Chapter 13
Pei Sen lay on his bed, musing leisurely that players’ behavior was actually quite uncontrollable; yet once constrained by quests, the vast majority would not resist such temptation.
He casually scrolled through forum posts, pondering what he should do next.
Then he came across a rather amusing title: “After entering the game without eating, I got a warning saying if I don’t eat soon, I’ll lose mobility? Holy crap, am I going to starve to death?”
Starve to death? Yes, inside Bix Cube, one can truly starve to death. Going without food or water for an extended period will result in starvation just as in the real world.
However, as a beginner account, the game system generously provided a piece of dry bread and a jug of water, which this player apparently hadn’t consumed.
But night has already fallen. Given how the people of Kaiwest City view players, it’s unlikely anyone would offer them shelter, and nighttime often means even greater danger.
Not everywhere is like the Golden Rose Manor, where lamps powered by magic crystals illuminate the darkness. In this world, night truly means pitch blackness.
Pei Sen was certain that someone like Kui Lang wouldn’t let such a dark night go to waste.
But presumably, players wouldn’t mind “triggering” such a quest; however, what the outcome of the quest would be remains to be seen.
Still, players are ultimately protected by the system, unlike when Pei Sen first entered the game before player protections were implemented. Therefore, the current players could absolutely turn the entire city of Kai Xi upside down.
After browsing the forums for a while, Pei Sen closed the page and finally turned his attention to the chest in his inventory. Honestly, he wasn’t particularly interested in this chest; this account was essentially just a storage alt, which already lacked nothing in terms of valuable items.
He had always been a hoarder when it came to gaming. Many things that others might discard once their inventory felt full, he would never throw away, always thinking, “What if I need this someday?” Thus, even though Bix Cube offered a decent number of inventory slots, he still had to create alternate characters, utilizing their inventories and bank storage just to barely fit everything he owned.
There were some items he had long wanted to sell but never got around to; over time, he either lacked the opportunity or simply forgot about them, letting them accumulate on this character. Now, ironically, that very accumulation had become an advantage.
Thus, while Grade-A chests were indeed precious, those below level 10 were unlikely to yield anything worthwhile.
Pei Sen casually opened the chest, and as expected, there was no surprise to be found. Being perpetually unlucky, Pei Sen, with zero expectations, ended up receiving something even worse than what he had anticipated.
“Sword of the Soldier
Physical Attack 15–25
Magic Attack 3–5
Durability 100
This is a standard swordsman weapon, and for the early stages of the game, it can be considered a fine blade for any sword-wielding adventurer.
Weapons in Bix Cube inherently possess both physical and magical attack attributes. Certain weapons from special worlds even carry unique offensive effects. Likewise, equipment provides both physical and magical defense. The classification of gear simply relies on pronounced differences in these attributes to determine their intended user.
Items obtained from an A-rank chest are guaranteed to be at least Purple quality. Moving down the tiers, B-rank chests yield a minimum of Blue quality, with an extremely low chance of producing Purple items. C-rank chests start at Green quality, while D-rank chests almost exclusively contain worthless White-quality junk. Chests are categorized into five ranks; only the highest S-rank chests hold the potential to drop top-tier treasures.
To be honest, triggering an A-rank active quest before reaching level ten is an extraordinarily fortunate event. However, since the character’s level remains so low, loot from chests is restricted accordingly. If the rewards were materials, it would be manageable, but receiving a weapon under such constraints is truly disheartening.
“Currently, apart from me, everyone in the game is a Swordsman. Is that why this chest dropped a Swordsman weapon?” Pei Sen mused thoughtfully. Generally speaking, the probability of obtaining items for other classes from such story-related chests is extremely low. The issue lies in the fact that the Mage class doesn’t even exist in the game yet; aside from himself, all other players are Swordsmen.
After drawing this weapon, Pei Sen already had a suspicion in his heart.
“Forget it. Whether it’s my weapon or not, it’s nothing good anyway.”
Putting the matter behind him, Pei Sen slept soundly. As for those players who had just entered the game today, they were brimming with excitement, each determined to stay logged in until their stamina was completely depleted.
Bix Cube imposes a stamina limit: players can be online for a maximum of 20 hours per day, and fully restoring stamina requires being offline for at least four hours. This is the upper limit; however, ordinary players typically log in for only about ten hours daily.
Ever since arriving in this world, Pei Sen has never been able to “log out.” Yet, simply by sleeping, he can replenish his stamina bar. Moreover, he discovered that unlike regular players, he doesn’t need to rest for four hours every day. His stamina depletes more slowly than that of average players, yet recovers much faster.
At this moment, both Kaixi City and the game forums were immersed in a frenzy of celebration, while Pei Sen had already fallen into a deep sleep.
He had no choice; the next day, he still needed to attend to the young master.
It was only upon waking that he nearly believed everything that happened yesterday had been nothing more than an illusion.
Mornings at the Golden Rose Manor were exceptionally busy. After all, although Young Master Eagle had a temper, his daily routine was remarkably disciplined. In this regard, he differed greatly from ordinary children, displaying an almost exemplary level of self-control.
Because he rose early, the entire estate had to stir into motion just as promptly.
