"Newcomer, new book, please support!"
"A spur-of-the-moment creation. If there are similarities... they're all borrowed!"
Main text below:
"Ow, what are you doing?!"
A woman's shriek suddenly echoed at a subway station entrance. Two women were pressed against the wall with disgusted expressions, one of them covering her nose.
Standing before them was a panting, ragged, disheveled, and unkempt figure. His dirty right hand was held straight up, and he spoke intermittently:
"Beau~ beauties, you~ you..."
"Stinky Begging, get away from me, you reek! If you want money, find someone else, don't disgust me!"
The woman covering her nose snorted and pulled her friend, about to leave, but was stopped again:
"I'm not a Begging... and I'm not here for money, I just want to ask you..."
"You want our contact info, right? Can't you look in a mirror? Do you think you're worthy of my contact information? You'd better stick to Begging!"
The woman covering her nose was full of disdain, and her friend next to her chimed in:
"This guy is so off-putting. What kind of person tries to get our contact info? If you don't move, I'll scream sexual harassment!"
Shen Mu sighed. Seeing many people looking over, he had no choice but to step aside. The two women fled as if escaping. He shook his head and said:
"You two didn't want it yourselves, and it saves me the trouble of buying one!"
After he finished speaking, he glanced at a black crystal chip in his palm. Perhaps his hand was too dark, as neither of the two women saw it. And since they wouldn't let him speak, he couldn't even return it...
This black crystal was an account activation chip for a virtual online game called "Hope." Inserting it into a virtual game pod would activate the game and bind an account, making it convenient and fast.
As a groundbreaking virtual online game, "Hope" generated immense buzz upon its release. Many people called it a third life, after all, in this era of immense pressure, everyone wanted to enter the game to escape reality for a bit!
Shen Mu was no exception. However, he hadn't even gone to buy a chip when one was delivered to his doorstep. Could it be... the favor of the Goddess of Luck?
Upholding the spirit of returning lost items, Shen Mu still went to find the subway station staff, but before he could state his purpose, he was driven out and told to go Begging elsewhere.
I'm not a Begging!
I'm experiencing life, okay?
An extremely annoyed Shen Mu had no choice but to pedal his exclusive bicycle back to his luxurious doghouse—a 'pigeon coop' located beyond the Sixth Ring Road.
This area was remote, inconvenient for transportation, and had a terrible environment, a mixed bag where all sorts of people resided, yet it was a haven for countless struggling workers because the rent was very cheap.
Shen Mu rented a luxurious single room. The soundproofing of the house was excellent; he could hear wonderful music and indescribable sounds every day, especially the latter, which helped him through many lonely nights...
The room was small, with very few belongings, which could be described as utterly destitute. The only valuable item was the silver game pod placed horizontally by the window, which Shen Mu had earned by painstakingly performing countless 'performance art' pieces.
Taking out the "Hope" activation chip from his pocket, he didn't hesitate and directly inserted it into the game pod. Blue lines lit up, and an electronic synthesized voice sounded:
"Dear user, hello! Welcome to the 'Hope' activation chip. Given that this is a special chip, would you like to bind your identity information?"
"Special chip... Could it be that the wheels of fate have already begun to turn?"
"Please confirm if you wish to bind?"
"Bind!"
"Binding successful! Special Chip No. 2333 has been bound to user Shen Mu, ID card ending in 0512. Identity information encryption complete!"
As the synthesized voice faded, the game pod lit up again with blue light, like lightning flickering above it, and blue characters rapidly changed.
"Game loading complete. Dear user, you can enter 'Hope' at any time and experience your third life!"
The game pod slowly opened. Shen Mu took out his phone, glanced at it, then lay inside, slowly closing his eyes. A soothing current surged through him, and Shen Mu felt his consciousness plummeting into an abyss, heavy and blurry.
Just as he was feeling confused and disoriented, a soft, bright white light seemed to appear before his eyes. He tried to open his eyes and found himself in an incredibly magnificent hall.
"Lost adventurer, you are finally awake!"
A steady and magnetic voice sounded. Shen Mu looked up towards the depths of the hall and saw a figure enveloped in white light seated on a throne, with indifferent and majestic eyes.
Above her head, four glittering golden characters floated: Goddess of Luck.
This... the Goddess and I are destined!
"I can tell you're very excited about your new life. So, have you decided on a name for yourself after your rebirth?" The Goddess of Luck gazed at Shen Mu at the foot of the steps and spoke softly.
System Prompt: "Please determine your game name. The game name must not exceed seven characters and cannot contain special symbols! Note: Try not to use your real name!"
"Shijie Ruliu!"
Shen Mu didn't think much. He had always used this nickname when playing games, and he couldn't think of any other grand names, like Long Aotian, which would surely have been registered long ago.
