When the group returned to Novice Village, the sky had not yet grown completely dark.
Wind Snow Traveler stood at the village entrance. Seeing Xiao Fan and the others return safely, he was utterly astonished.
They had actually cleared that secret realm!
He had never had any confidence in the five of them. After all, he had nearly died in that secret realm himself.
"Blade Shadow was right. Maybe we'll really have to rely on him for the Level 10 Trial Land in the future."
At that moment, Xiao Fan's standing in Wind Snow Traveler's eyes began to rise.
Garfield Without Fat saw the Village Chief standing at the entrance and went over with a smile to greet him.
"Village Chief, how did you know the five of us cleared the secret realm? And why were you waiting here for us to come back?"
Wind Snow Traveler: Σ( ° △ °|||)︴.
Who was waiting here for you!!!
"Well, congratulations," Wind Snow Traveler said, forcing a smile.
"Haha, it wasn't that impressive. Brother Chen did a great job leading us," Garfield Without Fat said, waving his hand as if it were no big deal. But he couldn't hide the pride in his eyes.
Wind Snow Traveler looked at Xiao Fan, silently asking him if it was true.
Xiao Fan: ╮(￣▽￣")╭.
"By the way, a new player arrived in Zone 18 today," Wind Snow Traveler suddenly said.
"What? Village Chief, how could a new player enter the game at a time like this?" Mom Is Not Home asked in surprise.
The new players in Cloud Sea were all recent graduates who had just finished their college entrance exams.
As a rule, no new players entered after that period.
They had been in Zone 18 for half a month already. How had someone only just arrived?
"Sigh... This player's situation is a little unusual," Wind Snow Traveler replied with a sigh.
"What makes it unusual?" Garfield Without Fat asked curiously.
"I can't really explain it. If you want to know, go ask him yourselves. You're all new players, so look out for each other."
"Where is he?"
"Over there." Wind Snow Traveler turned and pointed behind him.
Following the direction of his finger, they looked toward a dark corner in the village, where a figure suddenly entered their view.
It was a girl who seemed almost to blend into the shadows. She was extremely small and thin, dressed in a neat black outfit. Like a forgotten young beast, she hugged her knees and curled up in the corner, making herself as inconspicuous as possible.
Her waterfall of inky black hair hung down, completely concealing her face and leaving them unable to see her expression or features. She was so silent that she made no sound at all, like a cold statue.
"She doesn't seem very sociable," Zai Zai said after craning his neck to get a good look.
Wind Snow Traveler replied, "That's normal. A fallen prodigy."
"What do you mean?" Mom Is Not Home asked.
"She came from Novice Village Zone 1," Wind Snow Traveler said, dropping a bombshell.
Everyone was shocked.
Novice Village Zone 1!
That was where the geniuses gathered!
Unlike the other seventeen Novice Villages, Zone 1 only admitted new players by invitation.
They invited only players with outstanding talent. Everyone else had no chance of joining.
Of course, Zone 1 could afford to be selective. They said it was rich in resources, and its Novice Village was more prosperous than the capital. It had everything.
A rundown place like Zone 18 couldn't compare with it at all.
Why would a genius from Zone 1 show up in the worst zone, Zone 18?
No one could figure it out.
More importantly, switching zones came at a steep price.
Usually, whichever Novice Zone a player entered first was where they had to develop from then on.
To change zones, a player had to erase all their data before they could go to another one.
In other words, switching zones meant losing everything they'd worked for, including Core Power, levels, and even skills.
With such a huge price to pay, almost no new player would choose to switch zones partway through.
So what had happened to make a new player leave a place like Zone 1 for Zone 18?
They were all incredibly curious.
"Let's go ask her."
Mom Is Not Home suggested.
Driven by curiosity, the group went over to the girl.
She seemed not to notice them arriving, still keeping her head buried between her knees.
"Hi, I'm Mom Is Not Home. I'm a new player too."
Mom Is Not Home held out his hand and introduced himself.
No response.
"Hi, I'm Mom Is Not Home. I'm a new player too."
Mom Is Not Home tried again.
Still no response.
It was awkward.
Mom Is Not Home: ...(⊙_⊙;)...
They looked at one another, unsure what to do.
"All right, we've had a long day. Let's go get some rest."
Xiao Fan spoke up.
A player who had given up everything to come from Zone 1 to Zone 18 must have been through something unimaginable.
She might be upset right now. It was understandable that she didn't want to talk.
Continuing to bother her would be overstepping.
Since Xiao Fan had said so, the others nodded and left on their own.
Only after everyone had gone did the girl slowly raise her head, revealing a face of breathtaking beauty.
Her beautiful eyes were now filled with despair, as lifeless as ashes.
She glanced at the backs of Xiao Fan and the others as they left, then curled back into a ball.
Over the next few days, Xiao Fan led the team into the secret realm every day.
As they grew more familiar with it, clearing the secret realm became much easier than before. They could even spend some time hunting Fierce Beasts on their way out, and maybe take down a Boss or two.
