This library sells a large number of skill books, most of which are quite expensive. However, every player can choose two books for free when they are first born, and there are a wide variety of skills to choose from, allowing everyone to mix and match according to their own preferences.

Brian Carter, as the first person to arrive here, can get an extra minor skill. A single minor skill book is worth at least several hundred copper coins!

“Thank you, esteemed elder,” Brian Carter said with a smile, walking deeper into the library. The lighting inside was a bit dim, with five or six bookshelves laid out horizontally, all neatly filled with various skill books—basic skills for every class, such as Small Fireball, Sword Strike, Ice Ball, and so on.

In the corner of the third bookshelf, Brian Carter picked a basic skill: Black Oil Technique!

Ordinary players would never choose such an obscure skill as Black Oil Technique, because it has no offensive effect. It summons a pile of black oil to pour over the opponent, which, aside from disgusting them and reducing their movement speed, doesn’t seem to have much use.

The black oil summoned by Black Oil Technique is actually plant sap, so it’s barely classified as a plant-based magic.

After wandering around the bookshelves, he also picked up a Small Fireball Technique. Although Brian Carter didn’t major in the elemental class, he could still learn elemental magic, though the effects would be a bit weaker.

In addition to Black Oil Technique and Small Fireball, Brian Carter also took a minor skill book: Gathering, which allows him to collect herbs.

After selecting these three skill books, Brian Carter walked out of the library. By this time, there were more players on the street. They were looking around, chatting with NPCs, trying to get a newbie quest or two, but it was obvious they were disappointed. Without even learning basic skills, it was impossible for them to receive any newbie quests.

A few players saw Brian Carter coming out of the library and were momentarily stunned. Then, one by one, they realized what was happening and rushed toward the library. It would probably take them quite a while to pick out a skill book they liked from so many options.

With a flick of his hands, the three skill books in Brian Carter’s hands turned into three beams of white light, and three new skills appeared in his skill bar.

After learning the skills, there were as many as twenty or thirty newbie quests available in the village. Most players would choose to do the newbie quests step by step, but Brian Carter wouldn’t. Not only do the tedious newbie quests take a lot of time, but the rewards are also rather meager.

If you don’t do the newbie quests, you won’t have money to buy potions, and it’s easy to run into danger outside the village. If you die, you lose a level and can’t log in again for five hours, which is a real headache.

But Brian Carter had already thought of solutions to all these problems.

After learning the skills, Brian Carter sprinted out of the village, determined to level up ahead of everyone else. If he leveled up with the main group, fighting over monsters would greatly slow down his progress.

Outside the village was a vast, endless red plain, as if soaked in blood, giving off a sense of desolation and tragic grandeur.

System: You have discovered the Bloodshadow Plains.

It’s said that in ancient times, this was once a battlefield where thousands of armies were buried.

Brian Carter didn’t pause for a moment and dashed deeper into the Bloodshadow Plains. Just as he was running at full speed, his voice chat rang—it was Grace Harris. Earlier, they had added each other as friends through a chat tool, which could be used in-game after logging in, and all friends in the friend list would be displayed in the game. Grace Harris’s ID was Mumu.

“Brian Carter, where are you now?”

“I’m in Tagite Village,” Brian Carter replied.

“I’m in Moxi, next to Tagite. Brian Carter, come to Moxi, it’ll only take you half an hour at most. We’ll team up to level together. My classmates just invited several top-tier pro players.”

“No need,” Brian Carter refused. He already had his own plans and wasn’t about to waste so much time going to Moxi.

“Brian Carter, you should still come. Leveling alone is definitely slower than in a team. Plus, it’s dangerous to level alone—you could easily die,” Grace Harris urged. In her view, it would be very difficult for Brian Carter to solo level, and whether he could stay in her cousin’s studio was even in question. But no matter how much she tried to persuade him, Brian Carter wouldn’t listen.

After declining Grace Harris’s kind offer, Brian Carter stuck to his original plan and ventured deeper into the Bloodshadow Plains.

In Moxi Village, a team of twelve players had already formed and was ready to set out. There were twelve villages in the Bloodshadow Plains, and Moxi was one of them.

“Brian Carter, you stubborn mule!” Grace Harris stomped her foot. No matter how she tried to persuade him, Brian Carter insisted on leveling in Tagite. She couldn’t exactly tie him up and drag him over. Muttering to herself, “Kindness taken for granted—fine, do whatever you want! Don’t come crying to me later!” Ever since that day when Brian Carter gave her acupuncture, she couldn’t help but recall that ambiguous moment, constantly making excuses for what happened. After all, it was an accident, the situation was urgent, and Brian Carter had no other choice.