Under the moonlight of clear night sky, a merry little skeleton was strolling around a ravine. It sometimes paused, causing nearby Glutinous Rice to disappear. The entire scene was harmonious and peaceful.

Ding~!

System Notice: Congratulations, your Foraging skill has leveled!

I looked at the message and an indescribable sense of accomplishment rose within me. Damn, the Ultimate Foraging God and the Ultimate Cooking God is being born, boys!

Turning back around, I checked my surroundings and noticed that a third of the ravine’s Glutinous Rice was still there. My bag however, had 37 slots taken up by the stacks of rice, each containing 50, for a total of 1850. Undoubtedly, my bag was filled to the max!

If I leave now, won’t I be letting the players after me gather the remaining one-third?

No, that’s not my style. I walk my own path, and burn the bridges behind me. Others can’t tread this road. Now that’s what I call domineering!

Forget it, what’s the point of saying all that? I should go turn in the quest first. I had to throw away some potions to gather all this Glutinous Rice. I really shouldn’t have done that.

I dashed back to the Night Creature camp of Wildfire Plains and turned in the quest items to the soldier. He examined me closely, then laughed out of nowhere. “Oh mighty Asura God, did you send this brave Night Creature adventurer to save the continent? Young skeleton, your strength has earned my respect. Come, this is your reward!”

Ding~!

System Notice: You have completed the quest [Eliminate the Wild Beasts]. You have gained 5000 EXP, 50 Reputation, and quest reward: "Army Pouch"!

Swoosh!

A golden column of light flooded down from above as I finally reached Level 27, once again rising in the Floating Ice City’s Heavenly Ranking. I was now in the top three, at second place, with Level 28 Wind Fantasy in first!

The quest had given me something too, an Army Pouch?

I opened my bag. Lying in the only open space there was a little gray bag. I took it out to check it out and was immediately filled with joy—

Army Pouch: User will receive an additional 20 bag slots after equipping.

A skeleton’s howl rang in the night sky, sounding as if it was both crying and laughing at the same time. I was, of course, laughing. This was simply an item made just for me!

It was only a little pouch that didn’t hinder my movements so I immediately hung the Army Pouch at my waist. Then I turned around and headed back to the ravine. I spent a good hour to completely gather all the remaining Glutinous Rice. Like this, it would take at least two or three days for this area’s Glutinous Rice to respawn.

It was time to return to the city to make Rank 2 Consumables. I went back the same way I had come.

After arriving at Floating Ice City, I felt that as though things were a bit expensive here. Due to the sheer number of players present and demand, the central market adjusted everything.

Glutinous Rice Ball. Rank 2 Cooking. Requires: Glutinous Rice x15, Chicken Meat x5, Salt x5. Restores 200 MP.

I was still missing a few items. Glutinous Rice was already in my hands and Salt could be obtained from a store. The only thing left was Chicken Meat. Looks like I’d still need to run about. For the sake of riches and bitches, chaaaarge!

I had to spend another 2 gold to open another warehouse to deposit all my Glutinous Rice. I had no choice, there were too many production materials. It wasn’t logical not to open another one.

After a round of equipment repairs and potion buying, it was time to go.

Once I got out of the city, I swiftly moved out while also browsing the official forums. I couldn’t rely on the database for this. Players could only depend on themselves for this kind of information.

Several hundred results came out when I searched up Chicken Meat but they were all questions about where to get it.

My head hurt. These were the troubles of a pioneer.

My eyes suddenly brightened after a long period of searching. A decent post had finally appeared—

“The Pet System is about to launch. What kind of pet would you want?”

Following that, the post elaborated what types of pets would be popular. For example, the Wasps in Poison Wasp Forest, the Green Praying Mantis in Sunshine Forest. Those were pretty good choices and there were also the Pheasants from Wild Pheasant Ridge

Right! That was it! Pheasants!

Everyone knew that pheasants were just wild chickens. Pheasant Meat was just Chicken Meat, albeit with slightly higher quality!

I was excited. Wild Pheasant Ridge, the answer to my troubles!

I searched for Wild Pheasant Ridge and the results appeared again. It was approximately 20 minutes west of Floating Ice City. Pheasants were also about Level 30, which meant that it wouldn’t take too long for them to become the mainstream targets for grinding in the future. Getting Chicken Meat while grinding levels would be pure bliss.

It was time to set out. To Wild Pheasant Ridge!

I passed through the Frost Forest that was still filled with morning mist. The monsters here were only between Level 25 and 30, so they were no longer too big of a threat to me. Not long after, a green area appeared on my map. It was precisely the Wild Pheasant Ridge I was searching for!

“Chirp chirp!”

The sound of pheasants caused me no end in excitement. I drew my sword and rushed forward, pushing aside the greenery. I was slightly stunned when I saw the scene before me. I saw four Level 28 Pheasants close together, like they were holding a meeting.

I was currently Level 27, one level below them. Equipped with two Bronze and a few Iron–grade pieces of gear, I had no fear as I charged over to kill these Pheasants with my sword.

In a flash, the group of Pheasants was dead, so I began butchering them using my Foraging skill!

System Notice: You have gathered Pheasant Meat x2, Foraging Proficiency +2!

System Notice: You have gathered Pheasant Meat x2, Foraging Proficiency +2!

System Notice: You have gathered Pheasant Meat x2, Foraging Proficiency +2!

