The scene before my eyes gradually twisted and blurred, and the last image that lingered in my mind was that of the fat man's lecherous smile! It was truly unbearable.

Endless darkness welcomed me, and I finally experienced the feeling of logging off. Rest well? Damn it! This is more like suffering! Fortunately, this time I didn't feel the same fear and depression I did in that eerie space before. At least the experiences I had in the game over the past few days gave me plenty to think about and hypothesize. And the system had indicated it would reopen in twelve hours. Although I still didn't know how I entered the game, I believed I would definitely be back in twelve hours! In the meantime, I might as well think about how to face the adjusted system.

In the capital city, in a well-known residential area, a woman in a purple coat stood by the window of a completely European-style villa. Her lips were tightly closed, and her face, sculpted like jade, was filled with stubbornness.

"Fine! You've got guts. Damn it, I'm really lucky! All my daughters dare to stand up to me!" A roar came from behind the beautiful woman, followed by heavy breathing.

"Alright, alright, she's just playing a game. Besides, as a girl, she can't really help you with anything important." A gentle voice tried to soothe the furious person.

"It's all your fault for spoiling her! From childhood until now, you've spoiled her rotten, and now she's turning against me!" The angry voice continued to rage, directing its fury at the innocent person beside him.

"Then I'll leave." The woman turned back, her tone as calm as a thousand-year-old icy lake, and walked towards a small room.

A flash of white light, and I re-entered the game.

This time, the system's adjustments were significant. First, they introduced leaderboards for each class, followed by equipment rankings, assessed based on the attributes of the equipment. Unsurprisingly, I didn't make it onto the level leaderboard, nor even into the top 100 of the mage class leaderboard. It seemed I was indeed a frog in a well.

As for the equipment rankings, my self-proclaimed top-notch gear did make it onto the list. However, despite the perfect reputation of the two major bosses who produced them, my Medusa's Staff and Barbarian's Holy Judgement didn't take the top spots, ranking second and third respectively. The first place was shockingly taken by a bow with the name of a deity—Snow God's Wrath. Compared to the Snow God, Medusa and Sonia's names were indeed less renowned. My shield barely made it onto the equipment list, just scraping into the tenth spot.

Both rings also made it onto the accessory list, but the top spot wasn't taken by my Dawn Goddess's Guardian, but by the Life Goddess's Favor, another item with a goddess's name. I couldn't understand what attribute could be better than my guardian ring. Fortunately, Sonia's Blood, though red, made it into the top five with its strong HP percentage boost.

After browsing through the various rankings, I felt a bit disheartened. I had thought I was quite impressive, but it turned out I wasn't. Among millions of players, there were many who had had extraordinary encounters.

Stepping out of the town hall in Tai Xi City, I noticed the brightness around me had diminished significantly. The option to hide glowing effects was now available. Without hesitation, I selected it, and the various green and blue lights on my body dimmed immediately.

Haha! Even if my equipment isn't the best, who else has as much as I do? Plus, Sonia provided me with plenty of materials—dragon-crafted, absolutely premium quality.

I took out the Medusa's Staff and two rings, put them on, and as expected, the former seven-colored glow was gone, making it look like just an ordinary staff.

"Hahaha!" I raised the staff and laughed heartily. Once I reach level 50 and become a sorcerer, learning advanced spells, who would know that this is a divine weapon?

"Congratulations, congratulations, brother, on finally being able to show yourself." Turning around, I saw the fat man and the thin man standing together before me. "Give me the land certificate..."

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Damn it! Can we not talk business as soon as we meet? Can't you see I'm in a good mood right now? "Here you go. From now on, my fortune depends on you..."

"Hehe, we'll make a fortune together. Let's go to the notary office and sign the lease agreement."

Walking through the vast Tai Xi City Hall, I listened to the fat man's rambling while waiting for the girl in purple to log on.

"Hey, you have no idea, old man. I just went back to check the price of the land, and damn, it really has increased tenfold." The fat man was spitting as he spoke, wearing a look of lingering fear.

"Tch! It's not your money anyway. Besides, now that it can be exchanged, even if it's a hundred times more, it's still nothing for your company..."

"Hehe, that's true, but we still saved ninety thousand coins."

"Hmph, of course. Do you know who handled it?"

After successfully signing the lease agreement, the damned system charged me a ten-coin handling fee... At this moment, I truly became the richest pauper in Destiny—equipped with top-ranked gear but with less than 100 coins in cash.

