Night Rain (Part 2)

Soren slowly opened his eyes.

For half a month now, every time he tried to open his eyes, dense streams of data would emerge in his mind. Countless zeros and ones flashed through his head, followed by agony as if his brain were about to burst. His consciousness could barely sense his body; it felt as though his insides were filled with electric currents, turning the static field within him into a tangled mess. Though he could hear and feel everything outside, he could do nothing—not even move a finger!

No!

I have to wake up!

I must wake up!

Though he did not know why he had been reborn into this mysterious world, Soren knew that the Little Girl outside was in danger.

The Little Girl who had been caring for him so attentively was in danger!

Her name was Vivian. She was eight years old, with beautiful light golden hair and two little dimples whenever she smiled.

She was Soren's half-sister through their mother.

She was also the target of many human traffickers in the Slums. They were certain that this Little Girl would grow into a great beauty, and after raising her for a while, they could sell her for a good price. A little girl without parents, with her only brother still unconscious and neither dead nor alive—there could be no easier target.

This was a world of evil!

Over the past half month, Soren had heard people outside trying to break in more than once.

If they had not feared the old dog named Hiss, Vivian would have long since fallen into their hands.

"No!"

"I have to wake up!"

Soren roared in his heart again and again. Even the memories of his previous life began to blur, and the memories of that other person named Soren gradually faded as well. The only obsession left in his heart was to wake up and protect that pitiful Little Girl.

She was already in great danger!

The Slums were no place for a pretty eight-year-old girl to survive.

In his perception, two thugs were already discussing how to poison the old dog named Hiss, then sell Vivian to a woman named Sosia.

All of this was about to happen!

If he could not wake up, the Little Girl would face an incomparably tragic fate!

Darkness.

Boundless darkness.

Countless zeros and ones still filled Soren's mind. Tiny electric currents jumped through his body. Vaguely, he could recall some events from his previous life, only for them to blend with another set of hazy memories.

It was an agonizing thing!

Amid the pain of his soul being torn apart, he gradually recalled the Stasis Pod accident. At that time, his consciousness had already entered Virtual Space. Then another image surfaced: a wizard shrouded from head to toe in a black cloak. He pointed at Soren, and countless arcs of electricity flashed forth, as if even his soul had been shattered by lightning!

In the haze.

A young man with black eyes, flaxen hair, and a trace of youthful immaturity on his face appeared.

He extended a hand toward him and solemnly said, "Protect her!"

"Don't let her be harmed!"

Soren's consciousness blurred again, as though he had had a dream. Many things happened in that dream, all of them memories belonging to another person.

He had completely vanished!

Only one name remained, because Soren felt that he should not be allowed to disappear without even leaving behind his name.

After all, Soren felt that only because he had given up his sense of self could he awaken from his slumber!

His name was Soren.

So Soren was Soren too.

What he had once been called no longer mattered.

The most important thing now was to wake up, then protect the little girl named Vivian before those bastards made their move.

Countless currents still flowed through his body.

But the endless zeros and ones in his mind seemed to gradually stop. He vaguely felt as if his soul had become fuller, as though an additional force of spirit had appeared from nowhere and suppressed the rampaging currents and binary digits within him. Then a muffled boom, like thunder, exploded in his mind!

All of a sudden.

Soren opened his eyes, and a familiar display appeared before him.

Name: Soren.

Race: Half-Elf.

Attributes: Strength 12, Agility 19 (+1), Constitution 15, Intelligence 18 (+1), Wisdom 15, Charisma 16.

Alignment: Lawful Evil.

Profession: Level 5 Commoner / Level 1 Rogue, First Tier.

Health: 12/12.

Experience: 150 (Unassigned).

Skill Points: None.

Attribute Points: None.

Status: Weakness (Soul Resurrection).

Professional Skills—Stealth 20, Theft 35, Lockpicking 45, Traps 15.

Legendary Skill—Versatile Hands Sealed (Soul Weakness).

Personal Specialization—Dexterous Left Hand, Eidetic Memory.

"What is this?!"

