Chapter 1: Chapter 1 – Necromancer with 0 Intelligence
Life is unpredictable, like a sausage wrapped in another sausage.
Right now, Qiao Yu lay lifelessly on the chair, with only one thought in mind: to start life over.
This is Kaiji Star, a parallel world highly similar to Earth.
Unlike Earth, the Brain-Computer Interface technology here is extremely advanced, and scientists have constructed a complete Metaverse, known as the Inner World.
Qiao Yu has been in this world for eighteen years.
Once humans on Kaiji Star reach adulthood at eighteen, they only need to implant a crystal in their brain to achieve human-machine interaction and can directly enter the Inner World.
All sensations in the Inner World are identical to reality, similar to a large AAA game masterpiece.
Moreover, the equipment and abilities obtained from the Inner World can be traded in the real world.
This has led countless people to treat the Inner World as their main means of livelihood.
There's no other way; the competition in reality is too fierce, and only by earning money in the Metaverse's Inner World can one maintain a living.
After successfully entering the Inner World, a mechanical female voice suddenly intruded into Qiao Yu's mind.
What he didn't notice was a faint blue-white light quietly entering his mind at the same time.
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[Welcome player Qiao Yu to the Inner World for the first time. Would you like to draw a class?]
"Draw!"
Qiao Yu rubbed his hands expectantly, clasping them together in prayer.
"Ancestors of the Qiao family, bless me with a good class!"
[Drawing class...]
[Congratulations to the player for drawing a Hidden Class: Necromancer.]
"Holy crap, awesome! Ancestors, you're awesome!"
Looking at the randomly selected class, Qiao Yu was so happy he could almost fly!
The Necromancer class is just too cool!
With a wave of the necromancer's staff, countless top-tier undead creatures like the Grim Reaper, Beelzebub-level demon servants, Netherworld Bone Dragons, Death Knights, and Satan himself would surge forth from the gates of hell.
He alone could rival an entire army!
Generally speaking, those who can draw such a Hidden Class are one in a million, the Lucky Ones!
I'm going to make it big!
With an excited heart, Qiao Yu continued to look further.
[Name: Qiao Yu]
[Class: Necromancer]
[Level: Apprentice (lv1)]
[Strength: 10 (In the prime of life)]
[Defense: 6]
[Agility: 9]
[Spirit: 0]
[Intelligence: 0]
[Mana: 10/10]
[Health: 10/10]
[Experience Points: 0/10]
Looking at his attribute panel, Qiao Yu was stunned.
"Holy crap, this damned Inner World class can't be changed? My Intelligence and Spirit are both 0?"
Looking at his class and attribute points, Qiao Yu was frantic!
A Necromancer with 0 Spirit and Intelligence? What the hell is that supposed to be?
He had just drawn his class and was already sentenced to death?
Turning to look at his attribute panel, Qiao Yu sighed.
A mage with 0 Intelligence and Spirit is a joke; anyone else would be depressed.
Generally, the initial attribute points in the Inner World are randomly distributed based on the player's class, with a maximum of 10 points for any single attribute.
For mages, Spirit and Intelligence are the most important. If both are below 5, the mage is basically useless.
With both at 0, trying to be a Necromancer is like training a cockroach to get into the Ivy League.
Even the dogs on the street would shake their heads at Qiao Yu's talent.
The mechanical female voice sounded again.
[Would the player like to draw an initial talent?]
"Fuck Draw!"
Qiao Yu cursed weakly, with 0 Intelligence and Spirit, even an S-grade talent would be useless.
Items in the Inner World are ranked from F to S, from low to high, divided into seven grades.
For the same class, the higher the talent, the stronger the power, and the faster the training.
[Drawing talent...]
A blue-white light flashed in Qiao Yu's mind.
[Congratulations to the player for drawing the talent: Mage's Braveheart. Level: Unknown. Reward: Ten free attribute points.]
[Passive effect: When the player Qiao Yu is detected to have killed an enemy through melee combat, free attribute points are awarded.]
[Active effect (Unique): The player can raise other attribute values to the same value as one particular attribute.]
Looking at this talent, Qiao Yu's throat moved up and down, and his eyes turned green with envy.
You must know that free attribute points are extremely difficult to increase.
Only by leveling up can you receive free attribute point rewards; otherwise, you have to rely on your own training to increase attributes.
For example, lifting weights to increase Strength, meditating to increase Spirit, or solving problems to increase Intelligence.
