Wu Shaozhen browsed the forums for a while, but found nothing that interested him. He closed the forum interface and went back to grinding monsters. After a while, a server-wide notification rang out.
Server-wide announcement: Congratulations to player Jun Lin on successfully completing a Class Change to Archer. As the first player to become an Archer, he has been awarded 500 reputation, 20 gold coins, and one Class Skill Book. This announcement is hereby issued!
Huh, someone changed classes? Didn't they say they couldn't beat the Silver Wolf King? Could he be from my Novice Village? Wu Shaozhen wondered when he heard the announcement. Come to think of it, he's the first person besides me to get a server-wide announcement. Finally, someone to share the heat.
Just over ten minutes after that notification, another one rang out.
Server-wide announcement: Congratulations to player Xue'er on successfully completing a Class Change to Mage. As the first player to become a Mage, she has been awarded 500 reputation, 20 gold coins, and one Class Skill Book. This announcement is hereby issued!
"That girl's pretty good!" Wu Shaozhen said in surprise. Although the Teleportation Array in that Novice Village had been repaired, only a handful of players across the entire server had reached level 10 by now. Snatching the first Mage spot was proof enough of her ability.
Before long, another notification rang out.
Server-wide announcement: Congratulations to player Call Me Young Master Huang on successfully completing a Class Change to Warrior. As the first player to become a Warrior, he has been awarded 500 reputation, 20 gold coins, and one Class Skill Book. This announcement is hereby issued!
Hearing the server-wide announcements come one after another, Wu Shaozhen rubbed his nose and murmured, "Should I charge them a teleportation fee?"
The people in the other Novice Villages were even more jealous.
"Aah! Why wasn't I spawned in the same Novice Village as the great Dustseal?!"
"This is so demoralizing. We're fighting for our lives against the Silver Wolf King, and they get everything handed to them."
"Ugh, comparing yourself to other people really is infuriating!"
Meanwhile, following Wu Shaozhen's advice, the World-Proud Heroes guild had spent a fortune buying potions and was now locked in a tense battle with the Silver Wolf King. With potions that increased health by 30% and Instant Recovery Potions, they had finally stabilized the situation. The only problem was how many potions they burned through-or, rather, how much money. To buy those potions, they had purchased almost all the currency available in their Novice Village, driving the price up to two yuan per copper coin.
Besides the frontline players fighting the Silver Wolf King, at least a thousand more players stood behind them. Their main job was to deal with the Silver Wolves summoned by the Silver Wolf King, keeping them outside so they wouldn't interfere with the battle within.
The battle continued like this for over an hour before the Silver Wolf King's massive body finally collapsed. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
World-Proud Under Heaven picked up the drops and hurried toward the village, giving orders as he went. "Jueqing, Lone Peak, you two just leveled up too, right? Hurry and follow me. The first-class-change rewards for Shieldguard and Priest are still unclaimed. Go grab them."
After returning to the Novice Village, they watched anxiously as the village chief repaired the magic array. Just then, another server-wide announcement rang out.
Server-wide announcement: Congratulations to player Dreamlight Dance on completing a Class Change to Priest. As the first player to become a Priest, she has been awarded 500 reputation, 20 gold coins, and one Class Skill Book. This announcement is hereby issued!
"Dreamlight Dance isn't in Beginner Village 8365, is she?" World-Proud Jueqing asked in confusion.
"No. Looks like the Dream Guild killed the Silver Wolf King before we did," World-Proud Under Heaven said with a frown.
The Dream Guild was a renowned women-only guild in the online gaming world. Every member was a female player, and it didn't recruit men. Yet this guild made up entirely of women had still managed to rank among the top ten guilds in online gaming.
"To think Dreamlight Dance, the number-one Mage herself, would complete a Class Change to Priest. I wonder whether she wanted the first-place reward or her talent suited the Priest class," World-Proud Lone Peak mused.
At that moment, the village chief finished repairing the Teleportation Array. The three hurried inside, and the city they selected was none other than Jinling City.
Soon, another system notification rang out.
Server-wide announcement: Congratulations to player World-Proud Lone Peak on successfully completing a Class Change to Shieldguard. As the first player to become a Shieldguard, this player has been awarded 500 reputation, 20 gold coins, and one Class Skill Book. This announcement is hereby issued!
