6 Chapter 6: Enter the Game

After dinner, at exactly eight o'clock.

Su Ran lay in the advanced Nutrition Cabin, feeling the currents coursing from his ankles to the top of his head, circulating back and forth. Every cell in his body greedily absorbed the oxygen and energy emanated from the Nutrient Solution, especially his left arm, which was covered by more currents. The warmth reminded him of his mother's embrace. Suddenly, his vision went black, and when Su Ran opened his eyes again, he was in the game.

He was greeted by an imposing dark hall. He looked around warily, seeing torches around him burning brightly. Two statues in front of him attracted his attention under the illumination of the torchlight: they were legendary stone sculptures of the ancient giant god and the evil demon fighting hand-to-hand. The beads in their eyes seemed to glimmer with fire and vitality, which made the entire sculpture look lifelike. It was as if Su Ran had been transported back to the ancient land, witnessing the intense battle between these two ancient deities. The earth seemed to tremble for them, and their roars and banging vividly depicted their epic struggle.

Just then, the two statues seemed to turn their heads and stare directly into Su Ran's eyes.

"This war has lasted a million years," the system's ancient voice resounded at the right moment, "And the battle is still going on, neither god nor demon has found a resolution. But they all want one… and they have to fight for it!"

"The strife between gods and demons reflects their stories..."

"But who's right and who's wrong? What's right? What's evil?"

"That's for future generations to decide!"

"Welcome to the world of the game—'Strife between Gods and Demons'" The undeviating synthetic voice of the system announced, "Please enter your identification number."

Su Ran dutifully entered it.

"Welcome, player Su Ran. This Nutrition Cabin is now linked to you. Please select your profession."

Two options appeared before Su Ran's eyes: Fighter and Mage.

(Fighters, depending on their points and skill branches, can be divided into Berserkers, Shields, and Blood Fighters. Mages, based on points and skill branch choices, can be divided into Ice Mages, Fire Mages, and Healers.)

Oh? Only two choices?

Su Ran was a big fan of berserkers. The overwhelming power that they wielded was intoxicating for him. It was life itself!

Choice—Fighter!

"Ding! Sorry, after a system photosensitivity inspection, your physique is unfit to be a fighter. Choice failed." the system methodically stated.

Su Ran forced a bitter smile. Was this testing his physique? He looked down at his body and shook his head. He glanced at the option for Mage. That wouldn't be too bad, either. The graceful moves coupled with the dizzying magic elements could also be quite mesmerizing. Mage was also a good choice!

Choice—Mage!

"Ding! Sorry, after a system photosensitivity inspection, your physique is unfit to be a mage. Choice failed." The system's tone maintained its equanimity.

Su Ran was stunned. This was a 200,000 yuan game system! It was crucial to his survival! Yet—he couldn't even create a character? That meant Su Ran couldn't enter the game at all.

God, are you kidding me?

Su Ran's eyes were flaming, and for the first time, he felt an impulse to curse.

"Ding!" The system's synthetic voice came at just the right time: "Given the player's current physique, we advise you to choose the Graveyard."

Graveyard?

"Grave-YOU! To hell with the graveyard! I'm still friggin' alive!"

Su Ran was instantly enraged, cursing at the system. This was the first time he had ever cursed in his life, well, actually, it was the first time he had ever cursed at a system.

"Ding!" The system unfazed, its immutable synthesized voice continued, "Congratulations on triggering the hidden profession—'Undead' of the Demon World. Do you accept the offer?"

Hidden profession?

What the heck?

"I accept!" Su Ran shouted anxiously. He'd play as any profession, as long as he could play the game!

"Ding! Congratulations on successfully accepting the offer! Have fun playing, Su Ran! Please enter the game."

Suddenly, a vast dark door opened before Su Ran's eyes. Something dark and glossy emitted from within. After mustering his courage, he leaped into the world of the Strife between Gods and Demons.

"Caw!" "Caw!"

Black crows were flying all around. Su Ran suddenly found himself in the middle of a graveyard.

"Ding! Welcome to the Strife between Gods and Demons world. Please name your character."

Was this the beginning of the game? Su ran looked down at his body.

FUCK!

Su Ran freaked out. What the fuck was this game? He was a living human! A LIVING HUMAN! He wasn't dead! He wasn't a skeleton! How could he play like this? Was it a game of his becoming a skeleton?

So, the 'Undead' the system had mentioned turned out to be Su Ran's current character—a skeleton.

Luckily, Su Ran's psychological endurance was beyond ordinary. He quickly accepted the reality as long as he could play. If his luck held up, he could still find the legendary "Dreamseeking Mirror" in the game. He could reign supreme in the conflict between gods and demons!

Su Ran paused, the light in his eyes coalescing once again as he loudly declared, "Skeleton Warrior!"

"Are you sure you want to register the character name 'Skeleton Warrior'?"

"Confirm!"

"Ding! Name registration successful! Congratulations, player Skeleton Warrior, due to your physical condition, the system will give you 3 Novice Random Gift Packs as compensation, wishing you a happy gaming experience!"

A Novice Random Gift Pack? What is that?

Su Ran looked around, unsure of how to find this newbie gift pack, so he had to call up the game's help section, read all the basic operations, and finally understood the game mechanics.

"Open package!"

Nothing happened...

"Open package!"

...

Could it be wrong? The game guide said so! Su Ran scratched his bald head with his skeletal claw, and looked down in confusion.

Good heavens!

He saw three Novice Random Gift Packs lying quietly in his bladder, surprisingly they hadn't fallen out.

Was his bladder space the newbie package? Or did this creature originally not have the qualification to have a newbie package because he wasn't human?

Shaking his head, Su Ran "groped" his bladder, took out the three Novice Random Gift Packs, and irately opened all three."

"Ding! Congratulating player Skeleton Warrior for gaining a reward — three chances to change his name for free!"

"Ding! Congratulating player Skeleton Warrior for gaining a reward — a novice hoe! Given the player's uniqueness, the novice hoe can't be dropped and has infinite durability!"

A quaint novice hoe instantly appeared in his bladder.

"Ding! Congratulating player Skeleton Warrior for gaining a reward — a double increase of all basic attributes!"

What? Double attributes?! He struck it rich! Having read the game's informational guide, he knew how vital attribute points were to a player's capacity enhancement. Su Ran immediately checked his attributes.

[Skeleton Warrior](Necromancer)

Attack-3-0(X2)=-6-0

Qi Blood: 20 (X2)= 40

Magic Attack: 6-8(X2)= 12-16[Magic point is 16X10=160]

Healing power: 1(X2)= 2[Determines the percentage increase on the base healing skills or medicine usage]

Defense:-2 (X2)=-4

Agility: 3 (X2)= 6

Luck: 6 (X2)= 12

...

Damn it!

How'd he play with an attack of -6-0? Even as a fragile stratum, he couldn't afford to heal the monster every time he attacked.

What the hell is defense -4? It can also be doubled? Fine, being delicate is healthier...

A newbie is born with 100 Qi Blood right? His Qi Blood was surprisingly...uh, still 40 even after doubling.

Magic attack 12 was pretty good, but how was a skeleton without any skills supposed to use magic attack? Dizzy, why didn't he check the attributes when naming? He was clearly a mage, but he named himself a Skeleton Warrior.

"Change name! Magic Skeleton!"

"Ding! Player 'Magic Skeleton' has successfully changed his name."[Free naming chances -1]

Sigh, double attributes, what a ridiculous attribute doubling...

What Su Ran failed to notice was that his last attribute, luck, was a dazzling 12 points!