While Alex slept like a rock, the entire Arcana World Online Official Forum exploded.
Posts refreshed faster than anyone could read. Threads shot past ten thousand comments within minutes. Notifications stacked endlessly.
Players, meanwhile, started losing their minds.
"What's the Martial Arts List?"
"Who is that anonymous founder?"
"Does anyone have a clue? Great God, show yourself."
Over a hundred thousand posts flooded in within a few hours. Of course, thirty million players were online during launch day. But even for Arcana World Online's huge community, the frenzy was unprecedented.
Because a secret feature, the Martial Arts List, had suddenly appeared. And someone, an anonymous player, had taken the Number One spot.
The hottest post was pinned by the forum administrator:
[Who Is the Anonymous? Full Analysis]
The post listed the biggest names in the gaming world:
* Sea-Flowing-West
* Drunken Sun
* Light Cutting Saber
* Wolf Slaying Laborer
Famous masters are known everywhere in the online gaming community.
The admin posted comparisons, skill breakdowns, personality traits, gameplay styles… everything he could think of, trying to guess which legendary player had created the martial art Spirit Cloud Step.
The post blew up even more when Drunken Sun himself replied.
He denied being the founder.
Then he casually eliminated several other top-tier players.
And then he admitted that the anonymous player was "very interesting."
That one sentence was enough to send the entire forum into meltdown.
Drunken Sun wasn't some random player. He was the top-three-ranked player worldwide in the MMORPG Invisible, once the most popular game, now replaced with Arcana World Online. A man famous for godlike reflexes, perfect skill execution, a handsome face, and a powerful family behind him. His fanbase alone could drown a small country.
So when he spoke, everyone listened.
Thousands more comments appeared instantly.
Soon after, another detailed post began trendinganalyzing the Martial Arts List itself.
[Full Breakdown: How the Martial Arts Ranking Works]
The post explained:
* Martial Arts List ranks all player-created techniques.
* Ranks: S, A, B, C, D, E, matching Divine, Holy, Heavenly, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow.
* Each rank has upper, middle, and lower segments.
Rewards were insane:
* Weekly first place gets an E-rank martial art.
* Monthly first place gets a D-rank.
* Yearly first place earns a C-rank.
Ranks 2–5 get slightly reduced rewards.
Ranks 6–10 get less.
Ranks 11–100 get a one-time E-rank book annually.
Everyone below that rank got nothing, but even having your name listed was worth bragging about.
Unlike system skills, player-created martial arts can advance. Higher savvy means a higher chance of promotion. But sometimes, luck, danger, or life-and-death combat could force a breakthrough.
The post strangely ended with a flood of admiration from netizens.
"Landlord, marry me."
"Mother, I don't need school, I'll become a martial arts creator."
"The analysis is god-tier."
"Landlord, your mom called, go home and eat."
The thread hit hundreds of thousands of views. Replies crossed ten thousand.
*
"Mmm..."
Alex woke up, "What time is it?"
Alex rubbed his eyes, still half-asleep. His head felt clearer after resting. He checked the clock, and it was early afternoon. "Mmm. I guess I slept for almost six hours."
Only 11 hours left until Arcana World Online's first system update.
He didn't waste a moment.
The helmet was put on right away, starting the Game.
He reappeared exactly where he had logged offright next to the rat-hunting grounds. The system always placed players back in the same field location unless special conditions prevented it.
But the place had completely changed.
Dozens of players were scattered everywhere. Teams blocked off rat nests. Groups hunted mutant rats in circles. Dust kicked up from all the movement.
The area where Alex had farmed freely before was now a chaotic battlefield.
Mutated rats that once roamed openly were now almost extinct. Only one or two slipped through occasionally, and those were immediately chased by three or four players.
Alex scanned the area, shaking his head. "There's no chance to grind here anymore."
With no intention of joining the crowd, he turned around to leave and then remembered he hadn't even checked the loot from the Rat King because he was forcefully logged out.
"Open inventory."
But the moment Alex opened his inventory, his eyes widened, seeing the loot he had collected so far.
