Yang Shung stared at the screen, his evolution points ticking down.
"The Shadow skill needs 3 evolution points to continue evolving."
"I have 2 points left now..."
Yang Shung could only evolve the 'Backstrike Enhancement' skill for now.
——
[You have consumed 1 evolution point, and 1 point is left.]
[Initial skill: Backstrike Enhancement (poor → normal). Passive effect: When attacking from behind the target, the damage increases by 10% → 15%.]
——
Yang Shung nodded, satisfied with the evolution effect of 'Backstrike Enhancement'.
Though the damage only increased by 5%, he knew how powerful this skill would become if it kept evolving.
"The passive damage of the profession is doubled."
"If the damage increase of Backstrike Enhancement evolves to 100%..."
"Then the damage will be quadrupled when added together!"
Yang Shung, who had been a top player for years, knew the power of skill values. He couldn't help but wonder:
"If skills keep evolving, will they surpass even the highest immortal level?"
"The Shadow skill, for example—if it keeps evolving, the duration will keep growing, and the cooldown will shrink..."
"Can it reach no cooldown?"
He eagerly thought about the possibilities.
In his previous life, he'd never heard of skills evolving. No matter how powerful equipment or skill books were, they stayed the same after they dropped.
But now... Yang Shung's talent defied all logic.
"Infinite evolution."
His skills would be unstoppable.
"Almost time to enter the game."
Yang Shung glanced at the remaining evolution point. With 1 left, he couldn't evolve 'Shadow' or 'Backstrike Enhancement' for now.
As he prepared to enter the game, a gray input box appeared in front of him:
[Please enter your game code.]
In the God Forsaken game, each player needed a code—similar to a nickname. The codes couldn't repeat, and if they did, a string of numbers was added.
"I'll call myself 'Shadow'."
Yang Shung typed it into the box. When he finished, the input box vanished like smoke...
——
[Your code is: Shadow]
[Entering the Land Abandoned by the Gods...]
——
The darkness before Yang Shung faded away like thick smoke. He felt the ground beneath his feet.
As the shadows lifted, a ruined town appeared. Moonlight bathed the place, giving it a desolate, silver sheen.
Yang Shung stood in the central square, noticing a few black-robed players around him, looking confused.
The NPCs were nowhere to be seen. In the God Forsaken game, NPCs were not programmed characters but intelligent beings from other civilizations. Players had to be cautious when dealing with them, or they risked losing their life.
In this novice town, though, no NPCs would appear. The players here had little tradable life, so NPCs had no interest in them.
——
[Welcome to the Land of the Gods Abandoned.]
[This is a ruined land with countless monsters. They are ready to tear you apart and take your life.]
[Leave the town and kill monsters to earn tradable life.]
[If you die in the game, half of your remaining life (tradable and non-tradable) will be deducted.]
——
Yang Shung felt no surprise at the familiar system prompt. For first-time players, it would have been shocking, but not for him.
He quickly checked the map.
——
[Shell Town: Peaceful Area (No monsters, players cannot attack each other)]
[This area is mild, and the speed of life loss is 1x.]
——
"Shell Town..." Yang Shung muttered.
This town was different because of the time of entry, and so was the place where he landed. In the Land Forsaken by the Gods, there were millions of novice towns.
"Players in Shell Town are from Daxia Country, Jianghai City."
Yang Shung noted the current count. There were 127 people in Shell Town, and he was the 128th.
"Attribute panel."
He looked at his own attributes, knowing how important they were in the God Forsaken game.
——
[Code: Shadow]
[Profession: Shadow]
[Level: 1]
[Non-tradable lifespan: 75 years]
[Tradable lifespan: 0]
[Strength: 10 (+3)]
[Constitution: 10 (+3)]
[Agility: 10 (+8)]
[Spirit: 10 (+5)]
[Free attribute points: 5 points]
——
All players started with 10 points in their attributes, with bonuses from their profession in brackets.
"Shadow profession... it's worthy of being a hidden class!"
Yang Shung was amazed by the high initial attribute bonuses.
In his past life, the warrior class only gave 3 points to strength and constitution.
But Shadow...
3 points for strength and constitution, 8 points for agility, and 5 for spirit!
"Strength affects physical attacks."
"Constitution affects defense and health."
"Agility affects speed and attack speed."
"Spirit affects elemental attack power and resistance."
Yang Shung knew agility was the key attribute, especially early in the game.
"Monsters in the God Forsaken game are powerful."
"Agility is a must for survival. If you don't have speed, you'll die."
Many players mistakenly focused on damage, but Yang Shung knew that survival came first. If you died, you lost half your life.
"With speed, you can attack or defend."
"For me, strength is secondary."
His stealth skill added 90 points of attack power—equivalent to strength.
"I don't need to add strength. Agility is all that matters!"