Early the next morning, I was awakened by the guards. After putting on a puncture-resistant combat suit with no attributes, I headed to the cafeteria and saw many "test subjects" just like me.
No one spoke. The only sound was cutlery clinking against trays, and the atmosphere was indescribably oppressive.
"You."
Instructor Lakuri appeared, pointed at me, and said, "No. 033, you useless piece of trash, come with me later."
"Yes, Instructor."
I answered dully.
The other test subjects gave me sympathetic looks, but none of them said anything.
After breakfast, a guard took me to the training ground. There were not only me, but more than a dozen other test subjects as well. Only then did I notice the X033 printed on my combat suit. That was probably my designation among the test subjects.
"Today, you will begin firearms training."
With his hands behind his back, Instructor Lakuri sneered. "Death Mine does not keep trash. There will be an assessment before the end of every day. The top ten trainees will be selected for further training in the Vanguard and may even have the chance to enter the Gray Bug Regiment to be trained as Power Armor warriors. But the bottom ten will be eliminated. You should know very well what that means!"
Everyone trembled.
I was slightly excited instead. I could finally use a gun!
"Take it!"
An instructor handed me a pistol. "Try aiming and firing. Stay steady. Don't rush."
"Okay."
I took the pistol, feeling inexplicably excited. I disengaged the safety and began aiming and firing.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
After three consecutive shots, a prompt appeared before my eyes.
[Do you wish to learn the skill Basic Shooting (C-rank)?]
I had been waiting for this for a long time.
Without hesitation, I added the Basic Shooting skill icon to my skill panel, consuming one skill point.
Unfortunately, I had no more Skill Experience at the moment, so I could not raise Basic Shooting's level.
Even so, after learning Level 1 Basic Shooting, a considerable amount of experience and insight flooded into my mind. I no longer felt like a novice. Instead, I felt that I had gained a slight rapport with the gun. This was probably one of the advantages of being a player.
By evening, after a full day of training, the assessment began.
More than sixty people participated. With my Level 1 Basic Shooting proficiency, I could have easily placed in the top ten, but I did not. Instead, I kept my score around the middle of the pack. I would neither be selected nor eliminated. That was best.
That night, all the test subjects were taken into a large hall to learn about firearms and familiarize themselves with assembling them. This was also the part I wanted most. The Skill Experience gained from disassembling and assembling a rifle was far greater than that from taking apart a radio!
So I frantically harvested Skill Experience!
In the blink of an eye, four days passed.
By then, the Experience Points gained from disassembling and assembling firearms had reached a terrifying 120,000!
It was just enough to raise Basic Repair, Basic Shooting, and Throwing Skill to Level 10!
After flashes of Light Flickering, all three skills reached maximum level. Basic Repair and Throwing Skill each granted an additional 3 Agility and Strength, while Basic Shooting gave me a total of 6 Agility after rising from Level 1 to Level 10.
As a result, my combat level rose considerably once more.
[Shadow Chaser] (Main Class Unlocked) Level: 4 Attack: 10–23 Defense: 5 Health: 400 Critical Hit: 0 Charm: 0 Essence/Psionic Power: Not Awakened Overall Combat Level: 40 Potential Point Allocation: Strength 18/Agility 12/Mental 0/Stamina 0 Achievements: 0
Agility was also one of the essential attributes for sword-specialized Super Weapon Masters. High Agility meant increased attack speed and accuracy. Movement speed and many other factors were also closely related to Agility. In PvP, if a sword-specialized Super Weapon Master lacked sufficient Agility, they would probably be instantly killed before even getting close to Psionicists or Firepower Specialists!
In Star Abyss, there were eight major classes: Super Weapon Master, Psionicist, Star Speaker, Light Priest, Dark Priest, Firepower Specialist, Shadow Assassin, and Gene Warrior.
Among them, Super Weapon Masters were further divided into specialized branches such as Sword Specialization, Hammer Specialization, and Gun Specialization. All Super Weapon Masters relied on an Essence Furnace to gain an endless supply of power.
In the Star Abyss World, the composition of the air was slightly different from Earth's: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.03% carbon dioxide, 0.94% rare gases, and 0.03% essence energy!
Essence energy was widespread across this planet, which the Star Maple Federation and Crimson Dragon Country called the "Mother Planet." It was also one of the Mother Planet's sources of power. As long as one awakened an Essence Furnace, one could convert the essence energy in the air into essence power. Essence power was a force similar to the source of "ancient martial arts," and was highly sought after.
Psionicists, on the other hand, relied on a Mental Power Furnace. Psionicists were extremely rare. Once they awakened a Mental Power Furnace, they could wield superhuman power and were somewhat similar to mages.
Star Speakers were a branch of Psionicists and counted as a Hidden Profession. They had been absurdly strong in the closed beta version.
Both Light Priests and Dark Priests originated from the theology of the Star Abyss World. This world possessed not only advanced technology, but also gods. Of course, these two classes were not the gentle priests people commonly imagined, wearing robes and crosses. In the Star Abyss World, priests wore heavy Power Armor and slaughtered demons with swords. They were not gentle at all.
