Chapter 5

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Highspeed rail R1218 traveling from Ningdong to Yinhai will be arriving at the station in five minutes. Disembarking passengers, please prepare.” The sweet voice of the train attendant echoed in the coach.

1

“Finally.” Nie Fan stretched lazily, picking up his luggage as he prepared to leave the train.

2

This was the first time he left Ningdong.

He was eighteen, standing one point seven five meters tall and had average looks. That being said, his face has pronounced outlines and curves, a straight nose, appropriately thick lips, and thick jet-black hair. There was a hint of health in his handsomeness, with his form upright and his movement nimble, which in turn gave the impression that he was decisive, experienced and capable, which was rather mismatched compared to his age.

5

“Young man, are you in the army?” The old man wearing a gray shirt with short sleeves sitting beside him was grinning at him.

1

“I was, sir, but no longer. I left after two years of service.” Nie Fan smiled calmly.

1

“No wonder. I myself served with the twenty-seventh brigade of the air force, but I’m too old now.” The old man looked like he was having a nostalgic moment.

Nie Fan understood him—people tend to reminisce about the past when they become older, but he did not have the time to hear the old man’s story at the moment.

Swinging his backpack over his shoulder, he said, “This is my stop, sir.”

“Hehe. Very well, young man. Safe journeys.”

Nie Fan picked up a thick notebook of several hundred pages and a worn cover. He felt a pang of misery when he looked at it—his mother had given it to him before he came to Yinhai, saying that it was the only thing his father had left him. It was a very thick notebook, and with the tiny handwriting of at least several million words meant that he could not finish reading it, and was only able to carry it around.

The train stopped steadily then. Nie Fan pulled his luggage along, left the coach and looked around at his surroundings. This was the first time he was in Yinhai, and as he moved along the wide train station, he found not a single piece of litter on the crystalline marble floor. Nie Fan himself had lived in a small isolated city, and was therefore not quite used to being in such a modern metropolis.

Nonetheless, he should settle down here before anything else.

Rows of billboards stood in the train station adverting a VR game called [Blade of Tyranny], which would begin public testing in three days. As Nie Fan moved along, he decided would describe the billboards for the game as blanketing heaven and earth.

This was an age where physical needs were met in excess, and VR games were one of the main pastimes for the people. After all, entering the game was no different from entering a different realm, soothing the tension in real life in search of a different existence. In fact, coverage of VR games had reached 89% according to Federation statistics, not to mention that the annual in-game purchases of the countless gamers had also arrived at a shocking threshold.

Before this, Nie Fan had played several VR games but was not especially gifted with it. All he could be was an ordinary gamer, and soon he gave up altogether for various reasons.

As he followed the crowd towards the entrance of the station, several big screens in the stations were broadcasting news of various major studios recruiting gamers. The studios in Yinhai which were ranked in the top fifty were even offering high pay for professional gamers of considerable skill as they prepared to join the Blade of Tyranny. The poaching of talent between studios was also escalating, with the price tag on top professional gamers doubling or tripling.

Nie Fan often kept an eye on the news, which nowadays mostly focuses on the many gamers of online VR games. Professional gamers are treated no differently from star celebrities, and they also earn stunning incomes through annual tournament prizes, sponsorships, and endorsements. Nie Fan’s own father was a famous professional as well, ranking third in China and had been wildly popular for a time. Be that as it may, his father retired when Nie Fan was only twelve, even piling up a huge debt and leaving his family impoverished. Three years later, he died in a car accident. Both Nie Fan and his mother were hence left in great agony.

1

Since then, it was as if Nie Fan suddenly sprouted and matured, and he began to support the household, dropping out of school early on to make a living.

2

Did he not wish that he could hide beneath his parents’ wings like other teenagers?

That being said, he had learned to assume responsibilities.

As he delved in his thoughts, he had unwittingly reached the entrance when a clear shout interrupted his thoughts.

“Hey. You’re Nie Fan, right?”

Turning towards the voice, Nie Fan’s eyes brightened.

A girl who was around eighteen was approaching him. She stood at an average height of around one point six meters, but her figure was nimble and she exuded a graceful charm with the backdrop of her yellow short skirt. Her jet-black hair hung like a waterfall down to her waist, with perfect pink complexion on her oval face. Beneath her bushy eyebrows were a pair of crystalline eyes, her lively gaze hardly hiding her cheekiness which she deliberately concealed.

“I am. And you would be…?” Nie Fan was left stunned and only spoke after a moment as he wondered why the beautiful girl would know him.

1

“You don’t remember me?” She looked at him rebukingly, her slightly pursed lips sparkling and translucent like jelly. Suddenly, her gaze shifted, her face showing an indistinct smugness before her eyes narrowed in a smile.

That smile was like a ray of sun in winter that gifted warmth.

As Nie Fan listened to her and watched her expression, a long-forgotten memory surfaced in his mind because that outline of her face was vaguely familiar.

“You’re Lin Xinyan?” He suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

“You finally remember.” She smiled at him.

“Is Uncle Lin not here?” Nie Fan asked doubtfully—he had assumed that Uncle Lin would be meeting him here.

“My dad’s is outstation for work. Let’s go, he told me that you’ll be staying with us for a while.” Lin Xinyan smiled mysteriously, as if saying that ‘You brat, you’re finally in my domain. Watch as I avenge myself for what happened in our childhood days!’

4

Hence, Nie Fan pulled his luggage along as he kept up being Lin Xinyan, caught in an unreal sensation as he looked at the sweet, fair, and graceful figure before him.

His memories of her only reached the time when they were six or seven. Their parents were longtime acquaintances and their families often came together, although Nie Fan himself was at odds with her and often fought. Eventually, their families saw each other less when Nie Fan’s family moved to Ningdong, although Uncle Lin would come visit during various festivals. Still, Nie Fan did not expect that the naughty little girl who would scratch others with her nails had grown to be such a beauty. There certainly was no telling how many boys she had charmed in her school, as evidenced by the number of passersby who were sliding glances at their direction.

Nie Fan could not help but sigh that time flies.

“Wouldn’t it be inconvenient if Uncle Lin is out?” He asked hesitantly as he hurried to catch up with her.

“And where would you go other than my home?” Lin Xinyan rolled her eyes at him.

Since when did this brat become so polite? He certainly wasn’t that tender when he snatched her toys off her as children.

4

“Sorry for troubling you and Uncle, then. I’ll rent a place as soon as can… right after I find a job,” Nie Fan said, reluctant to rely on others.

“Are you going to find work here instead of studying? What job would you look for?” Lin Xinyan asked, taken aback.

She remembered that he was the same age as she was and should still be in school. When she heard from her father that he was coming, she assumed that he was transferring schools.

“There are many jobs I could take: customer service, security guard or even bodyguard.” Nie Fan replied.

2

“AI robotics has become common in Yinhai long ago—you’re never going to get a job in customer service or as a security guard. And bodyguard? Forget it.” Lin Xinyan smiled as she studied his 1.75m frame. His loose jacket made him looked especially skinny and definitely not the look of robustness—he was definitely not going to win in a fight with that frame.

“Those are jobs in my resume. I’m confident I wouldn’t fare badly.” Nie Fan explained with a grin, aware of what she was thinking from her eyes alone. He was in fact working as a bodyguard for a rich businessman in his last job, and the employer had been quite pleased with him. However, Nie Fan determinedly resigned when he found out that his employer had connections to **.

