Chapter_1

Chapter 1 Newcomer Day

On March 8, 2138, today is my birthday and the first day I officially leave the school. To be honest, although that university is bad, I finally have something to do in the past four years. Unfortunately, I do n’t know how to spend time. When others became pairing, I was still alone. When I was one millimeter from a pillar, I stopped and avoided my first kiss to lose it on it! There was a noise for a while, it turned out to be advertising.

In order to let people with excess energy vent and send boring time, the virtual network has become the best tool.

I heard that this time it is a game jointly supported by the government of several countries.

Dizzy, what kind of world!

This is a new game that is promoted in the world- “Second World”.

Because the game has received strong official support, the items and currencies in the game can be directly exchanged for international coins, which is prohibited by the previous game (private transactions are still in charge). Looking at the lively publicity activities, I can’t help but move. Anyway, it is better to have a vacation time for 2 months. I don’t have a shocking ambition. As long as I can find a good wife, I can live happily. Oh, my great -grandmother (a strange wife) said that I was compared before 20, and I started hitting the Grand Canal at the age of 20. But so far, I am still a standard bachelor+poor ghost, alas … I booked a set of equipment to play the “world”

and I went back to the old nest. My father and mother are so -called “archeologists”

, a career without money! They are not at home all day. If there is a holographic image every day, I can’t recognize them. “Wave \ ~ \ ~ \ ~, a good son, happy birthday! My mother and I can not go back to your birthday on Amazon (you will be good if you travel, you can leave me lonely me). The gift has been sent to me. I gave it to you, this time it is very strange, it is left by your great -grandmother. "

“Good baby, I have to be obedient at home.”

Hey, I really have no way to take my mother. They are so big people. I always call me my name. Turn off Tianxun and assemble the game equipment. Oh yeah! The style of this helmet is pretty good, fancy. After busy for a long time, I finally fiddled. It was time to see my dad their gifts. Open the package, ah, is a necklace with magic pentagram. 555 ~ Old antique! … Shouldn’t it be a stall? “Second World”

has officially started operation from March 10th. The previous week will be tried free to attract popularity. I am a single practice, I don’t like to team up with others, mainly trouble. Although I have played a lot of games, they do n’t know a lot of people. It ’s not a master. Xiao Mao is one of my iron buddies. We have played a lot of games together. A few days ago he was pulling me, but he never agreed and had to tell him. “Xiao Mao, it’s me.”

“Boss, I’m looking for you everywhere! How about, go, our brothers dominate the world together, soak in beauty.”

“Come on, an old man! Is we rushing first or making money first this time? Did you find a good development goal?”

“Old rules. My brother, I make money, the boss is rushing, and then the boss will take me again.”

“I know your kid is lazy! Okay, that’s it, what kind of career do you choose?”

“No, don’t you read the introduction of the official website? The profession of this game is directly recommended by the computer according to the DNA of each player. Choose the most suitable. As they promoted, I dare to say that it will set off a online revolution! Online games are more people, and they are excited to think about it! "

“Oh, I just got it back, and I haven’t had time to watch it. Okay, let’s talk about it tomorrow, 88.”

After receiving the line, I quickly went to see the introduction, but the boy will be the army. Essence There are 5 main occupations in the second world: samurai, mage, Taoist, archer and thieves. In addition, there are also auxiliary occupations such as chefs, blacksmiths, and appraisers. Of course, there are still some hidden occupations of BT, which depends on the players to find out. The second world is also called a dream space. Each country is a district, and the country is temporarily closed. The only special case is Europe, which is called European region. The only channel for each country to go abroad is a bridge ——- a bridge, which is the name of the Oriental. Under normal circumstances, only players above 80 can enter and exit two continents freely. Or it is the level 100 guards on both sides of the light bridge. Of course, it is 100 % sent to death. If you live enough, you can experience the taste of being killed. The occupations, treasures, monsters, etc. in each country are different according to the cultural and geography, and there are certain differences, and each director is short. in the game: Once death, 10%of the total number of experiences, and the equipment and money were randomly spoiled. 1 gold coin = 0.1 yuan (then unified currency of the earth at that time) 1 gold coin = 100 silver coins = 1000 copper coins, players can go directly to the local bank for exchange. “Ding \ ~ \ ~ \ ~ \ ~ \ ~”

“Hey \ ~ \ ~, who is it, don’t want to live? It’s so noisy to die so early.”

