Chapter 4 – Arrival
Facing a template of the basic characters… the mediocre stats are not a really good choice, but there is a certain risk in choosing to be scanned. Li Jianye thought for a while, then entered the database again to search for relevant information until he was completely sure the risk was insignificant.
“Received player’s authorization. Begin scanning for basic innate stats!”
Like before, a mysterious pillar of light descended from the sky, searching for data within the within his light-ball. This process was no longer than one second, giving Li Jianye a feeling of strangeness.
On one hand, it feels like I am in a trance with a sense that something was invading my privacy. On the other hand, as an NPC, my mind was clear and I could follow the sensation of the pillar of light so as to peep into the small details of the process.
After the light-pillar disappeared, he waited for a while. The surroundings were dead silent, a dense fog was drifting around slowly. The only change was in the screen that was before his eyes.
“It looks like the information from scanning will not reach Mainframe and, instead, only be handed to one of the guides to generate the innate stats.”
Looking at the newly generated stats: Strength 0.5, Agility 0.6, Endurance 0.3, Perception 3, Will 5, Intelligence 4.
(max being 10)
“*cough* *cough*…” With just a glance, Li Jianye nearly spat out blood! His personal stats were so low that it was absolutely disgusting. Many players had been serviced by him. Of those, only a few had 4 points as the lowest of any stats and even then, their total was never lower than 35 points.
But how much is my total? 13.4?
The first player that he had given a special race, previously, even had higher points on a single stat when compared to his total!
Furious, he thought for a moment. It was impossible for the scanning to have any errors. Then he proceed to snuff out the report b.u.t.ton that popped up because of his ‘extraordinary’ stats.
“It must be because of my vegetative condition in reality! Soul scanning will reflect the player’s current condition in reality… it would be more illogical to not have these stats when I have been bedridden for eight months!”
This kind of speculation couldn’t be too far from the truth, moreover, he suspects that the human physique of these two worlds were different, or else he wouldn’t get less than one point no matter how bad his body was.
In comparison, the template character offered by the System had a total of 30 stat points, looks like I really played myself here.
Information appeared in the NPC panel, “The current player’s stats have satisfied the special skill conditions and a reward has been made available!”
Although he knew the conditions for the initial reward in addition to the random chance, there were also some special conditions needed to trigger the event, but Li Jianye had never encountered such cases before. Those times when he a.s.signed special races to other players were manipulated by him and not the system.
Using all the power he has as an NPC to enquire about any related information, he finally came to an understanding. It was because the sum of his first three stats had such a big difference when compared to the sum of his last three stats which fulfilled the condition to receive the special skill: Soul Whisper!
More information could not be acquired, he would need to accept the skill first and probe deeper when in the game. After all, his NPC rank wasn’t high and the limitations were many.
The question Li Jianye was facing was a very difficult multiple choice: Should I use the default template character? Or, do I risk it and use this useless character with its special skills?
The former choice would make it possible to conquer the game and stand at the peak with no effort at all.This would be made possible by making use of his three years of experience prior, in addition to the advantages gained through his status as an NPC. Yet, is that what he was seeking?
Staying in the spotlight, no matter how good he was at playing this VR game, can it help him solve his dangerous situation?
With his thoughts going in one big circle and still having no clue, Li Jianye refocused his vision onto his useless template.
“Adding a special race would make it better, furthermore, the skill ‘Soul Whisperer’ should be awesome since I have never heard of it when I was trapped in the game. Moreover, as a player, having a low-profile character would make surviving in the game a lot easier!”
Finding many excuses for himself, finally he began to laugh. “Why did I think and hesitate so much! This will be my final decision!”
Choosing the useless stats from his scan, he swiped the template to one side, following which he filled in his in-game name “Bard”. It was a very ordinary name. In addition, it was only natural to choose the best race for himself.
Galactic Guardian (Royal Descendant), All stats +2, Race traits: Effect of chanting skills boosted by 20%, Experience requirement per level decreased by 5%, Magic power increased by 10%…
Although the stats are not spread evenly, it has higher total stats and was considered as a bit of salvation to my original useless stats. In the race aspect, according to information gathered by Li Jianye thanks to his status as an NPC, he still had a chance to upgrade himself further. The most important point was that the chance to be awarded this race, initially, was the lowest among all the special races. If not for cheating using his NPC status, with all the zeros after the decimal point, it was almost impossible for this race to appear in the game.
Next is the selection of appearance, starting location, etc. In this aspect, Li Jianye already had his decision in mind and so didn’t waste any time. One minute later, a whole new humanoid model was created, waiting for him to confirm his choice.
A Galactic Guardian has the appearance of a human with skin which emits a faint, strange, purple glow, similar to a treasure. Looking at his own avatar, Li Jianye chuckled, the avatar he used when he was trapped previously was system-generated… it should have been deleted by now.
“I really don’t know whether my choice is right or wrong, but since I have already reached this stage, any more hesitation would be redundant.”
“Creation complete. Begin descent.”
Finishing his role as an NPC, the light ball representing his soul started to descend with great speed within the enormous light pillar. In the process, his body was gradually being reconstructed, a wave of unspeakable soreness attacked him. At the same time, right beside his ears, a weird song began to play.
