Persistence and Hard Work!

As a newcomer, Xiao Yang still lacked many things. That was only natural, though. He was an error player, after all, and so far, he was the only player participating in the first closed beta of God Game in Plane 33214.

That player was Xiao Yang.

And not only was he the sole player in this early beta, but the only extraordinary map in all of Plane 33214 was the Skeleton Dungeon connected to the basement of Xiao Yang's house.

Xiao Yang had also gotten some additional information from Redbeard.

For example, the rules governing dungeon respawns and the value of Hidden Maps.

The higher a world's level, the more powerful the dungeons and instances tied to it could become, and the faster the monsters inside would respawn.

Hidden Maps were exceedingly valuable because they were unique. In other words, only one player could explore a given Hidden Map at a time.

Redbeard, who still hadn't fully sobered up, was chatting with Xiao Yang in a rambling, halfhearted way.

But he wasn't completely drunk. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and pulled Xiao Yang into his arms.

"Brother Xiao, remember this: whether it's a dungeon instance or a Hidden Map—especially a Hidden Map—people will get jealous over these things. If you can help it, don't tell anyone except those you trust most!"

Following Redbeard's gaze, Xiao Yang turned his head. In a distant corner, several figures in black robes were watching them.

They were the Daoists from Nether Cave. Clearly, even with Redbeard protecting Xiao Yang now, those people hadn't given up entirely.

"And another thing, didn't I tell you not to add people as friends so casually? What if I got interested in that hidden questline you found? You'd be done for!"

Xiao Yang got the notification that his friend request had been rejected. He shrugged and sent Redbeard another one.

This time, Redbeard accepted without hesitation.

With a cheeky grin, he toppled over onto the ground, passed out, and started snoring loudly.

After Redbeard had fallen asleep, Xiao Yang glanced at the black-robed cultivators watching him from nearby.

Being watched didn't feel great. Fortunately, he hadn't fallen for their trap, and he'd also managed to latch onto a powerful ally. He still needed to chug potions and grind dungeons like crazy!

If all his attributes were over three thousand and he were level thirty or higher, would those guys still dare covet what he had?

With that thought, Xiao Yang took another long swig of Minor Healing Potion. It tasted awful, with that same strange sour, stale flavor, but it didn't matter. What mattered more was the increase to his attributes.

Xiao Yang's Health had already passed fifty, doubling to a full sixty points. He had only invested one Attribute Point in Health. The other forty points had all come from drinking Health Potions. Thanks to the Pot of Greed, he'd gotten four Attribute Points for free in the Health column alone.

And it wasn't just Health. He'd also gotten ten permanent points of Strength, one trait, and one point of Elemental Resistance.

He was only level five, yet his attributes were already ridiculously impressive.

Player: Screaming Emperor

Level: 5

Health: 60

Strength: 13

Defense: 12

Agility: 11

Remaining Attribute Points: 1

What level-five player could dream of stats like these? What's more, Xiao Yang didn't even have any class bonuses, and this wasn't his limit, either. As he swallowed that bottle of Minor Health Potion, his Health increased by another point, jumping from sixty to sixty-one.

With the Pot of Greed, Xiao Yang was destined to become a super all-rounder. He wouldn't specialize in any one attribute; he just had to let time pass and keep chugging potions for a while. Before long, even bosses would be afraid of him!

Xiao Yang was very confident about that. He glanced at the Nether Cave people from afar. Nether Cave, huh? They'd made an enemy of him now. One day, he'd pay them a visit and have a little chat.

Time passed, and soon the day was over. In a hazy white glow, God Game carried Xiao Yang away from the Myriad Worlds Trading Area and dropped him back into the Skeleton Dungeon.

Something that made him very happy happened next.

The skeletons on the first floor of the Skeleton Dungeon had respawned. They'd climbed back up from the ground, though unfortunately, not all of them had returned. It was the three Normal Skeletons Xiao Yang had defeated on his first day in the dungeon.

They climbed to their feet and wandered aimlessly through the dim corridor outside the Safe House.

Xiao Yang was overjoyed. He checked the time: exactly one month had passed. That meant the Skeleton Dungeon respawned on a monthly cycle.

This was really good news. In a few days, Xiao Yang would be able to get another haul from these skeletons.

Experience? He wasn't really counting on that anymore. Now that his level was higher, the extra experience these Skeleton Warriors provided was negligible. He pushed open the Safe House door and strode toward the skeletons, who had just gotten up and still looked a little dazed.

The skeletons saw Xiao Yang swaggering toward them and attacked without hesitation. But now, they posed absolutely no threat to him. One of them, gripping a pale Large Bone Club, swung it down hard at Xiao Yang. A crisp bang rang out as Tough Skin took effect.

It didn't deal a single point of damage. In short, it couldn't penetrate his defense. Xiao Yang even thought that, if he took off all his gear, these Normal Skeletons still wouldn't be able to hurt him.

After all, the forced one point of damage dealt when an attack couldn't penetrate a player's defense was a mercy granted by God Game. Monsters didn't get that benefit.

It was embarrassing to admit, but that small mercy had helped Xiao Yang a lot. Otherwise, he might not have been able to beat even these piles of bones at the very beginning.

As the skeletons gave him a vigorous scrub and massage, Xiao Yang felt great.

"I've grown, too! Is this the reward for persistence and hard work?"

He voiced this shameless boast.

In just a few blows, Xiao Yang knocked the skeletons down and crushed their Soul Fires. Each skeleton only gave him one or two points of experience now, but they did drop a few Large Bone Clubs.

At this point, the only reason Xiao Yang farmed these skeletons was for their drops.

While Xiao Yang was reveling in the thrill of beating up weaklings, a message suddenly popped up. It came from his one and only friend.

: Little bro, I might have to make a trip to the Abyss soon. It'll probably be a month before I come to the Trading Area again. I'll have to trouble you to sell some goods for me then. Oh, and take this. If anyone comes across planes to mess with you, remember to send me a call for help. Oh, and I'll have to charge you for helping you out. I'll give you a discount, though. Even good friends have to keep their accounts straight. That's all!

Along with the letter came an Epic talisman.

Visit Pass

Quality: Epic

Effect: Invites a friend to visit your plane

Description: A friend from afar!