Do You Crave Power?

A parallel world.

On September 11, 2020, an Ancient Red Dragon attacked New York Times Square. Manhattan Island was submerged, and the dragon's furious flames fluttered above the Statue of Liberty like ash and smoke from a volcanic eruption. People fled in terror...

On November 14, 2020, New Zealand fell. The Naga Clan mysteriously emerged from the sea and declared sovereignty over the waters near the islands. That same month, signs of siren activity appeared in southern Australia, and several ships vanished without a trace.

On May 7, 2021, the gods of Pro World descended. Large numbers of active new-generation deities began spreading their so-called "gospels" and "faith." Earth and the other world officially merged.

Xu Nan checked his phone and confirmed that it was 7:13 p.m. on November 20, 2019.

He was sitting on the sofa in his living room, and he had maintained that position for more than five hours.

Five hours ago, he had been scrolling through videos. Recently, rumors about unusual people appearing in cities had gone viral. The hottest one was a short clip of a bald man in a suit leaping from rooftop to rooftop among the skyscrapers on the famous financial street of H City.

Although the video was less than eight seconds long, it had been shared tens of millions of times. Many people were curious about the bald man's background and how he could pull off such a stunt in such prime real estate. But sensitive viewers seemed to have noticed that the authorities had already begun suppressing the impact of videos like this.

"Put him in a uniform and he'd be Spider-Man!"

"But those moves look a lot like a monk from D&D."

"He seems to be chasing something. Is it really just special effects?"

Those had been Xu Nan's thoughts as he watched the video.

Then a mysterious current jolted him.

An ancient, clichéd voice sounded beside his ear. "Do you crave power?"

Xu Nan froze for a moment, then snapped, "What kind of stupid question is that? Other than shut-in otaku from Japanese light novels, who doesn't crave power?"

"As you wish."

After the voice faded, a massive stream of information flooded into Xu Nan's mind, including a series of fragments from the "future."

It took him a full five hours to digest the information from another world.

"Ron Sorcerer Bloodline? A fantasy world merging with Earth?"

Even though Xu Nan considered himself imaginative, the torrent of information still left him dazed.

After gathering himself, he silently recited in his heart again to make sure it was not an illusion:

"Character."

A translucent character sheet slowly unfolded before his eyes—

Xu Nan, 19 years old, Human

HP 28, Mana 46 (Invalid)

Attributes: Strength 11 / Dexterity 11 / Constitution 9 / Intelligence 17 / Wisdom 15 / Charisma 18

Class: Ron Sorcerer Lv. 0 (Bloodline inheritance complete but not awakened)

Talent: None

Feat: Personal Feat—Nimble-Fingered (All Item Creation feat effects increased by 50%)

Feat: Personal Feat—Versatile (The skill points required to learn cross-class skills are halved)

Familiar: None

Skills: None / Skill Points: 0

Shame Points: 0 (Can be directly used to increase Sorcerer level)

Combat Points: 0

Still unwilling to give up, he murmured, "Quest."

The translucent character sheet immediately turned into a Quest Card.

Quest 1—Ron Sorcerer Bloodline Initial Awakening Quest: Dare to Love!

Quest Description: A week ago, you fell for that nurse because of a single glance. Why not boldly confess to her? Even if you fail, it will still be a wonderful experience.

Quest Reward: 10 Shame Points / Initial Bloodline Awakening

Quest 2—Sorcerer Bloodline Awakening Optional Quest: No One Can Steal My Colorful Lollipop!

Quest Description: A month ago, a detestable brat bought the lollipop from your favorite counter before you could. A gentleman never lets such a grudge go unavenged. Go reclaim your dignity!

Quest Reward: 1 Shame Point

It seemed to be real. At the very least, the changes happening to his body were real.

The news had recently been reporting abnormal weather all over the world. The long-dormant doomsday theories online had once again become rampant. Xu Nan had nearly believed them and was ready to stockpile instant noodles, but now, having received the supreme bloodline inheritance of another world, he saw the doors to a new world opening before him.

If everything in his mind was true, then it meant that a Western fantasy world similar to Dungeons & Dragons was about to invade Earth. From the initial collision stage, to the later contact stage, and finally the fusion stage, his world would undergo tremendous changes in no more than three years.

He was fortunate. During the earliest collision stage between the two worlds, he had obtained the inheritance of Bloodline Power from another world for various reasons.

But when he clearly saw every detail on the character sheet and Quest Card, he was instantly dumbfounded.

"Isn't a sorcerer supposed to be the ultimate rich, handsome, and powerful class? Aren't they supposed to awaken their bloodline, level up, and gain spells just by eating, sleeping, and flirting with girls?"

"Why is my sorcerer different from everyone else's?"

"Why do I have to do embarrassing things to gain power!?"

Xu Nan knew a little about the rules of the D&D world. In his understanding, sorcerers were the classic rich, handsome, and powerful class—good-looking and charismatic, making it easy to pick up girls. They did not need to study; they only needed to awaken the power of their bloodline to gain the ability to cast spells. They were far more carefree than those shut-in wizards who wore thick glasses all day and researched spell models or magic systems in secluded Magician Towers. Sorcerers joined adventures mostly to improve their spellcasting skills, broaden their horizons, or simply for fun. Compared to the unfortunate non-spellcasting classes, sorcerers were usually both wealthy and powerful.

