This Start Is Way Too Fun

The air was filled with the strong, pungent scent of Infant Bell Flower.

Infant Bell Flower is a white flower that looks like Xiao Yuan bell. When its fragrance is first inhaled, it transforms into an incredibly strong coolness at the tip of the nose. However, as the scent penetrates deeper, the odorless coolness gradually turns into a putrid smell, eventually bursting into a nauseating stench at the back of the nasal cavity.

Because its scent can cause nausea, similar to morning sickness, the Infant Bell Flower was often associated with the wish for children in some ancient Civilization, hence its name.

This flower is rarely seen in the Civilization Era; it is only cultivated in large quantities in a few nations within the Natural Alliance that worship "Birth." However, it is rampant in the Life Era.

A dry wind swept across his face, filling his nostrils with the unpleasant smell, causing Cheng Shi to sneeze involuntarily.

Before he even opened his eyes, he wondered if this was Dolgo D.

That's impossible; what a coincidence!

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, and as his vision began to return, he slowly opened his eyes. However, when he saw the furnishings in the room, the church robes he and the five players opposite him were wearing, and the conspicuous totem emblems on the robes, his heart tightened.

Oh wow, it really is Dolgo D!

A place I frequent and am fairly familiar with.

Just then, his teammates in front of him opened their eyes one after another. They looked around and silently sized each other up.

"I smell the awful scent of Infant Bell Flower. How come this thing hasn't gone extinct yet?"

"The church? Where is our church?"

"The Life Era is not surprising, after all, His most glorious period was during the Life Era."

"..."

"Dolgo D?"

The last male player to speak frowned and looked around, his tone seemingly uncertain, but his voice was very soft, more like he was asking himself a question.

But Cheng Shi overheard this. It was rare to encounter a player who knew someone from such a small city, so he looked at his teammate with interest, nodded in a friendly manner, and replied:

"Yes, this is Dolgo D."

To his surprise, the male player, dressed in a loose robe and wearing a hood, who was completely covered up, did not respond after hearing his affirmation. Instead, he frowned and looked him up and down.

With that one move, Cheng Shi knew he was going to be looked down upon again.

The Folly Believer are still so undisguised.

"Dolgo D? I remember that's a small town in the south of the Dol Empire." A burly man smiled at Cheng Shi and gave him a thumbs up. "This place isn't famous, but you know a lot about it, brother. Judging from your appearance, you wouldn't happen to be... one of His Believer?"

Clearly, the "He" he refers to is "Birth".

?

Cheng Shi was unhappy about this.

What do you mean by "look at my face"?

Dude, what about me makes me look like Believer in [Birth]?

You can't start making unfounded assumptions just because someone is handsome.

Whether I am His Believer or not is another matter, but I feel that you seem to be His Believer.

Cheng Shi chuckled as he looked at the burly man, noticing a reassuring smile in his eyes and on his face.

Who would be so happy to be matched with the [Birth] Trials?

Aside from perverts, there are probably only His Believer, so this burly man in front of him is very likely one of His Believer. Given his imposing physique, Cheng Shi tentatively asked a question in return:

"Chief?"

The burly man was taken aback, then burst into laughter. "Is it that obvious? Fine, then I won't hide it anymore, I am indeed the chieftain."

Gou Feng, Chief, 2381.

Chieftain, the warrior who Birth.

A... well, a profession with very high fertility.

The title of "chief" for this profession is not achieved by recruiting tribesmen, but by the ability to bear children granted to him through the [Birth] ability.

Their attacks carry a terrifying ability to induce pregnancy, giving enemies a chance to become pregnant while they are wounded. When they kill a pregnant enemy, the fetus on the corpse will burst out, devour the body, grow into a new member of "this tribe," and become their fanatical followers.

The chief's name comes from this.

Therefore, as long as the warriors of [Birth] are fierce enough, their own people will increase with each battle. They can almost be called the profession that is most skilled in group battles, because they can form a group by themselves.

When everyone saw that they had been assigned a chieftain in the "Birth" round, their expressions stiffened.

Gou Feng was also aware that his profession was often criticized, so he laughed self-deprecatingly and said:

"Don't be afraid, I won't hit my teammates."

You'd better...

Although the teammates didn't say it explicitly, they all seemed relieved.

Gou Feng, though seemingly rugged, was actually a shrewd player. Seeing Cheng Shi avoid answering, he knew Cheng Shi didn't share his Faith, so he raised an eyebrow and asked again:

"Mage?"

As we all know, most of the knowledgeable and cultured people in the Trials are Mage, followed by Singer. Other professions below these two are not ranked.

Cheng Shi was unsure how this unexpected "Birth" situation would develop, so he decided to change his approach. He would first make a few friends with sincerity, hoping that with the protection of multiple friendships, he could avoid suffering a great loss in this unexpected situation.

So he smiled and nodded, saying sincerely:

"Yes, I am a Mage. Let me introduce myself."

Cheng Shi, [Life], Mage, 2401.

"Wow, another big shot!"

"Cheng Shi? I recently heard some juicy gossip. The male lead is also named Cheng Shi, but he seems to be a Fate Weaver?"

"..." Cheng Shi's face stiffened, and he forced a smile. "I've heard that too. It is indeed a bit stressful to share a name with someone like that."

Everyone's expressions varied, and they seemed to be thinking about something, but Gou Feng laughed and said:

"[Life]?

No wonder you recognized this place so quickly, brother. We're practically in the same boat. Okay, I like you.

?

As soon as he said that, Cheng Shi trembled three times on the spot.

He stared at the other person stiffly, and it took him several tries to understand that "I like you" was probably a common phrase like "You're not bad."

Dude, could you please change your catchphrase? It's really scary.

Being told you you like someone by a big, burly man is scary enough. Shouldn't you reconsider whether you're still a chieftain?

The buffs stacked like this are terrifying!

"..."

It took Cheng Shi a while to force a smile back onto his stiff face. He looked at the intimidating chieftain and chuckled awkwardly:

"Brother, what did you wish for?"

Gou Feng was a bold and unpretentious man. He didn't hide anything, but frowned slightly and asked with a hint of doubt:

"It's strange. I was praying for a piece of equipment that I could use, so how did it end up being given to my own Lord of Grace?"

Normally, such prayers would be for either "war" or "Truth."

At this moment, the young man next to him, dressed in a style reminiscent of Assassin's Creed, asked in surprise, "Dude, you're almost at 2400 and you don't have any gear?"

Gou Feng smiled and shook his head:

"Brother, there's a huge difference between 2300 and 2400."

I originally had one, but it got smashed in the Trials, so I was thinking of getting one that wasn't so fragile.

Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow after hearing this, but didn't say anything more.

Logically speaking, in this situation, the person being asked about their wish would usually ask the other person what they wished for, but Gou Feng didn't. He didn't seem to care much about such things and was still scratching his head, wondering why he was matched into the Trials given by his Lord of Grace.

Seeing that no one was asking, Cheng Shi naturally wouldn't take the initiative to answer; making up a reason would be too tiring. So he looked at the people around him.

The Believer of [Folly] had their own rhythm, Cheng Shi didn't bother with, so he looked at his teammates on the left.

This teammate had squinty eyes, a squinty-eyed guy dressed in retro overalls, who looked like a plumber. He always had a smile on his face, but ever since he opened his eyes, his gaze had never left me.

He kept looking himself over!