8

Lin Xinyan looked at him in shock. She then remembered that his father had mentioned that Nie Fan had dropped out of school to work a few years ago—he must have had it hard over the years, and realized that she was being quite insensitive with her own excellent living conditions.

Nie Fan had definitely changed a lot. Lin Xinyan had initially intended to give him a good teasing when he arrived, but she gradually put away that thought.

1

Blushing, she said apologetically, “Sorry… for what I said.”

“It’s okay.” Nie Fan smiled calmly; he knew she meant nothing bad.

Then, sensing her change in attitude lifted his brow slightly then—he did not need the pity of others, but he also knew that he would not even afford a week’s rent in a modern city like Yinhai with those miserable seven hundred dollars in his wallet. Therefore, he could only stay at Lin Xinyan’s home for the time being, and he would remember Uncle Lin’s kindness in taking him in. He was confident that he would find a job eventually, and when he did, he would be able to gain a footing here to repay that kindness.

As the two talked, they left the station and Lin Xinyan made a beeline to a red Lamborghini and opened the door. “Get in.”

“Yours?” Nie Fan asked in shock. The car had perfect curves, a vivid color, and appeared breathtakingly wild.

Which made it really suitable for Lin Xinyan.

“Yeah.” She nimbly turned on the ignition.

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After a moment of silence, Nie Fan opened the other door and got into the passenger seat.

The engine purred as the red Lamborghini sped off.

“Nie Fan, are you interested in becoming a professional gamer?” Lin Xinyan suddenly asked while driving after having just remembered it. “My cousin’s studio is recruiting, you could try.”

“Professional gamer? I might not make the cut.” Nie Fan shook his head, believing that he did not have the gift for it.

“No one is a pro on day one. Try it, or you might not have the chance ever again three days late when the servers for the Blade of Tyranny begins service,” she urged him excitedly. “It doesn’t take much skill if you work as a crafting gamer either, and the pay is good. You would earn a basic income at first, and if you improve there would be additional bonuses.”

“Alright, I could give it a go.” Nie Fan agreed after some thought, finding it awkward to refuse when he saw how excited Lin Xinwei was. She was being kind after all, and being an amateur was better than being unemployed. Moreover, he had heard that he could play at night while keeping his day job, which meant he could take two jobs at once.

It was not a bad choice, given that he wouldn’t want to keep staying at Lin Xinyan’s home.

“Fantastic. My cousin actually needs more gamers urgently, I’ll give him a call right now.” Lin Xinyan cheerfully dialed a number when he agreed. “Back in the day, Uncle Nie was a pro who ranked third—I believe you can make it too, Nie Fan.”

“Hopefully.”

Nie Fan’s thoughts drifted into the distance as he watched the sights outside that dashed past.

He never imagined that he would take the same path as his fathers.

He wanted to know what his father felt when he ranked third, and what actually happened that led to his dejecting exit.

2

***

Headquarters of the Tempest Wings Studio, sixteenth floor of Xuangong Tower, Yinhai.

Being herself familiar with the place, Lin Xinyan led Nie Fan into an office, and introduced him to a young man sitting behind the desk.

“Cousin, he’s Nie Fan, the one I told you about. What do you think?”

The young man was Lin Quan, Lin Xinyan’s cousin and the owner of Tempest Wings Studios, a company once ranked in China’s top twenty. Despite having already become a legend at the professional scene, Lin Quan looked just around twenty-six, his height not too apparent since he was sitting. He did resemble Lin Xinyan a little in his facial features, although his expression was somber and mature with his formal attire.

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Lin Quan studied Nie Fan with his sharp eyes and nodded. “I heard about you from my uncle, Nie Fan. Just arrived at Yinhai?”

“Yes.” Nie Fan nodded with composure.

“Although Xinyan brought you here, I have to learn some details about you before you join Tempest Wings. I’ll be asking you some questions, so just answer as is.”

“Alright.” Nie Fan replied.

Lin Quan had put some formless pressure on him, but he was not nervous after having started working for years.

“Have you played VR games before?”

Nie Fan nodded. “Yes.”

“What are some of the titles you played?” Lin Quan pressed.

“Foreworld, Legend of Enzex, Faith…”

“What level did you reach?”

“Fifty-seven, fifty-one, one-two-one.”

“Too low.” Lin Quan shook his head—such levels were certainly not professional, and might not even qualify as middling. “Have you tried support classes?”

“No.” Nie Fan shook his head honestly, thinking that this is a failure.

As he thought, Lin Quan shook his head and leaned into his chair. “It seems that you haven’t played many VR games, and it remains to be seen if you could reach the level of professional gamers. We wouldn’t simply recruit someone like you under normal circumstances.”

Nin Fan nodded, indicating that he understood Lin Quan—it was indeed as he put it: the studio was an organization set up to make profits, why hire him if he could not make a profit for them?

Meanwhile, Lin Xinyan became nervous after listening to what Lin Quan said. Now that she knew Nie Fan’s circumstances and being eager to help him out of kindness, she quickly poured her cousin a cup of tea and sweet-talked him. “Cousin, you should take him in. Uncle Nie had doted on me back then, and he was once the third in China’s professional scene. Trust me, his son would not lose out.”

“I know that.” Lin Quan threw her a feeble look and smiled. “By the way, I wasn’t finished—and I did say under normal circumstances. How about this, Nie Fan? It’s impossible for you to join the studio with your current ability, but your talent still remains to be seen. I’ll arrange for you to be a fringe member, and you just have to complete monthly quests set by the studio. We won’t be limiting your freedom—you can do anything you like with your time out of the quests, while you would be accepted into our inner circle if your level and skill is found to be up to standards. That being said, you have to leave if you can’t complete said quests. Your salary would be two thousand per month, and you would be receiving bonuses for every quarter of the year: a few hundred on the low, dozen thousands on the high.”

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Nie Fan had already given up, and was naturally surprised that Lin Quan would keep him—it must have been because he was trying to save face for Lin Xinyuan.

That being said, having a job offering two thousand dollars for income was already very good.

“Thank you,” he told Lin Quan.

“You’re welcome. Fringe members are nonessential anyway, and in the end it’s you yourself who determines whether you stay.”

It was a little hurtful to hear something like ‘nonessential’, but such was reality: Nie Fan must prove himself or he would be belittled.

Lin Quan then tap Lin Xinyan on the nose and told her, “You brat. Blade of Tyranny is starting so I’ll be busy for some time. I’ll be very happy as long as you don’t make a scene.

“Got it, cousin.” Lin Xinyan grinned and made a silly face at Nie Fan.

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“Okay. Now leave us alone for a bit, I still have something to tell Nie Fan.” Lin Quan gave Lin Xinyan a pat on the head.

Lin Xinyan glanced curiously at Lin Quan and then at Nie Fan, curious what Lin Quan wanted to talk about.

However, she nodded after hesitating for a bit. “Alright, I’m heading out.”

She turned and left the room, closing the door gently behind her.

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Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“I heard Uncle Nie had passed away.”

Lin Quan had a sip of tea. He was aware of Nie Fan’s family matters, and he certainly would know such a major incident in the professional scene.

“Yes.” Nie Fan nodded, already knowing what Lin Quan would say next.

“It saddened me to hear it,” Lin Quan said. He stayed silent for a moment, before adding with a solemn expression, “But there is something I must tell you first.”

