Chapter Three: The Fortunate Double Experience Time

Pushing open the portal of light, Zhao Nan once again returned to the storage room in the stairwell.

At this moment, the sounds of shrill screams still echoed in the air.

"Ding! Congratulations to player Zhao Nan for being the first to log into the game. The system rewards you with two hours of double experience time!"

The system's voice suddenly sounded in Zhao Nan's ear, catching him off guard. It seemed that, thanks to the memories from his rebirth, he had completed the login procedures ahead of all the other human players, thus earning this double experience reward.

A shiver ran through Zhao Nan. Without a second thought, he kicked open the storeroom door and dashed out in a frenzy.

Two hours of double experience! With each monster kill granting double experience, and with players likely needing an hour or two to even realize they should be grinding monsters to level up in this panicked opening stage, he had a significant lead! Every step ahead counted; in this new game world, survival depended on it.

Monsters wouldn’t linger in the city for long. After six hours, when the game truly began, the system would perform its first update. At that time, all monsters would be forcefully expelled from the city, and the urban area would become a safe zone. Many places within the city would be sealed off, divided into various regions, only opening new functions as players’ levels increased.

But that was all secondary. What mattered most to Zhao Nan was that, in these six hours, all monsters—even those within the city—were still only level 0, just like the players!

A classroom lay adjacent to the stairwell. Its door had already been forced open, and Zhao Nan could see fresh, red blood smeared across its surface, still trickling down. Some unfortunate soul had met their end right at the start.

This was no time for sentiment. Zhao Nan darted to the window outside the classroom. Inside, chaos had cleared the room, and three decaying bodies wandered aimlessly across the floor, near the corpse of a student who had met a grisly fate.

The three decaying figures before him were zombies—sluggish, only attracted by fresh blood.

Zhao Nan felt a surge of excitement. In the early stages, zombies were among the easier monsters to deal with, and he knew their weaknesses better than anyone.

Quietly, he opened the window, raised his staff, and aimed it at one of the zombies, silently reciting an incantation. A fireball the size of a tennis ball formed at the tip of the staff.

Small Fireball!

Bang—!

-30!

Half the zombie’s health bar vanished at once. Enraged by the attack, the zombie lunged at Zhao Nan.

Small Fireball!

-30!

"Ding! Killed a level 0 zombie. You gained 1 experience point! System double reward: 1 experience point!"

At the same time, the zombie’s health bar emptied, and its body exploded, splattering blood across the classroom walls.

"Turn off system notifications!" Zhao Nan snapped without thinking.

The other two zombies lunged at him. Zhao Nan grinned, quickly slammed the window shut, and one zombie, caught mid-pounce, crashed through the glass and became stuck.

Small Fireball!

-28!

"Again, Small Fireball!"

-33!

With a cooldown of three seconds per Small Fireball and an average of two to kill a zombie, and with each cast costing 5 mana, Zhao Nan, with 160 mana at his disposal, was more than well-prepared.

In ten seconds, all three zombies were dead. Checking his experience bar, he’d already accumulated 6 experience points! Wasting no further time, Zhao Nan pressed forward, clearing classroom after classroom down the corridor.

As his experience soared, Zhao Nan swept through half the classrooms on this floor. As expected, his experience reached 64 points, and his mana was completely spent. Without hesitation, he summoned a small mana potion and downed it. Though a small potion restored 300 mana—far more than his 160 max—it was worth the waste. Saving time mattered far more than conserving potions.

Double experience time was enough to drive anyone mad!

Grinding monsters was always tedious, but Zhao Nan endured the monotony with ease.

Suddenly, a cool sensation surged through his body, making him feel light as air. He had unknowingly reached level 1.

Bang! Bang!

A loud crash sounded from ahead, followed by a fireball shattering a window. Zhao Nan narrowed his eyes; evidently, other players were finally logging in and joining the game.

He had only used just over half an hour of his double experience time. But as more players logged in, even if they weren’t actively grinding monsters, many would still be killed—and, of course, some players would meet their end as well. These first six hours were simply a trial, weeding out those who couldn't adapt.

Only one classroom remained at the end of the corridor, still devoid of players. Within, five zombies milled about.

Ten experience points from double rewards—Zhao Nan had no intention of leaving that for anyone else.

He slipped quickly into the classroom. Upon leveling up, his mana had instantly refilled and even increased.

"Small Fireball!"

-33!

In the early game, most monsters had little offensive power. As long as one set aside fear and raised a weapon, killing monsters was an easy task.

A Small Fireball shot out and struck a zombie squarely in the head with a resounding bang.

From within the exploding corpse, a faint green glow flashed. Zhao Nan paused, suspecting what it might be, and, undeterred by the gore, began to dig through the remains.

He unearthed a ring emitting a bright emerald light.

"Green Elemental Ring: Increases attack power by 3. Equip level: 1. Requirements: None."

Delighted, Zhao Nan slipped the ring onto his finger without a second thought. In ‘Global Monster Online,’ equipment was tiered: white, green, blue, purple, gold, and dark gold. Before level ten, finding even one or two blue items was extraordinary—having a full set of green gear marked one as a real powerhouse.

He hadn’t expected a level 0 monster to drop green equipment, and the stats were quite good for the novice stage.

Three additional attack power would greatly boost his Small Fireball’s damage.

As he rejoiced, the air around him suddenly warped, and a shadow lunged at Zhao Nan.

A player logging in!

At this very moment!

The new player materialized, toppling Zhao Nan to the ground.

Instinctively, Zhao Nan thrust out his hands, and they landed somewhere unexpectedly soft.

"You... you scoundrel!"

Zhao Nan froze. Looking up, he realized—it was her...