"Taste a girl once, perfect; taste her twice, fairly good."
"Taste the body thrice, start to get bored. But remember not to take her more than three times."
Gu Shanhai shifted his limbs. His identity was far from ordinary, for he was a Reincarnator.
Reincarnation meant that he, as a transmigrator, had arrived in this parallel modern world.
So, now since he had already tasted the world three times, he was pretty confident this time.
"A typical Reincarnator should be navigating the finance and business world in this modern city or preparing for revenge for past grievances. Too bad, in the sea of commerce, I brought back no memories."
He was unlike the common Reincarnators whose rebirth was due to being betrayed by brothers or girlfriends, or other passive reasons like dying at the hands of rivals.
Gu Shanhai was different; he reincarnated by himself, without any deep-seated grudges or betrayals, and it was not a passive resurrection.
On the contrary, he reversed the flow of time through mighty power, using his body as a lone vessel to surge back, naturally tracing back to a time when he was just a regular person.
"Luckily, this time anchor was effective; otherwise, I really couldn't pinpoint the time accurately." Gu Shanhai glanced at the trending topics on the computer. A virtual game named "The First Era" was hotly launching, with its official beta test starting tomorrow.
This was the anchor he chose.
"Who would seriously reincarnate just to play a game? If it weren't for this being the road to transcendence, I'd consider memorizing lottery numbers for an easier life." Gu Shanhai quipped.
Just like that clichéd setup, "The First Era" wasn't a real game. As various worlds within it opened up, the modern world he resided in was gradually assimilated by "The First Era," becoming a datafied world within it.
Stopping it was impossible. After all, he couldn't defeat "The First Era" in ten years. If he had such ability, there'd be no reason to reincarnate.
This time... don't think about it. It wasn't feasible to get stronger out of nowhere. As for leveraging "The First Era"? That's even more ridiculous.
Upon entry, there would be the option of semi-digitalization. It was this choice that gave early players the awe-inspiring power of the fourth calamity: resurrection, rapid skill acquisition, overcoming bottlenecks, and diversification, among others.
But in reality... it was a massive trap.
The talents drawn at the start exhausted all player potential. The semi-digitized attributes limited personal growth; chosen professions dictated development paths, and various game skills, though appearing to offer diverse frightening effects, in reality, restrained numerous methods within rigid confines.
For the players of "The First Era," this was a guarantee and also a shackle around their necks.
Even Gu Shanhai, having lived until the third version of the game, never fully shook off this semi-digitalization, until his return from reincarnation, where he reversed the currents of time, erasing all related causes, including professions and talents, and regained freedom.
So, relying on the abilities bestowed by "The First Era" to overcome the game itself? That was a fantasy. Once semi-digitalization succeeded, the shackles were in place, and resistance was unimaginable.
Yet, it wasn't without its benefits. If one didn't aim for transcendence and merely played as a gamer, it was quite acceptable.
After all, "The First Era" required people to explore worlds for its benefit, acquiring various world sources.
As long as one performed excellently, "The First Era" was not stingy with its rewards, unlike those bosses who only give empty promises, truly providing various benefits.
It all depended on personal choice. In his previous life, Gu Shanhai was one of those reckless fourth calamities in the first half, and in the latter part, when he wanted to spread his wings and fly solo, he found it impossible.
Of course, he wasn't the only one to make this discovery at that time. Quite a few did, showcasing their Divine Skills to continuously weaken the chains that "The First Era" left on them through semi-digitalization. Yet, even before Gu Shanhai returned through the reversal of time, no one fully got rid of it.
Each weakening was a narrow escape, one misstep and you'd be gone.
"Let me check the price of this thing, a virtual helmet costs ten thousand, and a virtual gaming pod costs one hundred thousand, so expensive." Gu Shanhai frowned after seeing his account balance.
He could afford a virtual helmet, but the issue was he didn't want one since it couldn't get him into "The First Era"; only a virtual gaming pod could, especially since he wasn't planning on semi-digitalization.
Indeed, that's why "The First Era" was considered a good boss. Upon game entry, you could opt out of digitalization—this was the only chance to break free. He'd experimented during the second and third versions of "The First Era". Each version update meant a new beta test, recruiting new players from different worlds.
As Gu Shanhai, who was from the first version, he was already a big player by then. Through external interference, he manipulated many players into experimenting, ultimately deriving this result.
He wasn't the only elite player to do so; other players who survived until the second or third versions did likewise.
Players wouldn't really die, but certain game worlds indeed carried real dangers. Making early-world explorations for "The First Era" was harmless, but in the mid-to-late stages, various terrifying entities emerged. While they couldn't harm "The First Era," they could certainly vanquish players.
Even if they couldn't kill, methods such as sealing and suppressing easily tortured the resurrecting players to the point of hysteria.
"Luckily, I can get a loan, just right to spare the house." Gu Shanhai knew that he wouldn't be returning to this world, so there was no point in keeping it. Perfectly, the liquidated assets would allow him to purchase a virtual gaming pod outright.
"If I'm quick, it'll arrive this afternoon, just in time for the beta tomorrow."
"The early game still focused on player development and wouldn't expose players to the real world, so safety wasn't a concern...well, it still needed consideration."
"After all, if I don't digitalize, I'd be like a temporary worker, with benefits that couldn't compare to those of regular players."