[Yeah, it's already afternoon. I finished clearing them out ages ago. Haven't you done it yet?]
[Oh, I lost some time setting up my territory.]
[What? You actually wasted time on the first day? Hurry up and clear them out. There's plenty of supplies to get. Fight whatever you can first, or you won't even sleep easy tonight.]
[Yeah, I know.]
[You don't know squat! If you knew, why would you waste time? I'll come over and help!]
With that, Yang Xiong sent a visit request.
The system sent a notification at the same time:
[You have received 1 visit request]
Zhao Chi opened the details page:
[Visit request]: [Visitor] Yang Xiong [Accompanying personnel] 3 total: Orc hero ×1, Orc ×2
Zhao Chi knew he meant well.
But...
Zhao Chi looked at the women beside him.
They were all working away, their skin fair and soft.
Although each of them wore a pair of shorts.
Those really were short shorts-very, very short.
Their upper bodies were completely bare, too.
Pairs of oranges, peaches, coconuts, and watermelons swayed and bounced.
It really wasn't a convenient time to have outsiders visit.
Besides, Zhao Chi didn't want to reveal his new race just yet.
The instructors would most likely discover it after the test at the start of term.
But he would put that off as long as he could.
So he clicked reject.
Yang Xiong asked in confusion, [Huh? Why did you reject me?]
Zhao Chi said, [Bro, thanks for offering to help. I appreciate it. I can handle these early monsters.]
[I know you can. I just wanted to help you finish faster.]
[I understand, but don't let me slow your progress. Don't forget, there's a test in seven days. You should get your territory built up as soon as possible, too. Don't worry about me. Really.]
[Are you sure? You're right, though. I really shouldn't have wasted time chatting in the group just now. I'll hang up, then. Just let me know if you need help.]
[All right, thanks.]
[No need to thank me. Bye.]
Yang Xiong ended the call.
Only after Yang Xiong mentioned it did Zhao Chi notice in his communications tab that the class group chat was practically blowing up.
There were two class group chats.
One was the official group with the instructors in it.
Usually, it was only used for posting announcements or for certain students to suck up to Li Ruanyu.
The other was a private group without any instructors, made up entirely of students.
The private group was much less restricted.
There were now 99+ unread messages in the private class group chat.
Zhao Chi opened it.
A flood of messages instantly filled his view.
They were all chat messages from his classmates.
Yang Xiong had enthusiastically joined in with plenty of messages himself.
The messages weren't just text.
There were voice messages, pictures, and even videos.
These students had yet to take a beating from the real world.
Quite a few were sharing their experiences.
Others posted pictures of their heroes.
Some even posted videos of their battles.
Zhao Chi opened the latest video.
It had been posted by Lu Yi, the class beauty.
In the footage, two towering trolls stood up ahead.
They were nearly 2.6 meters tall.
Although they were a little smaller and leaner than normal trolls, they were still powerful fighters.
Each troll held a stone axe in each hand.
They could fight up close or throw them.
In the video, Lu Yi could be heard asking quietly:
[Can five Elves and one Elf hero shoot these two trolls dead without any casualties? There aren't any trees around. It's rocky, hilly terrain.]
After Lu Yi posted the video, all the other conversations stopped.
Everyone offered her advice.
Some suggested luring them to an area with trees before shooting them down.
Others suggested buying poison and coating the arrowheads with it to help kill them.
Still others discussed the trolls' weaknesses or tactical arrangements.
Over a hundred related messages poured in.
In the end, Cao Feng, the deputy class representative, resolved Lu Yi's request for help.
Cao Feng also posted a video.
In it were five sleek, athletic leopards, black all over.
They were noticeably two sizes larger than normal leopards.
They lay quietly on the ground.
They let Cao Feng stroke their heads.
Cao Feng's voice was loud in the video:
[Lu Yi, I'll come help draw the trolls' attention. My Shadow Leopards have really high agility. Watch me run these two trolls into the ground.]
Lu Yi quickly replied with a voice message:
[Not bad, Cao Feng! Are Shadow Leopards your starting race? A pure combat race. That's really impressive.]
Cao Feng was clearly pleased to hear that.
But he pretended not to care:
[It's nothing. My family gave them to me, that's all. Still, these Shadow Leopards really are formidable. If anyone else needs help, just ask.]
Shadow Leopards were indeed formidable.
Like skeletons, they couldn't do any production or construction work. They were a pure combat race.
Shadow Leopards were an animal race.
They couldn't equip weapons, only armor.
However, specialized beast tamers could use materials to strengthen their claws and teeth, which was effectively the same as upgrading weapons.
Enchanters could also enchant their claws and teeth.
Overall, they weren't much worse than weapons.
They really were fast.
When charging, they could outpace Elves.
They excelled at both surprise attacks and pursuit.
Shadow Leopards had extremely good night vision, giving them a tremendous advantage in nighttime battles.
They could be described as a race with solid melee prowess and strong tactical capabilities.
It seemed Cao Feng's family really did have some money.
Zhao Chi wasn't very familiar with the prices.
But buying a Shadow Leopard "racial bloodline" would probably cost at least a hundred gold coins.
Although that was expensive, most families could still afford it if they tightened their belts.
Yet very few families were willing to make that investment.
Especially commoner families.
After all, although races like Shadow Leopards had their specialties, they were still ordinary races.
They were somewhat stronger than the five starting races, but not by much.
They could even be weaker in certain respects.
Overall, they weren't good value for money.
Before you continue