Volume One, Chapter Four: Beginner Quest Two—Opening a Treasure Chest
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[Li Chuan: Human]
[Level: 3/40]
[Experience: 0/30]
[Class: None]
[Subclass: None]
[Strength: 6+1]
[Agility: 5]
[Intelligence: 7]
[Armor: 100]
[Mana: 10]
[Free Attribute Points: 10]
[Equipment: Probability Glasses of the God of Delusions (???), Wolf Fang Dagger (Green), Novice Cloth (Gray)]
[Skill: Side Roll (Blue), Proficiency: Beginner 1/10]
“How should I allocate these free attribute points?”
Li Chuan rubbed his chin, glanced at the dagger in his hand, then thought about the side roll he had just learned.
“Judging by my current skills and equipment, a physical class fits best. But I don’t want to be the frontline tank, so the only options are assassin or archer.”
“Both assassin and archer rely on agility. Hmm! Let’s decide on that for now.”
Li Chuan assigned the newly gained free attribute points, distributing them between agility and strength in a 3:2 ratio.
An invisible force suddenly surged through his body; his muscles seemed to leap with joy.
Leveling up feels incredible.
Not only that, when Li Chuan rolled up his pant leg, the wounds on his calf—scratches from the giant wolf—miraculously healed in an instant.
Leveling up even heals wounds?
Hmm, not bad, thumbs up for this game.
[System Notification: Time limit for Newbie Quest One has expired. All players who failed to complete it have been eliminated!]
[Elimination complete!]
[Newbie Quest Two issued: Open a treasure chest]
[The Chaotic Forest contains numerous treasure chests. Find one and open it within six hours!]
[Quest rewards: 20 copper coins, 20 experience points, 1 job change scroll, system shop unlocked.]
[Quest penalty: Elimination!]
[Quest progress: 0/1]
[Time remaining: 6 hours 59 minutes]
Eliminated, just like that!?
“I take back my thumbs up.”
The requirement for Newbie Quest Two is to open a treasure chest, but I already opened one. Why isn’t it counted as completed?
Do I have to open another chest?
“This damn game!”
Li Chuan frowned, growing anxious. Among the giant beasts guarding the treasure chests, compared to the giant lizard protecting the silver chest and the fierce tiger guarding the gold chest, the giant wolf seemed the weakest.
But even the giant wolf guarding the bronze chest was beyond his capacity to handle alone; victory was almost impossible without the help of the Miracle Tree.
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Li Chuan grabbed a wooden stump, placed it beside the Miracle Tree, and sat down heavily.
“You’re supposed to be able to move, little tree, right? Show your old master a few steps.”
Li Chuan wanted to see just how slow the movement speed on the stats really was.
Whoosh!
As if understanding his words, the Miracle Tree suddenly whipped out its vines, wrapping around a massive tree ten meters away, then pulled with all its strength.
The vine snapped taut, and the soil around the tree’s roots bulged gradually.
This…
Is it trying to pull itself over forcefully?
Li Chuan stared at the Miracle Tree’s roots.
Ten minutes passed, and the Miracle Tree had barely moved a meter—slower than a snail.
In other words, in six hours, the Miracle Tree could only cover thirty-six meters?
Li Chuan silently calculated. If he wanted the Miracle Tree to help hunt the giant beasts, he needed to find a treasure chest within a five-hour radius of travel.
Leaving one hour for the fight.
“Little Green, hmm, I’ll call you Little Green from now on.”
“Don’t pull so hard; you don’t even know which way to go yet. Wait here for me, old master will go hunt nearby.”
The little tree obediently retracted its vines.
Li Chuan patted the trunk of Little Green, gripped his dagger, and plunged back into the forest.
He thought having a symbiotic plant would make things safer, but he still had to venture out himself.
“Damn woman, damn system!”
“Oh right, the area chat channel opened, meaning I’m not the only one stuck here. If there are other ‘players,’ I should see what they’re up to.”
Chaotic Island Area Chat Channel.
Current surviving players in the area: 964/1000
Bright Moon Breeze: “So scary! I saw someone die right in front of me! She was begging me for help before she died.”
