Chapter 11: An Unexpected Encounter in the Forest

The Magic Mirror Sprite’s doll-like, exquisite face revealed a look of interest:

"Black snake scales are crafting materials. These materials, dropped by monsters, are often used in the production of equipment for warrior-class professions. However, a single item requires at least three or four scales, so if you only have one, the highest price I can offer is 10 silver coins."

"As for this star meteorite, it is the magical material I mentioned earlier that is required for crafting magic wands. Regarding the specific price... may I examine it?"

Qin Yuan then watched as two somewhat translucent arms extended from behind the Magic Mirror Sprite.

"Uh..." Qin Yuan hesitated for a moment before handing it over.

The Mirror Sprite held it in its palm, observing it carefully for a short while before handing it back, saying slowly:

"The quality is quite good. If you intend to sell it, there are two ways to handle it. If I purchase it directly, it is worth about one gold coin. Or, if you do not yet have a wand, you can add two gold coins, and I will craft it into a wand for you."

"Add two gold coins to craft it into a wand?"

Qin Yuan clicked his tongue at this staggering price. Are these mage items all so expensive?

He had thought that after collecting the bounty, his pockets would finally be full, but after all this trouble, he found it was far from enough.

After thinking in silence, he decided to put the materials away for now: "I won't sell them for the moment. Let me pay for the other items first."

As he spoke, he took three gold coins from his pocket and handed them over.

The Magic Mirror Sprite nodded, opened its mouth, and inhaled, swallowing all the gold coins. Then, it spat fifteen silver coins onto the table with a *pop-pop-pop* sound.

After watching this scene with interest, Qin Yuan gathered the coins and prepared to leave.

"Um... customer, there is one more thing I need your help with."

At this moment, the Magic Mirror Sprite suddenly spoke with a fawning smile.

"What is it?"

"If you are satisfied with the service, please leave a good review!"

"If there is anything you are unsatisfied with, please tell me; please, please do not file a complaint, or I will have a lot of money deducted."

The Magic Mirror Sprite said this at a lightning-fast speed, as if it had recited it many times.

Then, the image on the mirror changed, and a line of small text appeared.

"Please evaluate this service."

Below it were options for a good review, a neutral review, and a bad review.

"..."

Is it this advanced?

Qin Yuan looked at this scene with a strange expression. He then gently tapped the area for a good review.

"Evaluation successful."

"Thank you, thank you!!"

The doll's face on the mirror returned to normal.

Qin Yuan waved his hand and turned to leave. He walked with a light step toward the forest where he had left the day before. Thinking back on his encounter in the shop, he felt it was quite interesting.

Qin Yuan took a deep breath. But now, it was finally time to level up!

...

In the afternoon. The outskirts of the forest.

[Notification: You have encountered a Crimson Gray Wolf (LV1)]

[Notification: Owl Feather has killed the Gray Wolf (LV1)...]

...

[Notification: You have encountered a Forest Hyena (LV1)]

[Notification: Owl Feather has killed the Forest Hyena (LV1)...]

...

[Notification: You have encountered a Red-Haired Hawk (LV1)]

[Notification: You have killed the Red-Haired Hawk (LV1) using "Lesser Fireball"...]

The feather hovered above.

Qin Yuan stood under the shade of a tree with a happy look on his face, looking at the prey that had already died in front of him.

This was a hawk with feathers as red as blood. Its beak was sharp and slender, reflecting a cold glint in the sunlight. It was not hard to imagine that if one were pecked, it would likely result in a large hole.

Right now, its body was covered in burn marks, and it had lost all signs of life, lying limply on the grass.

This monster held a special significance, as it was the first one he had killed by landing a precise hit with "Lesser Fireball."

This was the first monster he had killed with his own hands. The sense of accomplishment was certainly not on the same level as those killed by Feather.

The first kill was finally achieved! This also meant that after several practice sessions, Qin Yuan now possessed basic combat capabilities.

As the monster's body dissolved into specks of starlight, a small bundle of items wrapped in a faint light fell to the ground.

"It dropped something!"

Qin Yuan’s face lit up with joy, and he stepped forward to check.

He had been farming monsters on the outskirts of the forest all morning. Along the way, he had found one or two types of alchemical herbs growing in the wild. These were not rare, but they weren't very valuable either, usually only worth a few silver coins per stalk.

In comparison, primary crafting materials dropped by monsters were more expensive. However, it had to be said that the drop rate was truly not high. When combined with the fact that there were not many monsters on the edge of the forest and most of the time had to be spent searching for targets, he had only managed to get this one drop all morning.

[You have obtained: Crimson Beak ★ *1.]

[Crimson Beak ★ (Primary Crafting Material): A crafting material dropped by the "Red-Haired Hawk." It is exceptionally sharp and may be needed when crafting certain weapons.]

[Note: This beak is as red as fresh blood. It is said that certain secret rituals also require its use.]

After putting the item into his backpack, Qin Yuan opened his panel.

At this point, his level had reached three. The impact of leveling up had further improved his physical fitness, and the amount of mana flowing through his body had also increased significantly.

The only drawback was that as his level increased, the experience points provided by these level 1 monsters were becoming less and less. After killing several of them just now, the experience bar only moved slightly; the efficiency was truly pitiful.

