Da Fei carried the big box back to his dorm, carefully set up the machine step by step according to the manual, connected the backup power source, hooked up the holographic helmet, then took a bath and smoked a cigarette - before buying a lottery ticket, Da Fei would always burn incense, take a bath, and pray with devotion. And this time, it was the beginning of Da Fei's new career, so even more importance was attached!
After buying lottery tickets for so many years and never winning, my karma should have broken through the skies, right? It's said that a rolling stone gathers no moss, surely it's time for my good fortune to explode? This time, even if I don't draw a Divine-level Hero worth 10 million US Dollars, I'd be content with any hero worth a few thousand. My demands really aren't high; I'd be content just to recoup my thousand-dollar gambling stake.
In the game, the first 10 levels are the rookie stage, where you run errands and do tasks in the Main City and develop steadily with a small number of low-level troops rewarded from simple tasks. But the random lottery is different; the starting locations are usually very remote or even harsh. No worries, I've already mentally prepared myself.
12:12:12, the auspicious time has arrived!
Entering the game!
——System Prompt: Great hero, welcome to the Hero Continent of the China Region, please register your name!
Heroic Creation Era is divided into seven independent service regions: North America, European Union, Russia, India, China, Japan, and South Korea, each service region is called the Hero Continent. Apart from different maps, the players in all service regions are essentially playing the same game. Then, these seven service regions are connected to a super service region, the New World! Players from each country can meet here, and the New World is also known as the National War Zone, which is the most blood-pumping place in the entire Heroic Creation Era!
The official publicity image is very graphic and simple; it features a giant planet that looks like Earth surrounded by seven much smaller earths, these seven little earths represent the seven service regions, and the big earth in the middle is the New World. The main theme of Heroic Creation Era, of course, is about the seven old worlds colonizing and waging wars in the New World.
——Name: Da Fei!
——System Prompt: Name is valid! Registration successful! In the Hero Continent, there are three Light Camps: Holy Hall, Elf, and Dwarf; three Dark Camps: Undead, Beastman, and Demon; and the Mage Academy, a neutral camp that can't be chosen under normal circumstances. Each newly born hero can select their own Hero Special Ability and an initial hero skill. Please choose your race camp and Hero Special Ability! Or, choose to draw at random!
——Random Draw!
The personal abilities that players can choose themselves are those unpopular and dirt-cheap abilities! Brother is betting everything on this one chance!
——System Prompt: Hero! Are you sure you want to leave your fate in the hands of the mysterious deities?
Confirmed! My fate is determined by destiny, not by myself!
——System Prompt: Hero! Please await the choice of destiny!
A flash of white light appeared before my eyes, and the image of a tall, handsome man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and an air of righteousness holding a wooden spear appeared! Okay, that's the default human male configuration the system gives based on the player's real age! Da Fei couldn't wait to open his attribute panel and instantly held his breath!
I saw an icon I've never seen before! Not a public cabbage skill!
But what the heck is this strange sailing icon? It isn't Sailing Skill, is it? A sense of foreboding surged in Da Fei as he hurried to check!
——Storm Navigation: The safety of the hero's fleet is increased when sailing through severe storms. (Note: Precondition is that the hero possesses a large Galen sailboat with good wave-resistance. A large Galen sailboat requires a hero to have a certain reputation to be eligible for purchase at the shipyard.)
Da Fei was stunned on the spot!
It's said that non-combat specialties can't make money! If the system had randomly given me a speciality in commanding low-level troops, a common skill specialization, or a management speciality, I could have gone with the flow; but what's the deal with giving me this weather-dependent specialty? And it even requires a large Galen sailboat. How much does one of these boats cost? And you need reputation to purchase it? The key point is, do I hope for storms to come with this ability, or do I not? This is a loss-stop specialization, not one for gain. Are you purposely giving me a hard time?
——System Prompt: Hero Special Ability selection is complete, please use the remaining 1 Skill Point to choose a hero skill. For your initial development, it is recommended that your first skill matches your Hero Special Ability!
