Chapter 36 – Only I Am a Noob

Inside the Player Association, people came and went, most of them being new players from this batch.

New players who didn’t intend to compete for the Lord status had almost all relocated to Safe Cities, where they no longer had to worry about life and death.

They no longer needed to live in constant fear or suffer from nervous exhaustion, but these newcomers soon discovered that while slacking off eliminated mortal dangers, the path to becoming stronger and truly mastering supernatural powers remained arduous.

They still needed to venture out to hunt, earning meager amounts of Soul Sand.

They also had to pay rent to the Eternal World and borrow Altars from Lord players to materialize supplies.

They remained the brick-carrying class, the laborers, living tough lives with rather limited income. Many newcomers, after becoming familiar with the forums, realized that ordinary players without background, talent, or luck still struggled to live comfortably.

Unless they chose to slack off entirely.

Some veteran players remained weaklings even after two and a half years.

However,

if they could join major factions and receive cultivation, they could naturally soar to great heights. At the very least, they could secure stable salaries and steadily improve while holding iron rice bowls.

These individuals were the envy of ordinary freelance players.

And the esteemed ‘Firsthand Intel Dealer’ was a famous figure in the newcomer circles, reportedly a heavyweight even among veteran players.

After all, many of the informational posts Firsthand posted in the newcomer zone received official certification. This wasn’t treatment that just any ordinary player could obtain.

“Working at Firsthand’s guild? So enviable, with high income, safety, and ease.”

Miss White Fox couldn’t hide her jealousy.

Clearly, they were all equally unsuccessful before.

Mu Yuan, Frog-Selling Bro, White Fox, and Liver Emperor had been in contact over the past few days and had arranged to meet here yesterday. Only Liver Emperor hadn’t arrived yet, probably having grinded until the dead of night again.

Noticing that Frog-Selling Bro seemed to have insider information, Mu Yuan subtly began probing.

“I’m not sure how many slots our White River assessment point has for this batch, but I’d estimate between ten and twenty. After all, I’m just an intern, bro… However, I do know some general information about the outstanding newcomers.”

“Look over there, that fatty in the distance with the forum ID ‘Not Unlucky’—he’s this batch’s luck king. He started with three three-star Skeleton Soldiers… and these Skeleton Soldiers are among the elite of three-star units, fearless without all the complications of Goblins. With this magnificent start, the luck king’s troop roster quickly snowballed, estimated to have between ten to twenty units now. He’s a strong contender for the slots.”

“And over there, see that macho man? His ID is just Macho Man. He only started with a bunch of ordinary Goblins and is just a commoner himself, but this guy is a combat expert. Relying on his unparalleled strength, he’s personally slain many monsters, reportedly even a three-star Grey Bear fell victim to his hands… This is a fierce man who can tear apart three-star units with his bare hands!”

Mu Yuan had noticed this individual early on.

He stood out too much—tall and built like an iron tower, with bulging muscles on his exposed arms resembling pythons coiling around them. Plus, he had the shiny bald head that symbolized a strong identity. Sitting there, he resembled a miniature giant, exuding an intimidating aura.

“Is he really not some kind of superhuman?””Of course not. His muscles may look exaggerated, but with diligent training, an ordinary person can absolutely achieve that level. If he were a naturally awakened superhuman, the display would be far more impressive. This man is still just an ordinary person.”

Mu Yuan lowered his head and glanced at his own slender frame.

He had grown considerably stronger over the past few days, barely developing the outline of an eight-pack, but… he reckoned that if he were to actually fight that Macho Man, one punch from the latter would leave him kneeling on the ground begging not to die.

And this is called an ordinary person?!

Mu Yuan fell into silence.

By comparison, he truly was just an average player with a tiny bit of evolutionary ability.

“Among the civilian players, these two are probably the most likely to secure a spot. Of course, given the short time frame, most players haven’t made a name for themselves yet, so dark horses might still emerge.”

At this point, Frog-Selling Bro couldn’t resist asking, “Brother, if I’m not mistaken, you’re also planning to compete for one of these spots, right?”

