January 8, 2150.

It has been nearly three days since the worldwide opening of the Nine Heavens Global game server.

Currently, within the Nine Heavens game, a Black Bird can be seen engaged in combat with a massive, four-meter-long serpent in the forest.

The serpent's head lunged towards the sky, attacking the Black Bird.

Bang!

The Black Bird shielded its entire body with both wings, successfully blocking the serpent's attack.

However, the bird was still pushed back several meters due to the impact.

Following the block of the serpent's attack, the Black Bird spread its wings wide and dived downward.

A sharp blue light enveloped its wings.

With its wings, the Black Bird attacked the serpent's head, causing it to bleed.

"Hiss ~"

The serpent hissed.

But it didn't stop there.

The Black Bird's wings remained pressed against the serpent's head as it used both of its feet to run along the serpent's skin and descend.

Slassshhh ~ Creeeaaakkk ~

Descending in a circular motion, the Black Bird created long wounds all over the massive serpent's body.

"Hiss ~"

The serpent hissed repeatedly, feeling its body covered in deep wounds.

After landing on the ground and completing its entire attack, the Black Bird ascended back into the sky, moving away from the serpent.

The serpent hissed in anger as it watched the Black Bird flying high above, unable to reach it.

Then, the serpent opened its mouth and spewed green liquid, launching it toward the Black Bird.

The green liquid streaked through the sky quickly. However, the Black Bird had anticipated this attack and swiftly dodged to the side, avoiding the green liquid."

Following the evasion of the serpent's attack, the Black Bird dived down again and resumed its attack on the serpent, just as before.

The battle continued, and the large serpent was truly being toyed with by this Black Bird.

Then, after three minutes.

Boom!

The massive serpent's body fell to the ground, covered in wounds.

The Black Bird landed on top of the serpent's body.

Its beak opened and sank into the serpent's body.

Instantly, a dark red aura emanated from its beak and began transforming the massive serpent's body into small specks of energy that entered the Black Bird's body.

It took one minute to fully devour the serpent's body.

Venix absorbed the serpent's body into his own.

Unlike the first time he used the Devour ability, this time there was only discomfort, and no pain, when devouring another creature.

Venix, using the Black Bird character, and having absorbed the black serpent's body, received a system notification in front of him.

[Player Gained 1000 Exp]

Upon seeing this, Venix breathed a sigh of relief.

"Open Profile Menu," Venix commanded the system within his mind.

[Name: Lord Chocho]

[Race: Bird]

[Level: 9]

[Experience: 50200/51200]

[Skill : , , , , ]

[Ability : ]

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

After spending a lot of time, Venix had nearly reached level 10!

"It's truly exhausting. I have to hunt Beasts throughout the forest to gather all the required Experience, while other players have missions offering substantial Exp rewards," Venix sighed with disappointment.

Levels are indeed not everything in this Nine Heavens game. Although it's not everything, this issue has consumed a lot of Venix's time.

Other regular players, even his younger sister Yuna, have already reached level 10. Only a few regular players have yet to reach level 10.

"I need a thousand more Exp; I can find it on my way home," Venix said as he flapped his wings and soared into the sky.

While flying, Venix accessed the player discussion forum through the system interface.

Currently, the hot topic of discussion was how to pass the Heavens Gate!

The Heavens Gate is an illusionary gate that players must destroy when they reach level 10.

Once they successfully destroy the Heavens Gate, players will officially reach level 11 and become Tier 1 players.

Most professional players or members of large guilds worldwide have already passed the Heavens Gate and ventured into the next area.

The discussion about the Heavens Gate gained momentum when a player named Soulo posted a method to pass it.

Essentially, inside the Heavens Gate, players will face a large gate towering in front of them.

Behind the players, there will be a lit torch.

According to Soulo, every player should try to light as many torches as they can during this Heavens Gate trial.

Each lit torch behind them represents the foundation of their in-game character's power.

To light more torches, there are several methods.

The most popular method is practicing Energy Flow techniques from NPC characters.

Energy Flow techniques not only help players control their energy more effectively but also gradually enhance the player's character.

Energy Flow techniques will not be recorded in the player's profile on the game system's skill list.

In the past, many players overlooked Energy Flow techniques, Body Techniques, and other aspects that are fundamental to martial arts.

Only professional players, members of large guilds, and a select few individuals worldwide paid attention to these aspects.

Soulo announced this information to the public 28 hours after the launch of the Nine Heavens game.

"Whoever this person is, they're doing a great service. I'm sure many professional players and large guilds aren't happy with them," Venix smiled, admiring the player named Soulo.

The Nine Heavens game is still relatively new, so important information does not easily leak to the public's eye.

This information is typically only accessible to those with connections to members of large guilds or specific individuals.

***

On the other side, in one of the cities within the game, not the Beginner Village.

A man dressed in black with white hair was sitting in the guest room in the Town Hall.

The man held a paper and read the report.

Knock ~ Knock ~

The door made a sound.

"Come in," the white-haired man said.

Then, a young man walked in and bowed deeply before the white-haired man.

Many parties are displeased with your actions, Sir. However, only the foolish ones are seeking revenge, while some who know the truth choose to remain silent," the young man reported to the white-haired man.

They're not pleased?" The white-haired man grinned. "Let them try to make me shut up."

The young man smiled bitterly. "Sir Soulo, who would dare to oppose you in this world?"

After saying that, the young man raised his head and looked at Soulo in front of him.

As he gazed at Soulo's figure in front of him, the young man felt the ominous presence of the dark world behind Soulo, causing ordinary humans to cringe in fear.

