Insufficient balance

  Newbie village's outer ring is brushed with 1-level rabbits, but at this time it was crowded with people, often 5 or 6 people gathering around the rabbit's refresh point like thieves, as soon as the rabbit refreshed, it would be instantly killed by countless shortswords and elemental balls.

  After squeezing for half a day, I finally saw a lone rabbit. Feng Xiang hurriedly chopped it with one knife, and at the same time, information from the Eye of the Soul appeared in his mind:

  Rabbit: Level 1, HP 30, Skills: None. A group of rabbits with a violent tendency, beware of its big carrot.

  With a slash, a red "-6" appeared on the rabbit's head, and the rabbit was attacked. It immediately swung the big radish in its hand to counterattack Feng Xiao.

  －10

  Critical hit! The lucky rabbit on Feng Xiao's head suddenly popped out a rare yellow critical strike, dealing massive damage and clearing his health instantly.

  "Ding, Player Fengyun, you have died. Do you want to immediately return to Novice Village to revive?"

  "Resurrection..."

  Felt so frustrated and suffocated, just wanted to bang head against the wall. Poor guy had a strong determination to become the number one player in the game, but got killed by a low-level rabbit on his first monster hunt... all because of low health and defense.

  "I'm KAO, and I was actually killed by a rabbit. Big brother, how did you manage to do that? Little brother is truly worshiping..."

  The moment before resurrection, Feng Xiao just heard someone say "You're really asking for death", and his heart was instantly dead.

  A flash of white light, and the wind swept across his face as he reappeared in Newbie Village with a gloomy expression. Hunting monsters to level up was out of the question; he couldn't bear to lose to that person. He might as well do some quests first.

  The houses in the newbie village are just a few, and there are only a handful of NPCs. At this time, they were surrounded by countless players who came to receive quests, layer upon layer. Feng Xiao let out a sigh: "It'll take until next year for us to get our quests!"

  Feng Xiao noticed that the only one who didn't greet him was an old man sitting against the wall, whose clothes were tattered and worn out. His eyes were tightly closed, his hair and beard were like a bird's nest on top of his head. At this moment, he was motionless, curled up in the corner of the wall, as if he were a sculpture from another era.

  A sudden change in the wind: When something unusual happens, there must be a demon. The system wouldn't arrange an NPC that's useless. Who knows what secrets this old man might have? In games, NPCs like him are more likely to have hidden quests, it's the experience of many years of gaming.

  He rushed over on horseback, with a eager face, and said to the old man: "Hello sir, is there anything I can do for you?"

  The old man seemed completely unaware, and didn't even bat an eyebrow.

  "Excuse me, sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

  Still no response, is he deaf?

  "Sir, would you like me to help you walk over there and sit down..."

  …………

  "Sir, aren't you cold?"

  "Old man, there is a fly on your nose."

  "Old gentleman..."

  …………

  The wind was blowing, and there was nothing else to do, so he chattered incessantly in front of the old man for over half an hour, as if determined to wear him out.

  Finally, the old man reacted:

  "Get out of here!!!"

  This loud roar was like a thunderclap on a clear day, stunning everyone into silence, with cold sweat dripping down.

  "Go find Madam Ma in the house opposite if you want something done! Otherwise, unless you've found the Chaotic Holy Water, don't bother me! Scram!!!"

  He ran away hastily with a sudden burst of energy, lest he provoke the strange old man and be chased to death by the whole village.

  Wait, what did he just say? Mrs. Ma from across the way? Chaotic Holy Water? Could it be a hidden task? But it doesn't seem like there's any task prompt.

  The old man in front of Feng Xiao looked in the opposite direction, where there was a small closed house, but no one could confirm whether there was anyone inside. At least for now, no player has been seen entering it.

  What is Chaos Sacred Water?

  Feng Xiao carefully returned to the old man's side and asked weakly: "Old sir, what is the Chaotic Sacred Water?"

  "Get out!!!"

  The wind blows wildly and escapes into the wilderness.

  "The mark of Asura and the true appearance of a saint, both appearing on one person at the same time... It seems that years of sealing have made my spiritual awareness somewhat confused, to the point where I've had such a ridiculous misconception." The old man muttered to himself, speaking words that others couldn't understand, as he watched Feng Xiang run away.

  Feng Xiao arrived at the small wooden house and knocked on the door with a "thud thud" sound.

  One minute...

  Two minutes...

  Five minutes...

  Ten minutes...

  "If there really is someone inside, I won't believe you if you don't open the door. Anyway, since there's nothing else to do, I'll just wait here with you all day." Feng Xiao thought viciously.

  Fifteen minutes later, the door was finally opened and a middle-aged woman's head poked out. The woman was about forty years old, with a rather haggard complexion, disheveled hair and clothes.

  "Sorry young man, there's really nothing going on here, please leave." The woman's voice was gentle but laced with a hint of obvious anger and impatience.

  Feng Xiao was taken aback, realizing that she had mistaken him for a novice looking for quests. No wonder she refused to open the door; he suspected that previously, she must have been annoyed by those players.

  "Excuse me, are you Mrs. Ma?"

  Mrs. Ma was taken aback and asked in surprise: "How did you know my name?"

