Newcomer Leveling Grounds

Fourth Elder heard Gao Linzhi's affirmative answer and couldn't help but show a complex look in his eyes.

Three parts gratification, four parts admiration, and three parts envy.

"It seems your talent must be one that increases comprehension."

"Otherwise, it's impossible for an ordinary person to master a skill this quickly."

Gao Linzhi naturally made no comment.

Seeing this, Fourth Elder sighed and said:

"Do you know how long it took This Elder to practice Basic Lightness Skill, from learning to mastering it?"

"I started training at five years old, and just Basic Lightness Skill alone took a full year before I could truly call it entry-level."

"And you only used a single day."

"You Descenders truly are blessed by heaven."

"Fortunately, you only have one life. If you really had countless lives like in those games you talk about, you'd be a calamity even more fearsome than aberrations."

At that moment.

In another side room.

Lin Qing heard this and was stunned.

For him to learn a Basic Skill so quickly—if his talent was developed well into the later stages, it wouldn't be much worse than her own.

This was definitely an excellent backup option, but unfortunately, this man was clearly the most traditional type—the kind who would never be a simp.

Not only would he never make any concessions to women, but in his eyes, women were merely tools to be used.

His persona was exactly the type of a traditional martial arts drama's warlord leader.

She had seen through this after just a few interactions.

Thinking this over, Lin Qing stepped out lightly.

With a look of lingering fear, she said, "Fourth Elder, what exactly happened last night?"

"Why would someone throw firecrackers into my room? It almost scared me to death."

Fourth Elder let out a long breath, his face somewhat helpless. "Someone wants to harm you."

"As things stand now, they don't even care about this elder's face anymore."

"Those people? Who could they be?" Lin Qing asked knowingly.

"Who else could it be, if not them?" Fourth Elder's eyes showed three parts disgust, three parts helplessness, and four parts anger.

"Then what should we do?" Lin Qing probed.

"This matter is utterly detestable, but we have no evidence. Last night, this old man was too busy luring away the aberration to catch the one who threw the firecrackers." Fourth Elder said with chagrin.

He looked gravely at Lin Qing, his expression clearly saying, "You need to consider the bigger picture."

Lin Qing fell silent.

Just as she expected.

It was the same in reality, and the same in the game.

Unless she became strong herself, there was no one she could truly rely on.

"Elder, what should I do from now on?"

"Take it slow. First, master a few more Basic Skills, then go level up. Once you're strong enough, they won't dare act so recklessly." Fourth Elder said with a frown.

Hearing this, Lin Qing looked at Gao Linzhi with hopeful eyes. "Brother Canxue, I heard you've already learned Basic Lightness Skill. Could you teach me?"

"Of course, I won't let you waste your time for nothing."

"One of the hardest things in the world is making a genius teach math to an ordinary person." Gao Linzhi said casually, then turned and left.

He wasn't a simp. How was he supposed to teach this?

Give her a cheat too?

Teaching people was the most painful thing, and it was easy to raise an ingrate.

How many students in the world remember their teacher's kindness? Instead, they all remember how strict the teacher was.

Gao Linzhi left Fourth Elder's courtyard and went back to leveling.

Fourth Elder envied his comprehension so much and even personally told Lin Qing to learn more Basic Skills—this fully proved that the development path he had chosen was correct.

He asked around the village casually and soon found Zheng Dong's home.

It was a two-courtyard house with two rows of main rooms, all brick and tile, spacious and bright, with two children playing and bickering inside.

"Dongzi, a Descender is looking for you." An aunt called into the yard.

"Coming, coming." Zheng Dong walked out carrying a firewood knife.

When he saw Gao Linzhi, he already knew why he had come and said directly, "Canxue, you want to go leveling again?"

"That's right. Sorry for the trouble, Captain Zheng." Gao Linzhi cupped his hands.

"But I'm off today."

"Our village has four patrol teams—one during the day and three at night. The people on the teams take turns resting."

"Today during the day, Vice Captain Zheng Shan is leading the team. I'll take you to find him."

"But you need to remember: don't spawn too many at once, or you might draw out a BOSS. However, since the Corporate Players are around, the monster BOSSes near the village are cleared on a fixed schedule—we never get a chance to fight them. That's why I didn't mention it yesterday."

"Understood." Gao Linzhi nodded. A BOSS was one of the most important resources in the game.

Zheng Dong talked as he led Gao Linzhi toward the village entrance.

"Last night, a Freak came to the village. You know about that, right?"

"I know. That Freak even headed straight for the Fourth Elder's house. I watched the whole thing from start to finish..." Gao Linzhi briefly explained the situation.

Zheng Dong sighed. "Yeah, even an elder is helpless against a Freak."

"It's extremely hard to defeat a Freak head-on. I've never heard of anyone managing it."

"In your way of speaking, they follow a rule-based system."

Zheng Dong continued as they walked, "Only by testing and figuring out a Freak's killing rules can we avoid their harm."

"Take that White Mist Faceless Man Freak from yesterday—it couldn't enter the villagers' houses, and it couldn't teleport. Otherwise, even the Fourth Elder would have been in danger."

Hearing this, Gao Linzhi couldn't help but feel puzzled: "If that's the case, how has your village managed to survive until now?"

If they had to test every time just to learn a Freak's rules, and the village only had a few thousand people, they should have all died long ago...

Zheng Dong shook his head helplessly:

"The village naturally has its trump cards, but I can't tell you Descenders about that."

"However, I can tell you something everyone knows—almost all Freaks follow a universal rule:"

"When a certain number of people in a village die, say one-tenth of the population, the Freak won't approach that village again for a very long time."

Hearing this, Gao Linzhi fell into thought: "I see."

Wasn't this just a farming model?

Could there be a mastermind behind the Freaks, pulling the strings?

Soon the two arrived at the village entrance, where they met Vice Captain Zheng Shan, a thin, small-built man.

"Alright, since he's a guard signed off by the Fourth Elder, I'll naturally take him to level up. Brother Dong, go home and rest." Zheng Shan said with a smile.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Shanzi. Make sure he stays safe." Zheng Dong repeatedly urged before leaving.

"Got it."

Then Zheng Shan turned to Gao Linzhi: "The places suitable for newbies like you to level up are around the village—Foxy Slope, Myriad Snake Cave, Green Flood Dragon Beach, and a few other spots."