Chapter 2: 2: It Really Got Longer!
"I actually… got longer!"
Orson took down ten goblins in one go, his eyes brimming with excitement as his attack range extended from the initial 10 meters to 11 meters.
A mere one-meter increase might seem trivial to most, but for a former pro like Orson, it was a game-changer. That extra meter meant he could keep opponents at bay with his positioning, making it impossible for them to land a basic attack, and giving him the first strike advantage in PvP.
If his range increased by 10 meters, 100 meters… or even 1,000 meters… He'd become an invisible nightmare, eliminating players without them even realizing who had attacked.
"Your level has increased to Level 2."
Orson checked his stats panel. With the range boost from **Heavenly Spirit's Right Eye**, he didn't have to worry about close-quarters death risks. He poured all five of his newly-earned attribute points into magic attack power.
With 15 points in attack power, taking down a goblin now required just six basic attacks instead of eight.
"You have slain a [Black-skinned Goblin], gaining +2 experience."
…
His MP was drained once again. Without any mana regeneration equipment, Orson was forced to rely on the basic skill **Meditation** to restore it.
"This is still too slow."
It took him at least 5 seconds to lock onto a goblin and 10 seconds to kill it, so at most he could grind four monsters per minute. Plus, since the goblins were lower level, the experience points were diminishing, and with plenty of other players around competing for kills, finishing the 10,000 goblin target could take ages.
But Orson didn't mind. He returned to the Newbie Village and accepted the main quest from the village elder, then opened up his magic talent tree.
**Talent Points Remaining: 2**
Each level granted one talent point.
In *Infinite Dimensions*, the talent tree determined a character's growth path. Before advancing, Mages had four primary paths: Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth.
- **Water Mages** were well-rounded, with both offense and defense.
- **Wind Mages** had short cooldowns and excelled at one-on-one battles.
- **Earth Mages** maximized defense and crowd control.
- **Fire Mages** specialized in raw damage, with the drawback of high mana consumption and low survivability.
Given his Super God-grade Soul Imprint, Orson was determined to go the Fire Mage route.
*System message:* "Apologies, the Magic Talent Tree is not yet accessible."
Orson wasn't surprised. Generally, the talent tree activated at Level 10, requiring players to journey to Edgar City to complete a mage trial quest.
But there was a workaround—Orson knew of a hidden quest to unlock the talent tree early: *Eva's Lost Hat*.
In the far corner of the village, a worried-looking girl was frantically searching the ground for something.
When Orson approached, she looked up with tear-filled eyes, crying, "Has anyone seen my hat? My master will be so mad at me… wahhh…"
She was a stunning beauty, holding her hand over her lips as she sobbed, her chest rising and falling dramatically. Orson's eyes gleamed; it was truly a fountain of vitality.
"Killing monsters around the Newbie Village may drop the quest item [Eva's Apprentice Hat]." Orson accepted the quest without hesitation.
Though this was a hidden quest, the reward wasn't particularly valuable since the small talent boost would hardly matter before Level 10.
Orson only knew of this quest thanks to a forum post titled *Top 10 Busty Beauties in Edgar*. Most players who completed the quest weren't in it for the reward—they were just interested in the view.
By now, almost four hours had passed since the game launched, and many players were starting to leave the Newbie Village, so there was less competition for monsters.
"You have acquired the quest item [Eva's Apprentice Hat]."
"Nice, that didn't take long to drop," he said, sighing in relief after only 30 goblin kills.
After completing the main quest to kill monsters, Orson hit Level 3 and allocated his points to increase magic attack.
Then he returned to give Eva her hat—*ahem*, to complete the quest.
As he handed in the hat, the magic totem began to glow, and his previously locked talent tree lit up.
At the base of the tree were three starting talents: **Scorching Flames**, **Mana Drain**, and **Spell Cooldown Reduction**. Each one represented a different path for Fire Mages.
Orson chose without hesitation: "Scorching Flames, that's the one!"
