A Different Jianghu (1)
Looking at the [Player Rankings] of the server he was stuck in, Lucas saw his avatar at the very top of the list:
Ash Knight
He scrolled down to the very bottom of the list and saw his avatar, too.
Lucien Cavalier
Attack strength was used to gauge who were the strongest players in DOJ. It was ironic that he occupied both the top and bottom position of the list. A difference of 179,498 in Attack Strength made a world of difference.
[Lucien Cavalier, remember to complete your daily missions. They'll help you become a stronger hero!]
The game system prompted him. In the past, daily missions were easy-peasy when he controlled Ash Knight. It didn't take longer than 15 minutes to clear everything. Being Lucien Cavalier, he only managed to clear a quarter of his daily missions using the same amount of time.
"Man, I don't remember this taking so long…" he mumbled to himself as he traversed the plains. Daily missions were made up of simple quests that required killing NPCs or running errands, something that advanced players would sometimes skip as the rewards weren't the most attractive. They mostly offered Silver Leaves and experience points. If one was lucky, he could receive a decent novice weapon. These were valuable to Lucas as it was his only source of income and way of leveling up in the game.
[Daily Missions List]
Complete errands for Dong Yang Sect: 3/10
Kill bandits raiding the village: 3/5
Kill beasts roaming the plains: 1/5
Challenge the Drunken Master to a duel: Incomplete
Destroy dummies in the training arena: 0/200
...….
…and the list goes on to include other missions of similar nature. Back when he was a newbie, Lucas didn't recall needing such a long time to complete these mundane daily missions. It sure felt like he was going to take an eternity to finish everything on this list.
Oh right, he was a very rich newbie equipped with better gear which helped him advance from the beginning of the game. With only an Attack Strength of 300 now, everything was happening at a sloth's pace.
Having transmigrated to the game for a few days now, he began to settle in. Good thing the game interface had a way for players to see the date and time of the actual world so he knew how long he had 'disappeared'. Taking a break, he sat down on an empty table in an inn and pretended to be an NPC while secretly accessing the public chat.
[Public Chat System]
"Anyone team up with me to pass the Flying Swords dungeon?"
"Is it me or does anyone else realize that Ash Knight hasn't been online for a while?"
"I heard from his clan members that they have no idea about what happened to him either."
"Maybe he went to get married :)"
"NOOOOO! My idol will only marry ME!"
"Ahem, anyone for Flying Swords, please?"
Seemed like several players missed his presence. He wondered if his family felt the same way too. It has been a few days but still, he didn't see anyone talking about the Yang family. Not even a single thing about anyone being kidnapped.
[Public Chat System]
"Looking for players to clear Daily Missions together. Apply to join my team."
The player who was asking to team up went by the name of Mr Beast, a level 92 mage. Seeing that comment, Lucas sprang into action and immediately clicked on Mr Beast's name and selected 'Join Team' from the list of options. A maximum of 5 players could form a team to clear various missions together. Having 5 players completing those tasks that involved killing monsters/NPCs would be much faster than on his own.
[Mr Beast has rejected your application.]
...…..
Ash Knight had never once been rejected before. This was the first time Lucas received such a notification.
If Ash Knight had applied to join his team instead of Lucien Cavalier, he was sure Mr Beast would accept it in an instant. He saw several players asking to team up in the chat and continued to apply. Maybe some kind soul wouldn't mind bringing him on their daily mission routine.
[SallySally has rejected your application.]
[BananaRox has rejected your application.]
[Kolarola has rejected your application.]
Among them, Kolarola was a level 52 Healer. Lucas guessed this was probably a smurf account of a veteran player since most players on [Bladeheart] server were around Level 100. Even a smurf account was stronger than him. Even a smurf account could reject him…
He used to be the one rejecting random low-level players who applied to join his team in dungeon and quests, now the opposite was happening. The fate of a newbie was harsh. His life now resembled how he was treated as Lucas Yang, the boy who was always outcasted.
Never mind, he'll go solo. He had all the time in the world to complete his missions since he now lived in this world.
[Public Chat System]
"Anyone can help me on the Snow Mountain dungeon? Pretty please?"
"Level 70 dungeon, need swordsmen."
"Whack some monsters in the dungeon, anyone?"
While scrolling through the chat, the system once again prompted him:
[Lucien Cavalier, remember to complete your daily missions. They'll help you become a stronger hero!]
Yes, yes. He knew it. The system was dropping him a reminder that the Level 70 dungeon or the Snow Mountain dungeon was beyond his limits. The only thing he could do now was complete the daily missions until he advanced further. Other quests and dungeons would then be unlocked based on his level.
There was a way to view a list of players who were looking to form teams for various missions in DOJ. Lucas thought maybe he'd try one last time at applying to join a team. Swiping open the list, he saw a familiar name:
Snowman
Delighted to see his most trusted tanker's name, he applied to join his team. There was no harm trying, he'd just get rejected at the most. A few minutes passed by and there wasn't any notification to say he had been rejected or accepted.
[Application accepted. You are now on Snowman's team.]
To his surprise, Snowman actually accepted him. Surely, Snowman didn't know Lucien Cavalier was him? He was now able to see the other 3 players in Snowman's team - MarcoYolo, Purple Sun, and Geniuz, they were all from his clan, Knights of Freedom. His family in DOJ!
And they were happily chatting away in the Team Voice Chat which he could hear.
"Okay guys, let's finish this daily mission quickly," Snowman said.
"Hey, is that Level 3 player with a long name your friend, Snowman?" Purple Sun asked.
"Hmm? Oh shit. I think I accepted his application by mistake."
Alright, Snowman, I won't blame you for that, Lucas thought. It was a fantastic mistake he made.
"Uh, is that some bot account or what? Doesn't even have a clan." Purple Sun was curious.
Bots in DOJ referred to computer-controlled avatars that were randomly assigned to teams who couldn't gather enough players to enter a dungeon. Most dungeons first require players to form a team of 3 or 5 players. Sometimes, players faced difficulties gathering a full team made up of human players because they tried to pass a dungeon which most players had already completed. Or, they were too weak so nobody wanted to team up with them, like Lucas.
When such a scenario occurs, bots would be assigned so players could fulfil the teaming requirements and enter the dungeon. However, bots tend to die early in the game as their stats were just average and their dodging skills sucked. They weren't exactly very helpful. Nothing could be compared to a human-controlled avatar.
"We can always kick him out, maybe it's one of RavenX's spies, " MarcoYolo joked.
"Dubious bot…or it must be someone's smurf which hasn't logged in since the beginning of time," Geniuz laughed.
"You might as well say it's Ash Knight's smurf! Maybe he got tired of playing Ash Knight and wants to start afresh! See, that's why he hasn't logged in for so long!" Purple Sun tried to continue the joke but didn't know he was half-right.
"Yo, newbie or veteran trying to act like a newbie, say something, will ya?" Snowman prompted.
Guys, this is really your clan leader here! Lucas was caught in a dilemma - should he tell them the truth or risk becoming a joke for trying to pretend he was Ash Knight?