"Ahem... well, there is something."
Adrian stuffed the copper coins into his sleeve at lightning speed, then lowered his voice.
"There's a village not far from Starter Village called Windmill Town. Something strange has been happening there lately. I need someone to investigate what exactly is going on..."
"I'd be happy to help."
Daniel wasn't surprised in the slightest.
"Just a friendly warning," Adrian said. "The villagers there have been showing signs of beastification."
"Beastification?"
"That's right. Some people transform into beasts in the middle of the night and attack their neighbors. Those who get attacked soon begin showing the same symptoms as well. It spreads from person to person..."
Adrian's expression turned grave.
"The Academy sent me here to investigate, but I can't handle it alone. I need help."
[Ding! Hidden Quest triggered: Investigate the Beastification Mystery of Windmill Town]
[Quest Difficulty: C-rank]
[Quest Objective: Travel to Windmill Town, investigate the source of the beastification phenomenon, and collect at least 3 clues]
[Quest Rewards: EXP +500, Silver Coins +10, Contribution Points +200... ???]
[Accept?]
Daniel accepted immediately.
A few passing players nearby happened to see the scene and froze.
"Holy crap? Isn't this NPC the one who always squats here ignoring people?"
"I tried talking to him before! He acted all high and mighty and wouldn't trigger anything no matter what I said!"
"How the hell did this guy activate it?"
Daniel stood up and dusted off his pants.
Of course he knew how to trigger it.
Back in his previous life, he had only discovered it while grinding strategy guides—this Adrian wasn't some ordinary NPC at all. He was a genius student from the Main City Magic Academy, and also a key figure in the later main storyline involving the beastification plague.
And there was only one requirement to unlock his quest:
Pay him.
At least 10 copper coins was enough.
Unfortunately, most players in the early game saved their copper coins for potions and supplies. By the time they remembered this NPC later, Adrian had long since left Starter Village.
[System Notice: You have accepted an investigation quest for the high-level map Windmill Town!]
[Contribution Points +10]
[Current Contribution Points: 10 (New Arrival)]
Daniel opened the map.
Everything around Starter Village was still gray, except for Windmill Town, where a red exclamation mark had lit up.
That was a high-level map. Under normal circumstances, players needed to be at least Level 20 before they could enter.
But after taking this quest, he could go in right now at Level 1.
Of course, for anyone other than him, even if they somehow took this hidden quest by accident, they'd still have to wait before completing it.
Trying to go there before Level 10 was basically suicide.
Daniel glanced back in the direction of Starter Village Plaza. Most players were still running around trying to find rabbits, chasing chickens and dogs all over the place.
Competing happily as if their lives depended on it.
Daniel looked at the Moon Reaper in his inventory, and the corner of his mouth curled upward.
He took the bow out and lightly pulled the string.
The instant the empty string vibrated, a heavy shockwave burst through the air.
The few players nearby were so startled they dropped onto their asses.
"What the hell was that?!"
"H-He's got some glowing bow in his hand! Where did that come from?!"
"No way, bro—are you playing a cracked version of the game?!"
Daniel ignored them.
He slung the bow over his back and strode straight out of Starter Village.
Behind him, the World Channel exploded.
[World Channel]
"By the gods, there's a hacker in Starter Village 616! Some player got a glowing bow from who knows where!"
"A glowing bow? Stop joking around. Only weapons above Gold-grade glow. Are you blind or what?!"
"No way that's real. Does this game actually have planted accounts?"
"Where's the screenshot? Post the screenshot!"
"Didn't get one. The light was too blinding..."
Daniel chuckled at the messages and closed the channel.
A planted account?
Well, in a certain sense, he really was a closed-beta veteran.
He lifted his head.
In the distance, he could already see the windmills of Windmill Town turning slowly.
Daniel stepped into Windmill Town, and a dense fog immediately rushed at his face, reducing visibility to less than ten meters.
A foul odor slammed straight into his brain.
Daniel frowned and took the Moon Reaper off his back.
The surroundings were deathly quiet.
Every now and then, a low beastly growl drifted out from the depths of the mist—sounding part wolf, part human.
Daniel lightened his footsteps and moved along the wall.
No matter how much combat experience he had, it couldn't change the fact that right now he was only a fragile Level 1 player.
In a high-level map like this, even getting grazed could injure him badly—getting hit head-on could mean instant death.
He had walked about fifty meters when he suddenly stopped.
It was too quiet.
According to his memories from his previous life, the monster density in Windmill Town was extremely high. There was no way he should have gone this long without encountering one...
And just then, a rustling sound suddenly came from the alley to his right.
Daniel pivoted sideways and raised his bow, his eyes locked on the alley entrance.
The next second, a pair of green glowing eyes lit up in the fog.
Then came a second pair. A third.
"ROAR—!"
A monster covered in gray fur lunged out of the mist.
It had a human face and a beast's body. Its mouth stretched all the way to its ears, filled with jagged teeth still hanging with scraps of flesh.
With one swipe of its claw, the stone door beside it shattered like wet paper.
[Iron-grade Beast-Turned · LV15]
Daniel's pupils contracted.
What the hell? The first one I meet is already an Iron-grade template?
He didn't hesitate for even a second and leapt backward on the spot.
In barely the blink of an eye, the monster had already rushed in front of him and slammed one claw down where he had just been standing.
Boom!
The stone pavement was smashed open into a crater the size of a washbasin. Flying gravel struck Daniel's legs hard enough to sting.
HP -20!
"What the hell? My total HP is only 100! This is insane!"
Daniel spun his bow around and loosed an arrow in one smooth motion!
Bang!
A streak of silver flashed through the air as the arrow buried itself deep in the monster's chest.
And then—
BOOM!!!
-1500!
A crimson damage number floated above the monster's head.
By sheer terrible luck, the creature had instantly triggered both the critical hit and explosion effects, and was killed on the spot.
The blast rang through Daniel's ears, and the shockwave blew away all the surrounding fog.
Half the monster's upper body was blown clean off, rotten flesh and shattered bone spraying across the ground while the remaining half of its corpse flew five or six meters backward.
Daniel stood there in a daze, still holding the bow without lowering it.
He looked down at the Moon Reaper in his hand, then at the smoking hole blasted into the wall nearby.
What.
The.
Hell.
He knew that shot would hit hard.
But he hadn't expected it to hit this hard.
A Level 15 Iron-grade monster got one-shot by a single arrow?
[Ding! You have slain Beast-Turned (LV15). Gained 1500 EXP!]
[Level Up! Current Level: 2]
[Gained 10 Attribute Points]
[Level Up! Current Level: 3]
[Gained 10 Attribute Points]
...
[Level Up! Current Level: 5]
[Gained 10 Attribute Points]
A string of notifications flooded his screen.
Before Daniel could even recover, his level had already jumped straight to Level 5.
He took a deep breath and dumped all of his attribute points into Agility.
Agility +50!
Originally, he had only wanted to test the bow's power.
Now, though, he was starting to understand what it meant to be a walking humanoid cannon.
The remaining Beast-Turned in the alley had already been halfway through lunging out.
But after seeing their companion get blown into chunks, they actually skidded to a halt on the spot.
They exchanged uneasy looks, low whimpers rumbling in their throats.
Daniel bared his teeth in a grin.
"Why run?"
"Since you're already here, don't be shy."