Wu Shaochen walked over and used a skill called "Insight." The target was a level 21 skeleton warrior with 540 attack and 46,000 health. However, the skill was a long-range axe-throwing skill that dealt 170% damage, which also caused over a hundred points of damage to himself. He couldn't use it for farming because if he threw axes at a hundred of them at once, he would be instantly teleported back to the city.
Since he couldn't farm efficiently, he decided to lure them out and fight one by one. Wu Shaochen wasn't bothered by it; he had developed a trauma from farming in groups, so taking it slow was better.
In the newbie village, 11246, a charming and innocent-looking woman was killed by a rabbit again and returned to the city with a mix of stubbornness and resentment on her face.
"Oh! Isn't this our pure and innocent beauty from the newbie village? What's wrong? Got killed by a rabbit again?" Several young men mocked the woman when they saw her.
She ignored them and instead pondered the recent battle. After all, it was her first time playing a game, and she didn't know about the pitfalls of this game. Level 0 players couldn't handle rabbits alone, but at the moment, she thought she was just too inexperienced.
"You, why are you pretending to be high and mighty? Just call me 'brother,' and I'll immediately level you up," one of the young men persistently said.
"No, thank you," the woman politely replied, then turned and walked away. At that moment, a private message appeared in her chat box, and she opened it to read.
Weiwei: "Ziyin, why are you still at level 0? Aren't you brave enough to fight monsters?"
The woman was none other than Wu Shaochen's sister, Wu Ziyin. After entering the game, she didn't immediately start fighting monsters; instead, she immersed herself in the game's realism and enjoyed the scenery. It took a while before she remembered to fight monsters and level up, only to be repeatedly defeated by rabbits.
Reading the message from her best friend, Wu Ziyin felt a bit ashamed. "At first, I was scared, but then I tried, but I'm just too weak and can't defeat the rabbits."
"You're not trying to fight the rabbits one-on-one, are you?" Weiwei sent an astonished expression.
"Can't... fight them alone?" Wu Ziyin asked in confusion.
Weiwei: "Oh my, you're really something. Several weaklings turned you into this, daring to fight rabbits at level 0."
Then she continued, "In the early stages, players can't fight monsters alone. You need to find people to form a team and fight together."
"Oh, I see. Many people wanted to add me as a friend and level up together, but I feel like I shouldn't accept their help for no reason. Besides, I feel like they have ulterior motives, so I didn't agree to their requests," Wu Ziyin said.
Weiwei: "Well, how should I put it... forget it. I still have about ten silver coins here. Take them and buy some health potions. With potions, you'll be able to defeat the rabbits. But the potions in the shop are expensive, and this amount of money probably won't be enough to get you to level 1. It's a pity I sold all my equipment before reaching level 10; otherwise, I could have traded it to you."
After saying that, Weiwei initiated a remote trade with Wu Ziyin and transferred all her remaining 14 silver coins to her. With just this amount, she barely managed to buy potions. For regular players, it was difficult to save money while fighting monsters, and they could only afford to buy potions for themselves.
"I've given you all my savings. These 14 silver coins can only buy you 70 potions, which may not be enough to level up to 1. You'd better ask your brother for some help. Otherwise, with your unwillingness to team up with others, you'll never leave the newbie village in your entire life."
"Thank you, Weiwei."
After receiving the silver coins from Weiwei, Wu Ziyin went to the shop and indeed saw that even the lowest-level red health potion (small) cost 20 copper coins. She gritted her teeth and bought 70 bottles, then went out to fight rabbits once again.
With the support of the potions, Wu Ziyin could finally defeat the rabbits. However, she had to use a bottle of red potion for almost every rabbit she fought, which made her feel heartbroken. After all, one bottle of red potion was equivalent to two coins.
While everyone was nervously leveling up, a server-wide announcement suddenly resounded in everyone's ears.
"Server Announcement: Due to a player reaching level 20, the server-wide ranking list is now open. The level 20 instance, Linlang Secret Realm, has been unlocked. Players who reach level 20 can challenge it!"
The announcement repeated three times, leaving everyone shocked.
"Oh damn, someone reached level 20 so quickly? I'm only level 15!"
"Who is this amazing player leveling up so fast?"
"Are you dumb? Just open the ranking list and you'll know!"