System Notice: You have gathered Pheasant Meat x2, Foraging Proficiency +2!

This was nice. Not only could I kill monsters, I could also increase my production skill while I was at it. Once I made the MP food, I could then sell it for money. It was three birds in one stone!

Suddenly filled with abundant energy, I zipped through Wild Pheasant Ridge like a madman, slaughtering everything in sight. I was the only person here so my rampage went unchecked.

Pop!

A Pheasant died, dropping a thin axe. I picked it up and checked it out. Nice, Iron-grade—

Pheasant Battle Axe (Iron-grade)

Attack: 12~24

Stamina: +4

Level Requirement: 20

It was a pretty good weapon. Although its attack power wasn’t as great as my Weeping Fire Blade, it was a godly weapon for players at this stage of the game. Using this weapon to grind levels would absolutely double their efficiency.

Pleased, I tossed the Pheasant Battle Axe into my bag. I should ask Thirteen if he has a good weapon once I have to go back to restock. If not, I could just give it to him. As for why I didn’t give him the Forest Green Blade? I needed money then. Learning skills, training them, and so on.

Three hours later, I was Level 27 with 57% experience. Killing Level 28 monsters wasn’t too great. I’d already be Level 28 if I was grinding in Wildfire Plains.

My bag was full again, this time with Chicken Meat. I looked at the time and saw that it was three in the morning. I wasn’t tired at all though. My blood felt like it was about to boil the moment I thought about all the gold that was going to drop in my lap. At that thought, I wanted to laugh out loud!

I was pretty much done with my material gathering now. As I began my journey back to Floating Ice City, I sent Du Thirteen a message. “Got time?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Wait for me at Floating Ice City’s eastern entrance.”

“Okay!”

Once I entered the city, I saw Du Thirteen from a distance. Level 23 Warrior, not bad.

I walked forward and looked at the iron sword in his hand. “What are the stats on your weapon?”

“Ah?” Thirteen was a bit dazed. “Common-grade Level 5, 4~7 Attack. Why?”

I tossed the Pheasant Battle Axe at him. “Use this one. Yours is way too crappy.”

“Ah?!”

Thirteen caught the battle axe and was immediately overjoyed. He ran up and hugged me. “Lu Chen, I love you, I love you. Hahahaha…”

“Scram, I already have someone I like.” I ruthlessly left a footprint on his face.

“Oh right, why were you looking for me?” Thirteen enthusiastically asked.

I traded him 2 gold. “Go buy me 20 stacks of Salt. The system grocer sells them. Once you’ve bought the Salt, meet me at the warehouse.

“Oh, got it!”

Thirteen left with gusto while I stood by the warehouse. I deposited half my Chicken Meat and took out half of my Glutinous Rice. The Rank 2 Consumable, Glutinous Rice Ball, needed 15 Glutinous Rice, 5 Chicken Meat, and 5 Salt. Unlike back when I only needed to use my nimble hands to make the Rank 1 Applesauce, I needed to use 10 MP for each Glutinous Rice Ball.

Thirteen soon came back with the Salt. I told him, “Give me 10 stacks first.”

“Okay!”

With 10 stacks of Salt in hand, I now had all the ingredients I needed. I immediately opened the Cooking window and placed in the required materials. I pressed the synthesis button and the sound of a system notice rang—

Ding~!

System Notice: You have made Glutinous Rice Ball x1. Cooking Proficiency +3!

Heh, as expected of high-level Cooking!

Glutinous Rice Ball: Rank 2 Cooking, instantly restores 200 MP to the user.

Tsk tsk, this was definitely going to become a mainstream delicacy!

I continued to make more rice balls, eating a Glutinous Rice Ball every time I ran out MP. I didn’t need to be stingy since they were mine anyway. After making them for almost an hour, I finally used up almost all my Chicken Meat and Glutinous Rice. 190 Glutinous Rice Balls appeared in my bag. There were 10 in a stack so I had a total of 19 stacks!

It was hard to train Cooking. I used so many materials but only gained 45% experience. I had a long way to go!

I happily looked at the consumables in my bag and smiled. “Thirteen, when you’re grinding, have you ever felt that you never had enough MP?”

Thirteen had a blank face. “What’s MP?”

“Uh, never mind, you can go back to grinding.”

“Forget it, I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”

“Mn.”

When Thirteen logged off, I went to the center of the city plaza and yelled. “Selling Rank 2 Consumable Glutinous Rice Ball for 10 silver each, 90 silver for a stack of 10. Come buy, come buy! Restores 200 MP! Limited stock, come buy while supply lasts!

The surrounding players were all struck dumb—

“Rank 2 Consumable? Shit, did I hear wrong? Someone already has Cooking at Rank 2?”

“Gotta be a liar!”

“Buy it and you’ll know if it’s true!”

Someone traded me a few seconds later and gave me 10 silver. I placed in a Glutinous Rice Ball and the guy was shocked once the trade was successful. “Shit! It really is a Rank 2 Consumable! Awesome, who is this guy?!”

The players around me all scrambled to trade me and I happily accepted their money. I sold 90 Glutinous Rice Balls in not even ten minutes, coming out with 9 gold. Hahaha, I knew I’d make it!

At this time, a voice suddenly came from behind me. “Brother Broken Halberd Sinks Into Sand can we have a chat?”