Dead man, welcome to Dimension Paradise.
Chu Danqing abruptly opened his eyes. In the darkness, he saw glowing words before him.
"Looks like I didn't make it."
"But then again, I was crushed into meat paste. How could I possibly still be alive?" Chu Danqing said with a self-mocking laugh.
His death had been an accident. He had been crushed to death by an oversized specimen.
As a "man with nothing"—no family or friends, debts outweighing assets, and no enemies to speak of—he did not have much resentment toward heaven or complaints about fate even in death.
His main profession had been taking commissions to create replicas of mythical creatures for collectors with such tastes.
This time, he had taken on a major order: using animal bones, scales, and the like to create a replica of the mythical Azure Dragon.
The client had even given him a blueprint, and then he had died in an accident.
Fortunately, he had been all alone. He did not need to worry about relatives seeking compensation from that client, since it had been his own negligence regarding safety.
Dead man, are you willing to join Dimension Paradise?
A new line of text appeared, accompanied by a countdown. There were only ten minutes left.
"Why was I chosen?" Chu Danqing asked as he looked at the words and the countdown.
He did not think there was anything particularly special about himself.
But neither did he ask what would happen if he refused, or what fate awaited him once the countdown ended. At worst, he would just die again.
You possess the qualifications of a Dimension Apostle and meet Dimension Paradise's recruitment threshold. At the same time, you possessed the ???-grade equipment Celestial Four Symbols Chart - Damaged (reclaimed).
If you join Dimension Paradise, you will receive additional compensation during the Reserve Trial.
When Chu Danqing saw those words, the corner of his eye twitched. He immediately remembered what the so-called damaged Celestial Four Symbols Chart was.
It was the blueprint the client had given him to create the mythical Azure Dragon replica. Its material had been an irregular piece of unknown cloth.
Its origins were unknown, and after being damaged, all its power had vanished. That was how it had ended up with his client, who had then treated it as a design blueprint and handed it to him.
Before his death, he had been using the blueprint to inspect the mythical Azure Dragon replica one final time. He had been ready to deliver the order when the accident happened.
He even suspected that he might merely have been the Celestial Four Symbols Chart's delivery packaging, and Dimension Paradise had taken him along when it reclaimed the item.
"That client was really unlucky to get caught up in something like this because of me." Chu Danqing sighed. "I'm willing to join."
At this point, there was no turning back. He could either wait for death or join the seemingly decent Dimension Paradise.
At least there was a path to survival.
Just as he was about to ask what a Dimension Apostle did, a large amount of data appeared before his eyes.
Revival and reconstruction in progress. Semi-datafication initiated...
Please note: Semi-datafication is an auxiliary function intended only to present physical attributes in an intuitive manner. It cannot serve as a complete reference.
Then, the countdown refreshed and returned to ten minutes.
This additional compensation consists of:
1: +1 evaluation upon settlement
2: Guaranteed compensation
Please select your guaranteed compensation as soon as possible. You will begin the Reserve Trial in ten minutes. If no selection is made within ten minutes, the first option will be selected by default.
Chu Danqing did not make a choice immediately. Instead, he looked at the newly appeared lines of text.
There were three sections: Apostle Panel, Mission Information, and Storage Space. There were more after those, but they could not be unlocked due to insufficient permissions.
He therefore opened the Apostle Panel directly, revealing his semi-datafied attributes.
Apostle Name: Chu Danqing Apostle ID: Cannot obtain an ID before completing the Reserve Trial Attributes Health: 100% (This attribute cannot be fully datafied and will change according to physical condition) Energy: 25 (Base energy. Current ratio: Spirit Attribute ×5. Current recovery rate: 1 point per hour) Strength: 5 Agility: 5 Constitution: 5 Spirit: 5 Perception: 5 (Note: The standard attribute value for a normal human is 5 points)
Further down were talents and skills, but both were blank.
Thinking about it, that was normal. His attributes were so standard that it showed he was simply a standard normal human.
He was neither in suboptimal health nor possessed any special traits. This was not some heaven-collapsing opening; he should have started from the same line as ordinary Dimension Apostles.
"Then what exactly are my duties?" Only after reading everything did Chu Danqing ask his question.
Humans qualified to become Dimension Apostles will, after signing a contract with Dimension Paradise, carry out missions for Paradise in various dimensional worlds.
Upon mission completion, Paradise will grant corresponding rewards. Upon mission failure, Paradise will impose corresponding punishments.
Please note, dead man, you have one final opportunity to ask a question.
The moment Chu Danqing heard that, he understood the job. It was nothing more than working somewhere else, except this job carried mortal danger.
From the response, he realized one thing: he had not yet passed the interview for this job. Only by completing the so-called Reserve Trial would he be considered officially hired.
That was why Dimension Paradise had always addressed him as "dead man," and why even the Apostle Panel had not generated an ID for him.
He did not use his final question yet. He intended to save it for the guaranteed compensation.
There were two options, each a combination of skills and items.
1: Summoning Basics + Basic Summoning Art + Type One Summoning Contract Scroll (Normal-grade item)
2: Paleo-Creature Summoning Mastery + Paleo-Creature Contract Scroll (Excellent-grade item)
(Note: Equipment, items, materials, and other related quality grades are divided into: Normal, Excellent... Insufficient permissions.)
Two avenues of inquiry now lay before Chu Danqing. First, why were both options summoning-related? Second, why could Option 1 stand alongside Option 2?
If they had been placed together, their value was most likely equivalent.
Unless something unexpected happened, the Normal-grade contract scroll was probably just a throw-in. Those two basic skills were the real value.
After thinking for nearly two minutes, Chu Danqing finally asked his last question.
"Can I exchange them for other skills and items?" Chu Danqing truly did not want these.
It was obvious from the items that, no matter which option he chose, he would need to find his own summoned creature.
Cannot be exchanged. Skills are converted and generated from the dead man's professional knowledge. The two options are of equal value. Please choose with confidence.
Upon hearing that, Chu Danqing understood why the options were both such similar summoning types.
His college major had been paleontology, an obscure field.
The skills came from his professional knowledge. Things he did not know could not possibly be generated.
Moreover, they should have been combat-oriented transformations of the professional knowledge he was best at, all to ensure his survival.
"Basic and Mastery are listed on the same line, setting aside the Normal-grade contract scroll."
"That means Summoning Basics and Basic Summoning Art together are worth at least one Mastery skill and half an Excellent-grade item."
"So these two skills themselves possess tremendous value."
"Let's gamble!" Chu Danqing chose Option 1 without the slightest hesitation.