The temporary storage point is obviously the exclusive dimension for every returning player.
After Equator left, the area was already packed with people.
These were clearly returning players who, like him, had just come out of the storage dimension. From time to time, a few more people would refresh and suddenly appear, causing others nearby to stumble.
Then, the players collectively grumbled and scattered to the side.
Returning to the familiar gaming world, Jiang Shi couldn’t help but feel a bit nostalgic.
With the air of someone who had seen a thousand sails, he briefly admired the familiar scenery around him while briskly walking away from the crowd in such a congested environment. Only then did he open the mission panel to study his options.
The official game provided several bonus modes for returning players, and Jiang Shi contemplated for a moment before deciding to start with dungeon quests.
The Silvia region had three villages, originally the random spawning points for new players. However, with the influx of returning players in recent times, they had mixed with the newcomers, making the once relatively peaceful newbie villages seem somewhat crowded.
Although tasks like [Complete 10 Resident Requests in the Silvia Region] were relatively simple, the current number of players was just too high.
Even the residents in those desolate villages under the influence of dark forces, residing in abandoned areas with scarce resources, probably couldn’t provide enough quests to assist these “interdimensional travelers.“
Just from the process of squeezing out of the crowd a moment ago, Jiang Shi had already learned from other players that the village head’s house in Kavari Village had completed a series of tasks, from [catching wild chicken] to [plucking feathers,] [cooking,] and a [grand chicken feast.] Xiao Hua in Salica Village had also played games like hide and seek and [drop the handkerchief] with those players a satisfying five times, and seven times with the wooden man, gradually losing interest in playing games like a mischievous child.
For the villagers who truly existed in this holographic world, these ‘interdimensional travelers’ who suddenly arrived in their lives met all their daily needs. However, for returning players like Jiang Shi, one could only say that running around the entire Silvia region to dig up tasks that might appear at any time was incredibly difficult!
It was for this reason that players like Jiang Shi, who were confident in their abilities, often chose dungeon quests more directly.
After all, unlike the ‘natives’ who had their own gaming lives in the First Genesis, whether you were present or not, the dungeons were always there, never leaving or forsaking you.
Since Jiang Shi had just returned to the game and wanted to revisit old territory, he first found a dungeon point that was relatively close.
From a distance, he could see that the entrance to the dungeon was also surrounded by people, all conducting various forms of team recruitment.
He looked around and randomly selected a team that needed a healer and applied.
Almost instantly, he was accepted into the group.
Once the team was formed, the conversations of the other team members were transmitted to his ears through the team’s independent voice communication.
“Everyone’s here! Let’s get ready to start!” The person speaking had the game ID [Canvas Shoes] and was obviously the leader of this dungeon team. “Material Main Account, you’re responsible for healing, okay!”
Jiang Shi responded with an “Hmm” and glanced at the team panel. He noticed that the other player’s level was 80, twice his current level of 40. There was no returning player mark, indicating that this player was not a returning player.
Genesis had gone through three important versions in total.
The first was the era of the first and second seasons, where the maximum level was 40, which was the version Jiang Shi had experienced before quitting the game.
The second was the era of the third and fourth seasons, when the 2.0 version introduced a new level cap of 75. It provided more defined roles for the various races in the 1.0 version and for each profession. It was during this version that the multi-profession mode of gameplay in the 1.0 stage came to an end.
And now, the third, the fifth season, had just begun. The 3.0 version had raised the maximum level to 90. With the resurgence of players, it was unclear which profession would rise to the top with this change, and which previously popular profession would fall from grace before the next Century Cup.
An 80-level player was naturally in the sprint phase for the latest level cap. At this point, coming to tackle a low-level dungeon with no additional requirements was primarily for the random drop of dungeon materials and to accumulate blessing points for leveling with lower-level players.
As expected, after forming the team, Canvas Shoes straightforwardly said, “Main Account, we veteran players have a quest to complete. You just need to heal, and the returning player quest will be a cakewalk for us, but all drops go to the designated person, okay?”
Jiang Shi didn’t particularly care about the materials from low-level dungeons, so he replied nonchalantly, “Sure.”
In this five-person team, besides him, there was another player with the “newcomer” badge, and the leader privately reminded him. It was clear that the leader knew this newcomer. As for the other two players, they were in the same guild as Canvas Shoes and had come to farm materials together.
Canvas Shoes said, “Is everyone ready? If you are, let’s begin.”