“The boss is getting up, and it will start in half an hour. I heard that the first 10,000 registered players will be organically rewarded. My name is still money. What are you going to call?”

Ah, at 7:30, my god, I slept over my head. “Come on. We have never encountered such good things. Well, I’m still called Eater.”

“Boss, you’ll scare away the little beauties if you keep coming up with this nutrient-less name.”

“Long-winded! I’m telling you, I’m starting to turn my luck around this year. If you don’t believe me, just wait and see!”

I hurriedly set up my computer, put on my headset, and entered the game. The first hour of the game was an introduction to the game content. Fortunately, the NPC sister looked pretty, otherwise, hehe, I wouldn’t have any options.

The character in this game is designed to resemble the player’s appearance with a fluctuation of 10% up or down, and the gender cannot be changed. The identity must be real.

“Only 5 minutes left until the game officially starts. Players can prepare to create an account.”

Exactly at 8 o’clock, I started rushing in. Oh my, there are so many people! After waiting for ten minutes, hehe, I finally got in.

“Welcome to the Second World. You are the 123,456th player.” Although the number is special, unfortunately, there’s no reward!

Ah, isn’t this discrimination against me?

“Please enter your ID… The system is analyzing your DNA. Please wait…” At that moment, the antique necklace on my chest suddenly emitted a blue light, and a mysterious magic circle appeared before my eyes. It shimmered for a while and then disappeared.

Did I just see a ghost? I pinched myself hard. Oh my, that hurt! Next time, I should pinch someone else. The system paused for a moment and then returned to normal. At this moment, the voice of the NPC rang out, “Dear player, according to your DNA analysis, the most suitable profession for you is a mage, with a compatibility rate of 200%, making you the most talented player so far. If you choose the mage as your profession, you will receive rewards from the system. Please choose your profession.”

Well, I’ll just choose the mage then. Dear system, please don’t be stingy and give me some good stuff.

“Congratulations, Soul Devouring Mage. Your ID application is successful, and you have received an additional attribute from the system: Luck. Your current luck value is 1, and every 10 levels, your luck will automatically increase by 1. This skill point is fixed. Thank you, and goodbye.”

Is that it? I thought they would give me a set of top-tier equipment. They’re really stingy. But having a reward is a good sign. It seems like I’m going to be lucky!

Don’t blame me for being lucky. I’m the protagonist, who can I fear?

“Oh my, it’s spectacular! I’m in a magnificent building surrounded by players. Some are handsome (too bad there are no beauties, only a few weird muscular guys posing), while others are dressed in plain clothes. So many people! Although I’m not an expert, I know that leveling up as a newbie is the most difficult, and it’s hard to find monsters that are easy to kill. I don’t have time to waste. I’m charging ahead for a new life.

“Bo~ Boss, where are you? Hurry up, I’m level 5. Why did you just log in? We’re not in the top 10,000.”

“I’m in the newbie area, just logged in. Where are you?”

“Boss, let’s meet at the city gate. I’ll guide you. I’m a thief. Boss, you’re a mage, right?”

“Yeah, you little brat, you know a thing or two. That’s right, I’m going now. Wait for me there, don’t wander around.”

Wearing the newbie cloth armor, I hurriedly made my way to the city gate.

Together with Jin Qianmao, we spent half a day killing deer, rabbits, mutated frogs, and slime outside the imperial city. These were basically weak monsters with no significant attack power (I used 80% of my situational awareness; otherwise, it would be too bloody, hehe~). Fortunately, they respawned quickly. The map is really vast, I wonder how big of a server it takes to support it. I finally reached level 10 and obtained the Fireball spell. Jin Qianmao reached level 12. According to the official description, he should still be here, but I don’t believe it! As we say in our specialized terms, “If you can hear a rabbit’s scream, there’s no need to plant beans.” As long as you have long-range attacks, you should level up quickly. Now we have two options: the Soul Abyss in the northwest of the imperial city, where there’s a ghost cave suitable for players above level 10 to level up and find treasures, or the Half-Beast Mountain, the territory of the half-beast people, where the monsters are relatively lower level.

