Chapter Six: Rising to Fame
After the four left the safe zone of Hero Town, a message appeared in each of their windows: “You have left the safe zone.”
Ye Yu was already fully prepared. The rookie-exclusive planning chart he had created would easily get them to level 60, and complete all the quests up to level 160.
When they were about a hundred meters away from Hero Town, Ye Yu clicked to form a party and invited the other three into the team.
“Tan Cong, Qu Zheng, you two pair up and head to the locations I’ve marked for you. You might run into each other. Both of you are already level 15 and have the full set of gear; winning shouldn’t be difficult.”
“Got it.” Tan Cong and Qu Zheng responded, making a hand gesture.
Then Ye Yu led the way, heading toward a forest on the left. He pressed a key on his keyboard, glanced at the map in his planning chart, and exchanged looks with his companions, confirming there were no major changes. It seemed the new era of Shen Shang had not altered the basic map settings, which meant the things not mentioned in the rookie page were still there!
Ye Yu arrived at the forest southeast of Hero Town, and when the four reached this spot, their eyes filled with excitement.
Before them was a faint, flickering vortex. Its edges shimmered with runes, exuding an ancient aura.
“This is a hidden location in the Hero Town map, not specifically mentioned in the rookie page. I found it by searching old strategy posts. Here, you can summon an entity called the Renegade Chief. On average, one appears every minute, and the area caps at thirty at a time. Twelve are here now, so we’ll need to lure them one by one. With the fourfold experience bonus, thirty will be enough to get us to level 20.”
“Understood.”
The four figures carefully moved through the underbrush. As the woods thinned, a massive man nearly two meters tall appeared before them, wielding two giant axes.
Above him hovered a crimson name: Renegade Chief.
The crimson color indicated a level difference of more than five.
Shen Shang’s development team was indeed formidable; even the engine they used rendered everything with remarkable realism. Zooming in, the Renegade Chief’s face was vividly detailed, especially those eyes reflecting the scenery around him.
“We’ll grind to level 20 here before tackling the main storyline quests,” Ye Yu said, then operated his character. He took a guqin from his back, placed it before him, and plucked a string. A luminous attack beam, rippling with energy, shot at the Renegade Chief.
The Renegade Chief shuddered, his gaze fixed on Ye Yu and the others. He charged toward them, axes raised.
In a breath’s time, he was before them, his massive axes swinging down at Ye Yu.
Huang Hong’s character darted in front of Ye Yu, blocking the axes with his sword. Luo Wei’s character slipped behind the Renegade Chief, his six-foot spear swirling with earthy light as he unleashed a gust of force upon the Chief’s back.
Boom.
The Chief’s burly frame trembled. Ye Yu narrowed his eyes, tapping keys. Three beams of guqin sound waves lashed out, chaining the Chief in place.
The Renegade Chief roared, his knees buckling as he fell to the ground.
“Now! Attack together!”
In Shen Shang, if the entire party consists of friends, their friendship level increases, boosting their stats during combat. This is especially effective against high-level monsters.
Thunderous attacks erupted from all four, dazzling light sealing off the Chief’s surroundings.
With their coordinated assault and the fourfold friend bonus, plus the double damage bonus from their rookie gear, the Chief was instantly slain.
With their newfound experience, the four grew ever more skilled, swiftly killing one Renegade Chief after another. Their experience soared, and within an hour, they reached level 20.
“We might be the fastest to level up on the server,” Huang Hong said, surprised by his own speed. Shen Shang’s design made early leveling slow, but after the level 60 class change, progress accelerated.
“That’s thanks to our third brother’s code. With quadruple experience, we can level up rapidly.”
“The first day’s level cap is forty. Let’s aim for that today.”
“By the way, the final feature in Shen Shang’s new era is the virtual world. Third brother, any thoughts? The officials haven’t revealed much.”
Luo Feng asked Ye Yu, clearly eager for his opinion.
“If I’m right, it’s virtual reality technology. Shen Shang’s development team is top-tier, and integrating VR isn’t impossible. Creating and experiencing a virtual world through computer simulation—using computers to generate an immersive environment with multi-source information fusion, interactive three-dimensional visuals, and simulated actions—lets players truly immerse themselves.”
Ye Yu pondered briefly before continuing, “Given that Shen Shang is launching VR, I believe this new era will make it possible. Players will enter the game world and experience the authentic martial arts universe of Shen Shang firsthand.”
“That would change gameplay quite a bit—everyone would play for themselves.”
“Exactly.”
Having reached level 20, the four were clearly set on pursuing the main storyline, since only those quests would allow them to reach level 40 on the first day.
Because they were level 20 and in a party, many players noticed their levels and reacted with shock, clearly amazed.
Current chat, Clean as the Wind: “I’ve barely made it to level 10, and there are already level 20s? Are they veteran players?”
Current, Son standing at attention: “Not necessarily. They look like a fixed party. Shen Shang’s dev team is strong; they can definitely prevent old pros from entering.”
Current, Passionate Rogue: “They’re just now starting the main storyline’s rogue deserters and demon wolves?”
Nearby players stood inside Hero Town, watching as Ye Yu’s group began tackling the main quest’s rogue deserters and demon wolves at level 20.
Suddenly, the world chat filled with messages about the four, quickly sending the server into a frenzy. Some of the leveling fanatics chimed in.
World 18, Wild Youth: “I thought I was ahead, refreshing at midnight to secure a spot on the leaderboard. But, ahahaha!”
World 19, Borrowing Tea: “Handshake and respect! Is your fixed party looking for members? I’m a low-level player—if you’re interested, PM me!”
The world channel buzzed with chatter about Ye Yu’s group, but the four remained calm, grinding efficiently. Following the main storyline’s requirements, they easily completed the quest, and their levels climbed again, golden light bursting from the ground with a “pop.”
All four leveled up to 21.
At that moment, the world channel drew everyone’s attention.
World 17, Class 2, Liu: “At the Demon tribe’s starting location, two newbies have reached level 21—Qu Xiaozheng and Cong Cong Cong Brother. Amazing! Didn’t expect such pros among rookies.”
World 17, Handsome Flying Street: “Glory to our Demon tribe!”
What other players didn’t realize was that the two Demon tribe members who reached level 21 were also part of Liang Ye’s party.
Ye Yu and his companions now arrived at the Hero Tower master to accept new quests.
Main storyline: Hero Qualification
Quest level: 15
Quest giver: Hero Tower master
Objective: 20 rogue soldier captains
Quest turn-in: Hero Tower master
For Ye Yu’s group, already at level 21, this was no challenge. With their full rookie gear, their stats were boosted, and after activating Shen Shang, those bonuses were enhanced.
After completing the Hero Qualification quest, Ye Yu and the others returned to the Hero Tower master for their next task.
Main storyline: Courage
Quest level: 18
Quest giver: Hero Tower master
Objective: Obtain the Imperial Gold Medal
Quest turn-in: Hero Tower master
Ye Yu was familiar with this quest. To the north of Hero Town’s outskirts lay a reclusive master. Defeating him would grant the Imperial Gold Medal—a death exemption token bestowed by the emperor to the Hero Tower master.
“Let’s buy mounts, otherwise it’ll be inconvenient,” Luo Wei suggested. Shen Shang’s map was vast, and even the Hero Town zone was immense.
The others agreed, opening the Shen Shang cash shop and browsing the mount list. They all set their sights on the Azure Dragon mount.