“This is one of Genesis’ three theme songs [Heaven Break]!” At the same time he identified the song, his restless heart followed the melody of the tune and calmed down. Time continued to flow and when he reopened his eyes, Bard had already obtained his own body, standing upright in the land of Genesis.
“Here comes another new player. Oh? A special race?”
“His character exterior is a bit different from ours!”
“That purple aura… so cool. He didn’t alter his outer appearance substantially, did he?!”
Bard looked left and right, and got a scare from the nearby crowd gathering at the starting point. Hundreds of new players crowded in the village center. Though not at the level that everyone is tightly packed, the numbers are still very large.
Looking at his body… it was wrapped in multiple bandage-like cloths… this must be the starting equipment given by the system.
In regard to the jeers of the crowd, Bard did not pay it heed. He looked down at the ground and rushed out of the crowd with haste.
“Hey! Watch out!” This is the starting village for humans, but it also allows Centaurs, Gnomes, etc. to start in this village. If one is not careful, it is very easy to accidentally trample one of the minute gnomes in the crowd.
After moving to a more s.p.a.cious location, Bard viewed his own personal character info.
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IGN: Bard
Cla.s.s: Commoner (Rank 1)
Race: Galactic Guardian (Royal Descendant)
Stats: Strength 3, Agility 3, Endurance 2, Perception 5, Will 7, Intelligence 6
Faction: -N/A-
Physical Attack: 4
Physical Defence: 3
Magic Affinity: 5
Movement Speed: 5
Attack Speed: 3
Special Skill: Soul Whisper (Requirements not met)
Common Skill: None
Race traits: Effect of chanting skills increased by 20%, Experience requirement per level decreased by 5%, magic power increased by 10%…
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All new players will start the game with a commoner cla.s.s of rank 1. The player can pick a cla.s.s of their choice only after they have reached rank 10. The cla.s.ses available to choose from are almost infinite, at the very least, Bard could not finish finding all the cla.s.ses available within his three years trapped in the game previously.
In addition to this, Bard had another hidden NPC info tab. Which, when compared to his character info, was a lot simpler.
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ID: 0728
Current Status: Wanderer
Rank: Mk-1 – Basic Service Data
Contribution Point(s): 4
a.s.signment quest(s) available: None
Task(s) acceptable: 1
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I connected to the system and selecting to accept the task… The only task available in a bright display that could be taken: “a.s.sist the player!”
Bard, looking at his 4 contribution points, was rather anxious. As a player, whatever actions he took did not matter. However, as an NPC, the next System clean-up was in 10 days. Furthermore, 100 contribution points will be deducted at the end of the month. Without any other choice, he immediately pressed “accept” on the only task available to him.
Task description: Help the player community to adapt to their new surroundings and enhance their growth rate. However, in the process, the NPC is forbidden to a.s.sist the player by directly killing the monsters. System will evaluate your performance and gave contribution points accordingly.
The explanation was very vague, but Bard noticed that right after he accepted the task, the “quests that can be a.s.signed” tab had some changes.
Current a.s.signable Quest(s): 10
After confirming the increase a second time, he came to an understanding and then looked away from the screen to focus on his surroundings.
“Genesis” is a virtual game in the future, every single object, including the gra.s.s and trees, in this village is realistic beyond compare. Bard can even cut open a plant and observed the sap leaking from within or even smell the fragrant odor of the soil.
The players within sight came in many different shapes and colors. Although a majority of them were of the human race, the population of the other races were not exactly lacking. Wearing the same simple and crude outfit as Bard, they start to gather in groups to explore their new surroundings.
Right outside the village, a small amount of player silhouettes could be seen holding on to their basic melee weapons and fighting with some docile monsters.
NPCs were easily identifiable by their “village farmer” appearance and their obviously awkward behaviour compared to the players.
Bard already knows the level of intelligence the NPCs possess in the game and did not interact with them for the moment but instead walked towards the exit of the village.
Due to the compulsory playtime enforced by the Mainframe, many players did not have a goal when they are in game and just laze around or beat up some monsters when they are in the mood. Those that take the initiative to raise their rank were only a handful of players.
“Hey! A new player, let’s form a team! What say you?” Seeing Bard approach their location, a party of three players approached and struck up a conversation. They had just defeated a slime with their combined effort and were now currently resting.
Bard felt some disdain in his heart: you still have to form a team to kill a slime? Currently, since there is no fixed increase in EXP gain while forming a party, the efficiency will be low.
“I want to try fighting on my own first!” Out of courtesy, he tactfully declined the other party’s good intentions.
“Hehe!” The sword-wielding human that spoke first did not mind, retreated two steps and went back to his comrades that were resting and started to spectate.
Bard skillfully summoned his system bag and retrieved his given basic weapon from within.
Wooden Club, Attack 1-1, Durability 10/10.
It was simple but nevertheless one of the most important items for new players. In Genesis, those with the commoner cla.s.s do not have skills, it would be difficult to raise one’s rank with the low starting stats. At the same time, low-leveled monsters would not have any good drops, therefore the value of a weapon is worth a lot.
Strolling leisurely to the front of an idle monster, Bard raised his club up high with great confidence, “Although my stats are useless, slimes should not be a problem. You noobs, just watch from the sidelines how an experienced pro fights monsters!”