Chapter 19: Iron Chest, Fine Steel Sword

"You are the first player to kill a Level 3 monster."

"You have received an Iron Chest."

That's it? Just this? Where is the reward for the first over-level kill?

Does this reward not exist, or was it snatched by someone else?

Fang Shi's heart was filled with regret; he had a feeling there was a high probability it had been taken by someone else.

It is already the third day of the apocalypse; surely some surviving humans have organized themselves by now.

Before individual power gaps have widened, some large organizations possess formidable strength; relying on the power of numbers, they might have already achieved the first over-level kill.

They might not even need many people; some traps alone could achieve it.

However, fortunately, no one has yet obtained the reward for the first kill of a Level 3 monster.

It seems the over-level kill was of a Level 2 monster; this means the reward for the first kill of a Level 2 monster has also been taken.

"Forget it, don't force too much; the reward for an over-level first kill is probably just something like an Iron Chest."

"At most, it would be a Bronze Chest."

"An Iron Chest can only yield equipment corresponding to the character's level; there are no particularly good rewards."

"Equipment quality from a Bronze Chest is slightly better than that from an Iron Chest."

"After all, the difficulty of killing monsters over-level is not too great; the difficulty of killing monsters across tiers is what is truly hard."

"The reward for killing monsters across tiers is absolutely worth a stat point."

Fang Shi comforted himself: since the matter has already happened, instead of regretting it, he should strive for the next first kill.

However, he was also a bit surprised; it turns out there is a reward for the first kill at every level.

In that case, this time counts as having some gain.

But what about the reward for the Level 1 first kill?

Fang Shi thought for a moment; since he was the first to open the attribute panel, it should count as the Level 1 first kill.

Since there is no separate reward, it is highly probable it was merged into the reward for opening the attribute panel first.

No wonder this reward, which involves a certain element of luck, is so valuable; it is directly a random stat point.

Now is the time to test his luck.

The Regional Chest Fang Shi had been longing for is actually a defective version of the Iron Chest.

If it weren't for his rather unlucky luck, constantly failing to encounter a Level 2 Elite Zombie.

Otherwise, when he leveled up to Level 2 yesterday, Fang Shi would already have had the strength to obtain the Regional Chest.

However, it is not too late now; compared to the Regional Chest, which randomly yields items like food and medicine.

The Iron Chest will definitely yield equipment corresponding to the character's level.

There is a saying: 'System products are always high quality.'

Equipment opened from an Iron Chest, while not absolutely excellent.

Is absolutely crucial for Fang Shi at this current stage.

What Fang Shi most wanted to open was a weapon suitable for him; against enemy attacks, he could dodge through experience and footwork.

But his own attacks are different; a good weapon can not only kill in one strike, saving stamina while expanding the results, but also perform effective blocks.

Moreover, encountering monsters with high defense, if one cannot break through the defense, no matter how high-level his techniques are, there will be no place for them to be used.

With a thought from Fang Shi, the Iron Chest on the attribute panel shook.

After shaking back and forth for about five seconds.

A long sword made of fine steel appeared in the chest's position.

"Damn it!"

Fang Shi cursed inwardly; a weapon did drop, but why is it a sword?

This made him a little depressed; if only he had been given a big blade, it would have been perfect; at worst, a long staff would have done.

It is not that Fang Shi looked down on swords, but in battles against monsters, swords are not as effective as blades or staffs.

Swords are sharpened on both sides, appearing to have killing power on both edges.

In reality, this weakens the weapon's sturdiness and momentum; without high-level sword techniques, an ordinary person using a sword is worse than wielding a big blade to hack wildly.

To be honest, Fang Shi was not proficient in sword techniques; the environment before his rebirth.

Did not allow him to learn such a luxury.

Yes, it is a luxury; for sword-type weapons to form significant combat power, a relatively long learning time is required.

And the apocalypse is most lacking in time.

Danger is everywhere; if progress is slow, one might not see tomorrow's sun.

To improve combat power as quickly as possible, Fang Shi focused on blade techniques before his rebirth.

The panel also had a stack of specializations that increased blade technique power.

Therefore, after rebirth, he used the bone cleaver so effortlessly.

Now that he has obtained a sword, while it is not to say it weakens combat power, it is not perfect either.

"Fine Steel Sword"

"Hardness: 10"

"Sharpness: 5"

"Durability: 10"

"Damage Type: Slash/Pierce"

"Damage Range: 1d8"

"Critical Hit Range: 18-20/×2"

"Weight: 1500 grams."

"Type: Single-handed use."

"Rating: This is a treasured sword that can slice through iron as if it were mud."

"Forget it, I'll just use the sword for now. Worst case, I'll use the sword like a cleaver. System-produced weapons are at least harder than a bone-chopping cleaver anyway."

Fang Shi glanced at the weapon's attributes and sighed.

No matter what, a sword was still a weapon, far better than the bone-chopping cleaver in his hand that was nearly broken.

In Hua Nation, swords and knives were strictly regulated. If the bone-chopping cleaver broke and the black-iron chest didn't yield a weapon—

For the moment, Fang Shi had no idea where to get a weapon that was both hard and sharp.

Suppose the bone-chopping cleaver broke and no weapon was drawn at all—that scenario would be the greatest blow to his combat power.

Besides, somewhere deep in Fang Shi's heart lurked an ambition.

