Monster World

He brought up the function panel and opened the game map.

A translucent pale-gold scroll unfurled before his eyes. The words "Emperor Tomb Mountain Range" were printed in large letters at its center, and fog shrouded most of the map.

The map exploration rate displayed in the upper-right corner was 0.001%, with a line of small text beneath it: Crescent Moon (low).

"Guide, doesn't this game have any quests we can pick up?"

Closing the map, Li Zheng turned to the Guide Water Orb floating beside him and asked.

[Quests in this game trigger randomly. There are no specific NPCs who offer quests. As Challengers, your most important task is to kill and contain Primordial Monsters while exploring Monster World. Every successful containment grants generous rewards.]

"Contain Primordial Monsters? What does that mean?"

[The game's backstory is that over ten thousand years ago, Emperor Zhao, the supreme deity of Monster World, divided his power and scattered it throughout Monster World to explore the unknown mysteries of life. That power evolved into various types of Primordial Monsters. Today, over ten thousand years later, the Terrifying Dark Tide has swept across Monster World, bringing it to the brink of collapse. Having received Emperor Zhao's blessing of power, you must fight the Evil Spirits brought by the Terrifying Dark Tide while hunting and containing Primordial Monsters, allowing the sleeping Emperor Zhao to gradually recover his power until he fully awakens.]

[Simply put, the more Primordial Monsters you contain, the stronger Emperor Zhao, who stands behind you, becomes, and the more game functions he can provide.]

[The blue Crystal Wall you saw while creating your characters upon entering the game is the Primordial Containment Wall beneath Emperor Tomb Village. Every time a player kills a Primordial Monster, another Monster Form becomes available in the containment slots.]

After hearing Guide's explanation, Li Zheng was even more puzzled:

"So we can change our initial Monster Forms later on, right?"

The Guide Water Orb nodded at his question:

[Of course you can change your initial forms after choosing them. In addition, you can master multiple Monster Forms and abilities, switching between them freely through the Star Meridian function. Each Monster Form provides a special ability and the corresponding form's attribute bonuses.]

[Your Body Tempering level allows you to inherit monsters' attribute bonuses and use the abilities of various Monster Forms even in your main form.]

As Guide spoke, Guide pointed forward, and a huge screen of light appeared ahead.

The words "Ability demonstration" were printed in large letters across the top of the screen.

An ordinary-looking human man stood in the image, with three phantom monsters floating behind him.

With a tap of Guide's finger, the man's stats appeared:

[Challenger name: Test Subject 1]

Main form: Human

Body Tempering level: 3 (can inherit the full attribute bonuses of three Monster Forms)

Star Meridian socket level: 3

Socket 1: Black-Armored Snake Life Soul Lv30 (trait: Deadly Poison)

Socket 2: Spiked Ball Life Soul Lv30 (trait: Spike Shot)

Socket 3: Sky Soarer Life Soul Lv30 (trait: Flight)

Guide pointed at the image and explained:

[Test Subject 1's Body Tempering level has reached level 3. Even without transforming into a Monster Form, his main body can inherit the full attribute bonuses of three Monster Forms simultaneously, and he can also use all three monsters' Trait Abilities at once.]

As Guide explained, Test Subject 1 in the image moved.

A mass of wormlike monsters spawned in front of the character. A pair of wings materialized behind Test Subject 1, and he soared into the air. With a forward sweep of both hands, countless steel spikes rained down on the swarm of worms.

A green "Poisoned" notification appeared above every worm struck by the steel spikes.

"I get it. Different monster traits can be mixed and matched in our main forms. The Black-Armored Snake Life Soul's trait inflicts poison through any form of physical attack, while the Spiked Ball Life Soul's trait deals physical damage over an area. Combining the two traits can poison all the targets within the area of attack."

[Correct.]

"What's the maximum number of Monster Forms a player can have?" Li Zheng continued asking.

[There is no limit. Star Meridian level and Body Tempering level can be raised indefinitely. Later on, you can master hundreds of monster traits and put together all sorts of interesting skill combinations in your main form, provided enough Primordial Monsters have been contained and there are enough monster Life Souls for you to choose from and socket.]

[Of course, with a Body Tempering level of 0 in the early stages, your main form cannot inherit monster attributes. Switching to a Monster Form for combat is recommended.]

By this point, Li Zheng and the others understood what Guide meant.

Their initial forms could be changed, and every player could master multiple Monster Forms, each possessing a special ability.

"That's a really interesting setup!" Sha Xin, who was in the party, nodded.

"Can I understand it this way? Containing Primordial Monsters is a world-level main quest shared by all players. Besides receiving generous rewards exclusively for themselves, the players who complete a containment also provide a shared Monster Form option for everyone."

[Correct.]

"Right, what does Crescent Moon in the upper-right corner of the map mean?"