Finally coming back to his senses, Da Fei took a deep sigh! This is destiny! It seems destiny has arranged for me to peacefully sail ships and earn Gold Coins in the game! My special skill ensures that my ship avoids the great threat of storms, and for the rest, like sea pirates and Nagas, it's all up to my own actions!
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That's right, Big Brother is getting on in years and has no time for playing around with the kids. Making money is the ultimate goal! Without hesitation, Da Fei chose the common skill - Sailing Skill - with the skill point awarded by the system!
——System Prompt: You have obtained a Sailing Skill Book given to new players by the system! After earning skill points, you can use the skill book to increase the level of your sailing skills or learn the specialized sailing skills recorded in the book.
——System Prompt: You've learned Basic Sailing Skill!
——Basic Sailing Skill: Increases your hero's ship speed by 20% at sea.
Now, Da Fei's personal attributes are:
Player Level: Level 1
Occupation: Long Spear Soldier (Holy Hall Level 1 troop standard form, special skill: Polearms, Long Spear Formation), Level 1 Explorer (In the game, hero skills are categorized by their functions into Explorer, Legion Commander, Lord, Scholar. Sailing is an exploration-type skill.)
Prestige: 0 (You are a nobody, you will not receive special quests or invitations, killing players or NPCs of the same camp will reduce your prestige.)
Command Power: 0 (The number of troops a hero can lead, currently unable to command any troops. Each troop has a basic command value requirement, a Level 1 soldier has a command value of 1, when a hero's command power reaches 10, then they can carry 10 Level 1 soldiers.)
Tactical Position: 1 (The variety of troops that a hero can lead, as well as the number of vice heroes, currently can only command one type of troop and one vice hero.)
Attack: 0 (Increases the killing value for both the hero and the hero's troops. Both attack and defense are strategic attributes of a hero and can enhance the whole army.)
Defense: 0 (Reduces the killing value taken by both the hero and the hero's troops.)
Magic Power: 0 (Magic power enhances the effects of the hero's spells.)
Knowledge: 0 (Each point of knowledge provides 10 mana points to the hero.)
Life Value: 10 (The hero will die if killed.)
Attack Speed: Normal speed, 10 (10 speed is the standard speed, which is the reference value for the action speed of all creatures. Units with a faster attack speed not only act first but also attack more frequently. For example, a zombie's attack speed is 5, which means the player attacks twice as frequently as the zombie, a phoenix has an attack speed of 20, which means the phoenix attacks twice as frequently as the player.)
Move Speed: 10 (Maximum movement speed of 10 meters per second, running has a chance to dodge enemy attacks. The faster the running speed, the higher the chance, but also the greater the stamina consumption.)
Basic Killing: 1-3 (Killing value is the life value of enemies killed.)
(Note: The killing value varies with the difference in attack and defense values between the two sides. When the attack is greater than the enemy's defense, for every additional point of attack, the killing value increases by 5%; for every additional point of defense, the killing value decreases by 5%. Thus the final damage = Basic Killing × (1 + attack-defense difference × 5%). According to this formula, when the attack is 20 points higher than the enemy defense, the killing value doubles! This is why high-level soldiers are very lethal against low-level soldiers.)
(Note: When the attack is lower than the enemy's defense, the final damage = Basic Killing ÷ (1 + attack-defense difference × 5%). This means that when the attack is 10 points lower than the defense, the killing value is only two-thirds; when 20 points lower, only half; and when 40 points lower, only one-third. Therefore, it is painful for low-level soldiers to fight high-level soldiers, and it's difficult to even exert their normal strength.)
Morale: 1 (Troops with high morale attacking troops with low morale have extra damage bonuses, and are less likely to flee when defeated.)
Luck: 0 (You will not experience the effects of critical hits that double the killing value, nor the misfortune of halved damage. Each point of luck increases the chance of critical hits by 1%.)
