As the voice fell, Ye Tianxie’s vision spun wildly, and the world around him shifted rapidly.
He didn’t notice—nor could he have—that at the very moment he was teleported to the novice village, the strange pendant he had always worn around his neck mysteriously faded away, vanishing as if it had merged into his body.
Before his sight fully recovered, a chaotic cacophony of voices assaulted his ears, making him wince. He opened his eyes and looked ahead—people, nothing but people. There were a total of 100,000 novice villages in the Huaxia region, but given the terrifying population of Huaxia, each village was still packed to the brim, with flashes of light signaling new players arriving nonstop. "A step ahead, an advantage forever"—this was a rule that belonged to the strong. Everyone wanted to be the first to set foot into and explore this mysterious world.
Ye Tianxie let his gaze sweep over the crowd as he took in his surroundings. It was an ancient town, with architecture bearing the traditional features of Huaxia’s millennia-old heritage—yellow-tiled eaves, wooden structures, and a quaint, antique charm. The air was refreshingly pure, free from the pollution of the real world. Looking up, the deep blue sky was dotted with drifting clouds, untainted by smog, and missing that long, ominous scar known as the “Sky Mark.”
The novice village—an inevitable starting point in almost every game world.
Ye Tianxie’s presence instantly made him the center of attention. His nearly perfect appearance and the demonic, irresistible allure he exuded had a fatal attraction to women. Now, add another 20% enhancement to that face—his crude novice attire did nothing to diminish his charm. The moment he stood there, he could already hear men gasping in shock and women letting out excited squeals.
Ye Tianxie was not one who enjoyed crowds; one could even call him cold and distant. Unlike most players who rushed toward the limited number of NPCs in the novice village to see if they could trigger any quests, he simply pushed his way through the crowd and walked straight out of the village.
Finding a relatively quiet corner, Ye Tianxie glanced down at his attire. As with nearly all virtual games, the starting equipment was nothing more than a set of coarse clothing barely sufficient to cover the body, with negligible attributes:
* Novice Cloth Shirt: Requirement: None | Grade: Pale | Defense: +2
* Novice Cloth Pants: Requirement: None | Grade: Pale | Defense: +1
* Novice Cloth Shoes: Requirement: None | Grade: Pale | Defense: +1
All his gear combined only granted a meager +4 defense. Ye Tianxie willed his inventory open—a freely summonable and concealable bag with fifty slots. Inside, a lone, slender sword lay in solitude. He retrieved it, gripping it in his hand.
* Novice Shortsword: Requirement: None | Grade: Pale | Attack: +3
Ye Tianxie turned his gaze forward and started toward the outskirts of the novice village, checking his initial stats along the way:
* Character: Xie Tian
* Level: 0
* Class: None
* Reputation: 0
* Currency: 0
* Hunger: 0/110 (Max Hunger = 100 + Strength. At max hunger, 1% HP is lost per second. Hunger can be reduced by eating.)
Basic Attributes:
* Strength: 10
* Constitution: 7
* Agility: 4
* Spirit: 4
Fixed Attributes:
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
* Luck: 0
* Comprehension: 0
* Charm: 10
Combat Attributes:
* HP: 70
* MP: 40
* Physical Attack: 23
* Magic Attack: 8
* Physical Defense: 11
* Accuracy: 4 | Evasion: 4
Miscellaneous Attributes:
* Reaction Speed: 72
* Perception: 53
* Focus: 42
* Attack Speed: 100 (Base Value)
* Movement Speed: 100 (Base Value)
Elemental Resistances:
* Fire: 0% | Water: 0% | Wind: 0% | Thunder: 0% | Earth: 0% | Light: 0% | Dark: 0%
Skills:
* Identify: A universal skill for all classes. Costs 1 MP to inspect the stats of monsters up to 10 levels higher than oneself.
Looking at the "None" beside his class, Ye Tianxie’s brows twitched slightly before quickly relaxing. Prolos was right—absolute fairness never existed in this world. So what if he didn’t have a starting class? Even without stat bonuses or skills, he could still stand far above the rest.
"Destiny, huh? Destiny belongs to the strong." He muttered softly and continued forward.
As he expected, the area closest to the novice village was already swarming with people. This was undoubtedly the spawning ground for the lowest-level monsters, the ideal training zone for level 0 players. However, at first glance, aside from the dense crowd, there were no monsters in sight.
Finally, a faint white glow flickered—a tiny creature appeared at the feet of a group of players. Ye Tianxie’s eyes shifted, and he used his only universal skill, Identify. The monster’s stats immediately appeared before him:
* Angry Chick
* Level: 1
* HP: 30
* Description: A restless chick prone to occasional aggressive behavior toward humans.
Before he could finish reading, the poor creature was already buried under a flurry of attacks. Watching the lifeless corpse and scattered feathers, Ye Tianxie shook his head and murmured, "Of all things, why choose to be a chicken?"
Two players passing by happened to overhear his words and were immediately thrown into disarray, watching in stunned silence as his weathered figure disappeared into the distance…
Crowds were the last thing Ye Tianxie wanted to deal with. He headed north, crossing two maps occupied by level 2-3 monsters. Even then, the number of players hadn’t decreased significantly. It wasn’t until he passed through a Small Raccoon habitat that he finally felt a sense of openness—this area was no longer flooded with terrifying numbers of players. Instead, small groups of adventurers had each claimed a section of land for training. Strangely enough, every single one of them was female—not a single man in sight.
The monsters here were noticeably larger and more peculiar—half-meter-tall rabbits walking upright. Each one carried a stout club on its shoulder, swaggering around aimlessly. They didn’t react to his presence, continuing their idle roaming.
Ye Tianxie twirled his Novice Shortsword, stepping toward one of the rabbits. Before attacking, he instinctively cast Identify:
* Ferocious Bunny
* Level: 3
* HP: 70
* Description: A rabbit slightly corrupted by the miasma of the Tower of Fate. It usually wanders aimlessly, appearing harmless, but beneath its cute exterior lies a serious inclination toward violence. Due to its small stature, it prefers to attack lower-body targets.
Skills:
* Big Club Smash: Swings its club viciously at the enemy’s lower body, dealing 40% bonus damage to male targets with an extremely low chance of instant kill.
Ye Tianxie’s expression darkened. The sword in his hand, which was about to strike, hesitated—then swiftly withdrew. He took several steps back before turning around and leaving without a word.
No wonder there were no male players here. Clearly, this Ferocious Bunny was a system-assigned exclusive training monster for female players, designed to balance their disadvantages when competing against male players for leveling spots.