Faced with Lin Ji's meaningful question, the Guiding Water Orb floating beside him slowly opened its indifferent eyes and quietly "glanced" at him.
It's like looking at a pebble on the roadside, or a speck of dust in the air.
Then, the eyes closed silently, the water sphere returned to its original state, and the nebula inside continued to swirl, as if the brief gaze had never happened.
Lin Ji understood, and even gave a self-deprecating laugh.
He understood.
My current status is too low.
A complete newbie who has just gained player status and hasn't even chosen their initial Monster Soul is no different from millions of other newbies in the eyes of the Guidance, who understands countless rules and may even be connected to the deepest secrets of the game.
As for time travelers.
This identity, which is considered a game-changer in countless novels and fantasies, might not even be considered a "notable anomaly" in the face of Guidance.
Based on later analysis and speculation from Forum experts.
If the Guidance is truly that person, then what does someone carrying memories of the future amount to?
Just like in a vast epic, a certain character might appear slightly darker due to a slight ink bleed during printing, but no one notices it, and it won't affect the overall plot of the story.
Perhaps we have seen far too many similar cases throughout the long history of this Guidance.
This even reminded him of the famous " Reborn Bro " on the Forum.
It's said that guy----.
As his thoughts raced, Lin Ji shook his head, suppressing the helplessness in his heart.
What he needs to do now is not to speculate on the highest level, but to make good use of his own advantages in a down-to-earth manner and establish an unparalleled leading advantage during the novice period.
He didn't linger any longer and turned his attention back to the naming interface in front of him.
" Xunye LJ."
After entering the name with his mind, he felt an invisible connection being established, as if this code name had begun to bear his Cause and Effect.
[Name confirmed: Xunye LJ ]
[Please select your initial Astral Veins foundation.]
Lin Ji refocused his gaze on the blue crystal wall in front of him, scanning over the lit-up squares.
The selection of one's initial Monster Soul is an increasingly profound subject.
At this moment, all eyes were focused on the Eagle Head Demon.
This Monster Soul has consistently maintained high popularity, especially among top players.
The reason is simple: its special feature provides a significant boost to mental strength and all-around three-dimensional Perception.
This is just the basics.
What truly elevates it to the "T0 level starting point" is the derivative ability resulting from the perfect transformation of mental power: telekinesis.
Formless and intangible, it can be shaped at will.
It can transform into a shield to block attacks, condense into a blade to tear apart targets, or spread out over a wide area for crowd control or group attacks.
It combines offense and defense, is suitable for both close and long-range combat, and is extremely adaptable, making it one of the most well-rounded Monster Soul in the early, mid, and late game.
He still remembered that it was once rumored on the Forum that the core members of the top battle group "Dragon Sparrow" almost all started with the Eagle Head Demon.
Each Recruitment allows members of the Dragon Sparrow Clan to rapidly grow in strength by relying on the Eagle Head Demon, ensuring that each member will inevitably occupy a top position on the newbie leveling leaderboard.
Therefore, the Eagle Head Demon is almost a perfect starting character, born to climb the rankings.
There are no weaknesses.
But this perfection comes with prerequisites.
Players must possess exceptional talent in the microscopic Control of telekinesis, energy conversion efficiency, and multi-threaded application.
Many magic-based players in the Player Camp are able to use telekinesis and quickly master it only by relying on later-stage bonuses such as increased mental strength and enhanced Perception.
To expect to use telekinesis at will from the very beginning is an impossible task.
It involves the precise output of mental energy, which is difficult for beginners to achieve.
A skilled Eagle Head Demon player can become the backbone of any team from the start, capable of both offense and defense, excelling in crowd control, support, burst damage, and scouting—a true all-rounder.
If you play poorly, you'll only become a "third wheel" providing vision and warnings, and you'll be disliked even when playing in a team.
Although he had a wide range of interests in his previous life and had briefly tried the magic-based Astral Veins style, his true expertise lay in close combat.
They did not devote much energy to studying the " God of Magic " system, which requires extremely high concentration and delicate mental Control.
Thinking of this, his gaze swept past the Eagle Head Demon and continued moving.
