[Maple Blossom City Suburbs]

The Hidden Origin Guild has reserved an entire area of ​​wilderness for leveling up.

One of the assassins moved swiftly, his figure appearing and disappearing, each time taking the life of a wild boar.

Of course, these wild boars were all low on health.

The other members of the Hidden Origin Guild reduced the boar's health to a low level, leaving it for the assassin to finish off.

"I didn't expect that Lu Cang would change his mind at the last minute."

"If he uses the A-level Shadow Concealment talent, combined with Shadow Sky's S-level Void Annihilation, the first kill this time will definitely be our Hidden Origin Guild's."

"Yin Chen, why not let Lu Cang use the S-rank Void Annihilation? The number one assassin with an S-rank talent should be able to perform better than Ying Kong."

“Performance isn’t the most important thing; what matters is loyalty to the Hidden Origin Guild. Do you think Lu Cang will be loyal?”

Upon being asked this question, the vice president standing next to [Hidden] fell silent.

After a moment, the vice president, [Dull and lifeless], replied to Yinchen, "No."

"Lu Cang is a very ambitious person."

Yin Chen chuckled: "That's it... If we give him an S-rank talent, our guild's strength will be greatly reduced when he leaves Yin Yuan Guild in the future."

"Then... can't we just tell him directly beforehand?"

"Heh, Lu Cang is the most popular player in the World Championship. With his skills, if we don't keep him, he'll go to other guilds. I won't feel at ease if we don't keep him here."

The dim-looking man seemed somewhat indignant and asked, "Even if some despicable means have to be used?"

"This is for the sake of the entire guild," Yinchen replied calmly.

Thump—

Another wild boar fell.

Yin Kong, who was farming monsters in the distance, also stopped: "Guild Leader, that's 100."

"Alright, let's go back and turn in the quest, then head straight to the Ash Forest."

"Don't give other guilds a chance."

After Yin Chen gave the order, Yin Kong and his squad returned to the city.

Just after Yin Kong left, the Talent Department's [Undercurrent] sent a message.

"President, we have suspected that a wild S-level talent possessor has been discovered."

"His name is Bai Lu. According to the information, he seems to have the talent of a mage who charges up power."

Along with the chat message came several pictures and a video.

The video shows the white deer chanting magic, charging up its power, and then blasting the wild boar to death.

"In addition, we also discovered a solo professional player named Cangqiong. His skills are... a bit abnormal."

"We suspect that this solo professional player named Cangqiong is Lu Cang's new account."

A video was also attached to the post.

In the video, Lu Cang uses [Arc Flash] to draw a near-circular or S-shaped route.

Upon seeing this video, Yin Chen's pupils constricted involuntarily.

As a guild primarily composed of assassins, how could they not understand the difficulty of mastering Arc Flash?

If this really is Lu Cang, then his current skills are probably several levels higher than what he showed in the world championships.

"Try to win over that player named Bai Lu."

"Try to confirm if this player named Cang Qiong is Lu Cang. If he is Lu Cang, I will need to talk to him again."

"If it weren't for Lu Cang telling him that the Hidden Origin Guild was willing to offer 50 million yuan plus a monthly salary of 2 million yuan, just to have him teach assassin techniques within the Hidden Origin Guild."

-------------------------------------

There weren't many players before the Ash Forest dungeon, but there weren't a small number either.

Many players are leveling up nearby.

This makes it convenient to directly enter dungeons after reaching level 5.

However, most players are still at level 3.

Don't be fooled by the fact that they're only 2 levels away from level 5; they estimate it will take them almost an hour to reach those 2 levels.

Therefore, ordinary players have virtually no say in the early battles for the first kill.

By the time they reached level 5, the major guilds had already secured the first kill.

In the early stages of leveling up, either large guilds allocate different members to coordinate and cooperate based on their numerical advantage, or, like Lu Cang, they have special methods to quickly clear monsters and level up.

However, some people arrived at the Ash Forest even earlier than Lu Cang.

At this moment, there were already 5 players sitting and resting in front of the dungeon entrance.

They had clearly run all the way here and were recovering their strength; obviously, their leveling speed was faster.

