With a thought, Zhao Cheng immediately understood: he had to choose one of these eight instances, and he could only draw a new one after clearing the current instance.
The percentages after the instance names indicated how compatible each instance was with Zhao Cheng.
All things considered, the higher the compatibility, the better.
However, personal preferences differed, so he didn't necessarily have to choose the instance with the highest compatibility.
That was how the Panel worked. In the end, the choice was still Zhao Cheng's.
Zhao Cheng took his time and looked through them one by one.
Raging Sea and Startling Waves: A breathtaking ocean, endless treasures, dominion over the Seven Seas, and the ultimate overlord.
Tags: sunshine, beaches, ocean, treasure hunting, exploration
Winter Is Coming: A land locked in ice, the blazing fire of civilization, giants towering to the heavens, and an immortal kingship.
Tags: winter, land, steel, survival
As he browsed the instances one by one, each name and description brimmed with the feel of the AAA games from his previous life.
After looking through them all, Zhao Cheng felt that every instance sounded fascinating. He wanted to play them all.
Unfortunately, he had to pick one out of eight.
When he couldn't decide, Zhao Cheng didn't overthink it. He simply chose the one with the highest compatibility.
Ziwei Shines Upon the World: The nuclear war of the twentieth century destroyed civilization. The Savior, who was said to have received the Heavenly Emperor's mandate, brought no peace—instead, the world fell into even greater chaos. In the depths of despair, until the true Savior appeared...
Tags: Savior, civilization building
Zhao Cheng guessed that in this instance, he would play the Savior, end the chaos, and rescue the world, just like in all those RPGs from his previous life.
The premise didn't seem particularly original, but it was plenty entertaining.
Since there had been a nuclear war, there were probably warlords carving up the land and the like. He wasn't about to play some gunslinging cowboy, though. He'd probably be slicing bullets and cleaving rocket launchers with his sword.
Along the way, he'd level up by fighting monsters and meet a few girls—or, rather, companions—before eventually taking down the greatest warlord and bringing the age of chaos to an end.
The plot was clichéd, but just thinking about it still stirred a thrill in him.
As one thought after another raced through Zhao Cheng's mind, the Panel shifted in response to his choice.
Panel: Selecting spacetime coordinate... Deploying Hyper-Dimensional Body... Drawing Trait Modules... Please select three Trait Modules to equip: Sword Arts Prodigy (Purple): All Sword Arts level caps +5; Sword Arts proficiency requirements greatly reduced Sword Affinity (White): All Sword Arts levels +1; Sword Arts proficiency requirements reduced Sword Has Edge (White): Sword Arts damage slightly increased Primary Sword Sense (White): Increased affinity with swords and control over swords; Sword Arts proficiency requirements reduced Sword Bone (White): Swordsmanship aptitude slightly increased Sword Heart (White): Swordsmanship comprehension slightly increased Born Holding a Sword (Blue): Comes with a sword that is 100% compatible with you; quality: Blue Innate Sword Qi (Blue): Sword Arts damage increased; Constitution slightly enhanced Greatsword Affinity (White): Gain an additional aptitude bonus when wielding a greatsword Sword Heart (Blue): Sword Arts level +2; swordsmanship comprehension increased
After looking through the Trait Modules, Zhao Cheng didn't hesitate at all. He decisively chose every option that could raise the Sword Arts level cap, even going so far as to give up a Blue Trait Module.
From Zhao Cheng's observations, the Hyper-Dimensional Body's attributes clearly weren't shared with those of his real body.
Earlier, while looking over the Trait Modules, he had already been wondering which ones would benefit him most.
After considering it from every angle, if his guess was right, then the only thing the Hyper-Dimensional Body and his real body might share was Wisdom.
The bodies were different, but the consciousness was one.
That was when the advantage of a higher level cap came into play. It determined how high he could go.
There was another point, too: any Module that raised the level cap was the most expensive and the rarest of its tier.
Of course, perhaps the Panel's simulations didn't work as Zhao Cheng imagined, and their consciousnesses weren't entirely shared either. Even so, he wouldn't lose much by choosing this way—only a few dozen Source Points.
As soon as Zhao Cheng made his selections, the Simulation Panel trembled. Then, the text in the log refreshed: Simulation begins!
At that instant, Zhao Cheng's consciousness shuddered as well. A moment later, everything before him suddenly went black, and not a trace of light remained.
But Zhao Cheng knew he had already entered another spacetime and left the real world.
Though his eyes couldn't see a thing, his ears caught the whooshing of the wind, and his body felt the faint chill it carried.
On top of that, the scent in his nostrils confirmed that he was no longer in his room.
"Am I blind?!"
That was Zhao Cheng's first thought.
As the thought flashed through his mind, the longsword in his hand swung out and struck the ground. It wasn't dirt, but concrete. Sparks immediately flew.
"The world is just too dark."
The tiny sparks told Zhao Cheng that his eyes were perfectly fine.
"Something's not right. Wasn't the instance I picked Ziwei Shines Upon the World? Does this world have no sun?!"
As thoughts flickered through his mind, Zhao Cheng looked straight at the Panel.
By now, the Panel was utterly different from the one in the real world.
Panel Instance: Ziwei Shines Upon the World Vessel: Hyper-Dimensional Body Source Points: 6.8 Realm: Quietude (52%) Traits: ??? (?): Heaven Rewards Diligence: All effort brings a reward; Panel; ??? Sword Seed (Incomplete) 13% (Red): Sword Arts level cap +3; affinity with swords moderately increased; Sword Arts proficiency requirements moderately reduced Sword Arts Prodigy (Purple): All Sword Arts level caps +5; Sword Arts proficiency requirements greatly reduced Sword Affinity (White): All Sword Arts levels +1; Sword Arts proficiency requirements reduced Sword Heart (Blue): Sword Arts level +2; swordsmanship comprehension increased Vitality: 1.5 (1.0) Strength: 6.1 (5) Agility: 6.5 (5) Constitution: 5.5 (5) Wisdom: 7.2 (5) Skill: 17th Basic Swordsmanship 6th Revised Edition lv4 (lv16) (6/30) Simulation Count: In Progress Shop
Compared to the Panel in the real world, the one before him had two additional sections: Instance and Vessel. On top of that, it had three more traits, directly raising the level cap of Zhao Cheng's 17th Basic Swordsmanship 6th Revised Edition to lv16—doubling it. That kind of increase couldn't be described as a mere transformation.
What made the difference even more obvious was the proficiency required to raise his Sword Arts level. It had dropped tenfold—not by ten points, but by a factor of ten!
Just like that, Zhao Cheng had gone from an ordinary person to a true genius.
And only now did Zhao Cheng finally understand, on a profound level, how those geniuses could do what others couldn't.
When the proficiency required to level up had dropped tenfold, if that still wasn't enough to do what others couldn't, he might as well have died on the spot.
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