Kill one monster, stack one poison, and I alone will poison my way across the world!

After leaving, Su Chen couldn't help but let out a big yawn.

"I can't take it anymore. If I keep grinding like this, I'm afraid I'll suddenly die in the wild, and the whole village will suffer the consequences."

Su Chen muttered something under his breath.

Blue energy can be replenished with potions, but mental energy cannot.

The intense combat, the constant tension, and the continuous command of the [Corrosive Serpent Guards] to search for enemies created a sense of exhaustion on a spiritual level. It felt like having stayed up for three consecutive nights and then being forced to take off; it was as if a broken fan was humming in my head.

Liver function is essential, but it's not worth the risk of sudden death from liver problems.

This is reality, not a game; you can't be resurrected after you die.

He abandoned the idea of ​​continuing to grind monsters and headed towards Tianhe City along the main road.

Around 8 a.m., the city gate of Tianhe City was already bustling with activity.

Many players who had changed jobs were preparing to leave the city to hunt monsters, and the sounds of various potion vendors and team recruitment were mixed together.

On either side of the city gate stood two city guards dressed in standard armor.

They were idly checking the badges of people coming in and out.

When Su Chen slowly walked to the city gate, the slightly younger guard on the left with a scar on his face was stunned for a moment.

He rubbed his eyes, seemingly a little incredulous.

"Hey, Old Wang, look at that kid..." The scarred guard nudged the old soldier next to him with his elbow, "Isn't he that little mage who went out of town alone yesterday?"

The veteran looked in the direction he pointed, and his expression changed.

"It really is him. That kid actually survived out there?"

In this world, a newly awakened level one newbie, without a guild or elder to guide them, has a near-zero chance of survival if they venture alone to the monster zone outside the city to spend the night.

They had already sentenced Su Chen to death in their hearts when they saw him leave the city alone yesterday.

"He's really lucky. He probably hid in a tree hole all night." The scarred guard sneered and habitually cast a basic [Survey] spell over.

The city guards check countless people every day, and their skills have long been perfected.

However, the next second.

The scarred guard's expression froze.

His eyes widened, almost bulging out, and his mouth was so open it could fit an apple.

"Old Wang..."

"What's wrong? Did you see a ghost?" Old Wang turned his head impatiently.

"He...he..." The scarred guard pointed at Su Chen, his finger trembling, "Level 13!!!"

"What?"

Old Wang thought he had misheard, so he quickly cast a [Detective] spell as well.

Name: Su Chen

[Level: 13]

[Class: Venomous Mage]

Holy crap!

Old Wang immediately cursed, almost dropping the spear in his hand.

Level 13!

You should know that in this world, it takes at least two days for a newcomer to level up from level one to level ten, even for those geniuses who have top-tier family resources and can monopolize the area to grind monsters every day!

Moreover, after level 10, the experience requirement doubles, and the leveling speed will slow down significantly.

And this seemingly impoverished young man in front of me was only at level six when he left the city yesterday evening!

Overnight, I jumped from level 6 to level 13?!

Is this some kind of rocket-powered monster-slaying rampage?!

"They've got no shame! This leveling speed is so fast, I'd believe it if you said they were cheating!" the scarred guard roared inwardly.

If it weren't for the discipline of the city guards, he would have rushed up and grabbed Su Chen's leg right now, asking him how he did it.

Su Chen noticed the two guards looking at him as if he were a monster.

He certainly knew what they were shocked about.

But he was so sleepy that he could barely keep his eyelids open, and he had no interest in pretending or enjoying the shocked looks.

"May I go in?"

Su Chen silently scoffed, ignoring the two guards' petrified expressions, and yawned as he walked through the city gate.

Instead of going straight home, he went to the trading hall of the Professionals' Chamber of Commerce.

Su Chen walked to an empty self-service consignment terminal and skillfully turned on the screen.

"Splash!"

He dumped everything he had obtained in Broken Wind Valley into his backpack.

