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While curious, Naoh's movements didn't slow in the slightest.
As the approaching zombie drew closer and entered his shooting range, its roars growing increasingly frenzied, Naoh instinctively and decisively raised the hand crossbow, steadied it in front of his eyes, held his breath, and aimed at the zombie's head.
"Pa~"
With a sharp twang of the bowstring, an arrow shot out instantly, flying toward the target in a blink.
With a soft 'thud', it pierced into the zombie's... chest.
However, even after taking the hit, the green-skinned zombie barely reacted—it only paused momentarily before continuing its slow, menacing advance.
On its round face, the grotesque smile twisted even further, becoming more sinister by the second.
Seeing this, Naoh's gaze sharpened. Calmly, he pulled the trigger again.
Swish~
Another arrow was loosed, striking the zombie's chest with a 'plak'.
"Hm? Still not dead? Didn't the system say the attack power of this hand crossbow was twenty? If I remember correctly, an ordinary zombie's health should only be twenty points.
Could it be… I have to aim for the head, like in Resident Evil?"
Puzzled, Naoh kept his eyes locked on the approaching target and fired another arrow.
This time, thanks to the zombie drawing nearer, Naoh's accuracy improved considerably—the arrow struck directly into the creature's neck.
"Ugh~"
With a reluctant, gurgling wail, the green zombie finally lost balance, tilting and collapsing to the forest floor.
Then, with a faint 'poof', it dissolved into a cloud of gray gas and vanished into the air.
Sniff sniff~
Cautiously, Naoh stepped forward, narrowing the distance, and took a small breath of the gray mist through his nostrils.
After a brief pause to feel for any abnormalities, he realized the gas didn't appear harmful.
"So it takes three arrows to kill a zombie... That puts this crossbow's effective damage on par with an iron sword from Minecraft. Could the system's information have been off?
No… that shouldn't be possible~"
This first encounter with a hostile creature in the novice world wasn't just a fight for survival—it was an information-gathering mission for Naoh. In his eyes, observing monster behavior and collecting real-time data was far more valuable than simply killing them.
And from this encounter, he confirmed: the zombie's behavior and stats weren't much different from the in-game version.
"Although I still can't see health bars, based on my past game experience, skeleton archers, spiders, and the like also have around twenty health. Three arrows should be enough to finish them off too…"
With this judgment, Naoh finally gained a clearer understanding of his standing in this Minecraft-like world, and the uneasiness in his heart faded a little.
In truth, during that fight, Naoh had been deliberately holding back—his main goal was to gather as much intel as possible while stalling the zombie.
Had he gone all out from the start, he couldn't have changed the three-arrow kill requirement, but his efficiency in eliminating the target would've been significantly higher.
"As a hand crossbow, as long as I can move my hand fast enough… I wouldn't dare say too much, but landing three arrows per second should be easy, right?"
A grin crept across Naoh's lips—a sharp, wicked smile that hinted at growing confidence.
…
The rules of this Minecraft-like world were bizarre, but not completely foreign. Monsters, for instance, could be broadly divided into three main categories.
The first category was undead monsters, like zombies and skeletons. These creatures could only survive in the dark or shadowed areas. Once exposed to sunlight, they would ignite and burn until death.
The second category was biological monsters—creepers and spiders were the prime examples. These weren't affected by sunlight and could roam freely. Creepers self-destructed when provoked, while spiders only became aggressive in the dark or at night.
The third category was hell creatures—entities that only appeared after a player entered the Nether realm.
There were also other rarer, more complex monsters, such as witches and endermen, whose classifications were harder to pin down.
…
As his journey continued, Naoh found himself growing subconsciously more alert. After that first zombie encounter, his nerves stayed taut, his senses sharp.
This world might resemble a game, but it wasn't pixels on a screen—it was reality. And though it followed peculiar logic, the environment still made sense in a grounded, tangible way.
For example, while the ground was carpeted with the familiar dense, pixel-like grass from the game, a closer look revealed a forest floor strewn with fallen leaves, broken branches, and aged wood—real, natural debris.
Suddenly, a guttural zombie roar echoed from deeper within the forest, growing louder with each passing second.
There were no chirping birds or buzzing insects in this Minecraft world, so the woods remained eerily silent. The zombie's growl cut through it like a knife—impossible to miss.
Naoh reacted instantly.
Darting behind the nearest tree trunk, he peeked out, scanning the area. Confirming it was safe, he crept forward, weaving between trees in sync with the sound's direction, using the trunks as cover.
Soon, he spotted the zombie's bloated lower half caught beneath a dense cluster of branches. A crooked limb had trapped its neck, rendering it immobile.
"I didn't think they'd be this stupid… actually got its neck stuck."
Pa pa pa~
Three arrows fired in swift succession, one after another, leaving no room for delay. This time, Naoh didn't hold back. He pulled the trigger at top speed, sending all three bolts deep into the zombie's thigh.
Though the shots weren't directed at any vital point, the zombie still collapsed under the combined force.
After all, the hand crossbow was a system-defined weapon—it didn't need realism to inflict damage. With enough hits, even random ones, the health would still drop to zero.
"Three arrows for a kill. Is the damage calculated based on individual hits? I wonder which version of the game's rules this world uses…"
The thought passed quickly, but Naoh brushed it aside. Wiping sweat from his brow, he paused, listened carefully to the forest, and only resumed once he was certain no other threats lurked nearby.
By now, the sun had risen high overhead, casting a brilliant light across the woods.
Yet Naoh unconsciously picked up his pace, moving swiftly and silently between the trees.
"Eh? Seems like luck's on my side today!"
Roughly two hours later, drenched in sweat and with every muscle sore, Naoh finally felt his body approaching its limit. He needed to rest.
Then, through a gap in the trees ahead, he caught a glimpse of blue—faint but unmistakable.
His spirit lifted. He jogged forward, panting, and pushed aside the dense brush.
What greeted him was a clear pond, roughly twenty blocks wide.
Sunlight shimmered on its surface, making the water gleam even brighter. The pool was ringed by soft, pale sand, enhancing the tranquil effect.
Exhaling deeply, Naoh fought the dryness in his throat and slowly approached the pool.
I
The pool in front of him is not deep, the deepest point seems to be only one or two meters, the pool water is crystal clear, and the pool is quiet, it seems that there is no living thing growing in it.
But Naoh knew that this was just an appearance.
According to some rules of the Minecraft world, as long as he patiently fishes here for a while with a fishing rod, fish will still be hooked in the small pool in front of him!
"And in this world… I don't think disease is even a concept. So this water~ should be safe to drink, right?"