In fact, I remember Forum guru summarizing the optimal starting template.
In theory, there are two generally accepted opening strategies that allow for the fastest accumulation of advantages and snowballing:
The first is the "psychic God of Magic " path represented by the Eagle Head Demon.
The second is the "one-hit kill assassin" path, represented by Dusk Shadow Monster Soul.
The pursuit is for ultimate mobility and ultimate explosive power.
Monsters in beginner maps generally have low health. Assassin Stream players who know how to use the Dusk Shadow Monster Soul can use their superior mobility and stealth abilities to reach various fog-shrouded resource points first, complete high-value hunts, or infiltrate areas that are difficult for other players to reach.
The growth curve is exceptionally steep in the early stages.
Many top Assassin Stream even abandon their own defense and go for a pure: squishy, one-hit kill strategy.
All the Sacrificial Power earned was invested in the " Rune Resonance Weapon ".
With maximum damage output, they can either instantly kill monsters with a single strike or be instantly killed by monsters themselves.
This gameplay is extremely demanding, and the player's inherent fragility will be magnified infinitely. Without precise dodging and positioning skills, the experience becomes an endless cycle of isolation and Xiao Hei's Room.
Therefore, Eagle Head Demon and Dusk Shadow are the stage for lone wolf kings and ultimate assassins.
These are options on the starting pedestal, but they are a celebration for only a very few gifted individuals.
For the vast majority of ordinary players, and even many players with a sense of teamwork, the Forum experts recommend the other two teamwork-oriented options.
The first one is the representative of the damage-absorbing style: Stone Gargoyle.
Players who choose this path must aim to become the "cornerstone of the team" from the very beginning.
The Stone Gargoyle's initial Monster Soul Petrification boosts defense to a level that gives the team peace of mind, and is the reason why many teams dare to challenge stronger monsters.
It's no exaggeration to say that he's the team's strongest cornerstone.
In every raiding frenzy following the distribution of qualifications, a qualified "tank" is the most scarce resource in a team, bar none.
A skilled Stone Gargoyle starter has the right to demand the highest resource allocation in any squad.
Because they bear the most direct pressure, they are the absolute guarantee of the team's survival.
"Undefeated despite injuries, the team will never perish" is not just a joke.
But this path is also widely recognized as arduous.
The game is filled with pain and injuries, the damage output is weak, leveling up depends entirely on the efficiency of teammates, and the game experience mostly consists of getting beaten up, using medicine, and getting beaten up again.
Players without faith will find it difficult to persevere.
It is said that in every Recruitment, more than 90% of the players who choose Stone Gargoyle at the start switch to other builds.
At the start, they're all tough talkers, saying things like, "A real man must choose this," "Taking damage is the romance of a tough guy," "The core of the team is my goal," and "The choice of faith"—but after being brutally beaten in actual combat, many players' ideas will change.
The second option is the support-style god-tier skill: Rejuvenation.
This is another opening option that is very popular with teams.
The initial Monster Soul trait provides valuable healing abilities. In the early stages, when potions are expensive and recovery methods are scarce, the value of a "healer" is self-evident.
It is the lifeline for every team and a lifeline for teammates in times of crisis.
Support/healer players will have a comfortable progression pace, as they will be protected in the center of the team and can safely acquire Monster Soul Experience and Sacrificial Power Resources.
The first qualitative change in the Rejuvenation Flow occurred after the second key Monster Soul was Eat Qi.
This Monster Soul can significantly enhance mental endurance, transforming the Rejuvenation player from an "intermittent healer" into a sustainable source of healing. The team's combat endurance will be greatly improved, and its strategic value will also rise accordingly.
With a tank and a healer, a team with these two core members in the early game will have a very rapid start.
These two schools of thought, one focused on survival and the other on endurance, are the cornerstones of a team's rapid rise.
All team members need to build their team around two cornerstones, choosing the Astral Veins Pulse faction.
But Lin Ji's gaze did not linger long on the Stone Gargoyle or the Rejuvenation.
In the initial plans for this life, he did not prioritize "relying on the team".
