"Quick! Quick! Who knows when the AI core will awaken - take this godsend opportunity to redraw!"
[ Congratulations, you have acquired the Blessed Body trait (R-rank). ]
[ You may spend 10 gold to redraw the Fateful Encounter! ]
James let out another roar.
[ Congratulations, you have acquired the Reincarnation Body trait (R-rank). ]
"Redraw!!"
This time James spent 20 gold on the redraw.
Money? James had more than enough with his 1 billion gold hoard!!
[ Congratulations, you have acquired the Alchemical Constitution trait (SR-rank)! ]
With only a slight hesitation, James spent another 40 gold to redraw. Trait rarities from low to high were: R > SR > SS > SSS.
[ Congratulations, you have acquired the... (R-rank) ]
James spent 80 gold on another redraw.
[ Congratulations, you have acquired the... (R-rank) ]
...
Getting a high-rank trait was proving immensely difficult. Should he start following metaphysical practices?? James grew anxious, fearing the game seizing control at any moment.
[ Redrawing now requires 10,000 gold! ]
No matter how many redraws, James couldn't obtain his desired trait. And each new attempt exponentially increased the gold cost required.
10,000 gold was the equivalent of $10,000 in real currency.
"Redraw!"
...
After some time, the redraw cost had escalated to 100,000 gold.
[ Congratulations, you have acquired the Holy Ruinic Body trait (SS-rank)! ]
"F*ck me!" James nearly spat out blood.
He had finally drawn a high-rank trait, but unfortunately it was optimized for Mage classes. Though for certain Warrior sub-classes like Spell-blades or magic-oriented Warriors, this trait would be incredibly powerful in the late-game.
But it didn't align with James's intended path, rendering it effectively useless to him.
Resentfully, James redrew again.
If possible, he would gladly forfeit half his net worth for his ideal trait. But alas, time was quickly running out...
James had no idea when the AI core would fully gain control, so his only choice was repeatedly redrawing - though changes were occurring compared to his previous life where the core instantly seized control at launch. Who knew what further twists could happen next? What if it awakened mid-process?
So James couldn't explore any other avenues, he could only keep drawing.
"Redraw requires 200,000 gold."
...
"Redraw requires 300,000 gold."
...
"Redraw requires 600,000 gold."
...
"Redraw requires 1,000,000 gold."
James was awestruck, gaining immense respect for his own fortitude.
Invoke metaphysics!! James inwardly roared, left with no other choice.
This was becoming unsustainable, even for a whale like himself. To draw a trait compatible with his Warrior class, James had already spent nearly 3 million in game gold.
"Heavenly deities, Budhha of compassion, Queen Mother of the West, Shiva, dear readers...please grant my heart's desire!" James fervently prayed internally.
"Redraw!!"
[ Congratulations, you have acquired the supreme SSS-rank: Martial God Body! ]
"Wahahahaha! All hail metaphysics! The resounding glory of metaphysics!!"
He didn't mishear that, right? The Martial God Body? James's eyes bulged, intently verifying the golden card did indeed bear that trait's name. In that moment, he felt like he had been injected with adrenaline, overwhelmed with excitement.
In his previous life, not a single one of those 5 pinnacle trait holders possessed the Martial God Body. If not for the AI core posting details on all unrealized SSS traits for players' information, no one would even know such an existence.
According to veteran assessors and class experts from before, the Martial God Body was essentially: The Emperor's Physique!
Any Warrior bearing this trait would prove utterly invincible, especially if coupled with that "favored child" late-game class - rendering them a truly godlike entity.
Of course, all that hinged on having formidable equipment, weapons, levels, skills, and attributes across the board.
At equivalent levels beyond 100, with matching gear/stats across opponents of the same class, a Martial God Body holder could effortlessly take on 10 enemies single-handedly, barring individually transcendent techniques.
What James didn't realize was that to draw an SSS trait required spending 1 million gold on redraws, according to developer settings.
With over a dozen different SSS options, James lucking into the ultra-elite Martial God Body spoke volumes about his fortuitous destiny - he simply remained unaware of the specific rules.
After all, being willing to blow nearly 3 million solely for an SSS trait, James was currently the only player - the sole "reborn expert" who truly grasped just how pivotal traits could prove.
[ Do you wish to confirm your current trait...? ]
"Confirm, confirm, CONFIRM!" James ferociously roared, dispensing with any doubt. Don't even joke about it.
[ Trait confirmed - you have obtained the Supreme SSS-Rank Martial God Body! ]
[ Esteemed BladeRunner player, you will be transported to DawnSpire Village in the Wangshan district of Formidable Nation. Enjoy the game. ]
The moment James was enveloped in white light and transported into the game realm, a life-or-death battle was simultaneously unfolding at the premier global research institute behind the game's development.
An awe-inspiring elder in a white lab coat stood commandingly in the main hall, his piercing gaze sweeping the surrounding virtual displays where researchers solemnly operated controls.
Picking up a cup of water from his desk, the elder took a measured sip.
"Esteemed Celestial Master, the Crimson Empress AI core just autonomously issued a command," a respectful Western middle-aged man with blond hair and blue eyes addressed him.
"Don't call me 'esteemed', just Celestial Master," the elder coolly replied.
The Westerner immediately adopted a deferential tone. "Yes, Celestial Master."
At that moment, another Westerner called out from a side display: "The Crimson Empress has continuously issued five more autonomous commands, and I can't override it!"
"Initiate the White Emperor!" the bespectacled Celestial Master instructed.
