( Cervantez's POV )
Things were much different this time around than what Cervantez remembered in his past reincarnation.
Firstly, in this reincarnation, the new players joined the same server as the old ones and were also given some special privileges that would help them catch up to the old players in terms of levels and skills which was not the case at all in Cervantez's past life.
Currently, the disparity between the veterans and the newcomers was significant, with the veterans having a year's headstart over the newbies, which seemed insurmountable under normal circumstances, however, when Cervantez interviewed a few newbies he realized that the game developers had implemented several measures to ensure that this gap was bridged over the next six months, putting the newbies on-par with the veterans in terms of levels and skills.
To achieve this, the game developers had taken two active measures, with the first one being that all new players were granted a double EXP period for the first six months of their gaming careers.
For the first six months of their journey in Terra Nova, every new player was set to receive double the experience points for every quest completed, monster defeated, and item crafted, which was sure to be a crucial boost to their gaming careers as it would allow them to rapidly ascend in levels, minimizing the gap between themselves and the veterans who had been playing the game for a year.
The double XP period was hence designed to help the newcomers catch up in terms of levels, ensuring they wouldn't be at a perpetual disadvantage.
Secondly, each new player was given a class-specific skill from the get-go, a privilege that the old players never had.
This meant that alongside their class assignment, they were also given a single class specific skill from the start, giving them a jump in their journey as a beginner.
This initial skill provided them with an opportunity to start adventuring from the get-go, allowing them to be more effective in combat and other game activities right from the beginning.
This early advantage meant that they could focus on mastering their skills and leveling up without the initial struggle that the veterans had faced when they first started playing the game, significantly bridging the gap between the two batches.
Finally, in addition to these in-game benefits, the new players had another, more subtle advantage too: which was the accumulated knowledge and experience of the veteran players.
This wealth of information was invaluable, as it enabled the newcomers to avoid the mistakes and pitfalls that the veterans had encountered during their early days in Terra Nova.
The old players, having already charted the best strategies, most efficient leveling paths, and having recognised the optimal skill combinations, could provide guidance and mentorship to the newcomers, which was going to cut their path to leveling-up faster by a large margin.
With access to detailed guides, tutorials, and first hand advice, the newcomers could optimize their gameplay and avoid the trial-and-error approach that had characterized the veterans' early experiences.
Cervantez knew that this amalgamation of double XP, early skills, and veteran guidance would significantly diminish the gap between the old and new players as he expected that by the end of the second gaming year, the skill difference between the veterans and the new players would have shrunk considerably and this future worried him as it created a significant variable that he wasn't ready for.
"What I can't figure out is why? What changed in this lifetime that prompted the aliens to put the new batch of players on the same server as the old ones?
And why has history deviated so much from its previous route?" Cervantez muttered to himself, as for him the more perplexing question was the 'why' behind this move, as the butterfly effect of this single decision was sure to be insane.
********
( Meanwhile Jacob )
Jacob Skyshard had chosen to play the game 'Terra Nova Online' with his on-field military name which was 'Ghost'.
As a former special agent, it took him only a couple minutes to acclimatize to his new environment as unlike the common player who was stuck on observing how realistic the game-graphics were, Jacob did not give a fuck about what the graphics were like and was instead singularly focused on his mission, which was to kill a player and then focus on levelling up just like their children had suggested him to do.
By minute 10, he snuck up behind a newbie player who was observing how realistic the movement of a small spider looked on a cobweb and killed him by choking his neck, completing his first kill requirement for the day.
[ System Notification - You have killed the player 'Deez Nuts' ( Level 0 ).
You have gained +1 level!
( Double EXP bonus applied )
You have gained + 1 level!
( Class EXP bonus applied
You have gained +1 level! ]
[ System Notification - Your Class 'Death Overlord' saves you from receiving any infamy for this kill.
Your kill counter has been reset to 24 in-game hours. ]
Just like that, Jacob gained 3 levels within the game, as not only did he receive the double EXP bonus, but also his class specific EXP bonus, which essentially tripled his level gains.
Stone cold, he did not even flinch while making the kill, as after having killed hundreds of individuals in reality, Jacob did not even feel his heart flutter when he killed someone within the game of Terra Nova.
"I see… so the choke points of the human body are the same within this game as in reality.
This is indeed hyper realistic" he noted, as he could feel the exact moment when his arm choked the innocent player's windpipe and ended his life.
"This game is perfect for ex-ops like me. In here, I can do what I am trained to do, getting an outlet for my inner beast, which will make me sweet and gullible in reality around Elena, just how I'm supposed to be" Jacob noted, as although he had only been playing the game for a few minutes, he felt extremely comfortable inside the skin of his new character.