I decided to go practice in the Ghost Cave and take a look at what the Ghost King looked like. Xiao Mao decided to leave the organization and start practicing life skills. He was preparing to become the world’s number one chef and build the best restaurant in the world. Of course, he had tried to achieve this dream long ago, but it all ended in “complete failure”.

I returned to the city, sold all the spoils of war, repaired my equipment, and stocked up on health potions and mana crystals (mana crystals which mages can draw power from). I was going to take the magic teleportation array, but saw it cost 1 gold coin. Looking at my empty pockets, sigh, my two legs are still the most useful, free and good exercise too. Back in the day, I walked 25,000 li on these legs.

I came to Desolate Valley alone. It really was gloomy here, even the sunlight didn’t want to shine in. Not many players came here, even fewer girls. Hehe, perfect for leveling up. The main concern when leveling is too many people around competing for monsters. Especially for a fragile mage like me, it’s easy to get killed. Dying once could undo all my hard work, letting it all go down the drain. I could occasionally see a few wandering skeleton soldiers in the valley, all incomplete with missing arms or legs, one was even more exaggerated missing its head. This is delivering food to my mouth, I’ll cremate you all for free. I’m such a nice guy. Killing them was easy but gave little experience. I should hurry and head into the cave.

Inside the cave was pitch black with ghost fires floating around, really creepy. Although I’m not interested in the concept of justice, these guys really are too ugly! It’s not their fault they’re ugly, but coming out to scare me is absolutely unforgivable. Slaughter the skeleton soldiers and zombies! The skeletons here were much stronger than those outside, some even had full armor, unlike those outside with rusted axes. They wielded swords and sabers here. Feel the power of my fireballs, fireball, and more fireballs! Kill, kill, hmm, how come there are fewer and fewer? Oh well, doesn’t matter, I’ll just keep killing. The loot here wasn’t bad. I leveled up to 15 and had 300 silver coins saved up, inventory full too. Although no good equipment, there was plenty of health potions and mana crystals, enough to be self-sufficient. This really is a good place to level up, why doesn’t anyone else come? The train of thought was interrupted by several skeletons coming at me. Oh well, just kill them.

My fireball skill is good to go too. Let’s check out the 2nd floor. I found the entrance to the 2nd floor, refilled my HP, and carefully walked down the passage. The 2nd floor mainly had skeleton mages, skeleton archers, and ghosts (which drain life and mana), occasionally also some liches. My level 3 fireball had some difficulties dealing with them, especially against ghosts which reduced my damage by 50%. Better to just run when seeing ghosts, but the experience from them was very high. This floor was better than the 1st because there was a black market (how did he open a shop here? He must not be a good guy), the owner was a shifty looking old man. Sure enough, everything here cost 3 times more than outside shops, and he only offered 60% of the price when selling stuff to him, how black! But thinking about the long trek back to town (lazy, and it’s not actually that far), I could only clench my teeth and accept it. Luckily, potion drops here were even more abundant than the 1st floor, didn’t need to buy any, and more equipment drops too. I prepared a full set of level 20 mage equipment, and had 600 silver coins saved up.

After an unknown amount of time killing, I finally reached level 18 and could learn level 2 mage spell Chain Lightning, so awesome. I bought the skill book from the black market owner and cursed that black-hearted old geezer. Every time I saw his smug look, I wondered if he was even a real person. The intelligence of NPCs nowadays really is amazing. Meanwhile, Xiao Mao looked for me a few times. I told him I was leveling in the Ghost Cave and asked him to join me. Such a good place, there would definitely be more people coming in the future. But he refused to come, saying Beast Mountain was better because there were beauties there??? I was speechless. Beauties, I like them too, but they are too much trouble.

I have no patience and am not handsome enough to attract girls chasing me, so I’ll be single for a while.

Just as I was about to try out the power of lightning, the system reminded me that I had been online for too long and my fatigue level had reached the warning line, so I should log off and rest. Looking at the time, it was already 8pm. I quickly exited the game, ready to rest well and continue leveling up at night.