“Please do, Mister Lin.”

“You must be aware that Xinyan’s father—who is my second uncle had managed to put together some success in Yinhai over the years, and is considered a person of prestige in the city. As for Xinyan, it wouldn’t be a problem for her to enroll in a university with her results and secure a bright future, although she is a little young. I know what I’m saying would hurt your self-esteem, but I must say it.”

Lin Quan’s subtext meaning was certainly obvious, but Nie Fan spoke out, stopping him just as he was about to continue.

“I get your meaning, Mister Lin. I’m no more than a poor village boy who came to Yinhai trying to make a living. Uncle Lin only offered to help me for my father’s sake and I could not be more grateful, which is why you could be at ease, Mister Lin—I wouldn’t have presumptuous thoughts about Miss Lin given my lowly identity.”

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Moreover, he was only close to Lin Xinyan when they were children. As time and distance set them apart, he did not feel anything special about her when he saw her again after so long, save for finding her a little breathtaking. Be that as it may, it did hurt his esteem to be warned in such fashion, not to mention that he was rather eager to get ahead despite his poor background, and would rather not be belittled like this.

“I don’t mean to hurt you, so please don’t take it too seriously.” Lin Quan could tell that Nie Fan had an unyielding air to him—the youth spoke with a demeanor that was neither prideful nor sycophantic despite his humble roots, which earned him a few points of admiration from Lin Quan. “I believe you could make it with your ability, but it’s just that Xinyan wouldn’t make a good match for you.”

“You flatter me, Mister Lin. Even so, I would admit that I have no outstanding talent, and I am not out to seek fame and glory. That being said, I would not starve as long as I have limbs.” Nie Fan could tell that Lin Quan’s words were compassion for the weak, and he did not need that.

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“You are just like your father.” Lin Quan smiled calmly. Nie Fan’s father had been a famously difficult person too. His nature where he would rather be broken than bent commanded respect, but the man himself would beg to differ. “Uncle Lin once told your father that he would let Xinyan marry you, but it was just a joke.”

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“Mister Lin, you must be joking. It’s just two old men having a laugh—with my father’s passing, I would not take it seriously.” Nie Fan replied.

2

“Still, I believe Uncle Lin would remember that and he might still hope that you could be with Xinyan, although I hope you’d understand that the elders wouldn’t agree even if Uncle Lin does. He would not be making the decisions.”

4

Nie Fan frowned then, suspicious why Lin Quan would talk so much about something completely unrelated to him. “That would never happen, and there’s no need to keep talking about it. Can I leave if there’s nothing else, Mister Lin?”

“Maybe I’m overthinking it. Let’s set aside private affairs and talk business then—here’s a VR headgear, it’s company standard equipment. Now run along to human resource to sign your contract. That is all.”

Lin Quan walked to a corner of the office, took out a blue headset and handed it to Nie Fan and waved him off.

For some reason, it was a grade B headset that internal employees would use.

“Thank you. Then, I shall be going.” Nie Fan accepted the headgear and left the office.

Watching his back as he left, Lin Quan sighed emotionally, doubting Uncle Lin if he had the right person.

***

Lin Xinyan approached Nie Fan the moment he left the office. “What did my cousin tell you?” She asked interestedly.

“He gave me this headgear, told me to head to HR and sign my contract.” Nie Fan said, brandishing the headgear in his hand.

“He’s being nice to you—that’s a B-grade headgear for internal employees.” Lin Xinyan smiled as she looked at the headgear.

Nie Fan felt a little troubled at her words then, since it was puzzling that Lin Quan would treat him so well given how he despised him and wanted him to stay away from Xinyan. “Maybe it’s because of you.”

“Of course. Who do you think I am? Remember to treat me to dinner when you get your pay.” Lin Xinyan lifted her chin proudly, her two dimples showing as she smiled. “Come, I’ll take you to HR.”

Two hours later, Nie Fan’s various work arrangements were decided. He gained a general understanding about Blade of Tyranny after Tempest Wings gave him some information—he would be allowed stay online for a maximum of ten hours per day and he could arrange his own schedule, not to mention that being online keeps him in deep sleep and he would be using his brain waves to play the game. Furthermore, he would have thirty-six hours of contingency time each month, permitting him to handle various emergencies. As for the actual game content, everyone did not know much except for the map information that the official portals published.

Even if he did not consider himself gifted in VR games, Nie Fan had decided that he would do his best so that others would not look down on him whatever happens.

Later, Lin Xinyan brought him to her home and arranged a room for him.

It was a three-floor mansion, and Nie Fan’s room was on the second floor opposite Xinyan’s. The house itself was considered luxurious, and a place which Nie Fan would never imagine he was staying before this.

After putting away his luggage, he was left speechless as he looked at the two-meter wide bed.

Could one person use such a huge bed? Moreover, he was not used to the soft mattress—he was basically sleeping on a twenty-centimeter wide bench in the past, and was not allowed dropped off it. His father called it training, but where could he find a bench now?

1

He would just have to adapt.

“The kitchen is downstairs. Go out and buy ingredients if you would rather cook, I’m calling delivery. Also, I would be at school in the morning, and at the gym other times for dancing, yoga, and taekwondo. Don’t find me if there’s nothing important, but call me on the phone if there is.”

Lin Xinyan explained simply, basically saying that she did not have much free time.

“Okay. I think I’ll cook—where’s the food market?”

“Turn right after you leave the neighborhood, and you’ll reach it in two hundred meters.”

“Alright. You go do your thing.” Nie Fan nodded—it seemed that rich kids had it hard too.

On another note, he would save more money if he cooked on his own. He certainly would not order delivery so that the money he had on hand would last until next month.

1

As such, Lin Xinyan left to go about her business while Nie Fan headed to the food market to get some ingredients. It also turned out that the kitchen had not been used for quite some time and he had to use an hour to clean it all up, before simply cooking a bowl of noodles for dinner.

He then returned to his room and took his shirt off for his daily mandatory training. His muscles were sturdy, each strand ever distinct over his inverted-triangle figure. The outline of his firm pectoral muscles and eight neatly arranged abdominal muscles were pronounced, and yet he did not give others such a fearsome impression. With his clothes on, others could hardly imagine such a slim form would be hiding such an astonishing force…

1

There certainly would be no telling what Lin Xinyan would think if she saw him shirtless.

2

Nie Fan hence started off his training with basic things like push-ups and deep squats, along with several tai chi moves. Fortunately, his room was wide enough and he did not feel squeezed when moving around.

Still, he thought that it was a shame that there wasn’t a sandbag.

At a young age, Nie Fan had trained in free wrestling with Coach Tang. With his father teaching him some homegrown techniques in between, what he learned was quite jumbled although the outcome was obvious: his body was strong, and he could handle five to six adults at a time in a fight.

After training for three hours, he went to take a bath—it was very convenient washing up in the mansion since each room here had its own bathroom. After that, he took a glance at the time and realized that it was already 10 pm when he heard movement outside and the sound of the opposite door opening. It must be Lin Xinyan returning, but Nie Fan pretended that he was asleep instead of going out to greet her, sparing the awkwardness of running into each other at night.

Leaning on the bedside and looking out of the window, he thought that the distant street lights were like little stars that flickered against the endless night sky. He felt melancholy then when he wondered how his mother was or whether his father knew what happened here on the other side, and took out the notebook his father left him, gently touching its cover.

