Shadow Killer sensed something, but he didn't care. Lin Tianhao helping him complete this task meant he could leave the Novice Village. As for what Lin Tianhao planned to do next, that was none of his business.
"I'll take you to level ten, and then we'll go find the old drunkard," Lin Tianhao said, sending a party invitation. He had originally planned to grind monsters to increase his health and reach level ten, as he couldn't gain experience points outside the Novice Village. Might as well help Shadow Killer along the way.
With Lin Tianhao's help, Shadow Killer's leveling speed was incredibly fast. In less than half an hour, he had already reached level ten.
"Let's go find the old drunkard," Lin Tianhao said, heading towards the mine. That was where the old drunkard was likely to be, searching for ore.
However, after searching around, they couldn't find the old drunkard anywhere.
"Where could this guy have gone?" Shadow Killer frowned.
Lin Tianhao also frowned, feeling as if someone was watching him. The sensation of being spied on was very unsettling.
"Come out already. You've been following us for so long," Lin Tianhao called out, confident in his intuition that someone was nearby.
Shadow Killer was surprised. There was someone around them, but he hadn't noticed a thing.
"Hahaha, truly, talents emerge in every generation," a laughing voice rang out. Then, an old man with a wine gourd walked over.
Old Drunkard: Level 12.
Health: ?????
Attack: ?????
Skills: ?????
(Notes: The tavern owner of the Novice Village, he seems to be searching for something near the mine. Perhaps you could be of some help.)
If ordinary players encountered him, they might really accept a quest from the old drunkard. Lin Tianhao looked at the old drunkard, who was also looking at him with bleary eyes.
"Blood Emperor, you've become quite famous in our Novice Village lately. But you're already level ten, why haven't you headed to the main city yet?" the old drunkard asked.
Lin Tianhao smiled. "Ah, it's not that I don't want to leave. It's just that the village head has given me too many tasks."
"So, he sent you to kill me," the old drunkard said.
Lin Tianhao raised an eyebrow. "It seems you already know. In that case, let me see what you're made of," he said, drawing an arrow and firing it.
"Whoosh!" The arrow flew through the air.
The old drunkard narrowed his eyes and did a backflip, neatly avoiding the arrow.
"Hey, no need to be so aggressive. We can talk this through," the old drunkard said with a smile.
"Whatever the village head can offer, I can probably match," he continued, placing his wine gourd in front of Lin Tianhao.
"Have a drink, and then leave the Novice Village. The grudges here are none of your concern," the old drunkard said.
"Ding, the old drunkard has issued a quest to you."
"Quest requirement: Drink a cup of wine and leave the Novice Village immediately."
"Quest punishment: None."
"Quest reward: +50 free attribute points."
Lin Tianhao and Shadow Killer exchanged glances, both shocked by the generous reward. The old drunkard's offer was incredibly tempting. Normally, players had to complete the village head's out-of-village task to leave. Here, they just had to drink a cup of wine and received such a generous reward. Fifty free attribute points was like leveling up ten times.
"As for your task penalties, don't worry. After drinking my wine, you'll be teleported out of the Novice Village," the old drunkard explained. "The village head won't be able to penalize you."
Lin Tianhao knew the old drunkard was telling the truth. The quest was simple and the reward was substantial. But he hesitated. His two quest scrolls promised divine blessings from the gods, and even the worst outcome would likely be better than this.
Shadow Killer, on the other hand, accepted the quest without much thought. He had no intention of getting further involved. With such a good way out, he saw no reason to refuse. After drinking the wine, he was teleported out of the Novice Village.
The old drunkard looked at Lin Tianhao with a smile. "What about you?"
Without answering, Lin Tianhao nocked an arrow and fired.
"Whoosh!" The arrow flew through the air.
A cold gleam flashed in the old drunkard's eyes. "What exactly did the village head offer you to make you go this far for him?" he said, spitting out a mouthful of wine. The wine transformed into a flying sword in mid-air and streaked towards Lin Tianhao.
Lin Tianhao smashed the flying sword with his longbow and rolled to the side. The movements were fluid and flawless as he nocked another arrow and fired.
The battle had begun!
Lin Tianhao knew very little about the old drunkard. His attributes, his skills—Lin Tianhao was in the dark. He had used the twenty free attribute points he gained from the previous quest to increase his movement speed by another two points. His attack speed was already sufficient for now, and with his damage output so high, even a 3.5 attack speed was underutilized. Movement speed was the attribute Lin Tianhao needed to focus on next. With enough movement speed, his ability to kite would be greatly enhanced.
"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" Lin Tianhao's arrows flew continuously. He wasn't solely focused on dealing damage but on preventing the old drunkard from landing any hits.
However, the old drunkard's combat experience was far richer than Lin Tianhao had imagined. He splashed wine from his gourd and tossed a fire striker. Flames engulfed Lin Tianhao.
Lin Tianhao had nowhere to dodge.
-921. -921. -921. ...
The burning damage continued relentlessly. Lin Tianhao felt a chill run down his spine as the flames burned for a full eight seconds! Over seven thousand health points vanished into thin air. Lin Tianhao pulled back, using his Twist Bow Technique to knock the old drunkard back. Only by doing so could he hope to quickly whittle down the old drunkard's health with combos.
The old drunkard saw through Lin Tianhao's intentions. He deflected Lin Tianhao's arrows with his wine gourd and then hurled the gourd at Lin Tianhao. Lin Tianhao's heart skipped a beat as he dodged. He had already maximized the distance between them, but his movement speed still wasn't enough. The wine gourd exploded five meters in front of him with a loud "boom!" A massive damage number, -8520, appeared above Lin Tianhao's head, and his health bar plummeted.
Before Lin Tianhao could land from being knocked back, the old drunkard appeared beneath him in a blur.
"Bang!" The old drunkard's punch from below hit Lin Tianhao's stomach, launching him into the air.
-1029. Lin Tianhao was knocked back and couldn't attack, but he wasn't defenseless. He instantly switched to his main weapon, and the complete Black Iron Treant set materialized on his body.