"The player selection is over. I wonder if there will be any new players in Firefly Town?"
"There should be. There was five last month."
「Location: Shenxia Land. Firefly Town, Qianjiang City」
As May came to a close, people started to feel the rising heat in the air.
It was noon, and a few young people in their 20s and 30s were chatting in a courtyard.
"Let's wait a little longer. We can register in that building over there if we're chosen to be players."
The building they were talking about was the Shenxia Player Alliance's branch in Firefly Town.
It was a rule for the people in Shenxia that all new players must register with the Alliance.
So it became a common place for new players and would-be-players of Firefly Town to gather after, and sometimes during, the selection period.
Just as the man had convinced his friend to stay, a black-haired young man entered the Alliance building.
...
"Welcome. Are you here to register as a player?"
"Yes, I am." Ling Yi nodded.
"Please open the Personal Stats."
"Yes." He replied and proceeded to do as he was told.
『Name: Ling Yi
[Player Number: 200666-00033]
[Level: 1 (0/200)]
[Talent: Luck]
[Strength: 3]
[MP: 5]
[Agility: 3]
[Vitality: 3]
[Endurance: 3 (note: average stats of an ordinary person is 3. Max stat is 5)]
[Skill: None ]
[Combat Strength: Ordinary Human] 』
"Here you go," He said.
The official lady quickly recorded all the information into the computer in front of her.
Then she asked Ling Yi to provide his identification card.
Once everything was saved into the system, his player profile was finally completed.
Name: Ling Yi
[ID Number: ...]
[Player Number: ...]
[Level: 1]
The player file only had these four pieces of information on display. The purpose was to bind the ID number to the unique player number of each player.
Talent and attributes were private and would not be recorded into the file.
As for the level ...
"This is your Level 1 subsidy." The official lady handed him a black bank card, "When you reach level 10, you'll receive even more generous subsidies. And for every ten levels you have achieved after that, please return to receive your reward."
The subsidy was a reward program that Shenxia had set up to support new players and to encourage them to progress their skills, which is why the player's level must be displayed to avoid fraud.
"Alright," He said.
Ling Yi took the bank card and turned around to leave.
A little perplexed at the sudden departure, the official lady was stunned but immediately called out to him, "Sir, wait!"
"What?" Ling Yi stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her. "Is there anything else?"
There was a trace of confusion in his dark eyes.
The official lady took out a gift bag from under the table, then pointed to the cabinet on the side of the room, "Here in Firefly Branch, we give every new player a small gift. You can choose between one of the two."
Looking in the direction she was pointing, he saw two solid wood cabinets standing by the entrance door.
The cabinet on the left stored red medicine, while the other stored yellow pills.
"I'm sure you already know what these things are, but I will give you a brief explanation for formalities." The official lady walked over and stood right between the two cabinets. "The one on the left is the beginner's health potion. For most players below level 10, one bottle can restore a large amount of health."
"If an ordinary person drinks it, no matter how much blood they lose, they will immediately and completely recover."
"The one on the right is a stamina pill; as the name suggests, it is used to recover your stamina."
These two meds were the lowest level items a player could get. And it can be easily obtained on God's Path.
Ling Yi wasn't interested in any of them, and instead, he casually replied, "I'll take the physical strength pill."
"Uh... A physical strength pill?" The lady was a little taken aback, but she quickly recovered, "I would suggest that you take the health potion. It's more valuable."
"Mm… Then I'll take the health potion."
The official lady smiled and led Ling Yi to the door.
She then placed the [Beginner Health Potion] and [Strength Pill] into his gift bag.
"Uh..." When he saw what she had slipped in, Ling Yi was stunned for a moment before he took the gift bag from the smiling woman.
"Thank you," He said and couldn't help returning her smile. Either because her smile infected him or because he felt the warmth in his chest.
...
When he got home, Ling Yi placed the gift bag on the table and lay on the sofa, letting out a long breath.
"Huaaa~"
He can feel every inch of his body relaxing in an instant.
His house was relatively small, only about 15 square meters in area. When he first moved here, the Union Relief workers thought he was a victim, whatever that means, and specially provided him with a place to live.
Since his identity card was still in process at that time, he could not prove his citizenship and just let the workers think what they wanted to think.
Although his home was small, it had a complete set of furniture such as tables, chairs, and a bed cabinet.
He even had a sofa and TV in his room that no one else had. He was a little suspicious that maybe someone had been secretly helping him, but he shrugged it off as coincidence.
"I've finally become a Player..."
Ling Yi muttered to himself. There was a hint of anticipation and fire in his eyes.
The God's Path…
The path to godhood that people spoke of.
Since its appearance 20 years ago, many organizations held a player selection at the end of every month.
Only the top one million humans could qualify as players. Those who obtained the qualifications to be a player could enter God's Path on the second day after the selection, which was usually the first of the following month.
He had officially started his life as a player and an extraordinary human.
Feeling excitement bubbling in his chest, Ling Yi immediately turned on the television, wanting to see if he could get more information from the television.
However, as soon as he turned on the TV, a lot of hot news popped up on the screen.
"A 90-meter tall tsunami! The dark organization 'Sacred Gate' had launched another attack! We still don't know why they attacked a small, nameless city—"
"Phoenix Sword Saint 'Nangong Li' has killed a level 55 rare monster, the green flame undying bird. She has obtained the eight-star skill 'Undying Bird Scale'!"
"After three months, the White Eagle Champion, 'Asi', has finally risen from level 92 to Level 93, becoming the first level 93 player in the world!"
"The Army of monsters has arrived at the Rhine River. The once glorious Rhine City is now shattered in ruin—"
"A new bounty has been released. Twenty-seven new wanted criminals with a reward of over 100 million are added to the list!"
"..."
Even though he had only been here for a day, Ling Yi knew that this world was many times more dangerous than his previous life.
But what can he do other than be grateful for transmigrating into another world?
'It's a good thing I live right across the Firefly branch. No need to walk to such lengths to be safe and I'm safe for the time being. But I still need to get stronger as soon as possible.'
He didn't need to force himself to be strong.
It was good enough that he could still live to see another day. The 'him' of the past had sacrificed himself to save someone. Perhaps it was the kindness of the heavens that allowed him to come here as an 18-year-old.
Since that was the case, he would not let this chance go to waste. He would also live on as positively and optimistically as before.
Feeling more fired-up, he turned the TV to the "God's Path" channel and browsed the content more seriously.
Ling Yi turned off the TV two hours later and rubbed the space between his eyebrows. He then let out a long, helpless sigh.
'There's no time to waste. If I can't quickly gain some advantage before level 10, it'll only get harder and harder later.'
From what he understood through the channel's "crash course", God's Path has what people called a "novice period".
It was almost impossible for any "normal" players below level 10 to improve, unlike some people with resources from their own families or organization.
So this "novice period" was the only chance for unspecialized people like Ling Yi to level up.
If he or any of these new players couldn't level up within this period, it would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens to catch up, especially against this group of people who had all the support and resources to help them.
"What should I do tomorrow?" As if answering his question, Ling Yi heard someone say…
Ding!