New Character New Beginning

Xiao Yu had learned several things from his defeat. It would not be an understatement to say that he had been overpowered during the match, and the main factor was his three lackeys. As he was short on funds, Xiao Yu had not enlisted the help of a powerful Boss for his dungeon, he had just casually grabbed the three guarding Bosses from the Fire Elemental Plane. In all honesty, they were capable, but their battle approach was rather one-track minded. The Three-Headed Lava Hound, the Magma Giant, the Flame Controller, and Demonic Blaze Overlord Lagrios himself all had fire-based attacks. Although their attack power was immense and would overwhelm underprepared teams, their combination would be easily targeted. Once they faced professional teams that had consumed Fire Resistance Potions and had donned equipment with Fire Resistance, Xiao Yu and his team would face a predicament.

In conclusion, their professionalism was insufficient. If his Bosses had been competent and consisted of a variety of elements, their opponents would have had to come up with several coping strategies and he would not have been targeted so heavily. No wonder they had such a hard time—it was as though his three Bosses were complimentary kills. Nevertheless, as the saying went, "A fall in the pit, a gain in the wit". Xiao Yu was confident that he would not repeat the same mistake again. If he could once again become a dungeon's final Boss, he would recruit capable lackeys.

"Oh yeah! Didn't I say that the leader wouldn't be demoralized for long? So, how are you planning to utilize the Fire Elements? Do you want me to train you?"

"I am good, but playing with fire once is enough. I am going to try something new this time."

"Alright then, let me know if you need help." Liu Fei was disappointed that he could not tag along with his leader, hence he vanished soon after.

Xiao Yu might have sounded assertive, but he still did not have a clear idea of his next Mode. When he first started, due to the lack of cash, he had always played the free Modes: Monster Mode, Guard Mode, and Mercenary Mode. It was a tough journey, and although those Modes were free to play, he would have to pay to revive. The price also increased accordingly when he needed to revive characters of a higher level. As he was frugal, he would always start a new account when his character died. However, low level characters were more prone to death, hence he would often die in game. The number of characters that he had lost during his newbie phase could probably form a trail around the Earth.

After much pondering, he had decided to summon the Fire Elements from the Creature Mode and was going to stick with that all the way.

However, now that he had some cash, should he try out an advanced Mode? He could top up some money to get the Adventurer Mode, and although his EXP bar and equipment would drop a little and the death punishment was significant, the greatest pro was the unlimited revivals.

After much thought, Xiao Yu gave up on that idea. Although the Adventurer Mode was an easy Mode to play, there was limited progression and he would never be able to reach the Demonic Blaze Overlord Boss grade. The highest he would be able to reach would be the maximum level of 60 with top-notch equipment before working at the gold mine, earning a monthly income of only ten to twenty thousand dollars.

Secondly, he was not familiar with the Adventurer Mode, so he might not earn a single penny if something went wrong. On the other hand, he was much more comfortable when playing the free Mode, despite getting killed easily. Xiao Yu thought that with his abilities, there was definitely a chance for him to reach the top again.

After much deliberation, Xiao Yu entered Firmament and started to create a new character.

Upon clicking into the character creation interface, a scantily-clad charmer appeared. "Dear respectable player, welcome to the Firmament's character customization page. Please select your character Mode."

There were three types of Modes: Free Mode, Fee-paying Mode, VIP Mode.

Xiao Yu clicked on the Free Mode and several more options popped out: Monster Mode, Commoner Mode, Guard Mode, Summoned Creatures Mode, Mercenary Mode, etc.

Xiao Yu recalled that when he explored these Modes, the Commoner Mode was the weakest as it lacked attacking skills and the HP was only a miserable couple of hundred points. Leveling up could only be done through map exploration and he could only pick up non-combat skills. It was not a battle-based Mode. Instead, it leaned towards a target audience of casual and leisure players, so he gave it a PASS.

The Guard Mode was slightly stronger, even when compared to the Adventurer Mode. The progression speed was relatively quick and it was possible for one to become an elite or royal guard, which were capable of defeating a couple of Adventurers of the same level. The maximum advancement was the Overlord Mode, but the only downside was the restrictions placed. Players could only patrol a specific region or stand guard at a certain region. They could only join in fights when monsters or alliances sieged the city, hence Xiao Yu gave it a PASS as well.

The Mercenary Mode was rather similar and was considered one of the stronger ones amongst the free Modes. The beginning stats were more or less the same as those of the Adventurer Mode and Mercenaries could equip items just like theirs (just that there were lesser equipment racks) and learn skills as well (however, they could only use five skills on every venture), hence it was just like a knock-off Adventurer. Progression in the later stages was decent and it was possible to reach the Hero Mode. The only issue was that mercenaries could not go into missions and ventures. Instead, they had to wait in taverns for Adventurers to hire them. They would serve as lackeys that would be on the front line in times of danger. Their commissions were meagre and they could not have a share of the treasure gained. If they faced a Boss that was hard to defeat, Mercenaries would be left behind like cannon fodder, hence it was a PASS as well.

Only the Summoned Creatures and Monster Modes were left. These two Modes were rather similar as both could level up till the Boss Mode. They differed in the sense that Monster Mode was in the Primary Interface (which was the Firmament world that Adventurers were in). They would have to fight other wild creatures for land since birth and would be slain by Adventurers for EXP. It was a pretty tough journey.

On the other hand, Summoned Creatures existed in a variety of Interfaces. For example, the elemental creatures lived on the Elemental Interface, Celestial Realm creatures stayed in the Heaven Interface. Demons were in the Void and Hell Abyss, while Undead, such as Skeletons and Zombies, lived in the Underworld and Spirit Realm, which were rather monotonous surroundings and the game-play was more straightforward and dull. It was unlike the exciting storyline on the Primary Interface. Hence, the Summoned Creatures Mode would be comparably more boring. They could on venture to the Primary Interface upon getting summoned, but on the bright side, the progression was much safer.

Xiao Yu thought that he should just play casually for now. He still remembered the tips and tricks and some hidden secrets regarding the monsters from his previous playthroughs, and with that thought in mind, he picked Monster Mode.

Monster Mode had the widest spread of choices. He could select humanoid characters such as Bandits, Robbers, Rebel Forces, Cult Followers, or creatures such as Skeletons, Zombies, Spirits, and different sorts of wild beasts. He could also choose from unique races such as colourful young dragons, Gnolls, Kobolds, Centaurs, etc. Almost all types of odd creatures were included in the mix.