It took Ryan about ten minutes to clear the Blood Hollow dungeon. Since he could only enter a dungeon five times per hour, he soon found himself locked out from running it again.
After exchanging friend requests with his sister so they could chat privately, Ryan used his downtime to guide Mia remotely through efficient quests.
Over the next few hours, Mia steadily progressed to level three, while other players ahead of them were already approaching level four.
Ryan had amassed around 63,000 experience points, far exceeding the 20,000 required to reach level five. After a moment's consideration, he tapped the upgrade button.
—
You leveled up!
You reached Level 5!
Your Health increased by 32; your Mana increased by 28!
Your Strength increased by 1; your Stamina increased by 1; your Spirit increased by 1.
...
...
You've grown stronger!
—
Watching his Health tick up to 311, Ryan couldn't help but smile. At this stage, his Health was a full seventy points higher than most players—a significant advantage in the early game.
He still had three unallocated attribute points. If he put them all into Stamina, he'd end up with nearly a hundred extra Health compared to others at his level. While these extra points would barely matter later on, right now it was like having a bonus ten points in Stamina.
"Time to pick up some quests," he murmured to himself. "I should probably finish the village exit quest first."
He nodded, resolved, and started heading back toward the Newbie Village.
Mia's mage character had already logged off. She was probably in the kitchen making dinner. That was a clear sign she hadn't fully committed to the professional gamer lifestyle yet.
Ryan sighed at the thought, but then he brightened. If Mia never turned into a full-time gamer, it wasn't the end of the world. He'd always be there to support her, no matter what. And whatever progress she made, he'd find ways to quietly help her along—just enough that she felt proud of herself.
As he walked, the familiar gates of the Newbie Village soon came into view.
Most of the early players had already dispersed to higher-level zones, but a fresh tide of newcomers was streaming into the village. These were all new players who had heard the government's latest propaganda push and rushed to buy virtual headsets so they could enter the game themselves.
Fortunately, Mia had purchased her headset long before the President's global address. If she'd waited until now, she probably wouldn't even have been able to get the cheapest model by the end of the day.
On the forums, the players who'd missed out were complaining bitterly. Because nobody wanted to stand in line, scalpers had inflated the price of even the most basic virtual headsets to over 600 bucks—a fivefold increase.
Just then, a system notification flared in Ryan's vision:
---
[The So-Called Dreadwolf:
The "Dreadfang Alpha" Guderian in the Blood Hollow dungeon transformed simply by being tainted with a trace of demonic flesh.
Demons must never be allowed to roam freely on this land—not even seemingly harmless creatures like this.
But this opponent shouldn't be too difficult for you. I've decided to make it your coming-of-age trial!
Featherlight, slay Guderian, and when you return, I will recommend you for the front lines of war—to become a true champion!
Quest Objective: Slay Dreadfang Alpha Guderian (0/1)
Quest Reward: 2,000 Experience; 2 Silver Coins
Note: This is a main storyline quest. You cannot leave the Newbie Village without completing it.]
—
Quest accepted, Ryan weaved his way through the throngs of newcomers. The area just outside the Newbie Village was already packed, with countless fresh players jostling and shoving for space.
The proximity chat channel was a relentless flood of text. Words flashed by so quickly he could barely catch a few fragments of conversation, forcing him to rely on his ears to pick out anything useful.
To his surprise, Ryan noticed that a lot of players were still using the system's default character appearance. Back in his previous life, nearly everyone customized their avatars to match their real-world looks. It seemed the President must have announced something new that hadn't been mentioned before.
He made a mental note to check the President's address after he logged off.
As he hurried toward the Blood Hollow, Ryan opened the forums and quickly scanned the latest posts. The surge in paid posts brought a satisfied smile to his face.
Many players had started sharing guides and tips about newbie quests, making things easier for the waves of late arrivals.
Most of those posts were from guild members, and every guide ended with a guild name stamped proudly at the bottom—thinly veiled advertisements. Once those players left the Newbie Village and moved on to Goldmine Town to officially establish their guilds, plenty of the people they'd helped would likely join up.
After closing the forums, Ryan finally arrived near the entrance to the Blood Hollow. A large crowd had gathered there, split into several groups deep in negotiations.
He slowed down and casually began cutting down a few monsters nearby, inching closer to the gathering without drawing too much attention.
Since his real-time name wasn't displayed, nobody recognized him. Plenty of scattered players were hanging around to get a look at the dungeon, but the majority were organized groups—early guild players.
Even though none of these guilds were official yet, these assembled teams were the true foundations of powerful factions.
At the center of the crowd, a handful of individuals stood out. Their real-time names were visible above their heads. Two of them were immediately familiar to Ryan: Sky Dragon Ascendant and Sky Dragon Iris.
Standing beside them was another player with a name he recognized: Sky Dragon Roar.
If he remembered correctly, Sky Dragon Roar was the real leader of the Sky Dragon Family's guild—and also the son of the CEO of the Sky Dragon Group in the real world.
The people talking with Roar hadn't enabled their names, but anyone able to negotiate directly with him clearly wasn't ordinary.
Ryan frowned slightly, wondering why they were all standing around the dungeon entrance instead of just going in.
He didn't have to wonder long.
A moment later, three members stepped out from the Sky Dragon Family's group and two from the other side. The five players lined up together and then entered the dungeon as a single party.
"So that's it," Ryan muttered to himself, realization dawning. "Neither guild could handle it alone, so they pooled their best-geared players to test the waters."
Keeping his head down, he edged closer to the portal. Just as someone nearby turned to warn him, Ryan moved first. He stepped forward confidently and disappeared into the dungeon in one fluid motion.
Sky Dragon Roar's gaze lingered on the spot where Ryan had vanished. Then he turned thoughtfully to Sky Dragon Ascendant.
"He must be the Featherlight you mentioned, right?"
"Yes, Big Brother," Sky Dragon Ascendant replied with quiet respect. "That's the same Featherlight who achieved two Glorious Achievements in a row."
"How interesting."
A small, inscrutable smile curved Sky Dragon Roar's lips.