**[Scorching Flames]**
Effect: Normal attacks and spells inflict 1% of the user's MP as damage over 3 seconds. This can increase up to 10% MP damage, with a 2-second cooldown.
For most Mages, this talent was useless in the early stages. A Level 10 Mage's max mana was usually around 500, so maxing out this talent would result in just 150 damage over 3 seconds—not as useful as **Mana Drain** or **Cooldown Reduction**.
But for Orson, this was nothing short of a god-tier talent!
With a maxed mana pool of 10,000, his burn effect would deal 1,000 damage per second, totaling 3,000 over three seconds.
Who could possibly withstand that?
Orson returned to the monster spawn area, ready for another grind session. Hours flew by as he mowed down a thousand goblins with his magic machine gun. His grin stretched wide as he checked his stats.
**Username**: Orgod
**Race**: Human
**Level**: 4
**Magic Attack**: 25
**HP**: 110/150
**MP**: 720/1100
**Attack Speed**: 0.50
**Agility**: 5
**Defense**: 3
**Range**: 110 meters
With his mana capacity now nearly self-sustaining, **Meditation** could restore 5% MP per second out of combat, allowing him to spam attacks without interruption.
As for his 110-meter range… He was practically a Newbie Village turret.
"Who's a Fire Mage? I'm a mobile artillery!"
The more Orson grinded, the more pumped he got. He invested all four of his talent points into **Scorching Flames**, adding a 4% MP burn to his attacks.
Standing atop a hill, he aimed his staff down toward the valley, and fireballs rained down.
-25
-44
-44
Only one basic attack was needed before he turned away to search for his next target. Three seconds of burn damage added up to 132 points, more than enough to send an 80-HP goblin straight to respawn before it could even reach the hill. His grinding efficiency was insane!
**MrMeowgi:** "This game is trash! I just started, and I can't get a single kill!"
**SirLagsALot:** "Bro, look up on that hill! Is that a Newbie Village defense tower farming mobs by itself?"
Latecomers who joined the game stared in disbelief as goblins fell one by one. Someone even considered reporting it as a bug—only to find there was no such option. After all, the gods didn't make mistakes.
**System Announcement**: *Player Orgod's merciless streak has reached 1,024 goblin kills, earning the title "Goblin Ripper."*
**System Announcement**...
The chat erupted with players frozen in shock. *Who the heck kills over a thousand goblins, the weakest monster in the game?!*
**AlienWolf:** "Holy hell, who is this guy? How bored do you have to be?"
**FrostyFairy:** "Seriously? Did goblins offend him or something? All that effort for a trash title?"
**GodlikeGamer:** "Wait… that username seems familiar…"
…
Players filled the global chat with complaints, wondering if Orgod was the most ridiculous player they'd ever seen, calling out his lack of regard for "goblin welfare."
Meanwhile, at Galaxy Studio, the leveling squad was advancing toward Edgar City.
A Level 7 Warrior pulled back his hood, revealing a striking face framed by silvery hair. His brows furrowed, "What the hell is Orson doing?"
"Half a day spent killing over a thousand trash mobs that don't even drop loot. He's out of his mind!"
Charles, leading the party, nearly blew a fuse. "Screw this! Everyone log off and take a break. He clearly doesn't want to stay in this studio."
"You have unlocked a +10% drop rate bonus."
Orson's eyes lit up at the title's effect. That extra 10% drop rate would make a noticeable difference in the early game, meaning a higher chance of rare loot even among the junk drops.
*System Alert*: *The Beast Race has sensed your intense hostility.*
*Elite Level 10 Boss: Goblin Emperor will personally hunt you down. If you die or flee, the title will be revoked.*
Orson froze. A Boss Raid alert appeared in the top right corner, with a 30-minute countdown.
He was only Level 4, but he knew all too well how powerful a Level 10 Elite Boss could be. He considered calling on the studio team to help him, but then his vision blurred with a sudden flash of red. Someone outside the game was trying to force him awake.