After browsing the forum for a while, Jiang Bai quickly lost interest. Stretching lazily, he decided to head downstairs to the local supermarket to grab some snacks or something.
After all, now that he was sitting on tens of thousands in his account, wasn't it time to splurge on all those snacks he used to hesitate over?
Jiang Bai didn't usually have a large monthly living allowance, and since he was renting outside the dorms, his life had been fairly frugal. This was a rare chance to indulge himself.
As for why a college student like him didn't live in the school dorms and insisted on renting his own place... that's a story for another time.
"Looks like that dream of clubbing with hot girls might really come true now..."
Wearing loose shorts and flip-flops, Jiang Bai dashed outside.
But soon, he felt something wasn't quite right.
"Wait a minute…"
"Why do I feel... so light on my feet?"
As a self-proclaimed homebody, Jiang Bai was healthy but not exactly fit. Yet after just a few steps, he felt unusually light—an unfamiliar sensation.
"What's going on?"
"Did a few days of gaming actually improve my fitness?"
"Or does that wellness pod actually have some hidden workout function?"
To test whether he'd really experienced a physical change, Jiang Bai—who lived on the 11th floor—decided to take the stairs down.
And guess what?
Just as he suspected, his physical condition had somehow improved drastically.
From the 11th floor to the 1st, he practically flew down the steps—no sore legs, no gasping for breath, just smooth sailing all the way.
On any normal day, even walking a few flights would leave him panting.
"Holy crap!"
"This pod actually improves your body?!"
Delighted by the unexpected bonus, Jiang Bai couldn't stop smiling. He'd originally planned to spend just 100 yuan, but doubled it to 200 on the spot.
Why not?
"There's no way I can even spend it all!"
Carrying a large bag of goodies on the way back, Jiang Bai noticed that even his strength had increased. Though he couldn't pinpoint exactly how much, the heavy bag felt like nothing.
Up the stairs from the 1st to the 11th floor—again, he moved like the wind.
"I swear, a few more days of gaming and I could compete in track and field…"
After finishing his snacks and keeping an eye on the time, Jiang Bai returned to the pod. The login screen for Genesis slowly appeared before his eyes.
As soon as he entered the game, Jiang Bai sought out the old blacksmith, Brent.
This time, Brent didn't seem surprised at all. Instead, he smiled warmly at Jiang Bai like a wise elder.
Once Jiang Bai handed over the head of the Hellhound Cerberus, a pleasant system chime echoed in his ears:
"You have completed the chained hidden quest [Hunt the Hellhound Cerberus].Rewards: EXP +20,000, Reputation +200, Gold x10, Medal equipment slot unlocked, Special Equipment [Adventurer's Medal] obtained, and Item Acquired — [Brent's Letter of Recommendation — Proof of Hidden Class Advancement]."
"Whaaat?!"
Jiang Bai was stunned by the sheer generosity of the rewards.
"What the heck is a special equipment slot?"
Opening his character interface, he noticed a new slot on his chest area.
"So that's where the medal goes?"
"Wait—does that mean I get an extra piece of equipment compared to everyone else?"
"This is insane!"
He turned his gaze to the glowing medal in his inventory:
[Adventurer's Medal](Epic, Upgradable, Evolvable)
Constitution: +5
Spirit: +5
Agility: +5
Strength: +5
Intelligence: +5
[Sever]: Attacks on elite monsters or bosses have a 1% chance to cut 0.5% of their max HP. (Ineffective on players)
[Cleanse]: Can actively remove all control effects and grants immunity to all control skills for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 60s
Equip Level: 10
"Damn… just damn…"
"All attributes +5! And it has a percentage-based Sever effect!"
"Plus a Cleanse skill—that's a god-tier PvP ability!"
"This is way too OP!"
"And it's scalable! Can level up and evolve!"
Looking at the medal, Jiang Bai finally understood why it was classified as special equipment. This wasn't something just anyone could get.
Without hesitation, he equipped it, and his stats spiked once again.
But after checking through his inventory, he couldn't find the Proof of Class Advancement mentioned by the system.
"Where's my class proof?"
Raising his head, Jiang Bai noticed that Brent was still smiling at him, holding a rolled-up piece of parchment.
"Brave adventurer, congratulations on passing my tests. This is the first letter of recommendation I've written in thousands of years. Take it, and go seek the great Abilda. He will show you your path forward…"
"My precious treasure…"
Carefully, Jiang Bai put the letter away. At the bottom of the parchment, there was a small annotation:
"Adventurer, seek out the greatest Dark Ranger in the history of Genesis—Abilda. He will point you to your destiny."
"Dark Ranger?"
"Wait, is that my hidden class? Am I about to become a Dark Ranger?!"
Jiang Bai's heart raced with anticipation.
At that moment, there were still two hours left before the Demon Invasion event began. Almost every player was preparing for it.
After all, the outcome would determine whether or not players could access the second chapter early. No guild dared to slack off.
Unlike the usual relaxed vibe, the entire starter village was buzzing with tension and activity. Major guilds were scrambling to coordinate, and solo players were doing all they could to power up in these final two hours—to get a better cut of the loot during the event.
According to the official announcement, the Demon Invasion wouldn't only feature the boss Gonzalez, but also waves of demonic mobs with higher drop rates than normal monsters.
Naturally, Jiang Bai wasn't going to be left behind. Out of the 22 gold coins he had, he spent 15 in a flash, buying 8 pairs of level-10 boots and 8 pairs of level-10 greaves.
After some crafting and combining, he ended up with two epic level-10 pieces of gear:
[Swift Wolfhide Boots](Epic)
Defense: 18
Constitution: +8
Agility: +6
[Swiftness]: +10% movement speed
[Sturdy Tiger Greaves](Epic)
Defense: 19
Constitution: +8
Agility: +6
[Sturdiness]: Max HP +300
Though the two pieces seemed ordinary on the surface, Jiang Bai immediately replaced his old level-2 gear.
With the upgrades equipped, his stats were starting to look downright broken.
[EmptyDream]
Level: 10
Reputation: 500
Class: Archer
Race: Human
HP: 2180
Energy: 420
Physical Attack: 661 +13 (2%)
Magic Attack: 50
Attack Power: 84
Defense: 228
Attributes:
Constitution: 56
Spirit: 21
Strength: 42
Intelligence: 20
Agility: 103
Crit Rate: 11%
Skills: [Stunning Shot], [Aimed Shot], [Multi Shot], [Explosive Shot]
Titles: [I Am Strong], [Ancient Will], [First Blood], [Demon Hunter]