Chapter Three: The Sacred Art of Battle! Three Fists Shatter Murong Hai!

July 10 arrived as scheduled, marking the imminent start of the global open beta for the fantasy game. According to the official website, the total sales of various VR helmets had already surpassed 100 million units. Attracting such a massive number of players to a game’s open beta was nothing short of a miracle in the online gaming world. Yet, it was hardly surprising; astute players foresaw a bright future for this fantasy game, especially as many other online games had suddenly shrunk, delivering a significant blow to the market.

Slipping on the platinum helmet, I silently counted down: 10, 9, 8… Finally, the helmet connected to the server, and a vivid azure scene appeared in my mind. A soft, melodious female voice greeted me: “Welcome to Fantasy. Please enter your identification number.”

Recalling my ID number, the helmet’s sensing system immediately scanned and transmitted it. After completion, the system prompted: “Would you like to create a Fantasy game account?”

Without hesitation, I selected “Yes.” The pleasant female voice resumed: “Creating game account, please wait… Iris scan complete; DNA verification complete; successfully linked to your bank account. Congratulations, your Fantasy account has been created. Your account ID is your identification number. Would you like to enter the game?”

The answer was an unequivocal yes.

First, I found myself in a chaotic void. Floating above was a man wearing only undergarments—upon closer inspection, it was me. Then, a crisp female voice asked: “Would you like to adjust your character’s appearance? You have three options: 1. Increase by 10%, 2. Decrease by 10%, 3. Keep original appearance.” I chose to keep it as is.

“Please enter your character’s name.” In previous games, I had always chosen names related to bats, since I was energetic at night like a bat. I also loved the color blue, so I named myself Blue Bat.

After naming, the system prompted again: “Would you like to continue into the game?”

Of course.

A dazzling white light flashed, and I appeared in a quaint classical Chinese village. The houses were orderly, surrounded by lush trees. The scenery near and far was incredibly clear and lifelike, almost immersive. An 80% realism level was enough to enjoy such high-quality graphics—I eagerly anticipated using the diamond helmet for even greater immersion. I stood in an open square, nearby a few other players clad only in undergarments like me. Several simple thatched cottages stood peacefully around, with the largest structure being the ancestral hall behind the square.

The few players gathered around the game guidance NPC at the hall’s entrance—several beautiful intelligent NPCs dressed in alluring white qipao dresses, their delicate curves outlined perfectly, wearing friendly smiles. A few lecherous male players drooled and gestured suggestively. From past experience, these guides were only for players who hadn’t read the official website, so I didn’t bother wasting time.

Opening my inventory, I found a makeshift dagger shaped like a tree branch with 0-1 attack, weight 1, durability 10/10; a tattered, roughly sewn cloth armor with 1-2 defense, weight 1, durability 10/10; and a pair of worn shorts, defense 1-2, durability 10/10, weight 1—superior to nothing but utterly useless. Wearing only undergarments exposed in broad daylight looked quite indecent.

Equipping these items, though I resembled a refugee just crossing from Afghanistan, at least I no longer looked like a exhibitionist. Helmets, necklaces, cloaks, pauldrons, wristbands, belts, boots, gloves, pendants, and rings were all empty slots. I opened the character attribute panel:

Blue Bat, Level 1
HP: 90/90, MP: 80/80, Experience: 0/1000
Strength: 8
Agility: 6
Stamina: 7
Intelligence: 7
Attack: 8-17
Speed: 12
Dodge: 12
Physical Defense: 16-25
Magic Resistance: 0
Reputation: 0, Luck: 0, Charisma: 0, PK: 0
Skills: None

Life Skills: None
Hunger: 100/100
Load: 3/90
Money: 100 copper coins
Guild: None

The original attributes for Fantasy characters are based on the player’s physical condition. The average baseline is 5 points for each basic attribute, and I exceeded the average with 8 points, indicating my body was in excellent shape! Higher basic stats also meant higher qi points—I liked that feeling!

Strength determined attack power and load capacity. Each point of strength increased physical attack by 2 points and carried capacity by 5 points. Warriors’ armor and weapons generally required high strength to equip. The formula for physical attack damage was: Attack × {[(Attack Max + Attack Min)/2] ÷ [(Opponent’s Physical Defense Max + Defense Min)/2]}. Damage would never exceed the maximum combined total of equipment and skill bonuses.

Agility influenced speed and dodge. Each point of agility added 2 points to speed and 2 points to dodge. For agility-based classes like scholars, assassins, and archers, agility also enhanced their skill bonuses, improving attack and accuracy. Naturally, many equipment items required a minimum agility threshold. Movement speed was calculated as 1 × (Speed ÷ Load) [Movement speed was expressed as a coefficient, increasing by one level every 0.4 points, with each level differing by 10%]. Dodge rate was (Dodge ÷ Opponent’s Dodge) %.

One point of stamina added 10 HP, 2 points to physical defense max, and 3 points to physical defense min.

[End of chapter excerpt. Please proceed to the next page for continuation.]