The Past of Zone 18

The gap between 100 Core Power and 1000 Core Power is massive!

How could he have possibly saved up 1000 Core Power in just four or five days?

Unless!

Xiao Fan's first skill was a Heaven-Tier Skill!

Wind Snow Traveler had heard from an old friend before that for any Player who creates a Heaven-Tier Skill for the first time, the system grants an additional 500 Core Power points.

Thinking about it this way, everything that happened before suddenly made sense.

Why Xiao Fan was able to save up 1000 Core Power, why their squad leveled up so fast, and why they could even kill Fierce Beasts above their own level!

Because he possessed a Heaven-Tier Skill.

A Heaven-Tier Skill! Truly powerful!

Seeing Xiao Fan appear here, Wind Snow Traveler didn't know whether to be happy or to feel sorry for him.

The two sat on the ground, the streetlamp at the village entrance shining down on the old man and the young man like a spotlight, resembling some kind of inheritance ceremony.

Solemn and grave.

Wind Snow Traveler pondered for a moment before asking:

"Your first skill is a Heaven-Tier Skill, isn't it?"

Xiao Fan wasn't surprised that Wind Snow Traveler could guess he had a Heaven-Tier Skill, and since he had nothing to hide, he simply nodded in admission.

"That's right, it is indeed a Heaven-Tier Skill."

"As I thought." Although Wind Snow Traveler had already been certain, hearing Xiao Fan admit it himself still left him incredibly shocked.

How many Heaven-Tier Skills are there in the entire Cloud Sea? For Xiao Fan, a novice Player, to create a Heaven-Tier Skill on his very first attempt was simply unheard of!

If this wasn't called a genius, then it was nothing short of a freak of nature, right?

Wind Snow Traveler didn't ask why Xiao Fan had been assigned to District 18; he turned his head to look at the mountain range outside the village.

Xiao Fan followed his gaze, only to find that he couldn't see anything through the pitch-black darkness. Yet, Wind Snow Traveler seemed lost in thought.

After a long while, he spoke slowly.

"Four years ago, a Player stumbled into the Black Fog and discovered this mountain range. After exploring it, he found that the Fierce Beasts in these mountains weren't high-level, and they were distributed in different areas according to their levels."

"This kind of place is perfect for building a Novice Village, so he reported it to the country."

"After various assessments and evaluations by the state, District 18 Novice Village was built here."

"Back then, the resources in District 18 were among the best of all the Novice Villages, and countless novice Players tried every possible way to join."

"District 18 was bustling with activity back then."

"Just as the country was planning to fully develop District 18 Novice Village, an accident occurred."

"That night, a Beast Tide struck. The Novice Village, which hadn't even finished construction, had no defenses at all. The Beast Tide surged straight in, and almost all the novice Players perished here."

"A Beast Tide—this is a phenomenon that simply doesn't happen in other Novice Zones."

"There is a special novice protection mechanism in Cloud Sea. Whenever a zone exceeds 100 novice Players, it is automatically designated as a novice protection area, and Players above level 20 cannot log in here."

"At the time, District 18 already met the criteria and was recognized by the system as a novice area, so the country couldn't provide any rescue."

Afterward, the country originally wanted to abandon District 18. Novices are fragile to begin with, and such a dangerous place wasn't suitable for them.

However, District 18 was rich in resources, and many people didn't want to give it up.

Later, after a period of investigation, no more Beast Tides appeared in District 18.

The previous Beast Tide was eventually classified as an accident.

More and more novices began to enter District 18, but then, the Beast Tide came again.

"So, as long as there are many people in District 18, the Beast Tide comes?" Xiao Fan seemed to catch on to something.

Wind Snow Traveler shook his head: "The Beast Tide comes even when there are few people."

Xiao Fan: ...

"It might be the system's novice protection mechanism. The scale of the Beast Tide is determined by the number of people in the Novice Village. Over the years, very few people have come to District 18, so each Beast Tide hasn't been large, but for those novices, it's still very difficult."

Speaking of this, Wind Snow Traveler looked toward the end of the village, and Xiao Fan immediately thought of that thatched hut engraved with countless names—all of them Players who had met their end in District 18.

"Later on, the strength of the novice Players coming to District 18 got worse and worse. Many times, they died in the wild before they could even wait for a Beast Tide," Wind Snow Traveler sighed.

Xiao Fan understood this deeply, recalling the eye-straining maneuvers of Han the Person and the others when they first started...

Forget it, better not think about it...

"How long have you been in the Novice Village?"

Xiao Fan asked out of sudden curiosity.

Immediately after, he saw Wind Snow Traveler's expression turn strange, filled with both nostalgia and pain.

After a long while, all those emotions dissolved into a single sigh.

"It's been four years, and I'm the one who discovered Zone 18 back then."

Hearing this, Xiao Fan said in disbelief, "It took you four years just to reach level ten?"

Wind Snow Traveler: "No."

"Then what is it?" Xiao Fan asked curiously.

"I was already level ten when I discovered this place."

Xiao Fan: ...

So he hadn't gained a single level in four years...

Xiao Fan started to panic...

"It shouldn't take four years without gaining a single level, right? Is there something terrifying about Zone 18?" Xiao Fan asked.

"This has to do with the special leveling mechanism of Cloud Sea."

"What mechanism?" Xiao Fan asked again.

"After a Player reaches level ten, they must enter the Trial Land. Only by clearing it can they continue to level up."

"It's been four years, and you haven't cleared the Trial Land!" Xiao Fan said in disbelief.

Wind Snow Traveler's old face flushed red, and he snapped, "What would a brat like you know? The terror of the level ten Trial Land is beyond your imagination. It's not just about having strength; you need wisdom as well."

"So, you're saying you lack wisdom?" Xiao Fan retorted.

"Damn it." Wind Snow Traveler was so angry he almost cursed.

"Alright, please go on," Xiao Fan quickly said.

Next, Wind Snow Traveler explained everything about the Trial Land in detail.

Xiao Fan understood.

This Trial Land was equivalent to a dungeon in a game.

The mechanics within the dungeon had to be figured out by the Players themselves.

In layman's terms, it required pioneering.

Only after clearing the dungeon could one continue to purchase level upgrades.

What was even more frustrating was that the trial dungeon for every Novice Zone was different.

In other Novice Zones, because there were so many people, teams had long since cleared the trial dungeons. Later arrivals could simply look up guides online and clear them with ease.

But in Zone 18, let alone talent, there were barely any people at all. Wind Snow Traveler hadn't even managed to assemble a suitable team yet, let alone clear the trial dungeon.

It was worth mentioning that the trial dungeon required a minimum of five people and could hold a maximum of ten.

Furthermore, there were three chances to die in the trial dungeon each day; once those three chances were used up, it meant true death.

To date, Wind Snow Traveler had only managed to gather five level ten Players.

He had originally planned to stop waiting and attempt to pioneer the trial dungeon with those five, but he hadn't expected Xiao Fan and his group to enter Zone 18.

Xiao Fan's strength reignited hope in Wind Snow Traveler.