Chapter Six: The Mentor Has a Mission

At 9:00 AM, a ray of sunlight shone precisely on Lin Zheng’s face. He furrowed his brows, yawned, and crawled out of bed. "That’s right, I’m a guy with a job now. Even if it’s just a side gig, I can’t afford to sleep in anymore!"

Gathering his spirits, Lin Zheng headed to the bathroom. By coincidence, someone else was there too. "What time did you go to sleep last night? You’re up already?" Lin Zheng asked, surprised.

"5:00 sharp!" Yang Qi replied, brushing her teeth with a mouthful of foam.

"Only four hours of sleep? Aren't you afraid of an early death?" Lin Zheng squeezed out some toothpaste and began brushing as well.

"It’s the early stage of the game; I can rest more later. Right now, leveling up is the priority. You only have an advantage if your level is high! I’m not an amateur like you; I have to consider maximizing my returns!"

"Well—I’m not worrying about all that. When it’s time to sleep, I sleep. By the way, after staying up all night, what level are you now?"

"Level 18. That Black Crow Sword is truly incredible; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to level up so fast!" Mentioning the Black Crow Sword made Yang Qi excited again; at this stage, it was absolutely a divine weapon!

"Damn it, leveling up so fast—is this the gap between a professional and an amateur?" Lin Zheng felt a bit discouraged. He was only level 12. Counting it up, he had only played about an hour less than Yang Qi, yet there was a six-level gap. This defied logic!

"I’m not even the fastest. That guy 'Bug' is even more beastly—he’s already level 21! Damn! I have the Black Crow Sword! Does that guy have a weapon even more overpowered than mine?" Yang Qi was puzzled, unable to fathom how 'Bug' could level up so quickly. However, she soon relaxed. If Lin Zheng had the luck to obtain the Black Crow Sword, he wasn't the only one in the world with good fortune. After freshening up, the two grabbed a quick bite to eat and logged back into the game.

As soon as he logged on, Yang Qi contacted him.

"Hey, God-Stick, do you want big sister to carry you for some leveling?" She knew Lin Zheng was only level 12 while she was 18, and with the Black Crow Sword in hand, carrying him would be easy, though it would slow down her own progress. Lin Zheng considered this. He was just an amateur who entered the game for the simple purpose of farming gold to make money, so a slower leveling pace didn't matter. But for Yang Qi, it wasn't just about farming gold! Thus, Lin Zheng refused: "Forget it, you keep grinding. I won't hold you back. Once the players' levels stabilize, you can carry me then. Get your own level up first. By the way, where are you?"

"At the warehouse. What's up?"

"I’m heading there too, wait for me! I have a lot of gold! Let me support you first; you have to pay me back double later!" Lin Zheng laughed. In his mind, he wouldn't be able to spend all the gold he had for a while. Instead of letting it sit there and depreciate, he might as well support Yang Qi. If she struck it rich, he would benefit too! Yang Qi was currently penniless, and her eyes lit up as soon as she heard about money. When Lin Zheng arrived at the warehouse and traded 40 gold coins to her, her eyes didn't just light up—they went straight!

"Damn! Where did you get so much money!?" Yang Qi asked in shock. Could the rewards for the item quest really be that heaven-defying? That was just a newbie village quest! She had forgotten what Lin Zheng told her about the quest turning into a composite mission, where the rewards scaled significantly with the difficulty. But having money felt great! Yang Qi beamed immediately. With 40 gold coins in her pocket, leveling up would be much easier and safer!

"Just take the money, stop talking so much. By the way, where is a good place to level up for a level 12?" Lin Zheng asked while applying for warehouse access to deposit his own money.

"For level 12, just head out the city gate to the Breeze Forest! But be careful—there are quite a few people PK-ing over there. Try to pick a spot with fewer people!"

"People are PK-ing for no reason at such a low level? That’s just being bored to death!" Lin Zheng was speechless. Dying meant losing a level; he couldn't understand why those PKers were so idle. He couldn't grasp the mindset of the PK-loving crowd. After saying goodbye to Yang Qi, he headed to the Career Hall. It had been too late yesterday, and he had logged off without even seeing his career mentor. He hadn't learned any skills yet.

Following the map to the front of the Career Hall, Lin Zheng was genuinely amazed by the towering structure! It was built entirely of white marble! In reality, the cost of this marble alone would be enough to bankrupt many wealthy people. But in the game, it was just a bunch of data.

Stepping up the white stairs into the hall, the bustling scene made Lin Zheng feel like he had arrived at a job fair. Many "interviewees" were leaving their mentors with dejected expressions, while others walked out happily with weapons in hand. Hearing the complaints of those who were discouraged, Lin Zheng realized that money was truly essential everywhere! Some were even too poor to afford learning skills. Lin Zheng felt fortunate for the gold he had earned!

