A feeling of weightlessness.
This was Ye Yi's first sensation upon entering the game.
Immediately after, countless streams of light receded rapidly around him, as if he were traveling through some kind of space-time tunnel. A few seconds later, the light suddenly burst open, and he appeared atop a giant temple suspended in a sea of stars.
This was the login hall of the era of apocalypse—the Star Palace.
"Honorable player, welcome to the era of apocalypse."
A female NPC dressed in white robes with a face so perfect it was beyond reproach appeared out of thin air. She was the System Guide, her voice ethereal and divine.
"High brainwave activity detected; the system has determined your potential to be S-grade."
A stream of data reflecting surprise flashed through the Guide's eyes. "Please begin creating your character."
Ye Yi didn't waste any words and directly waved his hand to bring up the panel.
He had gone through this process once in his past life; he could complete it with his eyes closed now.
"Please select your race."
"Human."
Although races like Elves and Orcs would be unlocked in the later stages of the game, the balanced attributes of the Human race actually possessed the highest adaptability, especially for a hybrid class like the Magic Swordsman.
"Please select your starting class. Currently available: Warrior, Mage, Assassin, Priest, Archer."
With a wave of the Guide's hand, five holographic projections appeared before Ye Yi.
The Warrior was clad in heavy armor, wielding a greatsword with an overbearing aura.
The Assassin's form was ghostly, their daggers gleaming with a cold light.
The Mage, however, appeared somewhat frail, wearing cloth robes and holding a withered wooden staff, looking as if they would blow away in a light breeze.
"Mage." Ye Yi's voice was calm and firm.
The Guide paused for a moment, even offering a human-like reminder: "Dear player, according to big data simulations, the Mage class lacks survivability in the early stages (Levels 1-20) and has massive skill consumption. It is not the best choice for a solo player. Are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
Ye Yi naturally knew this. Early-stage Mages were jokingly called "Mobile Honor Points" due to their slow casting times, fragile defense, and insufficient mana. But these were only limitations for ordinary players.
For him, who possessed combat experience from his past life and was about to obtain that specific talent, these were not issues.
"Class locked: Mage."
"Next, please set your character's appearance."
Ye Yi kept his original height and build, only making minor adjustments to his facial details to make his features look colder and more ordinary. In this world, being too conspicuous was not a good thing.
Finally, he added a pair of "Tactical Goggles" as a cosmetic accessory. This was not just to hide his gaze, but also to pay tribute to the final moments of his past life.
"Appearance setting complete. Please name your character in the era of apocalypse."
The most critical step had arrived.
Ye Yi looked at the floating input box in front of him and took a deep breath.
He didn't type in some overbearing name, but instead reached out his fingers and tapped rapidly on the virtual keyboard.
It was a string of strange combined characters: #&Start_Growth_0x99
This was a backdoor command left by a developer in his past life.
After finishing the input, Ye Yi's heart leaped into his throat. Was the leak from his past life true? Would the butterfly effect cause this easter egg to disappear?
He waited.
One second.
Two seconds.
The input box suddenly flickered violently and turned red, as if it were an error.
But in the next moment, the red turned into a dazzling gold!
[Ding! System has detected the Primordial Command... Authority verification passed...]
[Congratulations, Player, for activating the unique hidden talent: Growth!]
It worked!
Ye Yi clenched his fist hard.
[Please re-enter your public display ID.]
After the command took effect, the system popped up a normal naming box.
Ye Yi calmed his emotions and entered a single character:
"Yi."
This was his code name in his past life, and the name that would make the gods tremble in this life.
"Character creation complete."
"Generating attribute panel..."
[ID: Yi]
[Class: Apprentice Mage]
[Level: 1]
[HP: 100]
[MP: 150]
[Strength: 4]
[Agility: 5]
[Intelligence: 10 (Mage starting maximum) + 2 (Hidden Bonus)]
[Constitution: 4]
[Luck:???]
[Talent: Growth (Unique Mythic Grade)]
· Effect 1: When killing monsters or completing quests, experience gained is increased by 100%.
· Effect 2:??? (Unlocks at Level 10)
· Effect 3:??? (Unlocks at Level 30)
Looking at the words "experience gained increased by 100%," the corners of Ye Yi's mouth couldn't help but curl upward.
In this game where leveling up was extremely difficult—to the point where gaining one level in the late game could take months—what did double experience mean?
It meant he would always be one step ahead of everyone else.
It meant while others were still fighting over Level 10 mobs, he would already be able to solo Level 20 BOSSes.
It meant level suppression; it meant being a step ahead once, and being a step ahead always!
Furthermore, this talent had subsequent effects that were yet to be unlocked. The leak from his past life only mentioned the first one; even the developer hadn't had time to mention the ones that followed.
"This is a true golden finger."
"10 seconds until server launch."
The Guide's voice became solemn.
The surrounding starry sky began to rotate, and countless meteors streaked across the sky—those were hundreds of millions of players logging in simultaneously.
"Countdown: 10, 9, 8..."
Ye Yi cracked his neck, and that long-lost battle blood began to boil in his veins.
"3, 2, 1..."
"The era of apocalypse has officially begun!"
Boom!
The temple beneath his feet collapsed, and Ye Yi felt his body falling rapidly. The wind whistled, and the clouds parted.
Below, a vast and boundless green continent appeared in his field of vision.
That was the Kyushu Continent.
That was where the legend began.
Ye Yi adjusted his posture. In the moment before landing, he didn't close his eyes and scream in panic like other newcomers.
He opened his eyes wide, his black pupils reflecting the bustling Novice Village below.
"Old man Wang Saoting, I'm coming for that sword of yours."
The light touched down.
*Shua!*
Ye Yi stood steadily in the center of Novice Village No. 999's plaza.
White light flickered continuously around him as countless players wearing coarse cloth clothes appeared like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
"Wow! This graphics quality! It's too realistic!"
"This air! I can even smell the scent of soil!"
"Why are there people everywhere? Where are the NPCs?"
The clamor instantly drowned out the entire village.
Ye Yi ignored the surrounding noise and didn't run around aimlessly like a headless fly. He immediately opened his bag to check the novice equipment provided by the system.
[Rusty Iron Sword (Grey)]
[Attack: 1-2]
[Description: A piece of scrap metal that would even struggle to cut vegetables.]
[Crude Staff (Grey)]
[Magic Attack: 1-2]
[Description: A withered tree branch.]
As a Mage, the system's default equipment was a staff, but because he had chosen the "Mage" class, his bag still contained the universal novice gift pack, which included an iron sword.
Ye Yi directly ignored the staff and equipped the "Rusty Iron Sword" in his hand.
An odd appearance was born: a player wearing a Mage's cloth robe but carrying a broken iron sword.
A newly spawned Warrior player nearby saw this and couldn't help but snicker: "Hey buddy, why is a Mage like you holding a sword? Did you click the wrong equipment? A Mage with a sword deals no damage!"
Ye Yi glanced at him but didn't explain.
A Mage holding a sword indeed received no magic bonuses.
But what he was about to use wasn't magic at all.
Relying on his memory, he pushed through the crowd and ran toward the most remote southeast corner of the Novice Village.
There, a destitute old man who appeared to be sweeping the floor was waiting for that "Mage who understands swords" to appear.
Every second counts; the hunt begins.