Before entering the game, Ye Luo had made many preparations, such as cramming all kinds of gaming knowledge. Though he did not understand everything yet, he was no longer a complete gaming novice. He also knew that Strength, Agility, Constitution, and Intelligence were basic attributes in many games, but he had never heard of Battle Souls, Martial Souls, or Blood Souls, so he asked for details.
"When Descenders arrive on the Heavenly Tribulation Continent, destiny takes pity on them and grants them Soul Crystals to help them resist calamities." The white-robed phantom explained in detail, "Descenders may choose from four racial physiques: the Human Race, Demon Race, Spirit Race, and Soul Race. These four races respectively condense four types of Soul Crystals: Battle Souls, Blood Souls, Martial Souls, and Law Souls..."
Only after hearing the white-robed phantom's explanation did Ye Luo understand. Because of their differing physiques, the four races could condense different Soul Crystals. The Human Race's Battle Soul Crystal favored Strength, the Demon Race's Blood Soul Crystal favored Constitution, the Spirit Race's Martial Soul Crystal favored Agility, while the Soul Race's Law Soul favored Intelligence. They corresponded to the four basic attributes.
Aside from having identical initial attributes, the growth of the four great Soul Crystals differed greatly. In the early stages of the game, every time a character leveled up, the Battle Soul Crystal gained 1 extra point of Strength, the Blood Soul Crystal gained 1 point of Constitution, the Martial Soul Crystal gained 1 point of Agility, and the Law Soul Crystal gained 1 point of Intelligence.
And that was only during the early stages of the game. As players changed classes, the differences between the four great Soul Crystals would grow even larger.
Ye Luo carefully examined the initial growth aptitudes of the four great Soul Crystals. They were as follows:
Battle Soul Crystal:
Strength: 2 stars
Agility: 1 star
Constitution: 1 star
Intelligence: 1 star
Martial Soul Crystal:
Strength: 1 star
Agility: 2 stars
Constitution: 1 star
Intelligence: 1 star
Blood Soul Crystal:
Strength: 1 star
Agility: 1 star
Constitution: 2 stars
Intelligence: 1 star
Law Soul Crystal:
Strength: 1 star
Agility: 1 star
Constitution: 1 star
Intelligence: 2 stars
So-called growth aptitude referred to the points a game character gained with each level. For example, someone who chose a Battle Soul Crystal would gain 2 points of Strength, 1 point of Agility, 1 point of Constitution, and 1 point of Intelligence every time they leveled up before advancing further.
Ye Luo memorized all of this after giving it a little thought. Then he asked the white-robed phantom about the characteristics of the various classes and received a brief introduction:
Swordsmen and Berserkers ruled the world through attack power, making them suited to the Strength-oriented Battle Soul Crystal—the Human Race.
Knights dominated through high Health and high Defense, making them suited to the Constitution-oriented Blood Soul Crystal—the Demon Race.
Archers and Assassins darted nimbly across the battlefield, making them suited to the Agility-oriented Martial Soul Crystal—the Spirit Race.
Summoners, Mages, and Priests needed powerful Magic Attack Power and Mana to kill enemies and survive, making them suited to the Intelligence-oriented Law Soul Crystal—the Soul Race.
The Boxer class was fairly balanced, so any choice would work. It depended on personal preference when choosing a Soul Crystal.
Of course, these were merely the white-robed phantom's suggestions. Many Berserkers chose races with high Health, while some Swordsmen chose agile races. There were all kinds of choices, depending entirely on one's understanding of and preferences in the game.
"Warrior classes actually have three races to choose from. That's really complicated. Mages are much simpler. Just choose the Soul Race and a Law Soul Crystal. After all, Mages focus on Intelligence." Ye Luo muttered to himself. Looking at the three choices before him, he made his decision after a moment. "I want to take up the post of Swordsman, so it would be best to choose a Battle Soul—the Human Race."
"Ye Luo Zhi Qiu, are you certain?" the white-robed phantom asked. He reminded him, "Like your character name, once you choose your race and Soul Crystal, they will be very difficult to change without special circumstances or special items. Please choose carefully."
"I'm certain!"
"Ye Luo Zhi Qiu, Human Race Warrior, character creation complete!"
As the white-robed phantom spoke, Ye Luo floated into the air, and the virtual space around him rippled slightly. A tiny crystal slowly appeared, then descended toward him. This was clearly the so-called Battle Soul Crystal.
The crystal was shaped like two triangular pyramids joined together. It emitted a hazy glow, vast and majestic, carrying an air of solemnity.
As though it were intangible, the crystal entered Ye Luo's mind. Then a strange aura flowed through every part of his body.
If examined under a microscope, one would discover that the Soul Crystal diffracted into countless extremely fine threads. These threads rapidly extended, soon spreading throughout his entire body and merging with his muscles and meridians.
As the Soul Crystal entered his mind, Ye Luo felt several degrees stronger than before, and his body had become more nimble as well. He muttered, "It seems the Soul Crystal is the source of every game character's power. That's pretty interesting. Other virtual games don't have anything like this. Could this be what makes this game different?"
"Ye Luo Zhi Qiu, it is now time to choose how your initial basic attributes will be assigned." The white-robed phantom paused slightly before continuing, "There are two methods. The first is random generation, and the second is fixed assignment. Which do you choose?"
At the start of a game, players were assigned the four great attributes. Other games had the same feature, so Ye Luo was familiar with it. However, after witnessing how different Heavenly Tribulation was, he became much more cautious and asked, "What is the difference between these two methods?"