One of the players in the team who hadn’t spoken before, named Sha Gui Shen, hesitated for a moment and then asked, “You asked for a healer, but you recruited a level 40 player. Can he handle healing?”
Canvas Shoes nonchalantly responded, “He’s a returning player. Both the returning player buff and the newcomer buff can increase extra drops. It’s not conflicting. We just want to get more loot.”
Sha Gui Shen said, “But… Material Main Account, don’t you think this ID looks like a storage account?”
Jiang Shi slowly replied, “It’s the main account, no deception.”
Sha Gui Shen still seemed a bit uneasy.
Canvas Shoes, listening to their conversation, became impatient. “Can’t you see everyone’s looking for a healer? Find one yourself if you’re so concerned!”
As soon as he was asked to find someone, Sha Gui Shen immediately kept quiet.
Canvas Shoes was satisfied but asked one more question, “Material Main Account, with the returning player buff, you must be an experienced player, right? Low-level dungeons just require some healing; we’ll dodge most of the skills ourselves. Just keep an eye on continuous healing. Is that okay?”
Jiang Shi replied, “That’s fine.”
“Choosing to bring a returning player buff to a dungeon where we can just stand still and deal damage…” Sha Gui Shen muttered, but ultimately didn’t object. “Okay, as long as you heal yourself and let us dodge the skills, it’s fine.”
Jiang Shi lightly touched the oversized cross in his hand.
Although it was a level 45 dungeon, he could easily solo it. He had only joined a group because he didn’t want to waste time looking for a team.
He didn’t expect that on his first day back after five years, he would be criticized. Indeed, times had changed.
As the team leader confirmed the gathering, everyone was transported into the dungeon map.
The 45-level dungeon was called “Divine Spring Cavern.”
After the dimension change, the immersive 360-degree surround sound of flowing springs completely enveloped everyone.
Previously, they communicated through team voice chat, but now that they had assembled, Sha Gui Shen noticed the giant cross weapon in Jiang Shi’s hand and approached him, saying, “Wow, buddy, your weapon has a unique appearance! I’ve hardly seen anything like it. Is it a limited edition?”
Jiang Shi casually turned the cross in his hand when he heard this, and replied vaguely, “Yeah, it was from an event.”
In the world of Genesis, the priest class used staffs as their weapons. However, his staff was different from the conventional designs; it was a giant cross radiating a silvery moonlight glow. Faint green vines coiled around the top, and its radiant appearance was quite captivating.
Sha Gui Shen initially admired the cross but realized Jiang Shi’s identity on second glance.
He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Whoa, buddy, did you create this character model yourself? It’s beautiful; the attention to detail is amazing!”
With that, the others also turned their attention to Jiang Shi, and many of them uttered appreciative noises.
In Genesis, there were four major races and nine independent factions. In terms of appearance, the elves were universally recognized as the most beautiful, followed by the beastkin of the Sylvan Tribe and the humans. However, despite playing the game for a long time, it was rare to see a character model that could instantly captivate someone.
Everyone couldn’t help but swallow hard. The thought that crossed their minds was the incredible cost of such a detailed character model.
Jiang Shi didn’t think too much about it but was lost in thought. He hadn’t thought much about changing his username, but now, being called [Material Main Account] repeatedly, it seemed somewhat odd. After all, this [Material Main Account] and the other [Material Main Account]1 did have a bit of ambiguity.
Perhaps he should find the right time to change his game ID back.
As he was about to answer that the character model was based on his real-life appearance, Canvas Shoes cut in with a speechless tone, “Gui Shen, why does a warrior of your clan need an elf character model? It’s like you can just use it once you get it!”
Sha Gui Shen smiled without arguing and couldn’t help but take a few more glances at Jiang Shi’s face before shifting the conversation to the newbie player beside him. “Speaking of which, Canvas Shoes, you want to bring two low-level characters to the dungeon, I don’t mind. But it seems like your apprentice is entering Divine Spring Cavern for the first time, right? Have you given him any instructions?”
“I can’t be bothered to give instructions,” Canvas Shoes waved his hand. “Whether he lives or dies doesn’t matter to me. He won’t contribute much in terms of damage anyway. As long as the healer doesn’t die, it’s fine.”
Sha Gui Shen hesitated for a moment. “Well, that makes sense; I can’t argue with that.”
