Chapter 6
Chapter 6
“Swoosh!”
Brilliant white light flashed, and Zhou Ming reappeared in the Tutorial Village Mountains. Qianying was still waiting quietly nearby. She had not left.
“Let’s go!” Zhou Ming could hardly wait.
If he did not complete his class advancement soon, he probably would not be able to sleep that night.
Qianying nodded and returned with him.
Along the way, Zhou Ming saw every leveling spot packed with players. Everyone was enthusiastically slaughtering monsters, hoping to carve out a place for themselves in the game.
But there were far more players than monster spawns. Their leveling efficiency was bound to suffer.
That alone showed how important an early lead could be.
“Boss, that’s him!”
As Zhou Ming approached the tutorial village, a group of players immediately fixed him with hostile stares.
Zhouyou Shijie had a top-tier NPC at his side and several pieces of equipment on his body. In a tutorial village, he stood out like a beacon. Ignoring him would have been impossible.
The leader was a short, rat-faced player named Gaibang Laosan. The moment he spotted his target, his spirits soared. He raised an arm and shouted his orders.
“Brothers, the target’s here! Let’s gang up and make him drop his gear!”
So what if the other guy had good equipment?
There were more than a dozen of them against one man. The advantage was clearly theirs!
“Kill him!”
The players behind Gaibang Laosan rushed forward in a prepared wave.
“Camping me?” Zhou Ming was hardly surprised.
Large games always had organized groups.
He had gained an NPC’s assistance and claimed the server’s first boss kill. Of course certain people would target him.
Faced with the charging mob, Zhou Ming remained completely calm. He did not even fight back. Before combat status activated, he silently equipped the two Gold items in his inventory, both of which he now met the level requirement for.
His stats skyrocketed.
-1!
-1!
-1!
…
When their weapons struck, a string of pitiful damage numbers rose from Zhou Ming.
The attackers stared in horror.
They could not break his Defense?
“Ding!”
[System: You have been attacked and may act in self-defense! (Note: Self-defense does not increase Sin.)]
That was precisely what Zhou Ming had wanted.
If he attacked first, he would gain a substantial amount of Sin. Higher Sin not only increased the chance of dropping equipment upon death, but also affected NPC affinity.
“Holy crap!” Gaibang Laosan’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “How is this bastard’s Defense so high?”
He had not come to trouble Zhouyou Shijie for no reason. He wanted to stop the man from casually claiming the reward for the game’s first class advancement as well.
And since he knew his target had secured the first boss kill and was no pushover, he had paid heavily to recruit help.
Every player surrounding Zhou Ming ranked among the best in their respective tutorial villages.
“What kind of question is that?”
Zhou Ming sounded offended. He swept his sword forward. Blood burst from the chest of the first player in its path, who stared in shock before collapsing to his knees.
“Are you implying my Attack isn’t high too?”
-60! (Critical Hit)
“Hiss!”
The other players sucked in cold breaths at the terrifying damage number.
Very little early-game equipment increased HP.
In other words, even a Level 6 player would be killed by a single blow like that.
“How is that possible?!”
Gaibang Laosan gaped and hurriedly cast Inspect on Zhou Ming again.
He had assumed overwhelming numbers guaranteed victory. He had never imagined the gap between them could be so vast.
[Zhouyou Shijie]
[Level: 10]
[HP: 1,370]
[Attack: 42-47]
[Defense: 72-79]
[Skill: Inspect]
…
Those numbers were absurd beyond belief in a tutorial village!
“Slash, slash, slash…”
Zhou Ming cut through them like vegetables, needing at most two strikes per player. In under two minutes, he sent every last one back to the resurrection point.
Clatter!
At the same time, two pieces of common equipment dropped to the ground: a shirt and a weapon.
Zhou Ming picked them up and walked into the tutorial village.
“Don’t get cocky, punk! The Gaibang Guild will settle this score sooner or later!” Gaibang Laosan continued shouting from beside the teleportation array where he had respawned.
The Gaibang Guild!
Zhou Ming stopped walking, intrigued.
He had heard a little about the gaming guild. Despite its name, the Gaibang Guild’s leaders were wealthy and influential. They threw money around in games and were obsessed with dominating the rankings.
“What? Scared now?”
Seeing Zhou Ming freeze, Gaibang Laosan sneered. “If you don’t want to make an enemy of the Gaibang Guild, stay out of the towns and don’t advance your class yet. I might even pay you a little compensation!”
Zhou Ming turned and walked toward him.
“What do you want?”
Gaibang Laosan’s mouth remained defiant, but his body retreated instinctively. Fear crept into his voice. “This is a safe zone!”
Players could resurrect immediately during the beginner period, but death still cost them a level.
Smack!
Zhou Ming planted a hand on his shoulder and spoke in a deep voice. “Brother, need any equipment?”
“Huh?” Gaibang Laosan stared blankly.
“Two top-tier items dropped while I was farming just now!” Zhou Ming produced the equipment they had dropped upon death.
The two pieces of junk were useless to him. He might as well sell them while early-game equipment still had value.
“Ridiculous!” Gaibang Laosan flew into a rage. “You think I’d buy them?”
“Ding!”
[System: Attention! Your linked account has received a transfer of 1,000 yuan!]
As a globally supported game, *Destiny* provided every player with a linked account. Funds could be deposited into the game or withdrawn, all without exposing the player’s real identity.
“Thank you for your business!”
Deeply satisfied with the deal, Zhou Ming went to turn in his quest to the chief.
“You!”
Gaibang Laosan watched him leave, face livid and teeth grinding hard enough to crack.
At the same time, the village chief saw Zhou Ming and reacted as if the King of Hell himself had arrived. He promptly abandoned the other adventurers, hurried over, and greeted Zhou Ming with the utmost respect, terrified that his service might prove inadequate.
“Chief, I’ve completed the quest!” Zhou Ming took out the bloodstained wolf fang.
“What?!”
The chief stared in disbelief. “Not only did you kill the Wolf King, you even brought back its fang? This is a Wolf King Fang, an extremely durable forging material!”
“Wasn’t that what the quest asked for?” Zhou Ming was speechless.
“What exceptional insight! To think an adventurer could grasp the quest’s instructions with such perfect clarity!”
Zhou Ming had nothing to say.
The chief showered him with praise, then cautiously glanced at the “Ancient Succubus” by his side and forced a dry laugh.
“For an adventurer of such courage, my conscience would never allow me to offer an inadequate reward!”
“Ding!”
[System: Congratulations! You have achieved a perfect completion of [Eliminate the Dire Wolf] (Difficulty: B). Rewards: Current-Level EXP +43.6% and [Wolf King Ring] (Bronze)!]
…
A ring!
Zhou Ming was delighted.
Players in *Destiny* could equip ten items in total: one weapon, armor, helmet, bracers, boots, leg guards, necklace, cloak, and up to two rings.
Of those, necklaces, cloaks, and rings were relatively rare and much harder to obtain.
“Are you satisfied with the reward?” the chief asked quietly.
“Very!”
Zhou Ming awarded him five stars.
“Then perhaps you should consider traveling to a town?” the chief suggested. “Of course, it is not that our village does not welcome you. The outside world is simply far more exciting. I hope you will broaden your horizons.”
Zhou Ming was happy to oblige. “Please help us on our way, Chief.”
Together, they went to the teleportation array. Zhou Ming and Qianying stepped inside while the chief activated it.
“Swoosh!”
Moments later, brilliant white light surged from the array and swallowed Zhou Ming’s vision.
When the radiance faded, the two of them were gone.
Only after confirming their departure did the chief finally exhale in relief.
“I’m free!”
…