Linda Harris blinked her beautiful eyes and said, “Anyway, we’re almost at level ten. After learning magic, high-attack weapons won’t be of much use. Why don’t you put that level 4 sword up for consignment in the village? It should fetch a good price, at least 5 gold!”

“What, 5 gold? That’s a bit much, isn’t it?” I’ve been grinding so hard and still haven’t reached 5 gold.

Grace shook her head and said, “5 gold isn’t enough, just list it for 10 gold. That way you won’t lose out. Weapons like this are priceless right now—no one would be willing to sell them.”

I nodded and said, “Let’s do that then!”

After thinking for a moment, I added, “Oh right, I also got a green bow, with an attack bonus of 18-32 and pretty good extra stats. Grace, do you want it? Wait, don’t get too excited! Let’s talk this through!”

Grace looked delighted: “Evan Clark, sis loves you to death! I’ll log in and trade with you in a bit, I’ll head to your village right away.”

“Don’t rush, that bow requires level 10. If I’m not mistaken, you’re only level 7, right? How about we wait until you hit level 10 and then trade in the main city?”

“Sounds good, let’s eat quickly, I need to go level up!”

“Damn, when did you get so motivated?”

Chapter 15: Changing Gear

Grace seemed to have forgotten all about going for a walk after dinner. As soon as she finished eating, she dashed into her room. I was happy to have some peace and quiet, so after browsing the forums for a bit, I logged into the game.

Even at my current level 11, I was only ranked 87th in China. I really have no idea how those 86 people ahead of me leveled up so fast, but it doesn’t matter—I’m just here to make some gold, not to rule the world.

Back in the village, I found the rogue class trainer.

“Do you wish to become a rogue, hidden in the shadows?”

“Yes!”

“Ding~!”

System prompt: Your talent is not suitable for becoming a rogue. Please choose another class!

What, not suitable? What the heck~ My dream was to be an assassin, and now it’s over before it even started?

Looking around at the other class trainers, I reluctantly chose warrior.

“Do you wish to become a warrior? Please choose your development path! The job change costs 2 gold coins!”

Seeing the options pop up in front of me, I was completely stunned. Warriors have development paths too?

1. Swordsman 2. Battle Axe Fighter

Since I was already wielding a sword, I naturally chose swordsman.

“Ding~!”

System prompt: Congratulations on becoming the first swordsman in this village. Reward: +300 experience!

I was speechless. Why is the reward experience and not some epic gear? And only 300 experience at that...

After the job change, a small line reading “Apprentice Swordsman” appeared under my name. So I’m just an apprentice...

With the job change done, the next step was, of course, to learn skills—this is also where you spend the most money.

I opened the skills page and found that only two skills were available: “Power Strike” and “Combo,” each costing 50 silver coins.

Power Strike: At level 1, increases this attack’s damage by 10%. The higher the skill level, the greater the effect. Skill cooldown: 10 seconds (can be used once every 10 seconds).

Combo: Rapidly attacks the opponent. Each hit deals half your normal attack damage. The higher the skill level, the more hits you can land!

They both looked good, so I learned them all!

Another gold coin gone, but I got two skills with 0 proficiency in return.

What next? Leveling up, of course!

I was halfway through level 11, so I wanted to hit level 12 soon and equip the Pinewood Greatsword. The bright future seemed just ahead!

I went back to Wolf Valley, heading straight for the area with level 11 monsters. As expected, the monsters had all respawned. Now that I was two levels higher, both my attack and defense had improved, so I didn’t worry about them at all. I used my old method, hiding among the rocks and taking down the level 11 wolves one by one. For most players, this would be unimaginable—after all, not many people have enough defense to tank monsters. There aren’t any priests yet, so you have to rely on potions to survive monster attacks. Unfortunately, the potions in the village shop are ridiculously expensive, and no one can really afford them.

The most frustrating thing is that the game is designed in a weird way—there are no level 5, 6, or 7 monsters. After the level 4 wild dogs, the next thing you face is the level 8 scruffy wild wolves, which are way too tough for level 4 players. So most players are still stuck killing level 4 wild dogs, and once you hit level 5, the experience from wild dogs drops. Leveling to 6 is even harder. If you’re not level 7 and don’t have good weapons, you can’t even handle the level 8 wolves.

I kept grinding monsters, and before I knew it, an hour had passed. After a flash of red light, I reached level 12. I immediately equipped the Pinewood Greatsword and put my stat points into strength. Since I’m a swordsman now, I might as well go all-in on strength!

With the new weapon, my attack power shot up, and my personal stats were now drool-worthy:

Vegetable Soup (Apprentice Swordsman)

Level: 12

HP: 402

Attack: 50-86

Defense: 54