Soren's consciousness gradually awakened. Looking at the display before him, he immediately remembered that before the Stasis Pod accident, he had been inside a certain Virtual Game. No wonder countless zeros and ones had appeared in his mind over the past half month. When the Stasis Pod malfunctioned, the game's data stream must have been transmitted into his consciousness as well. Every time he opened his eyes during this period, he saw dense streams of data. It seemed they had only now completely merged into his brain.

After a brief daze.

Soren quickly pulled himself together. He tried to focus and thought to himself, Could the data stream really have fused with me? Has my brain become something close to a Bio-Computer?

I wonder if this will work!

Assign 150 experience points to the Commoner profession!

A warm current emerged.

Soren was astonished to find that he could actually feel the existence of his limbs. The currents inside him gradually dissipated, and waves of vitality began circulating through his body.

"Commoner Professional Level increased to Level 10! Basic profession raised to maximum level!"

"Received 25 Skill Points."

A row of familiar words appeared.

Joy immediately surged through Soren's heart, because everything before him was exactly the same as the Virtual Game he had once entered.

Before the accident, he had been in Virtual Space, his consciousness transmitted into a game called "War of the Gods." It had been an extremely popular game at the time. While other Virtual Games were still hovering around seventy-five percent realism, it had boldly announced a technological breakthrough and claimed to have reached one hundred percent realism.

It caused an enormous sensation throughout the Earth Federation!

From the very beginning, it attracted countless players. Soren had been drawn in at that time as well. He had even praised the Game Pod they released for being so magically styled, with a lower compartment that actually imitated a Magic Circle. In the era before his rebirth, the virtual world was an extremely important field, because the Interstellar Era required vast numbers of talented people capable of mastering knowledge that was incomprehensibly tedious and complex. That required powerful memory and computational ability.

The virtual world was initially researched as a way to stimulate the right side of the brain with microcurrents, strengthening calculation and memory, raising the development level of the human right brain by roughly three to ten percent.

It could be said to be a form of research into human Bio-Computers, and Smart Chips would even be implanted when necessary.

This advancement was relatively slow and required enormous expenditure.

That was why the cheaper field of Virtual Games later emerged and became an important core industry.

"Games are conscious simulated activities produced by the need for leaps in the life and abilities of all young creatures, animal and human alike." — Plato.

Before systematic learning, games were an important method of simulation.

The dull emotions produced by ordinary learning mostly stimulated the left brain, making such knowledge easy to forget.

That was why most of the knowledge memorized through exam-oriented education had already been forgotten.

The right brain, meanwhile, required more active emotional energy. It possessed an enormous capacity for high-speed memory and true Eidetic Memory, with memory power one million times greater than the left brain!

The gap between their potential exceeded one hundred thousandfold!

Thus, brain development was an extremely important field in the Interstellar Era. Many jobs even required a brain development level of at least twelve percent. Once someone met that requirement, they could master relevant professional knowledge in a very short time. The widespread use of machinery increased the demand for high-end talent, while machines replacing low-level labor left most people with nothing to do. Therefore, the cheap, important field of Virtual Games, which could also ease social tensions, became unprecedentedly prosperous.

Research showed.

When all kinds of extreme, harsh, and complex environments were simulated in the virtual world, the effectiveness of the human right brain could increase by more than three hundred percent!

This had unimaginable effects on developing the potential of the right brain.

Though there would be the latent psychological suggestion that "none of this is real," stimulation of the right brain was still several times greater than in a normal learning environment.

Thus, the more realistic a Virtual Game was, the more obvious its effect on brain stimulation became.

The resulting development level was also higher.

Though this higher level only meant rising from one percent to around three percent, and the progress was not especially noticeable, it was already considered a major breakthrough.

After all, stimulation in the real world could only reach a maximum of 1.5 percent.

Therefore, before obtaining work qualifications, entering Virtual Games was a process many people had to undergo, spending a great deal of time on it.

It was a rather long process!

Because the mysterious domain of the brain made everything full of uncertainty.

Before the accident, Soren had been controlling his legendary rogue game character, preparing to infiltrate the Temple of Shadows and steal an epic item that could grant him the Divine Rank of a demigod. At the time, he had already realized the limitations of the rogue profession. Without the attribute boost from a demigod's Divine Rank, he would have no advantage at all in the future war of the gods.

