Lin Tianhao smiled and shook his head, "No, thank you." With that, he walked straight into the dungeon.
Dungeon Difficulty: Hellish.
He had already cleared this dungeon several times before, and now he was as comfortable as a fish in water. The main purpose of clearing this dungeon was to increase his health points and to farm for skill books. The Revival skill required the sacrifice of skill books to level up. Although the rewards for clearing the dungeon were far less than the first time, it still had four bosses, which made it worthwhile.
In the blink of an eye, five hours had passed! Lin Tianhao's health had increased from just over 70,000 to just over 100,000. In five hours, he had increased his health by 30,000 points. This was a rather terrifying increase.
In addition to the increase in health, his Revival skill had also been upgraded from two stars to three stars. However, to upgrade from three stars to four stars, he needed to sacrifice a thousand skill books. Even with his speed of farming, this was a daunting task.
Moreover, with his health breaking through 100,000, his Resurrection skill had also been upgraded to four stars. The original recovery rate of fifty health points per second had now increased to five hundred health points per second. With this recovery speed, even if he stood still, ordinary players would probably not be able to deplete his health.
Back in the Novice Village, Blacksmith Wang had not yet finished forging the gold-level longbow. Lin Tianhao chose to log off to eat.
"It seems I need to buy a nutrition pod once my sister recovers a bit more," Lin Tianhao thought to himself. Although the time spent offline eating was not long, it was still an inconvenience.
"Hao Ge, following your strategy, I obtained a silver-level greatsword with compelling attributes," Zhou Xiaopang said excitedly.
Lin Tianhao smiled. With Zhou Xiaopang's three passive skills, achieving a silver-level weapon was completely within his expectations. "You can head to the main city next," Lin Tianhao said. "The best main city for a warrior to develop in is probably Blackwind City."
"But Fatso, remember, once you get to the main city, don't easily change your class, not even for a hidden class. It's best to ask me first," Lin Tianhao advised.
"Okay," Zhou Xiaopang agreed.
After a brief chat with Zhou Xiaopang, Lin Tianhao quickly ate his meal, After finishing, he re-entered the game pod.
Lin Tianhao returned to the Novice Village and went straight to the blacksmith's shop. Blacksmith Wang looked at Lin Tianhao with a meaningful smile as he arrived.
"The old drunkard told me about your situation," Wang said, his first words catching Lin Tianhao off guard.
"Since you already know, I won't hide it from you. I want to kill the village head. Are you willing to help me?" Wang asked.
"Sure," Lin Tianhao replied with a smile.
Wang nodded. "In that case, you can head to the cliff to the south. The old drunkard will take you to the village head's secret base. You and the old drunkard will kill the guards there."
"Ding, Blacksmith Wang has issued a quest to you."
"Quest requirement: Kill the guards at the village head's secret base."
"Quest punishment: Unknown."
"Quest reward: Unknown."
Lin Tianhao's eyebrows furrowed. The unknown punishment for this quest was troubling. There was a real possibility that Blacksmith Wang would retaliate if the quest failed.
After a brief hesitation, Lin Tianhao accepted the quest. He had no reason to back out now that he had come this far in the storyline.
Wang smiled with satisfaction and took out a golden longbow from his shop.
"Your gold-level longbow is ready," he said.
Nine-Compound Longbow: Gold Level.
Wearing requirements: None.
Effect 1: +500 Attack Power.
Effect 2: +1 Attack Speed.
Effect 3: +20% Critical Strike.
Effect 4: +5% Life Steal.
Effect 5: +2000 Health.
Effect 6: +100 Health per second.
Durability: 100.
Lin Tianhao's eyes lit up. This custom-made longbow was a perfect match for him. The increase in attack power and health was somewhat redundant, but the other four attributes were impeccable.
"Thanks," Lin Tianhao said, taking the Nine-Compound Longbow.
"The old drunkard is waiting for you at the cliff to the south. Hurry up," Wang said.
Lin Tianhao nodded. With this gold-level longbow, his combat power had reached a new level.
South of the Novice Village, at the cliff! The cliff here was bottomless. In his previous life, some players had thought there might be opportunities below the cliff and had jumped off in hopes of finding them. But the result was that they died on the spot. After several attempts, they eventually abandoned this unprofitable approach.
When Lin Tianhao arrived at the cliff, he saw a familiar figure. It wasn't the old drunkard! It was... the village head.
The moment Lin Tianhao saw the village head, his heart skipped a beat.
"Blood Emperor?" The village head was slightly surprised to see Lin Tianhao here. He hadn't expected Lin Tianhao to be here.
Lin Tianhao forced himself to stay calm. "Village head."
"I heard that you had a confrontation with the old drunkard, and he escaped," the village head said.
Lin Tianhao nodded. "To be honest, the Blue-and-White Python that the old drunkard summoned disrupted my attack rhythm."
The village head nodded. "That was my oversight. I thought you would be able to successfully poison him, and the python wouldn't be released."
"I see," Lin Tianhao said, nodding and taking the initiative to ask, "Why is the village head here? Is there anything I can do to help?"
The village head wanted to ask Lin Tianhao why he was here, but being asked first caught him off guard.
"Below our Novice Village, a very powerful monster is sealed. I am the one responsible for guarding this monster," the village head explained.
"Recently, I have sensed a force stirring, attempting to break the seal on that monster. That's why I came to check," he continued.
Lin Tianhao feigned surprise. "Is that so?"
"Ah, it's a long and sorrowful story," the village head sighed.
"Back in the day, to seal this monster, countless sages paid the ultimate price with their lives. Yet now, someone wants to release it," he lamented.
Lin Tianhao nodded. "I see. Those who wish to unleash this monster are nothing but wolves in sheep's clothing, deserving of the most severe punishment."
The village head nodded in agreement. "Indeed."
"Blood Emperor, I have high hopes for you. If my guess is correct, those bandits are probably all searching for the Iceflame Ore," the village head said with a very serious expression. "If they find the Iceflame Ore, the consequences would be unimaginable."
"If you are willing to help me, please go to the mine and stop the old drunkard from finding the Iceflame Ore," he requested.
Lin Tianhao raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I will do my best," he agreed.
With that, he turned and walked towards the mine.
The old drunkard was not here. Why?
Because the village head was here, he had hidden himself.
Or perhaps...
This had all been a calculation from the start.
Blacksmith Wang did not fully trust him.
Sending him here was a ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain, creating an opportunity for the old drunkard to search for the Iceflame Ore.
Thinking about it, it was truly a chilling realisation.