"Welcome to Oak Town Starting Village, Zone 739. Reach Level 10 to travel to Silvermoon Main City for job advancement. Enjoy your game!"
As the system notification faded, Kalis was instantly engulfed by the sea of people flooding his vision.
The stone-paved streets of Oak Town were packed with players wearing rough cloth starter gear.
Torches burned under the eaves of wooden houses, and the air was mixed with the scent of hay, a classic starting village scene.
"Damn it! Who stepped off my leather boots?!"
"Make way! I need to go to the blacksmith to accept the iron ore collection quest!"
"Help! This spiny rat is actually biting me!"
Chaotic shouts echoed endlessly. Players squeezed in the crowd pushed and shoved forward.
Many were instantly killed by low-level monsters darting out of the grass as soon as they rushed out of the village, turning into streaks of white light and returning to the city.
Kalis could barely move an inch, caught in the surge. His blue-gray gradient short hair was tousled, and a hint of impatience flashed in his clear blue eyes.
He glanced at a confused, burly player beside him, deliberately lowered his voice, and pretended to be ignorant:
"Hey, buddy, have you heard? The system's hidden rule says committing suicide 100 times unlocks the hidden class 'Shadow Walker'; only a few people know this secret."
"Really?!" The burly man's eyes lit up, and several nearby players pricked up their ears immediately.
"Absolutely true. My cousin was a closed beta tester." Kalis lied solemnly.
In the next second, several streaks of white light lit up one after another.
A group of players unhesitatingly activated the system's built-in "suicide" function and vanished into glowing particles on the spot.
A space suddenly cleared up on the crowded street. Kalis raised an eyebrow and smiled, nimbly slipping through the gap.
"Foolish mortals." He muttered under his breath, striding toward the wilderness outside the village.
While NPC quests in the starting village could provide a small amount of experience, the time spent queuing for them was enough for him to grind half a level.
Instead of wasting time, it was better to hunt monsters directly to level up.
Reaching the grassland at the village entrance, Kalis pulled up his status panel, his fingertips gliding over the shimmering virtual screen:
[Name]: Kalis
[Class]: Apprentice Mage
[Level]: 1
[Talent]: Ultimate Amplification [Transcendental Mythic]
[Health Points (HP)]: 100/100
[Mana Points (MP)]: 30/30
[Spell Attack Power]: 2
[Physical Defense]: 2
[Spell Defense]: 1
[Strength]: 1 (Affects physical attack)
[Intelligence]: 1 (Affects spell attack)
[Constitution]: 1 (Affects HP and physical defense)
[Spirit]: 1 (Affects MP and spell defense)
[Agility]: 1 (Affects critical strike rate, additional attack boost for Rangers and Assassins)
[Equipment]:
Apprentice's Wooden Staff (Common): +1 Spell Attack Power
Apprentice's Robe (Common): +1 Physical Defense
[Skills]:
Magic Missile (Basic): Deals 110% spell damage, 2.5-second cooldown, no cost
"Heh, the base stats are really low." Kalis weighed the wooden staff in his hand, the vines wrapped around the shaft emanating a faint magical aura.
But thinking of his talent, a confident smile tugged at his lips. For others, Magic Missile was a useless basic skill, but in his hands, it was a world-destroying weapon.
On the grassland outside the starting village, swarms of [Spiny Rats] were gnawing on grass.
These Level 1 monsters had grayish-brown fur covered with sharp spines, 80 HP, and required three to four attacks for ordinary beginners to defeat.
At this moment, many players were struggling with the Spiny Rats. Occasionally, someone was scratched by the rats' counterattacks, their HP dropping continuously.
Kalis aimed at a freshly spawned Spiny Rat and raised his hand to cast Magic Missile.
"Whoosh."
A pale blue energy projectile shot out with a sharp whistling sound, accurately hitting the Spiny Rat's head.
-21036!
"You have defeated Spiny Rat, gained 5 Experience Points." System message.
An exaggerated five-digit damage number popped up above the Spiny Rat's head.
The poor monster didn't even have time to react before dissolving into a cloud of black smoke, leaving only a few copper coins on the grass.
"What the hell?! How did that Spiny Rat disappear in an instant?"
"Who's attacking from a distance? That damage is way too high!"
Players nearby turned their heads one after another, their faces filled with shock.
But they couldn't see Kalis's specific damage value, so they just assumed he was a top player who had drawn a Legendary weapon.
After discussing for a few words, they turned back to their own prey.
Kalis nodded in satisfaction and turned toward the depths of the grassland. Spiny Rats gave too little experience; he needed higher-level prey.
