James's tall, slender figure appeared in the newbie village. Looking up, he saw an extremely distant mountain peak towering into the clouds on the horizon. That mountain was called Prospect Mountain.
James couldn't help but be dazed for a moment. That mountain would be the first place he would go after changing his class.
What surprised James was that he had originally thought there wouldn't be many people choosing this as their spawn point, since the system had prompted that it wasn't suitable for beginners to develop here.
However, when James saw the dense crowd of spirited players, with more people continuously appearing in white light around them, he realized that the more such a prompt was given, the more it would attract players wanting to take on the challenge.
Every player fancied themselves exceptional. Since the system dared to give such a prompt, it only served to pique the players' desire to take on the challenge even more.
In his previous life, James did not choose this as his spawn point, so currently he was unfamiliar with the terrain here, as well as where the faster leveling spots, treasure chests, and quests were located.
'Open character panel,' James thought, and a character attribute interface only visible to him immediately appeared before his eyes.
----------------------------------------------------------------
[ Player Name: BladeRunner ]
[ Country: France ]
[ Class: Warrior ]
[ Level: 0 ]
[ Body: Martial God Body - All attributes permanently +10 and +120 for health (Every 10 levels the player gains, their body will gain additional bonuses on top of the original base.) ]
[ Strength: 13 (+10 from body) ]
[ Agility: 11 (+10 from body) ]
[ Intelligence: 11 (+10 from body) ]
[ Stamina: 30 (+10 from body) ]
[ Health: 270 (+120 from body) ]
[ Mana: 60 (+50 from body) ]
[ Attack Power: 25 (+10 from body, +2 from training sword, +1 per point of Strength) ]
[ Hit Rate: 12 (+10 from body) ]
[ Crit Rate: 10 (+10 from body) ]
[ Crit Damage: 10% (+10% from body) ]
[ Magic Resistance: 10 (+10 from body) ]
[ Senses: 10 (+10 from body) ]
[ Attack Speed: 11 (+10 from body) ]
[ Movement Speed: 12 (+10 from body) ]
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Players gain 5 free attribute points per level, which can only be assigned to Strength, Agility, and Intelligence. The other attributes cannot be raised directly and have no options to do so - they can only be increased through equipment bonuses.
Taking his first step, James's figure instantly solidified into physical form.
"Wow, so tall!" A young female player next to him exclaimed in surprise, looking up at James.
"Wouldn't a character model this tall look really slow when running?"
Players rarely modified their avatars' body types, with only those suffering from dwarfism or gigantism making adjustments for a normal appearance.
The surrounding players gazed up at James, who indeed towered over everyone else.
A disdainful look flashed across James's eyes. You simply don't understand the bearing of a rebirth.
As a reborn player, he needed an invincible presence.
His gaze surveyed all under heaven from a lofty, god-like perspective looking down. What did it mean to look up?
Without moving, he could exude immense oppression. He would make them understand this clearly. James thought to himself with a slight curl of his lips, a tinge of deviance in his expression, as he left the spawn point.
"He moves pretty fast, doesn't he?" The girl continued watching his towering back, surprised to see James overtake many other players already.
By rights, players starting out should all move at the same speed initially, so this situation shouldn't occur. The cute girl's eyes held puzzlement.
"Idiot, he definitely has a movement speed bonus from his body," her friend next to her scoffed, eyes filled with envy towards James.
Having a movement speed bonus right from the start would undoubtedly save a lot of time.
James had a long sword hanging at his waist and was wearing a newbie outfit - the lowest grade of equipment.
In [ Celestial Realm ], equipment grades from lowest to highest were:
Common,
Bronze,
Silver,
Gold,
Platinum,
Diamond,
and Divine.
Newbie equipment didn't even qualify as Common grade - it was more like simple coverings for the body.
Seeing the many players gathered around the NPC*s, constantly conversing with them, and even groups of players brandishing knives and wooden sticks as they marched aggressively out of the village, James couldn't help but feel amazed at the scene once more.
Note*:Non-Playable Character
"Really, there aren't any more, no more tasks," an elderly NPC villager said with an impatient and helpless look. He truly had no more quests to give out, yet the players surrounding him still looked unconvinced.
Watching those players chatter endlessly, saliva flying from their mouths as they spoke animatedly, the NPC villager felt miserable inside. He really couldn't stand this bunch of motormouths any longer, yet he didn't dare speak up, because he knew that once he did, those players would be like raging madmen questioning him non-stop, refusing to leave.
The newbie village was just that - a village with a main road and smaller paths leading up into the mountains. There were no fences restricting movement, with paths leading out in every direction - it was just up to the players whether they were willing to leave or not.
From a god's eye view, the players were spreading out in all directions with the village as the center.
First, James entered a general store. There weren't many players inside. When spawning, each player received 10 initial copper coins, equivalent to 10 cents of real currency.
Money was no object for James. He bought some bandages, but seeing no weapons or equipment for sale, he headed out towards the mountainside.
This village had no health potions, only bandages. Using bandages required 10 uninterrupted seconds, and any interruption meant having to restart, resulting in very slow health recovery.
This was a rather short mountain that connected to the distant ranges - the peaks couldn't be seen from here.
Once outside the village bounds, many players started running by expending stamina. When their stamina reached zero, they had to switch to walking. Resting by sitting would recover stamina faster.
