"What?! The first floor has actually been cleared?!"
"Clearing the first floor so quickly, that's amazing!"
"Damn it! I haven't even found the entrance to the labyrinth yet!"
"It must be the work of those beta testers! They took the lead! Those damn cheaters!"
"..."
The players were shocked and excited, but mostly, they felt envy and jealousy toward the ten people mentioned in the announcement.
Many of the players had already assumed that Eriri and the other nine girls were former beta testers, harboring endless resentment toward them in their hearts.
Even though it had now been proven that depleting one's health bar in the wild would only result in respawning in the starter town.
The darkness in people's hearts, however, would not be suppressed just because of that.
On the contrary, many people became even more unscrupulous.
Stealing monsters, robbing, and even coercing others by force.
If anyone resisted, they would be besieged to death.
Although they wouldn't truly die, losing everything and being sent back to the starter town was still a massive punishment.
Yet, no matter how resentful the players were, they couldn't change the fact that the first floor had already been cleared.
However, the identity of beta tester was undoubtedly secretly hated by many players. A small fraction of them were even secretly plotting how to make things difficult for these beta testers.
Yet, the ones having the hardest time right now were actually the real beta testers.
They bore the infamy, but they hadn't gained the slightest benefit in the game. Many beta testers were even doing worse than some ordinary players.
It couldn't be helped. In the current game, not only was the combat style more realistic, but various quests and the like had also completely changed.
Compared to players experiencing the game for the first time, the beta testers actually found it harder to adapt to the drastically changed game.
...
Within the first-floor labyrinth, in a squad composed of over twenty people, a disguised Kayaba Akihiko looked at the game announcement. His eyes were fixed on the incredibly conspicuous synchronization rates of 3 percent and 1 percent in the notice.
Other players might still be half-skeptical about the concept of synchronization rates, but as someone who had personally experienced everything, his belief in the synchronization rate reached ninety percent.
The remaining ten percent was merely his reluctance to believe that the God of Games would be so kind as to truly synchronize in-game power with the players' bodies in the real world.
"Does getting the first clear on a boss increase the synchronization rate? It seems I need to pick up my pace too."
Kayaba Akihiko thought to himself, then looked at the people behind him.
These were the core members he had gathered during this time.
Although all his administrative privileges had been stripped away, perhaps due to the God of Games' twisted sense of humor, the hidden class he had prepared for himself had not been taken.
Therefore, the current Kayaba Akihiko was confident that he would absolutely not be weaker than any other player.
"Let's head back first."
He looked at his companions.
Now was not the time to grind levels. They had to quickly return to the starter town and immediately head to the second floor as soon as the passage opened.
Every second counted now. Falling behind a single step could mean falling behind every step.
After all, he knew that inside the boss room, once the floor boss died, a passage leading directly to the next floor would appear.
...
While the other players had their own varying thoughts.
Inside the boss room, Eriri and the girls walked into the exclusive passage of the boss room, taking the lead in stepping onto the second floor.
If the first floor was merely a beginner village, then from the second floor onward, the game truly began.
Unlike the beginner village, the town on the second floor not only had additional NPCs for creating or joining guilds and selecting sub-classes, but it also featured shops that sold a variety of items.
Furthermore, to raise the ceiling of this game world, starting from the second floor, Ai had added some special NPCs to the game.
These NPCs all possessed different classes, and if players could grind their affection levels high enough, they would issue exclusive class quests.
Yes! Exclusive class advancement quests!
A single NPC could only issue one class advancement quest!
After that, even if someone else maxed out their affection, no second person would be able to advance to that class!
In other words, aside from Eriri and Rikka, in the entire game world, excluding the classless, every other class was entirely unique.
At this moment, on the town square of the second floor, the ten girls who appeared there attracted the attention of quite a few NPCs.
Or rather, this was actually a hidden benefit that Ai had distributed to them.
It couldn't be helped; after all, they were the master's friends' party.
"Oh? Are you adventurers from the first floor? Hello, and welcome to the second floor."
"It seems you are the first batch of adventurers to arrive on the second floor. Were you the ones who defeated the Kobold Lord that had been occupying the first-floor passage and severed the connection between the first and second floors?"
Three figures approached together; they were three NPCs.
However, compared to ordinary NPCs who rarely interacted with players, these NPCs were extremely proactive and talkative, actually taking the initiative to ask the girls about the situation on the first floor.
While they were conversing, an NPC wearing knight's armor among the three suddenly looked at Sirin, or more accurately, at the lance in Sirin's hand.
"Beautiful lady, are you a knight as well?"
As he spoke, he summoned his own lance. Compared to Sirin's white-tier equipment bought from a blacksmith on the first floor, this NPC's lance looked extraordinary just at a glance, simultaneously revealing his identity.
Sirin didn't understand why this NPC was suddenly saying this to her, but upon hearing the word knight, her heart skipped a beat.
However, she disdained lying and simply shook her head.
"I'm no knight. I just find this weapon handy."
Yet, as soon as her voice fell, the knight NPC's eyes lit up.
"Just because you find it handy? It seems you have a wonderful talent, miss. But talent alone isn't enough. It just so happens that my companions and I are about to go subjugate a powerful monster, and I don't know if we'll make it back alive. Meeting you before I leave must be fate. Why don't I leave this to you?"
"I can feel it, that desire to protect your companions. The Holy Light in my heart is resonating."
"So, miss, become a knight! Only then can you better protect the companions you cherish!"
As the knight spoke, he reached out and handed over a thick book. The four large words The Way of the Knight were clearly written on the cover.
Anshera: "???"
The rest of the girls: "???"
Especially Rikka and Eriri, who looked at Sirin with strange expressions, thinking to themselves that they weren't even trying to hide it anymore.
It wasn't as if they didn't know Sirin's identity. With her appearance, even Rikka had recognized her the first time they met. Coupled with the fact that Eriri called her Sirin, how could Rikka not know? In the chat group, Kiana had thanked Chen Changsheng for helping her solve the problem of the Herrscher of the Void. It turned out it was because he had thrown Sirin into the game.
However, compared to the shock and helplessness of the others at this moment, a complex look flashed through Sirin's eyes as she looked at the earnest-faced knight in front of her.
Was this NPC in front of her placed here on purpose by that man?
Thinking back to the figure that subconsciously surfaced in her mind when she first saw the massive lance in the blacksmith shop,
and then thinking of Chen Changsheng's face that made her itch with hatred.
Sirin looked down at the thick book in the knight's hands, saw the words "The Way of the Knight" written on it, and silently reached out to take it.
Although she suspected that that man might be hinting at something to her.
But...
As expected, she still didn't want to be the one holding everyone back.
"Thank you."
"It's nothing, miss. I believe that in the future, you will definitely become a true knight as well."
The knight said with a sunny smile, then waved his hand and walked towards the outside of the city with his companions.
...
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
