Chapter 122 - 3: Embarking on the Journey (Extra update for Lazy Lamb, the Chivalrous Hero)

Chapter 122: Chapter 3: Embarking on the Journey (Extra update for Lazy Lamb, the Chivalrous Hero)The following day Xiao Jie logged on promptly at 8 a.m. Meeting up with I Want to Be Immortal in the village, the two were ready to set out. Of course, before they could depart, they needed to say goodbye to the other players in the village. "Brother Wang Kai, thank you for looking after me all this time. Now that we are parting, who knows when we may meet again. Please, take good care of yourself." "Haha, I’ll definitely take care. After all, I’m not venturing out of the village like you are. It’s you who need to be extra careful. Listen to me, you only have one life, don’t push yourselves too hard. The horse bandits at the valley exit are really dangerous. You could actually wait a while longer; a caravan comes to the village every month for trade. According to my calculations, another group should be arriving in about a week. You could travel with them, which would be a lot safer." "No need, just a few horse bandits, we can handle them," Xiao Jie promptly refused, a week was too long. Compared to Liu Qiang, his own level and strength were already lacking, so he naturally had to grasp every second to enhance his strength. There was no time to waste. In this game, killing low-level monsters incurs an experience penalty; below level 5, the experience points are in the single digits. Now, the monsters in Newbie Village could no longer provide much experience, and after level 10, the required experience points to level up would multiply drastically, offering little benefit to continue grinding. "Brother Dongfang, from now on, you’ll be the only one left to fight and level up in Newbie Village; take good care of yourself," "Absolutely, you guys too," Dongfang Sheng said, feeling somewhat relieved yet also a bit sad. He was glad that after their departure, he would be the village’s only player, with all the resources, quests, and rare encounters for himself alone. Yet he felt sad because playing alone, if danger came, there wouldn’t be anyone to help, and if there were any rare elites or special quests, there wouldn’t even be anyone to ask for help... Fortunately, the system sent out activation codes periodically, bringing new players eventually. That would be a good opportunity for him to make some moves. Gathering a few hands and forming a team, with his current level and equipment advantage, he could definitely become the team leader, and who knows, perhaps even accomplish something significant. Imagining such prospects, Dongfang Sheng thought, "Take care, both of you. When we meet again out there in the future, we should continue to look out for each other." "Haha, you got it," Xiao Jie replied with a laugh. Dongfang Sheng was a bit too scheming, not suitable to be a subordinate, but he would make a decent ally. After exchanging farewell greetings, the two reluctantly headed towards the outskirts of the village, finally leaving Newbie Village behind. The vast world outside held countless dangers and opportunities awaiting them, making them simultaneously anxious and thrilled. They hadn’t gone far when suddenly shouts came from behind them. "Feng, look—" Xiao Jie turned around to see the villagers tightly gathered at the village entrance, led by Master Huang. "Valiant warriors, Hidden Moon and Following Wind, please hold your steps, let us from Ginkgo Village see you off properly." "Old man, there is really no need." Though he said this, he thought to himself that this must be the treatment exclusive to those revered in reputation. Even though he understood this was a system mechanism, Xiao Jie couldn’t help feeling moved. Approaching the gathering of villagers, which included both familiar and unfamiliar faces, Xiao Jie swept his gaze across them, observing expressions of gratitude, reluctance, blessing, and calmness—all varying widely. The details in this game were indeed meticulously crafted, each face so vividly portrayed. "We’ve prepared some food and potions for you both to take on your journey," Master Huang said as he handed a cloth bag to Xiao Jie. [System Notification: You received an item [Villager’s Gift].] Xiao Jie expressed his thanks, and just as they were about to set off, Village Chief Huang suddenly reminded them, "Oh yes, young man, when you head back to Luoyang Town, remember to register your household at the town hall. Now that you have a house, you can register in Ginkgo Village. Moreover, only after registration will the property genuinely belong to you." Xiao Jie acknowledged with a reply. Once they were far away, he finally opened the package. Inside were ten steamed buns, two strips of smoked meat, four bottles of golden sore medicine, four Power Pills, and a set of cotton clothes. The items weren’t anything special, but the thought behind them was quite nice. Xiao Jie shared some with I Want to Be Immortal—after all, it was a gesture of goodwill from the villagers. Following the path through the forest toward the valley’s exit, this was the first time they strictly adhered to the road. As they went along, they cleared out the monsters they encountered while discussing the journey ahead after emerging from the valley. As they walked, a white light flashed on Meiqiu, and it leveled up. [System Notification: Your pet has leveled up and gained 3 free attribute points. Please allocate them to your pet.] The attribute points gained by different beasts upon leveling vary, ranging from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 5. At the same level, a tiger is definitely stronger than a wild boar, and a wild boar is definitely stronger than a wild dog—the disparity in strength grows larger as they advance. This wild boar gaining three attribute points per level is considered average. Without a second thought, Xiao Jie allocated all of them to Constitution. Since this thing was a meat shield, the bulkier, the better. Later on, if I Want to Be Immortal isn’t there, Meiqiu could take over the role of pulling monsters. points in Constitution directly increased Meiqiu’s blood volume to 276 points (Life Tenacity added an extra 20% Life Value). If he continued this way, he might eventually train it into a super meat shield with over a thousand health points. By nine o’clock, they reached the wilderness near the valley’s exit. Looking at the horse bandits roaming in the distance, neither of them felt the tension they