Red-Eyed Rabbits were undeniably easy prey.
Unfortunately, the experience they provided was laughable.
Worse still, their loot table was almost insulting—aside from the quest item Red Eye, they barely dropped anything. Copper coins were rare, and usable equipment might as well have been a myth.
Under normal circumstances, no sane player would waste time grinding them.
But Lin wasn't grinding for experience.
He was grinding for health.
As long as his max HP increased, his damage scaled with it. Every arrow made him stronger—not temporarily, but permanently.
More importantly, Lin knew something no one else in the Novice Village did.
There was a hidden reward tied to the Red-Eye Rabbit quest.
Normally, the village quest required players to turn in one hundred Red-Eye Rabbit eyeballs.
But if a player refused to submit the quest… and instead accumulated ten thousand, the NPC would unlock a hidden skill.
A passive skill that increased the attack range of basic attacks.
When fully upgraded, it increased normal attack range by 50%.
For mages or healers, that bonus was mediocre.
For an archer?
It was borderline broken.
With inflated stats and extended range, Lin could execute the next phase of his plan perfectly.
Ding!You have slain a Red-Eye Rabbit.Experience +1.
His talent panel flashed.
Hand of Divine Judgment – Star Upgrade
Effect 2:Each basic attack permanently increases Max HP by +2.
Proficiency: 0 / 100,000.
With the upgrade, Lin now needed only three arrows to kill a Red-Eye Rabbit.
Luckily, more than eight hours had passed since server launch. Most players had already moved on to higher-level zones.
The Red-Eye Rabbit fields were empty.
Otherwise, Lin would've been mobbed.
During the grind, he naturally reached Level 2, gaining five free attribute points.
Without hesitation, he dumped all five into Attack Speed, raising it from 0.63 to 0.73.
It helped—but barely.
"Still nowhere near enough," Lin muttered.
Equipment and attribute points.Those were what he lacked most.
Another arrow flew.
Thwip.
—30.
His damage had quietly become terrifying.
Three arrows per rabbit meant higher efficiency per kill, but also more movement between targets, which reduced his attacks-per-minute.
Before, he could fire around thirty shots per minute.
Now? Closer to twenty.
But it didn't matter.
Twenty attacks per minute meant forty permanent HP per minute.
That was still more than before.
Then came the problem.
In Twilight of the Gods, players did not gain experience from monsters below their level—unless they were bosses, dungeon mobs, or special entities.
At Level 2, Red-Eye Rabbits no longer gave XP.
Most players would've left immediately.
Lin didn't even hesitate.
Experience could wait.
Stats couldn't.
Two hours passed.
Lin remained Level 2.
But his HP had skyrocketed.
From 100… to 4,800.
At this stage of the game, even a Level 5 warrior who invested everything into vitality would barely have 500 HP.
It wasn't even close.
In Twilight of the Gods, attribute scaling varied by class.
Archers gained +0.02 attack speed per free point (others only +0.01).
Warriors gained +20 HP per point (others only +10).
Warriors also received double scaling on armor and magic resistance.
Each class was built to excel differently.
Still, free points alone were never enough.
True power came from equipment.
Lin glanced at his inventory.
1,600 Red Eyes.
Still far from ten thousand.
But now?
He could one-shot Red-Eye Rabbits.
Collection would accelerate dramatically.
Just then, a notification blinked.
External device call detected.
Lin checked the time.
More than ten hours had passed.
"Food time," he thought.
Chasing Dreams Club
Lin unplugged from the pod.
Macfarlene stretched like a kid on Christmas morning.
"Bro," he said excitedly, "this game is insane. It really feels like another world."
The two headed toward the dining hall.
Chasing Dreams Club was one of the three major gaming clubs in St. James, Jamaica.
Gold farming. Power leveling. Account boosting.
That was their business.
Lin and Macfarlene were at the very bottom—just disposable grinders.
But for Macfarlene?
Free meals. Free housing. Paid to play games.
Life didn't get better than that.
More than a dozen people were already seated, all gold farmers.
Then the door opened.
A pot-bellied middle-aged man strode in, followed closely by a long-legged secretary in black stockings and high heels.
Haitao.
General manager of Chasing Dreams Club.
Nicknamed "Mouth Cannon Haitao".
Terrible at games. Exceptional at talking.
"Alright," Haitao said, clapping his hands."Servers launched today. You've all been logged in for ten hours."
"Report your level and earnings. Left to right."
"Level 4. Forty-five copper."
"Level 4. Fifty-three copper."
"Level 4. Thirty-two copper."
…
Nearly everyone was Level 4.
When it was Macfarlene's turn, he straightened proudly.
"Level 5. Two silver coins."
Haitao paused.
Looked up.
Eyebrows raised.
"Not bad," he said. "Acceptable."
Lin kept eating.
Macfarlene nudged him. "Your turn."
Lin spoke calmly.
"Level 2. Fifteen copper coins."
The table went silent.
Haitao slammed his palm down.
"Lin!"
"What the hell were you doing?"
"Everyone else is Level 4, and you're Level 2?"
"I watched the promotional video," Lin replied honestly.
"The promotional video?"
Haitao nearly laughed.
"Do you have any idea how precious early-game time is?"
"You wasted eight hours watching cutscenes?"
His voice turned cold.
"Lin, this club doesn't support dead weight."
"We don't need parasites."
"Pack your things," Haitao said, pointing at the door."Get out. Now."
Lin slowly lifted his head.
Eyes calm.
Unshaken.
Because Haitao had no idea—
He had just kicked out a future god.