The fat man took the land certificate and ran off to handle his business. He had many tasks to take care of, such as building the auction house, applying for permits, advertising, and so on. The thin man also had to gather information and hire people to sell convenience manuals in the beginner villages.

In no time, I was left alone in the notary office, idly waiting for the girl in purple to log on. Meanwhile, Thunder Axe and his companions' avatars lit up.

"Hey, how's it going?" I opened a private chat and connected to Thunder Axe's channel.

"Hahaha, old man, you're here. We haven't seen you for days. We thought Apple Pig had driven you to stay offline." Thunder Axe's hearty laugh came through the chat.

Apple Pig? So that guy's name is Apple Pig. What a unique name, what a unique boss. I snorted inwardly. Apple Pig, I'll deal with you after I change classes.

"No way. I was just tired of his incessant cursing, so I stayed invisible. But I was actually online. By the way, where are you guys now? What level are you?"

"Oh, no wonder. We thought you weren't online. We've been in Tai Xi for a while now. We're all around level 40. Where are you?"

"I'm in Tai Xi too. Wait for me at the identification center."

"OK! Shui Ru Lan is here too. She's been wondering how you're going to thank her."

Dizzy! If it weren't for her staff, I wouldn't have been in such a sorry state that day... But then again, if it weren't for that cliff-jumping incident, I'd probably still be a small-time mage now...

I hurried to the identification center, and sure enough, there were the long-missed Thunder Axe, Shui Ru Lan, and Star Grass. But the team was missing Wandering Cloud and Salty Egg Superhuman.

"Wandering Cloud hasn't logged on yet. Salty Egg is in Eidia learning to be a pharmacist. He found gathering too dirty, so he switched to making potions and has now become the top pharmacist in Eidia." Seeing my confusion, Thunder Axe explained their whereabouts.

"Hehe~ You're all geared up now, aren't you? What about that staff of mine? Don't tell me you sold it." Shui Ru Lan looked me up and down with a smile. "I heard it has a curse skill. That's a good thing. So, how are you going to thank me?"

Well, well. To be honest, the curse skill on that staff is quite good. Especially after the fat man's appraisal, he said that despite its low level, it's a bane for warriors and assassins in PvP, so I've kept it.

"Hehe, of course. Look, I'm still keeping the gift from my dear sister Shui. I'd rather sell myself than sell it." I quickly swapped to the staff and waved it in front of Shui Ru Lan. "By the way, how did you know it has a curse skill?"

Shui Ru Lan rolled her eyes at my teasing and pouted as if she were angry.

"Hehe, it's all thanks to that Apple Pig. He ranted for two days at the rest stop, reporting all your stats and offering ten coins to anyone who killed you." Seeing Shui Ru Lan's embarrassed expression, everyone laughed, and Star Grass answered my question.

"Haha, he must raise the price now. Otherwise, no one will bother for ten coins." Tch, ten coins to buy a level from me? He can dream on.

"Exactly. So, what level are you now?" Thunder Axe asked, as it's hard to tell one's level just by looking at their gear, and none of them had learned identification skills.

"Hehe, just a bit behind you guys. By the way, shall we level up together?"

"Of course. Let's head to the Enchanted Forest. It's just right for our levels."

After recruiting two warriors, we left Tai Xi City. We originally wanted to recruit a warlock, but warlocks are quite rare these days. Fortunately, potion prices haven't increased since the introduction of currency exchange, so relying on potions to sustain us shouldn't be a problem.

The Enchanted Forest is the same forest I asked directions for that day, not too far away. The system upgrade also set up relay stations in each area, allowing for carriage travel, though the cost is steep, ranging from tens

As usual, I took out a piece of cloth and covered my face before getting on the carriage with them.

"Ehh, why are you still hiding your face? Are you still afraid of that Apple Pig?" Shui Rulan asked in surprise when she saw me masked.

"Hehe, it's a habit I can't shake off easily. Besides, the Enchanted Forest is likely to have their people too. Better to avoid trouble if we can. Leveling up is more important right now..."

I was being honest. Although I believed that Thunder Axe and the others wouldn't be afraid of that Apple Pig, everyone was busy leveling up. There was no need to waste precious time dealing with unnecessary trouble.

The carriage started moving, and the scenery along the way was endless.