Chapter Seven: Forming a Team

Chapter Seven: Forming a Party

After leaving the Profession Hall, Lin Zheng opened his quest log. Hmm, Horned Lizards could be found in the Breeze Forest, Mineral-Eating Beasts were in the nearby Gloom Mine, and he could purchase the Fine Iron Ore from other players. All in all, the quest didn't seem too difficult, though it might take a bit of time.

The Breeze Forest was a leveling zone recommended for players level 10 to 30. Due to the high density of monsters, it was advised that players form parties. Consequently, the area outside the forest was bustling with players looking for teammates. Of course, some exceptionally bold players chose to solo; for someone like Yang Qi, soloing in the Breeze Forest was effortless.

"Iron-Plated Warrior looking for a group! Need a tank!" shouted a warrior who had just left the newbie village. However, his starter gear made people doubt his defense and health, and he shouted for a long time without anyone inviting him.

"Powerful healer! Plenty of mana!" As soon as a priestess shouted this, teams rushed to invite her. It was clear that priests—especially female ones—were hot commodities; they were an indispensable profession in every game.

Powerful DPS members were also highly sought after. Archers and Mages were very popular, while Trap Hunters had a rougher time. It was a class designed for bosses and PVP, lacking both output and defense for leveling. Watching those Trap Hunters shout themselves hoarse without getting any invites, one could really see the social hierarchy at play. The Sword Fighter class, however, was relatively popular; their health and defense were mediocre, but they weren't "glass cannons," and more importantly, their damage output was decent, thanks to two area-of-effect skills. Thus, as soon as Lin Zheng appeared at the edge of the forest, many people came to invite him to join their parties.

Lin Zheng’s main goal was to complete his quest, and joining a party would certainly speed things up. After all, more people meant more kills, which increased the chances of quest items dropping. However, not every party was heading out to kill Horned Lizards, so Lin Zheng called out: "Powerful Sword Fighter here, looking for a party to kill Horned Lizards! Anyone need one?"

As soon as he finished shouting, a warrior walked up to him and said, "Brother, we’re heading out to kill lizards. We’re just missing some damage output—want in?"

Lin Zheng looked at the warrior. Good heavens! With that build—over 1.8 meters tall and packed with muscle—if he wasn’t a warrior, who would be? Someone with that physique would surely make his teammates feel secure. Seeing his honest and sincere expression, Lin Zheng felt at ease and agreed. "Player Overlord Heavy Armor has invited you to join the party. Accept?" He clicked accept, and with the sound of a chime, he was in. A window popped up showing the party members; there were five, making him the sixth.

"Welcome to the team! Let me take you to meet the others. You can just call me Overlord!" Overlord Heavy Armor grinned. Lin Zheng smiled back and followed him toward the forest. After a short walk, the two met the rest of the team.

"Hello everyone! I’m Yiping Daoist, a Sword Fighter!" Lin Zheng introduced himself with a smile.

"Hi! My name is Dragon Tooth! Just call me Long Ya. I’m a Mage!" Lin Zheng looked at the energetic mage and immediately labeled him. He was definitely an 'M' type! This guy was absolutely a masochist!

"I’m Tifa, an Archer!" Tifa!? Looking at the spirited girl before him, Lin Zheng was astonished to find that she looked exactly like the character from Final Fantasy! Her appearance and expression were uncannily similar! A cute girl! But then he looked next to her and froze. Whose little girl was this? She didn't look a day over thirteen! Wasn't this game only for those eighteen and older?

"Um, isn't this game only for people eighteen and older? How did this little sister get in?" Lin Zheng pointed at the little girl.

The little girl’s veins bulged, and she lunged forward, biting down on Lin Zheng's finger.

"Argh!" A scream of pain echoed without fail.

The little girl puffed out her cheeks and kicked Lin Zheng, shouting, "You're the little sister! Your whole family is little sisters! I'm eighteen! I'm a college student! I'm an adult! I'm not a kid! See? The fact that I'm in this game is proof! Tell him! Tell him it's true!"

"Yes, yes! My little Miao is all grown up. Good girl, good girl!" Tifa hugged the little girl, who buried her face in Tifa’s chest and laughed happily.

Easy to coax! She was definitely still a kid! Lin Zheng blew on his finger. No, he should say she was definitely a kid.

"I’m Jidu Chunfeng, a Knight. Call me whatever—Madman, Chunfeng, either works!" The last teammate smiled kindly at Lin Zheng. "Don't mind Little Miao; that's just how she is."

"Uh, I don't mind!" Lin Zheng pulled himself together and chuckled. Honestly, Chunfeng was the only normal person in this group. What a unique team!

"Alright! Everyone’s here, let’s go kill some Horned Lizards! Let’s try to finish our quest before dinner!" Overlord clapped his hands. He had some authority in the group, and at his command, the rowdy members settled down, drew their weapons, and prepared to head toward the lizard territory.

Overlord led the way, using his warrior skill "Charge." Every monster of a lower level was sent flying, leaving Lin Zheng stunned. Tough! Too tough! Not wanting to waste time on other monsters, the group followed closely behind Overlord. Before long, they reached a lake—their destination, Breeze Lake. The shore was swarming with massive Horned Lizards!