After resting, full of energy, I first went on the official website to check for any news. My god! Since the game started, there were already 200 million registered users, with online numbers maintaining above 80 million. This game really has potential, taking it seriously will lead to gains. Official announcement: the game will be fully hosted on “Future” as the main server, with it having full authority to monitor everything. Customer service staff will only be responsible for technical issues, there will not be any special characters appearing. Also, fully simulated reality, with great randomness, hidden quests for players to explore themselves, each hidden quest is unique.

One month after the game starts, there will be a fighting tournament, with team and individual categories. Rewards for the winners will be announced at that time.

Actually after playing for this period of time, I’ve realized this game isn’t innovative at all, it can only be considered retro. Having played so many Star Wars-style mecha games recently, I’m also tired of them. Suddenly there’s a feeling of going back to that state from hundreds of years ago, plus the game graphics are more detailed and still have great room for development, attracting many players. This is probably the motivation of the creators.

Entering the “World” again, I find each skeleton has become so cute (hehe, really perverted). My lightning is awesome! Skeletons have weak electric defense, killing them feels so smooth. There are a few messages on the communication channel, all from Little Mao, nothing unexpected like asking what level I am, why don’t I go back and stuff like that. This place is so good, why would I want to go back! I’ll go out after level 20.

There’s a lich ahead on the 2nd floor, quite rare to see this guy here on 2nd floor, should have decent drops. I’ll first slowly kill the small monsters around it, then take care of it. I lightninged! Ah, only took away 15 health, damn, such a huge poison gas bomb, and the stench! My god, could it be made from its farts? Turns out 40% magic resistance against electricity, now only fireball can slay it. I attacked, took a full 10 minutes to kill it, tiring me to death. Hehe, not bad, besides potions, also a level 20 new robe (can change robe/jewelry/weapon every 20 levels, need corresponding skill points for profession related gear). Top notch, adds 2 magic. Let the slaughter continue, can’t wait to try out the new equipment. After another period of fighting, I finally reached level 20. Wearing the Cursed Armor (special Ghost Cave drop, not buyable in shops now), I spent money to buy a return scroll from the old man (I’m rich), whoosh, back to town!

Going from the gloomy and terrifying Ghost Cave back to the glittering and sunny royal city, full of fellows everywhere, that feeling really cannot be described in words! Why is everyone looking at me, could my pants be ripped? Or am I too handsome? They’re looking at me like I’m a monster! I quickly ran into the hall, sent a message to Little Mao, coincidentally he was also in the city.

Little Mao had the same silly expression as others, but even more disgusting, he actually started drooling.

I first gave him a knock on the forehead, “Little Mao, you gone crazy! I’m not a girl, don’t drool at me, I don’t swing that way.”

“Boss, no way, it’s really you? How are you level 20 already, where did you get the Cursed Armor? Wow, you’re fully decked out in top gear! My god, what’s going on?”

“Is level 20 really that high? I have a spare set of this armor, you want it?” I thought carefully, feels like I leveled really easily!

“Really? 5555~ Boss you really are my reborn parents!” Little Mao then wanted to wipe his snot and drool on me, getting kicked away by me.

“Boss, do you know, besides you, the highest level I’ve seen is only 18, still wearing trash gear. Where did you train?”

“Just Ghost Cave. Didn’t I tell you to come with me to Ghost Cave? But you refused to go.”

“No way, Ghost Cave doesn’t drop much, and the environment is bad too. No beauties, monsters are relatively difficult, usually people only form teams and go after level 15. Could it be you mixed until now alone?”

“Yeah, potions drop like crazy there, never lacking. I even earned 4 gold coins.”

“That can’t be, many players hate that place for the lack of equipment drops and difficulty, all planning to go after 18 to get the Cursed Armor. It’s not a good place to level up. How could this be, did you have any special encounters, Boss?”

“Hmm? That’s right, I have 3 luck now, not sure if that’s useful.” I recounted the situation at registration, of course leaving out the necklace, which was too bizarre.

“What? Level up to increase luck, already 3? I’m done for. Do you know, luck helps bring out the potential of equipment, increases chance of rare drops (more obvious on lower level monsters), and gives less exp on monsters below player level (1.5x exp on same level, reduced exp when player is higher, and increased exp when lower). Other functions unclear. Anyway, it’s like a Lin Mengxin falling from the sky, you’ve struck it rich! I knew Boss is a hero destined for greatness, romantic and dashing… didn’t expect you to be even stronger than I imagined, pull your brother up!”

