Chapter 7

But before SlickRod and CockyGiant could ask anything else, Cole and Melz were already gone. The two exchanged a glance, both clearly buzzing with excitement.

"Supreme Sanctum. I remember now. In the center of the beginner village's plaza, that towering building—that's got to be it, right?"

CockyGiant smacked his forehead. Out of habit, whenever he started a new game, he always explored the beginner village first, hunting for hidden quests. He knew the layout like the back of his hand.

SlickRod nodded. "That's got to be it. So this is the game's hidden mechanic. Grinding alone is a nightmare, but drop some gold, and you take off."

"Makes sense. These greedy devs really know how to squeeze money out of players. Absolute scumbags." CockyGiant grumbled.

After all that time grinding, swinging his axe until it practically smoked, he'd only filled up a third of his experience bar.

Screw the devs. They didn't do honest work.

"Come on. Let's go. I'm getting one of those helpers. Time to have some fun."

Convinced they'd cracked the code, the two rushed back to the beginner village's plaza.

Sure enough, right in the center, they found the grand and imposing Supreme Sanctum.

"Perfect. This is where we two buy our way through."

SlickRod tilted his head back, chest full of ambition.

The two marched into the Supreme Sanctum, heads held high.

SlickRod puffed out his chest and yelled, "Hey, anyone here? You've got customers! I've got money to burn!"

"Oh?" The Archmage, who'd been idly counting gold coins nearby, saw their confident swagger and nearly split his face smiling.

Was another walking gold mine coming his way?

The Archmage rose with a warm smile and went to greet them.

Two minutes later...

"GET OUT, YOU BROKE BUMS! OUT!"

A thunderous roar shook the hall. A deep blue light erupted.

[-290,524]

[-352,004]

Two figures flew out the front gates of the Supreme Sanctum. Their health bars hit zero instantly.

[SlickRod has died.]

[CockyGiant has died.]

At the graveyard, the two of them, now in spirit form, stared at each other in stunned silence.

They'd been negotiating just fine. Why did the old man suddenly pull a giant water sphere out of his robes?

Wasn't an NPC supposed to be, you know, reasonable?

Besides, nearly 10,000 gold was considered broke?

Just how much money did that other guy have on him?

...

[Defeated Giant Slime | EXP +95]

[Defeated Giant Goblin Warrior | EXP +92]

[Defeated Giant Slime | EXP +95]

[Defeated Giant Wolf | EXP +101]

Meanwhile, deep in the Verdant Plains, Cole had no idea about the little drama unfolding at the Supreme Sanctum.

Not that he would have cared.

The experience notifications flashing before his eyes were already dizzying enough.

With a god-tier Cursemancer rampaging through a level 10 zone, there was only one possible outcome: A massacre.

Wherever Melz passed, nothing survived. Every spell dealt over a million damage. Entire groups of monsters were erased in seconds. The once-peaceful plains had turned into a wasteland.

The goblin village—the only mob faction in the beginner village—had been wiped off the map.

Even the yellow dog sunbathing by the roadside caught a couple of divine smacks for good measure.

[Congratulations! Your level has increased to Lv5. You have received 10 attribute points, freely distributable.]

With this terrifying efficiency, Cole's level shot straight past 5.

At this point in time, it was doubtful any other player had even reached level 2.

Money, it seemed, really could buy anything.

But there was a downside.

After leveling up, a new line appeared on Cole's status panel.

[Permanent EXP Reduction: 6%]

Experience Penalty.

In Doomsday, whether player or NPC, when party members' level gap exceeded 10 levels, the lower-level member suffered a penalty.

Reduced experience gain.

And this penalty was permanent.

Cole's current EXP penalty was 6%. That meant from now on, he'd only gain 94% of normal experience.

It would only get worse as he continued.

He estimated that by the time he reached level 10 with Melz's help, the penalty would hover around 10%.

Leveling in Doomsday was already brutally hard. In the late game, each level required a mountain of experience. A 10% penalty would be soul-crushing.

But whatever.

Cole's main goal right now was to hit level 10 as fast as possible and reach the main city.

The EXP penalty was brutal, sure. But compared to the advantage of being the first into the main city? It was nothing.

You had to give something to get something.

Cole opened his status panel and started distributing his free attribute points.

[STR: 35]

[VIT: 35]

[INT: 70]

[AGI: 40]

Four consecutive levels had given him 40 free points. He dumped them all into Intelligence.

On top of that, his daily spending had exceeded ten million gold, so Power of the God of Wealth had granted him another 100 stat points. That pushed his other attributes just as high.

A level 5 stat panel that even level 10 players would struggle to match.

"Perfect. About three more levels, and I'll meet the requirements to unlock the hidden dungeon."

Cole smiled with satisfaction.

In his past life, forum posts had hinted at a well-hidden secret.

Beginner Village #9527 had a hidden dungeon: Dragon's Nest.

Besides its hidden location, the basic unlock condition was simple: break 100 Intelligence.

Of course, back then, that requirement was aimed at the first-tier players who were already level 100.

At the current stage, the only way to break 100 Intelligence was to reach level 10 and dump every single free attribute point into the stat.

But no sane person would do that.

Even for a magic-based class, such an extreme build meant everything else was garbage—especially low Vitality. One slip-up, and you'd be eating dirt.

But for Cole, with Power of the God of Wealth, that wasn't a concern.

"Keep going."

After distributing his points, Cole led Melz back into the Verdant Plains to continue the slaughter.

At exactly 6:00 PM—

[Congratulations! Your level has increased to Lv10.]

[Congratulations! You are the first player in Beginner Village #9527 to reach level 10. Reward: 10 attribute points.]

[Congratulations! You are the first player worldwide to reach level 10. Reward: 50 attribute points. Title: Blasting off.]

Under Melz's relentless bombardment, the depths of the Verdant Plains had fallen silent.

And Cole's level had skyrocketed to a terrifying 10.

Then came the world announcement.

[World Announcement: Player "Darkcole" has successfully reached Lv10. The Level Ranking Board has been unlocked.]

The announcement echoed through every player's mind three times before it stopped.

At that moment, every single participant in the Doomsday closed beta—no matter who they were, no matter what they were doing—

All of them stopped dead in their tracks. Shock plastered across their faces.

In less than a day, someone had already hit level 10?!