What he wanted was ultimate personal efficiency, using prophetic information to carry out targeted, explosive resource plundering.
He knows the secret of the " Tenth-Gen Primal " who will only appear later in the story.
If I can take it in, my growth will undergo a qualitative change, allowing me to enter the ranks of top players ahead of time.
However, the prerequisite is that his overall combat strength must be improved as soon as possible before he is qualified to go to that undiscovered scene to challenge.
Then, using the strategies I remembered, I tried to seize that incredible Fortuitous Encounter.
Lin Ji's gaze swept back and forth across the blue Crystal Wall, and he was more inclined to start with Assassin Stream build.
Pursue a highly efficient hunting path that maximizes output.
However, Lin Ji was not in a hurry.
He closed his eyes, and his mind quickly recalled the detailed memories of the " New Moon Fishing Village " and the surrounding area that he was most familiar with.
This is a beginner map on the coast of the Ground Roar Continent.
The misty swamp is fraught with danger, teeming with "mimicry water lizards" that blend seamlessly into their environment, as well as deep, rocky caves housing hermit crabs with thick shells whose attacks are corrosive and acid-infused. There are also sandy beaches that appear and disappear with the tides, where venomous scorpions suddenly emerge from the sand to launch surprise attacks.
These monsters generally share a common characteristic: they are either extremely stealthy, making them difficult to detect first, or they have outstanding defense or their attacks come with special effects, posing a significant threat to fragile classes.
A purely squishy Assassin Stream has too little room for error here.
A single failed stealth attempt or an inability to dodge can lead to being ambushed by hidden monsters or instantly killed by high-damage monsters. Frequent trips to the Respawn Point severely hinder progress.
A pure tank build lacks damage output and has a slow monster-clearing speed, which also doesn't meet his need to quickly accumulate early-game resources.
What he needs is an opening move that allows him to maximize burst damage while maintaining a high level of survivability.
You need to be able to quickly deal with those troublesome hidden monsters and heavily armored monsters, and also have enough resilience to maneuver or escape when encountering sudden attacks or unexpected events.
"A warrior—or rather, a warrior-oriented build focused on burst damage." Lin Ji's thoughts gradually became clear.
His gaze searched the crystal wall and quickly locked onto a burly figure in a cell, radiating a dark red light and wielding a rough stone hammer, as if clad in simple bone armor.
[ The Rager ( First Generation Origin )].
This is a Monster Soul Forum players remember as the prototype of the "Berserker" build.
Its attribute growth leans towards strength, providing decent melee attack power and basic survivability.
The true core lies in its initial characteristics: it consumes a certain amount of health to make the next melee attack deal a huge amount of extra physical damage and slightly increase attack speed. After successfully killing the target, the health consumed by this skill will be restored according to the rules (the health restoration is based on the rules and does not affect the hunting rewards).
This Monster Soul perfectly matches his current needs.
First, it boasts high burst damage, enough to quickly eliminate monsters that appear from hiding or have high defense in the early stages, greatly improving monster-clearing efficiency.
Secondly, the risks are manageable. It consumes health points rather than mental energy. For melee classes, health points are also part of defense, but a virtuous cycle can be formed through skillful play and health recovery from kills.
Finally, in terms of growth potential, this skill synergizes extremely well with many subsequent Monster Soul that increase attack power, Critical Hit, and life steal, as well as Warrior-type Monster Soul, making the mid-game transition very smooth.
In addition, its high adaptability makes it an excellent starting choice.
In my memory, this Monster Soul was also a Tier 1 starting option in the later stages of the game.
"That's it." Lin Ji's eyes narrowed, his will as strong as iron, and he locked onto the grid that was burning with Battle Intent.
The blue crystal wall surged with light, and the Rager Shadow Transformation a blazing red light, merging into his body.
A primal, Berserk sense of power accompanied the embedding of his Monster Soul into the initial Star Vein Slot, imprinting itself deep within his soul.
After the selection is complete, a calm voice Guiding Water Orb sounds:
[Initial Monster Soul selection complete. Now choose your initial landing map.]
