Only the most basic buildings were in the small town: a pharmacy, a low-level equipment shop, personal warehouses, and a handful of NPCs. The tasks issued by these NPCs were mostly low-level quests to collect various items, hunt certain animals, and gather animal hides, herbs, and ores. The rewards for completing them were experience or money.

Nie Yan bought three low-level instant health potions from the pharmacy, each restoring thirty health points and costing one copper coin. Shops only sold beginner health potions; intermediate and higher-level health potions could only be made by alchemists.

After buying the three low-level health potions, he had one copper coin left.

Nie Yan walked outside and sprinted towards the respawn point of the treasure chest, avoiding monsters by keeping a distance from them.

He was heading to a level five monster area, which was extremely dangerous for his current level. However, his current experience was 0% at level 0, so he wouldn't lose any experience even if he died.

After crossing two level one monster areas, a level three monster area, and a level four monster area, it took Nie Yan more than ten minutes to finally reach the level five Wildcat monster spawn area.

He observed the surrounding environment. It was a dense meadow with lush green grass reaching waist-high. Looking towards the distance, there was a tall willow tree in the center of the meadow, standing out against the open space.

He wasn't far from the silver treasure chest. Nie Yan's heart began to race.

The monsters that spawned here were level five Wildcats, which he couldn't compete with at his current level.

Occasionally, one or two Wildcats passed by, and Nie Yan quickly hid himself.

Thieves had a class talent that increased their stealth, a passive effect that made it harder for other creatures to detect them.

At the same time, he could also use Stealth.

Nie Yan used the Stealth level difference formula and calculated that after using Stealth, the safe distance between him and the Wildcat was two yards. That meant that if he got within two yards of a Wildcat while in Stealth, he would be discovered. Between two and three yards was a buffer zone where he might be discovered, while anything beyond three yards was a completely safe distance.

In his previous life, Nie Yan had played as a Thief for ten years and had mastered the Thief's skills. Estimating distances with his eyes was also easy for him.

The bushes in the distance rustled. Nie Yan's expression changed, and he entered Stealth.

A Wildcat, about the size of a wolfhound, emerged from the bushes, its keen eyes scanning the surroundings. Finding nothing amiss, it crossed the open space in front of it and disappeared into another patch of bushes.

Only after confirming that the Wildcat was far away did Nie Yan dare to continue moving forward.

Beneath the willow tree was an open space of about ten yards in diameter. A silver-white treasure chest sat quietly under the tree, surrounded by six or seven Wildcats.

It would take at least a team of twenty level three players to clear these level five Wildcats.

Getting this treasure chest wasn't going to be easy.

Nie Yan observed the Wildcats' movements from the bushes, trying to find a safe path to the willow tree.

The Wildcats' movements followed a certain pattern.

After observing for a while, Nie Yan put all his equipment into his backpack and put on the novice gear that offered no defense. This novice gear was worth 0 copper coins when sold to an NPC shop, and no one would want it even if he threw it on the ground.

The penalty for death in Faith was losing one level each time and randomly dropping a piece of equipment. It would be too wasteful to lose the equipment he had just bought. As for the novice gear, he didn't mind losing it; he was wearing it for mere covering.

Nie Yan moved slowly towards the willow tree in Stealth. After about ten seconds, he stopped and held his breath. A Wildcat passed in front of him, another to his left, and another behind him, each about two yards away.

After staying still for six seconds, Nie Yan continued forward, carefully controlling the distance between himself and each Wildcat.

Little by little, he got closer to the treasure chest.

Nie Yan's heart beat a little faster. He understood that obtaining that skill book at level 0 would be extremely important for his future development.

Two more Wildcats approached Nie Yan's location.

Nie Yan quickly stopped. The two Wildcats passed nearby, brushing past him at a distance of about two yards, giving Nie Yan a cold sweat.

The duration of Stealth was two minutes in total. As time ticked by, with only thirty-two seconds of Stealth remaining, Nie Yan's mind began to waver.

He didn't have time. Nie Yan quickened his pace slightly.

A Wildcat not far from Nie Yan stirred, noticing Nie Yan's presence. It stared at Nie Yan, baring its sharp teeth and letting out a hoarse growl.

Not good, he's been discovered!

The Wildcat leaped up and pounced on Nie Yan.

The Wildcat's attack was fast, and Nie Yan's movement speed couldn't keep up, but he still relied on the reflexes he had developed in his previous life to dodge sideways.