Pei Sen wiped his face and hurried toward Eagle’s quarters. Perhaps because he had once again earned the young master’s favor by saving him yesterday, the servants in the manor treated him with exceptional respect and warmth today; evidently, each believed he held a promising future ahead.
Upon arriving, he helped the young master dress properly before rushing to the kitchen to check on breakfast preparations.
In truth, as Eagle’s personal butler, tasks such as fetching meals need not necessarily fall to Pei Sen. However, since he was new previously, some of the estate’s lower servants tended to bully newcomers, assigning him to retrieve meals from the kitchen himself. Today, when he arrived, a male servant was already waiting there. The moment he spotted Pei Sen, he immediately broke into a slightly obsequious smile. “As the young master’s personal butler, you needn’t trouble yourself with such matters. I shall bring the tray to the door of the young master’s chamber; you need only carry it inside.” His tone was utterly humble.
This man is called Neil, a male servant who waits outside Eagle’s door, basically stationed in the corridor to handle various odd jobs. Yet, he most enjoys ordering around the timid female maids.
Eagle has a bad temper; to be honest, the female maids who manage to stay are mostly of weak character.
Neil has been in the manor for quite some time yet remains a second-class male servant. Consider that after Pei Sen’s promotion, his status and benefits already surpass Neil’s, placing him above even first-class male servants. However, outsiders like them are given more respectable titles; they aren’t called male servants but are at least regarded as butlers.
Despite often boasting about his seniority, this Neil has managed to remain in the manor for several years without being expelled, proving he possesses considerable wisdom for survival.
Pei Sen smiled, taking the tray with one hand. “It’s fine; it’s no trouble at all.”
For an ordinary person, this tray was quite heavy. Neil, for instance, struggled to carry it, which was precisely why he had been reluctant to come in the first place.
Pei Sen, however, was now level seven, with a strength attribute of 42—far exceeding normal human standards, and by a significant margin. Thus, he effortlessly held the tray with one hand and cheerfully walked toward Eagle. Behind him, Neil stared in dumbfounded awe at Pei Sen’s terrifying strength.
“Sigh, I was supposed to be a frail and delicate mage…” Pei Sen mused, then suddenly stopped in his tracks as he spotted someone ahead.
The Steward of Sardin was watching him approach, seemingly surprised by how effortlessly Pei Sen carried the tray with just one hand.
Pei Sen had no choice but to walk over and greet the head steward.
Sardin pondered for a moment, “Your strength seems considerable?”
“Yes, it’s natural,” Pei Sen replied, feigning a hint of embarrassment. He dared not admit that with every level up, his strength would only grow greater.
Who would have thought that Sartin would turn to Neil, who was following behind, and say, “Neil, take the tray first.”
“Y-yes, Head Steward.” Neil naturally dared not defy Sartin’s order.
Watching Neil struggle with the tray, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, the contrast with Pei Sen’s earlier demeanor was striking.
“Extend your hand.”
Pei Sen had no choice but to comply. Sartin’s palm was large and rough; as an eighth-rank Great Swordsman, he belonged to the rare breed blessed with extraordinary talent yet equally relentless in diligence. Achieving such stature at his age was no small feat.
The current Pei Sen still paled in comparison before him.
Thus, even though he exerted all his strength, he couldn’t break free from that massive hand.
Sardin finally released him. Pei Sen didn’t complain outright, but inwardly grumbled about how numb his hand felt from being squeezed. Fortunately, he had lowered his pain sensitivity; otherwise, that grip would have been excruciating. He wasn’t sure whether the head steward had done it intentionally.
“Pei Sen, your magical aptitude isn’t promising. Why not study swordsmanship under me instead?”
Pei Sen looked up in astonishment at the handsome and towering steward. “Head Steward, are you saying…”
But it was impossible; he was a mage, possessing only the mage interface. Although even Pei Sen himself knew that, as a mage, he was severely handicapped.
Satin smiled. “Compared to magical talent, I think you’re better suited to become a swordsman.”
Pei Sen waited a moment, but heard no system notification. With regret, he thought that changing classes was indeed just a dream.
Suddenly, his heart stirred. It was true that he only had the mage interface, but he also possessed the NPC interface!
What if he didn’t become a swordsman as a player, but instead, like these NPCs, diligently worked hard through his own efforts to become a formidable swordsman?
It’s not impossible! After all, the threshold for becoming a swordsman is much lower than that for a mage. Although there are still talent restrictions—becoming a Grand Swordsman is likely beyond reach for the vast majority of swordsmen in their lifetimes—there’s virtually no significant barrier to simply getting started. Those with poor talent might remain low-tier swordsmen, stuck at level one or two, forever.
Pei Sen suddenly grew excited, lifted his head, and said, “Master, I am willing to learn swordsmanship!”
Satin: “…” He had merely suggested that Pei Sen learn swordsmanship from him; he hadn’t yet considered formally accepting him as a disciple. So why did this “Master” roll off his tongue so smoothly?
Pei Sen was thinking, “I’m clearly a mage, but a mage who doesn’t aspire to be a sword-wielding player isn’t a good one!”
Behind him stood Eagle, expressionless.
As if brewing a storm.