All six classes now had their first players. What left everyone speechless was that Beginner Village 8365 had claimed a full four of those spots, and apart from Jun Lin, the others were all unknowns. Every player now understood just how much easier life was with someone powerful to lean on.
Ding! Congratulations, you have leveled up. Health +40, mana +20, agility +2. You have gained 10 freely assignable attribute points. Please allocate them wisely.
While everyone else was neglecting food and sleep to level up, Wu Shaozhen looked resigned when he heard his level-up notification. Level 16 monsters really did give a level 11 player a huge amount of experience. With the bonus for fighting higher-level monsters, each kill still earned him 216 experience even after his pet took 20%. Apart from the three he had killed earlier, it took only another 126 Goblins to level up.
"Ugh, now that I've leveled up, I have to find somewhere else to grind," Wu Shaozhen said helplessly. He left the ten attribute points unallocated for now. He could add them later once he knew what he needed; those few points weren't something he lacked at the moment.
He had killed 129 Goblins in total, bringing his poison damage to 152 per second. That could strip away over nine thousand health in a minute-an absolutely terrifying amount.
The health gained from Immortal Body had also reached 129 points. His health had broken the two-thousand mark, reaching 2,079. His agility was now 120, and his experience stood at 86/40,000.
The 129 Goblins had dropped eight pieces of equipment for Wu Shaozhen, a noticeably higher drop rate than in the Novice Village. He wasn't sure whether higher-level monsters had better drop rates or whether it was his luck bonus. Perhaps it was both. Back in the Novice Village, he had needed to kill thirty or forty monsters for one piece of equipment; here, it was roughly one piece every fifteen or sixteen kills.
What Wu Shaozhen found most incredible was that one of them was actually a piece of Black Iron equipment.
[Wolf Fang Mace] Quality: Black Iron Grade Physical attack +60 Defense Penetration +4% Additional attributes: Strength +15 Equip requirement: Warrior
Its attributes were excellent, and it only had a class requirement, not a level requirement. He wondered whether other equipment was the same.
It seemed higher-level monsters had a chance to drop Black Iron equipment. If his guess was right, even higher-level normal monsters should drop Bronze equipment or better, just at lower rates. Otherwise, where would players find enough bosses to fight?
This weapon was definitely a rare find for a Warrior and should fetch a good price. He would hold on to it for now and put it up for auction once more people reached the Main City.
The other seven pieces were all level 16 white equipment, the sort he could neither sell to players nor use himself. He would probably have to sell them to an in-game shop. He had a feeling that only white equipment would have level requirements from here on, while equipment with additional attributes would have class requirements. If that was the case, there would be no point picking up white equipment anymore.
Silver Big Bad Wolf was an even more pleasant surprise. Pets needed far less experience to level up than players. Even with only a 20% share, those hundred-odd Goblins had brought Silver Big Bad Wolf all the way to level 8, vastly improving its attributes.
[Silver Big Bad Wolf] Pet Aptitude: A Level: 8 Health: 8,200 Mana: 900 Physical attack: 260 Physical defense: 186 Spell Defense: 93 Speed: 40
Although those attributes were good, Silver Big Bad Wolf still couldn't join the fighting, mainly because Wu Shaozhen was taking on monsters far above his level. Against enemies of the same level, Silver Big Bad Wolf would still be able to crush them. For now, it could only keep trailing behind him and soaking up experience.
Just as Wu Shaozhen was about to venture deeper, his phone rang in the real world. With no other choice, he logged out to answer it. If he had a gaming pod, he could connect his phone directly and avoid all this hassle.
He took off his gaming helmet, picked up the phone beside him, and glanced at the caller ID. A rare smile curved his lips before he answered. It had been a while since that little girl had called.
"Brother..." A hesitant voice came from the other end.
"What is it, Ziyin?" Wu Shaozhen asked.
"Brother... could you... transfer me some money? I know you don't have much either, but I..."
"Sure. I'll send it right away." Hearing the anxiety in her voice, Wu Shaozhen agreed without even asking why.
Since their parents had passed away, his younger sister was the only family he had left. In the past, he hadn't had much money and could only give her a thousand yuan a month for living expenses. She knew his wages were low, so she scrimped and saved, often taking part-time jobs herself. This was the first time she had asked him for money like this.
After hanging up, Wu Shaozhen transferred twenty thousand yuan straight to his sister's bank account. He had wanted to send more, but worried it would make her overthink things.
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