Chapter Four: Server "Xuantian"—The Race to Level Up Begins

September 2nd, 2020, 11:50 AM.

Countless online gaming forums erupted in excitement as players eagerly awaited the opening of the rookie servers for Divine Ruin. Due to special requirements, each account for the rookie servers was tied to a single identity card, and the addresses frequented by veteran players were blocked. This ensured that all new players truly stood at the same starting line.

“Third Bro, ten minutes left before we can log in. Have you decided which of the five servers you’ll pick?” Luo Wei glanced at the official Divine Ruin forum, now boiling over with activity, and turned to ask Ye Yu.

“The first server, Xuan Tian. Generally, most players choose the first server as their preferred option.”

“Alright, let’s go with Xuan Tian then.” Luo Feng stretched lazily, leaned back in his gaming chair, and smiled.

Today, Ye Yu had received invitations from some high-level organizations on well-known gaming forums, asking him to join their groups or channels. He didn’t refuse, but after joining, he barely spoke, knowing well that his invitation was mainly due to his status as a mentor-level moderator on the rookie pages of several gaming forums.

To Ye Yu, Divine Ruin was no ordinary game. With the arrival of the new era, new gameplay and rules emerged, even the top players from the veteran servers needed a period of adaptation. Within this window, Ye Yu and the other rookies were, in a sense, starting from the same line.

Ye Yu now had only one team in mind: the six-person group assembled before him.

Qingcheng University was known as a gathering place for gaming prodigies, so everyone was well aware of their fundamental strengths.

At 11:55, using an automatic clicking software, the server selection window changed, indicating entry into the Xuan Tian server.

“We’re in!” Ye Yu exclaimed, and the other five followed suit, entering the server.

Xuan Tian was the top rookie server, and players daring to select the flagship server generally had a higher average skill level. Due to Tan Cong and Qu Zheng choosing the demon race, their birthplace differed from the others.

The human race started in a map called Adventurer Town.

The demon race started in a map called Demon Isle.

Once the six entered the game, they immediately skipped the beginner tutorial. Ye Yu had prepared a condensed master plan, making the simple tutorial unnecessary. He had also listed the priority rookie quests, so the first thing the group did was open the friend icon in the bottom right corner, search each other, and add everyone as friends.

Following the pre-planned guide for errands, and thanks to a one-time 300 yuan recharge, they instantly reached level 1 in Divine Ruin, with double experience. Combined with the rookie server’s own double bonus, they enjoyed four times the experience gain. In no time, their experience bars reached 40.

It was best not to team up for quests in the early stages, as experience gains varied and weren’t fixed, so everyone proceeded individually.

Divine Ruin’s basic controls relied on the keyboard, with the mouse used mostly for adjusting angles and locking targets.

Ye Yu and his teammates had high-end rookie redemption codes, a perk thanks to Ye Yu. The gift packs from these codes gave them a jumpstart in leveling up.

Ye Yu looked at the task list in the window: Main Quest—First Steps in the Martial World.

Quest: Speak with the town mayor of Adventurer Town.

Quest description: Converse with the blacksmith, apothecary, tailor, merchant, weapon refiner, and master craftsman in Adventurer Town, then visit the master of Adventurer Pavilion.

Quest completion: Adventurer Pavilion Master.

Quest reward: Divine Ruin Rookie Vitality Pill.

Quest evaluation: The reward includes the Rookie Vitality Pill, which restores fifty thousand health points.

The main quest in Divine Ruin was essential, as its rewards far surpassed those of any other quest—except for events, the main storyline was also highly engaging.

Moreover, in the new era of Divine Ruin, there was a novel mechanic: if your magic value dropped below 1,520, using your class skills had at least a 50% chance of failure, but if successful, the skill’s effect would be 1,030 higher than usual.

In the game, the old-fashioned town exuded a subtle, antique fragrance. The exquisite graphics made it feel as if you were truly in the martial world. Ye Yu guided his character through the master plan, completing tasks as he accepted them. Nearby players reacted with astonished expressions.

“Who’s this player named Cool Night? Already level 5?”

