Chapter 3: Enter The Game

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In Guyue Temple of Guyue Village, torrential rain slashed down accompanied by rumbling thunder.

Kakroom!

Crackling thunder rose across the sky, shedding blinding flashes over the worn-out temple.

The broken statue of Buddha had fallen on its side and was covered in spider webs.

Beside the statue was a small fire with a big pot on top of it.

The soup was boiling in the pot, and the fragrance of food filled the air.

There were a boy and a girl beside the pot. Both of them shared a high resemblance, seemingly a pair of brother and sister.

The sister stirred the soup with the makeshift spatula while the brother was warming himself beside the fire.

Behind the brother and sister were some haystacks where a dirty and injured young man lay.

The brother and sister did not seem to know the young man. The sister would keep an eye on the young man while cooking the soup. Meanwhile, the brother stiffened his body and looked at the fire with an anxious gaze.

The wind blew, almost extinguishing the fire as though it was a candle flickering in the wind. It could have died if the wind had been any stronger.

The brother looked anxious and terrified.

Kakroom!

As the thunder clapped again, the torrential rain fell and blanketed the land.

It was then that the young man on the haystacks opened his eyes.

‘Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?’

After being dazed by the new environment, Fang Yue regained his senses. He had logged into Blue Ocean. He was inside the game!

He looked around to find out more about his whereabouts.

The wooden beams above his head looked rotten and old. Even the patterns on it were clear while the yellow soil on the ground felt mushy. He could even see the tiny bits of soil with his naked eyes.

The rain outside the temple seemed extremely strong as the wind howled strongly and sent chills down his back.

‘This modeling, this sensation! This is worthy of being a next-gen triple-A game! It easily surpasses all the holographic games on the market! I knew you could do it, Tensent! This is why I wanted this game so much!’

Fang Yue was excited. He got up and took his first step.

Bzzt!

As though he had been electrocuted, pain spread from his body and caused him to squeal all of a sudden. It felt like his body was burning.

‘Wait! Even the pain simulation is this real?’

He checked his body anxiously and realized that he was covered in cuts. It seemed like his character had just fallen from a cliff, and his face was covered in mud. He looked like he had gone through the mill.

‘What is this? I thought I just came into the game! Why am I covered in wounds?’

“You’re awake.”

It was then a soft voice sounded ahead of him.

Fang Yue then noticed a boy and a girl in front of him.

“Don’t talk to her!” The boy anxiously pulled the girl behind his back. He was sweating and sounded like he was in distress based on his hoarse voice.

‘Am I that scary?’ Fang Yue touched his face, feeling irritated. ‘It’s because this game doesn’t let me create my own character. Otherwise, I would be the most handsome guy in this world! So handsome that even guys would fall for me!’

He was in a game, so it was natural for him to want to be a handsome guy. The better looking his character was, the more heads he would turn. No one liked to stare at an ugly guy or woman for a long time.

Tensent missed out on this point.

Fang Yue decided to give feedback in the forum after he got out of the game.

“It’s fine, brother. I saved the guy from the foot of the mountain, so he won’t harm me.”

‘The little girl saved me? Or should I say she saved my character? Is this a cutscene in the game?’

Fang Yue was familiar with how things were progressing. All the players were rescued by this little girl and eventually became the last disciple of Hong School.

‘But, damn, it’s so real!’

The girl’s reaction, temperament, and facial features looked so lively as though she was a real human being.

Apart from that, the environment, the wind, the rain, the thunder…everything felt so real that Fang Yue thought he had traveled to another world. There was not a single flaw at all.

At the thought of that, the system’s voice appeared in his ears.

[Welcome to Blue Ocean, player NightDawn.]

[Lucky gift detected in player NightDawn’s account. Do you want to accept the gift now?]

‘Lucky gift? Oh, right, I got the lucky gift!’

The hyper-realistic game made Fang Yue forget all about the lucky gift. He thought with his mind, ‘Accept.’

[Congratulations on receiving the lucky gift! Do you want to open it now?]

‘Open!’

[Congratulations on receiving Insight Vision, a low Human-level skill.]

[Name: Insight Vision]

[Level: Low Human-level]

[Effect: Lock on to a target with your eyes and analyze the target for detailed information. Depending on the target, the analysis time will differ. Some targets are not available for analysis.]

[Remark: My eyes see through everything]

‘Huh? A low Human-level? That’s it for the lucky gift?’

Fang Yu was a little disappointed. He called up his statistics window with his mind and a translucent window appeared before him.

[Name: NightDawn]

[State: Mortal]

[Status: Severely Wounded]

[HP: 5/50 (Severely Wounded)]

[Control: 1 (Severely Wounded)]

[Load: 1 (Severely Wounded)]

[Talent: None]

[Martial Art: Insight Vision (low Human-level)]

[Lifespan: 24 hours]

‘Lifespan?’

Fang Yue was shocked. ‘What do you mean by ‘lifespan’?’

It was then that his passive skill, Insight Vision, came into play.

[Lifespan: Your character’s lifespan.]

‘Huh? 24 hours? So, I only have one day left to live? This bloody game is a pay-to-win game? The official site mentioned nothing about this! Where’s the top-up window? I can’t even top-up?!’

Fang Yue forced himself to calm and looked at his severely wounded status.

[Severely Wounded: Your body has sustained heavy injuries. Your stats are lowered and max HP has decreased. Your HP is decreasing over time.]

‘Severely wounded? My HP is decreasing over time? What kind of starting point is this?’

Fang Yue felt defeated but soon remembered something.

‘Wait a minute. I’m just a new player. The system should have something for me to heal myself up. Otherwise, I will die at the start…’

“Big brother, are you still feeling unwell?”

While Fang Yue was pondering for a way out of the situation, the girl turned around with a bowl of soup in her porcelain hands.

Fang Yue noticed that her fingers were long and smooth, unlike someone who was used to doing labor work. She might not be just a normal little girl. Maybe she was the daughter of some wealthy family.

He looked at the soup. It smelled so good that it made him drool.

Sizzle!

When the girl walked over with the bowl, a strange sizzling noise sounded.

At the same time, the fire behind her somehow turned smaller.

“Big brother, do you want some soup? I made this herbal soup for you. You will heal faster by drinking it!”

‘Now, I see!’ Fang Yue was an experienced player, so he knew where the game was taking him. 

This scene was a typical progression in games. Players could get familiar with the game through the NPC guide.

The girl should be the starting NPC that guided the player through the early stage. Meanwhile, the bowl of soup should be a potion to heal his HP and recover his status.

‘I knew it. Severely wounded at the start? This isn’t the right way to start the game.’

“Okay, thank you.”

He took the bowl with a smile, but he realized that the bowl was burning hot. He had no idea how the little girl could have held it so calmly and give it to him.

Maybe the little girl was a higher level NPC, or maybe because of his severely wounded status, his heat resistance had dropped.

Fang Yue stared at the soup long enough for his Insight Vision to activate. Before he could take a sip, a line of information popped up.

[Soul-reaping Poison Soup: A poisonous soup made with a dozen types of poisonous mushrooms. A single drop can kill. Drink it and it can destroy your soul]

[Remark: Drinking whatever people handed you isn’t the way to live a long life.]