Chapter 1: Choosing a Name Requires Careful Thought
"Hello there, Master. I was wondering if you have any quests available?" A young man dressed in plain cloth clothing stood in front of the shop, smiling broadly at the "NPC" before him — a scowling figure clutching an iron hammer.
"Go outside the village and bring me back twenty pieces of wood." Liu Kongkong's tone was thoroughly unfriendly, but the plainly-dressed young man didn't mind in the slightest. The moment he heard the words, he happily trotted off to collect the wood.
Tsk, tsk. Look at how eager he is. Liu Kongkong watched the retreating figure with a mix of contempt and envy — because right now, he couldn't go anywhere except stand in front of this blacksmith's shop!
Five hours earlier.
The cross-era online game "Hunt Heaven," which had been promoted online for over a year, officially launched worldwide today. Unlike traditional online games, the developers of "Hunt Heaven" claimed it would deliver a fully immersive gaming experience, and they had publicly revealed the gaming device — the Game Pod.
According to the official "Hunt Heaven" statement, the Game Pod used "Neural Link Technology," which would "soul-bind" the game character to the player.
"'Hunt Heaven' is not merely a game — it is an entirely new world. Here, every choice you make will affect this world, and yourself..."
Liu Kongkong scrolled through the game's official website with boredom. The text on the page held no interest for him. He had been making a living by grinding games for years, and the passion he once had for gaming had long since faded. To him, it was just work.
"This thing sells for 2,999 yuan. If it weren't for the official Huaxia government certification, I'd think it was a scam."
When the price was first announced, many people found it outrageous — but the Huaxia government quickly stepped forward to confirm the game's claims were legitimate, and people finally felt reassured.
Two hours after ordering online, the official "Hunt Heaven" logistics team delivered the package to his door. Liu Kongkong's rented apartment was small — a bachelor unit of about thirty square meters. Since the Game Pod could double as a bed, he had dismantled his bed beforehand and pushed it against the wall.
The delivery crew worked quickly, finishing the installation in just a few minutes.
"That was fast." Liu Kongkong saw them off and couldn't help but marvel. He closed the door and turned to look at the "Hunt Heaven" Game Pod — a sleek, silver capsule with a surface so smooth it reflected his image like a mirror. He couldn't resist walking around it a couple of times. "Even if I never use this thing, I bet I could make money just by dismantling and selling it."
After a bit of searching, he found a hidden release button.
With a nearly inaudible beep, the hatch slid open silently, just like something out of a sci-fi movie. Inside was an ergonomically designed reclining seat, surrounded by sensors and ports whose names he couldn't begin to guess. Most eye-catching of all was a helmet-like device.
"This thing really only costs three thousand yuan?" Liu Kongkong was somewhat astonished.
If it weren't for the official Huaxia government statement, he wouldn't dare climb inside!
Following the instructions, he settled into the Game Pod, put on the helmet, and bellowed — "Hunt Heaven, activate!"
The next second, a tingling sensation spread across his scalp.
Everything went dark before his eyes, then pinpoints of starlight began to appear. But as a veteran gamer of many years, Liu Kongkong's first instinct was to look for a skip button. Almost immediately, a "Skip" option appeared in the upper right of his vision.
"They actually have that option." Liu Kongkong was quite pleased. He skipped through everything with practiced ease — checking every box, agreeing to every prompt.
"Please enter your name on the Xingye Continent."
"Liu Dameng." Liu Kongkong typed it in instantly. A game ID was just a label, after all. He was here to work, not to pick up girls in-game — it didn't matter what he was called.
"This ID..."
"Confirm."
He already knew it was taken without even thinking. Liu Kongkong hit confirm on instinct. He had plenty of backup names anyway — Liu Daqiang, Liu Goudan, Liu Shanpao...
"You..."
"Confirm."
This game is so long-winded...
After hammering confirm more than ten times in a frenzy, everything went dark again. Liu Kongkong froze.
If an ID was taken, shouldn't it ask him to enter a new name? Why hadn't another input box appeared?
Before he could figure it out, everything suddenly lit up!
"It just... loaded me in? Even with a duplicate ID?" Liu Kongkong took in the scenery before him — a rustic, old-fashioned village. That part didn't surprise him. He had looked into "Hunt Heaven's" background before. The game's basic classes were divided into four: Warrior, Sorcerer, Assassin, and Archer. He had already complained about how generic the class design was when he was researching the official website.
"Didn't they say the character creation screen would give ten free stat points? Why do I have nothing?" Liu Kongkong sensed something was off. "Maybe you allocate them after logging in?"
He pulled up the character panel, and his eyes lit up the next second.
Name: Liu Dameng
Class: Apprentice Blacksmith
HP: 1/1
Mana: 1/1
Strength: 1
Constitution: 1
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 1
Spirit: 1
Available Points: 0
"Holy shit! Why is everything at one?! Where did my ten free points go?! And why is my class Blacksmith? That sounds like a life skill class." Liu Kongkong's brain crashed. He tried to raise his hand to scratch his head, but noticed something in his right hand. He lifted it to look...
"What the hell is this iron hammer?! Who shoved this into my hand?!"
"Hello, Master Dameng. I was wondering if you have any quests available?" Before Liu Kongkong could make sense of the situation, someone ran up to him and politely asked.
A quest? Fuck, if you want a quest, go find an NPC — why are you coming to me?
Liu Kongkong was about to tell the person to get lost, when a window suddenly popped up before his eyes!
Player [Lonely as a Song] is requesting a quest from you. The quests you can currently offer are:
1. Deliver five rabbit pelts to you. Quest reward: 50 experience points and a crude basic weapon.
2. Deliver twenty pieces of wood to you. Quest reward: 15 experience points and a crude basic weapon.
3. Deliver twenty stones to you. Quest reward: 15 experience points and a crude basic weapon.
4. Custom quest.
What does this mean? Why can I give out quests to them? And if there are weapons, why can't I use them myself? Liu Kongkong stared blankly at the window. But the longer he stood there dazed, the more excited the expression on the player called Lonely as a Song became!
This NPC's reaction really is different from the others! Could this be some kind of hidden quest?! Lonely as a Song's heart began to race. He had noticed earlier that this blacksmith had a completely dazed look on his face. Unlike the other NPCs who all wore pleasant smiles, this one's expression practically had the words written all over it: Come find me — I've got an awesome quest for you!
"Master? You can ask me to do anything!" Seeing that Liu Kongkong still hadn't spoken, Lonely as a Song assumed more interaction was needed.
"You... go bring me five rabbit pelts..." Liu Kongkong blankly selected one.
"That's it?" Lonely as a Song was taken aback. What a completely ordinary quest!
"Then what do you want? How about you go kill the village chief..." Liu Kongkong heard that the player seemed unsatisfied and said it as a joke. But the very next second, a window popped up again!
Do you wish to issue an S-rank quest, [Slay Starter Village No. 0113's Village Chief]? Your total available experience for today is 95,750 points. Currently insufficient to pay the quest reward. System has automatically cancelled on your behalf...
What the hell?! Liu Kongkong's eyes went wide.
"That's insane?!" Lonely as a Song was also stunned. This starter village is playing for keeps! Killing the village chief right off the bat?