Horned Lizard: Level 16. Physical Attack 198-256, Physical Defense 124, Magic Defense 120, HP 1250. A lizard unique to the Breeze Lake area; its horn is incredibly hard and sharp. They are social creatures.

Level 16 was no challenge for Lin Zheng. He could easily kill one in a one-on-one fight, but the problem was that they were social. They gathered in groups of three or four, and if you aggroed one, you aggroed them all. Without high defense and health, you couldn't take the hits. Fortunately, he was in a party; otherwise, he didn't know how long it would have taken to get 100 horns.

"Let's work!" Overlord roared, gripping his axe and charging at the nearest group of lizards. He shouted his "Taunt" skill, and the lizards swarmed him. The group then began their coordinated attack.

Long Ya was the main damage dealer; after all, Mages were known for their output. A Chain Lightning spell sent the lizards' health plummeting, though the cooldown was long, forcing him to rely on Fireballs and Ice Bolts afterward. Tifa used her bow to accurately snipe the low-health lizards, trying to reduce the pressure on Overlord. Beside her, little Miao held her staff, occasionally healing Overlord or firing a few Magic Missiles, looking perfectly relaxed.

As for Chunfeng, he had already charged in with his sword, hacking away bravely. Lin Zheng, however, had been caught off guard and was just watching from the sidelines. It wasn't until the system prompt "Obtained one Lizard Horn!" appeared that he snapped out of it, drew his dagger, and joined the fray.

The others were surprised—a Sword Fighter without a sword or bow? They wondered if this guy was such a newbie he didn't even know how to pick a weapon. But just as Overlord was about to call him out, Lin Zheng reached the front line and unleashed a "Stomp." "Boom!" The ground trembled. The party members stared in disbelief as massive damage numbers floated above the lizards: -700, -720, -738... It was even more spectacular than Long Ya’s Chain Lightning! This guy was a freak! His damage was terrifying!

However, they were experienced players and quickly recovered. They noticed the lizards surrounding Overlord were stunned—a perfect opportunity! They unleashed all their skills, quickly wiping out the group. Suddenly, they saw Lin Zheng doing something reckless! He was wandering between several groups of lizards, pulling a massive hoard toward them. Overlord’s face turned pale; there were dozens of them! If they all bit him once, he'd be dead several times over! Yiping Daoist was giving him too much credit!

Unexpectedly, Lin Zheng didn't lead the monsters toward Overlord. Instead, he made a sharp turn, pulling the group into a tight cluster, leaped into the air, and slammed his foot down! The moment he hit a lizard, fire erupted. "BOOM!" A massive explosion echoed, covering a ten-meter radius in flames, followed by countless damage numbers over a thousand. It was brutal. Chunfeng immediately calculated the damage—Lin Zheng's attack power was around 500. At this stage of the game, that was top-tier.

"Overlord! You've found someone incredible!" Chunfeng muttered. Overlord nodded in agreement; he’d thought he was a newbie, but he was actually a monster!

"It was just so-so!" Little Miao still held a grudge against Lin Zheng. Even though she wanted to scream and cheer for him, she didn't want this "great enemy" to keep treating her like a little kid.

After the explosion, although a large number of lizards were instantly killed, several remained and were now aggressively chasing Lin Zheng. Seeing this, Overlord rushed forward to peel the monsters away before Lin Zheng could be torn to shreds. Out of danger, Lin Zheng let out a long sigh of relief. He wanted to use Stomp again, but realized to his embarrassment that he was out of mana! His energy had always been a measly 150 points, and even after changing classes, it remained low. If his dagger hadn't had the Mana Gathering aura, he wouldn't have even had enough mana for that explosion.

He broke into a sweat. He hadn't realized how low his mana was until he actually used his skills. Fortunately, the aura provided enough regeneration for basic attacks, as he wasn't a mage.

"You're amazing, Yiping!" Overlord gave him a thumbs up. "I've seen several Sword Fighters use that 'Explosion' skill, but their damage wasn't even half of yours!"

"You're clearly trying to steal my job as the mage!" Long Ya said, "grieved." As the party's highest damage dealer, he had always felt proud, but now he had been completely outclassed.

"Hehe! I just got lucky with a good weapon early on. Once everyone’s levels and gear catch up, I'm sure many will surpass me," Lin Zheng said humbly. It was the truth; if he didn't keep improving, he would be overtaken sooner or later.

"Who knows what the future holds? But you are definitely one of the top Sword Fighters in Tianshuang City right now!" Chunfeng’s assessment was fair, affirming Lin Zheng’s current strength. Lin Zheng felt a bit smug.

"With such a powerful damage dealer, we’ll definitely finish our quest quickly. Everyone, let's keep it up!" Overlord shouted. The group resumed their hunt. Through chatting while fighting, Lin Zheng learned more about his teammates. Overlord and the others had known each other since the game "Phantom Spirit." Because they shared the same interests, they had become close friends. None of them had stable jobs, and they were essentially semi-professional players—except for Little Miao. They also learned about Lin Zheng's current situation, and he was honored to receive the nickname Yang Qi had given him: "The Charlatan Little Lin!" Lin Zheng couldn't be bothered to argue. If he was a charlatan, so be it. Besides, "Charlatan" rolled off the tongue much easier than "Yiping Daoist"—Lin Zheng thought with a hint of resentment.