Forming a Team

"Fanzi, let's find three more people."

Little Fatty said while looking around, beginning to search for suitable candidates.

"Xiao Fan, we're one short, you coming?"

"Xiao Fan, we need a Healer here, you in?"

"Xiao Fan, do you have a team?"

In just ten minutes, five teams had already approached Xiao Fan with invitations.

My charm is actually this high?

Xiao Fan was quite pleased.

In the original owner's memories, he was a very introverted person who didn't like talking to others and was considered a background character in class. Aside from his desk mate Little Fatty, he basically had no friends.

Xiao Fan had assumed no one would ask him to team up, so he didn't expect so many people to want him.

Upon closer reflection, Xiao Fan realized that those people were only seeking him out because he was one of the only three people in the class who had chosen the Healer Class.

Everyone was entering the game for the first time, so it was inevitable they would fear getting hurt; having a Healer Class Player would provide a great sense of security.

After all, Cloud Sea was not a game in the traditional sense; if you died inside, you really died.

However, as soon as those people heard he intended to bring Little Fatty along, they turned and walked away.

"Damn! These people are so realistic." Little Fatty looked resentful.

He had tried to find several people to team up with, but all of them had rejected him.

In the class, besides the three Healers, the most popular person was the school beauty, Chen Xuewei.

Watching Chen Xuewei surrounded by a crowd of classmates, a flash of envy crossed Little Fatty's face.

"It's said that the Chen Family possesses an Earth-Tier Skill Chain passed down for a hundred years, and the characteristics of this Skill Chain only manifest in members of the Chen Family. The Chen Family became the number one family in Sea City because of this Skill Chain. Chen Xuewei must have chosen their family's Earth-Tier Skill."

Xiao Fan: ...

The Black Fog had only appeared ten years ago, so where would a hundred-year-old Skill Chain come from?

Truly delusional.

"If only the school beauty could team up with me."

Little Fatty was still daydreaming when he suddenly saw Chen Xuewei walking through the crowd toward him, his body instantly stiffening.

"Holy crap, Fanzi! Look! Is Chen Xuewei walking toward me? Oh no! She's going to team up with me! What do I do? Should I reject her, or reject her, or reject her?"

Xiao Fan pursed his lips: "Those three options don't seem very easy to choose from."

Little Fatty: ...

"Xiao Fan, Zhang Mo, do you two have a team yet?"

Chen Xuewei stopped in front of the two of them. Standing at 170cm, her oversized school uniform couldn't hide her upright posture and long, slender legs.

"Class monitor, neither Fanzi nor I have a team." Little Fatty immediately leaned forward, looking utterly shameless.

"My team happens to be missing two people; would you like to join?" As Chen Xuewei spoke, her gaze flickered over to Xiao Fan.

"We'd love to! Of course we'd love to! As long as the class monitor doesn't mind us." Little Fatty nodded frantically.

"Alright, come find me after you pick up your weapons." Chen Xuewei turned and left after saying this.

Little Fatty held his head high, and amidst the envious, jealous, and hateful gazes of the crowd, he grabbed his weapon and dragged Xiao Fan to find Chen Xuewei.

Standing beside Chen Xuewei were already one boy and one girl.

The girl was about 165cm tall with a well-proportioned figure and two long braids. Although her appearance wasn't as stunning as Chen Xuewei's, she was still a beauty.

It was Chen Xuewei's best friend, Zhang Huanhuan.

The boy was about 190cm tall with wheat-colored skin, a sturdy build, and a clean buzz cut. He was decent-looking, though his temperament was a bit gloomy.

It was the sports representative, Zhang Chao.

Zhang Yuanyuan held a whip in her hand, Zhang Chao wore a pair of boxing gloves, and Chen Xuewei carried a long sword.

Among the Yellow Rank Skill Chains provided by the school, there were no Skill Chains related to fists or whips.

Clearly, Zhang Yuanyuan and Zhang Chao were both using higher-level Skill Chains. Needless to say, according to Little Fatty, Chen Xuewei must have chosen her family's Earth-Tier Skill Chain.

Seeing Little Fatty holding a shield and Xiao Fan holding nothing at all, Zhang Yuanyuan and Zhang Chao exchanged a look, and Zhang Yuanyuan pursed her lips.

"Xuewei, with the strength of the three of us, we could easily compete for first place in this exam. Wouldn't it be a bit... to bring these two along?"

They were all classmates, so Zhang Yuanyuan didn't want to say anything too harsh, but her meaning was clear: she didn't want to team up with Xiao Fan and Little Fatty.

"Yeah, Xuewei. Yuanyuan and I both have Mystic Rank skills, and with your Earth-Tier skill, if we just find two more classmates with Mystic Rank skills, first place in this exam would be ours for the taking."

Zhang Chao frowned as he scanned the two of them.

"Zhang Mo's shield is of little use for killing monsters, and although Xiao Fan is a Healer, with our strength, we don't need a Healer for this exam at all. We'd be better off finding a Damage Class to boost our score."

Little Fatty turned bright red from what they were saying; this was blatant rejection.

Xiao Fan's expression was also unpleasant; after all, it was Chen Xuewei who had invited the two of them to join, not them begging to tag along, yet now they were pulling this stunt.

If it weren't for the fact that his first skill was useless in the early stages, he would have dragged the fatty away long ago.

"If you two don't want to, you can leave the team; I'm not forcing you." Chen Xuewei's voice carried a hint of coldness.

Zhang Yuanyuan and Zhang Chao were stunned for a moment, seemingly unable to believe that Chen Xuewei would actually drive them away for the sake of Xiao Fan and his companion.

"Don't be angry, Xuewei, we were just joking. We're all classmates, we didn't say we wouldn't team up with Xiao Fan and the others."

Seeing that Chen Xuewei was angry, Zhang Chao immediately changed his tune.

Although Zhang Yuanyuan's expression remained sour, she ultimately didn't say anything more.

The team formation ended quickly, and as the exam began, the various squads entered the Forest one after another, leaving only the Principal and the Dean behind.

"Old Li, do you think the person who created the Heaven-Tier Skill today could be one of the new Players?" The Principal suddenly spoke while watching the backs of the students as they gradually disappeared.

The Dean was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head: "Impossible. Cloud Sea has only had four Heaven-Tier Skills to date, and behind every Heaven-Tier Skill lies the blood of countless Players. How could these new Players who haven't experienced real game combat create a Heaven-Tier Skill?"

"Besides, those four Heaven-Tier Skills were all created at the fifth link of a Skill Chain. The limitations on creating skills at the first link are too great; it's basically impossible to create a Heaven-Tier Skill."

Hearing the Dean's analysis, the Principal nodded: "You're right, it's just that today's events were too coincidental. A Heaven-Tier Skill appeared just as these new Players were creating their skills, so I couldn't help but overthink it."

"It is indeed a coincidence." The Dean agreed: "I just wonder which powerhouse created a Heaven-Tier Skill today."

"We'll know sooner or later." The Principal didn't continue the topic and turned to look at the Forest in front of him.

"Who do you think will take first place in today's exam?" the Principal asked with interest.

"Need you ask? It has to be that girl from the Chen Family. An Earth-Tier Skill Chain is inherently powerful, and the first link of that Chen Family Skill Chain is even an Earth-Tier Skill; it would be strange if she didn't win."

No sooner had the Dean finished speaking than the data on the Score Counter in front of them changed.

The names of Chen Xuewei and her four teammates instantly appeared at the top of the leaderboard.