Seeing Mysterious step out of the village chief’s yard, the nearby onlookers immediately swarmed around him like fangirls chasing an idol.

“Bro, did you get a quest from the village chief?” one bold player called out directly.

Others quickly joined in, egged on by his lead.

“…” Mysterious scanned the crowd, then nodded. “Yeah.”

“How’d you get it?” they pressed when he responded.

Normally, Mysterious wouldn’t bother with nosy strangers. But escaping wasn’t easy—not with just 26 Agility points. His reflexes and experience gave him an edge in combat, but raw movement speed? That was fixed. And since player-killing was disabled in BeginnerVillage, forcing his way out was impossible. He’d need to satisfy their curiosity first.

After a pause, he spoke.

“The quest has a level requirement. You’ll get it at level 6.”

Some believed him. Others scoffed. “The highest-level player’s barely level 5! Who you trying to fool?”

“Convinced yet?” Mysterious didn’t argue. He pulled up his system menu, set his level to public—and flashed the glowing “6” above his head for two seconds before hiding it again. While the crowd gaped, he slipped through the gap.

Stunned, they forgot to screenshot the proof. By the time some chased him into the monster zone, he’d vanished. Dodging amateurs in chaotic terrain was child’s play for him.

Later, a forum post claimed Mysterious had hit level 6—but without evidence, no one believed it. After all, the world’s top streamer had just reached level 5.

Truth was, Mysterious was nearly level 7. Though grinding lower-level mobs gave little XP, quest rewards stacked up fast. Thanks to EndlessHorizon’s lenient level-difference system, even level 3–4 players could handle level 5 monsters. So the level 5 zone still had crowds—just fewer than lower areas. Not everyone was as obsessive as Mysterious about clearing every quest.

Five li ahead lay the high-level zone, where monsters level 6 and above roamed. Unlike passive lower-tier mobs, these were aggressive red-named creatures—just like the ones in the mine.

Spotting a buffalo nearby, Mysterious drew his Novice Sword and charged.

“Moo—!” The beast whirled as he entered its aggro range, lowered its head, and charged, horns aimed like spears.

At the last second, Mysterious slid right. His sword swept left to right, carving a long gash down the buffalo’s flank.

【-13】

A solid damage number floated above the Red-Eyed Water Buffalo’s head. Since their levels matched, its full stats—HP, attack, defense—were visible now, no longer hidden behind question marks like the mine rats.

Before the buffalo could turn, Mysterious struck its hindquarters.

【-15】

The beast kicked back in pain, but Mysterious had already circled to its side. His blade swept horizontally—landing *exactly* where his first strike had cut.

【-38】

The damage dwarfed his previous hits. Yet it wasn’t a crit—purple numbers marked those in EndlessHorizon.

Mysterious had learned the game’s quirks: damage wasn’t fixed. It fluctuated based on attack force and precision. As a Superbeing with perfect body control, he always hit max damage. Earlier in the mines, his 1-point forced damage had masked this.

EndlessHorizon also had lethal spots—weak points like eyes, bellies, or a skeleton’s soul-fire. Hitting them amplified damage. A clean decapitation could one-shot a monster. That’s how Mysterious had soloed level 5 mobs despite his low stats. Level advantage helped too.

Wounds created artificial weak points. Even the toughest hide bled. Repeated strikes to the same wound amplified damage—but landing precise hits mid-combat was near impossible for ordinary players. Only against slow, large monsters could Mysterious reliably repeat strikes on one spot.

Enraged, the buffalo thrashed its head, horns slashing wildly. To Mysterious, it was merely annoying—thanks to his low Agility.

Ducking and weaving, he focused his strikes on the buffalo’s neck. Eyes and belly were ideal weak points, but the thrashing head blocked access to its eyes, and its low belly was hard to reach. The neck was the next best target.

Seizing the moment the beast’s momentum faltered, Mysterious twisted his body. He drove his Novice Sword deep into the neck wound with explosive force.

【-183】

A massive yellow number erupted. The half-HP buffalo was now near death.

Mysterious yanked his sword free—but the buffalo’s spasming muscles clamped the blade tight. He failed to pull it out on the first try.

The buffalo reared up, front hooves slamming the earth. Twin rings of earth-colored shockwaves rippled outward.

【-31】

Mysterious’s meager HP plummeted. But the damage wasn’t the real threat—the system alert was:

【You’re affected by “Stomp”! Movement Speed reduced by 30% for 5 seconds.】

Speed was his lifeline. A 30% slow could cripple him.

Yet Mysterious stayed calm. *That was a skill. Cooldown means it won’t repeat.* The buffalo was almost dead. For a level 6 mob, using an AOE skill was rare—and it left the beast visibly weakened.

Mysterious planted a foot on its flank, wrenched his sword free, and activated his only skill: Fierce Strike.

The Novice Sword glowed faintly white as he swung it in a wide arc, targeting the neck wound again.

*Fierce Strike (Lv.1): Unleash a powerful blow dealing 130% damage.*

A starter skill for physical builds. Mysterious had ignored it until seeing others use it. The added power came with slight sluggishness—he only used it for finishing blows.

【-56】

The Red-Eyed Water Buffalo dissolved into white light, showering him with XP and loot.