After entering the dungeon, the introductory plot naturally kicked in. The group cleared small monsters on the way while progressing deeper into the cavern.
Jiang Shi, apart from Sha Gui Shen, was familiar with the rest of the group. Bored, they started chatting with one another.
Sha Gui Shen teased the newbie, “Your master may be reliable when it comes to leading dungeon runs and helping with gear, but he’s also quite unreliable. With so many classes to choose from, how did he end up making you play as a Mechanic? Do you want to experience the frustration of having a simple character but plenty of money?”
When the topic of idols came up, the newbie’s entire demeanor changed. “God Yu is my idol! He’s an officially recognized tactical master in Genesis, and that’s why I’m playing this game!”
Jiang Shi rarely laughed, except when he couldn’t help it. The small chuckle went unnoticed as the sound of flowing springs quickly covered it, preventing the newbie from hearing his idol being praised so ardently.
But he didn’t say anything wrong; another way to describe a “tactical master” is “tactical genius.“
“Yeah, yeah, he’s indeed a tactical genius,” Sha Gui Shen said in a tone that didn’t insult the idol in front of the admirer. He cleared his throat and added, “Actually, I’m not that interested in the league stuff. I’m more into gossip.”
Changing to a curious tone, Sha Gui Shen continued, “Speaking of God Yu, didn’t there used to be a big fuss about him making a sincere confession that got turned down? It’s been so many years, and the main character in that confession still hasn’t been revealed. You fans are so out of the loop; your information-gathering skills are too weak, aren’t they?”
The newbie replied, “I’m a career fan.”
Sha Gui Shen said, “Alright… then.”
The newbie continued, “But from what I know, God Yu’s target of confession must be someone extraordinary.”
Sha Gui Shen instantly turned into a fanboy, “Oh?”
Jiang Shi, who had been trailing the team, heard the gossip about God Yu and discreetly took a few steps forward when he heard the words “San Tingpo“
The newbie said, “You probably don’t know, but God Yu still goes to San Tingpo to wait for his ‘White Moonlight.‘ Even though the confession event didn’t happen as planned back then, we fans believe that God Yu will eventually see the moonlight through the clouds and achieve both love and success.”
Jiang Shi initially didn’t react much while listening to the conversation in front of him. However, when he heard the words “San Tingpo ” his expression subtly stiffened.
Then, the group of people chatting animatedly in front heard the returning player who had been silent speak suddenly, “May I ask… the confession you’re talking about, is it by any chance from July 7, 2032?”
The newbie was surprised, “Are you a God Yu fan too? You remember it so clearly!”
Jiang Shi remained silent.
How could he not remember?
On July 7, 2032, God Yu had challenged him to a duel on San Tingpo.
As it happened, something unexpected came up, and it became the day he officially quit the game.
The grandiose confession event, the unwavering devotion, was it really not because of some petty man with a very small mind who held a grudge for being stood up?
Jiang Shi fell silent for a moment and quietly opened his friend list. His gaze fixed on the game ID that was still offline.
Oh, so holding a grudge for five years over being stood up once?
With that man’s penny-pinching personality, if he knew Jiang Shi had returned to the game, he might have prepared some means to provoke him.
But, sorry, revenge was impossible in this lifetime.
Beside him, the newbie spoke regretfully and with anticipation, “Sigh, I wonder when I’ll have the chance to add a top-tier god like this to my friends. And even if I want to send them a friend request, it’s impossible. God Yu’s friend list must always be full, right?”
Jiang Shi, who had just swiftly removed friends in a smooth motion, closed the friend list and heard this encouraging sentence. He smiled supportively, “You can actually try. There should be friend slots available now.”
The newbie, with some doubt, searched for God Yu’s game ID, clicked to send a friend request, and then exclaimed, “Wow! It’s real! God Yu has freed up a friend slot!”
Although he knew that even if a slot was freed up, it wouldn’t be for him, the young admirer was still excited about the friend request he had sent. He rapidly sent several more and filled the application notes with a series of sincere confessions.
This was definitely the closest he had ever been to his idol!
Author’s Note:
The ongoing competitive server’s attack: ?
- In China, the term “大号” (dà hào) is indeed ambiguous and can have different meanings depending on the context. It can refer to a “main account” or “primary account” on social media or gaming platforms, but it may also be used colloquially to describe a person who is tall or big in size. ↩︎
Lmaoooo immediate unfriend! 😂🤧