In addition to receiving system notifications about the EXP he gained and the new skill he acquired, Venix achieved another milestone.
[ Congratulations to the Player for passing Tier 0 test! ]
[ Proceed to the next location? (Yes/No) ]
Venix didn't choose yes or no and decided to rest first.
The pain was intense; Venix repeatedly clenched his beak as tears flowed down his birdlike face.
"It's nothing. In the future, I will become a much better player than the average player," Venix thought to himself.
Venix initiated a level-up after earning 1,000 EXP from defeating the large spider, with more than enough points required.
Venix's body glowed with blue light, and he leveled up effortlessly.
Now, he was at level 15!
After leveling up, Venix decided to continue resting.
After resting for a full ten minutes, Venix could finally adapt to the pain.
His bird's body gradually rose, and he approached the large spider's corpse, planning to extract the monster's body for the first time.
Touching the large spider's body, the system asked him if he wanted to extract this creature's body.
Venix answered yes, and the large spider's body glowed with white light before disappearing, replaced by several items on the ground.
Venix saw a sword, a glass bottle containing pills, and a book, and the system gave Venix 50 Gold in his inventory.
"Eh? Is this a skill book?" Venix was curious and touched each of the items on the ground.
[ Spider Sword (Epic) — One-Handed Sword — Tier 1
— (1) Spider Web: Allows the player to use spider web from their wrist.
— (2) = Deadly Sword: Envelops the sword with a deadly aura, making the sword attacks sharper and stronger!
— (3) = Minion Spider: Summons a small Minion Spider that can be controlled by the player.]
Unexpectedly, the sword in his hand turned out to be of Epic quality!
Equipment levels in this game included:
— Bronze
— Silver
— Gold
— Epic
— Legendary
— Divine
There was a grade of equipment that couldn't be determined by its level, called 'Adjacent'.
Adjacent Equipment was unique and couldn't be unequipped or sold. Once a player obtained it, it would immediately bind to that player.
This type of equipment was designed for growth. They could be weaker than Bronze-level equipment, but it was not impossible for them to be stronger than Divine-level equipment.
On the forum, players shared their experiences with Adjacent Equipment. Unfortunately, the items they received often proved to be of low quality, not even reaching Silver level.
In the early levels, Adjacent Equipment seemed almost useless. It was only when a player reached level 50 and beyond that Adjacent Equipment began to show its true potential, sometimes defying the heavens themselves!
There were no stats on equipment in this game, just additional skills that players could use.
"If I sell this, it will have a decent price," Venix thought, smiling to himself.
Then Venix picked up the glass bottle.
[ Energy Recovery (Tier 1) ]
At the sight of this item, joy welled up within Venix!
Finally, he got this item and could replenish his energy more quickly!
The price of this item in the nearby town was around 200 Gold, and it contained 10 pills.
Tier 1 had a lot of energy, which also meant it took a long time to recharge a player's energy.
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Then Venix touched the book.
[ Spiritual Domain (Skill Book): Creates a small domain one meter from the player and enhances the player's sensitivity to things within the domain's range.]
Seeing this, Venix was surprised, and his body went stiff.
Not for any other reason, but the description of this skill reminded Venix of something he had accidentally forgotten.
"In the previous battle... Incredibly fast speed, very rapid response, a sharp sense of danger... Venix couldn't help but wonder, did these things truly happen in other virtual games?" Venix immediately pondered on this.
As a gamer, it was normal to have an excellent response when playing competitive games. But Venix didn't think it was that simple.
The flying speed, response time, and instincts he experienced earlier were genuinely abnormal!
In other virtual games, such events might occur when a player was used to doing things like that in-game, creating natural reactions.
But that real feeling and even flying at high speeds without feeling dizzy and still being able to see the target clearly, it wasn't normal!
Somehow, Venix couldn't shake the feeling that this game wasn't as simple as it appeared. He frowned.
Putting aside his overthinking of some conspiracy, Venix swallowed an Energy Recovery pill and began meditating in silence.
Even though his body was injured and couldn't be healed, Venix could recharge his energy fully!
After 20 minutes of meditating, Venix consumed three pills at once, and he felt his energy was completely restored.
"This is the feeling, I'm back to being fresh!" Venix stood up excitedly.
But immediately, the pain in his body made Venix grimace.
His body was still difficult to move and very stiff. However, after replenishing his energy, Venix's mind became clear again.
"I forgot about the diamond on my forehead," Venix remembered.
Then Venix channeled his energy into the diamond on his forehead, and the diamond immediately glowed with a beautiful golden light.
[ Does the player want to perform a body change? (Yes/No) ]
"Huh? Body change? What's that?" Venix raised his bird-like eyebrows in confusion.
Was it a transformation into an Anima Race?
With thoughts like this, Venix clicked 'Yes,' and his bird body immediately shone with white light.
In an instant, the one-meter-tall bird began to grow taller, surpassing 150cm, and didn't stop.
His body started to change.
A pair of wings turned into hands. The bird's body became slimmer and longer, his legs turned into human-like legs.
Taking 5 seconds, the white light disappeared, and Venix felt a familiar feeling in his current body.
He finally acquired a Humanoid body!
"At last! I can fight with both hands and feet!" Venix clenched his fists and looked at his human-shaped hands.
Venix looked down; currently, he was wearing regular clothes and plain pants, the default player set that new players received when they made an account and arrived at the Beginner's Village.
Then, Venix turned around, feeling his two wings.
Suddenly, Venix's face turned puzzled.
There were no wings on his back!
"Where did my wings go?" Venix was baffled.
Then, Venix opened his profile: "Open Profile!"
[ Name: Dawn Shadow ]
[ Race: Human ]
[ Level: 15 (Tier 1) ]
[ Experience: 0/1600 ]
[ Skill:
[ Ability:
"What's going on!?" Venix widened his eyes!