“Is there a way to get luck now?”

“I only heard Boss monsters may drop equipment that increases luck, but that’s nothing compared to you. Could it be a system bug? How come I don’t get this, my goddesses! No good, you have to power level me, I trained so hard only to 15, though my cooking skill reached level 1.”

“No problem. I’ll ask customer service first if my situation is a system bug, don’t want to be happy for nothing. We’ll go to Beast Mountain to play later.”

“Hello, this is the customer service center for the Second World, how may I help you?” A pleasant female voice.

I recounted my situation to her.

After a while, “Sir, your account is completely normal. As long as there is no external interference, all variables in the game follow the rules. Have a nice time playing, goodbye.”

Finally put my mind at ease. With such a great opportunity, I would really disappoint myself without making some achievements. Back in the world, ready for my Beast Mountain adventure.

On the way to Beast Mountain, many people looked at us with all kinds of complex gazes - envy, jealousy, etc. I felt quite proud, and Little Mao also had an “I’m close with the person you all admire” look. The short and fat Little Mao even walked with chest out and stomach stuck out, really funny.

The hidden property of the Cursed Armor is a curse. In combat there’s a 5% chance to cast a level 1 dark spell - Curse. Curse can reduce defense and speed of non-undead creatures, making it too easy against low level monsters like the beastmen. Little Mao kept aggroing monsters along the way, I waited for them to gather then spammed level 2 fire magic Bursting Flame. The ground was instantly covered by raging fire, combined with Curse and Little Mao’s poison, killing them so smoothly and quickly that soon corpses laid all around. Just as I was satisfied with my feat, I suddenly noticed something off. Hehe, went a bit overboard, I killed all the monsters, leaving nothing for others to kill. Some warriors looked aggressive yet hesitant, seeming to want to gank me but lacking courage. Only Little Mao was happily running around looting, constantly chanting “kill them all, loot them all, take it all”. If looks could kill, he would have vaporized long ago.

I was about to stop and head to layer 3 where beast warriors spawn, when a little girl blocked my path. Angel, tempting little red lips that can charm men to their deaths, paired with long eyelashes over glistening eyes, and that small yet overdeveloped body, even I who boast about my strong will was stunned for quite a while. Turns out women can also be this level of beauty, such looks are truly rare.

Beside me, Little Mao was drooling nonstop. If this kept up, I think the beastmen would be overjoyed (I heard they got so ugly because they lacked water, half beastman: No way, I think I’m very handsome. The little ladies always scream excitedly when they see me. Alas, it’s not my fault I’m so handsome).

“Hello, can I discuss something with you?” The little beauty didn’t make any of those nauseating, fake cute poses. She was very lively and natural. Aw, I like her.

“What’s up?” I reflexively revealed a smile. It seems the power of beauty is truly irresistible to all.

“You killed all the monsters here, so other people can’t level up anymore. You should go to higher level places, right?” The little beauty blinked her eyes and said mischievously.

Beside me, Little Mao was now looking at me as if regarding a class enemy. I kicked him aside to cool off, then said to the little beauty: “Hehe, sorry about that. I’ll leave immediately. It’s all because this fatty dragged me here, blame him if you must.”

I bid farewell to the alluring little lady (wanted to get closer, but didn’t know how to start), dragging the still dazed Little Mao as I charged towards the mountain peak.

There were less beastmen on the way, more beast warriors, even uglier than beastmen (the beastmen race’s aesthetic is opposite of humans, I guess). Bursting Flame was not very effective against them anymore, so I switched to Lightning Bolt. Watching bolt after bolt strike down, it was truly majestic. But wait, Little Mao gave a dangerous hand signal - beast chieftains ahead. Little Mao shot it with his crossbow, barely damaging it, but attracted its aggro. I zapped it. Thanks to high luck, and top-notch equipment, I could take it down. But this guy clearly had higher speed and intelligence than normal, still posing some trouble to me as a mage, if not for Little Mao’s disruptions. Little Mao reached 17, I was nearing 21. There were so many people here at Beast Mountain, Ghost Cave was much better for leveling.

Suddenly there was chaos up ahead, as if someone met a powerful monster. Other than us, all were 15+ players in teams of 3-5. Not ideal for leveling here, they were after the BOSS beast chieftain - could it be…

“Help!!!” Ah? That familiar voice.