Since he'd been reborn, why repeat the same mistakes? Why not take a different, perfect path?

A martial artist's weapon path was not that simple.

Playing with a sword wasn't just about looking cool later on—it could branch into Swordsman, Sword Saint, Sword God, until finally becoming a Sword Immortal who roamed the firmament.

Riding a sword through the sky, beheading enemies from a thousand miles away—those were basic skills.

A single sword-flash chilling nineteen provinces—that was true mastery.

Of course, the above was only one of Fang Shi's future development plans.

In the apocalypse environment, dangers lurked on all sides, and some key items for class advancement were not so easy to obtain.

Even with his reborn experience, Fang Shi couldn't claim a hundred percent certainty.

Of course, even if it was hard to obtain, he would still try his best.

Unless Fang Shi was willing to be mediocre and walk the path without ever advancing his class.

He glanced at the 732 experience points on his attribute panel.

"Soon. Very soon, I'll be level 3."

……

"Faster, hurry up and move it!"

On the rooftop, Fang Shi urged Xiaoxi and the other one.

It was already past six o'clock. The glow of the setting sun spilled across the land, and the entire city was bathed in gold.

Only one hour remained before nightfall.

Under Fang Shi's exploitation, Xiaoxi and Zhai Yan were exhausted beyond endurance. Sweat soaked their clothes, then dried again under the sun.

White salt crystals clung to the backs of their garments, glinting in the sunset.

Even though both of them had undergone Attribute Completion, this level of physical labor was near their limit.

After Fang Shi killed the level-3 elite zombie, he immediately came down to urge Xiaoxi and Zhai Yan to work.

Hearing Xiaoxi's request to open her attribute panel, he didn't hesitate at all—he smashed open a house, dragged a zombie over, and tied it up for Xiaoxi to kill.

At first Xiaoxi was deeply moved, thinking Fang Shi was cold on the outside but kind at heart.

But his next actions made Xiaoxi cry out that he was a demon.

Fang Shi knew exactly the limit of what 10 points of Strength could handle. Every haul he assigned pushed the two of them right up to their breaking point.

He also hauled things alongside them, acting as overseer, not letting them slack off even a little.

Until they truly couldn't go on, he would tie them up to prevent them from trying to run.

Then he himself would go back up to the rooftop to grind zombies.

Repeating this cycle back and forth, Xiaoxi and Zhai Yan were nearly at their breaking point.

"Big bro, my dear big bro, have mercy on us. I can't hold on much longer." Xiaoxi rasped.

During this period, she had cried more than once, but Fang Shi's heart was like iron and stone—he was completely unmoved.

Zhai Yan, who could comfort her, was a fellow laborer just like her and couldn't solve the problem either—he could only helplessly vent.

"This is the last time. After this, you'll be free. I won't tie you up again."

A trace of anxiety flashed in Fang Shi's eyes, but his tone was absolutely firm.

Hearing Fang Shi's promise, Zhai Yan hurriedly said, "Really? Big bro, you won't trick us, right?"

Zhai Yan's suspicion was understandable—during this period, Fang Shi's methods were more capitalist than the capitalists.

"I won't!" Fang Shi said with iron resolve.

Once it's past 7:30, creatures from another world will come out of the spatial rift—what use would you two be then?

Up to now, Fang Shi had accumulated only 2,607 experience points.

There was still a gap of nearly 400 points before leveling up.

He had somewhat overestimated the number of zombies on the streets—the further he went, the fewer he could lure.

First, the apocalypse struck at 7 PM, when most people were at home, so there were hardly any people on the streets.

Second, some zombies had died in the initial golden ten minutes, and later some survivors had been hunting zombies as well.

As a result, Fang Shi had to spend more time and energy luring mobs.

He had no idea where the dense swarms of zombies in the movies actually came from.

Or maybe it was in foreign countries, where population density was far lower than Hua Nation's.

If he didn't raise his efficiency, before the spatial rift opened, he very likely wouldn't be able to gather enough experience to reach level 3.

So Fang Shi took extreme measures, squeezing Xiaoxi and Zhai Yan for all they were worth.

Moreover, Fang Shi himself didn't slack off either, while Xiaoxi and Zhai Yan were resting.

He was grinding mobs, luring mobs, pulling mobs, clearing zombies out of rooms—never letting up for a single moment.

Even so, the experience needed to complete the upgrade was still not reached.

Fang Shi felt somewhat grateful to that unknown survivor who had drawn the zombies over.

If not for her recklessness, which caused him to draw a huge wave of monsters at the start, his current deficit would have been at least two or three hundred more.

"That's great!" Xiao Xi cheered and jumped for joy, working with even more energy.

She had already decided that once they were free, she and Zhai Yan would climb the wall and find a room to hide in.

Otherwise, what if that demon started working again tomorrow?

Working for that demon was no better than killing zombies.

Fang Shi looked at the two delighted people and helplessly shook his head.

Once, he too had been so naive; after surviving the Law Transformation, he thought the so-called apocalypse was just zombies.

As long as the zombies were eliminated, the glory of human civilization could be rebuilt.

As for the monsters that appeared at night, they were merely a curfew.

Once humans organized themselves and grew stronger, there would eventually be a way to eliminate them.

Who would have known that those monsters appearing only at night would show up in the daytime on the fourth day of the apocalypse.

Those otherworldly creatures coming through the spatial rifts destroyed the order humans had rebuilt once again.