[Different regions of Monster World have different moon phases. In ascending order of intensity, the five levels are Crescent Moon, Waning Crescent, Waxing Crescent, Full Moon, and Great Evil Moon. The lower a region's intensity, the lower the life levels of the Evil Spirits Lifeforms that appear there. The higher its intensity, the higher their life levels. However, monsters' strength is not affected by moon phases. They can move freely through regions of any moon-phase intensity. Low-level monsters may exist in Great Evil Moon areas, and high-level monsters may exist in Crescent Moon areas...]

Guide's detailed explanation gave Li Zheng and the others a basic understanding of the game's world setting.

This was a collapsing world invaded by the Terrifying Dark Tide. Vast numbers of Evil Spirits Lifeforms had arrived with the Dark Tide, wreaking havoc on Monster World.

The world's main life-forms fell into three categories.

They were Primordial Monsters, monsters, and Evil Spirits.

Evil Spirits were evil life-forms that had come to Monster World with the Dark Tide. Their range of activity was affected by changes in moon phases, and high-level Evil Spirits only appeared during high-intensity moon phases.

Primordial Monsters and monsters, on the other hand, were native life-forms whose range of activity was unaffected by moon phases.

Of the three categories, Primordial Monsters were the most important to players. Once killed, they could be contained in the Containment Wall beneath Emperor Tomb Village, becoming a form available to all players.

"Let's go. Time to level up."

With a basic understanding of the world setting, Li Zheng led the other nine players in the party toward the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range.

An Ancient Battlefield lay at the foot of the mountains.

Tattered banners, shattered armor, broken weapons... piled up like mountains on the ground.

Li Zheng and the others had traveled less than a hundred meters before encountering an Evil Spirit.

A two-meter-tall Bone Soldier slowly rose from a heap of bones, its ruined armor sliding to the ground. It turned toward Li Zheng and the others, and inky flames suddenly ignited inside its pitch-black skull.

The all-too-realistic surroundings, coupled with the monster's sudden appearance, made Li Zheng and the others shudder in fright.

As they focused their gazes, the Bone Soldier's analysis information appeared in the players' minds.

[Cursed Soldier (Evil Spirit)]:

Hunting level: 3

Target introduction: A life-form infected by the corrosive power of the Terrifying Dark Tide. Once a devout believer in Emperor Zhao, it was transformed into a Cursed Soldier after death through infection by the Dark Tide's power.

"It stinks!"

So Poor I Eat Dirt covered his nose with a look of disgust:

"It's too realistic. This stink is making me dizzy."

"Enough talk. Let's kill monsters and level up first." Li Zheng attacked first. With a thought, his body instantly switched to Black-Armored Snake form. He shot forward, opening his enormous maw and biting straight at the Cursed Soldier:

"Vicious Snake Unleashed!"

Seeing Li Zheng move, Leopard Head, Zero Spender bared his teeth and followed without hesitation, roaring as he switched to his Monster Form:

"Second Snake Emerges from Its Den!"

"Third Snake Surfaces."

"Fourth Snake Pounces to Bite!"

"Fifth Snake... whatever, rawr!"

The players from the Hardcore Grinder Group switched to their Monster Forms simultaneously, shouting as they lunged at the Cursed Soldier, surrounded it, and launched a ferocious assault.

After a brief exchange, they discovered that their bites could not break through the Cursed Soldier's defenses. Li Zheng and the other players decisively changed tactics, attempting to kill it through constriction.

"Great Snake Constriction."

"Second Snake Joins the Constriction."

"Third Snake Joins In."

This move worked. Six Black-Armored Snakes coiled around the Cursed Soldier at once. As their bodies tightened, the sound of snapping bones rang out from it, and it crashed to the ground.

The other four players did not stand idle either.

The two players who had chosen Gargoyle form used their claws to pull the Cursed Soldier's lower limbs in opposite directions, preventing it from rising, while the two who had chosen Eagle-Headed Demon form hammered their sharp beaks into the inky flames inside its skull.

In moments, the ferocious players dismantled the Cursed Soldier, reducing it to a scattering of bones.

A cloud of black mist emerged from the dead Cursed Soldier's skull and flew toward a player in the party, seeping into his body upon contact.

A notification immediately popped up in the party channel:

[Challenger Prompt: Player "Family-Sharing Godfather" has slain Evil Spirit: Cursed Soldier. Life Evolution Points gained: +30. Sacrificial Power reward: 5]

Under Li Zheng and the others' astonished gazes, Family-Sharing Godfather's body visibly swelled in size, and a "Level +1" notification briefly flashed above his head.

"Uh, I think I leveled up. Looks like only the person who gets the kill gets rewards. They can't be shared." Seeing his buddies grit their teeth, Family-Sharing Godfather looked a little embarrassed.

"You thief! You stole my chance to grow! Take this bite!"

"You've really disappointed your father. Time for some Family Rules Enforcement."

"You might not have done it on purpose, but hogging everything is still wrong. We agreed to get stronger together, but you betrayed us and reached level 2 first. I won't get this anger out of my system without pecking you. Die!"

Watching his buddies surround him with hostile expressions, Family-Sharing Godfather promptly backed down, only to be met with a pummeling from their fists.