Chapter 81 World Rankings!

The issue with tanking was not something that could be solved immediately. Although Morning Breeze had experience, when it came to playing a true tank, adjustments were necessary. After all, tanking required him to sacrifice the offensive output he had always pursued, so changes had to be made. Morning Breeze didn't demand himself to become a super tank overnight; his goal was to become a tank with formidable offensive power.

Previously, Morning Breeze considered using the Magic Ring to gain more survivability, but that would come with even greater sacrifices. The Magic Ring was undoubtedly the best piece of equipment for competitions; using it as tank gear felt wasteful. Thus, Morning Breeze began contemplating synthesizing his own equipment to realize his vision of a powerful, offensive tank.

There’s nothing you can’t do—only things you haven’t thought of! Equipment synthesis could solve many problems for players. When nothing else worked, synthesizing gear was often the only way forward.

To avoid interruptions during leveling, Morning Breeze equipped the Magic Ring before teleporting out of the main city. This way, just like the Blood Dragon, his whereabouts were untraceable, ensuring his safety. Many people were searching for Morning Breeze: the Divine War Guild, the Wind and Cloud Guild, the Zephyr Team, the Thunder Fury Team, and the Fire Wolf Team. In particular, the rookie professional players of the Fire Wolf Team, commanded by their captain, couldn't find Morning Breeze’s location and enlisted their guildmates for help, while they themselves scoured the wilds for information.

The Magic Ring truly was exceptional!

The last time Morning Breeze was in the Dark Swamp, he was spotted by second-string members of the Fire Wolf Team while fighting mudmen, and was used as target practice. He had no intention of returning there. This time, he chose Sunset Coast, where level 29 to 35 murlocs spawned—much easier targets. Because all his damage converted to thunder damage, he had a 30% bonus against aquatic creatures, making his kills even faster.

This time, in addition to Cheng Xue and Qiu Lan, Lin Shanshan also joined. The pace of monster slaying was so quick that two people were needed to pick up the loot. Initially, Lin Shanshan thought looting was a menial task unworthy of her status. As a princess-like young lady, she had never done such chores, even in games. But after seeing her experience bar soar, her attitude changed completely—she wished Morning Breeze could kill even faster.

Thunder Slash!

Thunder Stomp!

Morning Breeze’s attacks were powerful, and with three movement skills—Charge, Intercept, and Heroic Leap—he could easily pull mobs. Using thunder attacks by the sea allowed his strikes to chain, making mob gathering effortless. Keeping his HP below 35%, the skill Wind of Renewal provided constant healing, so health was never an issue.

Level 28!

Morning Breeze’s experience shot up, and he quickly reached level 28. There were still plenty of monsters, and with few others leveling here, hitting 29 would be no trouble. After another hour of grinding and a brief rest, most mobs had been cleared.

"Morning Breeze, you’ve reached world rank twelve—amazing!" Lin Shanshan, who had been slacking, checked the global rankings and saw Morning Breeze had climbed from ninety-fifth to twelfth in no time.

Hero! Level 29, 34% experience, first on the leaderboard—a Russian arcane frost mage. Morning Breeze hadn’t known much about professional players before, but he’d heard of this powerhouse. Hero wasn’t Russia’s top player, but he was the ultimate grinder. Rumor had it he could play four days and nights straight without sleep, maintaining peak performance. Outlasting him in a battle of attrition was futile—attrition was his specialty. Previously, Morning Breeze had seen him use stamina-draining tactics to win fights. No surprise—he’d likely be the first to enter the world map.

Tony! Level 29, 3% experience, second on the leaderboard—a U.S. player, Retribution Paladin of the Sacred Temple. Morning Breeze knew of him—once hailed as the number one gamer, famous for soloing five professional players at once. Recently, Morning Breeze had researched Tony, as he was a formidable tank who could also deal considerable damage.

Demon Kite! Level 28, 45% experience, fifth on the leaderboard—a Chinese demon warlock, and the only Chinese player in the top ten. A professional gamer and founder of Demon Studio, the top studio in China. Pros rarely grind all night, but professional players like him did, putting in the hard work to secure orders. Demon Kite’s position on the leaderboard was great publicity for his studio.

Stan! Level 27, 98% experience, twenty-first on the leaderboard—an Italian frost mage with a background in data analysis and a keen sense for numbers. He had previously studied videos of Morning Breeze’s run through the Troll’s Wrath dungeon, suspecting Blood Dragon’s true identity and that he wielded the Arcanite Axe. He was more diligent than his friends Spartacus and Pugin, originally aiming for first place, but ultimately couldn’t keep up. Morning Breeze had dueled him before and found his analytical skills even sharper than the so-called Data King. The first two times, Morning Breeze defeated him, but by the third he couldn’t win; after the fourth, he had to flee.