Guiding Water Orb finished speaking, the blue crystal wall in front of Lin Ji quickly faded and reformed, transforming into a dynamic interface that resembled a three-dimensional star map.
Twenty-eight lifelike map images were presented before him in a fan-like pattern, which he could easily swipe through with his mind.
These maps have different visual styles.
Some depict primitive fishing villages with waves crashing on the shore, some outline settlements built on steep cliffs, some are wetland scenes shrouded in mist, or hunting camps adjacent to ancient forests—but they all have one thing in common: they are all located in the vast coastal area of the " Ground Roar Continent ".
These twenty-eight novice landing points are like twenty-eight nails, driven into the long coastline of the Ground Roar Continent.
Echoing the already established map " Zhu Ri Zhi Di," it forms an encirclement of the two powerful factions entrenched in the heart of the Ground Roar Continent: the Mechanical Legion and the Virtual Rune Legion.
This marked the beginning of large-scale faction wars in the later stages.
However, at this moment, these things are still too far away for these newcomers.
Lin Ji's gaze quickly swept over the series of dynamic maps.
The image shows the outline of a wandering monster, as well as the features of the terrain and environment.
Many names came into view: the Misty Land, the Cracking Rock Land, the Echoing Bay—without the slightest hesitation, he made a few precise strokes and stopped at one image.
The scene depicts a wooden dock bathed in pale blue sunlight, where dilapidated fishing boats, remnants of a lost civilization, are moored.
The backdrop features simple houses built against the mountainside, with gentle Sea Wave lapping against the rocks and birds circling overhead.
Through the screen, he seemed to smell the familiar scents of fish, sea salt, and damp wood in the air.
New Moon Fishing Village.
This was his starting map in his previous life.
Although a different Monster Soul point was chosen in this life, this "familiarity" itself is the greatest advantage.
He remembered many of the locations of Fortuitous Encounter on the map, even the distribution of monsters and the Fortuitous Encounter events that occurred during special weather conditions.
Here, he can maximize his prophetic abilities.
This is it.
Lin Ji murmured to himself, his mind steadily "pressing" onto the dynamic image of New Moon Fishing Village.
The image suddenly zoomed in, revealing clearer details, before transforming into a soft, azure light that enveloped his entire consciousness.
The Guiding Water Orb sounded for the last time:
[Descent location confirmed: New Moon Fishing Village, eastern coast of the Ground Roar Continent. Teleportation initiated.]
The azure light completely engulfed our vision.
Next comes the familiar opening cinematic.
The scene before my eyes shifted rapidly, as if traversing countless ages.
Amidst the towering mountains, the Di Nian Bully on the high tower platform roared to the sky, causing the earth to crack and magma to gush forth. In the next moment Evil Spirits surged out like a tide.
Above the sea, a giant crimson-gold hand suddenly rose from the arena island, causing the sea to churn and Sea Wave to rise thousands of meters high.
Within the isolated space, various colors intertwined, and extreme joy and frenzied emotions manifested in countless forms of manic smiles and foolish faces. A blurry purple figure sat quietly cross-legged amidst the chaos.
Each scene in the CG represents a representative faction on a map.
In particular, the Di Nian Bully of Emperor's Family Village, in my memories of the previous life, was present at almost every point in the rise of the Player Camp.
At least before he traveled back, the Di Nian Bully was still seen by players as the strongest boss with the greatest potential for growth, with a multitude of powerful subordinates, making him one of the strongest overlords in the Pale Continent.
The final scene of the CG is countless dazzling rays of light, symbolizing the players, rushing against the current like a galaxy and crashing into the Monster World.
This heralds the beginning of a new era: the arrival of Player Calamity.
The stirring CG music slowly faded away, and the last glimmer of light and shadow disappeared.
boom!!!
Instead, a deafening roar, like a tsunami, instantly flooded the eardrums.
"We're all experienced players, let's get along. Move aside, don't block the way, I'm going to be the first one out to kill monsters."
"We're forming a team! We're one of nine people, need a tank and a healer. We're just missing your team to be fully equipped."
"Are there any experienced players who can mentor a newbie like me? I know absolutely nothing."
"If you can't do anything, go eat shit, you idiot! Get lost!"
