"1 minute and 30 seconds remaining before the game starts. Please choose a name for your character."
Upon hearing the system's prompt once again, Wu Shaochen shook his head and decided not to overthink it. After all, this was a game of a new era, surely there would be many things beyond his understanding. He calmed his mind and said:
"Chén Fēng" (The Sealed Dust)
This name represented his current state of mind.
"Name accepted. In-game, your appearance will remain as it is and cannot be altered. After entering the game, you may purchase masks or face coverings at the store to conceal your appearance. To help players adjust quickly, pain sensation is set to 5%. Every ten levels, the system will increase this by 5%. Other sensory experiences will be identical to those of the real world.
Upon entering the game, the system will randomly generate a lifelong talent based on the player's comprehensive characteristics. Each talent has its own unique traits. Please make good use of it and choose a class that complements your talent."
"Now, enjoy your game! The game is about to begin..."
10
9
…
3...2...1
As the countdown ended, a flash of light appeared, and Wu Shaochen found himself standing in a bustling newbie village. White lights flashed around him, with new players constantly appearing, quickly filling the area.
"What the hell, is this the game?"
"Damn, this is too real!"
"This is exactly like reality!"
"Ah, it hurts, it hurts… who the hell pinched me?"
"Uh, sorry, I was just testing it out. I thought I was dreaming. Turns out it really is 100% realism."
"Shit, you could have pinched yourself."
Surrounded by a cacophony of voices, Wu Shaochen could barely distinguish whether he was in reality or the game anymore.
"Welcome to *Divine Oracle*, you have spawned in Newbie Village 8365. The system has sent you a beginner's gift pack. Your talent has been generated, and it is *Source of Deadly Poison*. Please check your character panel for more information."
"Source of Deadly Poison? What the hell? I'm such an upright person, what does poison have to do with me?" Wu Shaochen thought, utterly confused. He knew that each player's talent was based on their personal characteristics, but he couldn't understand what poison had to do with him.
Going back in time, as Wu Shaochen's consciousness entered the game, his skin gradually began to pale, and toxins slowly invaded his bloodstream. A while later, when the game helmet performed a blood sample test, it detected the presence of toxins in his blood. Through the process, the helmet absorbed most of the toxins from his body.
"Open character interface," Wu Shaochen silently thought.
Name: Chén Fēng
Level: 0
Health: 50
Mana: 50
Physical Attack: 10
Magical Attack: 10
Physical Defense: 5
Magical Defense: 5
Movement Speed: 5
Experience: 0/100
Strength: 5 (Affects physical attack, 1 strength = 2 physical attack)
Intelligence: 5 (Affects magical attack, 1 intelligence = 2 magical attack)
Constitution: 5 (Affects health, 1 constitution = 10 health)
Root Bone: 5 (Affects defense, 1 root bone = 1 physical defense and 1 magical defense)
Spirit: 5 (Affects mana, 1 spirit = 10 mana)
Agility: 5 (Affects movement speed and attack speed, 1 agility = 1 movement speed and 0.5% attack speed)
All new players had attributes set to 5, which made the start very fair unless they had a talent that increased stats.
Skills: Insight (Can view the information of monsters up to 10 levels above your own)
Talent: *Source of Deadly Poison*: Normal attacks or melee skills apply deadly poison to the target (ranged attacks do not trigger). The target suffers 1 point of true damage per second, which can stack up to one layer and lasts for 60 seconds. The target cannot heal during the poisoning.
Traits: For every monster killed that is 5 levels higher than you, poison damage increases by 1 point. For every boss killed of the same realm level or higher, the poison stack count increases by 1.
Wu Shaochen stared at his talent, bewildered. While it seemed useless at first glance, after seeing the traits, his heart began to race. With his understanding of games, he realized that if this talent stacked, it would become incredibly powerful.
He could feel that his future was looking bright—houses, cars, money, and women all seemed within his reach. At that moment, he stopped wondering what connection he had with poison and instead focused on how advantageous this talent was.
He quickly opened his inventory and checked the beginner's gift pack. As expected, it contained a wooden sword and a set of cloth armor.
Wooden Sword: Physical Attack +2 (Beginner Equipment)
Cloth Armor: Physical Defense +1 (Beginner Equipment)
"Better than nothing," he thought as he equipped them. His attack rose to 12, and defense increased to 6.
He glanced at the surrounding crowd and the constant flashes of light, estimating that nearly ten thousand players were packed into the newbie village. According to official data, each newbie village in China had ten thousand players, which meant that the game had already reached over 100 million players in China alone at launch. It was truly staggering.
After finally squeezing through the crowd in search of an NPC with a quest, he discovered that there were only about a dozen NPCs in the village, all surrounded by players.
"Forget it, even if there are quests, the rewards won't be much. It's better to hunt monsters," Wu Shaochen thought.
Walking out of the village, he found himself in a vast grassland, where many rabbits were hopping around. The entire field was already crowded with players, though occasionally white flashes indicated that someone had died.
"Can these cute little rabbits kill you?" Wu Shaochen thought in disbelief, approaching one and casting Insight.
[Little White Rabbit]
Level: 1
Health: 100
Physical Attack: 12
Physical Defense: 7
Speed: 6
Skills: None
After glancing at the rabbit's attributes and his own, Wu Shaochen's mouth twitched. He now understood why people were dying. Without a team, even the lowest-level rabbit was too much to handle.
Before level 10, all players' attributes were essentially the same, and with a wooden sword adding only 12 attack and 6 defense from the cloth armor, the damage trade-off was clear: a rabbit's attack would deal 5 damage to him, while his attack would only deal 6 to the rabbit. The problem was that the rabbit had 100 health, while Wu Shaochen only had 50. Their attack speed was identical, meaning that the result was obvious—he would be defeated before he could kill the rabbit. To make matters worse, the rabbit's speed was slightly faster than his, so there was no chance of escaping either. Was this game serious?
"Damn, the game developers are insane. Can you believe I've already died twice to a rabbit?"
"I'm worse off than you, I was the first to spawn, and I've already died three times. I've been playing games for years and never thought I'd struggle against a rabbit. How embarrassing!"
Though many people had died, the sheer number of players meant that several would often surround a rabbit at once. Without a team, only the player who dealt the final blow would get the experience, while the loot was up for grabs. So far, the only drops were copper coins and rabbit fur, but no equipment had been found. The drop rate in *Divine Oracle* was ridiculously low.
"Damn, killing a rabbit only gives 1 point of experience. How long will it take to kill 100 of these?" someone complained.
Wu Shaochen twitched his mouth. Was this game really this hard?
Looking around at the frenzied players, he realized that it was impossible to fight here. The rabbit he had been watching had already been surrounded and killed by a group of players. "Forget it, let me try a different spot," Wu Shaochen thought.