Other than occasionally being envied so intensely for being too handsome that people became twisted, they basically had no flaws at all.

But the bloodline inheritance Xu Nan had received, called the Ron Sorcerer Bloodline, seemed a little different.

Ron Sorcerers called themselves one of the most powerful groups in the multiverse. Their bloodlines were incomparably formidable. The strongest Ron Sorcerers could single-handedly challenge Arcane Masters with Cloud Ascending Ships or archmages hiding within Floating Cities. They could even wipe out weak gods with one hand.

Ron Sorcerers possessed a unique bloodline growth system—the character sheet and all those strange quests Xu Nan had seen earlier. As long as they completed quests, they had a chance to awaken the power hidden in their bloodlines and gain large numbers of skill points, spells, and feats.

They even possessed their own dedicated plane and spacetime tunnels. Everyone who became a Ron Sorcerer was fortunate, but every Ron Sorcerer's path of growth was filled with hardship.

Just like Xu Nan right now.

In the corner of the character sheet was a description of him:

A fledgling Ron Sorcerer. You must overcome your sense of shame to gain the recognition of the supreme bloodline and awaken your own power. You are still weak. Do you possess the resolve to stop at nothing for power?

Xu Nan's answer was naturally:

"No!"

"If I could stop at nothing for power, then what would be the difference between me and Daniel Wu?"

"Give up my sense of shame for such a tiny bit of power? Not happening!"

Xu Nan obviously could not actually follow the bloodline awakening quest and confess to that nurse. Who knew how that quest had been designed? Although he had genuinely thought Elder Sister's bashful expression was incredibly cute when she had performed his circumcision, that did not mean he wanted to confess to her!

Damn bloodline awakening system. Couldn't it give him an easier quest?

Still, if everything he had seen was true, then things were serious.

Xu Nan had clearly seen that, at the latest by next spring, a large number of creatures from another world would appear in his city. Earth's physical laws might change, and whether humanity's modern weapons could resist those creatures was still unknown.

If he could not become stronger quickly...

Thinking of this, he could not help glancing worriedly at the tightly locked door to the room on the second floor.

Just then, the phone he had left on the table vibrated.

A WeChat message flashed across the screen. On the left side of the chat window was the avatar of a cute girl—

Xin'er: Hungry.

Xu Nan slapped his forehead. Without realizing it, it was already past seven. It was too late to cook dinner, so he could only order takeout. But when he thought of that young lady's temperament, his head began to ache. He could not help sending a message.

"How about pizza tonight?"

Xin'er: Not eating it.

Fine. He still had to cook himself. Xu Nan put down his phone helplessly, stretched his stiff limbs after sitting motionless for so long, and plunged into the kitchen.

Forty minutes later, the aroma of food drifted out from the kitchen. The door to the second-floor room quietly opened a crack.

Before long, Xu Nan carried up a tray. On it were a bowl of rice, half a bowl of purple seaweed soup, several Coca-Cola chicken wings, and a plate of stir-fried greens.

He gently placed the tray on a cabinet outside the door and rambled toward the crack in the doorway.

"Remember to bring it out after you finish eating."

"I'm going out for a while tonight. Be careful while you're home alone."

"I was in a rush today, so if it doesn't taste good, try to eat some anyway. Otherwise, you'll become malnourished..."

The door opened a little wider at the corner, revealing a pretty little face. She had long black hair, and her large eyes watched Xu Nan timidly from the darkness, just as they had when they first met.

"Got it." Xu Nan did not hear her voice, but judging from the shape of her lips, that was probably what she said.

He instinctively wanted to look into the room, but the door angle suddenly changed. The wary look in her eyes made Xu Nan smile bitterly.

Even in the darkness, he could clearly see her appearance—long eyelashes, large eyes, and a slender neck beneath her fair face. Her cute, playful light-pink pajamas clung to her skin, exposing her completely flat chest. On her feet were adorable slippers tied with bows.

She looked exactly like a cute young girl, though somewhat introverted.

Xu Nan silently shook his head. He knew that as long as he stood at the door, she would not eat, so he quickly went downstairs and finished his dinner in the kitchen.

When he came back out of the kitchen, the tray on the second-floor cabinet had already disappeared, and the room door was tightly shut again.

He took a deep breath, straightened his clothes slightly, and headed out into the night.

Just then, she sent another WeChat message.

Xin'er: Why are you going out today? You never went out at night before.

Xu Nan thought for a moment and decided to answer honestly.

"Didn't I have circumcision surgery on Sunday? I'm going to get the stitches removed today."

He even sent a helpless emoji along with it, only to discover in shock that the moment he sent it, WeChat had already blocked him.

What kind of world was this!?

Xu Nan nearly smashed his phone.

Why did he have a younger brother from different parents who had gender identity issues, mild autism, and a habit of acting tsundere and throwing tantrums at every turn!?

Note 1: D&D, meaning Dungeons & Dragons. It is mainly a Western fantasy setting with rigorous rules and interesting content. Readers unfamiliar with D&D will not have trouble reading this book, while readers familiar with D&D are asked to forgive some of the modifications. In my opinion, D&D is less a worldview than a rigorous gaming spirit.

Note 2: The Daniel Wu joke originated from the World of Warcraft movie, where he played Gul'dan, a famous sorcerer who stopped at nothing for power.