Chapter 2 (Assassin Reborn)

[Translated by ChickenBakuba]

Pre-chapter translator note: Foreshadowing this chapter, maybe?

Chapter 2, Into the Game!

The helmet needed to be connected to the computer to enter the game. There was a technical manual inside the box with instructions on how to do so. The helmet was blue in colour, like what one would expect from a motorcyclist's helmet. There was a push-button on the helmet. The push-button allowed someone in reality (outside the game) to alert the one immersed inside the game.

After setting everything up, Xu Xiang logged onto <i>Dispute's</i> official website. The game officially released at 8 p.m., and there was still some time to kill before then. Xu Xiang wanted to search for useful information. Unfortunately, other than the big header 'Even if the world is shattered, there will still be light', there was not another inkling of information on the website. The rest were some guilds and clans recruiting people in advance.

"'Even if the world is shattered, there will still be light'." Xu Xiang murmured. He had never understood the meaning of the sentence - that is, if there was one - throughout his two years of gaming. Maybe he would finally understood what it meant this time.

Xu Xiang went to the toilet, had a quick shower, and returned to the computer. He glanced at the time. 7.45 p.m.. Time to enter the game.

<i>Dispute</i> opened 15 minutes earlier than the publicly announced time. This was privy, and was only revealed by other players a week later after its release. Of course, Xu Xiang knew this now. He had not notified Zhang Fan. Knowing Zhang Fan, that blabbermouth would probably run his mouth off. It was not a stretch to say that the entire city would know of it within a day.

Xu Xiang hesitated. Xu Xiang had ran into Wang Xue in the novice village. If he entered the game sooner than planned, the novice villages they would be entered into different novice villages.[footnote]IF you aren't a gamer and don't know of this, search up game instances.[/footnote] If he was going to meet with Wang Xue again, that would require more time and effort. But if he had enough strength, would he even need to worry about finding her?[footnote]A ship has sailed.[/footnote]

Checking irises, identity verified, generated serial number: 1545244589545123. Esteemed Mr. Xu Xiang, welcome to the world of <i>Dispute</i>." A metallic female voice spoke to him. A new world began to form. A vast plain of mossy green spread out in front of him.

To the left of the fields stood an army of knights and an army of elves. Xu Xiang knew that these knights were the Imperial Astle Knights, reputed as the 'Eternally sharp blades'. It was the strongest military power in the Empire. As for the army of elves, it had a great number of archers and magicians. Above the armies, enormous dragons zipped by, their gigantic shadows sweeping over the ground.

To the right was an army of undead and beastmen. The massive volume of skulls had no end. This was the power of a Necromancer. Overhead flew a couple of bone dragons and ghost dragons. The beastmen did not lose out either, looking as tough as old boots. Behemoths, thunder eagles, advanced organisms of all conceivable shapes and sizes littered the fields. Orderly rows of taurens and shamans stretched out, their scarlet eyes glaring ahead. Enormous totems with glowing magic runes shone brightly.

A bugle horn thundered, and both sides began their charge. The clash of steel and the bellows of war cries mingled. Even if it was his second time, the scene didn’t fail to make Xu Xiang’s blood boil. This was a man’s ending, this was an apocalypse of fire and blood!

“Name?” "Feng Xiang." "Profession?" "Thief." <i>Dispute</i> had four professions, namely: Warrior, Robber, Archer, Warlock, Magician, Priest. These were the seven conventional professions, but due to the different preferences in adding skill points, there were different branches for every profession.

"Race?" <i>Dispute</i> had several different races too, chiefly, humans, beastmen, undead, seakind, night elves. What suited the profession of Thief the best was actually the undead race and the elf race. The former was superior in resistance against control, while the latter was more superior in concealing and hiding. Previously, Xu Xiang was an undead Thief. Naturally, there was no exception this time.

"Undead." "I wish you a pleasant experience in the game." White light enveloped his vision as Xu Xiang entered the world of <i>Dispute</i>.

It was a small, quiet village. There was an open plaza in the middle of the village, with various stores of selling all sorts of wares around it. In the centre of the plaza was a kindly old man, the village chief. Guards patrolled the entrance of the village.

Xu Xiang spawned at the only open space in the village. Being an undead did not necessarily mean that one would turn into a skeleton with a human skull. On the contrary, one would only have unusually pale skin.