And the passive of this Braveheart talent allows you to increase free attribute points just by engaging in melee combat with enemies, which is simply heaven-defying.
Even more terrifying is the active effect of this talent! Although it can only be used once, it allows him to raise all his attribute values to the same height!
Qiao Yu's current Strength is 10, and if he used this active skill now, he would become an all-around hexagonal warrior with all attributes at 10!
Having all attributes at 10 during the novice period is unprecedented in the history of the Inner World.
But that's not enough; Qiao Yu has even bigger ambitions!
Since the passive encourages melee combat, doesn't melee require Strength?
"Young lady, add all ten free attribute points to Strength for me!"
The mechanical female voice sounded again.
[Congratulations to player Qiao Yu for successfully adding points, Strength +10]
[Name: Qiao Yu]
[Class: Necromancer]
[Level: Apprentice (lv1)]
[Strength: 20 (Mighty)]
[Defense: 6]
[Agility: 9]
[Spirit: 0]
[Intelligence: 0]
[Mana: 10/10]
[Health: 10/10]
[Experience Points: 0/10]
[Talent: Mage's Braveheart (Level Unknown)]
Looking at the attribute panel, Qiao Yu nodded in satisfaction. Being an invincible genius with such a talent is still not enough for him!
The active talent of Braveheart can only be used once, but if he waits until his Strength reaches a thousand, or even ten thousand, a hundred thousand before using it...
A Necromancer with all attributes at a hundred thousand! Just thinking about it makes Qiao Yu feel terrified.
Even those top-tier players don't have all attributes breaking a hundred thousand, right?
"Next is the novice quest..."
Qiao Yu muttered to himself, only by completing the novice quest can the registration be considered complete.
"Enter the Inner World!"
***
With a thought, Qiao Yu's figure slowly appeared at the base of a towering structure.
The tower is located at the very center of this town, surrounded by bustling crowds coming and going.
This is the Safe Town of the Inner World, also known as the legendary Novice Village, where combat is prohibited, and no monsters will appear within the Safe Town.
Novice players can only leave the Safe Town after reaching level ten or entering a dungeon.
"So this is the Inner World? It's so realistic! If you didn't know better, you'd think you had traveled to another parallel world!"
Qiao Yu excitedly clenched his fist, the sensation identical to that in the real world.
"Great! Let's head to the place where mages take on quests first!"
With an Agility of 9, Qiao Yu's walking speed was even faster than in the real world.
He quickly arrived at the quest-taking area, which was divided into four major sections.
These correspond to the four main classes: Mage, Warrior, Assassin, and Tank.
Each main class has countless sub-classes.
For example, Qiao Yu's Necromancer belongs to the Mage sub-class.
The Warrior class includes Sword Cultivator, Blade Cultivator, Bow Cultivator, and even Body Cultivator, among others.
Qiao Yu walked straight to the Mage section, where a sweet-looking young lady in a Lolita dress greeted him.
"Hello, esteemed player, I am your guide, Yi Lianen. How may I assist you?"
"What a pity, such a pretty young lady is just an NPC. It would be great if she were real."
Qiao Yu looked at Yi Lianen's exquisite face, shaking his head in disappointment.
"I'm here to register and receive the novice quest!"
"No problem, I'm happy to serve you!"
Yi Lianen flashed a sweet smile, and with a wave of her small hand, a skill book, a robe, and a staff appeared before Qiao Yu.
[Congratulations to player Qiao Yu for obtaining initial equipment: [Worn Robe], [Novice Staff]]
[Congratulations to the player for obtaining an F-grade skill book: [Skeleton Summoning]]
Qiao Yu donned the robe and waved the staff in his hand, indeed looking somewhat like an Archmage.
Not bad, this stick looks quite sturdy, and with his 20 points in Strength, it would definitely be effective for sneak attacks!
As for the summoning skill, he didn't even bother looking at it; with 0 Intelligence, he couldn't summon anything anyway.
"Miss Yi Lianen, what is my novice quest?"
Yi Lianen smiled and said, "Your novice quest is to escape the Misty Cavern."
As soon as she finished speaking, a Light Gate appeared in front of Qiao Yu.
Without a second thought, Qiao Yu stepped right in, and the Light Gate slowly closed.
"The key to the Misty Cavern quest is not to kill the Skeleton Soldiers; you must escape as quickly as possible..."
Yi Lianen had just started explaining the novice quest's precautions, but Qiao Yu didn't hear a word...
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan