Let's see what items the Golden War Bear Chálàlà dropped：
2 large red potions, 2 large blue potions.
Large Health Recovery Potion： Recovers 100 HP per second, duration 15 seconds.
Large Mana Recovery Potion： Recovers 100 MP per second, duration 15 seconds.
Large red and blue potions cost 5 gold coins each in the shop, pretty valuable stuff.
A pile of gold coins, about 30 or so.
What's that? A shield about half a man's height, shimmering with purple light.
Purple light? Could it be an artifact? My heart couldn't help but thump-thump—no way I'm this lucky, right?
Diamond Giant Shield： Purple Artifact, requires 100 Strength, effects unknown, cannot be used.
Oh my god, an artifact, it really is an artifact! I almost screamed out loud.
Looking at this artifact, the Diamond Giant Shield, it's over a meter tall, wide and sturdy. If I crouch down, this giant shield can cover my entire body—it'll definitely look unique to carry around.
I wonder what its stats are. I really want to hurry back to the village to get it appraised.
Put the Diamond Giant Shield into the backpack, and take a look at the remaining items.
3 Heavenly Dream Gems, 1 Blessing Gem （detailed introduction earlier）.
No way, gems drop this easily? Could it be that gems in King's aren't worth much? Heavenly Dream Gems are supposed to be great stuff though.
Actually, I was just lucky today, and this is a one-sided view. Only after leaving the novice village and truly starting the journey in King's did I realize how precious and rare Heavenly Dream Gems are.
War Bear Armor: Golden Equipment, Requirement: Level 20, effects unknown, cannot be used.
Whoa, so many good items! By soloing the Golden War Bear Chálàlà at a higher level, I not only got an artifact but also a piece of golden armor—I really hit the jackpot this time.
The rest were some basic blue equipment at level 10, nothing great, and none of it was for knights. I gave them a quick look and tossed them into the backpack to exchange for some money later.
The last item I picked up turned out to be a skill book.
Sleepwalking: Advanced skill, allows random movement when not in combat, Requirement: Level 10.
What the heck, it's just a random teleportation skill, doesn't seem very useful, like a chicken rib—still an advanced skill though. I guess this is how Black Bear Chara randomly teleported to Sky Pivot Spring.
I turned it over and over in my hands, but there's nothing special about it. Probably wouldn't sell for much to other players either.
Forget it, I'll just use it myself. As the saying goes, it's never a burden to have more skills. Who knows, it might come in handy somewhere. And hey, I'm already level 10, so I can learn this skill.
"Stone City, do you want to learn the advanced skill 'Sleepwalking'? This skill book can only be learned once. Once you learn the skill, the skill book will disappear." The system prompted me when I opened the skill book.
"Learn."
Sleepwalking： Max level, active skill, can randomly teleport when not in combat, costs 100 MP. Fixed teleport points are established based on the player's level and can be freely changed. Number of teleport points = player level / 10.
A powerful skill—no wonder it's an advanced one. It actually lets me set teleport points! I almost missed out on it. I'm already starting to imagine the bosses that spawn at fixed locations becoming my exclusive prize.
Although I killed Black Bear Chara, the quest is only half complete. I still need to obtain Nine Jars of Divine Spring Water for the quest to be considered finished.
I walked over to the clear spring. The serene water was incredibly clear, rippling with a green hue under the faint sunlight. It didn't look anything special.
This is Sky Pivot Spring, the divine spring of the newbie village, one of the Five Great Divine Springs of Tianmeng Continent that the hunter Wang Wu mentioned. It looks so ordinary.
There happened to be an empty water jar next to Sky Pivot Spring, just right for holding water. That's how the system set it up—otherwise, since Grandpa Village Chief didn't give me a water jar, I wouldn't have had a clue how to bring this spring water back to the newbie village.
I filled a jar with water from Sky Pivot Spring and looked at it curiously. I could hardly believe my eyes.
Sky Pivot Spring Water： A magical spring water produced by Sky Pivot Spring, one of the Five Great Divine Springs of Tianmeng Continent. The exact source is unknown. Drinking one jar adds 10 to all basic attributes.
No way, this strong. The Tianshu Spring—no wonder it's called one of the five divine springs of Tianmeng Continent. Such powerful effects completely exceeded my expectations. I'm totally stunned.
Seeing this attribute, my eyes lit up. Two jars, three jars... I kept filling empty water jars, and after filling nine jars with divine spring water, the rest would be mine.
Two jars, three jars... nine jars.
No way, oh God, I'm going crazy. Why is this happening?
The water in the Tianshu Spring was just enough to fill nine jars. After filling the ninth jar, the spring had not a single drop left.
Confirming that the Tianshu Spring would produce no more water, the frustration in my heart was easy to imagine.
Looking at the nine jars of divine spring water beside me, I was torn—drink or not drink.
I really want to drink it myself. Just thinking about downing all nine jars, my strength would be absolutely unimaginable.
Wanting is one thing, but I can only think about it. Everyone on Earth knows this water can't be drunk. With deep regret, I put the nine jars into my backpack, ready to return to the beginner village and turn in the quest.
"Stone City, you actually managed to kill that damn black bear and reclaim our divine spring, the Tianshu Spring—how admirable and respectable."
Hunter Wang Wu suddenly appeared silently behind me, startling me.
What "actually"? What "managed to"? He actually doubted my strength! What kind of eyesight do you have?
Hearing that Hunter Wang Wu had doubted my strength, I grumbled inwardly, but naturally I couldn't show it on my face.
"Heh heh, this black bear was really powerful. I just got lucky; otherwise, I would have died here."
"Stone City, you're too modest. This black bear is a millennium bear spirit. If your strength weren't up to par, no amount of luck could have killed it."
After speaking, Hunter Wang Wu walked over to the corpse of Black Bear Chala, rummaged around, found something, and handed it to me.
“See? This black bear is no ordinary one, right?”
What's this, a pitch-black lump, let me take it and have a look.
Millennium Bear Essence Gallbladder： Rare medicinal ingredient, the essence of a bear spirit, can be used for alchemy. If taken directly, increases HP by 100.
Nice stuff, I never thought Black Bear Chara would actually have such a treasure on him.
“Uncle Wang, how did you get this treasure? How come I didn't find it?”
“Heh heh, this is the ‘Gathering Skill’, you can collect useful items from the corpses of monsters. What you gather depends on the level of your gathering skill. To collect such a rare ingredient, you'd need at least an advanced ‘Gathering Skill’.”
“Uncle Wang, you're amazing! Having such a great skill—I wonder how I can learn it too.” Hearing how useful this skill was, someone immediately started scheming about whether he could learn it, and shamelessly started buttering him up.
“Heh heh, this skill is a basic one. When you reach level 10 and leave the newbie village, the village chief will teach it to you.”
So that's how it is—it's a common skill. The sickeningly flattering words I had prepared were left unsaid.
“This “Gathering Skill” is extremely hard to level up. I've been practicing it for over forty years, and only reached advanced level last year. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to gather this Millennium Bear Essence Gallbladder today.”
Speaking of the Millennium Bear Essence Gallbladder, I'd been holding it tightly in my hand, reluctant to return it to Hunter Wang Wu. Since Hunter Wang Wu mentioned it, I guess I have to give it back now.
“You killed this evil black bear, freed the sacred spring of our newbie village, and cleansed the disgrace of our newbie village. This Millennium Bear Essence Gallbladder is a gift for you. Besides, you killed the bear—it was already yours.”
Wow, Uncle Wang is really so straightforward and generous, such a loyal guy.
Just when I was about to return the Millennium Bear Essence Gallbladder to Uncle Wang the hunter, he said such a noble thing, making someone overjoyed.
“Stone City, this thousand-year bear spirit gall isn’t easy to come by. If your alchemy skill reaches advanced level, using it to brew potions could yield something even better.”
“Got it, thanks for the advice, Uncle Wang. I’ll be sure to remember it.” I quickly express my gratitude.
“Stone City, from the moment I met you, I could tell you were exceptional, and your performance has only proven it. In the future, you’re sure to become a legendary warrior, slay the demon lord, and save the imperiled Tianmeng Continent. Besides, you’ve helped the newbie village solve a huge problem. I also have a few insights on the “Gathering’ skill—would you like to hear them?”
Perks—that’s my first thought.
“I’ve been full of admiration and envy for your “Gathering’ skill, Uncle Wang. I’d be honored if you’d share your wisdom.”
“Stone City, hunter Wang Wu wishes to teach you the intermediate “Gathering” skill. Do you accept?” The system suddenly chimes in.
Intermediate “Gathering”, huh. So there really are perks.
“Accept.”
Only a fool would say no.
“Ding-dong! Congratulations, player Stone City, you have learned intermediate “Gathering”.”
Gathering： Support skill, Intermediate 0/50000
A support skill—no wonder it’s so hard to level up. For comparison, advancing Blacksmithing and Alchemy from beginner to intermediate only takes 10,000 XP, and intermediate to advanced takes 30,000. This Gathering skill is seriously tough to train.
“Alright, Stone City, I need to process this black bear’s carcass and set up a few formations around the Celestial Pivot Spring to prevent other monsters from taking it over. You’d better head back to the newbie village chief and deliver the Divine Spring Water—share the good news with them.”
“Uncle Wang, no rush. Let me help you.”
I really don’t want to head back just yet. I’m planning to use the “Dreamwalk’ skill I just learned to set up a teleport point here, so I can drop by every now and then and sneak a jar if the spring produces any water.
The super attributes of Celestial Pivot Spring water are absolutely insane—hard to let go.