Chapter One: Farewell to Mount Yamaguchi

The city lights flickered on as night descended.
A gentle evening breeze brought a touch of coolness to the sweltering midsummer heat. On the city streets, countless young women, radiant and fashionably dressed, became a beautiful landscape, drawing many young men to pause and gaze.

But Xu Kang was an exception.

Surrounded by alluring girls, he remained unmoved, even showing a hint of impatience as he grabbed the arm of the chubby young man sitting beside him, who was munching on a banana.

“Let’s go, Fatty. Stop staring. Women are all big pig trotters. Watching them isn’t as good as heading home to play games. I have a feeling that tonight the Little Roar will drop the Fang Shoulders!”

“Tch, you’d better forget it!”
Hearing this, the youth called Fatty gave him a look of utter disdain.
“Do you even know how many times you’ve farmed this month? Honestly, the drop rate for the Fang Shoulders is probably lower because of you, unlucky as you are. Take my advice—give up. Even if Little Roar doesn’t deserve forgiveness, at least leave some hope for other Mountain Mouth players!”

“Get lost!”
Annoyed by the mockery, Xu Kang kicked Fatty, who took it in stride, grinning as he slung an arm around Xu Kang’s shoulder.

“Heh, don’t be mad, brother. But honestly, game gear isn’t food, so why take it so seriously? You should pay more attention to the beautiful things around you. Like… them!”
Fatty pointed at a group of girls hopping about, filming videos nearby, a dreamy look flashing in his eyes.
“Take a good look—have you ever seen such adorable pig trotters? Take my advice, play less, flirt more. Even if not for yourself, think of the tribe. We must leave descendants, so when we grow old, our children will inherit our will and complete our unfinished business. For the tribe!”
At that, he leapt up and clenched his fists.

“Orcs will never be slaves! Lok’tar Ogar!”

Xu Kang: “…”

Watching Fatty descend into “madness,” the corners of Xu Kang’s mouth twitched repeatedly. Then, he gave Fatty a karate chop to the head.
“Stupid orc, I’m with the Alliance!”

“Bah, cunning Alliance dog!”
Fatty spat, then, with surprising agility for his size, jumped onto the sixty-centimeter flower bed edge, holding two unpeeled bananas, looking down at Xu Kang with contempt.

“I was imprisoned for ten thousand years and exiled from my homeland. Now you dare step into my territory? You’re courting death… you’re courting death!!!”

“???”

Xu Kang couldn’t even bring himself to retort. Without another word, he headed back to his place, logged into his Mountain Mouth game account, ready to fight solo.

Unexpectedly, when he reached the character login screen, he was stunned.

Where his fully leveled characters should have been, they had vanished, replaced by rows of newly created level one characters.

Even the names were particularly distinctive.

[Your account has been deleted]
[Focus on your studies from now on]
[Don’t only play games]
[Only through diligent study]
[Can you grow up]
[And be like your brother]
[Stealing others’ accounts]
[Account-stealing brother leaves]
[May 2019]

Xu Kang: “o(￣皿￣///)”

---

Damn it all!
Staring at his “tragically ruined” account, Xu Kang barely restrained himself from smashing his monitor with his fist. His mouth twisted as he shut down the computer.

Mountain Mouth did have a character restoration feature, but he didn’t want to use it now, knowing that even if he did, he’d only find his characters stripped bare.

Better to avoid it for now; out of sight, out of mind. He’d deal with it when his mood calmed.

“Sigh… sleep then.”
He let out a long sigh, collapsed powerlessly onto his bed, and opened his phone’s music player.

Soon, a melancholic melody reached his ears.

“My heart aches so much I can’t breathe… I can’t find the traces you left… Watching you slip away… powerless to stop it… letting you vanish at the edge of the world…”

The sorrowful singing soothed his wounded spirit, and before long, he drifted into sleep.

Perhaps because his thoughts lingered, Xu Kang soon began to dream. In his dream, he saw his deleted game characters.

Warrior, Mage, Hunter, Priest, Rogue, Paladin, Druid, Warlock—eight characters, stripped of all gear, stood in a line, smiling at him with deep meaning.

“You finally arrived!”

Xu Kang: “???”

What was this?

Confused, Xu Kang was at a loss, but before he could speak, the muscular Warrior approached and patted his shoulder.

“Young man, soon you’ll be taken to an unknown world. Our time is limited. To thank you for years of company, I’ll teach you my best skill. Accept it—Charge and Execute!”

He placed his palm on Xu Kang’s head.