The other players looked at the team and whispered among themselves, "It's the Star Gate Guild."

"Is this their starting lineup?"

"Xingxi, that Star Mage from Zone 1! He didn't change his ID. It seems he'll get the S-rank talent again for Star Gate Guild this time."

"I heard that he signed a lifetime contract with Stargate, and his influence in the Stargate Guild is probably second only to the guild leader."

"That's great! When will I be able to become a professional player?"

The Stargate Guild primarily consists of magic-based classes.

Their leveling speed in the early stages is naturally faster than that of the Hidden Origin Guild.

However, it's only faster.

Within a mere ten seconds, the Yinyuan Guild's starting team appeared in the players' field of vision.

They soon arrived at the entrance to the dungeon.

"Recover your stamina. Once fully recovered, enter the dungeon directly," [Gray Tone] from the Hidden Origin Guild team gave the order.

Although he is not an S-rank talent, he serves as the commander in the dungeon raid. The commander's presence is very important in the dungeon raid, and even the S-rank Yin Kong must obey his orders.

Several members of the Hidden Origin Guild sat down as instructed. Gray's gaze swept around the surroundings and he suddenly noticed a mage in a white robe nearby, whose ID was White Deer.

His eyes lit up slightly as he suddenly remembered the message the Minister of Talent had just sent in the group chat.

So he stepped forward and said, "Miss Bai Lu."

"cough."

But before he could extend an invitation, Lu Cang, who was standing on the other side, blocked the two of them from the middle.

Gray looked at the person who had stopped him; it was [Azure Sky].

Gray was not annoyed: "Mr. Sky, you are indeed a team. Your performance in the suburbs just now was very impressive."

"Our Hidden Origin Guild has noticed talents like you, so we would like to ask if you have any thoughts about joining our guild."

"Your assassin skills are so proficient, you should know that our Hidden Origin Guild is the strongest assassin guild. We will definitely not treat you unfairly."

"If you're willing, we can discuss terms right away."

Lu Cang raised an eyebrow upon hearing the other party's words: "Now you're talking about terms? What about your first kill of the dungeon?"

Gray responded with a professional smile: "I'm going to run a dungeon. Someone else will talk to you on my behalf."

Lu Cang, however, said with a half-smile, "What if I said I wanted you to give me the first kill in the dungeon?"

The smile on Gray's face gradually faded: "Even the Hidden Origin Guild can only strive for the first kill of a dungeon. Azure Sky, I hope you don't joke about this."

Just as the two were talking, a discordant voice joined the conversation: "Hey, why didn't you call us when there was something good going on?"

Xingxi put her hands in her pockets, tilted her head back, and grinned with a carefree smile: "Oh? It's Yin Yuan, are you trying to steal someone? And this Bai Lu, is she an S-rank talent player?"

He was small and thin, only 1.65 meters tall, with multicolored hair, like a child.

"How much did the Hidden Origin Guild offer you? Our Star Gate Guild will offer you double that."

Seeing two guilds gathered in front of him to snatch someone up, this familiar scene reminded Lu Cang of his past life.

That's how I was robbed.

Thinking of what had happened, Lu Cang couldn't help but laugh and said, "You all want Bai Lu to join your guild, so how about we make a bet?"

"Bai Lu is willing to join any of your guilds without any compensation."

"But she'll only go to the guild that got the first kill."

However, upon hearing Lu Cang's suggestion, Xingxi rolled her eyes and said, "Who are you? Can you make decisions for others?"

“I’m her brother.” Lu Cang glanced back at Bai Lu.

Bai Lu hesitated a little when faced with this sudden decision, but in the end she nodded slightly: "I agree to my brother's decision for me."

After all, her S-level talent was given to her by Lu Cang.

Of course, talent was secondary; more importantly, she believed in her brother.

"I've only said half of what I wanted to say, and I haven't finished stating my conditions yet. If you get the first kill, Bai Lu can join your guild. But if our team gets the first kill, then each of your guilds will have to provide me with 1 million gold coins."

Upon hearing Lu Cang's request, Xingxi covered her face and exclaimed, "Holy crap, are you crazy? Do you know what 1 million gold coins are worth? That's a hundred million!"