"Who stepped on my foot? Are you blind?!"
"Selling clues to a hidden quest in the Newbie Village, 10 points of Sacrificial Power per quest. Honest and fair, we're all brothers in the same faction, how could I possibly cheat you?"
The shouts of players filled the air, making Lin Ji's eardrums ache.
This round of entry skips the crowded Space Node and goes directly into the beginner map scene.
This resulted in the map being completely full from the start.
And the number of players entering the game is increasing dramatically every second.
He didn't even need to move; he was forcibly pushed out by the newly arrived players.
All he could see in his line of sight were the heads of players from various races.
During this time, the Regional Channel were in an uproar.
Countless messages scrolled up at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow. "Ahhh, I finally got in! I'm going to dominate the entire server!"
" Receive Sacrificial Power. 1 point of Sacrificial Power can be exchanged for 1 Human Federation coin. Is there any idiot willing to trade so I can scam them?"
"Any kind guys out there who can help me out? I'll give them a thumbs up!"
"It's so noisy! Can't the Regional Channel be quiet? Are you all idiots? What are you yelling about? You're all spamming the Regional Channel with all sorts of nonsense. Are you sick? I want to see some useful information, but all I get is this bunch of morons spamming the chat. I'll curse your whole family!"
Lin Ji restricted the Regional Channel to adjust the refresh rate to match his reading speed.
Half an hour later, he finally managed to squeeze out of the crowd.
A salty, slightly cool sea breeze, carrying the fresh scent of the sea and the roar of the ocean, rushes towards you.
Before me lay the rough texture of a wooden dock, the dilapidated masts of fishing boats swaying gently in the wind, and the scattered rooftops of a lost fishing village in the distance. Further ahead stretched the boundless, rumbling sea.
Looking back at the ever-flowing stream of player light towards the Teleportation Point point, and the ever-growing sea of newbies, Lin Ji chuckled softly, "Truly—the familiar clamor."
In his previous life, he was also just one of the masses. He once argued with someone over a monster and felt anxious because he couldn't find a team.
"This feels really good."
He took a deep breath of fresh air; in this life, his state of mind was completely different.
The restless crowd was merely a backdrop; he was the hunter poised to emerge victorious.
The first-mover advantage lies in knowing when and where to do what to maximize efficiency.
He has an almost obsessive habit when playing games: keeping records.
He records everything, from rules and mechanisms to event processes, and even seemingly trivial but potentially useful details.
This is a habit he developed during his four years of Cloud Player.
It's impossible to know all the Fortuitous Encounter and events on the current map.
But he remembered everything those show-off players posted in the Regional Channel, or the events that sparked heated discussions.
For example, on the first day of the server launch, when the " Double String Moon " appears near the reef on the east side of New Moon Fishing Village where he is located, the tide will recede to its lowest point, revealing a section of the keel of an ancient shipwreck that has been submerged.
A broken weapon was stuck somewhere near the fracture of the third rib of the keel.
Because its structure is damaged, this weapon cannot be charged and used, so it is meaningless as a weapon.
However, Sacrifice to Brother Di Zhao will grant 9738 points of Sacrificial Power.
At the time, one player showed off the screenshot in the Regional Channel, explaining the whole story when other players asked, and also attaching a screenshot of the Sacrifice rewards.
For newcomers to the game, this is undoubtedly a huge sum of money.
This is enough to unlock the crucial first level of Body Tempering in the early stages, significantly boosting your starting speed.
Having made up his mind, he immediately decided to go.
For him, who already knew the approximate location of the shipwreck, other natural limitations were not important.
He couldn't be bothered to wait for the Double String Moon to arrive.
In the early stages, time is everything.
The sooner he obtains nearly ten thousand Sacrificial Power, the sooner his plan can be fully implemented.
Without hesitation, Lin Ji determined the direction and ran against the tide of people surging into the fishing village, heading quickly towards the eastern coast.
We hopped and skipped among the rugged rocks along the way, quickly leaving the bustling lights of the fishing village behind.
The closer to the east side, the fewer people there are.
