Prologue

P.S.: This is the game plot from before the transmigration. If you do not like it, feel free to skip it. This novel is not an online game story.

Six in the morning.

Xia Ming was still immersed in the game Eternity.

The dawn light was faint. A thread of brightness shone down from the horizon, dew scattered among the flowers and grass, and a subtle fragrance seemed to linger in the air. One could not help but marvel at how flawlessly realistic this game was.

Eternity was the hottest online game in the world in 2060, firmly occupying the throne as the world's number one online game, with billions of fans.

Eternity was a fantasy online game. Xia Ming's character in the game was an Archmage. With the world of Eternity having been in operation for several years, most players had already leveled to the cap, and Xia Ming was one of them.

Though it was only six in the morning, the world of Eternity was already packed with players. Even remote outdoor leveling spots were never without people, making Eternity's popularity plain to see.

Xia Ming and his team were currently pioneering the Hell Mode of Eternity's top-tier dungeon, [Frost Crown]. To this day, no one had cleared this dungeon's Hell Mode, and the lofty First-Clear Heroes Ranking remained entirely blank.

Every piece of Xia Ming's equipment was epic-grade. Countless magical runes shimmered across his pale blue mage robe, his blue crystal staff was clear and radiant, and the accessories in his hands glinted with a crimson sheen—an unmistakable glow unique to epic equipment.

His teammates were no different, nearly all dressed head to toe in epic equipment, their lineup immensely powerful. Any player who saw this would surely drool. Although Eternity had been running for several years, most players were still fighting tooth and nail over a single dark-gold piece of equipment. Epic gear was practically the stuff of legends!

Without question, such a team was among the absolute peak configurations in Eternity! And indeed, that was exactly the case. Xia Ming was a top-tier mage strong enough to rank among Eternity's top three.

"The boss temple is right ahead!" The shield-armored warrior leading the group wore a solemn expression as he spoke gravely.

The difficulty of a Hell Mode ultimate dungeon was beyond imagination. Even though the six top players in the team worked together as seamlessly as heaven and earth, after pioneering it for most of the night, they had only just barely advanced to the entrance of the boss temple. The fires of battle had yet to fade; broken walls and shattered ruins lay everywhere, a scene of utter devastation that spoke of a brutal struggle.

"Let's go." Xia Ming rubbed the staff in his hand and took a deep breath.

Creak.

The temple doors were violently pushed open. A wave of icy mist immediately burst forth, its chill sweeping everything before it, cold enough to pierce bone.

Within the cold fog stood a skeleton a full hundred meters tall. Terrifying bone spikes grew from its skull, while a dim green light flickered within its eye sockets like ghostfire in hell that would never be extinguished.

"This is... the Frost Duke!"

Many parts of the giant skeleton's body were obscured by thick cold mist, leaving only a vague outline visible and adding several shades of mystery.

Xia Ming's group had finally laid eyes on this ultimate boss. They could barely suppress their emotions, both exhilarated and astonished. Yet they were all elite players. After that fleeting surge of emotion, the shield-armored warrior in the lead charged first, shooting forward like an arrow loosed from its bow and leaving an afterimage where he had stood.

The other five also quietly prepared themselves. The healer in particular faced the enemy as though confronting a great foe, holding their breath and focusing completely.

After countless accumulated failures that had ended in full-party wipes, they were determined to succeed this time.

The Frost Duke, that massive skeleton, let out shrill, miserable screeches as it swung its bony arms, grim and terrifying. Yet even under the boss's sweeping, crushing attacks, the team's shield-armored warrior remained as steady as a mountain, his health staying high.

As long as they could hold the boss, the rest would be easy. Xia Ming and the others began showing their abilities, hurling one powerful skill after another at the boss. At last, the boss's health bar began to slowly decline.

There shouldn't be any problem clearing this Hell Mode dungeon this time, Xia Ming thought to himself.

The top players unleashed their full firepower. Even a Hell Mode boss was finding it difficult to withstand them. After a long battle of nearly half an hour, the boss's health bar finally dropped to around ten percent.

"The Frost Duke is almost dead! Come on, everyone, push harder!"

"Finish this bastard and get us some divine artifacts!"

With dawn in sight, everyone was brimming with energy, as fired up as if they had been injected with chicken blood. The boss's health rapidly fell.

Ten percent.

Seven percent.

Five percent!

The final one percent!