“Yeah, how can he be so fast? The main quest only gets you to level 3 or 4 at this point.”

These were all true beginners—even those with talent didn’t have the preparation to optimize their time for multiple quests. Some were still getting used to the unlimited combo mechanics of Divine Ruin, or simply wandering the map to explore Adventurer Town.

When Ye Yu's character arrived at a towering ancient pavilion, a cutscene triggered. Due to special settings, the main story’s animation couldn’t be skipped—this was Divine Ruin’s way of immersing players in the narrative.

The Adventurer Pavilion Master wore black robes. His hair, blowing in the wind, showed streaks of silver at his temples, and his weathered eyes hinted at deep experience. With hands clasped behind his back, he appeared before Ye Yu.

Divine Ruin used three of the world’s top ten game engines. Thanks to a powerful development team, every requirement for the new era was met, and the cutscenes felt lifelike, radiating authenticity and a palpable martial atmosphere flowing from the screen.

As the animation unfolded like a tale, the next quest appeared in the task list.

Main Quest—Test of Skill.

Quest: Adventurer Pavilion Master.

Quest description: Go outside Adventurer Town or to its outskirts and defeat ten rogue deserters and ten demon wolves.

Quest objective: Ten rogue deserters, ten demon wolves.

Turn in: Adventurer Pavilion Master.

Ye Yu’s preparations paid off; after hitting the shortcut to open the quest window, he saw that the next available quests required level 10.

With the server and personal bonuses stacking, quadruple experience meant even quest rewards were amplified. By the second main quest, Ye Yu was nearly level 8, while others lagged at level 6.

The other five were also approaching level 8.

For special reasons, Divine Ruin had established experience zones in the rookie birthplaces, where monsters wouldn’t fight back and players could freely slay them.

The only requirement was reaching level 7 before entering these rookie experience zones.

Considering the high difficulty mentioned on the rookie pages by the officials, Ye Yu had marked in his plan that after reaching level 7, everyone should head to the experience zone to grind. He paused the main quest, deciding to wait for others to check the strength of the monsters before proceeding.

Upon entering the experience zone, Ye Yu began slaying the passive monsters. Each kill granted 4 experience points, and after ten kills, he firmly stepped into level 8.

Soon, more players arrived to grind, but thankfully, the monsters were plentiful, respawned quickly, and most players here had prepared in detail before launch. They knew that in Divine Ruin, snatching monsters was pointless—the experience always went to the first attacker, so everyone fought their own targets in peace.

Suddenly, Luo Feng’s voice came through.

“Check the world channel. Seems like people are complaining.”

World chat—Fallen Sunset’s Radiance vented, “Damn, what’s going on? The rogue deserters and demon wolves outside the rookie birthplace are way too strong. I can’t beat a deserter, and they even call reinforcements to gang up on you. The demon wolves are the same. This is brutal.”

World chat—Soft Light reassured, “You need to reach level 10 to continue the main storyline. You can come grind in the rookie experience zone—it’s safe and open for players to level up.”

Ye Yu and his team read Soft Light’s message and grimaced. Moments later, the experience zone was packed.

“So many people! If Divine Ruin didn’t auto-hide crowded player avatars, I wouldn’t even be able to click on the monsters,” Huang Hong said, patting his chest to comfort himself.

“Yeah, Third Bro’s plan is excellent—it gives us a real edge. But looks like those deserters and demon wolves are tough. Should we team up to fight them?” Qu Zheng flashed a wicked grin.

Ye Yu thought for a moment and shook his head, “I suggest not teaming up, it’s pointless. Plus, since two of us play demons, we should save that for future events.”

“Why? Isn’t solo grinding exhausting?”

“It’s not just about the races. Remember, what game are we playing? Do you think there’ll ever be a shortage of players? Soon, monsters will be outnumbered by players, and they’ll be much easier to defeat. If you don’t snatch monsters, others will come anyway—this is just another form of teaming up, and the monsters will be wiped out instantly. Everyone’s at the same starting line, so don’t worry. Teaming up only reduces our own gains.”