"Come buy, come see! Newbie gear, great quality at a good price!"
"Lvl 15 warrior LF group, super tank, leading the charge against monsters, whisper me!"
"Leveling party forming, 1 gold per level 10-15, hurry up! Free carry for warlocks."
...
Various noisy voices echoed around me as I appeared in the center of a village. People kept materializing from white light beside me. I glanced down at myself—dressed in light blue cloth pants and tunic, with a wooden sword in hand.
Surrounded by people in all sorts of attire—some in plain cloth, others in various types of armor, and some emitting blue or green glows.
I sighed inwardly. Is this really inside a game?
"Hey, kid, move aside, you're blocking the way." A burly man in iron armor roared impatiently from behind.
I quickly stepped forward, making way, watching as the man hurried past me.
"Hey, excuse me, where is this place?" I didn't know where I came from, but I needed to figure out where I was now.
"Outside Adia Port, a small village by the sea." The man replied hastily before adding, "Idiot, doesn't even know where he is."
Am I dumb? I smiled wryly... If my fragmented memories aren't lying to me, I should be quite smart, maybe even a PhD? But I dare not dwell on the details, it could drive me crazy. Based on what little I recall clearly, I seem to be inside a game. I vaguely remember a game that claimed to allow people to experience it like real life. Could this be it?
But where is my reality?
"It takes some getting used to at first. You can check the help information anytime by just thinking about needing help." A girl's voice came from behind, "I apologize for my companion's tone, he's just straightforward, don't mind him." The girl smiled warmly.
"Oh, no worries, I'm new here and a bit lost." The girl was really pretty, holding a slender wand emitting a faint blue light. Her clothes were much nicer than the plain ones the newbies were wearing—made of silk with hints of scales.
"Hehe, that's alright. I've got to catch up now, everyone got wiped in the boss fight just now, we're heading back in. Or I could level you up for a bit." The girl smiled again, then quickly ran off.
Interesting. Though I've been busy with studies, I do remember dabbling in a few games. But surely, playing a game can't be that difficult if you're not a complete idiot.
I found a quieter spot and followed the girl's advice, silently thinking about needing help. Sure enough, a massive image appeared before my eyes, detailing everything from character attributes to professions to game rules.
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It took me a whole two hours to go through the entire manual.
Name: Can't Remember
Strength: 1
Agility: 2
Constitution: 1
Spirit: 28
Intelligence: 18
Luck: ??
HP/MP: 50/50
Attack: 5-7
Physical Defense: 2
Magic Defense: 15%
Evasion: 10%
Accuracy: 50%
...
According to the manual, a player's initial attributes are based on a comprehensive scan of the player's physical data. So, why are my strength, agility, and constitution so poor? I distinctly remember being a basketball guard in school, how can my physical stats be this bad? And why is my spirit so high? Am I really that old wizard on his last legs?
I howled to the sky in frustration. This is ridiculous! Even though I don't know where my body is, I'm certain something is seriously wrong with it!
Players around me looked at me with disdain, as if I were some kind of monster.
"Nutcase..."
"Must be his first time playing..."
Feeling helpless, a hand waved in front of my eyes, followed by a plump face with an infinitely kind and innocent smile.
"Hey buddy, wake up. Even if you're excited, there's no need to express it so directly." The sincere voice kindly reminded me.
Embarrassed, I smiled sheepishly and mumbled a few apologies. I started thinking about what to do next. From what I heard and saw, the game has been in open beta for about ten days. In that time, the highest-level players are already in their 40s, and the manual also mentioned that leveling becomes extremely difficult after level 40. So, even if I've been wandering in the dark for who knows how long, I need to make some progress here!
With a clear goal in mind, stepping out of the newbie village is stepping into the domain of Stilem. Despite the game having been in open beta for some time, there are still many newbies, indicating its popularity. I wonder how things will be after official launch.
I pulled out my wooden sword and started hacking away. Sadly, with my aspiration to become a mage, starting with 1 strength, 2 agility, and fighting Stilem is tough. After more than ten slashes, I finally saw my experience bar move by a third, and the Stilem rewarded me with three copper coins.
Persistence pays off! I just need to endure until level 10 to change professions and things will look up. In "Destiny," attribute points aren't chosen by players, but determined based on their constitution, which suggests the best-suited profession. With each level up, players receive a point to allocate. If you're low on strength but want to be a warrior, you can focus all your points on strength to fulfill your knightly dreams. However, this way your initial start will be lower compared to players naturally high in strength. Of course, as levels increase, these differences will gradually diminish, and eventually disappear in skills, tactics, and equipment. This is also a fair aspect of the game.
But with my attributes... it seems like a joke, really. Even though I don't know what happened to my body, these stats are definitely abnormal. Poor strength, agility, and constitution make it hard for me to face the small Stilem in front of me.
"Hey, the guy who could be blown away by the wind, want to team up?"
A tall warrior with a glowing blue axe yelled at me, "We're short one person for leveling up, if you can give up on loot rights, we'll help you level."
Accompanying the warrior were four clearly leveled players—three men and one woman. There was also another newbie like me.
"Player Thunder Axe invites you to team up, do you accept?" Of course, I accept.
Once we've found a connection, my teammates and I carefully accumulate experience. After leaving the Stilem area, we encounter wild rabbits and deer camps. However, these are just 8th-level rabbits and deer camps compared to the level 20 wolves ahead.
Wild Wolves, long known for producing fine, tough wolves, are also famous for their harshness. The 18th-level Wolf of the Plains is a treasure, the highest-level experience not only produced from wolves but also high-quality materials such as wolf skin and wolf teeth. Its BOSS, the Wolf King, is known to spew out 30 levels of advanced skill books, so it leveling rich good spot.