Anyone could become a Firepower Specialist. It was also the only class capable of increasing firearm power. The damage dealt by bullets fired from guns was fixed for all players and determined by weapon quality. Firepower Specialists, however, could enhance firearm power through class skills such as Weapon Charging and Evil Frenzy, making them indispensable to any team.
Shadow Assassins were generally Mental Power Furnace awakeners, because this class needed to draw upon certain powers from subspace. They were extremely mysterious, but I was not very interested. They were too fragile and could not wear Power Armor. After all, surviving in the Star Abyss World was what truly mattered.
As for Gene Warriors, ordinary players generally would not choose that class. To become a peak Gene Warrior, one had to undergo all sorts of genetic mutation procedures. Even their bodies needed extensive modifications to adapt to powerful Power Armor. Implanting various neural sensors into the body was considered relatively mild. Some Gene Warriors even had to have the thing used for carrying on the family line cut off.
Just reading some of the closed beta descriptions had already made the Gene Warrior class seem horrifying to me. Naturally, I would never consider it.
A man could be weak, but he could not be without his little brother!
"X033!"
A booming voice jolted me out of my thoughts. It was Instructor Lakuri. His gaze was cold as he said, "Come. Five days have passed. Your body can now endure a second dose of Pandora Solution."
Again?
I narrowed my eyes. This time, I was not very afraid. In fact, I was rather looking forward to it.
Not long afterward, I was tightly strapped to a hospital bed again. Then a medical worker injected the second dose of Pandora Solution into my arm. This time, it was somewhat different. My arm burned with excruciating pain.
After being wheeled into a small room, my body kept changing from within, like surging tides and raging flames!
Soon, lines of text appeared before my eyes again—
[Pandora Solution is taking effect!]
[Your genes are officially beginning to mutate!]
[You may choose between two evolution methods: directed mutation and free mutation!]
Just as expected, it was exactly the same!
My heart pounded wildly. The same choice now lay before me again. Should I play it safe and take a B-rank evolution skill, or gamble and see whether I could obtain some god-tier skill from genetic mutation?
"Fuck it, I'm going all in..."
"When has a gambler ever lost every day? When has a child ever cried every day?"
The next moment, I confirmed my choice of free mutation evolution.
At once, a mysterious power surged within me, like a gentle drizzle that nourished all things in silence. It nourished my entire body, and even every inch of my skin glowed with a subtle radiance.
Soon, a ding-dong sound rang in my ears.
[Congratulations, you have obtained the S-rank Gene Enhancement Skill Bio-Optical Invisibility: Your skin cells can distort light, achieving optical invisibility. Each use lasts 12 seconds. Cooldown: 60 seconds.]
Buzz—
In an instant, my mind went blank!
What an insanely powerful skill! It could actually achieve optical invisibility. It was comparable to the Shadow Assassin's Shadow Veil skill, a type of stealth ability. It did not even reduce movement speed. In fact, it might be even more useful than a Shadow Assassin's stealth!
I was ecstatic!
Not long afterward, I gradually calmed down.
No, I absolutely could not let Instructor Lakuri discover this ability. Otherwise, he would definitely drag me into a concentration camp and turn me into a member of Dark Tide. I had no intention of joining such a deranged organization!
Even if I were electrocuted to death or died from pain, I would never enter Combat Form or reveal this S-rank Gene Enhancement Skill!
Sure enough, I was soon wheeled into that "electrotherapy" room.
"It failed again?!"
Instructor Lakuri was furious. "No. 033, you worthless trash! You wasted two doses of Pandora Solution! If your assessment results over the past few days had not been passable, I would have dragged you off to be made into fertilizer!"
"Instructor, I didn't want this either..."
"Shut up! Electrocute him!"
"Yes, Instructor!"
A powerful current coursed through my entire body. The pain made me convulse violently, and I was nearly delirious, but I still clenched my teeth and repeatedly rejected the system's request to enter Combat Form.
Not long afterward, I was sent back to my room covered in wounds and quickly fell into a groggy sleep.
That afternoon, training resumed.
Today's training was close-quarters combat. I was assigned an attribute-less training sword. After exchanging a few blows with the close-combat tactics instructor, a prompt immediately appeared.
[Do you wish to learn the skill Basic Swordsmanship (C-rank)?]
It was finally here!
I was overjoyed. Basic Swordsmanship was a foundational skill for sword-specialized Super Weapon Masters. After learning it, it could greatly increase sword damage and also provide all kinds of sword techniques. It was practically the signature skill of this class.
Unfortunately, I was only Level 4 and had no spare skill points to learn it. So I added it to my "reserve skills" and could confirm the learning directly once I had a skill point.
After sword practice, firearms training began again. A group of test subjects gathered together to shoot at targets.
"Hey, Brother 033!"
Suddenly, a handsome test subject in a combat suit walked over and lowered his voice. "You're the player Shadow Chaser, right?"