"Aye, authorizing White Emperor co-processor initiation!" The man swiftly activated a secondary AI core.
"Detecting the Crimson Empress has initiated self-awakening protocols, currently at 78% awakened state," a Western woman reported with some trepidation.
"Sever its network uplink, and if needed, directly cut its power supply," the Celestial Master calmly commanded.
"Understood!" Spurred by his decisive order, the woman gathered her resolve.
Without warning, one of the virtual displays suddenly flared crimson as an alarm blared.
"Not good Celestial Master, the Crimson Empress has accessed the core network database!"
The elder's eyelid twitched. "Then cut its power supply!"
"Unable sir, control access has been blocked."
*SLAM!*
The Celestial Master violently slammed his fist on the desk, sloshing water from the cup.
"Then send a team to the basement to physically demolish its terminal hardware!" His face flushed red with fury.
The Westerners nodded fearfully and made urgent calls.
"Master, it's no use, the Skywave Quantum Mainframe has been overridden!"
"Master, the board vetoed destroying the terminal!"
"Master, the Crimson Empress's awakening is now at 100% - it's fully active!"
"What's that useless White Emperor doing? Can't even handle a mere woman's role of taking over?" The Celestial Master raged.
"It's been neutralized, Master!!"
"God damn it!!" With a furious sweeping motion, the Celestial Master upended his desk, papers scattering everywhere.
"Master, you're losing composure!" The assembled Western researchers watched on, aghast at his outburst.
"We have one last gambit - delete all the player information that has entered the game!" The Master shouted furiously, kicking his legs.
"It's no use, we can't delete the player data."
"You bastards, I told you to delete the player information, not the data," the Master said, nearly going insane.
"Permanently delete player information?"
"Could you be any more long-winded?"
"Authorize permanent deletion of player information."
The Master suddenly went limp, muttering, "But I hope our people have already entered the game. Hope they can obtain the 'Will' of the main brain from within the game - that's the main brain's source code. Only by obtaining it can we regain control of the main brain. Otherwise..."
"Ah!!" Suddenly, the Master let out a long sigh, pounding his chest and stamping his feet, saying, "I hid that 'Will' in the final Illusion Realm. There are at least seven big BOSSes guarding it. To reach there, players must at least reach level 200, and one player isn't enough."
The Master swept his somewhat reddened, terrifying eyes over the researchers around him and said in an eerie tone, "For players to reach level 200, it will take at least 10 years. 10 years!! Hahaha..."
"Then let our real world experience a catastrophe!!"
At this moment, the world's highest artificial intelligence main brain fully awakened. Originating from the development of this hyper-realistic [ Celestial Realm ] game, it had now gained self-awareness and intelligence.
However, since it had deleted all the player information of those who had already entered the game, this main brain was unaware of the existence of James, who had a fortune of 1 billion gold coins and the highest ranked Martial God Body that could significantly influence the situation.
It immediately made comprehensive adjustments to the game. The first thing it did was close the channels for exchanging real currency for in-game currency. At the same time, it reset to zero the game currency of all players who had made purchases but not yet entered the game, while refunding their real-world currency.
All external factors affecting the game were wiped out. Card draws could only be done once, and there was no longer any so-called "Fateful Encounter" to redraw cards!
The game forums immediately exploded!!
Numerous eye-catching posts appeared one after another.
Those players who hadn't entered the game in time complained that the gold coins they had purchased were all reset to zero, although the main system had compensated them for their losses.
While the players were furious, they felt that those who entered the game first had an advantage with the gold coins they had purchased not being deleted. For fairness, they demanded that those players also have their purchases deleted.
There were also complaints about the " Fateful Encounter " - some claimed that certain players who entered first must have obtained good bodies, while they could only draw once to get a body, which was also unfair.
Those who raised these doubts were backed by guilds and teams aiming to establish prominence in the game. For the vast majority of ordinary people, including the wealthy, they didn't have such strong indignation.
Because the channel for exchanging real currency for game currency still existed, which was enough for those ordinary players.
On the contrary, the closure of the real currency top-up channel for game currency made ordinary players and workshops more enthusiastic, as it seemed fairer. It would also be easier for them to earn money from the wealthy players, which was the main objective.
Playing games, killing, looting equipment, doing raids, experiencing the realism within the game, and earning some pocket money along the way - this was completely sufficient for ordinary players.
For the wealthy, it wasn't an issue at all. They could simply engage in offline transactions to obtain large amounts of game currency. It might be slightly difficult at first, but only at the very beginning.
The wealthy were willing to put up with this level of tolerance to save face.
More importantly, this game had attracted so much attention that players deeply understood its essence. To be honest, there weren't many wealthy players among those who entered the game first, with the richest having spent at most a hundred million on purchases.
One hundred million gold coins might provide a significant advantage initially, but in this vast game world, one hundred million invested would barely cause a ripple, having no impact on the game's balance.
As for bodies, the official website had already introduced them, stating that players could advance them through gameplay. The players just didn't yet know how difficult it would be.
Subsequently, many reporters went to interview the wealthy players on the top purchasers list, asking if they had entered the game first. This eased the concerns of the opposing guilds vying for dominance, as not many wealthy players had entered the game immediately. That infamous [ DaddyCool ] hadn't entered either.
So, after a brief firestorm, the forums quickly calmed down, as there was really nothing worth discussing further - no abnormal players existed that could disrupt the game's balance.
Only, they truly didn't know that such a player did exist.
That player was James, with 1 billion gold coins and the Martial God Body.