Lin Zheng found the Sword Fighter mentor. Seeing her, he couldn't help but let out a low whistle—the mentor was a scorching hot beauty! With long, shapely legs, a voluptuous figure, and a mature, charming face, all complemented by tight leather armor, she exuded the unique, alluring aura of a mature woman just by standing there. It was enough to captivate anyone! Looking at the crowd around her, there were many lecherous men, and likely quite a few women too!

The Sword Fighter mentor was named Wang Yan. Lin Zheng stepped forward and produced the village chief's letter of introduction: "Hello, Mentor. I am an apprentice sent by the chief of Village 109!"

"Oh! So you were sent by Father? Let me see!" Wang Yan said in surprise. She was surprised, but Lin Zheng was even more so! He never expected the old, decrepit village chief to have such a beautiful daughter. Looking at Wang Yan’s hot red lips parted in surprise, Lin Zheng sighed at how deadly she was. What kind of jerk decided to make such a succubus a career mentor? Lin Zheng could clearly hear the sound of people swallowing their saliva as Wang Yan displayed her surprise—her charm was truly impossible to resist!

Wang Yan took the letter, read it for a moment, and looked at Lin Zheng with interest: "Father gave you a very high evaluation. It seems you have quite a bit of potential, little brother!"

"Little brother!" Lin Zheng broke into a cold sweat. He didn't see himself as a "little brother"—he was a full-grown man! Being called that made him want to hide. And beauty, that statement of yours has a lot of ambiguity!

"Mentor, big sister! Hurry up and teach me the skills!" Lin Zheng said helplessly. The beauty was great to look at, but leveling up was the priority. Besides, the mentor wasn't going anywhere. If he wanted to look, he could bring a chair and stare all he wanted later!

"Hehe! You’re quite impatient, little brother!" Wang Yan covered her mouth and giggled. Lin Zheng groaned internally—damn it, he’d been teased!

"Given Father’s recommendation, I’ll waive the fees for your skills this time. You must work hard in the future, little brother!" Wang Yan’s charming smile made the eyes of the surrounding players nearly pop out of their sockets, her charm index skyrocketing. With a wave of her hand, a golden light descended upon Lin Zheng, and the system prompted:

"You have learned the skill 'Disassemble'!"
"You have learned the skill 'String Blade'!"
"You have learned the skill 'Stomp'!"
"You have learned the skill 'Charge Up'!"
"You have learned the skill 'Detonate'!"

Disassemble: Cannot be leveled. Dismantles the Blade-Bow into dual swords. Weapon attack increases by 10% after dismantling.
String Blade: Level 1, Proficiency 0/1000. Passive skill. Automatically generates a bowstring when firing the Blade-Bow, increasing damage by 10%.
Stomp: Level 1, Proficiency 0/1000. Stomps the ground with great force, dealing 150% physical damage to enemies within a 5-meter radius. Has a 10% chance to stun targets for 5 seconds. Consumes 50 Mana, 20-second cooldown.
Charge Up: Level 1, Proficiency 0/1000. Passive skill. Each hit on a target adds 1 charge point, lasting 60 seconds. Each charge point increases physical damage by 1%, up to a maximum of 5 points.
Detonate: Level 1, Proficiency 0/1000. Can be used with 5 or more charge points. Deals direct physical damage to enemies within a 10-meter radius of the target equal to the number of charge points divided by 2. Consumes 150 Mana, 10-minute cooldown.

Hmm! These skills look pretty good! Killing monsters should be much simpler now! Lin Zheng thought, looking at his skills with satisfaction. Just as he was about to say goodbye to the beautiful mentor to test his skills, she spoke first.

"Father said you are a very capable person, little brother! So, would you be willing to do a favor for your big sister? Don't worry! I will give you a very good reward!"

"Quest 'Wang Yan’s Request' initiated. Quest difficulty: C. Do you accept?"

Hearing the prompt, Lin Zheng’s eyes lit up. A C-rank quest—the rewards shouldn't be bad! Besides, since a beauty was asking, how could a man refuse? Thus, Lin Zheng replied: "Whatever it is, tell me. I will definitely help you complete it!"

"That’s wonderful!" Wang Yan said happily, then explained the task. "It’s like this: I need a new weapon, but I’ve been quite busy lately and haven't had time to collect the materials. Would you help me gather them?"

"So that’s it. Don't worry, I’ll collect every single material for you!" Lin Zheng patted his chest. "What materials do you need?"

"I need 100 Horns of the Unicorn Lizard, 100 Fangs of the Mineral Eater, and 100 refined iron ores. It’s quite a lot, so I’m sorry to trouble you!" Wang Yan even acted cute, holding her hands against her chest with sparkling eyes, instantly charming the lecherous men nearby.

"No problem, leave it to me!" How could he refuse a request from a beautiful mentor!? Lin Zheng patted his chest and took on the quest.