Suddenly, Lin Xun realized he was holding a thin rectangular piece of paper in his left hand.
Could this be... a page from a book?
Suppressing his shock, Lin Xun examined the paper closely.
The page, about the size of a palm, seemed to be made from some sort of parchment, soft yet sturdy. The aged yellowed page had a dense array of exotic characters written on it; they greatly resembled the ones on the cover of the "Book of Salvation". The whole page faintly glowed.
"Items from the game appearing in the real world... something is definitely wrong with this game!"
No longer in the mood to play, Lin Xun promptly opened a browser to look up information on the "Book of Salvation".
Yet, he found nothing useful after searching the web.
This was absolutely strange for a game that supposedly topped the charts.
Lin Xun accessed the app store on his phone, only to find that the first spot was occupied by 'King of Pesticides', and 'The Book of Salvation' was completely gone. Even the search bar yielded nothing.
If it weren't for the game's icon still on his phone's homepage, Lin Xun would have thought the game didn't exist at all.
"What the hell?"
His first instinct was to call the police. After all, something popping out from the screen of a game was clearly beyond the understanding of normal people.
Just as Lin Xun was about to dial the emergency hotline, he stopped.
"As a web novel author, I've often fantasized about being like the protagonists in my stories, getting all sorts of ridiculously powerful cheats."
"If items from the game really can manifest in reality – this could be a life-changing opportunity..."
Resolve crept into his gaze.
Feeling an inexplicable connection, he grasped the 'Soul Page' tightly.
The page burst into a shower of radiant light which then flowed into Lin Xun's body.
Simultaneously, the words on his phone screen began to appear one by one.
[You have used the 'Soul Page'.]
[You have obtained a Soul Talent: Thousand Faces and Million Forms (Unique)]
[Thousand Faces and Million Forms: Your soul has a unique quality, able to contain multitude forms and reject none. You can easily inhabit any shell. Talent Effect: Greatly enhance your affinity with shells, plus one shell slot (upgradable)]
Lin Xun only felt a jolt in his spirit, as if an inexplicable force had merged with his body. Upon close examination, the fatigue from writing and gaming was completely gone, and he was brimming with energy, even feeling exhilarated.
"This soul talent…"
As Lin Xun looked at the screen, the affinities of the two remaining usable shells in the church had changed.
[Black-robed Priest's shell, an elderly priest with a hunched back clenching a prayer book, his mouth stained bloody. In front of him, there are splatters of organ fragments, indicating his body probably is hollow. Affinity: 94% (+15%).]
[Choir Nun's shell, a young and beautiful nun covered in blood below the waist, her face twisted in despair and madness. Her devastated state reminds you of the saint you once rescued from the goblin's cave. Affinity: 87% (+15%).]
The effect of Thousand Faces and Million Forms increased the affinity of the two shells to over 80%, making possession doable.
[Blessed Apostle, you can choose to consume Soul Strength to rebuild the 'Guardian Knight's' shell, or you can choose to inhabit the two available shells.]
[Due to your unique talent, the number of shell slots increased by one, current shell slots 1/2.]
[If all shell slots are occupied, to inhabit another, you must discard an existing shell.]
Lin Xun quickly understood the rules; the shell slots are similar to inventory slots in a game. If it's all filled up and you still want to pick up another item, you have to discard something.
The shell of the 'White Moon Church Guardian Knight' takes up one slot, so there's one slot left.
"Rebuilding the knight's shell requires the consumption of one soul strength while inhabiting doesn't. There are two shells currently, so it seems this soul talent effectively gave me two extra lives," Lin Xun mused.
"Since I can discard shells, might as well try out the nun to understand its occupational traits further. Later I can return to the church and pick up the priest's shell." Staying true to a faint-hearted gamer's characteristics, Lin Xun chose the 'Choir Nun'.
[The feeble Wandering Soul has inhabited the shell of the Choir Nun.]
[Current shell slots 2/2: Guardian Knight, Choir Nun.]
[You have now taken control of this unfamiliar shell. The fragmented memories within the shell were roughly identical to those of the Guardian Knight's, but they are much more specific.]
[The church you are in is located in a town called Moonlight Town - Saint Lance. This once prosperous town is now ruined under the control of the Blood Sun Church. Even the White Moon Church, the most fortified spot in town, wasn't able to escape the contamination.]
[You have unlocked the Shell Panel.]
"Oh, a new feature?" Lin Xun clicked to open it.
[Shell - Choir Nun]
[Real Name: Unknown]
[Affinity: 87% (+15%)]
[Shell Quality: Ruined Level]
[Shell Level: 1]
[Shell Equipment: Bloodstained Church Gown (Ruined), nothing more than a pleasing aesthetic.]
[Shell Skill: Hymn (ruined), which can slightly heal those who devoutly believe in the White Moon and inflict some damage on heretics.]
"Noob support." This was Lin Xun's assessment of this shell.
Seeing the series of "Ruined" attributes, even without understanding the game's grading system, he knew this was a trash shell.
"I'll just play it for a while and then throw it away." He made up his mind.
[Unlike the weak Wandering Soul, the beautiful nun's shell lets you feel substantial physical strength.]
[Looking down, you can't see your own toes, which makes you feel immensely powerful and invincible.]
[Brave Apostle, will you open the Church's door to explore the source of the doomsday, or will you stay here and search for usable items?]
"So that's what feeling invincible means..." Lin Xun snorted, choosing to stay.
[You've learned from your previous demise and instead of recklessly opening the church door, you chose to stay and search for any usable items.]
[Searching…]
[All the weapons and armor scattered in the church are damaged from previous battles, none are usable.]
[Searching…]
[You find a female chest wrap in a drawer on the podium, with half a bottle of Healing Holy Water hidden inside.]
[Searching…]
[You have completed your thorough search of the church, no more usable items are left.]
He opened up his inventory to check the detail of the Holy Water.
[Healing Holy Water (Item): A bottle filled with thick, oily, and shiny white water that has extremely mild healing effects. But its use might extend beyond that for some unknown reasons as it was hidden inside the chest wrap.]
After a bit of consideration, he figured out the proper game progress: possessing the knight's shell - choosing to stay in the church to find the Holy Water - using it to heal the shell - and then go out to fight monsters.
In a flash, a glass bottle appeared in Lin Xun's hand.