A white light flashed, and Qin Chuan found himself in a completely new environment.
At the same time, the system prompt sounded in his ears.
"Welcome to Apocalypse, you have been assigned to Newbie Village 9527. Enjoy your game."
Seeing the familiar yet strange Newbie Village, Qin Chuan took a deep breath, his fighting spirit ignited.
"Let's check the initial skills first."
Qin Chuan brought up his character panel.
...
[Nickname]: Night Wanderer
[Profession]: Shadow Assassin (Unique)
[Level]: 1 (0/1000)
[Attributes]: Strength 5, Constitution 5, Agility 8, Spirit 4
[Attack]: 10
[Defense]: 7
[Health]: 100
[Mana]: 50
[Equipment]: Newbie Dagger (Attack +5), Newbie Leather Armor (Defense +1), Newbie Leggings (Defense +1)
[Skills]: Shadow Stealth LV1 (Enter Stealth state, break Stealth attack deals additional (Attack * 100% + 20) damage, consumes 5 Mana, Cooldown 20 seconds)
Shadow Dagger LV1 (Use Shadow energy to create a flying dagger, deals (Attack * 110%) damage, consumes 5 Mana, Cooldown 10 seconds)
Shadow Strike LV1 (A powerful melee attack, deals (Attack * 110%) damage, consumes 5 Mana, Cooldown 5 seconds)
...
There were even more surprises!
According to his original plan, Qin Chuan intended to sell all his initial equipment and then buy a longbow from the blacksmith to fight monsters from a distance.
With his skills, kiting wouldn't be difficult.
But now, the initial skills that came with the Shadow Assassin profession directly compensated for this.
With Shadow Dagger in hand, he didn't need a longbow at all.
Not only that, the damage from breaking Stealth also exceeded Qin Chuan's expectations.
Besides the fixed 20 damage, it was also tied to attack power.
Combined with Shadow Dagger, instantly killing monsters of the same level was no problem at all!
"As expected of a hidden profession, it's truly powerful."
Qin Chuan became even more delighted.
He immediately closed the character panel, ready to go to the Hunter to accept a quest.
Then Qin Chuan found it impossible to move, completely blocked by players on all sides.
Apocalypse's promotional efforts had cost a fortune, and coupled with the gimmick of 100% simulation, it attracted the attention of countless players.
Now that the game had launched, all the long-waiting players surged in.
"Holy crap, this is too realistic."
"The wind blowing on my face actually feels real, wow, I can even smell the dirt, even this dog poop is so realistic... Ptooey!"
"Anyone looking for a partner, CP me."
"Everyone hurry and accept quests, you won't get them if you're late!"
"My greatsword is already thirsting for battle."
"Brothers of the Iron Blood Legion, gather here, let's go snatch the first kill!"
It was the players' first time experiencing such a realistic game, they were so excited they didn't know North.
But soon, different voices could be heard.
"Damn, how does this monster move so well? Both my fireballs missed."
"What kind of garbage game is this? I can't even beat a rabbit?"
"Huh, where are the quests? Why don't the NPCs have exclamation marks above their heads?"
"Damn it, I went to the Village Chief to ask for a quest, and that old man beat me out."
These reactions were all within Qin Chuan's expectations.
Apocalypse was highly free, perhaps even a bit too free.
There were no newbie tips, no quest guides, everything had to be discovered by the players themselves.
Moreover, the small monsters inside weren't like those in other games, foolishly waiting to be hit; they could move, ambush, and even run away to call for help when low on health.
Watching the newbie players who revived and challenged the rabbit again, Qin Chuan shook his head helplessly.
Cherish these happy times now, because when Apocalypse completes its first stage of integration, Death within the game will be reflected in reality.
If you die in the game, you will truly die in reality!
Only then will Apocalypse reveal its true horrifying side.
Taking a deep breath, Qin Chuan suppressed the various emotions in his heart, then squeezed a path through the crowd, heading towards the Hunter's house in the village.
After much effort, he arrived at the Hunter's doorstep, which, without surprise, was also surrounded by players.
Judging by the players' frustrated expressions, they hadn't been able to get a quest here.
This wasn't strange; normal players could only trigger Hunting quests after reaching level three.
Seeing Qin Chuan approach, a helpful player shouted, "Brother, don't go, that cripple doesn't give quests."
Whoosh.
An arrow flew out from the Hunter's house, instantly killing the player who had just spoken.
The surrounding players were all shocked.
What the heck, NPCs can attack players?
Is this damn Newbie Village or a bandit's den?
Qin Chuan, however, wasn't surprised.
NPCs in Apocalypse weren't truly NPCs, but Lifeforms with self-awareness, and they would even descend upon Blue Star after Apocalypse's integration. However, due to the rules of Apocalypse, they couldn't show it.
But if players showed disrespect, NPCs had the right to deal with them as they saw fit.
For example, this Hunter was injured in battle and became lame.
If a player poked his sore spot, they would be instantly killed by an arrow.
The player's body on the ground turned into white light, and moments later, the instantly killed player angrily ran back, ready to have a proper showdown with the Hunter.
However, he clearly forgot he was just a level 1 newcomer; as soon as he walked into the Hunter's yard, he was sent away by another arrow.
Meanwhile, the village guard patrol passing by outside the yard turned a blind eye to this.
The other players shivered, their voices becoming much quieter.
Many people started having second thoughts.
They had tried various methods but still couldn't get a quest. Instead of wasting time here, they might as well go out and kill a few rabbits.
Qin Chuan, however, didn't retreat but advanced, walking against the crowd towards the Hunter's house.
Walking into the small house, the Hunter, with a calm expression, hung his Hunting bow on the wall, completely ignoring Qin Chuan, and helped himself to a scoop of well water, gulping it down.
Qin Chuan didn't waste words and directly stated his intention: "I want to buy the beast skull."
The Hunter, who was drinking water, shuddered, suddenly turned his head, his sharp eyes fixed on Qin Chuan, and asked in a gloomy tone, "Not for sale!"
He then pressed, "Where did you hear about this?"
As he spoke, the Hunter walked towards the wall.
If Qin Chuan's answer didn't satisfy him, he would likely get hit by an arrow.
But Qin Chuan wasn't intimidated at all, and calmly said, "We can revive. Even if you kill me now, it's useless."
Hearing this, the Hunter slowed his pace, and a hint of mockery appeared on his face: "So what? I don't want to sell it. What can you do about it?"
Qin Chuan smiled: "There's nothing I can do to you, but don't you want to kill the Wolf King for revenge? I'll help you kill the Wolf King, and you give me the beast skull."
Qin Chuan knew that the reason the Hunter was lame was because he was attacked by the Wolf King.
Although Qin Chuan somewhat didn't understand how a Hunter who could obtain a beast skull was defeated by the Newbie Village Wolf King, it didn't matter; as long as it could trigger a quest.
Qin Chuan's words clearly hit the Hunter's weak spot, and a hesitant expression appeared on his face. However, he glanced at Qin Chuandisdainfully and said, "With your strength, you want to kill the Wolf King?"
Qin Chuan replied calmly, "You don't need to worry about how I kill the Wolf King."
"Three days, within three days, I will bring you the Wolf King's head."
"But in exchange, you must give me the beast skullnow."