The Ascent of Xianluo and Bai Xia’s New Journey

At eight o’clock the following morning, having spent an entire day immersed in reality, Bai Xia logged back into the game, only to find the newbie village still brimming with activity, a sight that imbued her with a subtle, almost otherworldly sense of displacement.

Naturally, she quickly shook her head, casting aside that inexplicable sensation.

Upon opening her quest interface, she saw, as anticipated, that the village chief’s commission had already been completed, with the subsequent rewards merely a click away.

However, the paltry rewards, as expected, barely registered in Bai Xia’s estimation.

After claiming them, she promptly tossed them all into her inventory.

Despite having been offline for merely a single day, the average player level had already soared to around 8 or 9, with some elite players having even progressed beyond the confines of the newbie village.

This world, it seemed, never suffered from a shortage of ‘Liver Emperors’ (TL Note: A Chinese slang term, ‘gāndì,’ referring to players who dedicate an excessive amount of time to grinding in games, often at the expense of sleep or other activities).

Consequently, if Bai Xia were to remain idle for just two more days, even her explosive luck would prove insufficient to prevent her from being rapidly outpaced by their relentless efforts!

However, the young woman found herself largely unconcerned by this prospect.

‘If I’m surpassed, then I’m surpassed,’ she mused.

She was hardly one of those ‘Liver Emperor’ bigshots, nor did she possess the boundless energy required to immerse herself in the game at every waking moment.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything else to do in the newbie village… Should I just leave?”

Standing at the newbie village’s resurrection point, Bai Xia, having just closed her quest log, murmured the question aloud.

Given the goblin quest and the relic trial she had completed, remaining in the newbie village at her current level held little to no strategic value.

She reasoned it would be far more advantageous to teleport to the main city sooner and rendezvous with Tian Zheng.

As Tian Zheng came to mind, Bai Xia opened her friends interface, only to discover that he had not yet logged on.

His name, still rendered in a dull, gray hue on the list, confirmed her suspicion.

Such a status typically indicated one of two things: either he was offline, or she had been blocked.

However, considering the present circumstances, the former possibility was undeniably the more probable scenario.

With Tian Zheng still offline, the young woman temporarily shelved her plan to immediately depart for the city to meet him.

She paused, then systematically opened various interfaces, meticulously ensuring no crucial information had been overlooked.

It was then that she genuinely stumbled upon something intriguing.

“Rankings?”

Gazing at the newly appeared game interface, Bai Xia found herself momentarily stunned.

As had been previously stated, to incentivize player engagement, the system would automatically activate various ranking boards once a certain number of players had departed the newbie village.

Moreover, those who ranked prominently would be bestowed with special rewards.

Yet, by Bai Xia’s own estimation, these rankings should, at the very least, have remained dormant for another week before activation.

Despite her lingering confusion, she proceeded to open the only accessible ranking board: the Level Ranking.

The Level Ranking exclusively tracked players who had reached Level 10 and subsequently left the newbie village.

Furthermore, it only displayed the top one hundred players across the entire game.

Unsurprisingly, Bai Xia’s own name was absent from the list.

Tian Zheng, however, with his level already at a formidable 14, was undeniably ranked as the…

“S-second!? How is that possible!”

Bai Xia’s beautiful eyes widened imperceptibly, a flicker of disbelief crossing her features.

After all, given the circumstances that had propelled Tian Zheng’s level, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to describe his progress as an ‘ascension.’

Whether ordinary players could even hope to catch up in a short span of time was a question in itself, yet now, he had actually been surpassed?

Level Ranking

First Place: Xianluo, Level: 15, Class: Nature Mage.

“Xianluo… That name, a girl?”

Her gaze settled on the game name at the very pinnacle of the rankings, its distinct color and the small golden crown adorning its corner setting it apart from all others.

Within Bai Xia, a deeper surge of astonishment began to brew.

While no explicit gender information was provided, the game ‘Otherworld’ disallowed players from altering their gender to avert unnecessary complications.

Thus, it was highly probable that the majority of players adopting such feminine names within the game were indeed female.

Naturally, this did not entirely preclude the possibility of some rough-and-tumble men possessing a secretly girlish heart.

Yet, it wasn’t the opponent’s level that truly astonished Bai Xia.

As the adage proclaimed, ‘women hold up half the sky,’ and thus, securing the top spot was hardly a surprising feat.

What truly mattered, however, was her profession…

“Nature Mage?”

At the outset, ordinary mage players began as Apprentice Mages.

Upon reaching Level 15 and undergoing a class change, they could select specific elements for specialization and sub-specialization.

For instance, a player might primarily specialize in fire magic while secondarily focusing on wind, a combination typically known as an Elemental Mage.

A Nature Mage, Bai Xia was absolutely certain that such an option was unavailable through any ordinary class change instructor.

Therefore, it was, beyond a shadow of a doubt… a hidden class!

Yet, after a brief moment of astonishment, the young woman quickly found a sense of calm.

Just as she and Tian Zheng had experienced their own miraculous encounters, it was only natural that other players might also stumble upon similar, or even more extraordinary, circumstances.

The sheer size of the player base, after all, was undeniable.

Upon closer reflection, being surpassed, or even witnessing other hidden class holders besides herself, no longer seemed particularly unusual.

Even if someone had, by some outlandish chance, already attained an exaggerated Level 20…

Well, such a feat ought to be utterly impossible.

While the promotional slogan for ‘Otherworld’ proudly declared, ‘We only provide an equal starting line; players themselves forge an infinite future,’ the developers themselves understood that true balance in a holographic online game was an unattainable ideal.

Consequently, their only recourse was to offer everyone a relatively equitable starting point.

From there, the extent of a player’s development would hinge entirely upon their individual luck and prowess.

However, despite these pronouncements, the occurrence of events too heavily impacting ‘balance’ in the initial stages could easily spark controversy.

Such incidents would inevitably lead to suspicions of players exploiting bugs or utilizing illicit third-party software.

To thoroughly preempt such possibilities, even players blessed with fortuitous encounters in the early game would invariably find their progress restricted to a predetermined range.

This ensured that their advancements would, at the very least, not exceed the acceptable thresholds for the average player.

Only through this careful calibration could the game become more engaging, thus instilling greater motivation in its players!

While a Level 15 player might indeed seem somewhat exaggerated to the majority who had yet to depart the newbie village at this nascent stage, it was not, in truth, entirely beyond the realm of acceptability.

In contrast, it was likely that more individuals would be preoccupied with how this ‘first place’ contender had ascended so rapidly in such a short timeframe, and, more importantly, how they had acquired a special profession.

“It’s none of my business, anyway.”

Beyond the top two entries, Bai Xia found little else of particular note on the ranking board and promptly closed the page.

After a cursory wander around the newbie village yielded no further discoveries, she cast aside any lingering hesitation.

She strode directly to the newbie village’s resurrection stone and initiated the town teleportation.

The newbie village served merely as a preliminary stage for players to acclimate to the game and their new selves.

The world beyond its borders, however, was where the true stage awaited!

“Do you confirm teleportation to the Adventurer’s Starting City—’Forest Capital’? After teleporting, you cannot return to the newbie village by any means.

Please choose carefully.”

“Confirm!”

The instant the affirmation left her lips, Bai Xia’s world dissolved into a fleeting expanse of stark white.

Then, in less than a single second, it burst forth once more in a vibrant kaleidoscope of colors.

Subconsciously, she squinted her eyes.

When she next opened them wide, she found herself standing in a completely new world.