Chapter 4: Mutant Skill

Everyone knew monsters were powerful creatures created by God's Path. Even if they were only Level 1, it was still difficult for most new players to deal with it alone.

Which was why new players were given another special benefit. Each player's rucksacks would find an "Initial skill self-selection voucher".

[Initial skill self-selection voucher]: When used, can choose one of the five initial skills to learn. 

And by learning one skill, it would be much easier for the player to deal with any level 1 monster.

Just as he remembered this last tidbit, Ling Yi used this voucher just as he was about to enter the forest.

A list of skill information appeared in a window in front of him, and just as he was told, there were five skills to choose from.

Ling Yi looked at them one by one.

[Forward Punch (1 star)]: Quickly rush to the target and punch, repelling the target and causing a small amount of damage.

[Fitness (1 star, passive)]: Enhances the user's physical body and increases strength and agility by 5 points.

[Fireball (1 star)]: A fireball is formed in the player's palms. It will cause a small amount of fire damage to the target.

[Poison Fog (1 star)]: Releases poison fog in an area for 5 seconds, causing enemies in the area to suffer slight poison damage every second.

[Starfall (1 star)]: Induce a star to fall onto the enemy's head (1-second delay), causing a small amount of damage. There is a slight chance of releasing another star.

There were no classes in God's Path.

The player's skills were all obtained from killing monsters with the skill. Not all monsters will drop it. However, there is still a slight chance of it happening. And players can freely combine the skills they learned to their heart's content. 

Looking at the list of five skills, Ling Yi only hesitated for a moment before choosing [Starfall].

There was no particular reason why he chose it. 

He only thought it would be beneficial to choose a skill related to his talent, and [Starfall] was precisely what he wanted.

[You have obtained the 1 Star skill [Starfall]!]

Immediately the voucher in his rucksack had been replaced by [Starfall], which was also the only item in his bag.

Ling Yi could learn the skill immediately, but he was not in a hurry.

Especially when he had the option to "upgrade" it first.

[Starfall (1 Star Skill) – Mutation Potential: Exorbitant]

The grade was higher than he had expected… 

"Mutate!"

Ling Yi didn't bother to express his surprise or joy. He just wanted to see the new skill after the mutation.

[Are you sure you want to carry out the mutation on the skill [Starfall]? (Requires 87 mutation points)]

"I'm sure, I'm sure!" Ling Yi looked at his current mood points.

[13 782]

This means he would have a total of 137 mutation points and still have exactly 50 points after using it.

The [Starfall] skill blurred for a moment, then quickly became clear again.

Ling Yi, who had mutated an item before, knew the mutation was over.

He quickly opened it to check the stats.

[Starfall (1 Star, Potential to Grow)]: Guides a flame star to hit the target, causing a lot of damage to everything within the area (5-second delay). The flame star had a tiny chance of being magnified by ten times.

"As expected, the mutation goes exactly as I planned."

Ling Yi had hoped that the mutated skill would inflict more significant damage, a wider range of destruction, and an easier chance of triggering [probability reversal].

The mutated [Starfall] had indeed fulfilled his expectations perfectly.

Ling Yi didn't dawdle and immediately started learning.

Golden and red starlight appeared around his body and began to revolve around him. It only gradually disappeared after a few breaths.

Although he didn't feel anything in his body, Ling Yi felt like he could summon meteorites. It was as if he had awakened his superpower. It was a profound and wonderful feeling, leaving one with an endless aftertaste.

'Next...'

With this far from average 1star skill, Ling Yi's heart was filled with confidence.

He smiled and quickly stepped into the forest.

...

The sun shone through the lush canopy of the trees, illuminating the green grass.

And a bright yellow chicken was strolling around.

But it wasn't an ordinary chicken. It was a low-level monster.

A Combat Chicken!

Although they looked no different from domesticated roosters, their combat power was no less than that of a fierce man.

Ling Yi walked out from behind a tree and saw it by chance, and the creature also looked over upon instinct. 

The man and the chicken looked at each other for a second.

Then in the next second, the chicken flapped its wings fiercely as it cried out and swung its legs like a pair of wind and fire wheels, charging toward Ling Yi.

"F*ck." Ling Yi's eyes widened as he muttered subconsciously. He immediately turned around and ran behind a big tree.

When he ran into this extraordinary chicken head-on, he suddenly realized that he hadn't devised a battle strategy. What should he do when he encounters a close-combat enemy? What should he do when they encounter long-range enemies?

'What do I do now?' 

As soon as the question popped up in his mind, he had an answer.

He should summon a meteor!

The [Starfall] skill had a delay of 5 seconds, so it was impossible to hit a moving enemy. So, the only thing he could do was to predict the enemy's next move.

Obviously, the close-combat type of battle rooster would set him as its target, which could only mean one thing…

It should give him enough time to distract the rooster for a bit before he would be able to land a hit.

Ling Yi stopped hesitating.

"Starfall!" 

Shouting out the skill's name could significantly increase the success rate. This was because the release of all skills depended on the player's will. It was difficult to determine if the player really wanted to use the skill or if they were thinking or talking about it.

Apart from a few people with strong willpower, most people had developed the habit of shouting out the skill's name.

Suddenly, a few hundred meters away, a red-gold light spot appeared in the sky.

Upon a closer look, it turned out to be a crimson ball with a diameter of four to five meters. The big ball of hot gas was covered in golden flames. As it flew, it left a long golden trail of flames.

"Is that Starfall…?"

Seeing it flying in his direction, Ling Yi suddenly frowned.

"Uh… that thing shouldn't harm me, right?"

The falling flame star was like a burning meteorite.

No one would be so calm when they saw a huge burning meteorite coming down toward them at high speed.

[God's Path gives players freedom of choice. Players are allowed to self-harm.] The system supplied.

Ling Yi was speechless.

He didn't have the time to say anything unrefined, so he ran away.

There were only 5 seconds, and he had already wasted most of them just staring at the giant meteor. If he stood there and continued to ogle, he might become the first rookie player to commit suicide this year!

A sharp and loud sound came from the air when he ran to a tree in front of him.

Shua shua shua!

"It's here!" Ling Yi started to get nervous.

The next thing he knew, the green grass around him was instantly illuminated.

It was as if a light had suddenly appeared in the dark grass.

BOOM!

Like a bomb going off, a loud explosion quickly follows.

The ground under his feet trembled for a moment, and the wind blew off the leaves of the cypress trees in all directions.

Ling Yi waited for a while longer. He was slightly surprised when he didn't hear any other sounds.

'That's it? All bark but no bite?'

"Ah… That's right." He suddenly remembered.

'After all, I'm only Level 1, and my stats are still low… No matter how powerful my skill is, it still wouldn't be that strong.'