Stamina: 100 (Troop stamina continues to decrease during combat or marching. When stamina is below 10%, the hero's troop morale, speed, and killing value weaken. After a hero dies and is resurrected, their stamina will be below 10% during the weakness period. The setting of stamina allows players to protect themselves or even win by depleting the enemy's powerful troops' stamina through a large number of weaker troops.)
Stamina: 100 (Troop stamina continues to decrease during combat or marching. When stamina is below 10%, the hero's troop morale, speed, and killing value weaken. After a hero dies and is resurrected, their stamina will be below 10% during the weakness period.)
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The account creation was complete, and with the scene changing and a flash of white light, Da Fei appeared in a grand and solemn hall. In the sky of the hall, an imposing one-winged angel named Saphiro looked down upon the dozens of players who were whispering to each other and seeking information.
The Hall of Fate. This was where players who chose random character creation would arrive, essentially the place for distribution of assignments. Since players opted for random assignment, their birthplace and development area would be random too. However, NPC examiners would pose a question to the players, and their fate would be decided based on their answers.
At that moment, with flashes of white light, more and more players were entering the hall. Then, with a clang, the great door closed, and the entire hall suddenly darkened. An authoritative voice echoed throughout the hall:
- "Welcome to Hero Continent, Children of Destiny, but you are extremely unlucky to have encountered me! I despise those who leave their fate in the hands of others, yet I very much enjoy the feeling of controlling others' destinies. Now, the exam begins!"
In the dim hall, a spotlight suddenly shone on a player named "Evil Little White Wolf," prompting dozens of players to turn their pitying gazes onto this very first examinee! It was already the third day of the server being open, and new players were well aware of how tricky such examiners could be. The sacrifices of those before them provided valuable character information about the examiner, allowing them to craft the most reliable answers.
Saphiro spoke indifferently: "You have received the grace of the gods and possess a decent Lord special ability, but I think you are unworthy of it. Answer me, what is the most important thing for a Lord?"
The players couldn't help but stir at his words! Even the NPC said his special ability was good, which meant he must be lucky!
Evil Little White Wolf cleared his throat and said, "Of course, it's managing mines."
Saphiro let out a chuckle: "A very fitting answer for your special ability. So I'll satisfy you and send you to dig in the haunted mines of Death Mountain Range!"
"Fuck!" A flash of white light, and Evil Little White Wolf disappeared without a trace.
Is that a place for newbies to get by? The crowd tensed up but also couldn't help feeling a little pleased at someone else's misfortune. Now, they had a preliminary impression of the pitfalls set by this examiner.
The spotlight then fell onto a female player named "Fleeting Blossom," who was startled.
- "Another one with a Lord special ability. What do you think is the most important thing for being a Lord?"
The female player stammered with trepidation, "Man-managing farms..."
Saphiro sneered: "A very fitting answer for your special ability!"
The entire crowd sighed inwardly. They hadn't learned from the previous example, they'd failed to think it through!
- "Very well, listen to the question. A farm has a total of 450 chickens and ducks. After selling half of the chickens and buying 30 more ducks, the number of chickens is twice that of ducks. How many chickens and ducks were there originally? I have limited patience. Answer me promptly. If you can't even do calculations, how are you qualified to be a Lord? I'll assign you a suitable position on the farm, such as, cleaning chicken droppings!"
The hall erupted! A primary school math question? But who knows the answer?
Fleeting Blossom immediately shouted: "384 chickens, 66 ducks!"
The examiner exclaimed excitedly, "Correct answer, plus 10 points! You should go where your talents belong!"
The crowd was in an uproar! Such mental arithmetic ability was incredible! The question wasn't hard, but being able to answer so quickly was the real challenge!
Simultaneously, ten beams of golden light descended from the sky, showering the female player, and her level shot up to 10 in an instant! Then, with a flash of white light, she was gone!
The crowd was shocked! Answering one elementary school question correctly lead to a direct rise of 10 levels, that was just unbelievable!
