Forsyx just lingered in the ever-shrinking line.
It was even interesting to see that the line in front of the butcher's shop was almost two to three times longer than that of the other market shops.
Though this was not the biggest line.
He could see the largest one passing through the entire market and going deeper into the village.
He was sure that the line was for the central part of the village.
Mainly, players were free to roam anywhere in the village except the central perimeter, which was protected by wooden fences.
Beyond those fences were a few homes—belonging to the village chief, powerful retired warriors, and huntsmen.
In terms of chain quests, getting one from them was the most rewarding.
It was just that the competition for those quests was too high.
Like, even though he came before sunrise, there were already more than 1,000 players standing in that line.
He was sure a few of them had created the line last night.
In his last life, when he reset his character, he also made the mistake of wasting time trying to get a task from the center of the village.
Too bad by the time he got the task, the awakening cycle had started, and he failed it.
That was another thing about these chain tasks. A player could only take one of them. And once you failed, you couldn't take any others.
It suited the limited stay inside the beginner village. After all, a player could only enter the village and its surroundings when they were below level 10.
He shook his head as it was finally his turn.
He entered the small wooden shop. There, behind the counter, sat a bulky man, looking bored.
Without a word, he threw a sharp knife toward him.
Forsyx carefully caught the knife, making sure it didn't cut his hand, and the next moment, a notification popped up in front of him.
[Chain quest!!!
Quest: Butcher's Hunting Quest 1.
Quest Rank: E
(Only players with level 10 or less can take part.)
You have passed the butcher's test by handling the knife. After seeing your skill, the butcher requests you bring him some rabbit meat.
Task: Bring the meat of 5 freshly killed rabbits.
Reward: Basic butchering skill, 20 copper coins.
Butcher's requirement: 25/5000 rabbit meat.
Failure Condition: Not delivering the meat before the required deadline.
Failure Penalty: Pay 20 copper for renting the butcher's knife.
Note: To help with the hunting, the butcher rents you his butchering knife. Destruction of the knife will result in a penalty.
]
Forsyx smiled as he twirled the knife in his hand while staring at the quest panel.
His focus was on requirements and failure conditions. It was another thing about these chain quests. They were a race among the players.
He just nodded to the butcher and started walking out of the shop, knowing the butcher's requirements were going to get stricter with each task.
If he was right, fewer than 100 people would remain after the third or fourth quest. He needed to be part of that group.
While rushing out of the village, he checked the knife stats:
[Worn-out Bucher's knife:
Grade: Mid trash.
Attack: +1.
Durability: 5/10.
]
Well, in terms of stats, it was just marginally better than his Low-Trash sword. But the low weight of this massive 12-inch knife was the key.
It made it much more suitable for him than the sword.
Soon, he reached the gate, but it was jam-packed, with many still rushing inside the village, making it much harder to move out.
He stared at the crowd for a moment and smiled. It was time to use his class.
He picked up the knife and threw it as high as possible. A few players around him stared at him with wide eyes.
One girl even screamed, "Ahhh! Why did you throw your knife like that?!"
He just smiled, blinked at her—and the next moment, he jumped up and switched to his white Pipler Bird form.
"Whattt!!!"
"Did you see that?"
The surrounding players all gasped, but not caring about them, the Pipler bird flew high and easily caught the blade with its small feet.
The blade was a bit heavy for such a small bird form, but not to the point where he couldn't even fly.
He just flapped his wings harder and soared above the forest, knife in his grip.
This time, he was flying at a much higher elevation. The flow of wind helped him at this height, but he didn't dare stay there too long. He scanned the colorful forest below.
From that height, it didn't take long to spot a group of white shapes moving through the forest.
Those were the common white-horn rabbits—the same creature he had as his template.
In this beginner forest, these rabbits were prey monsters hunted by the bigger ones.
He even saw a couple of players running behind another group.
Not caring about them, he focused on a different group. There were around ten rabbits. He flew above their heads.
Him being a pipler bird helped, as pipler birds didn't hunt rabbits.
None of the rabbits scattered from his presence, but he knew it was only a matter of time. After all, this bird was carrying a shiny, dangerous object on its feet.
Not giving them a chance, he suddenly closed his wings and dove toward the biggest rabbit.
The ground came closer and closer.
Just when he was barely a few meters above the ground, he released the knife and, in the next moment, transformed into a coiled green hook snake.
This sudden transformation made the rabbits panic.
Not giving them any chance, he used the knife as a base and launched at the rabbit.
In panic, the rabbit tried to pierce him with its long white horn.
But he easily dodged and dropped on the rabbit with full momentum.
Thump!!
-10!
He felt his insides shaking. Not caring about the pain, he focused on the knife and switched back to human form, with a knocked-out rabbit under his feet.
The other rabbits tried to jump back, but Forsyx caught the knife and swung it in a wide arc with a swift motion.
He felt his blade going through some resistance, which the sharp knife easily cut through.
The next moment, blood gushed out of two headless, furred bodies, and his knife got stuck in the chest of the third rabbit.
He sensed its breath leaving its body, but that didn't stop him.
He pulled out the knife.
Hot blood gushed out onto his hand.
With a twist of his wrist, he stabbed the knife into the rabbit's head beneath his feet, ending its misery.
The other rabbits were already running away. He took a step forward and threw his knife at a nearby rabbit.
The rabbit was smart enough to jump to the side to dodge. It just didn't see the Pipler bird flying alongside the knife.
As the knife passed by, a human hand grabbed it in mid-air and swung it at the rabbit's neck.
Ding!
The momentum sent Forsyx rolling down the forest floor.
-3, -2
Even though he felt the pain, a big, wide smile spread across his face.
The task that should've taken minutes ended in seconds.
This was what it meant to be a Template Wilder.