Chapter 2: First Mission

When his physique reached 5 points, Ning Shi entered the game and once again controlled the game avatar to push open the door of the training room.

[We are about to enter the novice village. There are three modes in this game:

The first mode is the system hack, which is recommended to be used to repeat the mechanical process. The game system will not be responsible for any abnormal events that occur during the complex game process;

The second mode is manually controlled by a third party, with the main body controlling the game avatar on the phone to operate it;

The last mode is the first perspective mode. With this mode, the main body’s consciousness would attach to the avatar, immersing itself in the charm of the game world. This mode is beneficial for the main body to familiarize itself with the battle and greatly improve the game experience.]

After the notification, three options appeared on the screen.

[System hack.]

[Third perspective.]

[First perspective.]

Ning Shi clicked on the first perspective curiously.

Immediately, Ning Shi felt his vision go black and he was standing in a bare training room.

A line of words appeared in front of his eyes.

[The main body will enter deep sleep in the first perspective mode. It is recommended that the duration of the game should not exceed 12 hours.]

[Please follow the demonstration and perform the following actions.]

Under the first perspective mode, Ning Shi followed the demonstration and learned a series of operations such as opening the system interface, picking up the items to place into the system backpack, exiting the first perspective game and other actions.

Then, he pushed open the door of the training room.

A breeze blew past his face, mixed with the fragrance of the earth. The sun shone on his body, giving him a warm smell.

Ning Shi subconsciously used his hands to cover his eyes. The morning sunlight was somewhat dazzling.

At this moment, he was standing on a hillside.

At the bottom of the hillside, there was a clear and gentle river. The river flowed gently, passing through a quiet and peaceful village.

Was this the novice village?

The feeling from the first perspective was too realistic. If not for the game interface that could be called up at any time, Ning Shi almost thought that he had transmigrated to the real world.

“Am I in a metaverse? A 100% holographic online game?”

Ning Shi walked down the hill and washed his face by the river.

The cold touch of the river made his muddled head clear up.

He walked to the entrance of the village. It was a prosperous village. The architecture was similar to the manor in the North Gull Country. The spires were tall and mainly made of stones.

At the entrance of the village, an NPC with an exclamation mark on his head was walking back and forth.

Ning Shi’s mind jolted. This was a mission!

He quickly walked over.

“Hello, elderly!”

“Hello, young man. In my family’s field, I’ve just planted soybeans. Rabbits often steal them. If you can kill 100 rabbits before nightfall, I’ll be eternally grateful.”

Well, the rabbits in the novice village were the most pitiful creatures.

Ning Shi decisively accepted the mission “Sir James’ Request” but he did not directly kill the rabbits. Instead, he walked into the village.

[Main Mission: Complete the job. Please go to the village chief of the novice village, select your job and complete the job.]

The village was bustling with people and many NPCs had exclamation marks on their heads.

Ning Shi did not stop there. He went straight to the central square of the village. There was a ten-meter-tall black bear statue in the square.

Under the statue, there was a white-haired but energetic grandfather.

[Grimm, the village chief of Black Bear Village.]

Ning Shi walked over quickly. Before he could speak, the village chief, Grimm, spoke first.

“Young man, welcome to Black Bear Village. I hope you can have a pleasant journey here. I already know why you’re here. Here are all the professions in Black Bear Village. You can choose from them.”

A bunch of options appeared in front of Ning Shi’s eyes.

[Farmer, fisherman, blacksmith, hunter, winemaker, tailor…]

There were no warriors, mages and other professions that he had expected.

The corner of Ning Shi’s mouth twitched. These professions suited the actual situation of the village. Thinking of his next mission to kill rabbits, Ning Shi finally chose “Hunter”.

[Hunter: A profession that hunts for a living. Potential: ordinary. Profession level upper limit: Level 10.]

[After you have successfully assumed the post, you will receive a rusty iron sword, a willow longbow and a wooden arrow. You will receive 1 skill point. Opening skill bar.]

In the skill bar, there were a total of three skills that a hunter could learn. They were “archery, trap making and running through the forest”.

Ning Shi first learned the archery skill.

In the first perspective mode, after Ning Shi learned the skill, it was as if he was enlightened. A bunch of archery skills appeared in his mind.

Even his fingers had calluses.

Ning Shi tried to click on the archery skill in the skill bar but found that he could not release the skills by clicking on the skill bar.

“Looks like it’s an all-free operation mode.”

Ning Shi bid farewell to Village Chief Grimm and went straight to Sir James’ field according to the map’s prompt.

The hares in the field were rampant. When they saw Ning Shi coming over, not only did they not run, but they also looked like they wanted to attack people with red eyes.

Ning Shi let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, there were enough rabbits and they were stupid enough. The mission was relatively easy to complete. If the rabbits played hide-and-seek, Ning Shi would scratch his head.

Recalling the skills in his mind, Ning Shi focused his mind and calmed his breathing. Then, he drew his bow and nocked the arrow.

“Whoosh!”

A wooden arrow left the bowstring at an extremely fast speed. Unfortunately, its accuracy was a little off. It brushed past a rabbit’s ear and accurately found a gap in the middle of the densely packed rabbits, piercing into the grass.

Ning Shi smiled embarrassedly. “It’s indeed not easy to shoot an arrow for the first time.”