Little Mao and I rushed over and saw: the beast chieftain! Two level 18 warriors were hacking away at the chieftain, nearly unable to hold on. A female priest was busy healing. On the ground were a mage and rogue, the scream for help was from little Xue (the little lady I met earlier). For low level mages like me, chieftains were nightmares - excellent at both melee and range with its axes that could one-shot non-warriors. Just as I prepared to save little Xue whom I just parted with, I saw her. I’ve seen beauties before, but she was different. It wasn’t just breathtaking beauty, but this feeling, like finding something lost for so long. Perhaps this is the so-called love at first sight. I was enraptured, my mind set on one thought - charge ahead bravely, the first time in life having such a clear goal. Bolstered by intense, firm conviction, I immediately zapped the monster with a huge lightning, taking off 50 HP.

“Everyone calm down! Little Mao, poison it. Warriors, block it. Miss, tend to the others, focus heal on whoever the chieftain attacks.”

The female priest glanced at me, hard to describe her look - surprise, delight, and a bit of detachment too. But to me, that was everything. The chieftain clearly saw me as the biggest threat, abandoning the warriors to charge at me, a flying axe whirling at me. I dodged, and again, ouch, scraped my butt. I zapped! Beside, little Xue kept yelling loudly: “Hey, you high level awesome guy, go save my sister, slay the beast.”

Geez, she didn’t even remember my name!

I cast a few Bursting Flames, circled around the fire to evade axes, zapping whenever possible. My agility was put to good use it seems, combined with the Cursed Armor’s effect, I largely avoided fatal blows. After a grueling battle, it finally lay motionless on the ground. The world was finally peaceful again. It dropped equipment, potions, and piles of silver coins all over the ground. If it didn’t die soon, I would have collapsed from exhaustion. Just then, the NPC announced: “Congratulations player Soul Reaper Mage. You are the first player in the second world to kill the Beast Chieftain boss. The system rewards you with 100 fame points. The Beast Chieftain is reduced to a normal monster (meaning there will no longer be rewards for killing it, though in reality it was the weakest boss).“Little Mao and the two warriors were busy collecting the spoils of war. I just stared blankly at Little Xue’s sister - the two of them really looked nothing alike. This girl gave me a very different feeling that I couldn’t describe. I just felt a tingling numbness throughout my body. I’ve seen beauties before, but rarely like this. Oh no, I clearly realized I had been struck by Cupid’s arrow! In the past I felt lukewarm towards girls because I hadn’t met one I really liked. But once I did, nothing could stop it!Why is this person staring at me like that? Although used to the frequent attention, it was still a bit too much. But he did just save me, so for better or worse…let him look for now. “Hey~~~~~” Little Xue was clearly unhappy at being ignored by us two. “Stop staring. Let me introduce you guys. This is my sister —— Xue. And this is currently our highest level character, the earth-shattering Soul Reaper Mage. Now you know each other right.“Both our faces couldn’t help turning red. I don’t think I’ll ever forget how beautiful Xue looked when blushing. I turned red because my heart was seen through, as for why she blushed, I still don’t know. Even after she married me, Xue always kept it secret - that was her mystery.After chatting for a while, at least Xue no longer saw me as a pervert.