He turned to the front half of the notebook, which had over a hundred pages written with weird data that he could not understand.

Nie Fan could not help being puzzled. Could it be some mathematic or physics formula? Although he had dropped out since early middle school, Nie Fan could understand enough by looking closer that the data had nothing to do with mathematics, although some parts look like it had to do with gaming. Remembering that his father was a professional gamer in life, he wouldn’t be surprised that some game data was jotted down here… perhaps those were notes that his father made when playing.

1

Those things would not help be helpful to Nie Fan, but as he turned to the other half, he found that it was his father’s diary—records he had kept before he died! He felt his eyes become watery as various memories during his childhood surged like a tidal wave. His father had been a quiet person, but he knew many things and taught Nie Fan much, and though they did not speak much he felt closeness and happiness when he was with him. He had started teaching Nie Fan a few things about VR games when he was ten, but he abruptly moved to Ningdong, left in a dejected mood and no longer playing, until a few years later where he met his demise in an accident. Nie Fan had always found that he could not let go of his father’s passing.

1

He did not know what happened back then that forced his father to move from Yinhai to his old home in Ningdong, and his mother would keep quiet if he asked. Be that as it may, Nie Fan did not press her so that she would not be caught up in her sadness, although now he wondered if he could find some clues in his father’s diary.

The first dozen pages were his father’s struggles as an unranked minor gamer climbing up to the leaderboards of the professional scene, working alongside his partner ‘Bloodfeather’ and founding Demon God Studios. At the time, they were ranked third and sixth, with Demon God studios also reaching the top five in the country, indisputably standing on the pinnacle at the time.

Bloodfeather? Demon God Studios?

Why didn’t he hear about that from his mother? Why did his father eventually leave Demon God Studios? That being said, he had heard of the studio itself as it developed rapidly over the last few years, assimilating five to six studios. They now stood alongside Dark Dragon Studios as the two giants of the VR gaming scene, while Bloodfeather was universally acknowledged as the top gamer on the professional leaderboards.

Nie Fan connected the dots then, realizing that his father perhaps had faced some desperate predicament.

As he continued reading on, his father had described something where gamers from across the globe were invited by the Tian Xia Group to participate in the development and closed testing of a game called Blade of Tyranny, which had been sensation news at the time. Game development and coding were his father’s strengths—he had coded much data, and following careful research as well as minor adjustments by the development team from Tian Xia, his work was used.

1

Hold on.

Blade of Tyranny! It’s that VR game which would soon be entering its public testing phase!

1

With the others who had been involved in the development and beta testing had become older or retired, Nie Fan did not expect that that game his father had a hand in making would soon be released to public servers.

He could not stop himself from feeling a strong pride. It turned out that he such an amazing father!

Still, which aspect was his father in charge of developing at the time? Moreover, his family would not have become so miserably poor given his father’s ability—even if he would fail, he could certainly try again with ease. So why would his father appear so disheartened after leaving Demon God Studios? That was certainly a difficult mystery.

As Nie Fan continued turning the pages, he found that the story ended halfway through because around fifty to sixty pages had been torn off. He wouldn’t know what happened later even if really wanted to, and there was no telling if his mother knew where those torn pages were. But when he remembered that unhappy look on his father’s face when he died, Nie Fan knew that he had many unfulfilled dreams.

Nonetheless, the game called Blade of Tyranny was something his father left behind, and Nie Fan suddenly felt infinitely driven—he absolutely could not disappoint his father’s soul in heaven.

He hence started to look through the diary carefully, but he could not be sure whether the data at the front half he can’t quite understand had anything to do with Blade of Tyranny. His mathematics was bad, and when coupled with the fact that he dropped out of school since early middle school, his brain felt like it would blow up as he stared at the sequence of numbers, much less allow him to arrange them.

On the last page, Nie Fan caught what was a group of numbers: 28, 22, 218, 1, 92, 12…

4

The numbers were written messily, and it was obvious that his father was not calm when he wrote those numbers.

Those numbers. What do they mean?

Was it a telegraph code? Didn’t feel like it.

Could it be that they mean something special?

There must be a reason his father left this behind. Given that the notebook was the most important heirloom from his father, those numbers just might be the code to something very important.

Be that as it may, Nie Fan could not arrive at any answer despite racking his brains.

Well, whatever. He would put it aside for the moment—he just might find the answers in the future.

1

While he was left in distress, a loud clanging could be heard from the direction of Lin Xinyan’s room, with something seemingly crashing down. The mansion was soundproof enough that normal objects falling would not echo so loud, and uncertain that Lin Xinyan is alright, Nie Fan had stood up before he could think and dashed towards her room.

He knocked on her room’s door heavily and shouted, “Lin Xinyan! Are you alright?”

It was after a while that a meek call for help amidst groans of pain could be heard from within.

Something had happened! Ignoring all else, Nie Fan took a few steps back and launched his body forward, crashing through the door with a door and ran inside.

1

2

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Once inside, Nie Fan found that Lin Xinyan’s room was full of dolls from cartoons beneath the bright yellow lights. Each were exquisite and adorable, but also unique and eccentric—just like Lin Xinyan’s own personality: mischievous, cheeky and a hint of boldness.

The bathroom was at a corner of the room, separated by frosted glass.

Lin Xinyan was groaning inside.

“Are you alright, Lin Xinyan?” Nie Fan hesitated for a moment before knocking on the bathroom door.

“I fell. I couldn’t feel anything in my legs—I can’t get up!” She sounded tearful, as it was natural for anyone who lost sensation of their legs to be terrified.

2

Nie Fan gave the door a shove, but realized that it was locked from the inside.

“Could you put on a towel and open the door?” He asked anxiously. Uncle Lin had been kind to him, and he was therefore obliged to take care of Lin Xinyan. After all, he wouldn’t be able to face Uncle Lin if anything happened to her.

1

“No, I can’t…” Lin Xinyan sobbed, attempting to stand up. She could not help but panic because she still couldn’t feel her legs.

6

Meanwhile, since saving her was most important and the emergency of the situation took precedence, Nie Fan firmly pushed with a low cry, and the lock of the bathroom broke apart with a clang.

Prone on the floor, Lin Xinyan was left blank for a moment as she watched Nie Fan entered, not expecting him to do that. Crying out in her surprise, she quickly covered herself with her hands.

Nie Fan looked around to find that the bathroom was itself a mess. Lin Xinyan was leaning on the bathtub, her beautifully lined neck and collarbone exposed as she covered her chest with her white willowy hand, although she was hardly shielding her virtue. Her flawless smooth skin was like white jade, whereas her face was faintly scarlet in embarrassment. Most of her dripping wet hair was behind her back, adding to her devilish charm.

Be that as it may, Nie Fan did not have the time to enjoy the view. He handily pulled down a towel from a hanger and covered her.

1

“What happened to you?” he asked, crouching.

Even as she tugged at the towel so that it sheltered her body, Lin Xinyan was utterly confused. Nie Fan was ever so close, and all she had between him and herself was just a towel—her skin hence reddened unusually as her chest heaved from her nervousness. Still, that was when she felt a sharp pain in her waist and she could not stop herself from groaning in pain, her brows tightening into a knot. “I slipped when I tried to stand up and couldn’t feel the lower half of my body. Am I paralyzed, Nie Fan?”

1

Even as she uttered those words, Lin Xinyan’s face went pale white and her tears were streaming.

