Zhan Long Volume 1

Chapter 18 - It's a Small World

Chapter 18 – It's a Small World

In the mountain valley, I stood on top of the warm corpse of a huge wolf.

Opening the [Alchemy] menu, I selected the Seven Star Pill's recipe. The recipe required 3 Seven Star Herbs, 3 bottles of Refined Water and finally an Alchemy Furnace. Since I had all the materials necessary, all that was left was for me to confirm the refinement.

"Ding!"

System Notification: You have succeeded in refining a【Seven Star Pill】. Your [Alchemy] proficiency has increased by 1. Because you are the first player to refine a Seven Star Pill, you are rewarded with an extra point in charm.

......

Great! I earned a point in my charm stat. Although I still didn't know what the charm stat did, surely it was something useful. Also, since I wouldn't be the first player to reach level 20, or the first to have a level 3 attack combo, I could only strive to be number one in [Alchemy]. At least for now, I was unrivaled in the art of [Alchemy] which was heartwarming.

Putting away the Seven Star Pills and taking hold of my Bramble Thorn sword, I kept moving forward. Along the way, I killed the attacking wolves and gathered the scattered Seven-Star Herbs that didn't appear as often as I would have liked them to appear. While my efficiency wasn't at its maximum, the gains from the grinding were quite welcoming.

After nearly 2 hours, I had gathered over 112 batches of Seven-Star Herbs. But if I wanted to achieve level 4 in [Alchemy], I would need to refine 1000 Seven-Star Pills. The materials that went behind refining 1000 Seven-Star Pills were staggering. I would need 3000 batches of Seven-Star Herbs, in addition to 1000 Alchemy Furnaces and another 3000 bottles of Refined water. This was one of the reasons as to why top guilds were able to have first class production players. The casual player simply couldn't afford to compete with such harsh resource requirements.

While being in a guild had its advantages, my own advantages were also quite significant. I could fight monsters and heal myself at the same time. The only consumables that I required were mana pills which I produced myself. So, I was basically a self sufficient production line. In addition, after selling the Silver-Feathered Bird, I gained 20 Gold Coins, an incredible amount of wealth, which would be my fund for the materials that were vital in my level raising in [Alchemy].

......

Continuing forward, I reached the center of the Seven-Star Valley. At the center, the grass that was abundant before, became scarce. In addition, I heard waves of howling from in front of me. When I climbed on top a short hill to locate the source of howling, the scene in front completely shocked me. At least 100 level 18 wolves were proudly howling towards the sky. In the middle of the howling wolves, there was a wolf that had golden fur covering its body. Undoubtedly, that was the Wolf King, a level 20 Gold-ranked boss, sitting there arrogantly. Behind it, there was a large cave. Without a doubt, that cave was the Wolf King's nest.

I licked my lips, and thought if the Wolf King had this many underlings guarding it, then I shouldn't even think about fighting the Wolf King. But on the other hand, the Wolf King's nest could be worth investigating. Who knew, maybe there would be some special herbs inside? But if I just strolled on in, I would be the next meal for the wolves in front of the cave. Maybe I should see if I could enter through an alternative "entrance" above the cave?

Scaling the mossy rocks, I discovered that the Seven-Star Herbs grew more and more densely as I got closer to the Wolf King's cave. Careful not to let a single herb go to waste, within 10 minutes, I had picked over 100 batches of Seven-Starred Herbs!