Players searching for a way forward

"Old Crazy, what level are you?" [Bitter Gourd Vine] asked.

"Level five," [Crazy Guy] said. "Internal energy 550, saber proficiency 600. You?"

"About the same," [Bitter Gourd Vine] said. "The second batch of beta testers arrives in three days. Just grinding like this won't cut it. We can't build any level advantage at all."

"We need somewhere to level up," [Chronic Laziness] said. "In theory, killing monsters should level us faster."

"Where do we go to kill monsters?" [Shangguan Tiezhu] asked.

"Western Mountain," [Take It or Leave It] said. "There are Fierce Beasts up there. I asked around—the City Lord's Residence buys them. Their hides, meat, and bones can all be exchanged for money. The Welcome Guest House and the Fur Shop outside pay even more..."

"Are our levels high enough?" [Bai Yin] asked. "The forums say Fierce Beasts are really hard to fight. Go up against one, and you'll get one-shotted."

"We have to try, whether we can handle them or not. We need to prove our worth," [Chronic Laziness] said. "If we can't level quickly and learn higher-level techniques, being Shadow Guards is worthless. NPCs have minds of their own. Applying to become Shadow Guards probably offended the City Lord already. She's just giving us the runaround. This morning, Lao Mi and Jing Mi were summoned by her, and they haven't come back all day. I suspect they were sent out on a mission. They're the ones actually benefiting from a hidden class."

"..." The players grinding their levels all stopped. [Chronic Laziness]'s analysis left them somewhat dejected.

"Is it still possible to quit the Shadow Guards?" [Bai Yin] asked.

"I went back to the Mo Family Sword Hall today and got thrown out," [Bitter Gourd Vine] said. "Their reason was that we'd joined the City Lord's Residence,