“Where did you fall?” Nie Fan patiently asked. “Did you have medical checkups on your feet before?”

“I hit my knee in the bathtub just now… There was nothing when I checked in the hospital, but I couldn’t summon any strength in my leg when I tried to stand just now and simply dropped down,” she replied in fear and helplessness.

Getting the gist of it, Nie Fan reached out with his right hand and calmed her. “Don’t move.”

Despite having a towel, most of Lin Xinyan’s thighs were still revealed—long, tight, and slick white, it had a crystalline luster that leaves the heart throbbing.

“What are you trying to do?” Lin Xinyan’s cheeks went full red as Nie Fan reached out towards her. The fact that just one towel separated them left her feeling very naked under his gaze, and her heart was at once an indescribable wreck of nervousness, panic, and embarrassment.

The sight of her blushing, her damp wet hair hanging before her chest, the ripples of her starry eyes and alluring exposure would leave anyone’s heart racing. Nie Fan had to admit then that she was much more beautiful than any lady he had ever encountered before.

“Relax!” Nie Fan growled as he cleared away all extra thoughts, and put his right hand on her inner thigh to feel for a beating in her pulse.

1

Lin Xinyan stiffly refrained from speaking when she saw his serious look. He appeared as calm and composed as an experienced doctor right then, which in turn slowly calmed her even if the bizarre sensation on her feet left her heart palpitating quietly.

“It’s nothing too serious. All you need is to take it easy for one month or two—try not to take too many baths from now on, or don’t soaking in the bathtub for too long if you have too,” Nie Fan told her then.

It was just a minor ailment caused by excessive hygiene.

2

“You know medicine?” Lin Xinyan asked in surprise. Nie Fan did not resemble a doctor of western medicine, but his methods were not quite the same as Chinese medicine either. Most doctors trained in Chinese medicine tend to read the pulse on the wrist, and she never heard of someone who could read the pulse on a thigh.

“I know just a little. Here, let me help you up—it’s bad if you keep lying down on the floor.” Nie Fan told her, unwilling to say much about his methodology.

“Okay.” Lin Xinyan calmed down when she heard that it was nothing serious, also realizing then that it was a rather awkward situation. With just a towel covering her and her limbs hanging out, it would fall off if she was caught off guard for a moment.

“I’ll move you to your bed.”

Lin Xinyan felt her body become light just as she tried to reply—she was picked up in one swift stroke: she did not expect him to be so strong, not to mention that his broad chest gave her a sense of security.

1

For his part, Nie Fan could feel a faint sweetness sneaked into his nostrils, and he could not help but look down at her. The towel was only shielding some of her more important parts, and on its fringes were her round and slim shoulders. The distinct curves and outlines that protruded from beneath the towel were elegant, while her soft snow-white long legs were perfect and natural, although one wouldn’t bear to look at the dark bruise on the knee. That being said, as his right hand carried her by her buttocks, he could not help but be surprised that the brat was quite perky.

2

Still, the thought was gone as soon as it came. Nie Fan gradually calmed when he remembered what Lin Quan told him during the day.

1

Nie Fan, Nie Fan. Why would you come up with such unrealistic thoughts? He laughed at himself inwardly as he put Lin Xinyan on her bed.

Once on it, Lin Xinyan quickly pulled the blanket over her. She had felt his hand touching the bare skin of her bottom, the rough texture of his skin in turn making her itch a little.

Could he have seen something?

Her cheeks became hot as she remembered the scene just a moment ago, because that was the very first time that she had such intimate contact with a man. As such, her heart could not help but stir.

Nie Fan did not appear as despicable as he was when he was a child then.

“Anyway, the spot you knocked doesn’t look serious—a little ointment should do the trick. Where’s the first aid box in the house?”

3

“The cabinet beside the living room.” Lin Xinyan said, lowering her head since she was afraid to look at him at the moment.

Nie Fan quickly brought the first aid box and took out a bottle, rubbed it hot on his hands and told her, “It would hurt a little. Try to bear with it.”

Lin Xinyan grimaced, her eyes showing a hint of fear. Nonetheless, she gritted her teeth and nodded, looking ready to just go for it.

Nie Fan looked at her with a smile and gently rubbed the ointment on her knee bruise, and then massaging it patiently. The skin his palm was touching was delicate and smooth as if he were touching the finest silk. His heart skipped a beat then despite his extraordinary composure, and he quickly lowered his eyes and stopped thinking too much in his embarrassment.

On the other hand, Lin Xinyan was blushing again as she felt his hands rubbing her knee incessantly. Nie Fan’s technique appeared professional and his massage hit the spot, and the pain was also bearable. She hence did her best to bite her lower lip so that she did not make a sound, but the occasional groan she let out left herself blushing even harder.

As she sneaked a look up at Nie Fan to find that he was not really reacting and concentrating on his work, she discreetly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Alright, rub it twice again tomorrow and it would be more or less done.” Nie Fan rubbed his hands, and then brought a rather worn bag from his own room.

1

“What’s that for?” Lin Xinyan asked, staring at the bag which appeared heavy despite being not too large.

“Needles.”

Nie Fan smiled and opened the bag, and Lin Xinyan discovered in shock that it was full of uncountable golden needles of different sizes, with some having bizarre shapes.

“You’re not sticking them into me, are you?” She asked, looking weirded out—she had seen those things and tv, but the thought of having your body covered in needles was still quite horrifying.

2

“You could choose not to, but while your condition might not be matter much since you’re young, it would eventually become a problem as time goes on and not even syringes would help then.”

1

“Is it really that serious?” Lin Xinyan asked, pulling a long face.

Nie Fan responded with a shrug and a calm smile. “I wouldn’t be bothered with the needle if it was someone else.”

“Wouldn’t it hurt?”

“It wouldn’t—you usually wouldn’t feel a thing. So? Dare to try?” He looked at her mischievously.

Trying to look brave, Lin Xinyan nodded after hesitating for a moment. “Nie Fan, how did you come to learn such a weird thing?” She then asked.

“It’s passed down in my family. Uncle Lin should know that my father is quite learned in the Esoteric Scripture of the Yellow Emperor, even asking my father to teach him. It’s just that Uncle Lin only learned the bare minimum. Anyway, the Scripture is divided into three parts: the first is Chinese medicine, the second is acupuncture while the third is Dao Yin…”

“What’s Dao Yin?”

1

“It’s an ancient qi art used to strengthen the body, although it an art that’s almost lost.” Nie Fan grinned, drawing out three gold needles from the bag as he spoke and taking off the wax covers before masterfully poking them into Lin Xinyan’s feet and kneecap.

She had been ready to scream in pain when she saw him pierce her leg with the needles, only to realize then that it really did not hurt at all. All she felt was a numbness, as if her hair was being pulled.

“What do you feel?” Nie Fan asked, looking at her with a smile.

“It doesn’t hurt at all. It’s just a little numb and a little cold… hold on… I think I feel something in my leg! It’s like a little worm that keeps wiggling up… I can feel my leg now!” Lin Xinyan exclaimed in wonder and disbelief that three tiny needles could work so miraculously.

Later, as Nie Fan pulled out the three golden needles. “These three needles could only ease your condition for a while. But to cure it completely…” He said, trailing off as he eyed her.

“What should I do to cure it completely?” Lin Xinyan asked, rather interested in acupuncture now.

