On the way to the City Hall, the streets were absolutely packed with people.
The narrow road was swarming with players, like a bustling marketplace, all chatting up NPCs to try and wheedle out quests.
Unfortunately, quests in the Divine Realm weren't so easy to come by. The NPCs had remarkably high intelligence — they held one-on-one conversations with players, and if your wording wasn't just right, they could brush you off entirely. On top of that, hundreds of players were all competing for the same thing. Snagging even a simple, obvious quest was brutally difficult.
In the dozen or so minutes since the Divine Realm had opened, not a single player in Red Leaf Town had managed to accept a regular quest.
By comparison, Shi Feng — a reborn man — held an enormous advantage. He had already secured a quest, and not just any quest, but a unique quest. A bit of a headache, perhaps, but the rewards for a unique quest were staggeringly generous. Even top-tier players a full month into the game's launch would be drooling over what this quest offered.
As a reborn player who had once led the Shadow studio's thousands of members and helped establish ten major city-states, the amount of Divine Realm knowledge Shi Feng possessed far outstripped what ordinary pro players knew — optimal leveling routes, money-making methods, and more. These were the essential building blocks that had turned a studio of thousands into a powerhouse.
Now, with a second chance at life and another run at the Divine Realm, Shi Feng intended to leverage all of that accumulated knowledge to build a massive early advantage and lay a solid foundation for future growth. He certainly wasn't going to spend hours camping on some street fighting over a basic quest like the average player, nor was he going to head straight into the wilderness to grind mobs just because he had decent technique — the fields outside would be swarming with more players than monsters by now.
What Shi Feng needed to do was sidestep the crowds, which was exactly why he'd chosen the notoriously difficult unique quest.
Problem was, completing this quest required money, and Shi Feng didn't have enough.
In the early game, every player received ten copper coins. Not enough to buy gear or weapons, but enough to purchase some food and drink to stave off HP and mana problems.
He arrived at the two-story City Hall building. A massive queue of players snaked out the door — over a hundred strong.
In any game, whether it was a village chief or a town mayor, the quest-giver was unmistakable, and players naturally weren't about to let that opportunity slip by.
"Hey newcomer, if you don't want to get lynched, get in line," called out an honest-faced male warrior standing in the middle of the queue. He spotted Shi Feng and jerked his thumb at a spot a few people behind him.
"I'm not here to pick up a quest," Shi Feng said calmly, glancing at the long dragon of players outside City Hall.
Compared to the other quest locations around town, this one was actually quite orderly and reasonably efficient. Accepting quests was a bit slow, but at least someone could get one — unlike other spots where nobody managed at all.
The warrior eyed Shi Feng warily. Everyone here was desperate to grab quests, and now this guy was claiming he had no interest? Who'd believe that?
"I'm really not here for quests," Shi Feng said, catching the hostility in the warrior's gaze. The man clearly thought Shi Feng was planning to cut in line. Shi Feng smiled faintly. "Though I'd advise you to try your luck somewhere else — waiting here is a waste of time."
"A waste of time? People have already come out with quests," the warrior shot back. Once he realized Shi Feng genuinely wasn't trying to cut, he relaxed. He'd been queuing for over ten minutes and had no intention of letting anyone jump ahead. But Shi Feng's firm tone had piqued his curiosity — what did he mean, waste of time?
Shi Feng just smiled and didn't bother explaining. Instead, he changed the subject. "You seem like a decent guy, so I'll point you in the right direction — go grind mobs in the wild. There's more opportunity out there than here."
"No way. The wilderness is crawling with monsters, and I can't compete with all those people for kills. I'd rather wait here," the warrior said, shaking his head. He wasn't stupid — the fields would be packed with players right now. With his skill level, he'd be lucky to snag even a single mob. Better to just wait in line.
"You're going to the wrong place," Shi Feng said with a grin. "Head somewhere with sparse monster spawns — nobody'll be competing with you there. Compared to the stampede around dense spawn points, the leveling efficiency in those spots is several times higher. Plus, the mobs respawn slowly, so a single player can handle them without breaking a sweat."
"Is there really a place like that?"
The warrior's eyes lit up with excitement, clearly tempted. Waiting for a quest would take at least another hour, and the reward was nothing more than experience and a pittance of copper. If he could grind mobs uninterrupted for an hour, the experience alone would far outweigh what any quest offered.
"Of course there is," Shi Feng said, leaning in close and lowering his voice. "Head to this prime spot, and I'll give you a deal — twenty copper. Grind for a day, and forget about the experience alone — just from the materials you'll collect, you'll pull in over forty copper. Get lucky with a gear drop, and you'll be laughing all the way to the bank."
"You're not trying to trick me, are you?" The male warrior eyed Shi Feng with hesitation. A prime farming spot like that would definitely put him well ahead of other players, but 20 copper was no small sum. Monsters in the Divine Realm rarely dropped money or equipment, making copper coins incredibly precious.
"If you don't believe me, you can pay 10 copper upfront. We go to the spot, you test it out, and see for yourself. If it's the real deal, you hand over the remaining 10. I'm telling you this because you seem like a decent guy. If you don't believe me, forget it." Shi Feng finished speaking and turned to walk away.
If Shi Feng weren't short on money, he wouldn't have bothered with this. He could always find other ways to earn copper.
Shi Feng had only taken a few steps before the male warrior caught up and grabbed him.
"Hey, expert, hold on! Let's talk this out, will you? It's just 10 copper for a deposit — here, take it. I trust that a top player like you wouldn't lie to me." The male warrior gave a honest, sheepish grin and decisively initiated a trade with Shi Feng for 10 copper.
"Since you seem like a good guy, I'll point you to a solid spot. It's a bit out of the way, but there's a Level 0 magic-type green-skinned goblin there. Weak defense, fast respawn, and a relatively high chance of dropping copper. Great target for a Berserker." Shi Feng pocketed the 10 copper with a grin and shared a quality farming location.
The male warrior realized that Shi Feng was remarkably familiar with wild monsters — he even knew which mobs dropped more copper. His heart immediately settled. He never expected to be this lucky, running into a Divine Realm expert, and not just any expert at that. This could very well be a Closed Beta tester. At that thought, the male warrior grew even more excited.
"Hey, big bro expert, do you know where Berserker Skill Books drop? Having only one skill in the early game makes it really rough to grind mobs." The male warrior felt even closer to Shi Feng now, already looking at him as an older brother.
"Want to know? Sure — flat rate, 2 silver coins." Shi Feng chuckled. Did they think a couple of words would be enough to score such valuable intel? Without money, he wasn't lifting a finger.
Hearing the price of 2 silver, the male warrior's face went pale. Two silver was 200 copper — even an ordinary guild wouldn't have that kind of money.