  Haha, got it! Feng Xiang hastily explained: "Hello Madam Ma, the old man opposite asked me to find you. Is there anything I can help with?" At the same time, he pointed to the old man standing upright over there, secretly betting on whether the old man's name would work or not.

  "Ah? You were introduced by Mr. En? Please come in quickly, I'm really sorry for keeping you waiting." Upon hearing that he was sent by the old man, Mrs. Ma's attitude suddenly changed 180 degrees. She hastily pulled Feng Xiao into the house with an excited face.

  Isn't it? It's so easy? Could that old man really be a remarkable person?

  The door was slammed shut, and Mrs. Ma turned around, not saying a word, her eyes fixed on him, the scorching gaze making Feng Xiao's whole body hair stand on end.

  Could it be that this middle-aged woman, unsatisfied with her desires, saw the young master's handsome and elegant appearance and had an evil intention?! As soon as Feng Xiao thought of this, he was startled and broke out in a cold sweat all over his body. He immediately made preparations to run away at any moment. Being killed by a rabbit is a small matter, but losing one's dignity is a big deal. Of course, hmm, beauties are absolutely exempt.

  Completely beyond Feng Xiao's expectations, Mrs. Ma suddenly fell to the ground with a "thud" and sobbed: "Brave warrior, you must save my husband..."

  Feng Xiao was startled and quickly helped up Mrs. Ma: "What's going on, I'll definitely help if I can."

  It's really a big forest with all kinds of birds... and there are even people kneeling down asking for tasks.

  After listening to Mrs. Ma's account, Feng Xiao finally understood what had happened.

  The NPCs in Novice Village are generally unable to leave the village, but Mahfuz's husband, Mahiru, is an extremely adventurous person. After becoming familiar with every corner of Novice Village, his greatest hope was to venture out into the world outside Novice Village. Finally, one day, the opportunity arrived.

  The village chief of Xinshou Village finally got a return after years of experimentation, successfully making 3 boundless scrolls and 2 Xinshou Village return scrolls. The boundless scroll can break through all restrictions and randomly teleport to any corner of the entire Tianlong Continent (Tianlong Continent: the game area for players in the Huaxia region, in addition to which there are also Dongying Continent, Goryeo Continent, Meili Continent, Yingji Continent, Falan Continent, etc., with over a hundred regions). The Xinshou Village return scroll can actually allow people to instantly return to Xinshou Village from any region. Each scroll can only be used once and disappears after use.

  Ma Xiong Hu was overjoyed and immediately found the village chief, and after some persuasion, he finally got a Boundaryless Scroll and a Newbie Village Return Scroll from him. Half a year ago, Ma Xiong Hu had traveled to the Tianlong Continent with the village chief using the Boundaryless Scroll.

  The result was that the two were transported to completely different places, and when the village chief found Ma Lie one day, he had become unable to speak or see, except for being able to breathe, everything else was no different from a dead person. In modern medical terms, he became a vegetable.

  The village chief was shocked and had no choice but to find the Return Scroll on Ma Lie's body, then the two of them teleported back to Newbie Village together. However, after asking around Newbie Village, nobody knew what problem Ma Lie had encountered. Finally, one day, the strange old man noticed Ma Lie's situation and told everyone that Ma Lie must have met a powerful dark-system monster, his soul was stripped away, and he would definitely die in a week.

  Unlike players, NPCs do not respawn after death and are gone forever unless they have a powerful revival skill. Even if the system generates a new NPC with the same name, it will be completely different from the original one.

  The old man finally cast a wonderful water-based magic, protecting the soul of Ma Xiong in a piece of spiritual water, which could keep him from dying for a year. However, if he couldn't find back his soul and reattach it to his body within a year, even sacred medicine wouldn't be able to save him.

  As for what kind of person the strange old man was, Mrs. Ma didn't know either, only knowing that he had been in Xinshou Village since she was born, always with a sloppy appearance and rarely speaking to people.

  "Warrior, can you help me find back my husband's soul?"

  "Ding, Player Fengyun, Mrs. Ma requests your help in retrieving the soul of Ma Liehou. Task deadline: Half a year. Task penalty: None. Do you accept the task?"

  Feng Xiao was struck by lightning and didn't know how to respond because this is simply an impossible task.

  And no one knows where Ma Lie was killed by what monster, even if his soul can be found... Can the soul be seen? Can it be touched? What can take it away?

  Even if we found that monster and killed it and found the soul of the horse hunting, how would we return to Newbie Village?

  Players can return to Novice Village from Tian Long Continent by only one method, which is to lower their level below 10.

  A monster that can strip a person of their soul is undoubtedly incredibly powerful, and even if you find it, you won't know how many levels it takes to kill it. Who would waste a long period of intense training by killing themselves and respawning in the newbie village just for a single quest? Unless that person is an idiot.

  Feng Xiao is an idiot? Shouldn't be.

  "Accept." Under Mrs. Ma's despondent yet hopeful gaze, Feng Xiao finally couldn't bear to disappoint her and chose to accept with a bitter smile. After all, the task didn't have any punishment, and besides, he wouldn't be able to see Mrs. Ma again after leaving Newbie Village anyway, so not seeing her would also mean being free from guilt.