Time Ages Us: “Damn it, where are we? A deserted island? Some twisted Squid Game? Will anyone come to save us?”
Wheel Marks: “It’s the brain in a vat! We must be brains in a vat!”
Zhou Zhou Porridge: “I, I saw it too—a person suddenly spewed blood all over, like a giant crushed them. I don’t want to stay here; I want to go home.”
…
Just as Li Chuan opened the chat channel, he was met with a flood of oppressive conversations.
“Sigh. This damn place.”
If he hadn’t risked his life to hold off the giant wolf just now, he might have been one of those who died suddenly.
After a while, the topic of death finally subsided.
Zhao Gao Calls a Deer a Horse: “(Image) Look at my symbiotic plant! Haha, I’m a genius—I planted the seed in the mud.”
This player was showing off his symbiotic plant. Li Chuan was curious to see what others’ plants looked like.
He clicked on the image.
[War Ancient Tree: Blue (Growing Stage) (Growth Type)]
[Level: 5/60]
[Experience: 0/500]
[One of the powerful plant spirits in the Plant Spirit Realm, slow movement, outstanding size and strong defense.]
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[Rating: One of the most terrifying troops in the Plant Spirit Realm.]
This War Ancient Tree is the same grade as my Side Roll skill book. Zhao Gao is so proud—does that mean blue quality is really high?
Li Chuan was puzzled, then took out the player manual from his backpack to check.
After more than ten minutes, a smile curved at Li Chuan’s lips, looking quite pleased.
“Hm, blue quality is indeed not low, but compared to my Miracle Tree, it’s still far behind.”
In this apocalyptic game, item rarity is divided into nine tiers:
Gray, White, Green, Cyan, Blue, Purple, Pink, Orange, Legacy, and Divine.
Zhao Gao’s blue is the fourth tier, while my Miracle Tree is eighth, near the top of the color hierarchy, only below Legacy and Divine.
If he’s already proud of a blue tier, then I should be ecstatic!
Li Chuan arrogantly continued browsing.
“Gone in a snap: Honestly jealous. My symbiotic plant is only green and looks totally useless in battle. What can I do? Can I even survive Newbie Quest Two? (Image)”
[Spiny Wind Tumbleweed: Green (Growing Stage)]
[Level: 10/40]
[Experience: 0/200]
[A troublesome plant outside Terran City, fast moving and tricky.]
[Rating: Rolling is my romance with the wind.]
Green is indeed rather ordinary, but compared to higher-tier plants, lower-tier ones seem to start with a higher initial level.
Is that a kind of balance?
Next Life Won’t Be a Workhorse: “Damn, there’s green and blue? Why is mine only white?”
Former Corporate Drone: “Mine’s white too /cry /hug tree”
Most players in the chat were envying Zhao Gao’s plant, while many others shared their symbiotic plant status panels.
Li Chuan checked them one by one, noticing that white was the most common, green was also frequent, but cyan and above were rare.
Not posting in chat doesn’t mean they don’t exist—for example, Li Chuan himself had no intention of sharing the Miracle Tree’s stats.
He kept watching the chat, hoping to glean useful information about Newbie Quest Two.
High Place Is Cold: “Everyone! The giant beasts guarding the treasure chests are extremely powerful. Make sure you’re fully prepared before engaging. You must make good use of your plant spirits!”
Li Chuan nodded.
“Hmm, sound advice. I really need to be fully ready. First, I have to fill my stomach.”
He opened his backpack, took out a wheat bread, and ate while walking.
Willow Waist: “@High Place Is Cold, easy to say, but my plant spirit can’t move at all. How am I supposed to bring it to fight the beasts?”
Brother Pig Kongming: “My plant spirit can move, but even if it reaches the chest, it’s no match for those terrifying beasts.”
…
High Place Is Cold: “Don’t panic, based on my current understanding of the treasure chests and their guardians, I roughly know how to complete this dangerous task.”
Li Chuan’s eyes widened immediately.
There’s a strategy!?