Chapter 3

Looking at the time, it was already half past three. The game "Faith" was open from 5 PM to 9 AM, a total of sixteen hours, which did not affect the work of ordinary people. Since everyone's playtime was roughly the same, it did not widen the gap in player levels. Thanks to Faith's ultra-perfect simulation technology, it quickly became a global sensation and gradually became an indispensable part of people's lives.

This was a world dominated by virtual technology, a perfect system. Five months later, Faith completed the integration with real-world currency, thoroughly merging into human life.

With a high online rate and such a massive player base, consumption in the virtual world surged. The annual consumption of players worldwide in Faith even exceeded the total consumption in the real world. The vast consumer base gave rise to numerous service industries, the most notable of which was the professional player community.

Almost every corporation had entered Faith. After Nie Yan's father started his company and saw good returns, he also joined the trend and invested in Faith, but ultimately suffered a惨败, leading to a broken capital chain and giving Cao Xu an opportunity to take advantage. He absolutely could not let such a thing happen again.

Entering Faith was necessary, but the key was not to fail. Nie Yan had to pave the way for his father so that when he invested, everything would go smoothly. As long as the capital chain remained unbroken, no problems would arise.

After spending thirty yuan on a meal outside, Nie Yan returned home, almost reaching five o'clock.

He put on his helmet and waited quietly for Faith to open.

Twelve minutes later, the time in the helmet showed five o'clock, and a cheerful melody played. This sound was so familiar, having been heard countless times in his previous life. Music that once seemed ordinary now sounded so beautiful.

System: Do you wish to create a new account?

Yes!

System: Please select your country.

In Faith, there were three factions. The Good, Lawful, and Light faction included the Greenland Empire and the Saturn Empire. The Greenland Empire was a human nation governed by an Elder Council, while the Saturn Empire was a tribal alliance of dwarves, orcs, and elves. The Evil, Lawful, and Dark faction consisted of the Demon Tribes and the Undead Tribes, both led by chieftains. Those who loved peace could choose the Neutral faction of the Giant Tribes.

In his previous life, Nie Yan had chosen the Wind Rogue class in the Greenland Empire, familiar with the maps and all the skills and quests of the Wind Rogue. If he chose another country, the advantage of being reborn would be greatly reduced.

Nie Yan had a special affection for the Wind Rogue, having invested nearly a decade of effort into that class. A level 180 Grand Rogue represented supreme honor.

Considering all factors, he chose the Wind Rogue, just like in his previous life.

System: You have chosen to be born in the Greenland Empire.

System: You have chosen the Wind Rogue class.

System: Please name your character.

"Nie Yan!" Nie Yan chose the same name as in his previous life. Nie Yan, now it sounded like a phoenix rising from the ashes, reborn.

System: Character naming successful. Character Nie Yan created.

After entering the game, the real appearance was automatically blurred, and the system made minor modifications to the player's face. In most cases, the character in the game looked very different from the real person, making it hard to recognize, but the general level of attractiveness remained similar.

Nie Yan opened the attribute panel and checked his stats.

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Character: Nie Yan

Level: 0

Attributes: Strength 2, Agility 2, Intelligence 2, Constitution 2, Perception 2, Charisma 1

Health: 100/100, Rage: 0/100

Defense: 2 (Defense Rate: 21%)

Attack: 3 (Hit: 10)

Toughness: 1

Reflex: 2 (Class Specialty Bonus)

Will: 0

Balance: 5

Focus: 5

Jump: 5 (Small Jump: 0.9 yards, Medium Jump: 1.5 yards, Large Jump: 3 yards)

Stealth: 0 (Skill currently empty)

Hide: 5 (Rogues can easily hide in shadows)

Search: 5

Magic Resistance: 0 (Related to Defense, Intelligence, and Constitution, Magic Defense Rate: 0%)

Movement Speed: 5 (Encumbrance Modifier: 0)

Attack Speed: 5 (Weapon Modifier: 0, Encumbrance Modifier: 0)

Encumbrance: /60 lbs (Encumbrance Modifier: +10) Light Load: 0-20 lbs (including 20, agile movement) Medium Load: 20-30 lbs (normal movement) Heavy Load: 30-50 lbs (difficult movement)

Racial Trait: Humans possess wisdom that many other races cannot match. Gain +3 Intelligence every five levels.

Rogue Class Trait 1: Gain a bonus to trap evasion every five levels.

Rogue Class Trait 2: Ambush: When attacking from behind, gain an additional 30% attack bonus.

Human Rogue Class Trait: Superior wisdom allows them to skillfully use various tools and magical items.

Class Specialties: Basic Agile Movement (+2 Reflex), Basic Weapon Proficiency: Dagger (+1 Attack), Basic Stealth (+2 Hide), Basic Shooting (Can use bows and crossbows), Nimble Fingers (Wind Rogues can skillfully use their fingers)

(For an explanation of attributes, please refer to the game's world view)

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These were the base attributes, the same for every human rogue. At level 0, the system provided 5 attribute points and 1 specialty point.