"Every game character has four basic attributes. Under the first method, random generation, each of the four basic attributes receives a random value between 1 and 10 points. Under fixed assignment, every attribute is fixed at 5 points. Which do you choose?" the white-robed phantom explained in detail.
"From 1 to 10 points... If I'm lucky, I can get more than 5 points, but if I'm unlucky, I'll get less than 5. It's entirely up to luck." Ye Luo muttered, then gave a bitter laugh. "Is my luck good or bad? Meeting Sister Qiu was my good fortune, but now she... Which should I choose?"
Seeing Ye Luo remain silent, the white-robed phantom continued, "Ye Luo Zhi Qiu, if you do not choose within 10 seconds, you will trigger a hidden assignment method: sacrifice some basic attribute points to activate a Heavenly Tribulation Trial Mission. Succeed in the trial, and you will receive unexpected benefits, such as a powerful Hidden Profession or relatively powerful weapons and equipment. Which method do you choose?"
"Huh, if I don't choose for 10 seconds, another assignment method appears. Only 10 seconds, though. That's interesting." Ye Luo clicked his tongue. After pondering briefly, he muttered, "Yue Er said Hidden Professions are much stronger than these basic classes. It's just a trial. I believe in my own strength. Though I'll lose some attribute points, it's worth taking a chance."
Having made up his mind, Ye Luo's expression hardened. "I choose the third method."
"Ye Luo Zhi Qiu, you have chosen the third hidden attribute assignment method and accepted the Heavenly Tribulation Trial Mission. Attribute assignment will now begin. I wish you earth-shattering achievements on the Heavenly Tribulation Continent." After saying this, the white-robed phantom slowly vanished as the virtual space trembled slightly.
The instant the white-robed phantom finished speaking, hazy light descended and merged into Ye Luo's body—or more precisely, into the Battle Soul Crystal in his mind. An aura circulated through him, and he felt somewhat stronger than before.
Ye Luo hurriedly checked his attributes. He had learned about this from other games. Silently calling up his character panel, a series of messages appeared in his mind:
Ye Luo Zhi Qiu (Novice Warrior) Race: Human Race Battle Soul Level: 0 Health: 110 Mana: 110 Physical Attack: 1-1 Magic Attack: 1-1 Defense: 1 Strength: 1 (Each point increases Physical Attack Power by 1, knockback by 1, and Stun by 1) Agility: 1 (Each point increases Accuracy by 1, Evasion by 1, and attack speed by 1) Constitution: 1 (Each point increases Health by 10, Physical Defense by 1, and Health Recovery Speed by 0.1) Intelligence: 1 (Each point increases Mana by 10, Physical Defense by 1, and Mana Recovery Speed by 0.1) Luck: 0 Reputation: 0
After seeing his attribute panel, Ye Luo felt like crying without tears. He muttered, "This is what they meant by sacrificing some basic attribute points? This is far more than just a few points. Out of ten thousand people, there probably isn't anyone with attributes as extreme as mine. I'm probably already behind the vast majority of players."
It made sense. All four basic attributes were at 1 point, far worse than the fixed 5 points. Even the worst possible result from the random 1-to-10-point assignment would be this. With such extreme attributes, how could someone bent on revenge not feel miserable and indignant?
Though miserable and indignant, Ye Luo knew it was too late to change anything. After venting a little, he returned to normal and began checking his inventory. He knew every game gave new players beginner equipment. He silently prayed that his beginner gear would be powerful enough; otherwise, he feared he would be unable to move an inch in the early stages of the game.
But he quickly froze, because he could not find an inventory as described in the games he had played before. He frowned slightly. "Why isn't there an inventory? Wouldn't that mean I don't even have a weapon? Am I supposed to fight monsters and level up with my fists?"
"That can't be right. This game shouldn't be that perverse. Players need to carry all kinds of things. They can't expect us to hold health potions while fighting monsters." Ye Luo quickly calmed down and muttered, "The official site said this game was different from the rest. Maybe I just haven't found it yet."
With that thought, Ye Luo searched carefully, but he found nothing anywhere on his body. He muttered, "Inventory... inventory..."
Unexpectedly, as he kept repeating the word "inventory," he felt his entire consciousness shift. Then he entered a virtual space. There were twenty slots in this space, and two of them contained hazy white balls of light. Looking closely, they turned out to be an iron sword and a piece of clothing.
Without bothering to see whether the iron sword and clothing were divine weapons or treasures, Ye Luo had a thought. "So I can enter the inventory just by using my mind. No, this should be a virtual space. Only twenty slots? The system is really stingy."
"But where is this space?" Ye Luo muttered. Then an idea came to him, and he blurted out, "It should be inside the Soul Crystal. After all, the Soul Crystal is the only unknown thing on my entire body."
Thinking this, Ye Luo withdrew his consciousness and probed toward the Soul Crystal in his mind. Looking carefully, he saw that the three faces on the upper half of the crystal had many grooves. Ye Luo directed his consciousness toward one of them, and two words immediately appeared in his mind—"Weapon." He probed another groove, and two more words appeared—"Chest Armor."
Seeing this, Ye Luo became thoughtful. He then directed his consciousness toward the other grooves. Before long, he found the groove labeled "Inventory." With a thought, he entered it and returned to the space from before, where the two balls of light occupied two of the slots.
"Oh, so that's how it works. That's pretty interesting." Ye Luo suddenly understood, gaining some insight into the purpose of those grooves.
Before you continue