Chapter 6: Combat Power Soars, Obtaining the Treasure Chest Detector

[Kill Level 1 Stone Ape Beast, gained 12 energy points.]

[100% drop rate triggered. Items have been automatically placed in your storage space; please check them.]

Ignoring the carcass of the Stone Ape Beast, Ye Chuyun scanned his surroundings. After quickly opening the bronze treasure chest and confirming the items inside, he departed the area immediately, without the slightest hesitation. It was only after he found a secure spot that he finally let out a sigh of relief.

Reflecting on the battle with the Stone Ape Beast, it might have seemed easy, but in reality, it was extremely perilous. Given his current physique, a few strikes from the beast's sharp claws would likely have been fatal. It was only thanks to [Stealth], [Vision Enhancement], and the boosts to his four core attributes that he managed to take down the beast without a single scratch.

"I have to say, solo-grinding is truly satisfying. One Stone Ape Beast yields 12 energy points; a few more and I'll be able to level up," Ye Chuyun smiled with satisfaction. He had been Level 1 (28/100) before; after killing the Stone Ape, he was now Level 1 (40/100). He only needed to slay six more Stone Ape Beasts or Green-Claw Beasts to level up.

This was the advantage of solo-grinding: all the energy and loot from the monsters belonged solely to him. If one were to hunt in a team, the energy would be distributed based on the amount of damage dealt. If four or five people hunted a single Stone Ape, each person might only receive at most 3-4 energy points. It would take killing over twenty beasts just to gain a single level. Furthermore, if lucky enough to have loot drop, distributing it would become a source of contention. Such a team might even fracture over the spoils—how could that compare to the satisfaction of keeping everything for himself?

However, solo-grinding had its drawbacks: one had to possess the strength to fight the beasts one-on-one, or else they would simply be feeding themselves to the monsters.

"Let me see what the bronze treasure chest and the Stone Ape dropped," Ye Chuyun smiled slightly and opened his storage space. As soon as he did, his eyes were dazzled by a kaleidoscope of colors.

[Stone Ape Spirit Essence: Increases Strength by 3 upon consumption.]
[F-Rank Special Item: Piping Hot Roast Meat]
[Stone Ape Scale: Increases Physique by 5 when equipped; Tier 1 equipment.]

These were the spoils from the Stone Ape. Although the information stated the Stone Ape's drop rate was 0.1%—a one-in-a-thousand chance—in front of Ye Chuyun, any rate was effectively 100%.

Next were the items from the bronze treasure chest:

[God-Demon Coins +500]
[Skill Stone: Can upgrade any skill.] x2
[Enhancement Stone: Can enhance equipment.] x2
[Special Item: Treasure Chest Detector]
[Tier 1 Spell Scroll: Sea of Blazing Fire]
[Purple Jade Mirror: Increases Spirit by 10 and Physique by 15 when equipped. Comes with the defensive skill "Purple Jade Barrier," which forms a shield with 1000 energy. Tier 2 equipment; requirement: Level 5.]

The string of rewards left Ye Chuyun dazzled. Setting aside the beast's loot, what caught his attention most were the items from the chest. Skill Stones could improve any skill, but a single stone wasn't enough to upgrade a skill by one level; the higher the level, the more stones required. The same applied to Enhancement Stones. Because of this, the price of these stones remained consistently high in his previous life, even reaching 10,000 God-Demon Coins apiece at one point. If possible, Ye Chuyun planned to purchase as many as he could through the trading house early on. He certainly couldn't pass up items that were guaranteed to appreciate in value later.

Then there was the Tier 1 spell scroll; to Ye Chuyun, this was a massive trump card. He could use it to kill tricky elite or boss monsters. With a few more of these, he could even use them to mass-farm monsters, making it a breeze to reach Level 10.

As for the equipment, there was no need to mention it further. Tier 2 equipment not only provided significant stat bonuses but also came with skills, all of which were highly practical. In his previous life, Ye Chuyun didn't manage to scrape together enough money to buy a piece of Tier 2 equipment until he reached Level 30. To think he had obtained one at Level 1, with the potential for even more in the future—the thought filled him with excitement. The only catch was that the Purple Jade Mirror required Level 5 to equip; he was only Level 1, so he would have to wait.

The final item was the Treasure Chest Detector. As the name implied, it detected whether there were any treasure chests within a hundred-meter radius. Ye Chuyun had never even heard of such a thing in his past life; it was a bug-level existence. With it, all the treasure chests in the Poison Mist Swamp would have nowhere to hide from him. Since he had already finished checking the locations he knew, the detector would allow him to continue hunting for chests and further bolster his strength.

Ye Chuyun didn't use the Enhancement Stones for now, keeping them in storage. He spent both Skill Stones on his [Appraisal] skill, causing it to level up once more!

[Appraisal LV3: Active skill. Can identify information about monsters and items. Can identify terrain, special spirit herbs, and ores.]

"Not bad, I can identify special materials now," Ye Chuyun nodded in satisfaction. In the God-Demon world, there were many special materials that one wouldn't recognize even if they were holding them without the Appraisal skill. Since he didn't know every material, there would always be unknown items needing identification.

After consuming the Spirit Essence and equipping his gear, Ye Chuyun's combat power surged once again.

Name: Ye Chuyun
Level: 1 (40/100)
Strength: 25
Agility: 14
Physique: 31
Spirit: 14
Skills: Appraisal LV3, Stealth LV1, Vision Enhancement LV1
Combat Power: 183 (168+15)
God-Demon Coins: 920
Equipment: Green-Claw Machete +2 (Attack +15, Strength +6, Tier 1), Agility Ring (Agility +8, Tier 1), Spirit Necklace (Spirit +8, Tier 1), Stone Ape Scale (Physique +5, Tier 1)

After organizing his items, Ye Chuyun felt a bit hungry and took out the [Piping Hot Roast Meat] to eat. Ten minutes later, he rubbed his full belly and let out a satisfied burp. Taking advantage of the rest, he opened the [Chat Channel] to see everyone else's progress.

The channel was still bustling. Ye Chuyun glanced at the top left corner and saw the number of people had dropped significantly: 902/1000. In just two or three hours, another 50 people had died. And the Poison Mist Swamp was merely a beginner's trial grounds—not to mention that after Level 5, they would have to board a train to enter the true God-Demon world. That place would be even more terrifying than the swamp. For the 7 billion humans from Earth, what kind of cruel dangers awaited them there?