last second, Shen Mu revealed a relieved smile. He basically died once every ten seconds. In three hours… he must have died over a thousand times!
If it weren't for Newbie protection, his losses… wouldn't seem that great either?
After all, he's only level two… thinking about it just makes him sadder!
He's been in the game for most of the day, and he's only level two!
However, dying over a thousand times in a short period left him traumatized. Now, let alone a second time, even the thousandth time was given to the Village Chief's wife…
The Village Chief immediately called for a fire mage to clear the weeds!
Cui Lian's move was truly ruthless, but Shen Mu was indeed a bit out of line. He glanced at the broken bowl in his inventory again and sighed inwardly:
yu wo you yuan bowl (Broken): Special equipment, usable with Begging skills, Charm -1, Luck -1, Item Drop Rate +5%.
Additional Skill 1: Forced Begging. If a Begging skill fails, this skill can be used to forcibly beg from the target once. Begging is guaranteed to succeed. Using this skill is highly likely to cause dissatisfaction or even hatred from the target.
Additional Skill 2: ???
Weight: 0.1 kg, Rating: -1, Class Restriction: None, Level Restriction: Level 0.
Description: Special equipment cannot be dropped, disassembled, discarded, destroyed, sold, or traded.
This was another piece of equipment related to him, and it was special equipment. Previously, his Begging would fail, but with this broken bowl, it was guaranteed to succeed, though the outcome of the Begging might not be too good.
From skills to equipment, Shen Mu was certain that the Goddess of Luck was definitely helping him in secret!
Begging was a divine skill, no doubt, but its drawbacks were also significant. One must know… he only received a meager 25% positive feedback from his Begging!
He should try to avoid using it as much as possible in the future!
After examining the broken bowl, Shen Mu rummaged through his empty inventory again. Before he died, he had stolen from the Village Chief's wife once. The system prompt had sounded then, but he searched for a long time and couldn't find the stolen item.
After a while, he finally found the 'Stealing Failed' message in the system message interface, which disappointed him. However, the previous message caught his attention:
"Begging successful, empty-handed trigger, you have obtained the temporary skill Pharmacology (Lvmax), skill duration: 24 hours!"
Ah, this… Max-level Pharmacology!
Shen Mu was directly shocked. In fact, Pharmacology was not difficult to obtain; players could choose a sub-profession after leaving the Newbie Village, and Pharmacology was one of the skills of the sub-profession 'Alchemist'.
But Pharmacology is Pharmacology, and max-level Pharmacology are completely two different skills. The difference between the two is like the difference between a commoner and him…
One is a small toothpick, the other is… a towering pillar!
Pharmacology (Lvmax): Temporary skill, can produce most potions. If a potion recipe is available, the related potion can definitely be produced.
Skill Trait 1: Peerless, Potion Crafting Success Rate +70%, Potion Crafting Speed +150%, Potion Crafting Cost -30%, Potion Product Quantity +10%.
Skill Trait 2: Medicine King, when crafting potions, there is a chance for supreme-grade potions with doubled effects to appear.
Skill Trait 3 (Unavailable): Potion Restoration, certain potions can be restored to their pre-crafting raw materials, with no loss of materials. This trait's cooldown: 3 days.
Skill Trait 4 (Temporary): Unique, potions crafted with temporary skills cannot be sold, traded, or given away, and cannot be used by other players.
What a heaven-defying skill, but unfortunately, it only lasts for one day… It seems I'll have to visit my sister-in-law more often in the future!
Shen Mu stroked his chin. He could use this skill now. Although his treasure chest monster was snatched, the monster still 'gave' him something:
Small Experience Potion Recipe: After use, you can learn how to make Small Experience Potions. Requires Pharmacology Level 3 or higher.
Small Experience Potion: Experience Gain +15%, Duration: 15 minutes, Cooldown: 20 minutes, Potion Resistance: 0.
Crafting Materials: Goji Berries ×3, Eucommia Bark ×3, Rehmannia Root ×3, Clear Water ×1, Small Glass Bottle ×1, Single Crafting Time: 15 seconds.
Experience potions have always been hard currency in games, though different games call them by different names, such as experience bonus cards, monthly experience cards, experience babies, or experience artifacts.
The only common point might be… they all cost money, and they are quite valuable!
With experience potions, Shen Mu's leveling speed could greatly increase, but the immediate priority was to find a way to get some money. Fortunately, he still had a quest.
For the next few hours, Shen Mu ran around the village, constantly interacting with NPCs and taking on various quests.
This game mode is basically monotonous, with many small quests to familiarize players with the game and its basic operations and gameplay, also allowing players to have some intuitive experience of the game.
Shen Mu had played many games, and while he didn't know this routine by heart, he was certainly very familiar with it. After circling the village more than a dozen times, his level also increased to 7, and he not only learned a new skill but also changed his equipment.