In that instant, a flood of information appeared in Xu Kang’s mind.

[Charge and Execute]: A fusion of Mountain Mouth Warrior’s signature skills [Charge] and [Execute]. Upon use, it unleashes extreme speed to approach the target and attempts to execute them.

Note: Heaven to the left, Warrior to the right; life and death are trivial—fight if you disagree!

Xu Kang: “(´･ω･`)”

It sounded powerful, but wasn’t it too reckless?

Sensing his thoughts, the Warrior smiled and patted his shoulder again.

“If the enemy is too strong or outnumbered, you can use this skill to charge at small animals and escape. Live to fight another day. That’s how I’ve protected Azeroth for so many years!”

Xu Kang: “╭(°A°`)╮”

Isn’t that just surviving?

While Xu Kang mentally mocked him, another figure stepped forward, pushing the Warrior aside and placing a hand on his head.

“Comrade, ignore that disgraceful fellow. Accept the Paladin’s ultimate skill—Invincible Gallop!”

With his words, new information flooded Xu Kang’s mind.

[Invincible Gallop]: A fusion of Mountain Mouth Paladin’s signature skills [Divine Shield] and [Summon Warhorse]. Upon use, a warhorse with a speed of one hundred yards per second is summoned, and the caster gains eight seconds of Divine Shield invincibility.

After eight seconds, the Divine Shield wears off and can only be used again after five minutes. The warhorse remains until the caster dismisses it.

Note: The galloping man is mighty and bold, his racing warhorse swift as the wind!

Xu Kang: “(´･ω･`)”

Why did those lyrics sound familiar?

He frowned, but before he could recall, the Paladin, having passed on his skill, stepped aside, making room for the next.

---

“Now it’s my turn. Here’s my specialty—Conjure Food and Water!”

[Conjure Food and Water]: A fusion of Mountain Mouth Mage’s signature skills [Conjure Food] and [Conjure Water]. Upon use, it creates a piece of magical bread and a bottle of magical water. These creations possess all the nutrients of normal food, restore health and energy, and never spoil.

Note: Because of this skill, many freeloaders call me Grand Mage!

Xu Kang: “(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧”

No wonder they call you Grand Mage. Impressive!

Perhaps eager to save time, the Mage, like the Paladin, stepped aside after passing on his skill, letting others approach.

One by one, the others came forward, placing their hands on Xu Kang’s head, imparting their unique abilities—

[Stealth Search]: The Rogue’s signature skill in Mountain Mouth, combining [Stealth] and [Search]. Upon use, you enter invisibility, approach a target, and attempt to randomly acquire one item from them. The skill may fail, alerting the target.

Note: People only see the thief feasting, not the thief beaten. Boy, are you afraid?

Xu Kang: “(´･ω･`)”

[Healing and Cure]: The Priest’s signature skill, merging Healing and Cure Disease. Upon use, it fully heals the target’s injuries and illnesses.

Note: With this skill, you can safely be a doctor… or a charlatan.

Xu Kang: “(•̀∀•́)”

[Beast Master]: The Hunter’s signature skill. Allows you to tame wild beasts as pets, training them to be obedient helpers.

Note: Pets aren’t cannon fodder; you can’t revive them. So treat them as your babies.

Xu Kang: “(ΦωΦ)”

[Animal Transformation]: The Druid’s signature skill. Allows transformation into bear, eagle, tiger, or seal, gaining their abilities and traversing land and sea with ease.

Note: If you cannot defeat your enemy with weapons, using animal forms won’t improve your odds. Consider running or acting cute.

Xu Kang: “(ฅ^_^ฅ)”

[Agony of Despair]: The Warlock’s signature skill, merging Agony Curse and Corruption. Upon use, it causes no physical harm, but inflicts immense mental anguish for fifteen seconds.

Note: The effect varies—on the strong-willed, it’s barely effective.

Xu Kang: “(ºДº*)”

Fifteen seconds, and it depends on the person? What use is that!

Determined to test its real power, Xu Kang had a bold idea—he would try the skill on himself.

“With my strong will, this skill should have little effect!”

Locking himself as the target, he unleashed the skill without hesitation.

“Agony of Despair!”

“Hiss…”

As the skill activated, Xu Kang felt as if someone had brutally kicked him in the lower abdomen. In his mind, he saw a pair of eggs crushed. The searing pain shot through his nerves into his brain.

At that moment, he gasped in agony, his knees buckling as he fell to the ground, wailing as if life itself were worse than death.

“Ugh… ahhhhhhhhhhh…”