Sure enough, one of the players in the hall roared loudly: "Bullshit! Unfair! It's just too unfair!"
The spotlight in the hall instantly focused on this young man in his early 20s—Blood Sea Wave! Suddenly, everyone noticed the steel sword hanging from his waist, the leather armor he was wearing, and the thick iron-plated wooden shield he carried on his back; he was actually a Shield Guard! A Level 3 Soldier Shield Guard from the Holy Hall!
(Shield Guard: Attack 2, Defense 8, Life Value 20, Damage 2-5, Attack Speed 12, Move Speed 8, Command Value 2, special skill: Giant Shield, Shield Formation. Players who start as Shield Guards are born with weapon equipment that grants an additional 2 Personal Attack and 8 Personal Defense points, but Personal Attack and Defense do not affect troops. Command Value 2 means it takes 2 Command Power points to lead one Shield Guard.)
Wow! All the gunner players in the audience were in an uproar! His starting point is too good! Others start with 0 Attack and Defense, 1-3 Damage, 10 Life Value as weak Level 1 Soldiers, but he starts with 10 more points in attributes as a Level 3 Soldier! And he has the nerve to cry foul?
Saphiro sneered coldly: "Fair? You people who leave your fate to the gods to choose, aren't you just looking for quicker ways to get ahead than others? You dare talk about fairness?"
Blood Sea Wave retorted coldly: "I paid for the chance to be chosen by a god, and that is fairness! But you, arbitrarily raising others' levels, that is unfair!"
Saphiro laughed out loud: "When you entrust your fate to someone else, stop deluding yourself with the notion of fairness! However, I can give you a fair chance if you're capable of seizing it!"
Blood Sea Wave said proudly: "The reason I am chosen by the gods is that no matter what my fate is, I have the ability to grasp it! My Hero Special Ability is that of an Admiral, do as you see fit!" With that, he publicly revealed his Hero Special Ability!
——Admiral: The combat effectiveness of the hero's troops at sea is additionally increased with the hero's level.
The audience gasped: "A Divine-level Hero!!!"
It's about increasing overall combat effectiveness, not just Attack and Defense! Combat effectiveness includes all elements such as Attack, Defense, Speed, Morale, etc.! Who could beat him at sea?
And Da Fei was even more agape with disbelief! Are Divine-level Heroes that common? They were all part of the same lottery draw; how come he wasn't this lucky? He also has water-related skills, but compared to his, Da Fei is just trash! Bullshit! Unfair! Too unfair!
Saphiro smiled coldly: "Well then, the remotest frontier island of the Empire is in urgent need of passionate youth to defend it. Go be your Admiral there!"
In a flash of white light, Blood Sea Wave disappeared!
There was a murmur of sympathy throughout the hall.
The spotlight flashed again, this time on Da Fei! Is it my turn now?
Saphiro asked coldly: "What are your aspirations?"
Da Fei's heart skipped a beat! This guy seems to be continuously calling on the ones with similar skills, so after the Admiral, it turned to my Storm Navigation! But people are not born with the same destiny, I'm not going to some remote frontier island, I want to take on missions in the great port city, accumulate reputation, save up a fortune and buy the massive Galen ship!
Da Fei answered politely: "I wish to be a sea trade merchant, contributing to the commercial prosperity of the Empire."
Saphiro replied indifferently: "Is that so? The remotest frontier island of the Empire is in urgent need of passionate youth for development. Go be your sea trade merchant there!"
"Damn it!" In a flash of white light, Da Fei disappeared!
The scene changed! The blue sea and sky were brimming with flying seagulls.
——System Prompt: You have arrived at the novice trial scene, Miracle Island!
Then naturally, there was another person looking around, Blood Sea Wave!
(Note: Galen ship, the mainstream large ocean-going sailing ship of Western navigation powers from the 16th to 18th centuries, with 4 masts, length of 50 meters, displacement of 2000 tons, replaced by steamships after the industrial revolution. The ships in the game are also designed with an antique approach.)