Millennium Artifacts: Millennium Puzzle, Millennium Eye, Millennium Wisdom Wheel, Millennium Staff, Millennium Scale, Millennium Jewelry, Millennium Key.
"Choose?"
Xiao Wen stared blankly at the seven spheres of light before him. Floating within them were the seven Millennium Artifacts.
However, after presenting these items, the game system seemed to have nothing further to say.
What the hell? Am I supposed to pick blindly?
Even a novel came with a title and synopsis. Was it really this vague when asking him to choose something?
"The Millennium Artifacts are the foundation of Duel City. Your selection depends entirely on fate. Since you are the Heir of Duel City, follow your instincts and choose what you believe is right."
The raggedly dressed Sona walked over, a trace of respect appearing in her eyes.
"Instincts? Something so intangible." Xiao Wen rolled his eyes.
But in the next instant, his body jolted. It felt as though a needle had pierced his mind, and his finger involuntarily stretched forward, landing on one of the spheres of light.
"Congratulations, player. You have selected the Millennium Artifact—the Millennium Puzzle." "The Millennium Puzzle has fused with you. Generating character attribute interface. 1%... 10%... 100%..." "Character attributes generated. Player has successfully selected an initial class!" ...
A string of notifications rang in Xiao Wen's ears, but he had no mind for anything else.
The moment his finger touched the Millennium Puzzle, it transformed into a golden light that enveloped him. In that instant, his entire body felt warm, as if he were soaking in a hot spring. It was indescribably comfortable.
In the outside world, inside the empty room, a golden marking suddenly flashed across Xiao Wen's forehead within the gaming pod before disappearing without a trace.
Who knew how long passed before the pleasant sensation faded? Xiao Wen opened his eyes, his face still filled with intoxication, and opened his character panel.
Player: Halfway Through the Mortal World Level: 1 Gender: Male Class: Duelist (class can be hidden as Summoner) Strength: 10 (50 unassigned attribute points available) Spirit: 10 (50 unassigned attribute points available) Physique: 10 (50 unassigned attribute points available) Speed: 10 (50 unassigned attribute points available) Intelligence: 10 (50 unassigned attribute points available) Bound Equipment: Millennium Puzzle (Sealed Divine Artifact) Summon Count: 1 (Randomly summon one monster from the deck. The monster's attributes are determined by its attack, defense, and level.) ...
After reading through the long list of attributes, Xiao Wen's mouth fell open, his face filled with shock.
According to the official website for "Phantom God," ordinary classes began with five attribute points at level one. There were slight differences depending on the class chosen, but the total across the five attributes was generally only twenty-five.
But what about his?
Every attribute had been evenly assigned ten points, making his base attributes twice that of ordinary players. On top of that, he still had fifty unassigned attribute points.
Holy crap, my total attribute points are four times those of normal players!
These Duelist attributes were simply insane!
A thought flashed through Xiao Wen's mind.
If he had possessed even half this level of innate talent back then, he would never have lost to that person!
Come to think of it, the reason he had lost back then was not because of skill or ability. He had merely been defeated by the inherent weakness of his talent.
"Perhaps I can realize what I failed to do before this time."
Then, Xiao Wen placed all fifty of his attribute points into Strength and confirmed without hesitation.
In an instant, Xiao Wen's Strength soared to 60 points.
"The trial quest is complete. It is time for you to leave Duel City, my lord. The pass allowing entry to and exit from Duel City is within the Millennium Artifacts. Once you reach level five, you may challenge me. If you win, you will receive brand-new cards. Naturally, the difficulty of the duel will rise accordingly. At level fifteen, you may unlock attendants and recruit low-level Duelists from Duel City to serve you..."
After learning about Duel City from Sona and confirming it against the information in his mind, Xiao Wen finally left Duel City.
"Welcome, player Halfway Through the Mortal World, to Novice Village No. 96508 of the 'Phantom God' Nine Provinces server."
The light of teleportation gradually faded, and a wave of noisy voices reached his ears.
"Come take a look! Fresh level-three common greaves! Only three gold coins! Cheap sale, cheap sale!"
"Looking for a party! Anyone want to team up to slaughter Slimes? Shared experience!"
"Lingfeng Guild is pre-registering members! Veterans and newcomers are welcome to apply! The guild leader distributes benefits from time to time!"
"A red-named player has been spotted at the eastern entrance of the village! He's carrying a green-grade weapon! Brothers, anyone want to form a team? Let's make him drop it!"
Shouts rang out one after another, echoing in Xiao Wen's ears. When his vision returned, he looked around and found himself in a somewhat dilapidated village of thatched huts and mud-brick houses.
This was the birthplace of characters in "Phantom God"—the Novice Village!
"The Novice Village is still as lively as ever."
Xiao Wen muttered, glancing at the packed crowd around him. Hunching his body, he squeezed through the gaps between them with great difficulty.
As soon as he reached the village entrance, he saw the area packed with people. Whenever a miserable green Slime or a little white fluffy rabbit spawned, more than a dozen people would swarm it. In the end, very few managed to claim a monster.
Ding! Nine Provinces Server Announcement: Congratulations to player Tianyan Jiulong for killing the first level-five Lord of this server. Reward: one green-grade accessory.
A notification sounded from the sky, reverberating throughout the entire Nine Provinces server.
"Holy shit! How long has it even been? Only three hours, and someone already killed a level-five Lord Boss? Flame Emperor is awesome!"
"Flame Emperor is worthy of being Flame Emperor! One of the Four Emperors of our Nine Provinces is no joke!"
"Damn it, I'm getting jealous. A green-grade accessory! It must be worth hundreds of thousands of Nine Provinces coins, right?"
"Hundreds of thousands? Do you take Flame Emperor for a beggar? The money leaking from between his fingernails is worth more than that!"
The notification exploded through the crowd like muffled thunder, and everyone immediately began discussing it.
Xiao Wen remained calm. He muttered the name "Tianyan Jiulong" under his breath, then laughed silently. "That kid still likes using that flashy name."
"Still, since these people have already begun moving, I can't fall behind either. No matter what, I have to let those people know that I'm back!"
Xiao Wen looked at the people fighting over a single Slime and shook his head helplessly.
Fighting over monsters?
That was something only mediocre people did.
True experts never bothered competing for monsters. They went to the uninhabited areas with high-level monsters to grind instead.
Xiao Wen strode past them, crossed the village entrance, and reached the territory of level-three monsters—venomous snakes and poisonous spiders. There were far fewer players there, but Xiao Wen did not stop. Relying on his superior stealth skills, he passed through the level-five monster area and headed straight to the desolate territory of the level-seven monsters—the Ironback Rhinos.
"Ironback Rhinos are defensive monsters. They should be able to take a beating. I'll use them to test my summon first!"
Xiao Wen swept his wrist, and a Duel Disk appeared along with his deck.
"Draw! Monster Summon!"
Xiao Wen placed two fingers on a card, drew it without even looking, and pressed it onto the Duel Disk.
Light rippled, and a small figure appeared. "Ku... Ku... Kuriboh??"
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