"Even in critical situations, humans remain selfish!" Soulo looked down on those selfish humans with disgust.

❄️❄️❄️

During his journey, Venix encountered a pack of gray wolves on the road and defeated some of them before continuing.

At this point, his Experience was at the maximum, and he was ready to level up!

Venix wasn't in a hurry to level up and continued flying deeper into the forest.

After flying for ten minutes, Venix finally arrived at a waterfall.

Venix landed on one of the trees and looked ahead.

Around the waterfall in front of him, Venix spotted a variety of animals, including turtles, tigers, bears, eagles, and deer.

Additionally, various other animals populated the area, although not as numerous. There were approximately a dozen different types of animals present.

Venix accidentally discovered this place while hunting for Exp.

Upon first sight, Venix was taken aback by the sight of numerous diverse animals coexisting peacefully within a single location.

Despite the presence of tigers and bears, they didn't attack or eat the other animals around them.

Out of curiosity, Venix joined them, considering himself one of the animals.

Upon entering the waterfall area, Venix was astonished.

He felt a subtle and tranquil energy enveloping the waterfall area.

At this point, Venix's pain level had reached 60%, and he was able to endure it.

Due to the high pain level, Venix felt the profound effects of this subtle energy on his body.

How can I put it? After entering, Venix felt the subtle energy calming his mind and soul, reducing all excessive emotions to a normal level.

Whether it was happiness, sadness, or depression, everything became calm as soon as they entered this area.

Venix knew that in most VR games, beautiful landscapes were merely displayed to players, allowing them to have peaceful thoughts.

But directly influencing a player's mind, Venix felt this was not simple, and something was amiss!

Because of this, Venix occasionally came here.

Most of the animals in this place lived comfortably, resting beside the waterfall and occasionally swimming.

No excessive emotions disrupted the serenity of this place.

Venix was also inspired by the tranquility here.

So, each time Venix rested and recharged his energy, he returned to this place.

To Venix's surprise, as he rested and contemplated the new Skills he could acquire, his mind grew calmer and more focused.

Because of this, Venix didn't seek out new Skills; instead, he focused on enhancing his existing ones.

In just nearly one day, Venix significantly improved his own Skills!

The Deadly Beak, Claw Strike, and Wing Blade became stronger, sharper, and more piercing!

Now, Venix wanted to level up, and he returned to this place.

There were some small rocks in the waterfall pond.

Venix descended and landed on one of the rocks, while the other animals paid no attention to him.

With determination, Venix commanded the system to level up.

In an instant, Venix's body radiated with blue light as energy gathered into a single point, breaking through the illusionary barrier within him in a single, powerful strike!

Venix had successfully reached level 10, a milestone achievement!

Until now, Venix had never leveled up like other players.

"Open Profile." Venix ordered.

[ Name: Lord Chocho ]

[ Race: Bird ]

[ Level: 10 ]

[ Experience: —Heavens Gate— ]

[ Skill : , , , , ]

[ Ability : ]

Venix noticed that he no longer needed Experience points to level up; instead, he saw only the name 'Heavens Gate.'

Driven by curiosity and the desire to know how many torches he had lit, Venix decided to immediately attempt Heavens Gate.

Player Soulo had said that players needed to have a minimum of 20 lit torches behind them before they could destroy Heavens Gate.

Venix commanded in his mind : "Begin the trial: Heavens Gate!"

For the first time, Venix felt his consciousness being drawn into his own body, delving into its deepest recesses.

Venix thought in amazement : "So, this is what leveling up feels like."

With a 60% pain level, Venix had much greater sensitivity than players who didn't activate it.

Venix felt as if his body were on a high-speed roller coaster, the sensation making him profoundly dizzy.

Fortunately, it was only momentary.

In the next moment, Venix opened his eyes and beheld a dark world with wandering blue light, akin to cosmic dust.

In front of Venix, stood a white gate adorned with gold depictions of tall plants, each line featuring a single flower.

A total of nine flowers adorned the flower stalk.

The gate stood at a height of about ten meters, making Venix feel like an ant when he faced it.

Venix raised his head in awe, exclaiming : "So, this is Heavens Gate."

At that moment, Venix sensed that something had changed within him.

Venix extended his hand and observed a pair of blue, human-like hands, symbolizing his soul or consciousness.

"Eh? My soul is human?" Venix was somewhat surprised.

A character's in-game soul reflects the player's true identity.

From the game forum, he learned that, regardless of their race (elf, orc, or Loch), when players leveled up, their souls would assume the basic form of their game characters.

Initially, Venix didn't expect much after accepting his bird identity. However, discovering that his soul took on a human form, his excitement returned.

"Hahahaha! I won't have to use wings anymore in the future!" Venix felt happy.

Venix still found the idea of having wings on both his hands rather peculiar.

As he thought about the wings, Venix suddenly sensed movement behind him.

Venix turned to look behind himself.

"Heavens ~ I turned into an Anima race?"

Venix saw a pair of large wings dominating behind his back.

Venix was okay with the Anima race appearance as long as his body remained humanoid.

However, what needed to be emphasized was that Venix was in the Human race area!

At this stage, players hadn't yet reached the point where they could encounter other races and fight for their chosen one.

Wouldn't Venix's future be bleak if he had an Anima appearance?

Uhhh... It appears I have to develop my own strength and collect powerful Beasts, but... I also have to kill them to gain Exp." Venix shook his head in sadness.

Killing players usually dropped random items and money from their inventory but didn't yield any Exp.

If things were like this, how could Venix possibly grow in this game in the future?