One gold coin is equivalent to ten thousand copper coins.

1 gold = 100 silver = copper

The current market price for gold is 1 silver coin = 1 yuan, which means 1 gold coin is worth 100 yuan.

Lu Cang asked for two hundred million right off the bat.

Xingxi's smile grew wider: "Haha! Interesting! Who else is on your team?"

Lu Cang pointed with his finger.

"I am Bai Lu, and there is also that warrior called Fearless Warrior."

Xingxi glanced at Bailu and the fearless warrior.

These two people don't seem to have the air of experts.

In the illusory world, a person's strength or weakness can be discerned from various details.

The way you hold a weapon, your stance, your gaze...

That fearless warrior was looking down at something, seemingly completely distracted.

The only one in this team who could be considered a master was probably this guy named Cangqiong, who seemed to have absolutely no weaknesses.

However, with only one skilled player, it's a pipe dream to snatch the first kill.

"Haha, okay! I'll bet with you!"

"By the way, if guilds from other regions get the first kill, does that count? If they get the first kill, does your sister have to join those guilds too?"

There are four starting cities in the game, located in different parts of the map.

Currently, it seems that each of the eight major guilds occupies one city with two guilds, which also means that two guilds are competing for the first kill of a dungeon.

Upon hearing Xingxi's question, Lu Cang simply replied, "Others don't count; we're only counting the ones we're betting on here."

Xingxi patted her chest and said, "On behalf of the Xingmen Guild, I agree."

Lu Cang nodded slightly. The Star Gate Guild was still very trustworthy, and Lu Cang had already recorded everything while he was speaking.

Lu Cang then looked at Gray Tune standing to the side: "What about you? If you don't agree to the bet, even if you get the first kill, White Deer won't join your guild."

Gray frowned, not expecting things to develop so complicated: "I'm consulting with the chairman."

A moment later, Gray replied, "The president has agreed."

After he finished speaking, Xingxi turned around and walked straight towards the dungeon: "Have you rested enough? Let's get started."

"Haha, our task has become a bit more demanding." The other initial members of the Star Gate Guild also stood up.

Their figures blended into the instance.

Seeing this, Gray immediately waved and said, "The rest is over. Let's enter the instance."

After saying this, the first team of the Hidden Origin Guild immediately entered the dungeon.

"Brother, do we need to team up with anyone else? Should we go into the dungeon too?" Bai Lu looked anxious as she saw them rushing into the dungeon.

There's no need to team up with others.

"LuLu, learn the Earth Fire Impact skill and max it out."

Earth Fire Impact is an elemental spell for mages, learnable at level 5.

Once released, it will ignite ground fire, which, after accumulating energy, will erupt into the sky like a volcano.

Its advantages are a large range and high damage.

However, its drawbacks are also very obvious: it requires a certain amount of time to build up power and has a long wind-up.

If you use this skill to attack a player, very few players will be foolish enough to get hit.

However, this skill is very popular among mages when used in dungeons or against bosses that cannot dodge skills.

"The brave are fearless. Learn the Triple Slash and the Earth-Splitting Slash," Lu Cang commanded.

"Huh? How do I learn it?"

Lu Cang covered his forehead.

This guy is fearless, but he's such a newbie? He doesn't even know how to learn a skill?

Lu Cang opened the [Basic Information] interface.

I checked the time.

Lu Cang recalled the time when other guilds in his previous life were the first to clear a dungeon, and he had a rough idea in his mind.

"There is still enough time before other guilds get the first kill."

My encounter with the fearlessness of heroes in my previous life was already in the middle to later stages.

Although I had heard about the early performance of the Fearless Warrior, I had never actually witnessed it myself.

"This is your first time playing this game, right?"

Do you know the effects of your talent?

When Lu Cang asked him that question, the fearless warrior scratched his head sheepishly.

"have no idea."

Upon hearing the brave and fearless reply, Bai Lu was somewhat taken aback and revealed a terrified expression.

Is this person an idiot? He's an idiot, right?

"The brave are fearless. Open your status interface, where you will see your talent introduction."

"Ahem... Boss, how do I open the status interface?"

have to……

This game newbie is even rarer than a giant panda.