At that time, his advanced profession had already reached Level 20, and the special skill he chose for his legendary profession was—Versatile Hands!

"Versatile Hands Legendary Skill: Legendary rogues possess incomparably nimble hands. They receive an additional +5 bonus on any profession-related check. At the same time, whenever they use any weapon in battle, they automatically possess Weapon Specialization at proficient level or above.

In theory, Versatile Hands can also use any item!

Whether it is the treasures of the gods or weapons and equipment with explicit restrictions, Versatile Hands can use them with ease."

Versatile Hands.

It was the signature skill of advanced legendary rogues, and also an outrageously shameless skill in the game that made countless people gnash their teeth with envy and jealousy!

If rogues had not lacked combat power after entering the legendary realm, people would probably have complained long ago. After all, once they mastered Versatile Hands, rogues could use the vast majority of weapons and equipment. Not only could they use a wizard's high-level Arcane Scrolls, but legendary rogues could even flexibly wield many divine artifacts with harsh requirements.

And there were almost no side effects at all!

War of the Gods!

This Virtual Game had extremely strict profession advancement. Raising the Commoner profession did not grant any Attribute Points, and not even one's base health could be increased.

The only reward was 25 Skill Points.

Only when advanced profession levels increased could one obtain a precious Attribute Point for every two Professional Levels gained.

His perception of his body gradually returned.

By the time Soren opened his eyes again, it was already the next morning.

Vivian's tiny body was asleep beside the bed. Ever since he had opened his eyes yesterday, the little girl had been too excited to sleep all night. She had stayed beside him caring for him until dawn before finally drifting off in a daze.

"Ugh!"

A wave of numb, aching pain.

Soren tried to lift a finger, and immediately felt as if his whole body had been struck by electricity.

The currents inside him remained, and some data streams still surfaced in his mind. This made Soren increasingly suspect that the accident had transformed his brain into a Bio-Computer. Academic research had already proven that the human brain could serve as a core component of a supercomputer. There had even been top scientists, who had greatly advanced Earth civilization, willing to donate their brains after death for academic research.

Smart Chips had also been developed on that foundation!

Currents leaped through his body.

But as the electric-shock-like pain faded, he gradually regained control over his body. He almost swayed as he sat upright.

"B-Brother!"

Vivian opened her eyes in confusion, then hugged his arm in overwhelming delight. Sobbing, she said, "Waaah!..."

"You're finally better!... Vivian was so worried!..."

"So many bad people!"

"They wanted to catch Vivian and sell her!..."

"L-Luckily Hiss was here!... Otherwise, they would have taken Vivian away!..."

"Hiss?!..."

Vivian, who had just opened her eyes, turned to glance at the door. Suddenly, her whole body froze. Releasing Soren's arm, she rushed to the threshold and threw herself around the old dog's body, crying out in terror, "What's wrong with you, Hiss?"

"Don't scare me!"

"Don't scare Vivian!"

"Wake up already, okay? Bark once? I'm begging you, bark once, please?"

Tears fell one after another.

Sitting in the Wall Corner, Vivian held the black-and-yellow old dog's body and silently shed huge tears. The old dog's body had long since turned cold.

It lay quietly at the doorway.

Sleeping peacefully!

Its name was Hiss. It was a Golas Hound, capable of fighting a cheetah in its prime, but it was very old now.

Ever since Soren fell unconscious, it had stayed closely by the side of the Little Girl named Vivian.

It had been protecting her.

It had not rested properly for half a month, because at that time, it was the only one who could protect Vivian from harm.

It was exhausted, and it was hungry.

There was not much food left. Vivian had been going hungry, and it could only occasionally catch rats it would once have disdained.

Unfortunately, it was already too old.

Much of the time, it still went hungry. It had endured for so long only because of its instinct to protect its master.

Now, Soren had finally awakened.

Its task was complete.

It was truly, truly old. So it lay down at the doorway and peacefully fell asleep.

Never to wake again!