"Oh, Shijie Ruliu, is it? Now, choose your new life talent!"
As the Goddess of Luck finished speaking, two beams of light appeared before Shen Mu, forming eight colorful characters:
"Self-Selection" "Random Selection"
"Goddess, may I ask what the difference is between these two choices?"
"Self-selection is more stable, while random selection is full of unknowns. You can try your Luck!"
Shen Mu looked up at the Goddess of Luck with some surprise. When she said the last two words... was she smiling?
Today is a day I am favored by the Goddess of Luck!
"Then... random it is!" Shen Mu directly chose random, for no other reason than believing in his connection with the Goddess!
The main point is trust!
System Prompt: "Randomly selecting talent skill for you... Random selection successful. You have obtained SSS-rank talent skill · Begging. Character panel has been generated!"
Indeed!
Upon hearing that the talent was SSS-rank, Shen Mu almost jumped up in excitement to hug the Goddess of Luck and kiss her twice. In front of the Goddess of Luck, one must surely trust Luck!
"Open character panel!"
Shijie Ruliu:
Level: lv0.
Profession: To be selected.
Sub-Profession: None.
Title: None.
Race: Human.
Racial Trait: Hardworking, Proficiency acquisition speed +10%.
Talent Skill · Begging (SSS, Unique):
Skill Level: lv0 (0/500).
Skill Effect: Use Begging on a target once. There is a 25% chance of receiving positive feedback, a 25% chance of receiving negative feedback, and a 50% chance of failure.
If Begging is successful, skill cooldown is reduced by 90%. If Begging fails, it will immediately enter cooldown and unexpected results will occur.
Cooldown: 4 hours.
Skill Cost: None.
Skill Trait 1: All things can be Begging. Unlimited Begging targets.
Skill Trait 2: Empty Body. When Begging, there is a chance to acquire the target's skill and replace it with Empty Body. Acquired skills are temporary skills and can be changed. This trait's cooldown: 24 hours.
Skill Description: Legend says this is a divine skill that even the gods sigh over!
Professional Specialization: Visible after class change.
Strength: 5.
Agility: 5.
Wisdom: 5.
Spirit: 5.
Stamina: 5.
Charm: 5.
Luck: 1.
(Player's initial attributes are all 5 points, and Luck is 1 point. This explanation appears only once)
Physical Attack: 10 (1 Strength = 2 Physical Attack)
Magic Attack: 10 (1 Wisdom = 2 Magic Attack)
Health: 75 (1 Stamina = 2 Physical Defense = 15 Health)
Mana: 75 (1 Spirit = 2 Magic Defense = 15 Mana)
Physical Defense: 10.
Magic Defense: 10.
Movement Speed: 190 (Initial Movement Speed 180, 1 Agility = 2 Movement Speed).
Equipment: Novice Set (No attributes).
Skills: None.
Quests: None.
After reviewing his panel, Shen Mu fell silent. As an experienced online gamer, he felt that this so-called SSS-rank talent... really lacked prestige!
Others' talents were things like Divine Enhancement, Divine Evolution, Divine Stealing, Divine Critical Strike, Divine Plunder, but what about his?
Begging? You could at least add a prefix!
Moreover, judging from the skill effects of Begging, this is a supportive talent, with a high chance of failure and extreme randomness, perhaps even leading to instant death!
However, the second trait of the skill barely gave it a semblance of an SSS-rank talent.
Acquiring the target's skill as a temporary skill... So if he were to Begging from a deity, wouldn't there be a chance to obtain a Forbidden Spell?
As for deities~
Shen Mu closed his panel, his gaze burning as he looked at the Goddess of Luck, who was enveloped in holy light!
As expected of my Goddess, she's so good to me!
The Goddess of Luck naturally didn't know that Shen Mu had set his sights on her. She continued to perform her duties, gently waving her staff, and over a dozen figures composed of various colored lights appeared before Shen Mu.
"Though this is a paradise, it is also full of dangers. You already possess the talent for adventure, but you will also need a powerful profession to help you better survive in this world!"
As the Goddess of Luck's voice faded, words appeared above the heads of those dozen figures, corresponding to their professions.
Warrior, Mage, Thief, Priest, Summoner, Archer...
Similar to other games, the professions in "Hope" were the same old set. Shen Mu felt a slight disappointment; he actually wanted to see something different.
However, this also had its advantages, making it easier for players to get started and not have to struggle too much to understand the professions. Overall, it had pros and cons.
"Just like choosing a talent, there are two ways to choose a profession. Do you want to try your Luck again?"
This time, Shen Mu was not mistaken; a hint of a smile appeared on the Goddess of Luck's face.