Planning Ahead

After briefly testing the remaining spells, Zhao Xu logged off directly.

There was no one around he knew, and the church members were busy arranging today's grand ceremony, with no time to spare for him.

He was even afraid that if he showed up at the ceremony, something bizarre might happen and cause a scene that drew everyone's attention.

He had no desire to become the star of the forums.

Zhao Xu's top priority right now was still to keep his head down and quietly make a fortune. At the very least, the path he had carved out so far felt solid.

"Brother Xu, you're back so early today?" Zhang Qi had just returned from his afternoon class and quickly greeted Zhao Xu when he saw him.

Zhao Xu nodded. "Qi God, nothing going on lately?"

Only then did he notice that the other two roommates had returned as well, so he greeted them too.

Liu Hanqiang, who was from Lu Province, was the top student in their dorm. He was also the only one who had not played games at all in his Previous Life.

Liu Hanqiang came from a fairly well-off family. His relatives all worked as civil servants or employees of state-owned enterprises.

That was far more stable than Zhao Xu's family, which ran a barely surviving small business and depended on the market for its livelihood.

From the moment Liu Hanqiang entered university, he had actively participated in student union work while planning to take the entrance exams for the university's graduate program, then pursue a career as a civil servant.

Judging from what he usually said, his family had already helped map out positions in several departments for him. Everything was ready.

In their Previous Life, Zhang Qi had pulled everyone in the dorm into Arthur, but Liu Hanqiang alone had remained true to his original aspirations.

The three of them all believed that someone like Liu Hanqiang, with some connections and a willingness to work hard, would surely have the steadiest future among them.

Yet no one had expected that a game which seemed so unproductive would later become something that ruled countless people's fates.

After the crossing in his Previous Life, Liu Hanqiang had been depressed for quite some time when he watched the goal he had worked toward for over a decade vanish.

Later, he still took up the non-combat Class of Expert and became a teacher, only to die when the city fell during the Demon Sealing War seven years later.

As for their other roommate, Chen Sinan, he had done the best out of everyone in Zhao Xu's dorm after the crossing.

The last time Zhao Xu met him in his Previous Life, Chen Sinan had already successfully advanced and become a core member of the Temple of the God of Justice.

"God Xu, when are you teleporting back?" Zhang Qi complained.

Zhang Qi and the others had long known that Zhao Xu had been born in a southern town in Arthur, worlds apart from players like them in Winter Town.

In an era when players had to travel everywhere on foot and the wilderness was especially dangerous, Zhao Xu had no hope of reuniting with them before reaching level 3 or 5.

"When I have money," Zhao Xu replied casually. He was still sitting on his bed, but his hand kept scrolling through messages on the Arthur forums.

"Brother Xu, did you know Sinan has been ridiculously awesome lately?" Zhang Qi said as he sat in the hanging chair he had modified himself, drinking an iced cola.

"Isn't Holy Light a level 2 Paladin ability?" Having just used a Healing Spell, Zhao Xu was especially sensitive to such matters.

"Damn, God Xu, that was way too fast." Zhang Qi looked somewhat incredulous.

Chen Sinan, meanwhile, irritably shoved Zhang Qi and told him to stop talking nonsense.

"God Xu, Sinan is now the hottest pick for team formation in our class. Everyone's waiting for him to hit level 2 so he can carry them," Zhang Qi added.

Zhao Xu nodded. Half a month later, the number of Cleric players who had officially graduated would not be much better than that of Wizards.

Getting players to genuinely believe in a god was already difficult. Earning that god's recognition was even harder.

Clerics who chose Alignment Faith needed to gain the recognition of their entire alignment's power. Even in Arthur, such Clerics were rare.

Spread across their school, there were only a handful of player Clerics.

Most Druids, who could serve as backup healers, were still squatting in forests, fighting off those who destroyed them and undergoing the same miserable training.

With healing in such short supply, Paladins, who also possessed a little healing ability, became the desperate choice for players grasping at straws.

At level 2, Paladins gained the ability Holy Light, which could restore HP equal to their Charisma modifier multiplied by their Class Level.

It was not much, but for players right now, rather than wait for Clerics to finish their training, it was better to hope Paladins could reach level 2.

Paladins in Arthur were actually a very remarkable Class. Their alignment requirements were extremely strict.

While believing in a god, they were even stricter about their own convictions.

In Zhao Xu's Previous Life, Paladins in Arthur had been the sort of upright defenders of justice who never lied, struck hard against Evil acts, and showed no mercy.

Whenever commoners in Arthur saw a Paladin, they would raise their thumbs in praise.

This was also the only Class in Arthur that could not be role-played against one's true nature.

But as long as one's beliefs matched one's personality, one could advance to Paladin very quickly.

"Don't worry. Once everyone has money later on and can afford Rejuvenation Spell wands, things will improve a lot," Zhao Xu said.

"Rejuvenation Spell? Wands?" Zhang Qi asked in surprise.

"Read the forums more often," Zhao Xu shot back.

"Damn it, man, struggling to log in every day is already exhausting enough."

Lesser Rejuvenation Spell had already been mentioned by a few people on the forums. It was a level 1 Divine Spell, not included on the standard level 1 Cleric list, and had to be acquired through special channels.

Its only effect was to grant players Rapid Healing 1, allowing them to recover 1 HP every round for more than a dozen rounds.

Though it could not instantly restore one's HP to full, its total healing exceeded the Cure Light Wounds spell Zhao Xu had cast today, making it the mainstream post-battle recovery method.

A wand with fifty charges of Lesser Rejuvenation Spell sold for 750 GP and would basically become essential strategic supplies for guilds in the future.

Even ordinary players leveling in teams would pool their money to buy one, even if they had a Cleric.

But everyone was still poor right now, with barely any gold on them. Even if they wanted one, they had no way to buy it.

"Zhang Qi, what's going on with the class guild?" Zhao Xu asked. Chen Sinan was a quiet and reserved person who did not communicate much with them, so Zhao Xu generally asked Zhang Qi.

"A total mess. Several combat-Class players have already used up their Resurrection Stones and started registering new characters. Hardly any spellcasting Classes have graduated, and almost no one chooses Wizards because they're difficult and don't seem useful," Zhang Qi complained about Arthur's harsh environment.

"What about the Grand Alliance?" Zhao Xu pressed.

Zhang Qi was immediately stunned with surprise. He blankly asked, "Brother Xu, how did you know? I only heard about it because I'm part of the core group, but you know even more than I do."

Zhao Xu did not explain much and continued scrolling through his phone.

Of course he knew. In his Previous Life, their school's Grand Alliance had barely been established in the later stages, and Zhao Xu had heard Zhang Qi complain countless times about all the mess inside it.

University students had relatively high overall quality and plenty of free time, so their levels in Arthur were generally above average.

After everyone crossed over, their numbers were not the greatest, but the forces they formed still became a crucial part of Earth's later power structure.

As a Wizard, Zhao Xu could naturally arrange things well for his parents and relatives.

But humans were social creatures. There was no point in simply settling them in the Floating City.

So Zhao Xu needed a shadow spokesperson to manage some guild power on his behalf, making it easier for him to plan ahead and intervene in Earth's future power structure.