Legend has it that, in the vast universe, there exists a World Tree that connects all realms. Each of its leaves holds a complete world, including Argoth, and of course… Terra!
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As the white light dissipated, Ethan found himself standing in a small town.
**[Adventure Log: You have discovered Frostleaf Town. Experience +1.]**
"Same as my last life. The starting village is still Frostleaf Town."
The region where a player descends is determined by their location on Terra, with most players landing in Argoth Prime. There were other primary worlds too, such as the Toril Main World and the Eberron Main World.
Frostleaf Town was just one of many starting villages, nestled at the southern foot of Dragonspire Mountain, the highest peak in The Northlands.
Looking around, Ethan could see cobblestone streets running through the town. Lining the streets were various shops: a blacksmith's forge, general stores, potion shops, and guild halls for different professions. There were also residential buildings of varying heights, huddled together for warmth.
It looked like it had recently snowed, as traces of snow still clung to the rooftops and tree branches.
Ethan stood in the central square of the town, dressed in a gray cloth robe, holding a wooden short staff, and with a leather pouch hanging from his waist—a typical rookie appearance.
Apart from him, there were plenty of other players in the square. They had set out their wares on the ground, hawking their loot.
"Don't miss out! Silver Scale Chestplate, only 5 gold!"
"Looking for a strong healer for a dungeon run—only accepting girls!"
"Rogue here, I just learned the Scouting skill, guaranteed 100% trap detection."
"Help! My girlfriend was captured by goblins, can someone save her?"
"Anyone want to explore a new map? I'm a level 3 fire mage, specializing in fireballs."
As Ethan listened to the noise around him and took in the familiar scene, a smile crept across his face.
"Frostleaf Town, I'm back again! Open the stats panel."
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**[ID: Dustwalker]**
**[Race: Human]**
**[Basic Attributes: Strength 10, Agility 11, Constitution 10, Spirit 11, Intelligence 9]**
**[Special Attributes: Charisma 1, Luck 0]**
**[Class: Magician (Level 0)]**
**[Talents: One More Time (Unique), Twin Shadows (S)]**
**[Feats: None]**
**[Skills: None]**
**[Items: Wooden Staff]**
**[Wealth: 100 copper coins]**
**[Status: Slightly Cold]**
**[Attribute Points: 0]**
**[Note 1: You gain 1 attribute point for every level gained, and 1 feat every 2 levels.]**
**[Note 2: In addition to leveling up, you can acquire attributes and feats through training or instruction from NPCs.]**
**[Note 3: Special attributes do not increase with levels and are fixed between -10 and +10.]**
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The basic stats for an adult human male usually averaged around 10. Having two stats at 11, Ethan was doing quite well.
"Time to start leveling up. *Godfall* has been live for a few days now, so I need to catch up. But first, I need to buy some gear and skill books."
Closing the stats panel, Ethan walked to one of the stalls in the square. The stall owner was a shield-bearing warrior, looking young and wiry. Though his clothes were tattered, the shield on his back was genuine black iron gear.
At this stage of the game, most players were still using common equipment, so having black iron gear likely meant the player was somewhat skilled.
**[Equipment Quality: Common, Black Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Purple Gold, Epic, Legendary…]**
"Hey man, take a look at whatever you want. Prices are fair!" said the warrior, casually wiping his weapon. He didn't pay much attention to Ethan, seeing him as just another rookie.
Ethan didn't mind and began sifting through the items. After a moment, he asked, "Do you have any magician skill books?"
"Magician?"
The warrior blinked, then shook his head. "Nah, that class is too niche. The skill books for it drop very rarely."
"What about general skill books?" Ethan pressed on.
In *Godfall*, skills were divided into two categories: general skills and class-specific skills.
General skills were accessible to all players, with no restrictions. Class-specific skills, on the other hand, required certain conditions to be met before learning them.
For example, a spell like *Teleportation* required a minimum of 20 points in both Intelligence and Spirit to learn, making it a mage-focused skill. Similarly, *God's Eye* was meant for priests, *Shadowstep* for rogues, and *Bloodhound* for hunters.
Compared to class-specific skills, general skills were rarer and more expensive.
Hearing Ethan ask for general skills, the warrior frowned slightly, thinking to himself, *This rookie's got big ambitions if he's asking for general skills. Does he even have the money?*
The warrior curled his lip and responded dismissively, "I've got *Insight* for 3 gold coins and *Blink* for 10 gold. So, what'll it be? You buying?"
"That's expensive!"
Ethan looked at the 100 copper coins in his pocket and felt a stab of pain. He knew general skills were pricey but hadn't expected them to be *this* expensive. The game had only been out for a few days—how could ordinary players afford such prices?
Seeing Ethan's reaction, the warrior guessed he didn't have the money and waved him off, "If you're broke, stop blocking my stall."
Ethan wasn't offended. He lowered his head, glanced at the items on the stall, and quickly came up with an idea.
Ethan pointed to the thief equipment laid out on the stall and casually asked, "So many rogue items… Did you clear the Treasure Cave dungeon yesterday?"
"Yeah, what of it?"
"Did you break the speedrun record?"
"Of course not, why?"
"What's the current record for clearing Treasure Cave?"
"Three hours and fifteen minutes. Why?"
"Three hours… Hmm, looks like no one's discovered the speedrun bug yet," Ethan muttered to himself.
"Speed…"
The warrior froze, putting down his weapon and staring at Ethan in disbelief. "What did you just say? There's a speedrun bug in Treasure Cave?"
"Nothing important."
Ethan shook his head and started to walk away.
"Wait!"
The shield warrior quickly grabbed him, his face shifting to one of flattery. "Bro, there's really a speedrun bug in Treasure Cave?"
"Yep, it'll save you two hours," Ethan replied with a grin.
"Two hours? Are you serious?"
The warrior was stunned. Treasure Cave was no joke—it was filled with traps and sneaky thieves waiting to ambush you. And yet, this rookie was claiming he could cut the time by two hours. Was he cheating?
Or… was this guy a scammer?
"Of course I'm serious. Want to buy the strategy?"
"If it's true, of course I want it."
"Great, 20 gold coins, no bargaining."
"20 gold coins?! Are you robbing me? And how do I know your strategy is legit?"
The warrior shook his head furiously. Now he was sure this guy had to be a scammer.
"You think I'm a scammer?"
Ethan could see the suspicion in the warrior's eyes, so he offered, "We can sign a Sacred Contract. If my strategy doesn't work, I'll refund your money and pay you ten times the amount in compensation."
A Sacred Contract was a binding agreement witnessed by the gods. Violating it resulted in severe punishment. Unless you were stronger than a god, you couldn't escape its consequences. Moreover, Sacred Contracts held power not only in Argoth but also in Terra.
"This…"
The warrior was dumbfounded. He hadn't expected Ethan to offer a Sacred Contract. Could this guy actually have a legit strategy?
"Give me a second. I need to ask my boss."
A 20-gold deal was more than he could handle alone, so he opened his chat to ask for approval.
"Hey Naomi, there's some guy selling a strategy for Treasure Cave. Says it can cut two hours off the run!"
"Two hours? Impossible. Have you been duped again, Backstrap?"
"I swear this time it's legit! He even offered to sign a Sacred Contract and pay ten times compensation if it's fake."
"If that's the case, it might be real. What's his price?"
"20 gold."
"20 gold?! He's crazy. We don't have that much in the guild."
"Uh… Naomi, maybe you could charm him with your long legs?"
"Shut up! Try negotiating. See if he'll accept gear or skill books instead."
"Got it!"
The warrior ended the chat and looked at Ethan with a grin.
"Hey, bro…"