The sky over Red Leaf Town was already brightening.
One by one, players appeared on the wide streets, their faces filled with excitement as they wanted to feel the changes in the Divine Realm.
However, they were disappointed.
Whether it was the system bar or their bodies, there was no change. Even Red Leaf Town itself didn't feel any different. Everything was just as usual.
"What a goddamn scam! I waited twelve fucking hours, and this is what I get?"
"Why doesn't the official website list the changes from the update?"
Many veteran players started discussing this in the streets, and quite a few just gave up worrying and went straight to the wilds to kill monsters and level up.
Besides these old players, Red Leaf Town also saw an influx of many new players. Like curious children, they explored the Divine Realm, finding everything novel and amazing.
"Looking for a top-tier player to power-level me! 100 Credit Points per level! Don't bother if you're an idiot!" a new player shouted on the street.
Immediately after, several other new players started shouting too, but their prices were lower than 100. They all stood there arrogantly, acting like they were tycoons, perfectly content with themselves.
At this moment, Shi Feng came out of the inn, feeling refreshed. This was the benefit of staying at an inn.
After the Divine Realm evolved, players gained many new underlying attributes. These were things you only knew about after experiencing them, like stamina, concentration, etc. It was no longer possible to sprint for dozens of kilometers without getting winded. In combat, you could previously fight as long as you wanted; the only issue was mental fatigue. Now, things were completely different. A Level 0 player would be exhausted after running two or three kilometers, losing all combat ability. Continuous grinding also became difficult. Just like running, it consumed a significant amount of stamina. When stamina dropped to a certain level, your limbs would become weak and your mind exhausted.
Furthermore, after the Divine Realm evolved, there were many other hidden changes. The Main God System made the Divine Realm more realistic while also making it harder for players to level up.
"It's about time to start hoarding."
In his previous life, after the Divine Realm updated, prices skyrocketed, increasing two to three times. Many people regretted not stockpiling resources in large quantities after the evolution. Now, things were even a bit different, and prices would rise even more.
Besides the increased difficulty of leveling up, it coincided with a massive influx of new players. The intense competition would also make resource acquisition harder, so the prices of these resources would inflate even more dramatically. Now that it had just evolved, while everyone was still in the dark, Shi Feng could buy it all up and hoard it, selling it later when prices climbed.
If some big guilds knew about this, they would surely leap to become the overlords of the town. Shi Feng could only make a quick buck from it.
An individual was on a completely different level from a guild when it came to resource acquisition. A guild had many people, so it could easily obtain many rare resources in almost no time. Although Shi Feng knew how to acquire them, how much could one person get? While he was gathering resources, other players would probably surpass his level. He could only sweep the Auction House clean.
"Hey, expert, wait a moment! Interested in making some extra cash?" A Level 0 Berserker walked over and asked with a smile.
Shi Feng was wearing a full set of Silver Moon equipment, and his weapon was even Mythril Rank. Although new players didn't have an observation skill and couldn't see Shi Feng's level, they had basic eyesight. This bright, high-quality set of gear was clearly a whole tier above the other veteran players on the street. It went without saying that he was an expert.
"Extra cash?" Shi Feng turned to look and found it was a newbie. Some wealthy players would usually hire experts to do quests for them, paying a considerable number of Credit Points as compensation. He was a bit interested in making some pocket money. "Tell me about it."
"It's simple. Just power-level me. I'm not a stingy person. 100 Credit Points per level. If you can help me quickly catch up to the main group, how about I give you a thousand Credit Points?" The Berserker said arrogantly.
Shi Feng frowned slightly upon hearing this. "Sorry, I don't have the time. Find someone else."
He had too much to do. He not only had to maintain his level and not fall behind but also make money. Furthermore, he had to accumulate an advantage for his future guild and prepare to dominate White River City. Just by sweeping the Auction House, he could make hundreds of thousands of Credit Points. Wasting a lot of time for a measly thousand Credit Points on power-leveling a complete newbie to catch up to the main group... he wasn't that cheap.
After saying this, Shi Feng turned and left, heading to the bank to store his items.
"Wait..." The Berserker shouted for a long time, but Shi Feng ignored him. He immediately flew into a rage. "Fuck, what's so special about him? If he won't carry me, some other expert will. He'll regret it!"
"Looking for an expert to power-level! 100 Credit Points per level! This offer won't last forever!" The Berserker shouted again.
However, he shouted for a long time without a single veteran player paying him any attention.
"Hahaha, this newbie is hilarious. My stomach hurts from laughing," a Level 5 hardcore Ranger said as he walked by.
"Let it go. There are always stupid newbies. Do we have the time for that? Let's hurry up and buy some bread and potions, or the party leader will be pissed," the hardcore player's companion urged.
"I know, I'm just saying this guy is an idiot. Does he really think the Divine Realm is some small casual game where you can level up in a minute? Forget 100 credits per level, I wouldn't do it even for a thousand credits. Let alone hiring an expert. No one would even consider it for less than ten or twenty thousand credits per level," the Ranger sneered.
In the early stages, everyone was rushing to level up, afraid of falling behind the main force and losing their chance to stand out. Who would waste time carrying a newbie? Especially for only 100 credits. A Level 5 hardcore player could earn over 1 silver a day, which was over a hundred credits in real money. If they got lucky and got a normal piece of equipment, that was several hundred credits. For an expert, it went without saying. Who was short on that little bit of money?
The newbie Berserker was shocked by what the Ranger said. He could tell the Ranger wasn't joking. He was just an office worker. In his past virtual games, he was willing to spend some money to get power-leveled. Thirty or fifty credits would bring a huge crowd of players fighting to carry him. Now, a hundred credits couldn't even get a single player to look his way. It turned out that power-leveling a level cost several thousand credits, almost a month's salary.
Instantly, the Berserker's face turned bright red. He felt he had made a complete fool of himself. He had been shouting in the town square for so long, thinking he was a big shot. The whispers of the passing players he had imagined were admiration, but they were actually calling him an idiot. No wonder the expert earlier was initially interested but then directly said he had no time after hearing the price...
The other newbies who wanted to be carried by experts also shut their mouths one by one. Their faces flushed hotly, and they silently went to find quests to level up.
On the other side, Shi Feng was frantically sweeping the Auction House clean, hoarding a large amount of rare resources. Only after spending all his money did Shi Feng breathe a sigh of relief. He then put the Gleaming Breastplate Design on the Auction House for a starting price of 2 gold, confident it would sell.
"Now it's time to go get the Ice Blue Demonic Flame." After finishing, Shi Feng changed back to his original appearance, preparing to collect the Strange Fire early. Now that the Divine Realm's evolution had been brought forward, the Strange Fire might also be obtained by other players ahead of time. Just in case, it was better to get it done early to feel secure.
PS: Second chapter of the day. There will be a third chapter later tonight. Thanks to Kankan Ni Mei A for the 100 donation!