Omnirealm was about to launch. Seth, who was so excited he hadn't slept all night, already had a stomach growling with hunger.
But he couldn't even pull a single cent out of his pocket.
Gulping down tap water didn't help either. In desperation, he heated up the half-bowl of leftover instant noodles from last night to tide himself over.
He was still hungry after eating, so he took a sip of cheap white liquor, leaving a burning sensation in his throat.
By now, it was only one minute until eight o'clock.
He was currently destitute, not knowing where his next meal would come from. Whether he could turn his life around depended entirely on this game.
As soon as the time arrived, Seth immediately activated the Celestial-tier Connection Stone in his mind to enter the game.
[Ding-dong!)]
[Welcome to Omnirealm!]
[The Ashford Prime Newbie Protection Server has officially opened. Do you wish to enter the game now?]
Having waited for this moment for a long time, Seth quickly chose 'Yes'.
[Ding-dong!]
[You have been assigned to Starter Village No. 9527. This village contains a total of 10,000 newbie players.]
[Notice! The players who reach Level 10 first and leave this village will receive extra rewards.]
As soon as the notice ended, Seth appeared in a newbie village filled with the fragrance of flowers and the singing of birds.
Before he could even experience the game's beautiful and realistic environment...
A sharp pain hit his left foot. A fat man weighing over two hundred pounds had stepped on Seth's foot as he squeezed forward frantically.
Seth gritted his teeth in pain.
"Everyone get the fuck out of the way! Don't block me from finding the Village Chief to get the Newbie Gift Pack!"
This fat man was like a small mountain of flesh. With ferocious strength, he forced a path through the dense wall of people, knocking countless players over.
"Holy crap, don't push! Don't fucking push! Everyone can get the Newbie Gift Pack, what's the rush?"
"Damn it, who the hell touched my chest?"
"Ah, pervert! Why are you touching my butt?"
"Dammit, you bastards, don't step on me! I'm a person, not the floor!"
"..."
Inside the village, it was utter chaos.
Ten thousand people were squeezed into the village at once, making it completely impassable and chaotic.
Seth was also being squeezed so hard he could barely move.
The game had just launched, and since the first three players to reach Level 10 and leave the village would get extra rewards, everyone wanted to compete for those spots.
Therefore, everyone was rushing to find the Village Chief to claim their Newbie Gift Packs, making the scene even more chaotic.
At this rate, just claiming the Newbie Gift Pack would waste a significant amount of time.
Seth's eyes darted around, and in a moment of inspiration, he shouted, "Wow! There's a woman running around naked over there!"
As a result, not a single person turned their head.
When playing a game, leveling up and rushing for time was priority; women weren't even enticing anymore.
Seeing that this trick didn't work, Seth shouted again, "Look, everyone! A golden BOSS has appeared at the village entrance! Killing it will definitely drop a divine artifact!"
"Where? Where is it?"
"Where's the BOSS?"
"Get the fuck out of the way! That BOSS is mine!"
"..."
Claiming there was a naked woman was useless, but shouting about a BOSS indeed stirred the crowd's passions.
The arrogant fat man who had stepped on Seth earlier acted like a bulldozer, shoving through the crowd with all his might to force a path toward the village entrance.
Seth seized this opportunity. Using the gap created by the fat man, he immediately ran to the Village Chief and claimed his Newbie Gift Pack.
Of course, he wasn't the only clever one; a few other smart players also took the chance to slip through and get their gift packs from the Village Chief.
Then they all followed behind the fat man and successfully left the crowded village.
"Fuck, which son of a bitch was talking nonsense? Where's the BOSS?"
After the fat man broke through and saw no BOSS, he roared in a fit of rage.
But leveling up was more important, so after cursing once, he immediately began looking for monsters to kill.
Once outside, Seth quickly opened his Newbie Gift Pack and obtained a pair of Straw Sandals, a Coarse Cloth Shirt, a Wooden Bow, and 1,000 Wooden Arrows.
After equipping everything, he checked his attributes.
[Character]: Crimson Rider
[Level]: 0 (Exp: 0/100)
[Realm]: Mortal
[HP]: 100
[Hunger]: 40
[Physical Attack]: 11
[Magic Attack]: 2
[Physical Defense]: 7
[Magic Defense]: 0
[Movement Speed]: 10
[Strength]: 5
[Agility]: 5
[Spirit]: 1
[Constitution]: 5
[Luck]: 0
The Straw Sandals and clothes added a total of 2 defense, and the Wooden Bow added one physical attack point; these stats were quite pitiful.
But it didn't matter. He had the Soulrend potential and the Voidquiver; it was time to go all out and level up.
Upon leaving the village gate, he could see a few Level 1 [Marshtoads] about the size of adult roosters wandering in the fields.
Seth raised his Wooden Bow, notched a common Wooden Arrow, and with a "whoosh," fired a shot.
As a result, it was an instant kill.
The 2% chance to trigger Soulrend had activated on the very first arrow.
[Ding-dong!)]
[Congratulations on killing a Level 1 [Marshtoad], you have gained 5 experience points.]
Only 5 experience points and nothing else.
The number of Level 1 [Marshtoads] was limited, and as more and more people poured out of the village, there would soon be too many players and not enough monsters.
Seth didn't care for this small amount of experience and prepared to leave to find higher-level monsters; that shot just now was purely to test his bow.
"You can one-shot a Marshtoad]?"
"Brother, add me as a friend, let's party up."
The arrogant fat man from before had only managed to kill a toad with great effort after losing half his health.
Seeing Seth, an Astral Bow class, one-shotting a toad with a single arrow, he was extremely shocked. After his eyes darted around, he walked over with a smile.
His expression was unusually gentle and polite.
"No need, I prefer soloing."
The game had just launched, and with Soulrend and the Voidquiver, Seth would have to be crazy to carry someone else.
"Fine, if you look down on me, brother, then I won't force it."
"Can we add each other as friends? If you get any equipment you want to sell, I can definitely give you a satisfactory price."
The fat man still wore a smile on his face.
"No, I'm not the type who likes making friends."
After saying that, Seth walked straight away.
Watching Seth walk away, the fake smile on the fat man's face immediately vanished, replaced by a look of pure malice.
"Motherfucker!"
"Crimson Rider, right? Daring to not give me, Bronson, face? I'll definitely kill you when I get the chance."
The fat man had seen Seth's extraordinary skill and wanted to take the opportunity to get to know him and use him to level up.
Who would have known that Seth wouldn't give him the time of day.
If he hadn't seen Seth one-shot a toad and worried he couldn't win, the fat man would have attacked and killed him just now.
The fat man held a grudge and noted down Seth's ID. Just as he was about to continue killing toads...
Whoosh! whoosh!
Three Wooden Arrows struck him one after another. Already at half health, he collapsed to the ground on the spot.
Many players squeezing out of the newbie village were stunned; they didn't expect someone to be PK-ing so soon after the game started.
Seth had seen the malice in the fat man's eyes.
In reality, he had been timid for nineteen years. In a game, he was going to be free and let loose!
Not only had this fat man stepped on him earlier, but he also held a grudge just because Seth wouldn't carry him.
For such a person, he would kill him once first.
If they met again, he would keep killing him.
For a destined enemy, one must crush them until they stay down.
Carrying a faint red name and under the fearful gazes of many players, Seth walked away.
The fat man, who had been killed and sent back to the newbie village, turned blue with rage; even the free shoes he had been given had dropped.
If he wanted to go out and level up again, he would have to squeeze through the crowd all over again.
"Crimson Rider, you've got some fucking guts!"
"I'll remember you."