“The root of your condition is at your pelvis. Your veins aren’t flowing smoothly—there’s cold air accumulating in that spot.”

“Pelvis?” Lin Xinyan repeated, taken aback. She had been sparkling a moment, but now quickly shook her head. “No way.”

Needling the pelvic would mean letting Nie Fan see everything, and that would not do. After all, it was an accident when he caught a glimpse just now, not to mention that she had never been so close to a man, which was a far cry from taking off her pants to let him put some needles into her.

Nonetheless, Nie Fan smiled, having sterilized his golden needles with a special method and put them away. “I’m simply mentioning it,” he told her as he got to his feet. “It wouldn’t be a problem tonight, so rest up and it should ease tomorrow. Try to be active with you your legs, but don’t exercise too strenuously such as through dance or taekwondo.”

“Okay.” Lin Xinyan replied distractedly.

“I’m off, then.” Nie Fan said as he headed for the door.

“Nie Fan…” Lin Xinyan suddenly called out to him just as he was about to leave.

“What is it?” He asked, turning around.

“Thank you.” Lin Xinyan said gratefully—if not for him, she wouldn’t have known how to handle this emergency.

“You’re welcome, and I’m just doing what I should. I wouldn’t have the faintest idea if Uncle Lin offered me a place to stay anyway. You should sleep since you’re better now too. See you.” Nie Fan smiled lightly and closed the door behind him.

After watching him leave, Lin Xinyan lay under her blanket and flexed her feet: they felt much better although there was still a little curious sensation.

That being said, she was really scared out of her wits just now, and finally understood why her father admired Uncle Nie so much when she was still a child.

Now, she could not help but wonder what kind of a person Nie Fan actually was too—so many mysteries seemed to surround him.

2

And then there was that moment when he pressed the needles into her: he had been so frighteningly calm, and she simply could not detect a single flutter of emotion in his eyes.

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Nie Fan could not calm his thoughts at once when he returned to his room, feeling an unbearable parching at the pit of his stomach.

Xue Yu, a good friend of his had collected many videos from a certain island nation, and under his influence, Nie Fan had more or less sampled it. Be that as it may, the impact on his sight was nothing comparable to today, when he saw the body of a beautiful young girl in reality. Lin Xinyan’s fantastic figure was no different from God’s finest work, and the very sight of it was now irremovable despite being just a few glimpses—even the faint sweetness from her body swirled around his nose, and the smooth touch of her skin still lingered on his palm.

1

When he returns, his friends back at Ningdong would definitely envy him if he got himself a girlfriend like that. Still, Nie Fan could not help wanting to slap himself when he remembered what Lin Quan told him earlier that day.

‘Nie Fan, Nie Fan. You need to wake up—could you even reach her? Uncle Lin’s family fortune must at least be hundreds of millions, and Lin Xinyan is his only daughter. What are you in comparison? No more than a nameless impoverished brat shouldering heavy debts.’

3

It was pretty much like a toad wanting to devour a swan.

Collecting his delusional thoughts, Nie Fan decided to continue studying the notebook his father had left him. His mother had repeatedly reminded him to take care of it when she gave it to him, and there must be some important information his father wanted to give him in the notebook.

That was especially true for the numbers that stood out like a sore thumb!

What did those seventeen numbers of no sequence mean?

Suddenly, Nie Fan felt a moment of inspiration in his head. Could they be referring to page numbers of the notebook itself?

He quickly flipped to page 28 at the very thought, and he could only do so by counting each page since there were no page numbers. Still, he found nothing when he reached it—there was nothing other than a chunk of text and data!

Nevertheless, Nie Fan remembered that his father was often obsessed with details, and he could well have left some clues. Hence, gritting his teeth, he looked through the clumps of data as well, but still couldn’t find anything unusual aside from a letter ‘h’ at the corner of the page which had nothing to do with the other data.

He realized sharply then that the letter could have a further meaning. The second number on the last page was 22, and he promptly flipped to that page, searching through it and finding the letter ‘t’, which was also unrelated to the rest of the data on the page.

He was on to something! It might be a clue his father had left!

Finding the two letters had actually taken him two whole hours—it was extremely difficult to find two letters in chunks of data after all! However, Nie Fan continued searching despite feeling exhausted, driven by his curiosity.

Eventually, he found one letter after another, obtaining eight of them through the course of the night. It was already morning then: Lin Xinyan had left for school while he hastily made himself breakfast and finished it, before continuing his search.

Time flew, and it was the evening when he finally found all seventeen letters. As he connected them together, he found that it was actually a website.

That discovery certainly left Nie Fan thrilled, and he promptly took out his VR headgear which could be used as a computer, and keyed in the seventeen characters of the website.

[System: Logging in to website…]

[System: This website is private and encrypted. Please enter your ID.]

ID? Mine or dad’s? Nie Fan was taken aback when he saw the system notification. He couldn’t remember his father’s ID number which consisted of 26 letters and numbers—in fact, most people would have a hard time remembering that.

2

Still, he decided he did not care and keyed in his own ID number.

[System: password accepted, iris verification accepted, nervous system connection successful…]

1

Nie Fan did not expect that he would find such a website that his father designed specially for himself, laden with so many heavy encryption sequences. But even as he thought about that, a recorded voice started playing from the website.

It was his father’s voice.

Unable to help himself, his eyes welled with tears at the voice he hadn’t hear for a long time.

“Son, I must have been long gone by the time you found this place. I hope that your mother and you could live in peace after I die, but I also know that it would be hoping too much because they would never spare you both. You must assume that you and your mother’s daily conversations are being monitored, and that is why you must never mention this website to anyone else. Hurry off and find Uncle Lin if you have found this place—he will protect you.”

“Be that as it may, I am still unable to tell you the whole truth, but you may use what is on this website to help Uncle Lin destroy Demon God Studios if Blade of Tyranny has begun service. When that day comes, your mother would tell you the whole truth.”

Demon God Studios? That was the studio that his father had co-founded out of nothing before, and was eventually forced out due to some unknown reasons… but to think that his will was to destroy what he once built!

“Father, I promise you that I would help you fulfill your wish.” There was cool killing intent in Nie Fan’s eyes.

That being said, it was a serious matter considering that his father’s claims that Nie Fan and his mother’s daily conversations were being monitored.

It was only after some time that his palpitations calmed and he began to browse through the website’s content. The website itself was designed with meticulous detail and was as rich in content as the official portals of major VR games, hosting thousands of essays about Blade of Tyranny, with some titled, “Rising as divine druid’, ‘Ultimate medals for flame knights’, ‘Strategy for legendary quest: Battle of the Magic Capital’, ‘120 exploitable landscape bugs’, ‘hidden trap sequences’, ‘quick emblem clearing for wild tribes’…

1

In other words, his father had recorded all his experiences and all the system bugs he encountered in the closed testing phase for Blade of Tyranny. Having been a part of its content development, he had discreetly put in hidden sequences, backdoors, and even evaded the checks of the mainframe, recording everything with text and images.

It was a genius idea! Nie Fan himself was awestruck by the content of the essays: it was a battle of wits and courage that pits the human mind against AI, a bold ultimate move that made a fool of manmade intelligence. Before the public testing phase, each VR game tend to be processed over dozens of times with AI before it was being marketed, and yet the programs his father designed had easily evaded such scanning—to be precise, he had kept certain bugs that was considered permissible in the main content to himself while reporting other bugs that could be found. Moreover, aside from the data related to Blade of Tyranny, he had also recorded his understanding and experiences as a professional gamer, on how one could become a skillful player and the like.

