Chapter 11

Fang Yi disconnected from the game in the lobby of the inn and connected to the official forum of "Miracle." Players could choose to enter a deep sleep state in the game to ensure their rest time, but today was the first day of the game's operation, and Fang Yi knew he couldn't simply enjoy the game like most players. At least not now. To get the first-hand information on the first day of the game's operation, he had to log off and browse the forum at night.

At this moment, the game forum showed no signs of being in the middle of the night. Millions of people were taking advantage of the time to post on the forum while their characters slept in the game. The forum was filled with various posts, from water posts, technical posts, and experience posts to complaints and denunciations. Among them, a highly clicked post titled "Bloody Adult, Poisoning Youth" was pinned to the top.

The poster chose the Mage class and detailed how they were constantly tormented by monsters in the game, being bitten, drowned, and beaten to death in various ways. The spells often missed the monsters, and the realistic simulation of the monsters' effects on the players was too heavy psychologically. The post presented facts and arguments with a mix of tears and passion, making readers feel like they were witnessing a modern-day injustice.

Fang Yi just sneered. This was a low-level smear. The level of violence in the game could be adjusted, and minors would be forced to the lowest setting, where killing monsters was like cutting a doll, with some players even joking that the wounds spewed velvet.

However, "Miracle" emphasized realism. Things that players could never do in real life could be achieved in the game with effort and a bit of luck, such as becoming a dragon knight soaring through the sky or ruling a region in the game to enjoy the feeling of power. The game company wasn't worried that players would be discouraged by a little difficulty.

As for the claim that monsters couldn't be killed, that was pure nonsense. During the beta test, Mages were known as the kings of PvP, and even without the "king" title in PvE, they were still an essential part. Although they were slightly weakened in the official release, they remained one of the strongest classes. It was unclear whether this post was from a rival company or a disgruntled player.

Fang Yi just smiled and moved on. Most posts objectively described the game experience in "Miracle," which was known as the second world. Realism and excitement were the common feelings of most players.

However, there were also many informative posts. For example, in just one day of game time, a player had summarized the general distribution of the starting locations. The map details of "Miracle" had never been fully revealed, and players could only see the approximate locations of major cities on the official website's rough sketch. The game company claimed that players should explore on their own. The map in the post showed scattered newbie villages, like stars in the sky, without overly concentrated or dispersed areas.

Seeing this, Fang Yi remembered that the game's map could be shared. During the beta test, exploration enthusiasts and guilds looking for wild bosses paid a high price for wilderness maps. He could do some work in this area.

After browsing for a while, most posts were just players expressing their excitement and enthusiasm, with no valuable clues. Fang Yi then began to review some basic dungeon information.

An hour later, Fang Yi re-entered the game. It was early morning in the game, and the Green Vine Inn's spacious hall was rather empty. Fang Yi found a table and sat down, sending messages to the group (Note 2) while opening his skill panel and activating the Appraisal and Mining skills.

Appraisal and Mining, one saved money and the other made money, were always Fang Yi's first choices. Like Stealth and Hide, they were skills he considered essential. However, the skill list was filled with level 1 skills, which made Fang Yi somewhat frustrated.

Fang Yi was planning his future skill point allocation when he heard a familiar voice behind him, "Fangkuai? What a coincidence~" He turned around and stood up, smiling and greeting the person.

Behind him was the short-haired beauty Heishan Xiaoyao from yesterday. She stood straight, and the wooden shield that had been slung over her back was now replaced by a shiny iron shield, a result of yesterday's adventure. This time, a male elf Druid was with her, but the other beauty, Caosang, was not present.

"Looks like you're free. Our team is going to try the level 5 dungeon and needs a Scout. How about joining us?" Unlike Caosang, Heishan Xiaoyao's voice was more neutral, matching her appearance and adding a magnetic quality. However, Fang Yi noticed that the Druid behind her subtly frowned.

Fang Yi didn't have a bad impression of the warrior and laughed, "What a coincidence, I already have a team. Sorry~" Heishan Xiaoyao said "Oh" and smiled, saying it was fine, then turned and left the Green Vine Inn with the Druid. Fang Yi watched her leave, thinking she was quite a remarkable person, but what was the meaning of the threatening look from the Druid?

"Are you acquainted with that Rogue?" The Druid asked, frowning, as they left the inn.

"What's it to you?" The Druid was taken aback by the counter-question and didn't say anything more. Heishan Xiaoyao habitually tapped her head, thinking her friend wasn't a simple beauty. She had clearly shown special interest in the Rogue yesterday, but she knew everyone he knew. She couldn't figure it out...