had at the beginning. Just some horse bandits. However, they still needed to be cautious, as these creatures dealt high damage and could call for reinforcements. Encountering a few in the wilderness could be dangerous. Xiao Jie said, "Let’s walk along the edge of the valley. If the horse bandits attack, we’ll run straight up the slope." "Okay." The two immediately headed toward the western slope, advancing along the edge of the mountains and trying to avoid monster patrol routes. However, when they reached the valley exit, they still attracted one. "Run! Up the hill." The two immediately turned and ran up the slope, but the horse bandit didn’t immediately give chase. Perhaps it realized their strength was considerable—it blew a horn and called two companions before the three of them started pursuing. The two stopped on a ridge and began shooting arrows at the approaching horse bandits. The slope was at a 45-degree angle, dramatically slowing down the horse bandits as they charged up. Without the advantage of speed, the horse bandits were sitting ducks; a few arrows quickly took one down. A white light suddenly flashed on Xiao Jie. [System Notification: Your Bow Specialization has advanced from Entry Level to Master Level.] Not bad at all! Xiao Jie was pleasantly surprised by the sudden advancement of his skills. Now, his Saber Skill, Bow Skill, Cooking, Sheep Herding, and even Chopping Wood had reached the Master Level, with the last skill even escalating to Expert Level. With the Bow Skill at Master Level, aiming speed had increased by 10%, making it even easier to aim. He continued to shoot arrows—Continuous Arrow! Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! A combat skill unleashed a series of critical hits, hitting the horse bandit directly in the face with three arrows. Full Moon Shooting! This arrow astonishingly knocked the horse bandit off his horse. Another horse bandit finally charged up the mound, ready to strike with his saber. A wild boar charged and head-butted him. Thump! The collision almost knocked the horse off the mound, and I Want to Be Immortal took the chance to charge forward, cleaving both the rider and horse to the ground with his axe. The horse bandit struggled to get up, but another axe blow finished him off. The man was dead, but the horse wasn’t, so I Want to Be Immortal didn’t waste words and with another axe blow, killed the neighing warhorse as well. "Eh, there’s another one over there!" It was another bandit’s mount, which could only circle in place since its master was dead. "Wait a second!" Xiao Jie stopped I Want To Be Immortal and threw a Beast Recognition skill at the warhorse. [Grassland Horse (Beast), Level 6, Life Value 200. Beast Food Recipe: Herbivorous. Taming difficulty: Normal. Skills: Kick LV3, Mount LV1, Galloping LV3. Beast Description: Common wild horses from the plains that can be tamed to serve as mounts, aiding their riders in battle.] Taming difficulty normal? So this thing can be tamed too? Could a Beast Tamer actually tame horses as pets? Xiao Jie found it somewhat unbelievable, mainly because in past games he could only tame fierce beasts like wolves and tigers, whereas horses generally appeared as mounts. But just reading the description, it seemed indeed possible. A warhorse could cost 100 silver coins, and even an inferior horse would cost tens of silver coins—far beyond what he could afford right now. He might just manage to buy a donkey. So, if he could tame a horse, wouldn’t that mean he could get a mount for free? Although this horse’s combat prowess might be somewhat weaker than a wild boar’s, it still possessed combat skills. Xiao Jie was also quite envious of the horse’s skills, not the Mount skill, but the Kick and Galloping, especially the Galloping—it was definitely a life-saving divine skill if learned. Let’s give it a try. Thinking this, Xiao Jie had I Want To Be Immortal hold position while he approached the horse, which backed away warily. Xiao Jie quickly threw a steamed bun towards the black horse. Luring the beast. The horse hesitated but eventually lowered its head to nibble on the steamed bun. Watching the Hate Value slowly decrease on the horse’s head, Xiao Jie spoke gently to soothe it. "Don’t be afraid, I mean you no harm. Come, let me pat you." He used the Calming Beast Skill several times in succession, and the horse finally lowered its guard. Tame Beasts! [System Alert: You already own a pet.] Oh right, there’s also Meiqiu. Xiao Jie glanced at the nearby wild boar. "Sorry Meiqiu, you’re free now." It was only meant to be temporary, so he wasn’t too saddened. Xiao Jie chose to release the pet, and immediately Meiqiu’s name changed to—Meiqiu (Wild Boar), losing the suffix[Hidden Moon Following Wind’s Pet]. It looked surprised, somewhat confused, and slightly joyful. With a strange look at Xiao Jie, it leapt around joyfully twice, gave Xiao Jie another glance, then with a swift turn, it disappeared into the forest. Ha, he thought it might cling to him a bit more. Well, it seems he was just being sentimental. Xiao Jie faintly felt that the Tame Beasts skill seemed to have a kind of mind control effect; the tamed beasts didn’t seem very willing, as initially captured Meiqiu only had a Happiness Value of 20. Xiao Jie approached the grassland horse, now it’s your turn—Tame Beasts! The spirited horse neighed at once as if offended and kicked out with its hooves. "Crap! Don’t get excited, I’m just fooling around." The horse snorted loudly, still eyeing Xiao Jie warily. "Human, I won’t let you ride me." "No riding, no riding. I haven’t even learned Riding Skills yet. Come, have a steamed bun." Again, the steamed bun worked, and Xiao Jie used the Calming Skill again. Unfortunately, this horse was a herbivore and wouldn’t eat the Secret Dog Food. Without the Beast Atlas, taming it without reduced difficulty was indeed troublesome. After many tries and throwing dozens of steamed buns, he finally succeeded in taming it. From now on, your name will be—Luobo. [Luobo (Hidden Moon Following Wind’s Pet) Experience Points: 0/2400. Loyalty: 50/100. Suspicious. Happiness value: 20/100. Unhappy. Food type: Herbivore, can be fed plant-based foods. Pet Skills— Shrinking (Beast Trait): As a non-predatory animal, sometimes instinctively avoids combat. Kick LV3. Fiercely kicks the target, causing 30 points of blunt impact damage. Mount LV1. Can be used as a mount—requires Riding Skill (entry-level). Galloping LV3. Speed increases by 30%, lasts for 15 seconds.]