Be that as it may, Nie Fan could not finish reading through all the content at the website. After all, his father did compile it with untold blood and sweat. Nie Fan also noticed that his father left a quote at the corner of the website:

[Blade of Tyranny is a revolution in VR gaming that would change the world. And you, my son, shall be the leader of that revolution.]

2

Nie Fan’s heart would surge whenever he read that quote. He must absorb all the content here because it would be very troublesome if he read it after joining the game, and he certainly must not let down his father’s hopes! What he left here seemed to have opened a brand-new world in Nie Fan’s mind too, allowing him to slowly understand what it meant to be a professional gamer.

Hence, in the time before the servers for Blood of Tyranny became open to public, Nie Fan spent all his time at that website aside from meals. Like a sponge, he absorbed everything in it as hard as he could.

Furthermore, the VR headgear had the capacity to keep the cerebral cortex in deep sleep and would not affect normal sleeping at night. It was basically equal to doubling one’s lifespan, and was the reason why VR games became a global trend—with his headgear on, Nie Fan had completely forgotten the time.

Still, although he had done all he could to learn everything on the website, he did not have much time and therefore had to leave the content beyond Level 30 for some other time.

On the third day, Lin Xinyan had bought herself a headgear. She also wanted to play Blade of Tyranny, and she told Nie Fan that her crew in her class each had their own headgears, and were prepared to formed their own guild after joining the game.

Be that as it may, Nie Fan appeared distracted when he was speaking to her. With Blade of Tyranny starting service soon, he was both nervous apprehensive.

“I’m off to my room, Nie Fan. Remember to message me after you enter the game.”

“Run along then. I have to start leveling up when the game starts—it would be too embarrassing if your cousin had to chase me out of the studio for being underleveled.” Nie Fan replied and glanced at the time, rushing back to his room and putting on his headgear when he found that there were ten minutes left.

Even as time ticked away, Nie Fan felt himself becoming even more nervous. Be that as it may, he had decided on taking the Druid class—it was the class his father used most frequently in closed testing, and the class which he wrote the most content about.

3

But as he delved in his thoughts, a blinding white light shone before his eyes as if he had crossed into a dimensional portal. As that light slowly dimmed, a palm-sized fairy danced in front of him as he found himself in an altar, surrounded by various dazzling wildflowers and butterflies.

It was as if he had arrived in a divine domain.

The fairy was a beautiful young girl with delicate skin and exquisite features—even the hairs on her brows were distinctly visible.

‘It feels so real. So, this is Blade of Tyranny!’

This was much more realistic than any VR game Nie Fan had played before, and he could not help but be in awe. No wonder his father told him that it would be a revolution for VR games: such stunning VR technology!

“Greetings! I’m Nola, your tutorial fairy. I shall be guiding you in Blade of Tyranny—please select the city and continent of your destination.”

Citizens on earth could only choose between the continents of Osland and Okado.

2

“Osland continent, Carlos City, Kelfield Town, Tajit Village,” Nie Fan replied without hesitation. Heading to the Kelfield Town in Carlos City of the Osland continent was a condition that his studio had set, although he was free to choose which village he would spawn.

“You will now spawn in the Tajit Village, Kelfield Town, Carlos City. After an inspection, your basic attributes are as follows: Agility 9, Strength 9, Spirit 10. Your body composition especially strong and does not require additional compensation. Please select your class and talent.”

Gamers who had exceedingly low physical attributes could obtain additional compensating attributes, but Nie Fan did not need that at all—the inspection had determined that his Agility, Strength, and Spirit were quite good, and did not need any help.

2

“Druid!” Nie Fan appeared quick and decisive since he knew what he wanted.

“You have two talents to pick: One major, one minor.”

The Druid class had many talents: Elemental, Plant-type, Summoning, and Morphing to name a few. They could also pick two talents, with the major talent having a 10% effect buff for skills of that aspect and minor talent having a 5% buff.

1

“Major: Plant-type, minor: Morphing.” Nie Fan said then. Most Druid players would pick Elemental or Summoning as their major talents, and there were basically none who would pick Plant-type as their major since it was rather underwhelming. On the other hand, it was normal to pick Morphing as a minor talent, although that was also something Nie Fan had thought of early on.

2

“Please name your character.”

“Dark Night.” Nie Fan simply chose his ID.

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Do you have any questions?” Nola the tutorial fairy asked, smiling.

“None. Enter game,” Nie Fan replied, knowing that the questions Nola could answer were only superficial, and he did not have to waste time here.

“Very good. Welcome to the world of magic.”

[System: Game initializing…]

With a white flash, Nie Fan appeared in a run-down village. There were only five to six low old houses and two to three dozen NPCs dressed in a variety of strange clothing—no other player had yet to appear on the small path laden with gravel at the center of the village. At the moment, most of them would probably still be considering the class and talent that suits them or asking the tutorial fairies for information, and there would be rarely any who would come in so quickly like Nie Fan.

The sights around were as genuine as it was in reality. Nie Fan could not help but draw in a deep breath and open his senses to the world around.

Be that as it may, time was of the essence. He still had things to do before the players entered by droves, and he quickly turned on his attribute panel to check his talent and attributes. He hence breathed a sigh of relief after taking a look at his major talent panel—just as his father had told him, picking Plant-type as his major talent would earn him a talent status: Crossing Thorns!

[Crossing Thorns: Druids could travel through certain areas unaffected, such as forest, thorn bushes, swamps, rockpiles, and lush vegetation areas. Also grants immunity to Swamp and Spiderwebs, and a 30% chance for immunity from bind-attribute spells.]

1

‘That is what I wanted!’ Nie Fan thought excitedly as he headed to the center of Tajit Village.

There would be a shabby library there that was built from wood, but it was the tallest building in Tajit Village. Aside from the main area beneath, there was a mezzanine upstairs under the roof that was grown full of moss.

Inside the library, Nie Fan noticed a very old man dressed in worn mage robes, a tall sharp hat, and was wearing a jet-black redwood staff.

He was Solamu, the librarian here.

“Greetings, revered elder.” Nie Fan bowed in salutation, putting his right hand before his chest.

“Greetings, young man.” Solamu smiled faintly. “You are the first one to arrive. Every youth of Tajit Village may select two skill tomes to cultivate their basic skills. As the first one to arrive, you may choose one minor skill tome as a reward.”

The library sold scores of skills tomes, but most of them were expensive. Nonetheless, each player was allowed to choose two for free when they start playing, and there were many skills to choose from, allowing them to match their skills as they would prefer.

Being the first to arrive, Nie Fan would additionally obtain a minor skill tome worth at least hundreds of bronze coins!

“Thank you, revered elder.” Nie Fan smiled and headed deep into the library. It was rather dark inside and there were around six bookshelves around him, each neatly arranged with various skill tomes for basic abilities of various class, including Mini Fireball, Sword Strike, and Snowball.

Nie Fan himself chose a basic skill from the corner of the third bookshelf: Black Oil!

Most players would never choose an almost cheating skill like Black Oil since it basically had no offensive effects. All it did was summon a pile of oil into the opponent’s hand, and apart from grossing out the target while also slowing their movement, it did not appear to be of much use.

3

Still, the black oil summoned came from the plant saps, which was just enough to be categorized as Plant-type magic.