Fang Yi didn't wait long. The group soon arrived at the Green Vine Inn and met up with him. The Priest, Banzhuan, who they had mentioned yesterday, had also rejoined the team, a burly man in a white priest robe, which made Fang Yi sweat.

"I've gathered all the information. There are two beginner dungeons around Farview Town: Lion Plains and Blood Howl Forest," Shenxianjiao explained excitedly, "Lion Plains is not far to the north of the town, and we've been there a few times. Blood Howl Forest is deep in the Low Howl Jungle, and players who ventured deep into the jungle have seen the entrance. Which one should we go to first?"

Fang Yi understood. Blood Howl Forest sounded like a jungle, and Heishan Xiaoyao was looking for a Scout and had a Druid with her, so they were likely heading there. After a brief thought, Fang Yi decided, "Let's go to Lion Plains. Our team composition is better suited for the plains, and the jungle terrain would be a disadvantage."

Shenxianjiao had a mysterious confidence in Fang Yi and nodded in agreement. The group prepared what they needed and set off for Lion Plains.

The dungeon entrance was behind a small hill. When they arrived, they found many people gathered at the entrance, their expressions indicating they had just been wiped out. Fang Yi saw the anxious looks on their faces and understood that for new players, practice was the best teacher. He encouraged them briefly and led the team into the dungeon.

In front of them was a breadfruit tree with a diameter of over ten feet. The lush branches and leaves surrounded the upper part of the trunk, with a beautiful mix of yellow and green. The tree was exceptionally tall, and one had to step back quite a bit to see the top. Fang Yi observed the surroundings and realized they were in the middle of the dungeon, surrounded by a vast, sparsely wooded plain. The scorching sun made the scenery appear distorted.

From Shenxianjiao, Fang Yi knew that this dungeon had a non-linear map, which was rare for a beginner dungeon. However, the benefit was fewer small monsters, saving time. Fang Yi saw that the group had formed up and entered Stealth mode, leading the team toward the nearest boss.

Three lionesses were dozing in the grass, and not far from them, a large male lion lay in the shade, occasionally raising its head to survey its territory. Its deep brown mane fluttered in the wind, adding to its regal appearance. However, from a distance, the lion king's fur appeared somewhat black, far from the healthy light yellow, and it no longer had the majesty of the king of beasts.

Fang Yi didn't dare to get too close and cast a Detection spell from the farthest distance.

Degenerate Lion King of the Plains

Beast

Class Level: Level 8 Warrior (Elite)

Attributes: ???

Skills: ???

An elite level 8 boss, and with a second-hand Detection spell, that was all he could see. Fang Yi carefully observed the distance between the monsters and slowly retreated to the bush where the team was hiding.

Shenxianjiao reminded the team in the chat, "The small monsters and the boss have a hate chain. Every time we kill two small monsters, the boss immediately charges over. If the small monsters are pulled too far, they lose hate and run back. We tried many times, and even if we killed all three small monsters, we were left with low health and still got wiped by the boss."

Fang Yi nodded and observed the distance between the small monsters and the boss. He turned to the Ranger and asked, "Doraemon, how much Agility do you have?" "I rolled a 17 at character creation and added 1 point at level 5, so now I have 18," Doraemon answered proudly.

Fang Yi did a quick calculation and felt it was feasible. He instructed, "Improve your Heavy Crossbow skill. We'll do it like this..."

After the plan was set, Fang Yi traded two health potions he got from opening a chest to Shenxianjiao, making the human warrior envious. Where did he get so much money? These two unremarkable potions would cost about 7 silver coins at the pharmacy.

Note 1: PvE stands for Player vs. Environment, where players challenge NPCs and bosses controlled by the game, as opposed to PvP (Player vs. Player).

Note 2: In "Miracle," if two players are too far apart, they can only communicate via pigeon, with a maximum delay of 10 minutes.

Note 3: Rose Quartz, commonly known as a skill stone, is a magical product from the Netheril period, made primarily from smoky quartz. The method of production is lost, and there are very few in existence. Depending on the quality of the skill stone, players can extract a certain number of skill points from a chosen skill and convert them into skill points, with the skill level reduced to 1.

Note 4: Heavy Crossbow: A Ranger skill that increases range by 5% per level, stacking multiplicatively with the range increase from weapons. The increased range from the Heavy Crossbow skill does not improve the Ranger's vision or aiming accuracy.

For example, a Ranger's default range for a normal attack is 80 feet, and an equipped longbow increases the range by 7 feet. With a level 1 Heavy Crossbow skill, the actual range for the Ranger's long-range normal attack is (80 + 7) * 1.05 = 91.35 feet.

Note: For some reason, the typos in the chapter titles of chapters 5 and 6 couldn't be corrected. I will look into it. Please bear with me, dear readers.

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