Heavy Black Iron Greatsword (Black Iron Grade)

Rough Stone-Blade Dagger (Black Iron Grade)

【Silver-tier Dark Feather Armor】

【Silent Crystal*383】

[126 Broken Bone Clubs]

【…】

The data on the screen jumped wildly, and the system began to automatically estimate the price.

Su Chen listed the two pieces of black iron equipment at a price slightly below the average market price, hoping to sell them quickly.

But Su Chen glanced at the market price of that silver-grade leather armor.

"Agility +30, movement speed +10% - these stats are practically god-tier gear for assassins and archers in the early game. The rich kids in those big guilds will definitely be fighting over them."

Su Chen prepared for the auction without hesitation.

He set the starting price at 100,000 gold coins and started the auction, which lasted for 24 hours.

As for the low-level materials, they were all directly purchased by large guilds. Su Chen chose to have them recycle them, instantly earning over 7000 gold coins.

The rare materials that Murphy revealed didn't even have comparable prices, so he directly listed them at high prices, waiting for merchants who saw them to contact him.

After completing all the steps, Su Chen pulled out the merchant card, turned around, and walked out the door.

The morning sunlight was a bit too bright.

Su Chen hailed a magic-powered taxi and gave them his address.

Upon returning home, Su Chen's breathing became steady and long almost the instant his head hit the pillow.

……

"Buzz—Buzz—Buzz—"

The cell phone on the cheap bedside table was like a tireless motor, vibrating so much that even the water glass trembled.

Su Chen turned over, grabbed a pillow and covered his ears, trying to continue sleeping.

But the vibration sound was like a death knell, as if it would explode on the spot if he didn't catch it.

He abruptly threw off the covers, his hair a mess, and with his eyes half-open, grabbed his phone.

The words "Miss Lin" flashed on the screen.

Su Chen let out a huge yawn and swiped to answer the call.

"Feed..."

"Xiao Su! Where the hell have you been?! Why are you only answering the phone now?!"

As soon as the call connected, Lin Shiqing's furious voice burst from the receiver.

The sound was so loud that Su Chen involuntarily moved his phone back several centimeters.

"Miss, it's 3:30 PM, legal bedtime. I stayed up all night... just woke up."

Su Chen rubbed his sore eyes.

"Sleep, sleep, all you do is sleep! Don't you know something terrible is happening outside!"

Lin Shiqing's voice carried a hint of anxiety.

In the background noise, you can faintly hear a few muffled explosions, suggesting that she is in some wilderness area.

"The Tianhe City Defense Force just issued an emergency notice: the aura of the abyss has been detected in Broken Wind Valley! A high-ranking military team has already entered!"

Aura of the abyss?

Su Chen's sleepiness dissipated slightly.

Could it be that I broke through the secret realm of the [Silent Stone Sea] and some strange thing came out?

That shouldn't be the case. There was nothing unusual when I cleared the secret realm yesterday.

"Did you hear me?" Lin Shiqing's tone became even sterner when he didn't speak. "You little newbie who doesn't even have a single bronze-level piece of equipment, don't even think about going out of town to farm those slimes and wild dogs these next couple of days! If you encounter any demonized monsters tainted by the abyss's aura, you won't even be able to escape! Stay in town obediently, you hear me!"

Su Chen couldn't help but chuckle, then casually grabbed the half-empty bottle of mineral water from the bedside table and took a sip.

This girl, she's clearly trying to care about someone, but she insists on using this tone of scolding a grandson.

"Okay, okay, I'm not going anywhere, I'll just stay home and lie down."

Hearing Su Chen agree, Lin Shiqing's tone softened slightly.

"Hmph, you're smart to know what's good for you. By the way, I have some good news for you, and I'll also let you realize the difference between us."

Holding his phone, Su Chen walked towards the restroom, mumbling, "What difference?"

"I'm already level 7!"

Lin Shiqing said, enunciating each word clearly, her tone full of boastfulness.

"Just ten minutes ago, my guard cleared out a low-level goblin camp. Level 7 in one day! Even in our family's history, that's a record that ranks among the top. How about that, scared yet? Don't think you're invincible just because your class is powerful; your teammates are still very important!"

