C18 Nurture

Take the Lava Monster, for instance. Its Life Value is a mere 1,000. Considering its physical defense, Enforcing Justice for Heaven could confidently take it down within a minute with the sword in hand—a significant boost in efficiency.

Lin Tian wasn't the only one intrigued by Enforcing Justice for Heaven. When all the players logged in the next day, they were shocked to find that the top spot on the leaderboard had been claimed by this unknown Enforcing Justice for Heaven. The leaderboard's top contenders were almost always memorized by the community, familiar names to all, except for this newcomer who seemed to have climbed the ranks overnight. Given the notorious difficulty of the game, such a rapid ascent was no small feat.

This achievement left the community both astonished and admiring of Enforcing Justice for Heaven. Regardless of how he managed to climb so quickly, the fact remained—he had done it, and that was indisputable.

"My goodness, Enforcing Justice for Heaven is truly formidable," one player exclaimed. "It's impossible to tell how high his attack power is now. Do you think if we teamed up with him, we'd be able to clear the dungeons much faster?"

Qi Tian and his group were, as always, huddled together, with the conversation naturally gravitating towards Enforcing Justice for Heaven. Beiming Xue, in particular, looked visibly upset. Just the day before, she had been on the cusp of reaching Level 6 but had sacrificed her chance to prioritize the advancement of Qi Tian and Chung Tianya.

To be surpassed overnight was a bitter pill to swallow, especially considering the effort she had poured into the game, sacrificing rest for the last couple of days. The setback was disheartening.

"He managed to overtake me so quickly, which suggests he might have a solid team behind him," she reasoned. "Seeking a partnership with him might be futile if he's not interested. Instead of wasting time chasing him down, we should focus on leveling up to match his achievements."

Qi Tian nodded in agreement. "Exactly. This guy is probably a big spender like you, with a whole crew supporting him. So let's not bother. We'll just keep grinding and leveling up on our own."

Cheng Tianya and his companions set out once again on their quest to level up. Their objective for the day was straightforward: to boost both Chung Tianya and Qi Tian to Level 5.

Upon reaching Level 5, each player would be granted the opportunity to acquire a skill. For most players, this meant obtaining fundamental skills. Take Beiming Xue, for instance, a healer whose first skill upon reaching Level 5 was the Universal Healing Skill, also known as the Basic Healing Technique.

Yet, this was the case for only the majority. A lucky few would attain special skills when they hit Level 5. These special skills were far superior in power to their basic counterparts, but the chances of awakening such skills were exceedingly rare.

Lin Tian had deliberately designed the game with this mechanic, understanding that a successful game must offer players a sense of freedom and unpredictability. In other words, a game with high levels of freedom must incorporate a variety of settings, not as absolutes, but with a blend of special probabilities.

The concept of special skills would play a significant role in future gameplay. For instance, a player might unexpectedly come across a windfall, akin to winning a lottery jackpot in real life—unpredictable and serendipitous, much like life itself.

"Bai Li, what do you think about the feasibility of the idea I've been discussing with you?"

The game's development was still in its early stages, with limited functionality. Lin Tian was exploring ways to enhance the game's features, and he was now consulting Bai Li about the development of a new feature: the pet system.

Within the game, aside from human companions, players could often feel a sense of solitude. Hence, Lin Tian had decided to introduce a pet system.

However, the inclusion of pets posed a significant challenge for Lin Tian. While he could conjure up certain things from nothing, creating living beings was beyond his capabilities—he was no World Creating God and lacked the power to create life.

"In ancient times, various creatures lived alongside humans on this vast earth. In our Reincarnation World, we govern all beings, not just humans. The pets you're envisioning could indeed become a reality, but it would require an immense amount of energy. Currently, I haven't accessed the Reincarnation Path, so I lack the ability to acquire the genetic information of these potential pets."

Lin Tian was at a loss when it came to concepts like the Reincarnation Path or genetic information. Yet, he was certain about one thing: activating the pet system would require a tremendous amount of energy.

The sheer magnitude of this energy was evident from Bai Li's expression. Lin Tian had never seen her look so troubled before, signaling the enormity of the challenge ahead.

"Alright, let's put this aside for now. Since we can't activate the pet system, how about setting up a leaderboard? Or perhaps something akin to an arena to enhance everyone's battle ability?"

The sight of Enforcing Justice for Heaven had sparked a notion in Lin Tian's mind. He resolved to establish an arena to foster a spirit of friendly competition among the players.

Lin Tian had once believed that in his game, high attack power equated to formidable strength. But witnessing Enforcing Justice for Heaven in action, he realized that wasn't necessarily the case. Even with less impressive stats, a player with exceptional combat skills could triumph over their foes.

This wasn't just any game after all. The data served merely as a guide in this authentic reality, where the adversaries were genuine monsters, not entirely governed by numbers.

In typical games, monsters with superior battle ability would hardly ever be defeated by players with lower stats. But here, it was a different story. Players could prevail through skill and strategy.

Martial arts masters like Enforcing Justice for Heaven were rare, though. With such experts in short supply, Lin Tian knew he had to take it upon himself to nurture talent.