Chapter Fifteen: A Change of Attire

Xin Yu seemed to have forgotten all about our plan to go for a walk after dinner. She rushed straight into her room as soon as she finished eating, which suited me just fine—I enjoyed the peace and quiet. After glancing at the forums for a bit, I logged into the game.

Despite having reached level 11, I was only ranked 87th in China. I couldn’t fathom how the 86 people ahead of me had leveled up so quickly, but it didn’t really matter. I was only here to make some money, not to dominate the world.

Once back in the village, I found the rogue class trainer.

“Do you wish to become a rogue, hidden in the shadows?”

“Yes!”

*Ding~!*

System prompt: Your talents are not suited for the rogue class. Please choose another profession!

What do you mean, not suited? What’s going on here? My dream of being an assassin, gone just like that?

Feeling rather dejected, I glanced around at the other class trainers and reluctantly chose the warrior.

“Do you wish to become a warrior? Please select your desired specialization! The job change requires two gold coins!”

Seeing the options in front of me, I was utterly confused. Warriors have specializations too?

1. Swordsman
2. Battle Axe Fighter

Since I was already wielding a sword, I naturally chose swordsman.

*Ding~!*

System prompt: Congratulations on becoming the first swordsman in this village! Reward: 300 experience points!

I was speechless. Why was I rewarded with experience instead of a godly weapon? And it’s only 300 experience...

After the job change, a small line appeared under my name: “Apprentice Swordsman.” So I was just an apprentice...

With the job change complete, the next step was obviously to learn skills. This was also the part that cost the most money.

I opened the skill page and found only two skills available: “Power Strike” and “Combo,” each costing 50 silver coins.

Power Strike: Level 1 increases this attack’s damage by 10%. The higher the skill level, the greater the effect. Skill cooldown: 10 seconds (can be used once every 10 seconds).

Combo: Rapid attacks against the target. Each strike deals half your normal attack damage. The higher the skill level, the more attacks you can chain together!

Both looked good, so I learned them both!

There went another gold coin, exchanged for two skills at zero proficiency.

What next? Time to grind!

Currently at level 11 and halfway to 12, I was eager to equip the Pinewood Giant Sword and step into a brighter future that seemed just within reach!

I headed straight to Wolf Valley, targeting the level 11 monsters. As expected, all the monsters had respawned. With my improved stats—both offense and defense—I could now handle them with ease. I stuck to my old method, hiding among the rocks and taking on the level 11 wolves one-on-one. For most players, this would be unimaginable; few people could tank at such a high level, especially since there were no priests yet. Everyone had to rely on potions to withstand monster attacks, but the village's potion shop was outrageously expensive—no one could really afford it.

The game design was particularly brutal: there were no level 5, 6, or 7 monsters. After the level 4 wild dogs, only level 8 mangy wolves appeared, which were impossible for level 4 players to defeat. As a result, most players were still stuck killing level 4 wild dogs. Once they reached level 5, the experience from killing wild dogs dropped, making it even harder to reach level 6. Without reaching level 7 and having a good weapon, it was simply impossible to fight the level 8 wolves.

I kept grinding away at the monsters, and before I knew it, an hour had passed. After a flash of red light, I reached level 12. I immediately equipped the Pinewood Giant Sword and allocated my points to strength. Since I’d chosen swordsman, I might as well go all out as a strength-based warrior!

With the new weapon, my attack power shot up impressively. My personal stats were now enough to make anyone drool:

Green Vegetable White Jade Soup (Apprentice Swordsman)
Level: 12
HP: 402
Attack: 50-86
Defense: 54
Reputation: 60
Luck: 0

Equipment:
Two-handed — [Pinewood Giant Sword] (Green Equipment)
Attack: 24-45
Strength: +8
Stamina: +7
Required Level: 12

Chest — [Soldier’s Armor] (Green Equipment)
Defense: 22
Stamina: +4
Strength: +3
Required Level: 8

Legs — [Wolf Legguards] (Green Equipment)
Defense: +8
Stamina: +3
Strength: +2
Required Level: 4

...

A level 12 character with three decent pieces of equipment—this was quite impressive at this stage, far beyond what most players, still lingering around level 5, could imagine.

Swinging my greatsword, my current attack power was enough to deal over 120 damage to the level 11 wolves even without a critical hit—almost double my former output. Four or five strikes were enough to take down a level 11 monster. I even cleared the Wolf Leader again, though unfortunately, he only dropped money and nothing else. It was at this point I suddenly remembered that I’d forgotten to turn in my quest when I returned to the village...

Rubbing my tired eyes, I did a quick calculation—I’d been online for 18 consecutive hours. No wonder even a night owl like me was starting to feel exhausted. What surprised me even more was that all the girls were still online. Checking my friends list, I saw all seven of their names still lit up. Normally, they paid close attention to getting enough rest, but tonight, it seemed they’d all gone crazy.

“Ladies, it’s 7:45 p.m. now. Remember to rest and get some sleep so you can wake up early tomorrow!”

I sent a group message and quickly received a flurry of replies:

“Hmm, I’ll go to sleep soon. Want me to make you a cup of coffee?” — This was from Xue Han.

“Yeah, go to bed early. I’ll make sure to call you at 3 a.m. sharp!” — Xu Lin replied.

“Want me to keep you company in bed? By the way, let’s move our date to tomorrow night. How about a secret rendezvous tonight?” — 555, this was from Xin Yu...

Liu Yun was as cold as ever, replying with just, “Okay, going to sleep!”

Li Qing must have been being chased by monsters—her message was broken up: “Okay… sleep… sleeping…”

Joly’s reply made me break out in a cold sweat: “Alright, but we can’t sleep together, okay~” — Who knows how long she’ll keep pretending to be innocent? She’s already twenty-four, but still acts like a naïve girl. Heaven knows how many men she’s been with by now...

Compared to Joly, Guozi is genuinely innocent—she simply replied, “Alright!” and then I saw her log off. Clearly, she was at her limit, too.

...

After replying to everyone and offering them some comfort, I returned to the village. In the dilapidated auction house at the center, I put my level 4 green greatsword up for consignment at 20 gold, including my phone number and city in the listing. Then, I logged off and went to bed.