Only the tireless Sea Wave crashed against the rocks of Heimon, creating a deafening Roar.
Arriving at the rocky area from my memory, I saw the sea shimmering with a faint light, appearing unfathomable under the dim moonlight.
A cold, salty sea breeze swept over me, carrying a biting chill.
Lin Ji took a deep breath and stretched his body, which was stiff from the cold.
Thump!
He leaped into the sea.
hiss-!
The icy seawater instantly enveloped his entire body, feeling as if countless tiny needles were pricking his skin, causing him to shiver involuntarily.
Visibility suddenly blurred, with only the faint light of the sky overhead outlining the shape of the sea.
The sound of rushing water and my own heartbeat filled my ears.
He held his breath and, relying on his memory and sense of direction, struggled to dive towards the predicted location of the shipwreck.
The seawater resistance is very high, and diving is more strenuous than expected.
The underwater visibility was extremely poor due to the dim light; one could only see the blurry shadows of nearby reefs and seaweed swaying with the current.
The oxygen in the lungs is being consumed rapidly.
After a thorough search, nothing was found.
He quickly surfaced, and after breaking the surface, he gasped for the cold, damp air, his lungs burning with pain.
Sensing that he was off-center, he wiped the seawater off his face and dived again.
This time, the direction was adjusted to expand the search scope.
The second ascent—the third ascent—each time he descended, Lin Ji would adjust his judgment based on the surrounding terrain.
Sixth dive.
This time, he dived towards a lower, more rocky ravine.
Oxygen is running out, and dark spots are appearing at the edges of my field of vision.
Just as he was about to give up on surfacing again, he seemed to catch a glimpse of a blurry shadow below out of the corner of his eye.
That's it!
His heart leaped, and with a burst of his last strength, he swam desperately toward the shadows.
They're getting closer.
As he suspected, it was indeed a piece of decaying wooden keel embedded diagonally in the seabed mud and rocks.
Found it!
Lin Ji suppressed his excitement and the dizziness caused by lack of oxygen, and quickly floated upwards.
The instant his head broke through the water's surface.
Hahoo~ Hahoo~
He lay down on a slightly flat rock nearby, breathing greedily. The cold air rushed into his lungs, bringing a stinging pain but also a surge of energy.
His gaze was fixed on the direction where the dragon bones had been.
After a short rest, once his breathing had calmed down, he plunged back into the water without hesitation and swam towards the sunken ship with a clear goal in mind.
In the dim light, he saw a twisted metal strip, almost fused to the keel itself, embedded in the broken wood, with a small part of the hilt and guard showing, vaguely resembling the shape of a sword.
After scanning the data, relevant information immediately came to mind.
That's it!
Lin Ji swam over, gripped the sword hilt covered with what looked like "oysters" with both hands, pushed off the keel with his feet, and exerted force from his waist, causing all the muscles in his body to tense up suddenly under the power of the Rager.
"Get out here!"
creak—click!
The sound of rotten wood cracking echoed muffledly underwater.
He painstakingly pulled the rusty sword out of the dragon bone, bit by bit.
It was heavy to the touch, the blade was twisted, and it was covered with holes and cracks, as if it would shatter completely at the slightest touch.
It's done!
Lin Ji was overjoyed. Without further delay, he gripped his damaged weapon and quickly rose to the surface.
When he climbed back onto the reef, soaking wet, and held the rusty, broken sword up to his eyes in the moonlight, a bright smile finally appeared on his face.
He could almost see the smug, unfamiliar face of a player who had boasted about screenshots on the Regional Channel in his previous life.
"I'm sorry, brother, we are destined to meet in this life."
After speaking, he put the broken sword into his Spatial Inventory and then summoned the Sacrifice interface.
The Challenger Prompt sounded the next second.
[ Challenger Prompt: Sacrifice successful, gained 9738 Sacrificial Power.]
The account balance instantly jumped from 0 to nearly five figures.
We have the start-up capital.
Lin Ji sat down on the cold rocks, panting, and began to recover his strength.
Looking up at the vast, rumbling sea ahead, his eyes burned with fierce fighting spirit.
The real game is just beginning.