Ye Yun continued ascending the Sky Ladder while listening to Zhou Ningdong's reports on the latest developments. Before he knew it, he had reached the hundredth step.
"System prompt: Congratulations to player Jieming for reaching the hundredth step of the Sky Ladder. You have received 100 attribute points, with an additional reward of 10,000 attribute points."
"Fengle City Announcement: Congratulations to player Jieming for being the first to reach one hundred steps on the 'Sky Ladder.' The player is rewarded with 10,000 attribute points and has entered the Ladder Hall of Fame."
Three consecutive system prompts sent the players of Fengle City into a frenzy. Many who were unaware of the Sky Ladder's existence began inquiring about it everywhere. Those who knew of it rushed to the Administrative Center upon hearing the announcements.
On the colossal stone monument before the Sky Ladder, another Hall of Fame appeared.
Hundredth Step Landings -
First Place: Jieming
Second Place: None
Third Place: None
Following this were separate Halls of Fame for one thousand steps, two thousand steps, five thousand steps, and ten thousand steps! A total of five tiers. Apart from Ye Yun on the hundredth step, all others were blank.
"Damn it all! I regret this!" The player in second place, currently on the ninety-second step, could no longer maintain his composure upon hearing the system announcement. With a wail, he accelerated his ascent, attracting the attention of many.
The section from the ninetieth to the hundredth step was an area of tenfold gravity. Currently, most players could only linger before the fortieth step. Those who could reach the ninetieth step were undoubtedly major players.
"Damn, you guys keep watching. I'm leaving first," one person said, angered by Ye Yun occupying first place on two lists of the Sky Ladder.
"Yeah, I've climbed enough mountains. It's just a hundred steps! I'll climb it for you in minutes! Go?"
"Jieming, that ID sounds familiar. It seems like this guy was the first to take down several bosses when the server opened."
"Brother, you remember too? I thought I was mistaken. I didn't expect a god to be in our vicinity."
The crowd at the Sky Ladder was provoked and surged forward. However, when they tried to enter, something exasperating happened.
"System prompt: The Sky Ladder can only accommodate ten thousand players for every one hundred steps. The first one hundred steps are currently full. If players wish to enter, they can join the Sky Ladder queue system. During the queuing period, players can engage in other activities within Fengle City. The system will directly pull players into the Sky Ladder once a slot becomes available."
"Damn it, this Sky Ladder actually has a player limit? How are we supposed to play?"
"Exactly, it's a paid service, and they're pulling this scarcity tactic."
"Five gold coins, I'll pay fifty gold coins, let me in quickly! I'll climb to 1000 steps in minutes."
The design of the Sky Ladder left tens of thousands of players who had come to investigate speechless. No one expected this newly opened structure to be so popular.
"Haha, you guys keep cursing. I'm already in line. The estimated wait time is three minutes!"
Compared to those who were complaining, some more rational players had already begun waiting.
At the two hundredth step, Ye Yun stopped. Although the pressure on him had reached twenty-one times gravity, Ye Yun felt no discomfort.
"System prompt: Congratulations to player Jieming for reaching the two hundredth step of the Sky Ladder. You have received 200 attribute points, with an additional reward of 10,000 attribute points."
"System prompt: Congratulations to player Jieming for reaching the one thousandth step of the Sky Ladder. You have received 1,000 attribute points, with an additional reward of 10,000 attribute points."
Under the stunned gaze of the players, Ye Yun ascended at nearly a jogging pace, then dashed to the thousandth step.
However, as Ye Yun stepped onto the one thousand and first step, a powerful gust of air erupted from his body.
*Bang...*
A heavy wave of air rippled around Ye Yun, and he distinctly felt the pressure.
"System prompt: Congratulations to player Jieming for reaching the one thousand and first step of the Sky Ladder. Congratulations to player Jieming for obtaining 1001 free attribute points. The current gravity is one hundred and one times!"
Ye Yun soon discovered the difference. From the one thousand and first step onwards, the gravity multiplier increased by one for every step ascended!
"What the hell, how are we supposed to play? Even if Michi of the Divine Realm came, he'd be exhausted to death on these steps." Even with Ye Yun's current attributes, his legs trembled as he reached the over fifteen hundredth step. Ye Yun simply sat there, overlooking Fengle City.
At fifteen hundred steps, Ye Yun had accumulated a total time of three thousand seconds, nearly an hour! Enough for Ye Yun to catch his breath.
Ye Yun had always thought that with his attributes, reaching the top of the Sky Ladder would be a simple task. But based on the current situation, reaching ten thousand steps was impossible. This ladder was truly perverse!
The fifteen hundred steps already reached six hundred times gravity. Under this gravity, even the great gods from Dragon Ball and Naruto would struggle to endure, let alone walk upwards.
After resting for five minutes, Ye Yun resumed his climb. This time, it was not as easy as before.
Although he walked steadily, his speed had significantly decreased. However, no one was paying attention to this, as the crowd at the base of the Sky Ladder monument was utterly stunned by the number of steps Ye Yun had climbed.
"What is the background of this 'Jieming' brother? He's reached over sixteen hundred steps on the Sky Ladder. Is he defying the heavens?"
"Whether he's defying the heavens or not, I don't know. I just want to know how many free attribute points this guy has gained from this ladder. Are there any math gods here? Please help!"
"Now that you mention it, shouldn't the focus be on the attribute points? Can we look at the gravity multiplier for the sixteen hundred steps?"
"Brother, let me tell you. For every step ascended, the gravity increases by 0.1 times. For sixteen hundred steps, that's one hundred and sixty-one times, understand?"
Crowds of players now stood before the monument, watching the numbers behind Ye Yun change, shouting out their exclamations, though their focus differed.
The second-ranked player was named 'Camel,' but he too stopped at the one hundred and seventy-first step. Apart from Dragon Palace, he attracted no attention.
Dragon Palace had a dedicated twenty-person HR team tasked with discovering potential talent in Fengle City, with the primary objective of recruiting them.
Ultimately, Ye Yun gave up when he reached the two thousandth step. Although he still had some strength left, Ye Yun estimated his current limit was around the three thousandth step. However, ascending further held little meaning for him unless he could reach the summit.
"It seems my attribute points are still insufficient. Once I have enough nutrient solution from the real world, I'll spend more money and directly boost my attributes to reach the top!" Looking at the unreachable summit shrouded in mist, Ye Yun could only console himself this way.