Qin Yuan had already used up the magic scroll papers he bought at the alchemy shop, successfully learning "Lesser Fireball" and "Vine Entanglement." The entire process was very smooth and simple. It was just that in the first few uses of his newly learned skills, it was easy to lose control of the direction, causing him to miss. But as the number of uses gradually increased, his hit rate began to rise.

"The farming efficiency still feels a bit slow..."

Qin Yuan sighed. At this pace, it would likely take several days to reach level four here. He gazed into the depths of the forest, pondering.

Through conversations with the villagers, he understood that the deeper one went into this forest, the higher the level of the monsters would be. While this meant a higher risk factor, the potential rewards were naturally greater.

Thinking that he had the help of Feather, as long as he didn't go too deep, there wouldn't be any great danger.

After a moment of thought, Qin Yuan secretly made a decision and led Feather toward the depths.

The afternoon sun in the forest was bright, and the surrounding jungle became increasingly lush. Sunlight shone through the gaps in the branches, casting dappled shadows. Adding in the reconnaissance advantage of Feather, they were often able to discover enemies a step ahead.

Even so, he could not let his guard down; some cunning creatures might camouflage themselves to launch surprise attacks. This kept Qin Yuan constantly vigilant about his surroundings.

Sure enough, as they ventured deeper, level 2 monsters gradually became more common.

[Notification: You have encountered a Black-Veined Magic Wolf (LV2)]

[Notification: Your spirit pet Feather has killed the Black-Veined Magic Wolf (LV2)...]

...

[Notification: You have encountered a Grizzly Bear (LV2)]

[Notification: Your spirit pet Feather has killed the Grizzly Bear (LV2)...]

These monsters were naturally not taken seriously by Feather. Along the way, it was like cutting through vegetables, and the experience points were rising rapidly. At this rate, he would likely be able to fill half his experience bar this afternoon and reach level four by tomorrow.

As expected, it feels great to have an expert take you to level up. Watching the monsters fall one by one under the owl's incomparably sharp wind blades with almost no ability to resist, Qin Yuan sighed inwardly.

At one point, he suddenly stopped and looked at a tall tree nearby.

The texture of this tree was rough and thick; it would take several people to encircle it, but other than that, to the naked eye, there was nothing particularly special about it. He had seen many similar trees along the way.

However, at this moment, within his field of vision, the Eye of Revelation provided a new hint.

[This tree has been placed under a special magical seal. By knocking on the trunk with a rhythm of three heavy and two light taps, the hidden door will open.]

A hidden door?

Qin Yuan’s face showed a look of curious interest. He paused in place for a few seconds before walking up to knock on the trunk according to the hint.

After he completed the series of movements, waves of ripples suddenly spread out, revealing a sense of distortion between reality and illusion. Shortly after, the movement gradually subsided, and before him appeared an arched door leading into the interior of the tree.

"What is this?"

Feather, hovering in mid-air, also noticed the movement below and landed, looking at the scene with curiosity.

"..." The events unfolding before him left Qin Yuan equally stunned; he hadn't expected such a large reaction.

He scratched his head, not revealing the hint seen by the Eye of Revelation, and simply said, "I just knocked on the trunk a few times, and it turned into this..."

After a thought, he pointed to the door: "How about we go in and take a look together?"

The magical scene before him further stirred Qin Yuan’s desire for exploration.

"Is this some kind of space magic?" Feather looked left and right, examining it for a moment: "Let's go in and take a look."

Hearing this, Qin Yuan immediately stepped forward, took a deep breath, and pushed open the arched doors.

Sunlight poured in, illuminating the interior. In this circular space, the first thing Qin Yuan saw was a wooden staircase spiraling upward. The craftsmanship of the staircase was extremely fine and sophisticated, engraved with a large number of hollow patterns arranged in an orderly, pleasing manner.

After stepping inside, he found the space to be quite large, with a diameter of nearly a hundred meters. Yet from the outside, it looked like a sturdy tree with a diameter of only a meter or so, which was truly mind-boggling. However, apart from the ladder leading upward, everything at the bottom appeared empty.

Looking up, he found that the upper levels seemed to be covered in a thin mist, making it difficult to see clearly.

The owl stared with wide eyes, also curiously examining the scene.

"Shall we go up the stairs and take a look?" Qin Yuan turned to ask.

Feather nodded; it was equally interested in the situation here.

Seeing this, Qin Yuan stepped onto the stairs and wound his way upward. Soon, he reached the top and arrived at a new area.

This was a spacious wooden platform. At the very front of his view was a wooden door, and on either side of the door stood a set of magical armor glowing with purple light, standing motionless while holding weapons.

...

[Enchanted Armor: These are two sets of magical armor responsible for guarding the area. However, they haven't been recharged for nearly a hundred years, leaving them with very little mana. Their current combat capability is equivalent only to a level 4 or 5 monster. These units are magical constructs and will not provide any experience points upon defeat.]

[Under the erosion of time, some weak structures of the magical armor have developed abnormalities, which have become weaknesses. Once struck, a strong chain reaction will occur, causing the entire construct to collapse.]

...