"Welcome to Zone 739 Oakwood Village Novice Area! Reach Level 10 to travel to Silvermoon Main City for class advancement. Wish you a pleasant gaming experience!"
As the system notification faded, Kalis was instantly engulfed by the surging crowd flooding his vision.
The stone-paved streets of Oakwood Village were packed with players wearing coarse cloth starter gear. Burning torches hung under the eaves of wooden houses, and the air was mixed with the smell of dry grass—a typical novice village scene.
"Damn it! Who stepped off my leather boots?!"
"Make way! I need to get to the blacksmith shop to accept the iron ore collection quest!"
"Help! This Spiny Rat is actually biting me!"
Chaotic shouts echoed one after another. Players squeezed and pushed forward in the crowd.
Many were instantly killed by low-level monsters rushing out of the grass as soon as they rushed out of the village, dissolving into white light and respawning in the city.
Kalis was trapped in the crowd, unable to move an inch. His blue-gray gradient short hair was messed up, and a hint of impatience flashed in his clear blue eyes.
He glanced at a confused, burly player beside him, deliberately lowering his voice and pretending to be naive: "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 other players around him immediately pricked up their ears.
"Absolutely true. My cousin was a closed beta player." Kalis lied solemnly.
In the next second, several streaks of white light lit up one after another. A group of players did not hesitate to trigger the system's built-in "suicide" function, instantly dissolving into glowing particles.
A space suddenly opened up on the crowded street. Kalis raised his eyebrows and smiled, seizing the opportunity to slip through nimbly.
"Foolish mortals." He muttered softly, striding toward the wilderness outside the village.
Although NPC quests in the novice village could provide a small amount of experience, the time spent queuing for quests was enough for him to grind half a level. Instead of wasting time, it was better to hunt monsters directly to level up.
Upon reaching the grassland at the village entrance, Kalis pulled up his attribute panel, his fingers gliding across the shimmering virtual screen:
[Name]: Kalis
[Class]: Apprentice Mage
[Level]: 1
[Talent]: Ultimate Amplification (Transcendent)
[HP]: 100/100
[Mana]: 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 Mana and Spell Defense)
[Agility]: 1 (Affects Critical Strike Rate; additional attack bonus for Archers and Assassins)
[Equipment]:
Apprentice's Wooden Staff (Common): Spell Attack Power +1
Apprentice's Robe (Common): Physical Defense +1
[Skills]:
Magic Missile (Basic): Deals 110% Spell Damage, 2.5-second cooldown, no cost
"Hmph, as expected, the base stats are pitifully low." Kalis weighed the wooden staff in his hand, the vines wrapped around the staff emitting a faint magical aura.
But thinking of his talent, a confident smile curved his lips. What was a useless skill for others was a world-destroying weapon in his hands.
On the grassland outside the novice village, groups of Spiny Rats were gnawing on grass. These Level 1 monsters had grayish-brown fur covered with sharp spines, 80 HP, and required three or four attacks for ordinary novices to defeat.
At this moment, many players were struggling with Spiny Rats. Occasionally, someone was scratched by the rats' counterattacks, their HP dropping continuously.
Kalis aimed at a newly spawned Spiny Rat and raised his hand to cast Magic Missile.
"Whoosh——"
A pale blue energy projectile shot out with a sharp sound, accurately hitting the Spiny Rat's head.
-21036!
"You have defeated Spiny Rat, gained 5 Experience Points!" System notification.
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, thinking he was a top player who had drawn a Legendary weapon. They discussed for a few words before returning their focus to their own prey.
Kalis nodded in satisfaction, turning to walk deeper into the grassland. Spiny Rats gave too little experience; he needed stronger prey.
Passing through the Spiny Rat habitat, a dense bush appeared ahead, with Level 3 Thorn Goblins scurrying inside. These goblin-like monsters with green skin held stone axes, 180 HP, and much higher defense than Spiny Rats.
Some grouped players were already leveling here, mostly those who had drawn Refined or Rare quality rewards, cooperating smoothly to surround and attack the goblins.
Kalis didn't want to compete with them for monsters, so he directly passed through the bush and arrived at the territory of Level 5 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, were clumsily pacing on the open ground, their bodies covered in hard rock shells.
For ordinary players to kill a Stonehide Golem, they needed at least five minutes of team cooperation. But Kalis only raised his hand and cast a single Magic Missile.
-21568!
The Stonehide Golem's rock shell shattered instantly, and its entire body collapsed with a loud crash, turning into a pile of gravel.
"You have defeated Stonehide Golem, gained 25 Experience Points!"
"Congratulations! Level increased to 2!"
The experience from one Level 5 Stonehide Golem plus the previous Level 1 Spiny Rat was just enough for an upgrade. Kalis's level smoothly climbed to Level 2.
According to Eternal Realm's settings, players received 2 free attribute points for each level up, and each of the five basic attributes automatically increased by 1 point.
Kalis did not hesitate to put both free attribute points into Intelligence.
With the initial 1 point, the automatic +1 from leveling up, and the 2 freely allocated points, his Intelligence soared to 4 points, and his Spell Attack Power increased to 5 points accordingly.
He raised his hand to gather pale blue magical energy again, and a Magic Missile shot out.
-54987!
