Chapter 113: A Chance Encounter

After finishing their evening elective, Zhao Xu’s three roommates—Zhang Qi, Chen Sinan, and Liu Hanqiang—returned to the dormitory to find Zhao Xu already eating curry chicken rice.

Zhang Qi glanced over and asked, “Young Master Xu, sneaking off to have a midnight snack all by yourself?”

Without waiting for a reply, he sat down on the stool beside Zhao Xu and cast a quick look at Zhao Xu’s laptop screen, which displayed the official forum of "Arthur."

At the top of the forum was a long list of player usernames in a joint statement—among them were some high-level gamers and even well-known streamers, protesting the excessively high difficulty of the Mage training in "Arthur."

The streamers had an additional demand: to open a live-streaming interface so they could broadcast the game content.

Although the Mage training had frustrated countless players, many noticed that the number of active players in "Arthur" had not declined, which even drew some who had abandoned the game back in.

Often, people played games just to have a common topic with friends.

“Really overthinking it,” Zhang Qi said with a laugh after glancing at the top post.

As a graduate warrior who had succeeded, he naturally wished that the Mage players would remain stuck in the training forever, allowing the warrior players like themselves to seize the advantage first.

“So they all deleted their accounts,” Zhao Xu murmured, staring at the string of bright red names with a hint of regret.

“Oh, those are the players who gave up on learning spells and decided to protest by quitting together?” Zhang Qi immediately caught on.

But after scanning the list, he grew curious. “I heard from the group chat that at least a few hundred responded and planned a thousand-player protest post. Why are there only just over a hundred left now?”

At that moment, Chen Sinan came out after washing his face, hanging his towel on the bed frame above.

“Because the day before yesterday, someone did a stats analysis. Most players who passed the Mage training have above-average intelligence.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qi couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “So those still willing to sign the joint statement are basically admitting their IQ isn’t high enough. No wonder there aren’t many responses.”

Zhao Xu silently smiled beside them. That statistical post had actually been posted under a previous account as a planted message, partly to encourage those who had given up to hold on a little longer.

After a month of fermenting, his post titled “The Ten Commandments for Beginners” had risen to a hot topic and was now featured by the moderators in the must-read recommendations for newcomers.

So whenever he made a post, despite some questioning the data’s authenticity, more players who had completed the Mage training came forward to corroborate it.

“But that ID ‘Dongcheng Ling’ is really impressive. I wonder which girl is so skilled to write such a strategy guide on the first day,” Zhang Qi said as he checked his phone and idled in the group chat, gradually understanding the situation.

Hearing this, Zhao Xu could only take a sip of water to steady himself. At the time, not wanting to raise suspicion, he had used the name of the female lead from an old Tears comic series.

“No way, I’m going to register a ‘Wugeng Liuli’ too and post a ‘Ten Pleas for Beginners’,” Zhang Qi joked with laughter.

But Zhao Xu was already too indifferent to engage, turning to look at Liu Hanqiang—the only one in their dorm preparing for graduate school and who had missed the game in their past life.

“Hanqiang, are you heading out?” Zhao Xu asked.

Liu Hanqiang was currently styling his hair with gel.

“Ah, everyone has a date. The girl next door, Xiao Yu, is coming over to see him—our future sister-in-law, so I guess Qiangzi won’t be back tonight,” Zhang Qi teased with a grin.

“Hey, don’t sully a good name,” Liu Hanqiang retorted confidently. “But whether Xiao Yu can join our family depends on my parents’ approval.”

Zhao Xu’s expression dulled slightly. In the previous life, after the worldwide transmigration, Xiao Yu, who had played "Arthur," did not continue the relationship with Liu Hanqiang.

That sharp contrast—from being the pursuer to being abandoned—had left Liu Hanqiang feeling down for a while.

“Hanqiang, since Xiao Yu is playing this game too, you could register an account with us. That way, you could date directly in the game.”

Zhao Xu spoke thoughtfully but had already turned his back, so no one saw the expression on his face.

Liu Hanqiang laughed aloud on the spot. “Xiao Yu told me about it. I’ve glanced at the content. This kind of game is so easy that I could easily reach the top level. No challenge at all—wouldn’t want you guys to feel too inferior.”

With that, he grabbed his freshly pressed suit jacket from the wardrobe and walked out.

“Such confidence,” Zhang Qi muttered, watching Liu Hanqiang’s retreating figure.

Chen Sinan quietly picked up a doctrine book he had copied by hand and leafed through it, seemingly indifferent to the surrounding turmoil.

Zhao Xu had no intention of stirring up trouble in the dorm; he could only play a supporting role.

Opening the cabinet, he found the few remaining bottles of Vita Lemon Tea had disappeared. Glancing at Zhang Qi with some annoyance, he left the dorm to buy a new case.

“Heh heh, Young Master Xu, grab me a pack while you’re at it,” Zhang Qi called after him, just as Zhao Xu’s phone chimed with a payment notification.

The small convenience store in the north district was quite far from Zhao Xu’s dorm, closer to the girls’ dormitory. Nighttime runners were scarce, replaced by couples cuddling under the trees in front of the dorm, cherishing the chime before 11 p.m.

Zhao Xu pondered the lessons on transformation that Jinlong Campus had taught him while planning his route.

Transformation spells were a key category of magic—losing them would diminish the shape-changing school, one of the eight great factions of magic, by half.

Transformation magic was not a single spell but a series, with the core four being: Level 2 Metamorphosis, Level 4 Transformation, Level 8 Universal Transfiguration, and Level 9 Physical Alteration.

A golden dragon could take humanoid form because it possessed a supernatural ability called "Shape-shifting," akin to a Level 2 Metamorphosis spell.

But what the golden dragon wanted to teach was not the secret of Level 2 Metamorphosis—that was something Antinoa would teach, and no one else should overstep.

What the golden dragon revealed kept Zhao Xu deep in thought even after logging off.

When Zhang Qi returned, Zhao Xu had gone out to buy supplies, partly to clear his mind.

He had heard from Antinoa about the immense power of the transformation spells and knew they were among the main culprits behind the chaos of the Cataclysm Era—a means for the weak to triumph against the strong.

“Transformation,” Zhao Xu sighed deeply within.

“Zhao Xu?”

A female voice called out, stopping Zhao Xu as he lifted a case of Vita Lemon Tea.

He turned in surprise to see Cui Lu from his class. Unlike their last encounter, this time she was alone.

“I heard you’re a top player. Interested in joining our class guild? It’s pretty strong,” Cui Lu said with her usual bright and lively demeanor, the type who could easily command the stage.

“No, not yet,” Zhao Xu smiled gently and then lifted the case again, heading to the checkout.

But after swiping his card, he suddenly turned to look at Cui Lu, whose appearance had changed little over the past ten years.

After advancing to the rank of Ranger, she had succeeded him as the guild leader and eventually connected the entire university alliance. Thanks to that power, Cui Lu had risen to the upper echelons of Earth’s forces.

But in the previous life, their class had remained united after transmigration, and Zhao Xu had received much support from his classmates, much of it thanks to Cui Lu.

He felt a pang of nostalgia. “Lu Lu, a piece of advice—don’t go for dual-wielding combat. Stick with archery instead.”