The basic actions of a character included sidestepping, rolling, jumping, and so on. Players could use these actions to dodge attacks within the framework of the system settings.

The Wildcat's sharp claws brushed past Nie Yan's throat, missing by less than an inch.

Just as Nie Yan dodged, two other Wildcats pounced on him from the side. One Wildcat clawed Nie Yan's back, and the other bit Nie Yan's arm.

It was over.

Using a health potion wouldn't help in this situation.

-68, -32, two damage numbers floated above Nie Yan's head. His health points reached zero, and he fell to the ground.

The scene changed, and Nie Yan resurrected in the Trac Town cemetery.

He had used Stealth too early, and he had been too anxious when the Stealth skill was about to end, which had led to a flaw. This was one reason for his failure.

Nie Yan summed up the lessons from his failure and looked at the equipment on his body. His bracers had been dropped, but they were novice gear, so it wasn't a big deal. As for experience points, they were still at 0% at level 0.

He dared to go to the level five monster area precisely because he was prepared to die.

Nie Yan set out again. After leaving Trac Town, he continued to sprint towards the Wildcat spawn point.

Reaching the outskirts of the clearing again, Nie Yan found that the Wildcats' movements had changed. They had been attracted to the treasure chest earlier and were now gathered where he had died, making it more difficult for him to obtain the silver treasure chest.

The Wildcats' activity areas were constantly changing. Nie Yan had an idea. He could risk his life to lure the Wildcats away first, then resurrect and use Stealth to open the treasure chest.

At a distance of about three yards from the Wildcats, he canceled his Stealth skill, and his figure slowly became visible.

The five Wildcats around him spotted Nie Yan at the same time and chased after him.

Nie Yan ran wildly, but his movement speed was much slower than the Wildcats'. Soon, the Wildcats caught up. One Wildcat leaped up and knocked him to the ground. The other Wildcats surrounded him and killed him.

A flash of white light, and Nie Yan returned to the Trac Town cemetery, having dropped a pair of leggings.

After resurrecting, he left the town again and hurried towards that area. More than ten minutes later, he reached the outskirts of the clearing again.

The Wildcats were a little further away from the treasure chest. After calculating the route, Nie Yan's eyes lit up. This time, there shouldn't be any problems.

He activated Stealth and approached the silver treasure chest. After moving for more than twenty seconds, he stopped in place. Two Wildcats passed behind Nie Yan and gradually moved away.

All the Wildcats were relatively far away from Nie Yan, about five yards away. Finally, he was safe. He quickened his pace, reached the side of the silver treasure chest, and still had thirty-six seconds of Stealth remaining, six seconds more than expected.

Nie Yan squatted down and opened the treasure chest, maintaining Stealth while doing so.

System: Treasure chest opening, completion 20%...50%...

A Wildcat passed nearby, stopping two yards away from Nie Yan.

Nie Yan's heart rate increased involuntarily. Calm down, he told himself repeatedly. His heart rate slowly returned to normal.

The Wildcat looked around, not noticing anything, and turned to leave.

Nie Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

System: Treasure chest opening complete, taking twenty-seven seconds.

Nie Yan opened the treasure chest and rummaged inside, feeling a paper book. His heart skipped a beat. This was it!

He took it out and looked at it.

Skill Book: Key Strike.

Skill Description: A Thief inflicts extra damage by attacking an enemy's vitals.

Casting Requirements: Action (weapon required)

Skill Attributes: Gains an additional +5 bonus to attack rolls when hitting a vital point. Damage is reduced when a positional deviation occurs.

Skill Cooldown Time: Thirty seconds.

User Restrictions: Thief, Warrior, Paladin. Any faction can use it.

It was indeed Key Strike, an excellent skill that could be learned at level 0! This was the purpose of his trip. Nie Yan crushed the skill book into a white light.

He looked at his skill bar. There was an extra skill on the skill bar: Key Strike!

After Nie Yan removed the Key Strike skill book, the silver treasure chest gradually faded and disappeared without a trace.

"Done, time to use a free city return," Nie Yan thought.

The Stealth time ended, and Nie Yan's figure slowly became visible. The Wildcats spotted Nie Yan and pounced.

Since he wouldn't lose experience anyway, dying was a good way to return to the city. Nie Yan quietly awaited his fate.

Nie Yan died and returned to the Trac Town cemetery again. His novice cloth armor had also been dropped, but compared to the Key Strike skill book, none of that mattered anymore. With Key Strike, his leveling speed would be much faster.