"Listen well to the fable of the stars. A nameless one, a lifeless one. From beyond the wasteland, adorned in the light of the stars. Walk, stride through the solar wind, for you will return to my embrace as long as you follow the light."
As the melodic voice droned on, Pei Guang pulled a chair out of his inventory, took a seat, and began snacking on sunflower seeds while watching the environment change.
At this moment, a card floated before his eyes.
Destruction · Nanook
Pei Guang noticed the name on the card. He knew a bit about this world's lore and was aware that Nanook was the Aeon of Destruction.
"But the light began to burn, and the clouds of the…"
Listening to the narrative, Pei Guang studied this Nanook figure.
Pei Guang thought, "This guy is covered in liquid gold... Would collecting that gold boost my stats?"
As he pondered, another card appeared in front of him.
The Hunt · Lan
From the introduction, Pei Guang knew this archer-centaur was a formidable being.
Erudition · Nous
Hearing the introduction and the sound of the Morse code-like beeps, Pei Guang smiled to himself. "This sound... is it Morse code? Hmm... Is it? Haha, this world really went for this reference. The answer to the universe is 42!"
Pei Guang also noticed the gigantic machinery depicted on the card, connected to several geniuses, all linked by numerical data.
However, when the Aeon of Abundance was introduced, Pei Guang took a sharp breath.
"My goodness, this one looks amazing! Arms and eyes everywhere... Although it's a bit creepy, all those hands... might be really handy, right? Abundance? Is it a healer class?"
Initially, Pei Guang was paying serious attention to the "plot" and watching the cutscene. But when the Aeon of Nihility appeared, he found himself deep in thought.
"This is... the Purple Egg, isn't it? I knew it! My first impression wasn't wrong..."
The form of the Aeon of Nihility left Pei Guang at a loss for words. After Nihility and Preservation, Pei Guang listened to a choir-like voice narrating the Aeon of Harmony, and he noticed how interesting Harmony's appearance was. But after comparing it, he thought to himself, "March 7th is definitely better looking."
The narrative continued, but when the melodic voice introduced the Aeon of Elation, Pei Guang noticed something odd. The mask on the Aeon of Elation's chest looked strangely familiar.
"One is comedic, the other is a Purple Egg. If it were just a resemblance, I could let it slide, but why do these two look like unfinished sketches? Like something I scribbled and tossed aside? This stitching... now that's wild."
Feeling Pei Guang's gaze, the quirky mask smiled gleefully, and the Purple Egg figure let out a hearty laugh.
"Elation, Remembrance, Equilibrium."
After introducing all of them, the voice stopped, and the cosmic background dissipated. All the cards that had been introduced floated before Pei Guang.
Looking at the cards, Pei Guang started to ponder: "Is this… the class change animation and class selection? Wow, they made it all mysterious, but after all that talking, they didn't explain what each class actually does."
Pei Guang felt his head buzzing. If he had to rate it, he'd say the plot was a mess!
They introduced so many classes, but it felt like they explained nothing. He had no idea what each class specialized in: the introduction just felt like watching a parade at a sporting event, one long-winded explanation after another, without any real substance.
But based on what he knew so far, he figured that the Hunt must be a DPS class, and Destruction likely was too. Abundance seemed to be a healer and Preservation was a support. As for the others, he had no clue.
And as for Elation? Pei Guang glanced at the quirky smile on the card and immediately gave up on that class. If it were a multiple playthrough or there was some way to save progress, he'd definitely want to try out this obviously fun class.
Pei Guang had played enough games to understand one thing: the more fun a class looked, the more likely it was to backfire. After all, failure is part of the fun too.
But since this was his first playthrough, and he didn't have any special skills, he leaned toward practicality. If he had the chance later, he'd pick the more entertaining skills then.
March 7th could protect others, Stelle was a warrior and Dan Heng was a big DPS. Himeko was great with machines and had even fixed that powerful train, so maybe she was similar to the one called "Erudition"
Pei Guang's mind raced: as a player aiming to beat the game, it wasn't about picking the strongest option, but it was about creating a balanced team that could maximize overall synergy.
