The Peerless Ring

"Finally, I'm out!" At the exit of the forest, Jaxon panted heavily, still feeling a bit shaken. He had spent almost an entire day traveling through the forest yesterday, but today, he managed to cover the same distance in less than half a day—or rather, he ran back, and quite messily at that. The little creature that looked like a cat but also resembled a fox had been chasing him relentlessly, pelting him with wild fruits as if it were the most entertaining game in the world.

"If you've got the guts, come after me," Jaxon turned his head and said to the little creature perched on a tree at the edge of the forest. Without the cover of the trees, Jaxon was confident that if it dared to pursue him further, he would find a way to catch it.

The creature stood on a branch, tilted its head, and looked at Jaxon for a while before turning around and jumping to another tree, heading deeper into the forest.

"The mischievous little thing is finally gone," Jaxon let out a sigh of relief as he watched the creature leave. If it had actually followed him out, catching it would not have been easy, given its agility and intelligence.

"I should have used an appraisal skill on it just now to see what kind of animal it really is," Jaxon thought to himself as he made his way back.

After returning from the forest, Jaxon went straight to the general store and bought an axe for logging. Then he headed to the village head's house.

"You want to cut wood?" the old village head said after learning Jaxon's intention.

"Yeah," Jaxon replied, "As you mentioned before, once I take over the entire back mountain, everything on it, including the fish, animals, and so on, becomes my private property, right? That should include the trees on the back mountain, shouldn't it?"

This was something Jaxon was very concerned about. After all, both the precious timber and the metal walls inside the cave were part of the back mountain.

"I did say that," the old village head said, stroking his chin, "I just didn't expect you to go after those trees."

In the old village head's view, the fish in the river, the wild animals in the forest, and the herbs on the back mountain were all more valuable than the trees. He had thought Jaxon would go after those wild animals or fish to sell, but he didn't expect Jaxon to first set his sights on the "ordinary" trees.

Could it be that those trees are more valuable than the wild animals and herbs?

In fact, neither the old village head nor the villagers knew much about the back mountain. The old village head was the first to arrive at this village, and the back mountain had already been there at that time, with the forest already so dense. Over the years, since the village population was sparse and the fields and woods in front of the village were sufficient for their use, no one had thought about developing the resources on the back mountain. It was simply unnecessary for them.

So, the old village head truly didn't know what kinds of trees were in the back mountain forest.

Of course, even if he did know, the old village head might not have given it much thought.

"Having said it is enough," the old village head's reaffirmation put Jaxon's mind at ease. "I came to you to ask where I can learn logging skills."

Although Jaxon could still go logging without logging skills, the efficiency would definitely be much lower than if he had them. It was like farming; he could plant without planting skills, but the efficiency would be slow, and the results would not be as good as with the support of planting skills.

"Logging skills? I know them," the old village head said indifferently.

"Really?" Jaxon looked at the old village head with a face full of surprise and doubt.

The old village head had already taught him planting and breeding skills before. Could it be that he also had research on logging skills?

"What kind of look is that?" The old village head was very dissatisfied with Jaxon's suspicious look: "Not only do I know logging skills, but I also know brewing skills, fishing skills, and so on! My abilities are beyond what you, a young person, can imagine."

"You know so many?" Jaxon's skeptical look turned into delight: "Can you teach me?"

Although the old village head knew only life skills, these life skills were also very useful to Jaxon. This usefulness was not only reflected in the game world but also in the real world. Each life skill could make Jaxon in reality more versatile!

"Teach you? It can be," the old village head said.

"Really? That's great," Jaxon said happily.

"But why should I teach you?" The old village head's words made Jaxon's delighted smile freeze on his face immediately.

Why should he teach himself?

For a moment, Jaxon actually didn't know how to answer.

"Grandpa Village Head, you see," Jaxon thought for a while and then said, "You are already so old. You don't want your skills to be lost, do you? You have to find someone to pass them on to, right? Look at this village, is there anyone more suitable than me to be your apprentice?"

Indeed, there was none. In this village, Jaxon was the only "player."

"And I'm going to serve in the army on behalf of our village, you know," Jaxon continued. "Once I'm out there, I'll be the representative of our village. The more skills I have, the more capable I'll be, and I won't bring shame to our village, will I?"

"That does make some sense," the old village head said, stroking his chin again. "You, as the representative of our village, must not lose face for all of us."

"Exactly!" Jaxon quickly agreed. "So, the more skills I have, the more I can show off and bring glory to our village, right?"

The old village head thought for a moment and said, "That's true. Alright, I'll teach you. Remember, once you're out there, don't disgrace our village!"

"Got it, got it," Jaxon quickly responded.

Then, a series of mechanical-sounding prompts rang in Jaxon's ear.

"Congratulations, you have received the teachings of Master Zhao Daming, the carpentry grandmaster, and have learned logging skills, with your logging skill level rising to advanced!"

"Congratulations, you have received the teachings of Master Zhao Daming, the carpentry grandmaster, and have learned furniture-making skills, with your furniture-making skill level rising to advanced!"

"Congratulations, you have received the teachings of Master Zhao Daming, the brewing grandmaster, and have learned brewing skills, with your brewing skill level rising to advanced!"

"Congratulations, you have received the teachings of Master Zhao Daming, the fishing grandmaster..."

...

The series of prompts made Jaxon's head buzz and his eyes sparkle with gold stars, but his face was one of sheer delight.

Grandmaster, grandmaster, all were grandmaster-level!

Jaxon had not expected that this seemingly ordinary, even a bit shabby old village head, would have so many grandmaster-level identities! It is well known that for an ordinary person to cultivate a skill to the grandmaster level is extremely difficult. Reaching the master level is already widely respected.

However, the old village head in front of him is not only a grandmaster but also has multiple grandmaster-level skills. If this matter were to be spread, it would definitely cause a huge sensation.