A terrifying damage number far exceeding the previous one popped up above the Stonehide Golem's head. The "little stone man" that was still clumsily pacing instantly let out a "crack" sound, and its entire body collapsed, leaving only two copper coins scattered among the gravel.
"Well, this efficiency is indeed good. The 2.5-second cooldown of Magic Missile allows me to defeat one monster every 2.5 seconds. It's much more cost-effective than wasting time queuing for quests in the novice village." A satisfied smile curved Kalis's lips as he immediately started a crazy leveling spree.
The 2.5-second cooldown of Magic Missile was already extremely efficient for him. For ordinary Apprentice Mages, this basic skill was nothing more than a "pseudo-auto-attack" with meager damage and slow attack speed.
But with the blessing of Ultimate Amplification, this Transcendent talent, it transformed into an indestructible one-shot weapon! What's more, this skill had no mana cost and could be cast continuously without interruption.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh ——
Like a mobile turret, 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 level up nearby stared in stunned disbelief: "My god, how high is his attack power? One-shotting a Level 5 Stonehide Golem?"
"He must have drawn a Mythic weapon! Boss, please carry us!"
A female player wearing a pink mage robe approached, her voice sweet and sticky: "Handsome guy, can we form a team? I can heal~"
"Sorry, I'm not interested in in-game females." Kalis refused without looking back.
He had no interest in dealing with irrelevant people; the most important thing right now was to rush to higher levels as soon as possible. With that said, he continued to focus on his journey, completely unmoved.
He kept moving forward toward higher-level areas. His goal was never the novice village, but to level up quickly and unlock more powerful skills.
Before long, Kalis's level soared all the way to Level 3.
Following the rules, he received another 2 free attribute points, still putting both into Intelligence; his Intelligence had now reached 8 points, and his Spell Attack Power skyrocketed in sync.
The damage of a single Magic Missile directly exceeded 90,000 points!
He grinded monsters while moving forward, and before he knew it, he had already ventured deep into the outer area of Oakwood Village Novice Area, arriving at the habitat of Level 7 Silverhorn Deer.
These monsters had agile bodies, covered in white fur and silver antlers, with a whopping 750 HP.
For ordinary players, even when they reached Level 10, it would take more than ten or twenty seconds to kill a Silverhorn Deer, and they had to constantly guard against counterattacks.
But in front of Kalis, these Silverhorn Deer were still as fragile as thin paper, unable to withstand a single blow.
With the 2.5-second cooldown of Magic Missile plus the time spent moving and finding monsters, on average, a Silverhorn Deer fell to his missile every 4 seconds or so. And Kalis remained unscathed throughout, with zero injuries.
A few other players ventured into this area.
After all, in the early days of [Eternal Realm]'s launch, very few players could draw rewards above Refined quality.
Most people's initial equipment and talents were below Legendary (orange), making them completely unable to handle the threat of Level 7 monsters.
Without the distraction of other players, Kalis's leveling process became even smoother and more comfortable. His experience bar surged at a visible speed!
Each Silverhorn Deer provided 55 Experience Points, which translated to over 800 Experience Points per minute. This leveling speed was more than thirty times faster than that of ordinary players!
In just ten minutes, Kalis's level soared all the way to Level 6.
Although his luck wasn't great, he hadn't dropped a single piece of equipment since grinding monsters, and the copper coins dropped were pitifully few.
His Spell Attack Power had skyrocketed to 20 points, and the damage of a single Magic Missile directly exceeded 200,000 points!
The Level 7 Silverhorn Deer could no longer meet his leveling needs.
Kalis immediately decided to go deeper to challenge higher-level monsters, though "challenge" was more like a one-sided "bullying."
Continuing forward, a dense primeval forest appeared ahead.
Strangely, there wasn't a single monster in the forest, and it was eerily quiet.
Kalis frowned slightly, thinking he had accidentally wandered into another map. But when he took a few dozen steps further, a tiger with jet-black fur covered in dark golden stripes suddenly rushed out from under the shade of a tree, entering his field of vision.
Kalis could tell at a glance that this tiger was no ordinary monster; it must be a high-level Elite or even Boss-level creature. He didn't hesitate at all, raising his hand to shoot a Magic Missile.
Whoosh ——
-218784!
A terrifying damage number far exceeding all previous ones popped up above the black tiger's head.
"Ding～ Congratulations on defeating the Novice Village Hidden BOSS Dark Gold-Striped Tiger, gained 10 Reputation Points!"
"Ding～ Congratulations on being the first player in this zone to defeat the Novice Village BOSS, received Honor Reward: one Epic equipment!"
"Ding～ You have defeated Dark Gold-Striped Tiger, gained 3000 Experience Points!"
"Ding～ Congratulations! Level increased to 7!"
[Announcement: Player 'Kalis' is the first to defeat the Novice Village Hidden BOSS, unlocking an Epic equipment reward!]
[Announcement: Player 'Kalis' has set a new zone record for fastest leveling, reward: +1 to all attributes!]
[Announcement:...]
Three consecutive golden zone announcements exploded in all players' vision, and the entire Oakwood Village Novice Area instantly erupted in excitement.
Kalis was slightly stunned, looking down at the Dark Gold-Striped Tiger lying on the ground, already lifeless. He blinked, his tone carrying a hint of surprise: "So this is the hidden boss? It's way too weak."