Inital Group Levels

“Hao Cheng, what class are you playing, what level too?” Zhao Li asked.

“I’m
 a Warrior, and I’m already Level 11. I usually tag along with a small
group of players. Sometimes, we run dungeons together, but we always end
 up wiping because there’s a few noobs in our team; otherwise, I’d be a
bit higher level,” Hao Cheng replied.

“I’m a Level 10 Paladin. I
ended up joining Radiant Sacred Flame. Sadly, they assigned me to a
second-rate team. I’m not good enough to enter their elite one,” Zhao Li
 said with a wry smile.

Nie Yan was a little shocked by this revelation. He didn’t expect Zhao Li to join Radiant Sacred Flame.”

“Screw
 Radiant Sacred Flame! I was nearly killed by those bastards two weeks
ago. They kill stole a monster my party found first, then barricaded me
and my party in a zone and hunted us down. I was the only one who
survived.” Tang Yao’s expression soured upon mention of Radiant Sacred
Flame.

“Hey, I had nothing to do with that!” Zhao Li hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

“Sigh, I know,” Tang Yao replied. It wasn’t worth taking out his anger on a good friend.

“When
 I log back on, I’ll leave the guild. I wasn’t enjoying myself there
anyway,” Zhao Li said as he patted Tang Yao’s shoulder.

“Good Brother!” Tang Yao smiled. This was what being a good friend was all about.

“What
 about you guys? What level are you three?” Hao Cheng asked. He looked
at Guo Huai, Tang Yao, and Nie Yan. Zhao Li’s level was high but still
within the realm of his expectations. As for the other three, if not
outright beginners, he figured they were mediocre players at best.

“I’m also Level 10. I’m a Holy Mage,” Guo Huai replied. His level was also nothing to scoff at.

Hao
 Cheng’s eyes lit up after hearing his response. Guo Huai was Level 10,
not to mention a Holy Mage too. Being able to hit such a level signified
 that he was a decently skilled player. If three strong players were
present, then they shouldn’t have any problems training as a party of
five no matter how much of a burden Tang Yao and Nie Yan might be.

“Tang
 Yao, what about you?” Hao Cheng asked. He didn’t have high hopes for
Tang Yao and Nie Yan. After all, these two never gamed much back in
middle school. When he had heard earlier from Tang Yao that Nie Yan was
also playing Conviction, he was quite amazed.

“Cough, cough…” Tang
 Yao gave Nie Yan a sideways glance. After seeing Nie Yan give a slight
nod of approval, Tang Yao faintly smiled and said, “Arcane Mage, Level
14.”

“What, say that again? Level 14…?”

“You’re not joking around, right?”

After
 Tang Yao announced his level, the atmosphere of the conversation
suddenly took a strange turn. Hao Cheng, Guo Huai, and Zhao Li were all
staring at him with expressions of shock. Considering the average level
of the playerbase, reaching Level 10 or 11 was a fairly impressive feat,
 no doubt, but even then, there were still many players around that
range. Level 14, however… now that was a little mind-boggling. At
present, such a level would place you right in the top three of the
leaderboards.

After for what seemed like half an eternity, they finally regained their composure.

The reaction of these three friends satisfied Tang Yao’s vanity. He felt quite pleased with himself.

“Tang-boy, you really are good! You even managed to hide it from us for so long!” Hao Cheng patted Tang Yao on the shoulder.

“Right!? This is so awesome! Wow, Level 14, I still can’t believe it. Tang Yao, what’s your in-game name?”

“Young Sparrow Hawk,” Tang Yao answered.

“Wait,
 so you’re Young Sparrow Hawk? And I was wondering who could be so
ferocious at levelling! From now on, we’ll just tag along with you.
Brothers, what do you say? By the way, do you have any extra equipment
lying around that you can pass on?”

“Wait guys, don’t
misunderstand! I didn’t get to that level by myself. I’m also just
tagging along with another person,” Tang Yao awkwardly cut in.
Hao
 Cheng stared blankly for a moment, then asked in a tone full of
surprise, “You’re tagging along with someone else? At your level!?
Bullshit! More like others tag along with you! Whatever guild you’re a
part of, you should leave i