After parting ways with Asuna and the others, Xia Yan and Kirito immediately left the village and headed towards the mission location at top speed.
Soon, the two arrived at the designated area.
Before them stood a vast forest.
The trees were lush and thick, with towering trunks and a wide expanse, like a primeval forest.
In the darkness, the forest ahead loomed like an immense black wall, blocking their path.
Xia Yan and Kirito paused, gazing at the forest before them.
“This is it.”
Kirito said, then turned to Xia Yan and asked, “Do we go together or split up?”
“This mission can't be done in a team, so let's split up. With our strength, this forest doesn't pose much danger anyway.”
Xia Yan pondered for a moment before replying.
Although the mission could not be completed as a team, players could still use the method of accompanying each other to grind monsters.
It was simple: one player completes the mission while the other assists, providing support.
Once one player finishes the mission, they switch roles and help the other complete theirs.
For ordinary players, this method was the safest.
It ensured the player's safety while maximizing the chance of mission completion.
However, for Xia Yan and Kirito, this approach was a waste of time.
Their combined strength surpassed that of a five-person team, allowing them to move freely within this forest, if not outright dominate it.
What was a death trap for ordinary players posed little threat to them.
Even if they were surrounded by dozens of monsters, they could rely on their own strength to break free.
Moreover, during the closed beta, there were no such traps within this forest.
As long as they remained vigilant, the two could safely complete the mission.
Therefore, splitting up was the most efficient way for Xia Yan and Kirito, saving them a lot of time compared to working together.
“Alright, we’ll split up here then.”
Kirito nodded. He preferred to operate independently as well, and this forest held no challenge for him.
“I'll take the left side.”
Kirito sped towards the left side of the forest, quickly disappearing into the darkness.
Xia Yan didn’t hesitate either, and swiftly charged into the right side of the forest.
Upon entering the forest, visibility rapidly changed, becoming even darker.
Simultaneously, the atmosphere started to shift.
If SAO hadn't become a death game, each area would have had its own background music, but now there was none.
Only the rustling of leaves and the sound of footsteps, a quiet, eerie symphony.
The only light sources within the forest were the moon in the sky and the occasional flying fireflies.
Xia Yan looked around, observing his surroundings.
The trees blocked all views, making the light dim and barely allowing for visibility beyond three meters, a hazardous situation.
This environment was unfavorable for players.
The forest's monsters were mostly hostile, not neutral, and they would actively attack players.
Furthermore, the monster types were diverse, ranging from insect-like creatures like worms and jackals to plant-based monsters.
Plant-type monsters blended into the thick vegetation, easily overlooked if players relied solely on their sight.
Once a player inadvertently stepped into their territory, they were highly likely to be ambushed.
Xia Yan immediately activated his ‘Search’ skill.
This was one of the players' initial skills, incredibly useful and effective even in the top tiers of SAO.
The function of Search was simple: to detect enemies beforehand.
With the skill active, Xia Yan's eyes were filled with a multitude of red dots.
These red dots represented monster cursors.
Xia Yan quickly approached a monster and saw its name.
Small Pitcher Plant.
Despite the name, it was vastly different in size compared to the Pitcher Plants of the real world.
These creatures stood taller than the players, almost two meters high.
They possessed the form of a Pitcher Plant, with a lower body composed of countless wriggling tree roots, sharp-leaved, curling vines on either side, and a large mouth for trapping prey at the top, constantly dripping mucus as it opened and closed.
“This is the target then.”
Xia Yan muttered, taking out his bronze sword and holding it in his hand, ready to slay these creatures.
The mission had two requirements: one was to gather materials dropped from these Small Pitcher Plants, and the other was to collect materials from a creature called the ‘Mutated Pitcher Plant.’
As for the ‘Mutated Pitcher Plant’...
It had a chance of appearing when Small Pitcher Plants spawned.
Simply grinding monsters in this area would eventually spawn the ‘Mutated Pitcher Plant.’
The Small Pitcher Plant’s attack patterns were simple, only two types.
One was to use its two vines like whips, striking and slashing.
The other was to spray corrosive liquid from its mouth.
Its abilities focused heavily on offense, with weak defense.
Furthermore, as a plant-type monster, it was much less agile than a beast-type, moving slowly.
The only difficulty was that these monsters often appeared in groups.
Attacking one would attract the attention of others, leading to a siege.
However, this was nothing to Xia Yan.
He quickly got into the rhythm and began systematically slaying monsters.
Xia Yan's level was high enough, and he could take down a Small Pitcher Plant in two strikes, making his efficiency quite fast.
The monsters were eradicated one by one, turning into data fragments that quickly respawned.
“This is a good place to grind experience.”
Xia Yan looked at the system notification; the Small Pitcher Plant’s experience was worth twice that of a monster at the same level.
Low defense, massive swarms, high experience.
This area was a prime location for grinding and leveling up.
Once he grasped the rhythm, Xia Yan fully dedicated himself to monster grinding.
“Congratulations! You have leveled up!”
Unbeknownst to him, Xia Yan had leveled up, and his mission was complete with half an hour left on the time limit.
“The monsters are respawning slower.”
Xia Yan casually dealt with two nearby Small Pitcher Plants, then checked his game system notification panel.
After leveling up, the monsters' experience values dropped significantly.
Moreover, after grinding for a while, the respawn rate of monsters in the area had begun to slow down.
Previously, a monster would respawn within ten seconds of death, but now it took almost two minutes for a new monster to appear.
This was another one of SAO's game rules.
When monsters in a specific area were killed in large numbers within a short period, their respawn rate would slow down.
This was why Kirito had been eager to reach the next town as soon as the death game began.
“I can go now.”
After eliminating all the incoming monsters, Xia Yan prepared to leave the forest.
The mission was complete, the monster experience significantly reduced, and their respawn rate was much slower, making it pointless to stay any longer.
“Hmm?”
As Xia Yan walked towards the forest's exit, a small white shadow flashed before his eyes.
.......
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