After 5 consecutive days of relentless effort, James felt like he had gone mad.
Including the first day, James had cumulatively recharged an astonishing 1 billion!!
Could this be considered a massive gamble? James shook his head - he was well aware of the unprecedented hype surrounding this game. Even if the AI core closed off recharging channels, the one-way exchange from in-game currency to real currency would remain open.
Meaning you could only cash out game currency into real money, not recharge real funds to obtain game currency.
Taking it a step further, even if the future changed course, the game's wildly popular environment would persist. In his previous life, James knew the game currency became extremely valuable, with many willing to pay premium off-the-books rates - double or even triple the official exchange rate.
For example, if 1 gold officially exchanged for $1, many would privately buy gold at a 1:3 ratio in the pre-economic storm period.
This official one-way exchange channel became more of a formality as no one wanted to foolishly cash out at the 1:1 ratio.
So no matter how much James recharged, he would not lose out. It was this key insight that allowed him to go all-in without reservation.
Today was launch day, one hour until [ Celestial Realm ] went live. James had made all the preparations, rubbing his hands in anticipation as he lit a cigarette, mind drifting.
Ten minutes before launch, James entered the gaming pod.
[ Welcome back esteemed BladeRunner player. Game launches in 7 minutes, please wait patiently. Detecting your Gold-Level pod...you appear physically overtaxed. Would you like to enter sleep mode? ]
"Enter." James had been awake for 6 straight days, sustained only by medication.
[ Understood, sleep mode allows sleeping while gaming without impacting the experience. Confirm to enter sleep mode? ]
"Confirm."
[ Sleep mode initiating, establishing deep neural uplink... ]
James involuntarily slipped into an intense sleep state.
His vision went completely dark, as if swallowed into a bottomless abyss.
Gradually, a pinprick of light appeared in the void's center.
James's perspective drew rapidly closer until breaching through.
Moments later, he found himself in a grand hall - the character creation realm. A surge of exhilaration welled up, for James knew a pivotal, fateful moment was upon him.
That thing... was virtually unattainable in-game due to its sheer difficulty. James vaguely recalled only around 5 people worldwide had ever acquired it in his previous life.
[ Game initiating! ]
[ Esteemed BladeRunner player, please select your Class. ]
[ Celestial Realm ] featured four core Class: Warrior, Mage, Assassin, and Priest. Upon reaching level 10, players would undergo an advanced job promotion into specialized subclasses.
For example, a level 0-10 Mage could then choose between Elementalist, Arcanist, Summoner, or Curseweaver upon reaching that promotion threshold.
"I choose Warrior!" James had been one in his previous life. While not particularly skilled, at least he was familiar with it. And based on how that version of the game had evolved, James knew of one Warrior sub-class that, despite severe early-game weaknesses like being undesirable for parties and mocked, became monstrously powerful in the late-game.
It even reached the point where other players regarded it as this game's "favored child" class.
Of course, a class's strength did not solely depend on equipment, but heavily on the player's own skills and battlefield awareness.
[ Class set - BladeRunner player, you are a Warrior. ]
[ Please customize your appearance. ]
Now 20 years old, James had to thank his parents' perfect genetic blend for bestowing him with a handsome visage.
Rather than manually adjusting, he opted for the system's auto-customization.
Several virtual characters appeared, all resembling James but with vastly different auras - from rugged, to arrogant, sunny, ethereal, and even plain.
James scanned them and selected one with an unapproachable vibe, the eyes holding a tinge of madness and coldness - this would serve as his in-game avatar's appearance.
[ Please adjust your physical build, within 10% deviation of your original. ]
At 1.78m, James already had an ideal physique for a sigma male. But he still maxed it out near the 2m range.
Finally formed was a chillingly aloof yet perfectly proportioned figure with a lithe, golden ratio build.
[Please select your spawn location. ]
James, having already considered this, immediately stated: "Spawn in Wangshan City."
[ Friendly advisory: Wangshan City is not newbie-friendly. Please reconsider carefully. ]
[ Confirming spawn location as Wangshan City! ]
[ Spawn set. Final step - Fateful Encounter. ]
Upon hearing those words, James's heart raced.
Here it was, the main event!! That thing countless players obsessed and schemed over was finally appearing. It could elevate one's strength by leaps and bounds, especially in the late-game stages.
[ Do you want to commence Fateful Encounter? ]
"Commence!" James waited with bated breath, as if being judged.
A intricate circular formation appeared, spinning faster and faster until, five seconds later, it burst into a starburst pattern. A card expanded from the center.
[ Congratulations, you have acquired the Awakened Mana Body trait! ]
The Awakened Mana Body? Was this just a spell enhancement trait? A flash of disappointment crossed James's eyes - no matter its benefits, it was only an ordinary R-rank, the most common tier all players could obtain.
His heart burned with displeasure. Traits could provide attribute bonuses to aid players, with better ones granting hidden properties akin to martial cultivation realms - those born with fortuitous body traits harmonized with the great Dao, allowing their cultivation to progress faster and greatly empowering them in the late stages.
These trait cards functioned similarly, just not as exaggerated.
All common traits could be advanced through in-game means, but the requirements were excessively stringent. After all, the pinnacle SSS-tier traits only had about 5 known holders even a decade into James's previous life.
"Ah..." James sighed resignedly, resigning himself to having to slowly unlock this trait's potential in-game, despite holding a decade's worth of prior knowledge which was still lacking in such details.
As he waited for the system to transport him to the game world, a voice spoke up:
[ If unsatisfied with your current trait, you may spend 1 gold to re-draw the Fateful Encounter! ]
"What!!"
James's jaw dropped upon hearing that option - in his previous life's first experience, after drawing an R-rank trait he was immediately transported into the game world.
'But now there was a chance to re-draw?'
In an instant, James realized the truth.
The game's AI core had not yet fully awakened nor taken control, because at its core this was meant to be a money-sinking game. Only after being usurped did, it become a purely fair experience.
A tidal wave of euphoria and excitement crashed over James, nearly overwhelming him.
Eyes bulging, he let out a ferocious roar: "Re-draw Fateful Encounter!!"