Chapter 053: The Characteristics of Three Professions

Lin Jia’s speed in picking up items was actually slower than the rate at which Little Evil God was throwing them out. Lin Jia couldn’t help cursing, “Damn!” Even when Lin Jia could no longer pick up anything, Little Evil God kept tossing skill books out as if his inventory was inexhaustible!

Both Lin Jia’s warehouse and his inventory were completely full; he guessed he had picked up at least eighty books. Yet the ground was still densely covered with skill books, sparkling like stars. Unwilling to give up, Lin Jia immediately logged off and switched to a small account he’d used earlier in Bicheng City to exchange for a Blessing Necklace. He hurried to the warehouse and discovered a heavily armored warrior inside, dropping potions and other items onto the ground. In a rush, Lin Jia darted forward and clicked furiously, sweeping half the skill books from the ground into his inventory in an instant. The warrior, apparently unable to clear his inventory in time and emboldened by frustration, charged at Lin Jia’s small account and struck him down with a single blow. The account, only level one, collapsed immediately.

Little Evil God’s small account laughed heartily, “Hahaha! That’s it! Goodbye! The wind is cold by the river of sorrow—when the hero departs, he never returns!” After saying this, he logged off at once. Lin Jia lay on the ground in regret, watching as the warrior scooped up the remaining dozen skill books. If each book sold for ten thousand at the shop, the warrior had just made more than a hundred thousand in one go!

After reviving his small account, Lin Jia hurried to the warehouse and sorted all the skill books. He discovered that the lowest-level books Little Evil God had thrown required at least level twenty-eight to learn, and the highest required level thirty-five. Rumor had it that the maximum level in this game, Legend, was thirty-five—a stark contrast to other games where levels soared into the hundreds or even thousands. This low cap made leveling up in the game especially arduous.

Despite their extraordinary luck and two days and nights of relentless grinding, Lin Jia and his two brothers still hadn’t reached level twenty-two. Unlike some players who rotate team members to train a single account around the clock, the brothers played consistently, yet their levels ranked among the best in the player community. If player strength in the game were divided into ten tiers, Lin Jia and his brothers would certainly be above the eighth or ninth tier.

Interestingly, in Legend, level isn’t the sole determinant of power. Many factors contribute—a level eighteen player can easily defeat a level twenty-three opponent in a duel, thanks to internet speed, hardware, equipment, player skill, and tactics. This adds tremendous playability to the game. Still, higher-level players generally hold the upper hand with access to advanced skills, equipment, and attributes—but these advantages aren’t absolute. Even a well-equipped level twenty-three player can be overwhelmed by a swarm of lower-level players using sheer numbers. As the saying goes, “Two fists can’t beat four hands,” and “Even a tiger fears a pack of wolves.” Chaos can defeat the master under the right circumstances.

Nothing is absolute. Class counters are serious in Legend. Take Lin Jia, a level twenty-one mage with top-tier equipment—he could easily defeat a level twenty-one Taoist of equal gear with two lightning strikes, provided he attacks first. Otherwise, if the Taoist realizes and recovers, Healing spells turn them into an indestructible cockroach. A level zero skeleton can withstand a level twenty warrior, and the Soul Fire Talisman rivals Lightning in power. If a mage fails to ambush, there’s nothing left but tears. Taoists, thanks to their indiscriminate consumption of potions—red, blue, yellow (sunwater)—can fight for hours without buying supplies, aided by their skeletons. With both melee and ranged capabilities, no one wants to make enemies of a Taoist, for one skilled in Soul Fire Talisman, Poison, and Skeleton Summoning can slowly wear down three or more warriors of equal level.

Currently, Taoist players are generally higher-level and wealthier, thanks to their frugal playstyle. Their carrying capacity isn’t low, either—far tougher than mages of the same level. Where Taoists train, not a scrap of monster loot remains; they pick up everything and turn it into money. With one trip for supplies, they can train in the maps for four or five hours without needing repairs or sales, while a level twenty-two mage might last less than thirty minutes before needing to restock. While mages have formidable attack power, their low carrying capacity and high consumption limit their training time, maintaining a balance.

Warriors are even more straightforward—high defense, high attack, simple controls, always able to face monsters head-on, provided the numbers aren’t overwhelming.

As for absolute equality, Legend seems to have some class bias at the moment; Taoists are making mages despair with their thrift, fast leveling, powerful PvP, and versatile combat. The level one Soul Fire Talisman outpowers the level zero Lightning spell, and that’s just one of the Taoist’s tools, while Lightning is the mage’s sole attack. Their physical attack? Not worth mentioning.

Overall, Legend, as a new game, may have some flaws yet to be improved, but its charm has undoubtedly taken root in the hearts of Chinese players. The high difficulty brings high playability, and the challenge of leveling up gives players boundless hope, dreaming of surpassing others.

But is it really so easy to reach the maximum level of thirty-five? If you list the experience required for each level, the difficulty becomes clear:

Experience needed for level twenty-one to twenty-two: 250,000
Experience needed for twenty-two to twenty-three: 300,000
Experience needed for twenty-three to twenty-four: 350,000
Experience needed for twenty-four to twenty-five: 400,000
Experience needed for twenty-five to twenty-six: 500,000
Experience needed for twenty-six to twenty-seven: 700,000
Experience needed for twenty-seven to twenty-eight: 1,000,000
Experience needed for twenty-eight to twenty-nine: 1,400,000
Experience needed for twenty-nine to thirty: 1,800,000
Experience needed for thirty to thirty-one: 2,000,000
Experience needed for thirty-one to thirty-two: 2,400,000
Experience needed for thirty-two to thirty-three: 2,800,000
Experience needed for thirty-three to thirty-four: 3,200,000
Experience needed for thirty-four to thirty-five: 3,600,000

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[Note: The experience requirements for each level listed here are not widely known during the protagonist’s current era in the story. These figures are provided to give readers a sense of the leveling difficulty—feel free to skip if you’re not interested in the numbers. Don’t be puzzled by the level cap being thirty-five; in the past, it was thirty-five, then forty, then forty-six, fifty, and now sixty, all reflecting different periods and version updates.]

PS: There will be another chapter updated after lunch today, but the exact time is uncertain—it depends on when I wake up!