A flash of white light passed before Qin Chuan's eyes, and he found himself in a completely new environment.
At the same time, the system notification sounded beside his ear.
"Welcome to Apocalypse. You have been assigned to No. 9527 Newbie Village. Enjoy your game."
Seeing the familiar yet unfamiliar Newbie Village, Qin Chuan took a deep breath, his fighting spirit ignited.
"Let's check the starting skills first."
Qin Chuan summoned his character panel.
[Nickname]: Night Roaming God [Class]: Shadow Assassin (Unique) [Level]: 1 (0/1000) [Attributes]: Strength 5, Constitution 5, Agility 8, Spirit 4 [Attack]: 10 [Defense]: 7 [Health]: 100 [Mana]: 50 [Equipment]: Novice Knife (Attack Power +5), Novice Leather Armor (Defense +1), Newbie Legguards (Defense +1) [Skills]: Shadow Stealth LV1 (Enter stealth. Cloakbreaking Strike deals an additional (Attack Power * 100% + 20) damage. Costs 5 Mana. Cooldown: 20 seconds) Shadow Flying Dagger LV1 (Use Shadow Energy to create a flying dagger, dealing (Attack Power * 110%) damage. Costs 5 Mana. Cooldown: 10 seconds) Shadow Strike LV1 (A powerful melee attack that deals (Attack Power * 110%) damage. Costs 5 Mana. Cooldown: 5 seconds)
There really was another surprise!
In his original plan, Qin Chuan had intended to sell all his starting equipment, buy a longbow from the blacksmith, and then kill monsters from afar.
With his skill, kiting monsters would not have been difficult.
But now, the Shadow Assassin's starting skills directly made up for that weakness.
With Shadow Flying Dagger in hand, there was no need for a longbow at all.
Moreover, the damage from Cloakbreaking Strike exceeded Qin Chuan's expectations.
Besides the fixed 20 damage, it was also tied to Attack Power.
Paired with Shadow Flying Dagger, one-shotting monsters of the same level would be effortless!
"As expected of a hidden class. It really is impressive."
Qin Chuan grew even more delighted.
He then closed the character panel and prepared to head to the hunter to accept a quest.
But Qin Chuan soon discovered that he could not move an inch. Players blocked him from every direction.
Apocalypse had spent a fortune on promotion, and its claim of one hundred percent simulation had attracted countless players.
Now that the game had launched, all the players who had been waiting for so long flooded in.
"Holy shit, this is way too realistic."
"I can actually feel the wind on my face! Wow, I can even smell the dirt. Even this dog shit feels so real... ptooey!"
"Anyone looking for a relationship? CP, hit me up."
"Everyone, hurry up and get quests! If you're late, there won't be any left!"
"My broadsword is already thirsting for battle."
"Brothers from the Ironblood Battle Group, gather here! Let's go grab the first kill!"
It was the first time the players had experienced such a realistic game, and they were so excited that they were completely beside themselves.
However, different voices soon began to ring out.
"Damn it, why are these monsters so good at dodging? Both my fireballs missed."
"What kind of trash game is this? I can't even beat a rabbit?"
"Huh? Where are the quests? Why don't any of the NPCs have exclamation marks over their heads?"
"Fuck, I went to ask the village chief for a quest, and that old bastard beat me out of the place."
All of these reactions were within Qin Chuan's expectations.
Apocalypse was highly free-form—perhaps even too free-form.
There were no beginner tips, no quest guidance. Players had to uncover everything themselves.
Furthermore, the ordinary monsters were not like the dumb creatures in other games that simply waited to be beaten. They could dodge, launch sneak attacks, and even run away to call for help when low on health.
Watching the newbie players revive and challenge the rabbits again, Qin Chuan shook his head helplessly.
Cherish these happy times while they last. Once Apocalypse completed its first-stage fusion, death in the game would be reflected in reality.
If you died in the game, you would truly die in reality as well!
Only then would Apocalypse reveal its truly terrifying side.
Taking a deep breath, Qin Chuan suppressed the tangled emotions in his heart. He forced a path through the crowd and headed toward the hunter's home in the village.
After finally reaching the hunter's door, he found that the place was, unsurprisingly, surrounded by players as well.
Judging by the frustrated expressions on their faces, they had failed to get a quest here.
That was not surprising. Normal players could only trigger the hunting quest after reaching level three.
When they saw Qin Chuan approach, a helpful player shouted, "Bro, don't go in! That cripple won't give you a quest."
Whoosh.
An arrow flew out from the hunter's house and instantly killed the player who had just spoken.
The surrounding players were all stunned.
What the hell? NPCs could attack players too?
Was this a Newbie Village or a den of thieves?
Qin Chuan, however, was not surprised.
The NPCs in Apocalypse were not truly NPCs. They were living beings with self-awareness, and after Apocalypse fused with reality, they would even descend upon Blue Star. They simply could not reveal this because of Apocalypse's rules.
But if players showed them disrespect, the NPCs had the right to deal with them as they saw fit.
Take this hunter, for example. He had been injured in battle, leaving him with a lame leg.
If a player poked at that sore spot, he would be killed with a single arrow.
The player's corpse on the ground turned into white light. Moments later, the player who had been instantly killed came running back furiously, ready to settle the score with the hunter.
But he had clearly forgotten that he was only a level-one newbie. The moment he stepped into the hunter's yard, another arrow sent him away.
Meanwhile, the Villager Guard Unit passing outside the yard turned a blind eye to it all.
The other players trembled, and even their voices became much quieter.
Many of them began to back down.
They had already tried all sorts of methods and still could not get a quest. Rather than waste time here, they might as well go outside and kill a few rabbits.
Yet instead of retreating, Qin Chuan pressed forward, moving against the flow of people toward the hunter's home.
Inside the small house, the calm-faced hunter hung his hunting bow on the wall. He paid Qin Chuan no attention, scooping up a ladleful of well water and gulping it down.
Qin Chuan did not waste words and stated his purpose directly. "I want to buy the Exotic Beast Skull."
The hunter, who had been drinking water, shuddered and abruptly turned around. His sharp eyes locked onto Qin Chuan as he asked in a gloomy tone, "Not for sale!"
He then pressed, "Where did you hear about this?"
As he spoke, the hunter walked toward the wall.
If Qin Chuan's answer did not satisfy him, he would probably be getting an arrow.
But Qin Chuan was not intimidated in the slightest. He calmly said, "We can revive. Even if you kill me now, it won't do you any good."
Hearing that, the hunter slowed his steps, a trace of mockery appearing on his face. "So what? I don't want to sell it. What can you do about it?"
Qin Chuan smiled. "I can't do anything to you, but don't you want to kill the Wolf King and get your revenge? I'll help you kill the Wolf King, and you give me the Exotic Beast Skull."
Qin Chuan knew that the reason the hunter limped was because he had been attacked by the Wolf King.
Although Qin Chuan did not quite understand how a hunter capable of obtaining an Exotic Beast Skull had been defeated by the Newbie Village's Wolf King, that was not important. As long as he could trigger the quest, it was enough.
Qin Chuan's words had clearly struck the hunter's weak point. Hesitation appeared on his face, but after looking Qin Chuan over a few times, he said disdainfully, "You want to kill the Wolf King with your strength?"
Qin Chuan replied calmly, "You don't need to worry about how I'll kill the Wolf King."
"Three days. Within three days, I'll bring you the Wolf King's head."
"But in exchange, you have to give me the Exotic Beast Skull now."
Before you continue