Apocalypse: Everyone Levels Up, I Return to the Time Before the Server Opened-Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Leaderboard Function Gradually Activated!

Ye Qiu stepped into the Skill Library.

He gazed at the densely packed, dazzling array of skill books before him, yet in his heart, there were no ripples, like a still ancient well.

Once upon a time, he had dreamed of this.

Dreamed that one day, he could freely come and go from the Sword Sect’s Skill Library.

That he could freely choose whichever skill book he wanted to learn.

But in his past life...

Until the day he died, he had only entered the Skill Library twice.

He had only chosen two skill books.

There was simply no helping it. Skill books were too expensive.

Every time, he had to painstakingly save up gold coins, and only then could he painfully afford to buy one skill book.

Ye Qiu felt a moment of disorientation.

Now, however, he no longer had much interest in the Skill Library’s contents.

So, just as a formality, he picked a skill book called [Sword Proficiency].

This was a passive skill:

[Sword Proficiency (Passive Skill)]: When using sword weapons against enemies, increases hit rate, block rate, and sword skill completion. Has a chance to trigger the basic “Slash” skill, a chance to break enemy armor, a chance to cause bleeding, and a chance to inflict serious injury.]

Passive skills were often more useful than active ones.

After all, active skills depended heavily on weapon type, timing, technique, and the environment.

But passive skills were different. They truly became a part of oneself.

When Ye Qiu walked out of the Skill Library, Han Wenqing saw he had only chosen one book and asked in surprise,

“Why just one skill book?”

Ye Qiu recalled something Elder Han had once told players in his past life and repeated it, “Mastery in profession lies in precision, not quantity.”

Han Wenqing was stunned for a moment, then replied, “What kind of twisted logic is that? The more skills, the better! Only by learning a wide variety can you adapt in combat, have more counters and techniques, and increase your chances of winning!”

“…Huh?!” Ye Qiu stared.

You definitely didn’t say that in your past life!

But Han Wenqing was already stroking his beard like a seasoned elder, saying wisely, “You still have a long road ahead. From now on, follow me and learn step by step.”

With that, he turned and walked off with long strides.

Yet as he turned, a smile played at the corner of his lips.

Not bad, he really is my disciple. Even his views on skill usage match mine!

In-game, it was already late at night.

Yet the entire Zhouxing City was ablaze with lights, reminiscent of the flourishing Tang Dynasty.

Players continued to pour in.

They were arriving from all the Novice Villages via teleportation arrays.

“Whoa! This city is stunningly vibrant!”

“So many gorgeous NPCs!”

“Such a strong ancient vibe… and even a blend of Eastern and Western architecture!”

“Hey, is there a red-light district?”

“Of course! This game’s got everything you can imagine!”

“How much was your entry fee?”

“1000 gold.”

“Damn! A couple days ago I paid 100,000 gold!”

“Haha, sucker!”

“Early pay, early access. Nothing wrong with that.”

“No refunds?”

“Pfft, dream on.”

“These NPCs call us ‘Outer Humans.’ They never considered us one of them. Of course they’re going to scam us.”

“And we keep calling them NPCs…”

Player numbers were skyrocketing.

Even at night, the Tower continued working overtime, handling job change procedures for players, much to everyone’s emotional relief.

In the Novice Villages, players had been at the mercy of the village chief.

Everything required queuing up, and there was zero sense of agency or game immersion.

But now, finally, the clouds had parted and the sun was shining again.

Until…

[Ding! Global Trial City Announcement: 5,000 players have successfully completed their class change. Leaderboards in each zone will now begin unlocking. Players can check via their personal data panel.]

[Ding! Global Trial City Announcement: 5,000 players…]

[Ding! Global Trial City Announcement: 5,000 players…]

In the dead of night, the system prompts rang suddenly in everyone’s minds.

Not just any prompt, it was a Global Trial City Announcement!

Even more excitingly, it was about the long-anticipated Leaderboard function players had been raving about in forums!

Now, it had finally arrived!

—

Fifth Floor of the Tower – Private Room…

This was Elder Han’s personal study.

The room was filled with various formations that blocked out all external sound and activity.

It was also heavily protected.

Before Ye Qiu stood a sword. It was embedded vertically in a slab of stone.

Elder Han told him, “If you can pull it out, it’s yours.”

Ye Qiu’s level 5 refined steel sword had broken when he used the “Enter Sword” skill.

He really needed a new weapon, so he calmed his mind and focused on the sword in front of him.

But no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn’t move it at all!

Elder Han, after giving his instructions, had already gone off to refine some Miasma Resistance Pills.

“Come on, Brother Sword… give me some face… just come out on your own…” Ye Qiu pleaded, hands clasped like a monk, muttering, “Boundless Heavenly Sovereign… Amitabha…”

None of it worked.

Just then…

[Ding! Global Trial City Announcement: 5,000 players have successfully completed their class change. Leaderboards in each zone will now begin unlocking.]

Three times in a row.

“Judging by the timing, 20 in-game days have passed. Right on schedule.” Ye Qiu wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

Then the system chimed again…

[Ding! Player ‘One Leaf Knows Autumn’, your level is 20, qualifying for Top 10 in the zone leaderboard. Would you like to display your information?]

[Ding! Player ‘One Leaf Knows Autumn’, your Fame is 20,545, qualifying for Top 10 in the zone leaderboard. Would you like to display your information?]

Ye Qiu thought for a moment and said, “Anonymous.”

Now wasn’t the time to reveal himself. Otherwise, he’d only attract unnecessary trouble.

That was just his nature. He disliked hassle and didn’t want to be in the spotlight.

He opened the leaderboard, and first up was the Level Ranking:

[Anonymous — Name: Anonymous, Nickname: Anonymous, Male, Class: Swordsman, Level: 20]

[Sun Xing — Name: Eat a Big Carrot, Male, Class: Magic Bomber (Mage), Level: 12]

[Feng Yanhui — Name: Flames and Order Entwined, Male, Class: Berserker (Warrior), Level: 12]

[Zhao Mingyuan — Name: Empire Overlord, Male, Class: Sword Demon (Swordsman), Level: 12]

[Anonymous — Name: Anonymous, Nickname: Anonymous, Female, Class: Sun Archer (Archer), Level: 11]

[Xu Shuoguo — Name: Bountiful Harvest, Male, Class: Enforcer (Judicator), Level: 11]

[Chai Ming — Name: Humanity Defines Itself, Male, Class: Fate Weaver (Nature), Level: 11]

[Qiao Muyan — Name: Bridge Over Water, Female, Class: Descendant of the Immortal Ancestor (Faith), Level: 11]

[Tang Tianlin — Name: Advantage is Mine, Male, Class: Nightwalker (Rogue), Level: 11]

[Xu Yanyan — Name: Heart’s Arsonist, Male, Class: Whisperer (Priest), Level: 11]

The homepage only showed these ten players.

If one wanted to check others, they’d need to turn the page or directly search via nickname or even input their real name for a precise search.