"Right!"
Everyone immediately opened the ranking list:
Level Ranking:
1st place: Dust Seal, Level 20 Assassin.
2nd place: Shenwang, Level 18 Warrior.
3rd place: Yufei, Level 18 Archer.
4th place: Xueer, Level 17 Mage.
5th place: Yuanqi, Level 17 Mage.
6th place: Junlin, Level 17 Archer.
7th place: Fengyuewuqing, Level 17 Mage.
8th place: Fengye, Level 17 Warrior.
9th place: Shenzhu, Level 17 Warrior.
10th place: Diyu Shizhe, Level 17 Assassin.
Prestige Ranking:
1st place: Dust Seal: 6,100.
2nd place: Yufei: 3,600.
3rd place: Menghuan Qingwu: 3,400.
4th place: Shenwang: 3,000.
5th place: Junlin: 2,800.
6th place: Xueer: 2,700.
7th place: Aoshitianxia: 2,600.
8th place: Diyu Shizhe: 2,400.
9th place: Yuanqi: 2,200.
10th place: Fengyuewuqing: 2,000.
Equipment Ranking:
1st place: [Soul Devouring Dagger], Silver Grade.
2nd place: [Black Wind Leather Armor], Silver Grade.
3rd place: [Silver Moon Bow], Silver Grade.
4th place: [Furious Wind Bracelet], Silver Grade.
5th place: [Black Wind Helmet], Silver Grade.
6th place: [Silver Moon Ring], Silver Grade.
7th place: [Azure Edge Leather Armor], Silver Grade.
Eighth place: Silver-ranked "Blue Scale Armor."
Ninth place: Silver-ranked "Blue Gang Necklace."
Tenth place: Silver-ranked "Blue Scale Legguards."
Money Ranking:
First place: "Dust Seal" with 734 gold coins.
Second place: "I Only Recognize Money" with 369 gold coins.
Third place: "Divine Master" with 236 gold coins.
Fourth place: "Origin of Fate" with 208 gold coins.
Fifth place: "Unfeeling Wind and Moon" with 186 gold coins.
Sixth place: "World of Pride" with 165 gold coins.
Seventh place: "Hell's Messenger" with 144 gold coins.
Eighth place: "Divine King" with 132 gold coins.
Ninth place: "Apostle Walker" with 114 gold coins.
Tenth place: "Dreamy Dance" with 102 gold coins.
Pet Ranking:
First place: "Silver Wolf" at level 16, with A-grade aptitude.
Second place: "Gray" at level 11, with B-grade talent.
Third place: "Chubby" at level 10, with B-grade talent.
Fourth place: "Cute" at level 10, with D-grade talent.
Wu Shaochen was also checking the rankings. Just as he reached level 20, he suddenly heard a server-wide announcement, but he didn't react at all.
Looking at himself topping all the rankings, Wu Shaochen didn't feel excited; instead, he felt anxious.
"Hey, Main Brain Dad, can we have a function to hide information? I'll get ambushed as soon as I go out." Wu Shaochen shouted into the air, but there was no response.
"This is so unfair." The rankings almost exposed everything about him, making him feel a chill down his spine. He constantly felt like someone would harm him. The only consolation was that the equipment and pets didn't display the owner's name. Otherwise, on the equipment ranking alone, five items belonged to him. He couldn't imagine how many people would envy him.
With the release of the rankings, the regional channels of the major cities in the server and the forums instantly became lively.
"Damn, this Dust Seal is too powerful, monopolizing three top spots! And the lead is significant."
"The person above has a narrow perspective. I can tell just by calculating that the number one on the equipment ranking, the Soul Devouring Dagger, should also be his. You know he's an assassin, right?"
"The first on the pet ranking might also be his. A friend from Jinling City said they saw him accompanied by a wolf-type pet. There are only four pets in total on the pet ranking, and the wolf-type one is definitely the first, the Silver Wolf."
"Damn, does that mean he's going to dominate the rankings?"
"Don't you guys notice his gold coins? Over 700! Is he robbing people?"
"Damn, I didn't realize until you mentioned it. How does he have so much? Our guild leader collects gold coins every day and only gets a few dozen."
"Ah, it's a shame I'm not knowledgeable. One sentence: Dust Seal is awesome!"