Sky High! Level 27, 53% experience, forty-fifth on the leaderboard—a Japanese Bloodthirst Warrior (hidden class). Eager to buy Morning Breeze’s Magic Ring, he was a hidden-class battle rogue, famous in Japan and considered one of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Frost Snow—Little Snow! Level 27, 22% experience, eighty-ninth on the leaderboard—a Chinese frost mage. Cheng Xue had been leveling with Morning Breeze, quickly rising through the ranks and now breaking into the top 100. Besides Morning Breeze, she was the highest-leveled member in the Frost Snow Guild. Not even her sister’s relentless grinding could keep up.

Dazzling Starlight! Level 26, 89% experience, one hundred thirtieth on the leaderboard—a Chinese beast master hunter and a pro with the Dust Team. After acquiring the Dark Giant Crocodile beast, his leveling speed soared, though still not as fast as Morning Breeze’s. As team captain, his rapid ascent was impressive.

Prairie Hare! Level 25, 22% experience, four hundred fifty-third on the leaderboard—an Australian survival hunter and pro with the Prairie Team. Morning Breeze had teamed up with him before; he was an excellent companion and the ideal guide for exploration or pioneer missions.

Desert Eagle! Level 25, 9% experience, five hundred twenty-second on the leaderboard—a Singaporean marksman hunter. Morning Breeze finally spotted a player from the Cobra Organization—a killer in-game specializing in assassination and equipment theft, frequently pursued by the World Online Game Security Association’s “Aegis” squad. Morning Breeze had partnered with him many times; he was the most brutal hunter Morning Breeze had met, his ranged lethality nearly unmatched. According to him, he was a retired sniper, reassigned to in-game missions by the organization due to injuries, using game activities to launder funds.

Money laundering via games was now common, and organizations found many ways to do it. The game channel not only provided jobs for retired members, but also generated substantial revenue, even when there were no missions. Selling high-value equipment dropped from others at auction was an easy way to clean funds.

The World Online Game Security Association established Aegis specifically to combat such organizations—those who killed or ambushed players for profit or laundered money. Because of the principle of fairness, these players couldn’t simply be blacklisted; that would create immense public relations and international issues. The creation of Aegis had already addressed many of these problems.

If players feared these dark organizations, the dark organizations in turn feared Aegis the most. Morning Breeze had once been hunted by Aegis operatives—their skills were at a level suitable for international competitions and even the Olympics. When he first entered the game, he was killed many times by them during missions; only with experience did he barely manage to survive.

Among the top 1000 players on the world ranking, Morning Breeze knew seventy to eighty of them, including twenty-three from the Cobra Organization—all killers eager to enter the world map and complete their missions. If not for the level 30 requirement, they would never be concerned with leveling up.

Seeing so many old acquaintances, Morning Breeze wondered how he would deal with them in the future. He planned to join Aegis, which would give him a legitimate reason to stop the organization’s money laundering. He wouldn’t hesitate to act if he could hinder them even a little. Even if he didn’t join Aegis, he could still act as Blood Dragon. By wielding both identities, he could divide the organization’s attention.

That night’s leveling session was exhilarating; all four of them played through the night. Even though Qiu Lan occasionally had to log off, Lin Shanshan’s efficient looting made up for it. By the next morning, Morning Breeze had reached level 29. With better gear, his leveling speed surged, and in just one more day, reaching level 30 seemed within reach.

The experience required from 29 to 30 was ten times that of the previous level; even with a rush, it wouldn’t be easy. Fortunately, his Wind of Renewal skill provided continuous healing, allowing him to keep pulling and killing mobs without wasting time buying potions. The abundance of equipment and materials gained went straight to the guild warehouse, most of which were distributed as merchant rewards. The guild’s daily merchant slots were always full, all used to earn gear.

Except for the wealthiest guilds, Frost Snow Guild’s merchant rewards were the best—daily rewards of level 25 to 30 black iron or exquisite gear, each piece fetching a good price. High-level gear above 25 was especially rare and in high demand. Many players bought it specifically for dungeon runs, hoping to obtain troop equipment.

With Soul Split, Morning Breeze suffered little from all-nighters—he was practically a variant, just like the Hero player who had already reached level 30 and entered the world map. Sometimes, he even wondered if that Hero player possessed the same Soul Split ability.

"Where can we duel?" The player with the split personality ability finally found Morning Breeze. It seemed his previous tasks had been difficult, delaying him for so long.