Right now, the team had DPS, support, a mechanic, and a hidden powerhouse—but they lacked a healer.
"So… what's a healer like?"
Pei Guang had no aversion to playing a healer. Who said healers couldn't deal damage? Plus, if he played as a healer but acted like a warrior, wouldn't that be more stable? It would give the team more leeway in battle. If the other members messed up, he could still heal them.
Based on his gaming experience, healers in most games had some sort of revive or invincibility skill. If they didn't have those, could they even be called healers? And picking a DPS class? If you couldn't win, you just couldn't win.
But if you were a healer, as long as you didn't die, you could win.
At that moment, Pei Guang's eyes gleamed with wisdom. If the team already had enough DPS, removing one and adding a healer wouldn't speed up clearing the game, but it would definitely make the run smoother.
With that thought in mind, Pei Guang focused on the card of Abundance. However, as he reached for the Abundance card, the Elation card started trying to force its way into his hand!
"Didn't expect the game to have a recommended class system. Sorry, if I could reload, I'd totally go for the fun class. But for now, just stay right there."
Pei Guang stomped the Elation card down and reached for the Abundance card. Just as he was about to touch it, the card disappeared, and a figure identical to the one on the Abundance card—the Aeon of Abundance—appeared in the cosmos. She smiled faintly at him.
But just as Pei Guang was about to fully confirm his choice and touch the Abundance card, he heard a strange noise. Instinctively, he stopped and looked in the direction of the sound.
"That sounds so familiar..."
Pei Guang felt the voice was somewhat recognizable, as if he'd heard it many times before. And at that exact moment, the Astral Express came roaring through. With a loud "Duang!" sound, Pei Guang was sent flying. Simultaneously, the train vanished.
In a voice that grew fainter as he flew away: "Wait! I haven't finished my snacks yet. I haven't picked my class yet~~"
As Pei Guang was sent flying and the train disappeared, the card he had stomped underfoot floated into the air. The quirky mask on the Elation card looked over at the Aeon of Abundance, who simply smiled and vanished.
The mischievous Elation card danced through the space. After a while, the person wearing the quirky mask picked up their card, holding a handful of sunflower seeds, eating while tossing the shells onto the other cards.
Pei Guang hadn't chosen him, but he was happy; Stelle had stabbed Cocolia, and he was happy; whether it was the process or the result, he was always happy; watching all this happiness made him even happier.
As Pei Guang woke up from being hit, he felt frustrated that he hadn't picked a class. Who would've thought there was a time limit for choosing?
"Seriously? They added pointless mechanics like a time-limited class selection that forces failure?"
As Pei Guang muttered, he noticed something odd. Even though he hadn't successfully picked a class, it seemed that after being hit by the train… he had gained some new skills, and his weapon had gotten an upgrade?
"Is this… teleportation? And… weapon evolution?"
Pei Guang noticed that the Stellaron had been absorbed by his wooden sword. Besides that, he now had a skill commonly found in many games but one he had never managed to unlock: "Teleportation."
The teleportation skill allowed him to transport himself to any previously explored area, twice a day. The teleportation count reset at midnight and didn't stack.
The weapon upgrade was unique too. Looking at the system description, Pei Guang realized that his wooden sword had become even more powerful.
Weapon: +10 "Best Sword in the Village"
"Introduction: This is the best wooden sword in the whole village. It has infinite durability and can never be broken.
Originally, the weapon didn't have a slot, but now a slot has appeared on the sword's blade, and the Stellaron that Pei Guang touched was placed right in the middle of it.
'A Stellaron on the Path of Remembrance. Equipping this Stellaron allows the weapon to attack special units.'"
With the teleportation function unlocked and his weapon enhanced, Pei Guang felt like he didn't lose out, even though he didn't get to pick a new class.