With 10 more stamina points than regular players, plus his increased movement speed, James could run farther and faster.
James walked calmly up the mountainside, consciously distancing himself from the other players. Before long, he looked around and saw no other players nearby, only faint figures in the distance.
At that moment, James's figure tensed, pushing off the ground and kicking up dirt as his towering frame burst into a sprint towards the unpopulated mountain woods.
In the early game stages, any abnormality could lead to endless trouble. James didn't want his speed to attract players' curiosity.
That would only bring a swarm of annoyances buzzing around your ears.
James ran until he reached the area with level 1 mobs. As a level 0 player, James could theoretically solo level 1 mobs, but it would be very slow and inefficient.
However, this time thanks to the bonuses from his Martial God Body, James no longer had any interest in level 1 mobs and was sprinting towards higher level areas instead.
His top priority now was to reach level 10 to complete the class change quest and leave the newbie village behind.
When James's stamina bar dropped to zero, he stopped in a bamboo grove with no other players around.
A gentle breeze blew by, increasing James's senses - it truly felt no different from the real world.
At that moment, a faint rustling sound came from nearby. James turned his head slightly towards a dense thicket, spotting a distinctive snake body slowly slithering within.
[ Flower Snake-Level 3 ]
It was a level 3 Flower Snake, non-venomous.
'Amidst the endless piles of corpses, you shall be the first to lie trampled under my feet.'
Drawing his training sword, James approached the thicket and stabbed at the [ Flower Snake ] inside.
[ -46! ]
James was startled - such monstrous damage would undoubtedly shock anyone witnessing it.
What kind of effect allowed attack power beyond the limit? James's listed attack power was only 25, so what caused over 50 damage?
The answer was the bonus from his critical hit damage attribute. The higher one's hit rate, the higher the chance of scoring a critical hit, which could then trigger devastating critical hit damage - especially against enemies with lower defense or when the attacker has stat advantages.
Simply put, a critical hit maximized one's attack power, while critical hit damage allowed damage to exceed the attack power limit. The higher this attribute, the more monstrous the damage numbers.
Fortunately, battle information only appeared in the player's own view. Without being in a party, others couldn't see the damage numbers you dealt. Other players observing your attacks could only estimate your damage by the target's remaining health.
What's the saying - "stirring up a snake in the grass"*? That's exactly what James was doing now.
Note*: A hidden enemy or danger
Relying on his high attack speed, James stabbed again before the [ Flower Snake ] could retaliate!
His towering figure stood at the edge of the thicket, sword stabbing repeatedly inwards.
[ -25], [ -23 ], [ -24 ] - a streak of critical hits. James's previous terrifying damage was clearly a critical hit effect.
James's strikes all hit their mark, thanks to his high hit rate stat. Normally, players trying to grind higher level mobs struggled with low hit rates causing many of their attacks to whiff, resulting in very slow efficiency.
Moreover, only attacks that hit the mob could trigger critical hits, which then had a chance to deal critical hit damage.
To land a critical hit damage effect on his very first strike after rebirth was undoubtedly an auspicious start. The [ Flower Snake ] coiled its body, opening its jaws wide as it hissed and lunged at James.
The snake's ferocious appearance was truly no different from the real world, especially in the more terrifying instances and maps - which was why many female players didn't dare to solo grind.
James slightly sidestepped, evading the attack.
He could actually dodge attacks?
Come on, this game really was just like reality. What, you think I'll just stand there trading blows mindlessly? Though his level was low, with correspondingly slow reflexes and movement speed, these basic mobs also attacked slowly enough for him to properly react for now.
However, early on many players did indeed struggle to adapt, with that silly "you hit me, I hit you back" style of mindless fighting prevalent for a while.
The [ Flower Snake ] fell, James having defeated it in under 20 seconds. Glancing at his experience bar, it had inched up only a tiny sliver despite the level difference and his streak of critical hits.
This small gain highlighted just how tough leveling up would be in this game world.
Without stops, James charged deeper into the woods, spotting a [ Horned Wolf Pup ] wandering about. Like the previous [ Flower Snake ], it was also level 3.
James's sword flashed as he rushed forward, the [ Horned Wolf Pup ] turning to face him with a growl. But before it could react, James's blade had already stabbed through its skull, instantly slaying it.
[ -72 critical hit! ]
James's eyes lit up. With the advantages of his body and that initial critical hit damage, even level 3 mobs weren't much trouble for now.
Leaving the corpse behind, he continued onwards at full speed, spotting a pack of 5 [ Horned Wolves ] level 4 ahead. James drew in a deep breath, gripping his sword tightly as he charged straight towards them!
The wolves turned with startled growls, pacing warily as they caught sight of James's imposing figure. However, before they could coordinate, James's sword was among them, a whirlwind of slashes and stabs.
His towering body moved with an agility and speed disproportionate to his size, sword flashing as it wove among the wolves, cutting them down one by one!
[ -83! ]
[ -62! ]
[ -71! ]
...
James's attacks landed almost perfectly, each strike triggering either a critical hit or devastating critical hit damage against the outmatched wolves.
In merely 20 seconds, all 5 [ Horned Wolves ] laid slain at James's feet. His experience bar had jumped up significantly, over a quarter of the way to level 2 already!
Looking at the corpses around him, James couldn't help but let out an excited laugh. Relying on his transcendent body, even these level 4 mobs posed no threat. His path of slaughter could begin!