Fortunately, these rabbits were stupid. They completely ignored Ning Shi’s bow and arrow, and continued to leisurely eat the grass in the field.

After all, there was a bug called skill points. After Ning Shi shot a few arrows, he gradually found the momentum and began to hit the target with 100% accuracy.

[Kill one rabbit, gain 1 experience point.]

After killing 20 rabbits, Ning Shi’s arms were extremely sore.

Fortunately, he had accumulated 20 experience points, which was enough for him to level up.

[The hunter level has raised to Level 2, obtained 1 skill point and 1 potential point.]

[Potential points can be used to upgrade all the attributes of the avatar. They are extremely precious. Please use them carefully.]

Ning Shi directly added potential points to his physique. When his physique reached 6 points, the contours of his muscles became more obvious and the sore condition of his arms also greatly improved.

He did not save any skill points and directly add them to his archery skill.

A Level 2 archery skill was not only more accurate in shooting arrows, but also allow one to learn techniques that saved effort.

Even so, after killing another 30 rabbits, Ning Shi was already exhausted.

He was unable to shoot anymore…

A hunter needed 50 experience points to level up from Level 2 to Level 3. It would be difficult to complete it in a short period.

[Rabbit corpses can be collected and sold to the butcher shop or tavern in the village. The reference price is 2 copper coins per rabbit.]

Ning Shi put all 50 rabbit corpses into his backpack and went to the butcher shop in Black Bear Village.

“Hey! Newly promoted hunter, I knew you could bring more fresh meat to the butcher shop. Unfortunately, it’s rabbits. This thing is overrun. I can only give you 2 copper coins per rabbit.”

Hearing what Uncle Sam, the owner of the butcher shop, said, Ning Shi did not haggle and took out 50 rabbits.

100 copper coins were obtained.

According to the game notification, the currency units in this world were copper coins, silver coins and gold coins. 1 gold coin = 100 silver coins = 10,000 copper coins.

One copper coin could buy a large piece of hard rye bread and the purchasing power was still acceptable.

Ning Shi was hungry. He walked to the restaurant and ordered a tomahawk steak.

The steak was tender and juicy. It had a unique flavor when paired with crispy and soft bread.

This game was too realistic. It was like having a second life. The taste of delicious food was no different from the real world.

After eating and drinking his fill, he spent a total of 50 copper coins.

Ning Shi took the remaining copper coins to the pharmacy and bought two bottles of beginner stamina potion.

[Beginner Stamina Potion: A small amount of stamina recovery, must be in a non-combat state when used. Price: 20 copper coins.]

With the support of the potion, Ning Shi’s progress in hunting rabbits was greatly accelerated.

By 3 p.m., Ning Shi had killed another 50 rabbits. His hunter level had also risen to Level 3. One potential point was directly added to his physique and his physique attribute reached 7 points.

As for skill points, Ning Shi had temporarily saved them. Level 3 archery sill required 2 skill points.

Arriving at the entrance of the village, the exclamation mark above Sir James’ head kept flashing.

Ning Shi walked over and the mission was automatically completed.

“Thank you, brave lad. I have a drink recipe that I have treasured for many years here, so I’ll give it to you as a gift!”

[Completed “Sir James’ Request”, awarded one drink recipe and 50 experience points.]

Ning Shi took a look. The hunter’s profession level had changed to Level 3 (80/100). He was still 20 experience points away from reaching Level 4.

[Drink Recipe: An ancient and mysterious drink recipe. According to the recipe, you can make the five-grain juice. The five-grain juice is delicious. After drinking it, it has the effect of calming the mind. After long-term consumption, it can moist and clear the intestines.]

The ingredients used for the five-grain juice were very common. Corn, soybeans, barley, black beans and sesame seeds.

Five kinds of grains. No wonder it was called the five-grain juice.

Ning Shi did not think about the use of the recipe. He did not plan to open a shop in the game for the time being.

Ning Shi returned to the village and sold the rabbit meat to the butcher. He then went to the blacksmith’s shop and bought a wooden arrow, then repair and maintain the willow longbow.

Just as he was about to accept the mission to continue leveling up, a system notification came.

[Incoming call, the contact’s name is “Mom.”]

Ning Shi could also pick up the call in the first perspective mode, so he directly picked up the call.

“Mom, what’s the matter?”

“Son, tomorrow is Saturday. Don’t forget about the blind date! Tomorrow at noon, at Yanyu Private Kitchen.”

A trace of helplessness appeared on the corner of Ning Shi’s mouth. It had been five years since he graduated, and he had never found a partner. His mother had always been very anxious.

She had always arranged some embarrassing blind dates for him, So Ning Shi could not refuse. After all, she was his biological mother.

“Okay! I’ll remember it.”

Hearing her son’s perfunctory tone, Wang Yan’s anger could not be contained.

“You are like a rock. Let me tell you, this blind date was introduced by your uncle. The woman is not only extremely beautiful but also a civil servant. You have to grasp it.”

“Dress up a little. Don’t match a plaid shirt with sneakers like last time.”

What was wrong with a plaid shirt with sneakers? As long as it was comfortable to wear, it was fine. Ning Shi usually wore this at work.

Ning Shi did not understand the so-called popular aesthetic nowadays.

“Got it, Mom. I’m busy with work. I’ll be there on time tomorrow.”