"Well, that was enjoyable."

The last living Green Snake got blasted away mid-flight by Liu Ye's whip and shared the same miserable end as the rest of its group.

Liu Ye glanced at the timer and sure enough, ten minutes had passed since he started his killing spree. He would have been done in five if not for the constant pressure from their combined numbers, forcing him to kite them in a circle. Although it took him a while to kill all the monsters, his farming was still more efficient compared to fighting them one by one.

He looked in the direction of the Newbie Village and thankfully, no one saw his strategy. The other players were probably busy killing the respawned monsters which was exactly what Liu Ye hoped for. Being ahead of others in a crucial moment like the game launch gave him more freedom to farm as he wished.

[Ding! You killed the Slime. You received 2 Experience and 5 bronze.]

[Ding! You killed the Rat. You received 3 Experience and 10 bronze.]

[Ding! You killed the Green Snake. You received 5 Experience and 15 bronze.]

[Ding! Congratulations! You reached Level 4!]

[Ding! Quest Kill 25 Rats Completed!]

[Ding! Quest Kill 25 Green Snakes Completed!]

Liu Ye completed two quests just like that, but that wasn't what he found interesting in his notifications. Even though he had a level advantage over the monsters, he still received flat experience for all his kills. Only one theory came to his mind.

It had to be a Newbie Village benefit.

If such a system was present in the mainland, it would heavily punish players who risked their life to fight high-level opponents. The game would thus be ruined so Liu Ye suspected this benefit was only present in the Newbie Village to help new players level up faster.

The question was, could he abuse the system? If Liu Ye wanted to, he could simply stay in the low-level zones and farm weak monsters till he reached Level 10 but it would be too time-consuming. Other players could steal his monsters as well and he would end up losing his momentum.

Liu Ye didn't have a habit of sharing experience.

"Waterfall Forest..."

Liu Ye checked the map and read out the name of the location ahead as he proceeded forward. Even though he would be fighting stronger opponents, the overall progress would be faster.

Waterfall Forest was teeming with life as trees and bushes swayed to the wind. The forest looked fresh and healthy with bountiful greenery, but despite walking for a few minutes, he didn't spot any monsters in the periphery. The map was clearly gigantic, so Liu Ye wasn't worried about that and searched further.

[Coins: 5 gold, 28 silver, 25 bronze]

Checking his inventory, Liu Ye discovered he used up ten small Mana potions, but the money he earned covered the expenses, proving his farming was profitable.

[Elements: Water 55%]

Even his elemental mastery bar progressed by more than half, leading him closer to pick another ability. Would he receive an elemental point once the count reached 100%?

Woof! Woof!

Just as Liu Ye wondered, he spotted movement ahead as three new enemies jumped out of the bushes.

[Mad Dog - Lvl. 3]

[HP: 50/50]

———

[Elemental Dog (Elite) - Lvl. 5]

[HP: 150/150]

[MP: 50/50]

Liu Ye squinted his eyes as he quickly jumped back, wary of his new opponents. He felt that it wouldn't be hard to fight against two Mad Dogs, but the addition of the monster with Elite on its name might make the upcoming fight complicated.

The word Elemental in the name and the dog's shiny green eyes prompted Liu Ye to stay alert.

Woof! Woof!

The two Mad Dogs barked as they launched themselves at him.

-1

-1

The Small Water Whip was already floating as Liu Ye observed the Elemental Dog who didn't move but rather stayed at the back as its companions attacked. It simply stared at him as if waiting for the right moment to strike.

Liu Ye kited the two Mad Dogs as he added one more point into Dexterity for additional movement speed. One more damage and 10 Mana wouldn't give him too much of a boost.

He struck when the Mad Dogs got close but the earth suddenly began to shake. Before he could jump away, the Elemental Dog stomped on the ground and something smashed against him from behind, sending him flying.

Thud!

Liu Ye landed like a block of wood. Even though he rolled on the ground to offset the force, the two Mad Dogs caught up to him and left a bite on each of his calves.

-15

-5

-5

[HP: 115/140]

Liu Ye frowned at the light pain that assaulted his mind. Even though he was wearing leather armor, he still felt the hits on his body.

Whose idea was it to add realistic pain to the game?

Two swift kicks sent the Mad Dogs away as Liu Ye rushed towards the main culprit. The ground began to shake as the Elemental Dog stomped again but Liu Ye had already jumped away. This time, he saw the monster's attack skill.

It was a stone pillar that grew from the ground but only hit empty air.

Before the monster could react, Liu Ye had already reached his target in the blink of an eye and was swinging a newly created whip.

A panicked yelp resounded within the Waterfall Forest as the Elemental Dog switched to melee offense. At close distance, it behaved just like the two Mad Dogs. They all tried to bite at him, but Liu Ye was nimble, dodging and kiting them till he bled their HP to zero.

[Ding! You killed the Mad Dog. You received 15 Experience and 25 bronze.]

[Ding! You killed the Mad Dog. You received 15 Experience and 25 bronze.]

[Ding! You killed the Elemental Dog (Elite). You received 100 Experience and 1 silver.]

"Uuf…" Liu Ye let out a sigh as he rubbed his bottom. Although the pain was temporary, Liu Ye already made a mental note to be careful from now on.

The 25 damage he received wasn't worth wasting the medium health potion so Liu Ye let his passive regeneration handle that. With his 1 HP Regen, he could get back 1 HP every 20 seconds.

Liu Ye watched as the bodies of the three monsters disappeared, pondering about his new discovery.

It wasn't just the players or NPCs who were capable of controlling the Elements.

Swoosh!

Just as that thought crossed his mind, Liu Ye felt heat on his face and saw flames fly past his nose.

"Give back what you stole or I will fry you to a toast!"