A chime rang by their ears, and the sound of the quest being completed was like heavenly music. Xia Ming let out a long breath. The boss's health had finally hit zero, and it crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom.

The massive skeleton fell apart into a pile of bones, releasing a cloud of black smoke.

As the first team in the entire server to clear the Hell Mode trial of [Frost Crown], what kind of equipment reward would the boss drop? Epic equipment was clearly no longer enough to satisfy them. Their eyes burned with anticipation.

When the smoke dispersed, a treasure chest overflowing with golden light appeared atop the skeleton's remains.

"Damn! A golden treasure chest!"

"A divine artifact—there really might be a divine artifact!"

Even though they were all top experts who had seen their share of the world, their hearts still swayed and their minds reeled. Golden-grade items were a full tier above red epic items. They were also the highest-grade items in the world of Eternity—mythical quality!

Xia Ming, too, trembled faintly with delight. A golden mythical-quality item, what players commonly called a divine artifact, was a holy relic every expert dreamed of obtaining.

Even Xia Ming's heart, usually as firm as stone, suddenly slipped beyond his control. His teammates were even worse off. The shield-armored warrior was so excited that he was practically drooling. "A golden treasure chest, damn it! Am I really about to witness the birth of the first mythical item in the game?!"

The chance of a golden treasure chest appearing in a dungeon was likely less than one in ten million. Even in an ultimate Hell Mode dungeon, such a reward could only be called earth-shattering.

"Whose lockpicking skill is Grandmaster-level?" The priest swallowed loudly and asked.

A golden treasure chest required at least Grandmaster-level lockpicking to open.

Suppressing his excitement, Xia Ming said slowly, "I'll do it. My lockpicking skill is Great Grandmaster."

Everyone's eyes swept toward Xia Ming in unison. The heat and anticipation in them made his scalp tingle.

Walking up to the golden treasure chest, Xia Ming drew a deep breath. The power of Great Grandmaster-level lockpicking immediately revealed itself. Several crisp pops rang out in quick succession, and the chest was already open.

A dazzling, resplendent golden radiance shot into the sky. The instant everyone saw that blinding gold, their surging emotions burst forth all at once.

It really was a mythical item!

"Ha!" Xia Ming took several deep breaths in a row, his hands trembling slightly as he swiftly pulled out the mythical-quality item. The golden treasure chest immediately vanished.

All six eyes instantly fixed tightly on Xia Ming's hands.

"Th-this is..."

In Xia Ming's hands was a thick book with a golden cover engraved with mysterious patterns. The patterns resembled a divine dragon, coiling around the tome. Its golden radiance blazed as dazzlingly as flames, containing destructive power. The book was profound and ancient; its material seemed neither metal nor jade, its gleam flowing endlessly, utterly unlike anything mortal.

Another mage in the party said in a trembling voice, "This is the [Book of Eternity]!"

[Book of Eternity]!

Xia Ming's breathing quickened again. The [Book of Eternity] was a legendary item for magic-type classes in the Eternal World, and its importance far surpassed that of ordinary mythical-grade equipment.

What was most important to any class player in a game?

That's right—skills! Recorded within this Book of Eternity were all magic-related life skills for magic-type classes, such as magical potions, magical inscriptions, Elvish, Dragon Tongue, and more; as well as countless profound magical teachings, rare skills for magic classes, and even—forbidden spells!

It could be said that even an ordinary player who possessed this Book of Eternity might soar in a single leap to become one of the foremost mages in the Eternal World!

The eyes of every magic-type player in the party immediately gleamed like hungry wolves spotting fresh meat. They drooled with desire, eager to make a move.

Xia Ming instinctively hugged the Book of Eternity to his chest at once. This was purely the instinct of a top-tier player who loved games.

But before Xia Ming could recover his senses, a mechanical system notification rang out.

"Attention, all players. An unknown system hazard has appeared. Please log out immediately."

"Attention, all players. An unknown system hazard has appeared. Please log out immediately."

"Attention, all players. An unknown system hazard has appeared. Please log out immediately."

The string of announcements left everyone stunned. Xia Ming immediately tried to log out, only to suddenly discover that he had lost control of his character's body.

Xia Ming felt his body go numb as a burst of agonizing pain struck him. In the real world, his vision went black, and he plunged into an endless abyss of darkness. His five senses faded away, and even that wisp of consciousness sank uncontrollably into the dark abyss...

"Damn it, my Book of Eternity!"

That was the last thought that surfaced in Xia Ming's mind.