My admiration for Xue was obvious to anyone with eyes. But to Xue, there were too many men like me. So this became a topic for everyone to jokingly tease us about. The two warriors, Feng Sha and Xing Sha, were honest, taciturn types. They were led around by little Xue until they couldn’t take anymore of the little devil. As we chatted, we killed monsters together. It was really comfortable. No wonder they say working together is less tiring for men and women, especially with someone you like.Xue was level 18, little Xue level 12, the twin Shas were level 18, little Mao level 19, and I was level 21 plus. We divided up the spoils of war, then used the teleport station to return to town. The town was really lively. Not everyone was here just to play the game. Some were chatting, some came to pick up girls, some came to do business. Up ahead, why was everyone crowded around? It looked like a notice.Notice: After the first martial arts tournament, we will announce the top ten power rank, wealth rank, and most popular beauty rank. All ranked players will receive certain rewards. In addition, we once again reward the player Soul Reaper Mage. As the first level 20 player in the world, uniquely outstanding, we specially award 100 fame points. Ah, me again! Some recognized me, causing a commotion. When they saw Xue and little Xue next to me, it was like a powder keg exploding. In the past I wouldn’t have bothered with this, but suddenly I didn’t mind, since it could bring us closer!We formed a leveling team called Chasing the Sun. I was captain, Xue was vice-captain, little Mao was scout, the twin fools (our nickname for the two meat shields) were attackers, and little Xue was my secretary. This wasn’t my idea, she requested it herself, saying all big shots have them. Faced with the onslaught of her innocent gaze, I conceded. This made little Mao, hopping mad beside me, mutter: Pervert, even going after underage girls, pedophile… My classic response: behold my invisible Foshan legs! Ah~~~~, what a huge shadow! We killed monsters on the 2nd floor of Ghost Cave, having little Mao lure them to our corner. Xue and I stayed inside with little Xue sandwiched between us. The twin fools blocked outside, Xue healed, I cast Bursting Flame and Lightning, while little Xue’s job was the occasional scream followed by diving into my arms (earning jealous looks from all around, luckily Xue only gave me a sideways glance, seems she didn’t blame me), then share her commentary on the monsters - that one’s too ugly, here comes that one, etc. Adding some liveliness to this eerie place. The occasional lich was no longer a threat.When we all reached level 20, with everyone’s approval, Xue and I trained alone to prepare for the upcoming martial arts tournament. After living together these past days, we had come to accept each other, making me energized every day as if fully wound up. During this time, I went to the 3rd floor several times, but the monsters there were too high level, all liches and dark knights. Especially the dark knights, so fast, tough, high attack, daunting. The monsters varied greatly between floors, with each being beyond the last - you can’t just blindly wander around. Xue and I went to Sunset Valley. The monsters there generally appeared alone and gave more experience. Although the levels were a bit higher, still manageable. It was the best leveling spot for now. Xue especially disliked the spiders there. Sigh, a common issue for women. I could only carry out racial extermination.

In the meantime, little Xue and the others were bullied by some people in Ghost Cave. This wouldn’t do, Xue and I immediately rushed back. Under the slaughter of my powerful Hellfire and level 3 Lightning, a group called “Sister on the Opposite Side Look Over Here” was all killed back down to level 10, making a huge spectacle. Hehe, train for a thousand days to use in one moment. I also went to casually check on the old man, missing him after a few days of not seeing him. But something happened, the old man told me he was retiring. NPCs can retire too? Anyway he was closing the black market, said he didn’t have many friends and got along alright with me, so as a parting gift he wanted to give me something. It was an antique ring engraved with a ghost head, said to be an ancient relic he dug up while making the black market. At the time I didn’t think much of it, and thought “You have good stuff yet still earned money off our hard work?” But seeing him so pitiful, and me being sympathetic, I comforted him and even gave him ten gold coins. After this the black market really closed down. Although he fleeced me out of a lot of money, now that he was really gone, I still missed him a bit - a poor, lonely old man.Back in town, I took the ring to an appraiser to get it appraised. But the appraiser actually said his level wasn’t high enough and told me to find the chief appraiser. I ran to the Appraisers’ Guild and found the guild master. That old man stared at the ring for a full ten minutes, then blurted out: I’ll give you 80% off. I thought, could it be 8 gold coins (appraisers usually charge silver)? He shook his head, 80? Shook again. 800? Still shaking. The old man angrily yelled: 8000! This is a peerless divine artifact! 8000 is already cheap for you!Hearing this price, my first reaction was to want to flip him off to vent my contempt. But I calmed down and asked what attributes it had. The old man played mysterious, saying “Can’t say, can’t say”, since he actually didn’t know without appraising it. I thought, I don’t have that much money now anyway, we’ll talk later. So I left the guild hall under the old man’s regretful gaze. Looks like it really was something good. Usually item appraisals only cost 1 gold coin, with the best I’ve heard being 100 gold coins. I put the ring away for safekeeping. Leveling up was still the priority for now. Little Mao, hearing that fame was needed to open a shop, was also madly leveling up. His dream was to open the best restaurant. I heard that winners of the martial arts tournament would also gain fame, which could be used to form guilds, establish territories, open shops - other functions were still in development.