Chapter 2: Innate Attributes, Beginner's Tasks

"It is estimated that the normal online population will be over 5 million, and the highest online population is expected to challenge 30 million, setting a new record for online games in the past decade..."

Ye Rong was stunned by these numbers, which were not just good but astonishingly good.

Comparing it to Shushan Swordsman, the record for the highest number of online players was 8 Million Players, which was a world away from the 30 Million figure.

The most popular games currently on the market have all been running for more than a decade and have cultivated a large player base, maintaining a regular online population in the tens of millions.

These old online games did not lose their charm with the passage of time but instead cultivated a higher degree of loyalty among players.

However, none of the new games launched in the past decade have had the strength to truly challenge and rival these old online games. Most are simply shooting stars, shining brightly for a moment before fading away.

At least from the perspective of the projected number of players, The Other Shore is expected to be the top choice for this year's hottest new game-

Given the Starry Sky Information Company's reputation and track record in the industry, their predictions are extremely accurate, rarely deviating significantly, and are trusted by many players.

"Great, it seems like I've picked a fantastic new game!"

The brighter the prospects for The Other Shore, the more advantageous it is for Ye Rong. He doesn't want to end up like Shushan Swordsman, where after investing a lot of effort, the game is shut down.

After registering a game account on the Sheng Feng official website, Ye Rong looked at the time and saw the public test server opening was approaching, so he launched his light computer and logged in.

The light computers of this era have long since made helmet-style virtual devices obsolete. Two small psychomotor conductors can connect the human brain to the light computer. The simulation effect is also unmatched by the old virtual helmets.

In a small affordable housing unit of less than twenty square meters, this newly bought light computer was the most valuable item. Ye Rong had spent almost all his savings on this latest model.

Countless stars dotted the vast, seemingly endless starry sky, decorating it like a chessboard with a bright and immense cosmic landscape."

Ye Rong found himself in such a state, waiting for the opening of The Other Shore - there was less than ten minutes left.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!"

A deep, distant sound of three ceremonial chimes came from afar, initially faint but quickly resonating and reverberating in his ears, penetrating his heart.

The vast starry sky was rapidly drawn near, as Ye Rong fell into a star cluster vortex. When he reappeared, he was standing in front of an ancient and magnificent gate.

"Heaven and Earth are unkind; all creatures are mere playthings."

At the top of the gate, ten ancient, dignified characters formed this moral epigram, which pierced the heart of everyone who saw it, shaking them to their core as if their soul had been struck by light.

"Hello, please choose to create a game character."

An incredibly enchanting NPC beauty in ancient clothing suddenly appeared in front of Ye Rong, wearing only an extremely revealing transparent white silk, exposing large areas of snowy white skin, her sweet voice almost melting him.

"Damn! So sexy! So exciting!"

Ye Rong had to admit that The Other Shore's art production was on a completely different level than Shushan Swordsman, and even this NPC beauty's looks were in a different league.

Each account in The Other Shore can create three game characters, but you can only choose one race, either the human race or the demon race, and cannot create characters from different races.

Ye Rong naturally chose the human race without hesitation. Although he was quite interested in the demon race and wanted to create a demon race alternate account, he made his decision without any hesitation in the face of this stringent rule. He didn't want his main account to become a "Demon Man" or "Human Demon."

"Please roll the Divine Dice to determine your innate attributes."

After reading a large number of posts introducing the basic knowledge of The Other Shore, Ye Rong knew that the innate attributes in the game were divided into five categories: bone root, fortune, comprehension, the Five Elements, and strength. Once the innate attributes are determined, it's almost impossible to change them, unless you get the legendary immortal pills that can enhance innate attributes.

The sum of the five innate attributes of each game character ranges between 80 and 100, and rolling the dice depends solely on luck.

Once a game character is created, it cannot be deleted within a week. If you are very unlucky, and the innate attributes of all three characters are unsatisfactory, this will undoubtedly affect your early game experience.

Ye Rong gently pushed the Divine Dice. After it tumbled around, a large 29 points showed up, which happened to be the attribute value of bone roots in his innate attributes. He repeated this process five times, getting bone root 29, fortune 32, comprehension 11, Five Elements 8, and strength 18, totaling 98 points.

"Damn! My first character has such a good start!"

Ye Rong excitedly slapped his thigh. Such a character with innate attributes close to a full score of 100 was extremely rare. He immediately confirmed this character as his main account.

Perhaps because all his luck was used up on the first try, the attributes of the characters rolled by the dice in the following two attempts were quite miserable. Both didn't even exceed 90 points.

"Let's go!"

After all, they were just alternate accounts. Even if their innate attributes were a bit lower, it didn't matter much. If necessary, he could delete them later and create new characters.

One Sword Withering and Prosperity was Ye Rong's usual online game ID, this time carried over to The Other Shore as well.

With ancient buildings and mud-black tiled walls, Ye Rong was born in a Newbie Village with at least a thousand other players crowded into the central square, filling the entire village.

"Damn, weren't they supposed to have opened ten thousand newbie villages? How can it still be so crowded?"

Ye Rong grumbled and complained as he pushed himself forward—everyone rushed towards the Village Chief and several conspicuous NPCs, but he took the opposite direction and collided with the outer ring of the crowd.

Missions in the Newbie Village were designed to acquaint players with the operational habits and background of the game, and the rewards were limited.

Ye Rong wouldn't waste too much time competing with so many people. He had already memorized several of the less popular but more rewarding missions in the Newbie Village, and this was the perfect time to act.

"Excuse me, elder. Is there anything I can help you with?"

On the eastern side of the Newbie Village was a beautifully cultivated land with several thatched cottages nearby, where an elderly man with white hair and beard stood.

"Young man, you came just in time. I have a troubling matter on my hands…"

This mission involved helping an old Confucian scholar in the village gather a complete set of scattered scrolls, and the reward was a Peach-tree Sword with the effect of exorcising evil spirits.

The game planners of The Other Shore were extremely stingy. When a character is born, they only have a set of coarse cloth underwear and no novice weapon at all – completely empty-handed.

There are two weapon missions for new players: one is the Peach-tree Sword mission from the old Confucian scholar Ye Rong was facing, and the other is the Green Steel Sword mission from the Village Chief. Players can only choose one. Once you accept one of the missions, you cannot accept the other. The damage and attack speed of the Peach-tree Sword are lesser compared to the Green Steel Sword. The only notable aspect of the Peach-tree Sword is its additional effect of exorcising evil spirits. Ye Rong chose the less popular Peach-tree Sword over the Green Steel Sword precisely because of this feature.