Game Status

As the Attributes panel popped up, Liu Zhi noticed that both the name and profession fields had dropdown options. When he expanded them all, the Attributes panel looked like this.

[Name: Sandru (Sandru Id: Southern Swamp Plane V3 player of the Interplanar Game, Bone Wind Academy graduate / Sandru Ailanci: game character, down-and-out noble of Xise / Liu Zhi: novice player of the Milky Way Arm plane in the Interplanar Game, ordinary person from Water Blue Star)]

[Profession: Necromancer (Necromancer: not yet graduated, no skills / Noble: not activated, not displayed, no skills / Novice Quest period, no profession)]

[Level: 0]

[Title: None]

[Attributes: Strength 1.4, Agility 1.3, Constitution 1.3, Spirit 2.9]

[Active Skill: Sailor's Basic Swordsmanship Level 2 (71+0/900)]

[Passive Skills: Magic Knowledge Level 3, Necromantic Knowledge Level 4, Basic Science Level 3, Basic Language Level 2]

[Experience: 66]

However, what drew Liu Zhi's attention most was the string of text at the very bottom. It was hidden beneath the experience section, with a tiny plus sign that could be expanded. If one wasn't paying attention, it would almost be overlooked.

[Warning: Deployed soul's fluctuations are chaotic. Forced deployment detected. Warning! Warning! Soul is perishing!]

[Warning: Newly connected soul detected. Determined to fall under B-2237 Induced Soul Self-Replenishment Clause, compliant with Interplanar Game connection rules. Determining source of new soul!]

[Warning: New soul's game system generated conflict with old system. Under supplementary regulation HC-2899, possession of two system identities is permitted. Novice Quest difficulty will now be increased to determine the primary and secondary status of the new and old systems!]

[Warning: Old system quest is an Identity Compulsory Quest. Quest has been forcibly locked. Failure to complete the quest will result in the loss of old system identity!]

[Warning: ...]

Looking at the string of warnings flashing red, Liu Zhi finally understood what was going on.

Just as he had guessed before, the Necromancer graduate named Sandru Id had disappeared due to the effects of quest deployment, and Liu Zhi had happened to arrive and take over Sandru Id's body.

Most importantly, the system acknowledged this arrangement. Not only had it preserved Liu Zhi's identity on Water Blue Star, but it had also given him a new system and clearly informed him that dual systems were playable. Someone had done it before, and it had even been written into the game's rules.

But what mattered now was that he had to complete Liu Zhi's Novice Quest as a Water Blue Star native to ensure the new system's leading position. At the same time, he had to complete Sandru Id's graduation quest to ensure Sandru's identity remained safe. He couldn't possibly have such incredible luck in starting with dual systems, only for the old system to end up serving as background decoration for some underworld somewhere.

In fact, all the methods of handling this were quite reasonable and meticulous. No matter how many times Liu Zhi went over them, he couldn't find a single loophole.

But an even more serious problem now stood before Liu Zhi: where were the quests?

To complete a Novice Quest or a graduation quest, they at least had to tell Liu Zhi what the quests were.

After searching for a long time, he found nothing new in the Attributes panel beyond all those warnings. How was he supposed to complete any quests?

Just as Liu Zhi was anxiously stamping his feet, urgent bells rang out from outside the cabin.

Hearing the sound, Liu Zhi couldn't help looking up toward the door. What was going on? Could pirates have come again?

That seemed impossible. After all, it wasn't just one ship drifting at sea now. Several warships that had surrounded them earlier, along with the two captured pirate ships, were also heading toward Tortuga Port.

That already counted as a major force on the sea. No one would dare provoke them.

But then what were those bells for? They definitely weren't ringing to announce a meal.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Zhi picked up the scimitar from earlier, shut the door tightly behind him, and rushed onto the deck.

There, he discovered that the deck had already become a chaotic battlefield. Yet what left him rather speechless was that the attackers weren't pirates this time, but Fishmen with blue scales and fish heads.

They wielded spiked clubs made from red coral or daggers sharpened from reef stone flakes. Dripping with seawater and slime, they leaped up from beneath the waves onto the deck.

Though they were only about two-thirds the height of a normal person, they were incredibly strong. When fighting sailors, they would even bite directly, and their sharp teeth could tear off a person's arm in a single bite.

Seeing the sailors rush forward, the captain shouted, "Everyone, be careful! They're Tide Warriors of the Surging Tides Clan! Watch out for their shamans—they can use lightning magic. Don't let yourselves get hit!"

Liu Zhi hesitated for a moment. Just then, several sailors charged out from behind him and even shoved him aside.

"Don't stand in the way if you're not doing anything."

That made Liu Zhi rather uncomfortable. Raising his scimitar, he charged at a nearby Tide Warrior and engaged him.

The instant they clashed, Liu Zhi felt that these Fishmen were far stronger than pirates. Their scales looked slimy, but they actually had considerable defensive power, comparable to ordinary scale armor.

When his scimitar struck them, an unnatural force deflected the blade, preventing him from inflicting much damage on the Fishman.

Instead, the Fishman took advantage of Liu Zhi's attack to swing its spiked club at his head, completely unconcerned about exposing its chest to Liu Zhi's blade.

Having failed with his first strike, Liu Zhi reacted instantly. He stepped back out of the Fishman's attack range, then swung again, slashing at its eyes.

"Don't attack its eyes! See the tentacles on its face? Cut those off. Those are its arterial blood vessels."

A voice rang out behind Liu Zhi. Without turning around, he knew it was the sailor who had taught him to fight last time.

Liu Zhi had no time to thank him. He twisted the scimitar in his hand, turning the horizontal sweep into a downward chop.

The chop landed squarely on the tentacle on the Fishman's left side. But Liu Zhi's swordsmanship was still lacking. He struck the tentacle, but failed to use the right technique to sever it.

With that strike, the Fishman also realized that its weakness had been discovered. It gurgled a few times, raised its spiked club, and charged toward Liu Zhi.

Liu Zhi ducked his head, and the spiked club smashed into the wooden boards behind him. As the Fishman tried to wrench the club free, Liu Zhi viciously slashed his scimitar across its face, finally cutting off one of its tentacles.

As pale blue blood sprayed out, Liu Zhi saw a flash of red light before his eyes.

'+61'