Ryan Carter was utterly disheartened, but after what had just happened, he realized: the distinction between classes in the game only existed in relation to class skills. For him, it was as if he already possessed a full set of class skills; as long as he allocated his skill points according to his own abilities, it didn’t really matter which class he chose.

Of course, if he were a Fighter, the class attribute bonuses would definitely suit his martial arts better. However, being a Mage didn’t mean he was useless—he’d just be a martial arts Mage!

A groan interrupted Ryan Carter’s thoughts; the guy in the corner was struggling to get up.

“Teacher!” Frank didn’t dare approach, but looked up at Ryan Carter.

Ryan Carter quickly went over to help the man up. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” The man stood up, taking a deep breath. Though his face was still bruised, he had a scholarly air about him. No wonder such a refined person would be picked on. Ryan Carter and Frank helped him over to sit by the fountain in the center of the square. The man turned and scooped up some water from the pool to wash his face, looking much more refreshed. He turned to Ryan Carter with a smile: “Hello, I’m Miles.”

That was clearly a game name. Ryan Carter immediately introduced himself: “Logan.” This name had been chosen by Frank; it sounded like a drunkard, which annoyed Ryan Carter a bit. The two shook hands. As for Frank, it was obvious he was just a kid, so Miles simply ignored him.

“Holographic technology is being used in online games for the first time, so we expected some unforeseen incidents, but who would have thought something like this would happen?” Miles said, tilting his head back.

“Oh? From what you’re saying, you sound like a game staff member?” Ryan Carter asked.

Frank perked up—he was a seasoned online gamer. Game staff—just the name implied endless benefits. From leaking insider info to directly helping players get top-tier gear, such unethical staff were despised and condemned by players—until they actually met one, at which point they’d treat them like their own father.

Miles nodded toward the sky and said, “Not long after the open beta started today, we got reports that a group of newbie players were ganging up on Mages and similar classes, relying on class differences. So I came in to take a look, and ended up getting beaten up myself.”

“How will this be handled?” Ryan Carter asked.

“No idea yet,” Miles replied. “We’ll have to see how the tech team decides to set things up. There are still quite a few issues with the game; looks like it’ll be a while before it’s ready for official paid operation.”

Ryan Carter and Frank saw that Miles kept looking up at the sky, so they looked up too. A fine drizzle was still falling, quickly wetting their faces. Is this guy still washing his face? Ryan Carter wondered, lowering his head.

“What are you two looking at?” Unexpectedly, Miles asked first.

“What are you looking at?” Frank shot back.

“My nosebleed won’t stop, little brother!” Miles said.

The two were speechless. After a while, Miles lowered his head, rubbed his nose, and said, “Alright, I’m going to look around some more. What about you guys?”

“I’m going to level up!” Ryan Carter said. He was eager to find out if, after allocating all his stat points, this frail Mage’s body could unleash his martial arts.

Frank hesitated for a moment, then looked at Miles and said, “I want to go with you and look around.”

Miles smiled and said, “Little brother, I’m a disciplined game staff member. Don’t expect to get any benefits from me.”

Frank’s intentions had been seen through, and his face turned bright red. Embarrassed, he said, “That’s not what I meant. I just want to get familiar with the game with you.”

“Then let’s go!” Miles said with a smile, then turned to ask Ryan Carter, “Do you want to come get familiar with things too?” He emphasized the word “familiar,” making Frank blush even more.

“No need, you two go ahead!” Ryan Carter waved at them.

After parting ways with the two, Ryan Carter couldn’t wait to rush out of Cloud City and head for the leveling area.

The leveling areas around the starting city were always the lowest level. “Parallel World” was no exception—even the monsters were nothing new: cats, dogs, rabbits, all looking very friendly, the kind of small animals that should be humanity’s friends. And thanks to the use of holographic technology, the animals were made to look incredibly lifelike and cute. Plus, these low-level mobs didn’t even fight back; only the little pugs would whimper pitifully after being slapped.

After kicking a certain dog twice, Ryan Carter really couldn’t bring himself to keep going. Looking around, he saw that all the other players’ eyes were filled with hesitation. Some who steeled themselves to kill anyway would stop after receiving contemptuous looks from the others. In the leveling area, crowds of players just stood around staring at each other, while the cats and dogs bounced around, rubbing against players’ pant legs to show affection.

“How are we supposed to level up like this!” a male player said with a long sigh, throwing his weapon to the ground.