Then, after walking a few laps around the bookshelves, he took the tome for Mini Fireball. He could learn elemental magic even if his main talent was not elemental albeit to weaker effects.

Aside from those two tomes, he had also taken the skill tome of Harvest for gathering herbs.

2

After choosing those three skill tomes, Nie Fan left the library. There were more players on the streets now, and they were looking around or talking to NPCs, trying their hand on newcomer quests. Still, it was clear that they were left disappointed—they could never clear those quests without learning beginner skills.

When some of the players saw Nie Fan step out of the library, they paused for a moment before making a dash inside as well. Be that as it may, it would take some time until they could choose their favorite skill tomes from the many tomes offered.

Meanwhile, with a swift move of his hands, Nie Fan’s three skill tomes turned into three streaks of white light, and his skill bar was added with three skills.

There were around three dozen of newcomer quests that can be accepted after a player’s first skill learning. That being said, most players would accept those quests as the game intended, but Nie Fan wouldn’t—those burdensome quests take too much time and were a lot less rewarding.

Be that as it may, players would not have the coins to purchase potions without doing newcomer missions, and was therefore likely to run into danger when leaving the village. Moreover, they would drop a level below if they die, and would be forced to stay offline for five hours, making it a major headache for players.

However, Nie Fan had already thought about the solutions for all those problems.

After learning his skill, Nie Fan dashed wildly out of the village. He would rather level up before others did than to level up with a large group, which in turn would slow his progress as being in a group meant competing for kills.

Beyond the village was a red plain that went as far as the eye could see. It was as if it had been dyed in blood, giving an impression of a bleak and tragic vastness.

[System: You have discovered the Blood Shade Plains]

It was said that this place was an ancient battlefield where millions of armies had fallen.

Nonetheless, Nie Fan did not pause for a moment and started towards the depths of the Blood Shade Plains, although his voice channel rang while he was still sprinting. It was Lin Xinyan, player ID Woody—they had added each other on a chat tool before entering the game, and the chat could be used in-game, displaying every friend playing in his friend-list.

“Nie Fan, where are you now?”

“Tajit Village.” He replied.

“I’m at Moxxi, which is just nearby. Come over, Nie Fan, it would take at most half-an-hour—we’ll group up to level up, and my classmates have also invited a few professional gamers.”

“No, it’s fine.” Nie Fan refused. He had already made his plans and definitely would not waste his time going to Moxxi.

“Nie Fan, it’s better if you come since leveling alone is definitely slower than leveling in a group, not to mention it’s dangerous and you could easily die.” Lin Xinyan persuaded him. She believed that he would have a hard time training alone, and it would be a problem if he couldn’t keep his place in her cousin’s studio.

But in spite of whatever she had said, he refused her goodwill once again, and kept to his original plan and ventured deep into the Blood Shade Plains

***

Meanwhile, the group of twelve players were ready in Moxxi Village, one of the twelve villages in the Blood Shade Plains.

“That braindead Nie Fan!” Lin Xinyan stamped her feet and grumbled to herself—Nie Fan insisted on leveling up in Tajit whatever she might say, and she certainly could not kidnap him here. “I gave you my heart, and you gave it away the very next moment! I don’t care anymore! Just don’t regret it later!”

4

Ever since that night when he helped her with acupuncture, she couldn’t help recalling the vaguely intimate scenes then which left her heart throbbing. Still, it was an unexpected emergency, and Nie Fan himself was forced to do that.

“Xinyan, is your friend coming?” A Holy Knight player asked. His ID was ‘Tracer’, and he stood around one point eight meters—making him a little taller than Nie Fan. He also had a handsome face and was the type girls would prefer, although he did feel a hint of danger from the look on Lin Xinyan’s face, and began inwardly projecting the relationship between Lin Xinyan and that friend of hers.

“Let’s get started. He’s not coming.” Lin Xinyan said dully.

“What a pity. Well, there’s no helping it if he can’t come. It would certainly have been quicker if he trained with us—our formation would definitely reach top ten in Kelfield.” Tracer said proudly as he rejoiced inwardly. It seems that Lin Xinyan’s friend would rather play solo, and with himself rather not having an unwanted person tagging along, he would have more time with Lin Xinyan.

1

“There’s not much time. Let’s hurry up and go.” Lin Xinyan said with a bored tone.

Hence, the twelve-person party left for the Blood Shade Plains as well after they had completed their preparations.

***

Nie Fan had been running around the Blood Shade Plains for a dozen minutes. He decided that he was at his destination after checking his coordinates and the landscape around him: the grass was knee-high here, and while most players would have their movement slowed by 30% and above, he was slowed by just 10% thanks to Plant-type, his main talent!

As he looked towards the distance, he found many humongous spiders crawling around the plains, each of them standing at the frightening height of a human!

Giant Spider, Level 3, HP 120!

The Giant Spiders were a difficult monster for players in their early levels. Though they moved slowly, they had the Spiderweb skill that could catch hold of their opponent and keep them immobile, allowing them to approach their target and attack with their toxic fangs and inject a poisoned state. They were also highly resistant to physical attacks and have high HP, although their only weakness were fire spells. Nonetheless, since Spiderweb was still a bane of mages, players below Level 5 would never try to challenge them alone.

And yet, Nie Fan was certainly prepared since he had picked these monsters to level up with. After all, his talent was immunity towards Spiderweb!

He headed towards one particular Giant Spider and stopped around ten yards away. Noticing him, the Giant Spider squawked and lunged towards Nie Fan’s position.

Nie Fan held his position and started to chant his spell.

Black Oil, six seconds!

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When he finished chanting, a pile of black goo appeared over the Giant Spider’s head and splashed down on it, the thick liquid wetting it all over.

The Giant Spider promptly slowed. The dark oil over its body left its movement extremely sluggish, and it reacted by launching its Spiderweb skill at Nie Fan… albeit with no effect.

Nie Fan took a few steps back and started to chant another spell: Mini Fireball!

A scorching ball of flame appeared out of thin air in front of Nie Fan and arched through the air and shot towards the Giant Spider, smashing it with a bang and causing 2 points of damage.

With a difference of three levels between Nie Fan and the Giant Spider, the damage on the monster was pathetically low.

Still, in the instant that the Mini Fireball struck, the Giant Spider’s entire body was set ablaze with a whooshing sound, trapping it in the fire—it was the effect of the black oil being ignited by the Mini Fireball.

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[-32]

[-36]

[-37…]

One frighteningly high damage value after another popped up over the head of the Giant Spider. Amidst its shrill cries, the creature’s HP kept dropping by the notches and it soon dropped to the ground altogether.

Glancing at his EXP bar, Nie Fan saw that his experience points had bloated up to 82% after the Giant Spider croaked.

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So fast! He could not help but think in shock.

It was unimaginable for a Level 0 player to kill a Level 3 monster with just two skills after all.

The Tajit Library had thousands of different skill tomes, each having different effects: some leaned heavily towards attack, others on defense or control, but many were created with complementing effects. Seizing the convenience of closed testing, Nie Fan’s father had tested countless combinations of skills, eventually discovering that the match between Black Oil and Mini Fireball was most devastating in damage, and basically peerless before Level 30.

Nie Fan tried it once to extraordinary effect!

He then searched around the Giant Spider’s body and found a pair of broken boots he could wear at Level 3 which also adds +2 Defense.