While doing quests, he didn't forget his main profession. Begging plus Shadow Cloak plus stealthily reaching out his small hand became more and more proficient for him, with his proficiency almost halfway there!
He accumulated a pile of junk in his inventory, which he sold entirely to the general store owner. After selling the broken socks he had re-obtained from the owner, Shen Mu's money finally broke the 1 gold mark, reaching 1 gold, 0 silver, and 1 copper.
"See you later!" Ge Erdan, the general store owner, 9527, indifferently saw Shen Mu off and slammed the counter door shut.
He swore, if he ever walked out of the counter again, he'd be a bachelor for life!
Shen Mu awkwardly rubbed his nose. He felt Ge Erdan was a bit narrow-minded. How could the socks I obtained by my own skill not be sold?
It was one copper coin, after all!
Does he think everyone is a rich person who can just throw money around?!
With money, Shen Mu quickly jogged to the pharmacy next to the general store, and upon seeing the owner, Yao Xiaowan, he immediately used Begging, successfully obtaining a Moonstream Grass, 'priceless'!
Then Shen Mu, with immense generosity, bought half a gold's worth of medicinal materials and a stack of small glass bottles. The remaining half a gold was used to buy half a stack of small blue potions.
(Note: Resources such as medicinal materials, potions, crafting materials, and ores are always 99 units per stack, accumulating weight. This note will only appear once!)
Half a gold… which was 50 copper coins worth of medicinal materials, ultimately yielded 5 Small Experience Potions. His anticipated Medicine King trait did not trigger, but at least the success rate was 100%.
After crafting the potions at the pharmacy, Shen Mu was about to leave to continue questing when a sudden strong force came from behind him. He was violently pushed aside, accompanied by a loud shout:
"Owner, quickly, half a stack of large red potions and half a stack of large blue potions, I'm in a hurry!"
Shen Mu was pushed and immediately felt angry, but upon hearing the person's words, he raised an eyebrow. The voice sounded so familiar!
Isn't this his old friend, Luan Shi Weiyang?
Luan Shi Weiyang bought his potions, glanced at Shen Mu, and then hurried away. Shen Mu's eyes flashed, and he immediately followed.
In a hurry… and buying so many potions… could he be going to find a young lady… ahem, to push a boss?
"There's no overnight grudge between father and son; after all, it's settled the same day. Good children, it's time to pay your debts!"
Shen Mu quickened his pace to catch up with Luan Shi Weiyang. He didn't get too close, just followed from a distance, finally watching Luan Shi Weiyang disappear into a forest.
"As expected, he ran into a boss…"
Shen Mu hid behind a large tree, watching Luan Shi Weiyang's five-person team in a stony clearing within the forest, attacking a rabbit that was more than a person's height… ahem, fiercely fighting!
Bunnies are so cute, how can you hit bunnies!!
After watching for a while, Shen Mu realized that these five people should be Luan Shi Weiyang's elite squad. Their coordination was very skilled, no one was greedy for hits, they retreated when they should, and attacked when they should. The person commanding was very methodical.
If there were no accidents, it was only a matter of time before they took down this boss, so Shen Mu turned and left!
A gentleman does not stand under a crumbling wall; he needs to create a crumbling wall!
About ten minutes later, Shen Mu was followed by a group of Goblins. They were shouting and screaming, chasing Shen Mu relentlessly behind a slightly larger Goblin, as if he had killed their father.
Who told Shen Mu to steal their iron pot, which they relied on for survival, right in front of them!
At this moment, Shen Mu was chugging blue potions while activating Shadow Step, quickly running towards the clearing. Once he reached the edge, he first activated Shadow Cloak, then threw out a black pot…
"Go!"
The Goblins were first stunned, then they frantically charged towards Luan Shi Weiyang, who was dazed by the black pot. Shen Mu, having accomplished his goal without retreating, calmly watched the battlefield, ready to land a finishing blow at any moment.
Just then, monster calls also came from the other side of the clearing. A group of Hyenas appeared in sight, chasing a player holding a staff.
That player actually had the same idea as Shen Mu, using the strategy of 'driving dogs to swallow rabbits,' 'surrounding dogs to save rabbits,' 'reaping the benefits of rabbits,' and 'leading dogs to bite dogs'!
"Damn it, that's truly despicable! To mess with someone while they're fighting a monster, I despise you!"
Shen Mu disdainfully spat, then he saw this mage player named Wu Yong Zhi Ren suddenly throw a scroll, and his figure instantly passed through the clearing, directly arriving at the tree where he was hiding!
Damn it, this move is called 'shifting the blame,' isn't it?!
"Player Wu Yong Zhi Ren invites you to join their party, do you agree?"
The system prompt sounded, and Wu Yong Zhi Ren asked without looking back: "Cooperation?"
My goodness, someone is even more pretentious than me?