"So, team up with me obediently during the college entrance exam, understand? Otherwise, you won't even be able to pass the entrance exam for Sky Dome Academy."

Level 7.

In this world where everyone can switch jobs, leveling up from level 1 to level 7 in a single day is indeed an incredibly impressive feat.

This requires a significant allocation of resources, undamaged training by highly skilled professionals, and almost continuous monster respawns.

Su Chen clicked his tongue.

As expected of a young lady, her leveling speed is incredibly fast.

He turned on the tap, washed his face, and then said to his phone in the most sincere tone, "Oh, that's really impressive."

"That was when..."

"I'm only level 13. I'm just a little short of level 14, I still need to keep working hard."

There was a sudden, deathly silence on the other end of the phone.

It was so quiet that Su Chen could only hear the splashing water on his side.

A full five seconds passed.

"What...what did you say?" Lin Shiqing's voice trembled slightly, as if she had heard an extremely absurd joke. "Su Chen, are you still asleep? Talking in your sleep? Level 13? Weren't you a Level 6 noob the day before yesterday?"

"I wasn't talking in my sleep." Su Chen pulled a towel to wipe his face. "I was lucky yesterday. I wandered around outside and killed a few monsters. Before I knew it, I was level thirteen."

"You're talking nonsense!" Lin Shiqing was completely exasperated. "Thirteen levels in one day?! Even those freakish geniuses in the capital, using legendary experience-boosting items, couldn't possibly reach thirteen levels in a day! You can't even come up with a plausible reason for lying!"

These days, nobody believes you when you tell the truth.

Su Chen didn't bother to explain and simply said, "Believe it or not. I have something to do, so I'll hang up now. I'll treat you to barbecue when I get back to the city."

After saying that, he hung up the phone without hesitation, not giving Lin Shiqing a chance to continue her outburst.

He threw his phone on the bed and was just about to rummage through the room to find two clean clothes to change into.

"Buzz—"

My phone vibrated again.

"Is this girl never going to stop?"

Su Chen sighed helplessly, walked over and picked up his phone, only to find that the screen displayed an unfamiliar landline number with a special official logo from Tianhe City attached to the prefix.

He frowned slightly and pressed the answer button.

"Hello. Is this Mr. Su Chen?"

A highly professional, gentle, and somewhat respectful female voice came from the other end of the phone.

"It's me. Who is it?"

Su Chen's voice returned to calm.

"Hello Mr. Su, this is the headquarters of the Tianhe City Professionals Chamber of Commerce. I am Bai Zhi, a senior manager of the Chamber of Commerce."

Professionals Chamber of Commerce?

Su Chen immediately remembered the batch of items he had consigned to the Professional Merchants Association that morning.

There shouldn't be much else, the key items are the silver-grade [Annihilation Dark Feather Armor] and a large amount of [Annihilation Stone Crystals].

"What's up?" Su Chen asked succinctly.

"It's like this, Mr. Su. Our back office noticed the item you consigned to the Chamber of Commerce this morning. After confirmation by our appraisers, the silver-grade leather armor has extremely rare properties."

Bai Zhi paused, as if considering her words.

"Most importantly, we learned from the city garrison's records that your current level... is an astonishing level 13."

This group has a pretty fast intelligence network.

Indeed, it's no wonder that a level 13 newbie would be targeted if they suddenly dropped a piece of silver gear that only drops from a level 15 high-difficulty dungeon.

"so what?"

Su Chen leaned against the wardrobe, speaking casually.

"Our president is very interested in you."

Bai Zhi's tone became even more respectful, "Our chamber of commerce is willing to purchase the leather armor and those rare materials you consigned at a price higher than the market value. Our manager would like to discuss this with you in person. Does Mr. Su have time this afternoon to come to the chamber's headquarters?"

Acquiring equipment?

Su Chen touched his chin.

He is indeed short of money right now.

Although he recycled a batch of junk materials in the morning, he has to go to Sky Dome Academy, and his future expenses will definitely be a bottomless pit.

"Okay," Su Chen said. "Give me an address."