The new female player curled up in that corner every day. She didn't level up or speak, and she barely moved.
Xiao Fan wondered if something was wrong with her head. Wasn't curling up like that every day bad for her neck?
But it wasn't his problem.
At first, the other new players had tried to talk to her. After she ignored them several times, they stopped trying. Gradually, everyone forgot she was even there.
After entering the secret realm for several days in a row, Xiao Fan felt a little excited when he saw that his Core Power had reached 9,540.
"One more day in the secret realm tomorrow, and I'll have enough Core Power to reach Level 5. Then I can create a third skill."
Xiao Fan was looking forward to it.
What kind of skill should he create next?
There were too many powerful skills Xiao Fan could imagine, but creating skills in Cloud Sea came with restrictions.
A skill had to match not only his own attributes but also the rules of the game.
For instance, if the game world was low fantasy, and he tried to create a world-destroying skill right off the bat, it would probably fail.
Besides, a skill also had to suit his own attributes.
His attributes were still low. He had already pushed his limits creating Halo of the Saint and Gift of the Saint.
But as his attributes continued to rise, he would have more and more skills to choose from.
It was the same for other players.
In this game, the higher a player's level and attributes, the higher the level of skills they could create.
For now, Xiao Fan was mainly considering what type of skill to make next.
Damage? Healing? Or the defensive skill he'd been thinking about all along?
Over the past few days, his mana had surpassed 10,000. Gift of the Saint was enough to keep running all day without a break.
But he only had 460 health. He hadn't run into any danger for a while, largely thanks to Gift of the Saint's strong life-saving ability.
But the more he learned about Cloud Sea, the more he realized the game wasn't as simple as he'd imagined.
The monsters here had all kinds of strange abilities. Without knowing what they could do, he could still be in danger.
"Forget it. I'll think about it after I reach Level 5."
Xiao Fan closed his eyes. He had grown used to the thatched hut over the past few days, and the discomfort he'd felt when he first arrived was gone. He could fall asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.
In the middle of the night, Xiao Fan suddenly woke with a start.
He sat up in bed and realized he was drenched in cold sweat.
In his dream, he had sensed an intense feeling of danger.
"What was that?"
Xiao Fan looked out the window. It was quiet outside, without a sound.
"Could I just be under too much stress lately?"
Xiao Fan tried to reassure himself, but the feeling of unease grew stronger and stronger.
"I can't sleep anyway. I may as well go take a look."
Xiao Fan's thatched hut was near the village entrance. He had only taken a few steps outside when he spotted the two players on guard there.
One was Mom Is Not Home, and the other was a new player with the ID Qi Guoguo.
The two of them were sitting there dozing. When Xiao Fan walked up to them, they noticed him and hurried to their feet.
"Brother Chen, what brings you here?"
Xiao Fan had gradually become something like a big brother to the new players.
Everyone respected him.
The two of them felt a little awkward about being caught asleep while guarding the village entrance.
"I couldn't sleep, so I came out to take a look." Xiao Fan paused, his gaze sweeping over the two of them. "You still need to pay attention while on night patrol. The safety of the whole Novice Village depends on it."
Xiao Fan wasn't trying to lecture them. If danger came to the Novice Village, no one there would escape, including him.
"Brother Chen, we're sorry. We were just so tired that we didn't even realize we'd fallen asleep," Mom Is Not Home said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
"All right. Be more careful next time." Xiao Fan nodded to him, then turned to look outside the village.
The night was as thick as ink, concealing everything ahead. He couldn't see what was out there.
Seeing Xiao Fan frown as he stared beyond the village, Mom Is Not Home went over curiously and followed his gaze, but all he saw was darkness.
"Brother Chen, what is it?" Mom Is Not Home asked.
The unease in Xiao Fan's heart grew stronger. He stared outside the village, sensing that something was lurking out there.
"What is it?"
Xiao Fan said nothing. He stared fixedly beyond the village.
He sensed it!
Fierce Beasts were coming!
More than one!
A Beast Tide!
Xiao Fan suddenly remembered what Wind Snow Traveler had told him that day.
Every so often, a Beast Tide would appear in Zone 18.
That's right! It was a Beast Tide.
Xiao Fan's expression changed. "Quick! Wake everyone up! Now!"
His voice turned slightly hoarse with terror, but there was no room for argument.
Mom Is Not Home froze, then glanced at the calm night outside, bewildered.
"Brother Chen, it's quiet out there. What danger?"
The other player, Qi Guoguo, heard Xiao Fan and came over to take a look too. "Brother Chen, there's nothing out there."
"I said wake everyone up!" Xiao Fan barked.
He could sense it! The horde was getting closer.
"Right now! Hurry!"
The two of them stared at the furious Xiao Fan. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, whether from anger or fear, and he looked terrifying.
They both jolted, grabbed the gong nearby, and ran back into the village.
Before you continue