"Novice village 0009527." Xu Xiang slid his eyes to the map coordinates at the top right hand corner of his vision. No. 9527 novice village. It was the same novice village as the past. It seemed like entering the game ahead of schedule did not have any effect on the wheel of fate. 9527 was a number that had an implication behind it. Novice villages weren't allocated based on how early you entered the game. Instead, it seemed like it was randomly arranged. It seemed like the butterfly effect had not begun to flap its wings yet.[footnote]See butterfly effect on wikipedia.[/footnote]

Taking no notice of the village chief's chattering, Xu Xiang began heading outside the village. He pulled up the data of his individual stats.

[Character: Feng Xiang

Sex: Male

Level: 0

Prestige: 0

Attributes: Strength (2), Agility (3), Spirit (2), Intelligence (1), Toughness (1)

HP: 110 (100 + 1*10)[footnote]1*10 means 1 x 10 or 1 multiplied by 10.[/footnote]

Rage: 0/100

Attack: 3-3 (2*1 + 3*0.3)

Defence: 1 (1*1)

Magic defence: 2

Magic resistance: 10% (Magic attacks - Magic harm - Magic resistance = Magic Damage)

Conceal: 3 (Thief profession talent value)

Perception: 1

Movement speed (Max): 5 yards per second (1 meter = 0.9144 yards)

Jumping distance (Max): 3 yards

Skills: Undead talent (Passive): Increased resistance against all control-type skills by 1 per cent. Cannot be upgraded.

Undead's willpower (Active): 3 second immunity to all control skills except for stun. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Cannot be upgraded.

Junior short-sword proficiency (Inactive): When weapon equipped is a short-sword, damage is increased by 10 per cent. Upgradable.

Junior dagger proficiency: When weapon equipped is a dagger, damage is increased by 10 per cent. Upgradable.

Thief profession attribute: Backstab: Attacking enemies from behind increases damage is increased by 20 per cent. Cannot be upgraded.

Reflex: Traps are a thief's specialty. You can sense traps to a certain degree.

Use of Poison: Poison is a thief's best friend. You can smear weapons with poison.]

Xu Xiang added his only skill point into dagger proficiency. Xu Xiang's favourite weapon was the dagger. The short-sword had a high attack and was longer than the dagger, which suited a thief's combat. However, Xu Xiang was a thief which specialised in assassination. It was clear that the dagger was more suited for him.

Although he was very familiar with the stats table, Xu Xiang sighed with emotion as he studied his stats.

"I, Xu Xiang, am finally back!"

His voice resounded in the spacious village. Not a single NPC took notice of him. Other players had not entered this novice village either.

Xu Xiang arrived at the entrance of the village and received novice equipment from the guards. "Esteemed Warrior Feng Xiang, are you willing to eradicate the village's monsters?"

"Yes." Xu Xiang was sorely reminded of a marriage ceremony, with the pastor asking, 'Are you willing to love her forever, to protect...' and followed by 'I am willing.' Xu Xiang studied the big uncle in front of him with a beard and chuckled.

"Warrior Xu Xiang, please cherish this. This is a token of my regards. I hope that the God of Light blesses you." The guard put his palms together in pious prayer. Ignoring the praying guard, Xu Xiang equipped the two pieces of equipment for novices.

Novice dagger: Attack (0-1) Attack Speed (0.8) Weight (5) Cannot be sold.

Novice garment: Defence (0-1), Weight (3). Cannot be sold.

Xu Xiang knew that there was no missions to be done in the novice village during the early stage of the game. Currently, he was the only one aware of the level 5 dungeon mission that the village chief had. <i>Dispute</i> had a sophisticated game system, but most of the missions were a one-time thing. As long as one person completed the mission, the mission would no longer be available for others. Missions were designed for players to search and discover for themselves.

In his previous life, Xu Xiang, other than completing instance dungeons, had been an idiot. He had not completed many missions. Xu Xiang had been a thief that fought on the battlefield, and doing missions were not his priority. Furthermore, repeatable missions yielded very low rewards. This was how <i>Dispute's</i> difficulty in gameplay increased as one advanced. In his previous two years of playing <i>Dispute</i>, the highest level had yet to hit 80.

Due to <i>Dispute's</i> limited gaming time per day, Xu Xiang would browse the forums after his gaming time was up or visit the empire's library to read. The forums had a great amount of players who published completed missions and strategies of dungeons. These information were now priceless treasures! The empire's library contained many books on history. These information and resources would prove helpful in his future endeavours.

Chapter 2, END