NOVEL NEXT Ch. 7
Chapter 7. Monster's Lair
As for the corpses of these goblins, Chen Zixuan didn't let them go either, squatting down to collect loot from each one.
Even though they were just the lowest-level monsters, there was still a certain chance they would drop loot after death.
"System prompt: You have obtained 1 [Monster Blood]."
"System prompt: You have obtained 2 [Worn Leather]."
"System prompt: ......"
A few minutes later, Chen Zixuan finished collecting. Her backpack now contained two different types of materials.
Although both were low-level, they could be used to craft other items or sold to NPCs or other players.
Even a mosquito is still meat; it was a waste to throw them away.
After collecting the materials, Chen Zixuan opened her character panel.
After the recent battle, [Cecilia] finally leveled up from 1 to 2; all attributes +3. The current stats were as follows:
Name: Cecilia
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Race: Vampire
Class: Vampire Prince
Title: Noble of the Dark (Legendary) [Can be replaced with "Goblin Slayer"]
Level: 2
Max HP: 200
Max MP: 200
Max Stamina: 100
Attack: 41
Magic: 23
Physical Defense: 13
Magic Defense: 33
Intelligence: 153 (+60)
Agility: 153 (+60)
Class Talent Skills: Housekeeping (Lv.max), Blood Banquet (Lv.1)
Basic Skills: Silverflash Pierce (Lv.1)
Special Skills: Maid Outfit Mastery (Lv.max), dagger/Shortblade Mastery (Lv.1), Blood Magic Mastery (Lv.1)
(Assignable Attribute Points: 1)
......
Assignable attribute points can be freely distributed by the player, either for upgrading basic attributes or increasing skill levels.
In the game, skills have a minimum level of Lv.1 and a maximum of Lv.10.
Cecilia's basic stats were already high.
Many average players wouldn't have such an impressive panel even at level 10, so Chen Zixuan didn't choose to further increase her attack but instead put the 1 point into her only offensive skill at the moment.
"System prompt: Your basic skill [Silverflash Pierce] has been upgraded to Lv.2!"
Epic class skills were extremely powerful and definitely worth investing in.
Sure enough, after leveling up, [Silverflash Pierce]'s attack multiplier increased from 3x to 4x, and its maximum damage value rose to 16x.
A maximum of 16x true damage meant that when an enemy's HP was below 30%, [Cecilia] could deal up to 848 true damage with a single skill!
Although the mana cost increased by 10 points, it didn't matter—Chen Zixuan had plenty of mana and more than enough for her to spend lavishly in the early stages.
As for the newly acquired title [Goblin Slayer], there was no reason to equip it.
It was a trash title, providing only a tiny amount of health and nothing else, far inferior to her starter title, [Noble of the Dark].
After clearing the battlefield, Chen Zixuan returned to the main gate of Crown Town to hand in her quest to the captain of the guards.
"Captain, I've completed my task."
The captain nodded approvingly.
"Not bad! As expected from the adventurer with the most potential in our town—you have half the flair I had back in my day!"
Chen Zixuan clenched her fists. Why did this NPC come off as so punchable?
Would killing an NPC drop equipment? Urgent, waiting for answers online!
Then, the captain laughed heartily and continued, "Looks like such a simple task is no challenge for you anymore. I need to find you something more difficult. There's a monster's lair two li outside town, where there are three big goblins. Bring me their ears, and I'll give you a generous reward and even recommend you to my cousin, a guard in the royal city!"
"A new map unlock?"
At these words, Chen Zixuan immediately perked up.
"System prompt: You have officially activated the [Defend the Town] Quest (II)—Go to the monster's lair and kill 3 big goblins (0/3) to earn the captain's trust!"
(Quest reward: 30 copper coins; 5 bottles of basic health potion; 5 bottles of basic mana potion; 1 letter of recommendation from the captain.)
This quest reward was much richer than the last one—not just currency and potions but also the chance to unlock a new map.
By every measure, Chen Zixuan had no reason to refuse.
However, she did not go straight to complete the quest. Instead, she first returned to the town and sold the materials she had just gathered to the NPC shop.
After earning 15 copper coins, Chen Zixuan went to the blacksmith, spending another 5 copper coins to repair her weapon, which was nearly at zero durability.
With all her battle preparations done, Chen Zixuan's stamina had nearly returned to full.
Time right after a server launch was precious, so she didn't hesitate and headed straight for the monster's lair mentioned by the captain.
Outside the town, it was still the familiar plains—soft green grass, fresh air, making it feel as if she had really come into nature, relaxed and refreshed.
As she walked, Chen Zixuan pondered her next steps.
First, leveling up was the top priority. She didn't want to randomly drop dead at home a week later.
This game account was just too valuable, and for now, she still couldn't guess what the mastermind's real goal was.
Second was the question of how to make money.
After all, she currently had less than a thousand coins in savings and still owed Gu Yanxi rent. Although Gu Yanxi said it didn't need to be repaid right away, Chen Zixuan didn't want to drag her feet forever.
Chen Zixuan didn't plan to sell that blue dagger yet; she'd keep using it herself for a while at least.
Her plan was to finish this quest, then grind more goblins on the plains.
After logging off at night, she'd check the forums to see if any wealthy players wanted to buy materials or copper.
As she walked forward, the grass on the ground grew ever thicker. After a few minutes, a lush forest finally appeared before Chen Zixuan—the monster's lair was close.
At the forest's edge stood a wooden signpost wrapped in vines. The writing on it was long faded and unreadable, but there was a vaguely discernible skull painted on it.
Chen Zixuan recalled the data from the official game website, which said that only extremely dangerous maps would be marked with a skull like this.
This was not a good omen.
"System prompt: Congratulations, you have unlocked a new map—Carrion Forest!"
Gazing at the shadowy woods before her, the silver-haired girl took a deep breath, her eyes full of resolve as she walked in.
The moment she entered, Chen Zixuan felt her heartbeat suddenly speed up.
The forest was far too dark—not a single bird's cry, no sign of other animals, deathly silent and eerie.
The vines winding underfoot grew denser, rubbing against her smooth calves and at times causing a faint, stinging pain—quite uncomfortable.
Legend of Kaloran's pain simulation was also highly realistic; if you wanted, you could even set it to feel identical to reality.
When creating the character, Chen Zixuan hadn't seen a pain adjustment panel, so the system must have set it to the highest by default.
After walking several dozen more meters, just as Chen Zixuan's unease peaked, a clearing suddenly appeared ahead. A campfire flickered with a faint light.
The monster's lair had been found!
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
I will be using she/her to Zixuan when she's in game, but he/him when outside..
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】