Ordinary Mutant Mouse Skins: 34
Elite Mutant Mouse Skins: 23
Mutant Rat King Skin: 1
Ordinary Mutant Rat Teeth: 32
Elite Mutant Rat Teeth: 25
Rat King Tooth: 1
Just the materials alone were enough to overcomplete both the medicinal shop and blacksmith tasks. But the Rat King drops… those were something else entirely.
Rat King materials could be exchanged for black-iron or even top-tier black-iron items. It was loot that most level-zero players could only dream about.
But then, Alex scrolled lower.
A dagger.
A helmet.
A trap blueprint.
An apprenticeship certificate.
Two black-iron chest keys.
And a glowing skill book.
*
His heartbeat quickened at the sight.
* [Poison Dagger] Black Iron (Top Tier)
Attack +20, Crit +10%, Inflicts 2 stacks of toxin.
* [Rat King Helmet] Black Iron (Mid Tier)
Physical Defense +15, Magic Defense +10.
And finally...
[Basic Detective Skill Book]
The system chimed softly as he clicked on the book:
"Learn Primary Detective? No requirements."
"Yes."
*Ding
A new icon flashed in his skill bar:
[Primary Detective]
Costs 5 MP per use.
Increases the field of view by 50%.
Chance to detect hidden enemies.
Cooldown: 3 minutes.
*
Alex grinned. "This will make trap farming even easier."
Then he held up the Primary Trap Apprentice Certificate.
This one made him grin wider.
In Arcana World Online, players couldn't learn sub-professions without certificates. And these certificates only dropped from high-level lordsusually monsters above level 10. The Rat King was only level 3, and the drop rate was supposed to be one in a thousand.
His Luck stat was already showing its power.
Without hesitation, he clicked on it and said, Yes.
*Ding!
"Congratulations, you are now a Primary Trap Apprentice. Trap damage +5%."
A minute later, he studied the Primary Trap Blueprint.
System: "Learn trap blueprint? Success rate: 50%."
"Only 50%?" Alex hesitated, but only for a breath. "Yes."
*Ding!
"You have mastered the Primary Trap."
Alex closed his inventory slowly, feeling a warm excitement rise inside him. A trap blueprint. A sub-profession. This was a fortune. It was a foundation for everything he planned next.
But time was short.
The system update loomed, and every minute mattered.
He turned and started toward the mission area.
The village was far more crowded now. Dozens of players wandered the streets with zeroes floating above their heads, gawking at shops or staring at the sky like tourists. Some pointed at buildings. Some laughed loudly with friends. Some simply wandered, touching walls and furniture as if the game were a new world they'd suddenly been reborn into.
No one was in a hurry to level. They were too busy being amazed.
Alex didn't even slow down and headed straight for the blacksmith.
The white-bearded grandfather was humming on his rocking chair again with his eyes closed, enjoying the breeze.
He opened his eyes before Alex even reached him.
"Come to turn in your task?"
"Yeah," Alex said with a nod, setting down the pile of rat teeth. "All here."
The grandfather's eyes changed instantly when he spotted the Rat King Tooth. He stood up, took it in both hands, and inspected it with genuine admiration.
"You brought the second variant's tooth… a rare Rat King material."
*Ding!
The system chimed:
"Task massively over-completed
Blacksmith Grandfather's Favorability: +70
Hidden Mission Chance unlocked
+1000 EXP is added to the character."
Alex watched his EXP bar jump by nearly two-thirds, nearing Level-4.
The grandfather clapped him on the shoulder with a smile. "You shocked even me today, young hunter. As a reward, pick anything you like in my shop."
"Pick… anything?" Alex's gaze sharpened instantly.
His eyes locked onto the bronze longbow displayed in the center of the shop. It gleamed like a divine artifact compared to the common gear around it. Bronze gear was incredibly rare; 99.9% of players didn't even have black-iron.
If he walked around with that bow, he'd attract attention like someone driving a supercar through a village.
His mouth opened, pointing at him, "I want tha..."
Then he froze as his eyes drifted to the side and fell on the object that was hung beside the bronze longbow.
It looked rough and had an irregular shape, like a fragmented lotus flower.
His breath hitched at its sight. "Wait… is that..."