Wasn't this the name he had used to create his game character before it turned into a black bird? Why had he reverted to his original character?
"Is this a bug or something?" Venix scratched his head in confusion.
All the levels, inventory items, and skills were the same as his bird character.
However, skills like
"I don't know what's happening to me in this game, but... it's a good thing." Venix murmured softly.
Before this, he had intended to sell the valuable items to trusted friends or even to his younger sister, Yuna.
But now that he had regained his humanoid character, Venix didn't need to think about this anymore.
On the other hand, Venix realized that his body was unharmed.
"Hey, do I have another cheat? When my bird body is injured, can I change characters and continue hunting monsters?" Venix felt excited just thinking about this!
Venix took out the Spider Sword he had obtained earlier, which had a dark green hue, and held it in his right hand.
"Move on to the next location!" Venix instructed the system in his mind.
Criiing ~
With a ringing noise, Instantly, Venix's body glowed, and he vanished from that peculiar location.
❄️❄️❄️
After just a short while, Venix's senses returned to him.
Venix's body arrived at a random location in the city's center.
Before him, Venix saw human players bustling around, clad in complete armor and armed with weapons.
"Eh? Who's that person? Is he being robbed?" Venix overheard someone not far away saying that.
Venix turned to see a young man in silver armor, accompanied by a team of five.
"Wait!" Venix scrutinized the team led by the man in brown hunter's attire and immediately recognized that player.
It was Kaeran, the one who had killed him twice at the beginning of the game!
Venix had an immediate urge to step forward and attack the man with his sword, aiming to behead him.
However, Venix realized that he appeared to be in a city within the game now.
Venix examined his attire, which resembled the standard clothing for new players, akin to that of a peasant's child.
On the other hand, Kaeran, the man in brown hunter's attire, sensed Venix's gaze and noticed something different about him when their eyes met.
Kaeran was slightly surprised and frowned, thinking, "Have I ever met him before?"
Venix had a distinctive and memorable face, making it easy for people to remember him at a glance.
Kaeran didn't think he had met Venix before, so he shook his head.
With his current appearance, Venix approached Kaeran's team with a friendly smile on his face.
"Excuse me, do you happen to know where I am?" Venix smiled politely.
Elwin smiled, wanting to respond politely, but Kaeran immediately snorted and answered first.
"This is Caria Town. You can check it through the map feature within the game system. Didn't you know this basic information? How did you manage to pass the Tier 0 trial and arrive here? Did you sacrifice your teammates for it?" Kaeran not only answered Venix's question but also questioned Venix himself.
Venix was taken aback. Why did this person seem to have a personality that caused trouble with others for no apparent reason?
Venix looked at Kaeran's teammate, wondering how Kaeran managed to form a team in the game with such an attitude.
"It's impolite to speak like that to a stranger, Kaeran. He just asked a simple question, and you don't need to inquire about his personal matters." Elwin frowned as he said this.
"Huh, many players in this game are very arrogant and act as solo players. In the end, to pass the Tier 0 trial, they have to form teams with others. Quite often, they are very selfish, leaving their teammates behind just to ensure they pass Tier 0 themselves." Kaeran sneered cruelly.
This event had become a hot topic on the game forums six hours ago, with many people infuriated by the incidents of solo players sacrificing their teammates to complete the Tier 0 trial.
These incidents had angered many people, including solo players who didn't have malicious intentions like that.
"I don't understand what you're talking about, but thank you." Venix expressed his gratitude and promptly left the group of five people.
Watching Venix leave, Aymar, the one in the silver armor, shook his head. "He's just a regular player passing by. No need to make unnecessary trouble, right?"
Aymar also didn't appreciate Kaeran's overly confrontational attitude towards strangers.
"Up to you. I'll go for a walk," Kaeran said coldly and left his team behind.
"What happened to that kid?" Elwin furrowed his brow.
The five of them came from other virtual games and formed a team when they decided to try the Nine Heavens game together. They happened to be former school friends who still lived in the same city.
Elwin knew about Kaeran's occasional bad temper, but during their recent days playing Nine Heavens, Kaeran's negative traits seemed to be appearing more frequently.
"Let him be for now. I'll talk to him later," Aymar said as he watched Kaeran disappear into the distance.
On the other side, Kaeran continued walking until he reached a bar in the city.
Entering the bar, Kaeran saw that it was already full of players.
Kaeran went to the bartender NPC and ordered a large glass of beer.
He then opened his game settings and selected the Pain Level menu.
There, Kaeran saw that his Pain Level was already at 20%.
He then increased his Pain Level to the maximum, 90%.
By doing this, he would be able to feel the effects of the alcohol he was about to consume in the game Nine Heavens.
"This game is so strange... It's as if it's not a game, but reality," Kaeran thought to himself.
Shortly after, the beer he had ordered arrived, and Kaeran promptly downed the entire glass in one gulp.
After finishing a full glass of beer, Kaeran felt a sensation as if he had consumed real beer within his current body.
"Should I continue, or not?" Kaeran mumbled softly, looking at the system interface in front of him.
[ Special Mission (Personal): Cold-Blooded Killer! (II): Kill 100 Players ]
[ Mission Progress: 5/100 ]
Kaeran looked at this mission, and his body trembled slightly.
Previously, when Kaeran was at lower levels, he received a mysterious mission."
Cold-Blooded Killer!
At that time, he had a mission to kill ten players, which he completed effortlessly. As a reward, he gained the Ability
However, what frightened Kaeran was his increasing difficulty in controlling his emotions. He found himself too quick to unleash his hatred towards strangers.
Not only that, but this effect seemed to carry over into the real world, causing him to become increasingly angry with his family and household members!