Nie Yan looked at the attribute panel. In his previous life, when he chose the Wind Rogue, he added one point to Strength, two points to Agility, and two points to Constitution to make himself more durable. This made his early attacks weak and slow, wasting a lot of leveling time. In fact, rogues didn't need much health in the early stages. The failed early attribute allocation made him sigh in regret several times, wishing he could delete his character and start over. This time, he wouldn't make the same mistake.

He added three points to Strength and two points to Agility, the optimal allocation he had deduced based on his leveling habits from his previous life. After adding the points, his Attack became 6, Hit 10.6, Movement Speed 5.4, and Attack Speed 5.6.

He had one specialty point left. Given the class traits of a rogue, most human rogue players would allocate their first specialty point to Agile Movement, Weapon Proficiency, or Stealth. Nie Yan was about to choose Weapon Proficiency but paused, thinking for a moment, and then allocated the specialty point to Shooting.

Intermediate Shooting: Quick Reload +3, Range +3, Bow and Crossbow Damage +3, Ignore Level Difference +3 (Rogue Class Check +1)

Specialties were divided into five levels: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert, and Master. After reaching the Master level, they could not be further improved. However, there were many types of specialties, and the specialties that could be improved varied by class.

Human rogues were skilled with various tools and magical items, and bows and crossbows were one of them, so Intermediate Shooting provided an additional attack bonus.

After allocating the attributes, the scene changed, and Nie Yan appeared at the teleportation point in Carrol City. The surroundings were filled with towering buildings, all white and spotless. The central white obelisk pierced the sky, and next to it stood a massive white stone statue, a mage holding a staff with a solemn and dignified expression. This was the guardian deity of the Greenland Empire, Emperor Jobia.

The streets were bustling with people.

The real-world night was the game's morning. The dawn's light bathed Carrol City in a silver-white glow, enveloping every building.

Carrol City was the capital of the Greenland Empire, a floating city above the Carrol Great Plains. There were countless teleportation points leading to various cities, towns, and villages.

"High-quality level 0 white dagger, Attack 2, one point higher than the beginner dagger, only two copper coins, only three available, while supplies last!" A level 3 Arcane Mage was setting up a stall near the teleportation point, and many new players gathered around his stall.

Each new player entering the game had ten copper coins as starting capital. Many bought a dagger to speed up their initial leveling, even though it was painful to spend the money.

Nie Yan scoffed. The same white dagger could be bought for one copper coin in the town of Rock, and level 0 players could teleport there for free. It took only two to three minutes to buy a dagger from an NPC and return.

In his previous life, he had foolishly bought one and later realized he had been cheated.

In the cloth shop of Link Town, the hat shop of Joseph Town, and the dagger shop of Rock Town, Nie Yan used the teleportation points three times, spending six copper coins to replace his defenseless beginner gear with shoes, hats, shoulder guards, and leg guards with 1-2 defense, and a cloth armor with 2-3 defense.

These were all lessons learned from his previous life. Checking his defense, it was now 8-13. In the early stages, level 2-3 rogues with insufficient information and gear would have similar defense.

After a quick tour of the market, he found a level 3 Silenced Paladin selling rogue stealth skill books. There were six on the stall, priced at six copper coins each, but the high price made it unaffordable for low-level rogues.

The Silenced Paladin was in his early twenties, tall and muscular, suitable for a warrior or a paladin.

Paladins were guardians of the temples, capable of learning divine spells passed down from the temples. They had some magical attack and healing abilities, as well as decent melee combat skills. They could also provide auras to support their teammates, making them a well-rounded class. Silenced Paladins could learn spells like Silence and Mute to suppress spellcasters like mages and priests.

"How much for the stealth skill book?" Nie Yan squatted down, picked up the skill book, and asked. Stealth was a must-have skill for rogues in the early stages, and the drop rate at monster spawn points was high, so the price wasn't too expensive.

"You saw the price, six copper coins," the Silenced Paladin said, nodding.

"You're just trying to rip people off. As a Silenced Paladin, you can farm Fallen Mages in Link Town and get six stealth skill books a day without much effort, more profitable than farming goblins. How can you sell them so expensively? Three copper coins, not a penny more," Nie Yan immediately halved the price.

"It's not as easy as you say. How much potion money do I spend in a day? Selling for three copper coins, I won't make any profit. The minimum is five copper coins," the Silenced Paladin was stunned by Nie Yan's boldness and took a while to respond. He wasn't a shrewd businessman, and this new player seemed well-informed and hard to fool.

"You're farming in the wrong place. If you farm Fallen Mages at coordinates 22385.21338.23329, you can get at least ten stealth skill books a day with minimal potion costs. Three copper coins, not a penny more. If you don't sell, I'll leave right now," Nie Yan sized up the Silenced Paladin, who had a square face with a bit of stubble, not too unsightly.