Before the two of them could ask further, Aiden and Merrick had already walked away. Brody and Rusty exchanged a glance, both seeing the excitement in the other's eyes. "The Hall of Supremes does ring a bell. It's that tall, grand hall in the center of the Spawnpoint's central hub. Don't you think so?" Rusty slapped his forehead. From experience, whenever he started a new game, he'd habitually take a lap around the area to see if there were any hidden quests. He knew the village layout like the back of his hand. Brody nodded. "That's it, then. Looks like this game does have a hidden mechanic. Leveling up is hard work, but we'll be able to climb the ranks by spending some money." "Of course! These developers are serious money-grabbers. It's insane to charge for progress like this!" cursed Rusty. After fighting all those monsters and swinging axes until they practically smoked, they'd only gained a third of Experience Points. "Let's go! I'll be sure to get myself one of these puppets. We'll only have to sit back and relax!" Convinced they'd uncovered the game's secret, the two rushed toward the central hub. Sure enough, in the central area stood the grand and imposing Hall of Supremes. "Perfect! This is where we'll strike it rich!" Brody lifted his head, full of ambition. One after the other, they strode boldly into the hall. Brody puffed out his chest, hands on his hips, and shouted, "You've got business here! Name your price!" "Oh?" The Archmage sat nearby as he counted his marks, nearly cracking a smile at their confident display. Another wealthy player looking to spend, eh? He rose with a cheerful smile and approached them. Two minutes later, a booming shout erupted, and deep blue light shot out. "Where did these poor fools come from? Get lost!" Boom! 'Points deducted: 290,524' 'Points deducted: 352,004' Two figures flew out of the Hall of Supremes, their Health instantly wiped clean. 'Buff Brody, dead.' 'Rusty Junior, dead.' In the graveyard, their soul forms stared at each other in shock, speechless. They had been talking just fine a moment ago, and suddenly, an enormous water orb had come out of nowhere. Why was that NPC so aggressive? Furthermore, how were they considered poor with nearly 100,000 marks? Just how much did that guy earlier fork out? …'Large Slime Defeated, EXP +95' 'Large Goblin Warrior Defeated, EXP +92' 'Large Slime Defeated, EXP +95' 'Mega Werewolf Defeated, EXP +101' Meanwhile, deep in Flowerfield, Aiden had no idea that a farce had just unfolded at the Hall of Supremes. Of course, even if he did, he wouldn't have cared. The flood of Experience Points rising before his eyes was already dizzying. After all, he had a divine-level Sorcerer in a spawnpoint where most monsters hovered around level 10. The young man wielding a massive sword knew that this was going to be a massacre. Wherever Merrick moved, nothing survived. Every strike dealt over a million in mass damage. What used to be a peaceful canyon had become a wasteland. In his line of sight, not a single living creature remained. The Goblin Village, the only monster faction in the spawnpoint, had been completely wiped out. Even the lazy mutt napping by the roadside got smacked twice for good measure. Ding! 'Congratulations on reaching Level 5! You have now gained 10 attribute points, free to allocate.' At this terrifying rate, Aiden was already past level five. It was anyone's guess whether other players had even reached level two. Money was the key to everything, but it had its drawbacks. After leveling up, a new entry appeared on Aiden's Attributes Panel. 'EXP has been permanently reduced by six percent.' Whenever players or NPCs with a ten-level gap teamed up in Doomsday, the weaker party would suffer a penalty when gaining experience. This penalty was irreversible.Aiden's current penalty was at six percent, which meant he would only gain 94 percent of normal experience from now on. As he continued leveling up, the penalty would only increase. Aiden estimated that with Merrick carrying him through the leveling grind, by the time he reached level 10, the experience penalty could easily hit around 10 percent. In Doomsday, leveling was already brutal. In the later stages, each level required a massive amount of experience. A 10-percent penalty could easily drive someone insane. However, Aiden didn't care. His main goal now was to reach level 10 as quickly as possible and enter the central hub. The experience penalty, terrifying as it was, mattered little compared to the advantage of getting there first. Sometimes, sacrifices had to be made to gain something greater.Aiden opened his Attributes Panel and started allocating his free attribute points. 'Strength: 35' 'Physique: 35' 'Energy: 70' 'Agility: 40' Having leveled up four times in a row, he had gained 40 free attribute points, all of which he dumped into Energy. With over 100 million spent today, Power of Wealth had granted him an additional 100 attribute points, boosting his other attributes as well. Even at level 5, his attributes were far higher than what most players could reach at level 10. "Good. In about three more levels, I'll meet the requirements to unlock the hidden dungeon," Aiden said with satisfaction. In the old forums, there had always been whispers of a highly secretive hidden dungeon in Spawnpoint 9527—the Wyrm's Lair. Besides its hidden location, one's Energy needed to surpass 100 points before gaining access.This was true for divine-level players who had achieved level 100 in the original game. At this point, the only realistic way to push Energy past 100 was to reach level 10 and allocate all free attribute points there. But any normal player wouldn't dare do that. Even for a neomancy-class character, such extreme points allocation left other attributes useless, especially Physique. One careless mistake, and it was a one-way trip to the grave. For Aiden, blessed with the Power of Wealth, he didn't have to worry about that. "Keep leveling up," he muttered. After distributing his points, Aiden and Merrick continued their rampage across the Flowerfield. At exactly 6 p.m., they heard the announcement. Ding! 'Congratulations! You have reached Level 10!' Ding!'Congratulations! You are the first player in Spawnpoint 9527 to reach Level 10!' 'Your Reward: 10 Attribute Points.' Ding! 'Congratulations! You are the first player worldwide to reach Level 10!' 'Your Reward: 50 Attribute Points.' 'Title Earned: Trailblazer.' Under Merrick's relentless destruction, Flowerfield was now utterly silent. Meanwhile, Aiden had made his way to Level 10. Immediately afterward, a global announcement was broadcast. Ding! 'Global Announcement: Nighthale has successfully reached Level 10, unlocking the Leaderboard.' Ding! 'Global Announcement: Nighthale has successfully…'The alert rang in the minds of every participant in the private beta launch, repeating three times before stopping. At that moment, every player, no matter where they were or what they were doing, paused in shock. It had only been less than half a day, yet someone had already advanced to Level 10!