Wu Shaochen quickly finished his meal and rushed back home. He put on his helmet and logged back into the game. This was a time when every second counted; he couldn't afford to waste time. To be stronger than others in the game, he had to work harder than them. Wealthy players had gaming pods and didn't need to log off, so he could only grind relentlessly.
Upon logging back in, he was still standing in the job change hall in Jinling City. He immediately checked his backpack. He hadn't yet looked at the two skill books he received as rewards from the system. When he saw the two skill books, especially the golden one, his breath quickened, and all his previous frustrations vanished.
**[Immortal Body]** Special Passive Skill (Unique): Each time you kill a monster that is not lower than your own level, your maximum health permanently increases by 1 point.
"This is definitely a skill on par with my talent, and it's a unique skill. It seems like fate wants me to rise. The assassin's burst damage is already terrifying, but what if this assassin is as tanky as a shield guard? How despairing would that be for my opponents?"
If he were to sell this skill, the price would be unimaginable. But such a skill, being unique, was not something he could sell. He didn't need money now, so selling it was out of the question. With trembling hands, he took out the invaluable skill book from his bag and silently learned it. Seeing the skill appear in his skill bar, he finally felt secure. If he hadn't learned it, it would have felt too dreamlike. Then he looked at the other skill book in his backpack:
**[Void]**: Clears all negative effects from yourself and enters the void space, making you untargetable for 1 second. Consumes 100 mana, cooldown: 5 minutes. Requirements: Assassin.
Another god-tier skill. Wu Shaochen quickly learned it. The value of either of these skills was immeasurable. It was worth enduring hunger to get the first place reward.
After learning these skills, along with the two basic assassin skills, he now had six skills in his skill bar:
**[Insight]**: View information about monsters up to 10 levels higher than yourself. No mana cost, no cooldown.
**[Swift]**: Increases movement speed by 50% and attack speed by 50% for 30 seconds. Consumes 50 mana, cooldown: 2 minutes.
**[Stealth]**: Enter stealth mode, reducing movement speed by 30% for 5 minutes. Consumes 1 mana per second. Cooldown: 1 minute. Attacking, being attacked, or being touched will break stealth. Can be manually deactivated. Note: Bosses 10 levels higher than you or ordinary monsters 30 levels higher can detect stealth. Additionally, archers' Eagle Eye can also detect stealth.
**[Backstab]**: Attack from behind the target, dealing 150% physical damage and ignoring 50% of the target's defense. Consumes 30 mana, cooldown: 30 seconds.
**[Immortal Body]**: Special Passive Skill (Unique): Each time you kill a monster that is not lower than your own level, your maximum health permanently increases by 1 point.
**[Void]**: Clears all negative effects from yourself and enters the void space, making you untargetable for 1 second. Consumes 100 mana, cooldown: 5 minutes.
Seeing these skills made Wu Shaochen eager to start grinding immediately. However, he restrained himself. First, he needed to explore the main city, get familiar with it, and see if there were any quests available.
Wu Shaochen walked out of the job change hall and onto the street. He saw that the buildings lining the main street were mostly everyday necessities, such as weapon shops, clothing stores, jewelry stores, pharmacies, and general stores.
When he walked into the weapon shop and opened the purchase menu, his face instantly darkened. "Damn, they're stealing my business!" he thought. The shop was selling various common-grade equipment, making it impossible for him to sell his common-grade items in the future. Fortunately, he had already sold all his common-grade items in the novice village and made a profit. With that in mind, he let it go, realizing it wasn't a big deal. Moreover, common-grade equipment above level 10 had level requirements, so players would likely not be interested in them in the future.
Besides buying and selling weapons, the weapon shop also offered the ability to learn the life skill of weapon forging. With this skill, players could craft their own weapons. Each player could learn up to three life skills, but Wu Shaochen decided against learning any life skills. They were too time-consuming, especially in the early stages, and crafting good equipment required both money and time. He figured it was better to spend his time killing bosses.
He figured the clothing store and jewelry store were similar, so he headed to the general store. There, he bought two teleportation scrolls for 10 silver coins each, which he thought was quite expensive. Suddenly, he noticed a map scroll priced at 1 gold coin.
"What's so expensive about this thing?" Wu Shaochen wondered. He looked at the item description:
**[Map Scroll]**: Activates the map function upon use. This scroll records the distribution of monsters within a 10-kilometer radius around Jinling City.
"I knew it, that's why there was no map function in the game. Thankfully, the novice village wasn't large, or I would've gotten lost. So, you need to buy a map scroll to activate the map function. 1 gold coin, what a rip-off."
Despite his complaints, Wu Shaochen didn't hesitate to buy it. After all, he had over 90 gold coins. Moreover, this was something every player would need. After purchasing and using the scroll, the map function lit up. When he opened it, he saw detailed information about the 10-kilometer radius around Jinling City, including monster locations. Areas beyond that were blacked out and required exploration. The map would automatically light up and record areas as players walked through them.
"Not bad, worth the money," Wu Shaochen muttered to himself. He continued exploring Jinling City, which was vast. Besides the functional NPC areas, there was an NPC residential area where various NPCs lived. Some might have special quests, but with many NPC residents, quests were rare and depended on luck. Special quest rewards were usually excellent.
There was also a player trading area where players could set up stalls and trade freely without any fees, making it more economical than the auction house. There were also shops for sale where players could place their items for sale without having to stay there, which was more convenient than setting up a stall. However, the shops required a hefty amount of gold to purchase. Wu Shaochen was tempted to buy a shop to save on transaction fees but gave up the idea when he found out they cost at least tens of thousands of gold coins. The auction house was more convenient for now.
Further down, he saw an arena, taverns, and the lord's mansion, which left him dazzled.
While walking, he arrived at a massive building on par with the job change hall. The building was inscribed with three large characters: "War God Hall."
Curious, Wu Shaochen walked in. The gigantic War God Hall was lined with lifelike statues on either side, with a path leading to a swirling portal at the end. He approached one of the statues of a middle-aged man. The inscription on the statue read:
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**Sacred Light Year 356:** War God Grib single-handedly slew dozens of Star-level magical beasts and held off an Immortal-level magical beast for two full hours before finally perishing. He was posthumously titled War God and enshrined in the War God Hall.
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Wu Shaochen then walked to another statue of a noble-looking woman with silver hair. The inscription on this statue read:
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**Sacred Light Year 487:** Ice Law God, by transforming herself into a forbidden curse, froze three thousand miles of land, encapsulating the Sinful Demon Lord and his army of a million magical beasts. Her actions made a tremendous contribution to the survival of humanity. She was posthumously titled Law God and enshrined in the War God Hall.
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After reading these inscriptions, Wu Shaochen marveled at the heroism and sacrifice of these legendary figures. He felt a surge of inspiration and ambition, imagining himself achieving similar legendary status within the game. However, he reminded himself that he still needed to explore the War God Hall and see what opportunities it might offer.