Passing through the Spiny Rat's habitat, a dense thicket appeared ahead, where Level 3 [Thorn Goblins] scurried about.
These goblin-like monsters with green skin held stone axes, had 180 HP, and much higher defense than Spiny Rats.
Some groups of players were already grinding levels here, mostly those who had drawn Fine or Rare quality rewards, cooperating seamlessly to gang up on the goblins.
Kalis didn't bother competing for monsters, directly passing through the thicket to reach the territory of Level 5 monsters, [Stonehide Golems].
[Stonehide Golem]
Level: 5
HP: 360/360
Physical Attack Power: 7
Physical Defense: 2
Spell Defense: 1
Skills: None
These golem monsters, assembled from rocks, paced clumsily on the open ground, their bodies covered in hard stone shells.
For ordinary players, defeating a single Stonehide Golem required at least five minutes of team cooperation.
But Kalis just raised his hand and cast a single Magic Missile.
-21,568!
The Stonehide Golem's stone shell shattered instantly, its entire body crashing to the ground and breaking into piles of gravel.
"You have defeated Stonehide Golem, gained 25 Experience Points."
"Congratulations! Level increased to 2!"
As the system notification sounded, Kalis immediately allocated both free attribute points to Intelligence.
His Intelligence soared to 4 points in an instant, and his Spell Attack Power rose to 5 points accordingly.
"Again." His eyes lit up, and he cast Magic Missile at the next Stonehide Golem.
-52,634!
Another one-hit kill! Before the Stonehide Golem could even get close to him, it was completely destroyed, dropping three silver coins.
"Good efficiency." Kalis picked up the silver coins, a smile curving his lips. One skill every 2.5 seconds with no mana cost, it was practically endless monster grinding.
Like a mobile artillery battery, he moved through the Stonehide Golem's territory.
Magic Missiles shot out like a meteor shower, and wherever they passed, monsters fell one after another.
Several players who were struggling to grind levels nearby stared in stunned disbelief:
"My god, how high is his attack power? One-shotting a Level 5 golem?"
"He must have drawn a Mythic weapon! Boss, please carry us!"
A female player wearing a pink mage's robe approached, her voice sugary: "Handsome guy, can we form a team? I can heal you～"
"Sorry, I'm not interested in in-game females." Kalis refused without looking back, continuing toward higher-level areas.
His goal was never the starting village, but to level up as soon as possible to unlock more powerful skills.
As his level continued to rise, Kalis's stats became more and more terrifying. At Level 3, his Intelligence was 8 points, Spell Attack Power 8 points, and the Magic Missile damage exceeded 90,000.
At Level 6, his Intelligence reached 20 points, Spell Attack Power 20 points, and damage soared directly to 200,000!
He crushed everything in his path, passing through the forest of Level 7 [Silver-Horned Stags].
These fast monsters with silver antlers were as fragile as paper in the face of his Magic Missiles, one every 4 seconds, his experience bar filling up rapidly.
Ten minutes later, Kalis had reached Level 6, becoming the highest-level player in the entire starting village.
Going deeper into the forest, the light gradually dimmed, and a dangerous aura filled the air.
Just then, a huge black tiger with dark red stripes on its fur darted out from behind the trees, its amber eyes locking onto Kalis. It was the starting village's hidden boss, [Shadow-Striped Tiger]!
Kalis reacted instantly. Almost as soon as the Shadow-Striped Tiger appeared, he raised his hand and cast a Magic Missile.
"Whoosh."
The pale blue energy projectile, carrying terrifying power, slammed heavily into the Shadow-Striped Tiger's forehead.
-219863!
A shocking damage number popped up. The Shadow-Striped Tiger's massive body froze mid-air, crashed heavily to the ground, twitched twice, and fell motionless.
"Congratulations! Defeated the starting village's hidden boss [Shadow-Striped Tiger], gained 10 Reputation Points!"
"Congratulations! Became the first player in this zone to defeat the starting village boss, received an honorary reward: Epic equipment [Star-Patterned Staff]!"
"You have defeated Shadow-Striped Tiger, gained 3000 Experience Points!"
"Congratulations! Level increased to 7!"
"Announcement: Player 'Kalis' was the first to defeat the starting village's hidden boss, unlocking an Epic equipment reward!"
"Announcement: Player 'Kalis' broke the zone's fastest leveling record, reward +1 to all attributes!"
"Announcement:..."
Three consecutive golden zone announcements blazed across all players' vision, and the entire Oak Town Starting Village erupted in an instant.
As for the culprit, Kalis, he stared down at the Shadow-Striped Tiger's corpse, a hint of surprise flashing in his blue eyes: "So this is the hidden boss? It's way too weak."