"You... swipe your right hand, and you can check it in the status bar, under character information."

"Or you can simply use voice commands to view personal information and see it."

"The skill tree is also in the status bar."

"Brother... are we really going to take this gaming idiot with us to the dungeon?" Bai Lu looked at Brave Warrior, then at Lu Cang.

This is a genuine idiot!

"It's okay, everyone starts as a newbie."

Lu Cang pointed to his ear: "Also, switch the chat mode to team voice chat, everyone around can hear it."

Bai Lu pointed at the fearless warrior, her face full of doubt, and said, "Brother, aren't we supposed to get the first kill? Are we really going to bring an idiot along to get the first kill?" Bai Lu switched the chat mode to team chat.

No matter how loudly they spoke, no one else could hear them anymore.

Bai Lu had already trusted Lu Cang and believed that he could lead them to the first kill, after all, her brother was so powerful.

However, Lu Cang is now determined to take this idiot with him on the dungeon run.

Even with S-level talent, he is still a genuine idiot!

Idiot, idiot, idiot!

Bai Lu had repeated the word "idiot" countless times in her mind.

When Bai Lu asked him this question, Lu Cang just smiled faintly and said casually, "It's okay, the first kill will definitely be ours."

"Oh, I found it. Is it here that you switch to team voice chat?" The fearless warrior didn't know what he was adjusting, but he did indeed switch the chat mode to team chat.

He also found his information section.

"Holy crap? I actually have S-rank talent!?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Lu couldn't help but exclaim, "You should have seen the talent level when you created your character! Why did you only find out now?!"

"Huh? I found the tutorial too verbose, so I kept skipping it. I only remember picking up that sword, and then I just skipped all the other prompts and arrived in this city."

Bai Lu didn't know how to respond. How come this clueless newbie is so skilled at skipping instructions?

"Boss, I've mastered the skill."

"Okay, try out the new skill yourself and get a feel for it. We'll enter the dungeon in a minute."

"Okay!"

Bai Lu was clearly getting anxious: "Brother! But they've already entered the dungeon! Are we going to wait for him to familiarize himself with the skills?"

Yin Yuan and Xing Men have already entered the instance. Not only do the other teams have more members, but they are also all professional veteran players.

Now, they're even ahead of me in terms of time.

"No rush, familiarizing them with the skills is important, give them a minute."

Meanwhile, Lu Cang learned three skills from the skill tree: the mage's [Fireball], the fighter's [Air Stomp], and the shield guard's [Ruthless Taunt].

Lu Cang sat on the stone in front of the dungeon entrance, watching the fearless warrior test his skills.

"Did you guys hear that? That team is trying to steal the first kill from the big guild."

"Damn, when that pretty girl named Bai Lu was snatched away by the guild at first, I actually believed it. Turns out, their team actually had an idiot who couldn't even learn any skills."

"Damn, if a team like that can get the first kill, isn't that an insult to intelligence?"

"I think that guy named Cangqiong is just bragging. If he can get the first kill, I'll do a handstand and have diarrhea."

"Holy crap, isn't this just selling the sister outright? Damn, this brother is really something else!"

"Actually, that guy named Cangqiong should be pretty good at the game. I just saw him on the community forum, but... having an idiot as a burden... uh, I'd better not."

"There seem to be only three people in their team, right? There aren't any other level 5 players around here. Are they planning to run the dungeon as a group of three?"

"Damn it, all the other guilds have five people and they've already entered the dungeon, while these three are still lagging behind. What are they supposed to do?"

Bai Lu, standing to the side, blushed upon hearing the surrounding discussion; her face turned bright red, almost to the roots of her ears.

Moreover, Bai Lu couldn't help but start having wild thoughts: Had her brother really betrayed her? And with this setup, how was she supposed to get the first kill?

Thinking of this, Bai Lu's body trembled slightly, and even her hands shook a little.

But suddenly, Lu Cang grasped Bai Lu's hand.

"Ignore them, trust your brother."

The fearless warrior gave the enhanced [Triple Slash] talent one last try.

"Let's enter the instance."

"Enter the Ash Forest and select the highest difficulty level—Nightmare."