Mu Yuan nodded—there was no need to hide it.

Miss White Fox: “???”

So you’re a big shot too? Am I the only one who’s a failure?!

Frog-Selling Bro found this expected. “Brother Mu is the fierce one who obtained a Remnant Soul on the very first day. No one would be willing to pass up the chance to fight for the position of Lord.

“I’ve also thought about taking the risk—securing a welfare spot, passing the Lord trial, recruiting beautiful female Heroes, commanding an invincible army to reach the eternal peak… Sadly, that’s just a dream. This old bro really can’t do it.”

Frog-Selling Bro sighed wistfully and said to Mu Yuan, “Brother, give it your all and fight for the honor of us civilian players.”

“Mm, you’re probably aware as well—the biggest competitors for the qualification spots this time are those rich second-generation whales.”

“That one over there is the eldest son of our White River Real Estate. Although he’s not a game second-generation, his family is loaded. Rumor has it he’s already spent a small fortune procuring all sorts of resources, buying dozens of three-star Unit Shards alone.”

“And that guy in yellow—he’s a standard game second-generation with an older brother who’s already an experienced player. According to the intel I gathered, this big shot cleared a Goblin Camp on the sixth day with minimal losses.”

“The girl in white is a game second-generation from neighboring East Bright City. Not only does she have experienced player elders, but her family also runs a major corporation—a certified rich lady. Of course, whether she’s rich or not isn’t the important part; what matters is she has a track record of killing rare-tier monsters. Even if that rare-tier monster hadn’t reached Professional Tier, it’s still pretty insane.”

“And that one… that one… and that one over there…”

Frog-Selling Bro listed off intel on several well-known whales in a row.

This wasn’t exactly secret information anyway. Compared to civilian players, whales tended to be much more flamboyant. Besides, with them constantly buying up all kinds of resources, it was hard to stay low-key.

Mu Yuan pondered the information about these whales, roughly establishing a benchmark in his mind.

Frog-Selling Bro, however, mistook his silence for discouragement and comforted him, “Don’t lose heart, little bro. It’s inevitable that we civilian players can’t match the whales in the early stages, but you don’t need to compete head-on with these whales. As long as you secure a spot, the treatment is the same whether you’re first or tenth.””Besides, with your capabilities, even if you can’t become a Lord, you can still stand out among players.”

Mu Yuan wasn’t discouraged at all; he was merely pondering which troop types to deploy.

He definitely wouldn’t send out Deadbone, and he had no intention of summoning Bone Two either, who had already become a Skeleton Warrior.

However, there was no need to be too low-key either. Showing appropriate excellence would bring more opportunities. Moreover, among civilian players, there were also lucky kings and those with hidden talents. Having slightly stronger abilities was reasonable and wouldn’t attract undue envy.

It’s just that his talent might be a tad stronger than what others imagined.

In that case, he’d go with this lineup.

As he contemplated, Miss White Fox spoke up indignantly on his behalf.

“Isn’t this selection method a bit too unfair for us civilian players?”

Frog-Selling Bro nodded then shook his head, “Somewhat, but after all, the power of money is still a form of capability. Moreover, from what I know, the reason our Xuan Nation strongly supports new Lords is because they hope to see more territories emerge, thereby expanding our nation’s territory and influence on the Eternal Continent.”

“Whether civilian players or whales, it’s all the same to the nation—as long as they’re Lords of Xuan Nation.”

As they spoke, more and more players gathered in the association.

Liver Emperor arrived too, still with his characteristic dark circles under his eyes, looking like he might pass away at any moment.

“Am I late again?”

He scratched his head.

The group headed toward the assessment area. Soon, it was time for applicants to draw their assessment numbers.

Under Frog-Selling Bro’s expectant gaze, Mu Yuan stepped forward to draw his number.

Young Liver Emperor followed closely behind him.

Miss White Fox: “???”

She looked at dark-circle-eyed Liver Emperor, Frog-Selling who was already an employee of a major merchant guild, and the impressive Mu Yuan, slowly forming a question mark above her head.

So, I’m the only noob here?!

(End of Chapter)