Free Web NovelChapter 1: Chapter 1: The Game Begins
"Verifying Citizen ID..."
"Verification complete. Welcome, Duan Someone."
"Disconnected from the real world."
"Game module loaded."
"Connecting to the Abyss... The Chaos in the Abyss has sensed your arrival and is gazing at you gently... How did you provoke this thing?"
"Current version: 0.07. You have been updated to the latest version. During gameplay, you may encounter all sorts of strange events, but don’t worry. There are only easter eggs here, no bugs."
"Finally, we hope you live long enough. Enjoy the game."
The messages so far were fine, but when Duan Fei heard the phrase "no bugs," he couldn’t help but laugh.
’So brave of you!’
Duan Fei had a constitution that attracted bugs, and it had only gotten worse after he was reborn into this new world.
In the 18 years since his rebirth, Duan Fei had learned that this world’s gaming industry was extraordinarily advanced. Its virtual reality games, in particular, were at their zenith, fifty years ahead of his original world.
But for some reason, no matter what game Duan Fei played, he would encounter all sorts of bugs. Most games would inevitably crash within five minutes. Just by reporting these game bugs, Duan Fei had earned enough to buy a three-bedroom apartment and build up a seven-figure bank account.
What could he do? This world was just that generous to players willing to report game bugs.
And Duan Fei was a walking game bug, a Nightmare for development teams. He was the kind of guy whose single action could cause a collective retreat of programmers’ hairlines, the pretty boy who made them want to claw at railings and tear their bedsheets in frustration, yet still forced them to work overtime.
From minor texture and data errors to major payment and server errors, he had seen every kind of game glitch imaginable, making him a walking encyclopedia of the bug world.
But really, all he wanted was to properly enjoy a single game.
He had heard of the game *Abyss*. It was organized and constructed by the Federation Government but developed and operated by a small, unknown team. Its background was so immense it was practically off the charts.
Logically, this team should have had all the money and manpower it needed, yet it was only now starting its open beta. The development progress was at 0.07, increasing by only 0.03 each year.
Gameplay consisted of completing objectives in one dungeon after another. The content of these dungeons ranged from the bizarre to sci-fi, from the East to the West, encompassing everything imaginable and claiming that no two dungeons were ever the same.
Duan Fei had failed to get a key for the closed beta. But now that the game was in open beta, he could finally enjoy it.
The game had many selling points: a game with absolutely no bugs, the best randomization, the highest dungeon completion rate, and a game where you never knew what you would encounter next.
At this point, Duan Fei could only hope this game would live up to his expectations.
When the darkness faded and light returned, Duan Fei found himself standing in a place that looked like an office.
There were no windows. The beige walls stretched endlessly into the distance, seeming boundless.
A cheap, yellow carpet covered the floor, but its synthetic fibers seemed to be saturated with water, giving off a stale, musty smell.
The fluorescent lights overhead were buzzing, flickering from time to time, slowly becoming an irritant.
After observing his surroundings, Duan Fei clenched his fist and couldn’t help but exclaim, "This game... is incredible."
The clenching motion was perfectly responsive, the feedback just right. Duan Fei had no doubt that a Fighting Master could even replicate all their real-world movements in this game.
Most virtual reality games had a slight delay caused by the conversion of neural signals to electrical signals, resulting in a sense of distortion. But in *Abyss*, he felt none of that.
’This tech is ridiculously advanced.’
Besides that, what surprised Duan Fei the most was that he actually hadn’t encountered a single bug.
He’d actually gotten in!
Walking excitedly on the carpet, Duan Fei listened to the squelching sound it made and felt that this game was truly amazing.
"No wonder it’s still at version 0.07 after so long. The dev team must be insane. Their technical skills are number one in the world."
The surrounding space seemed to be dynamically generated. Duan Fei tried walking in one direction, only to find that the walls kept appearing endlessly, with no end in sight.
But the scenery loaded without any lag, as smooth as a shampoo commercial.
After choosing a random direction and walking a short distance, Duan Fei saw a backpack appear in front of him.
It was a black, waterproof backpack made of an unknown material. It looked light and sturdy.
When he touched the backpack, it vanished instantly, and another voice prompt played:
"You have unlocked your first feature: the Backpack. While adventuring in dungeons, you can bring non-living things placed in your backpack back to the main hub, but not all items can be brought back. Please read the detailed descriptions of game items for more information."
Mentally saying "Backpack," Duan Fei saw a translucent panel unfold before him.
Inside the backpack was a single, ordinary Crowbar. When Duan Fei focused his attention on it, the Crowbar appeared directly in his hands.
At that moment, the voice spoke again: "You have equipped a weapon. Weapons in the game can be used without appraisal, but appraisal will reveal more information. Please appraise any weapon of unknown origin before equipping it. If a weapon is Cursed, it cannot be unequipped until the Curse is removed. Mentally say ’Attributes,’ and you will be able to see your current Attributes."
Mentally saying "Attributes," Duan Fei saw a second panel.
"Name: Duan Someone
Level: 1
Profession: Adventurer (Starter Profession, Level cap 10, each level-up slightly increases HP and stamina)
Attributes:
Power: 10 (Determines carrying capacity and melee damage)
Constitution: 10 (Determines HP and damage immunity)
agility: 10 (Determines movement Precision and body coordination)
Reaction: 10 (Determines the number of actions per unit of time)
Spirit: 10 (Determines stress limit and Spiritual Attack power)
Skill: None.
Current Equipment: Rusty Crowbar.
Damage: 1-4.
Talent: Gift of Chaos."
Before entering the game, Duan Fei had already learned a bit about it and knew that Attributes played a huge role.
Attributes determined damage and speed. Some Equipment required certain Attribute levels to be equipped, and the execution and power of some Skills also relied on Attributes for support.
Some powerful Skills could even change the effect of an Attribute from a linear increase to an exponential one. When those effects were active, the user became an unstoppable force, cutting down anyone in their path.
Moreover, besides the basic Attributes, the game also had various other hidden stats that worked together to simulate a realistic game environment.
But what surprised Duan Fei the most was that he actually had a Talent.
The effects of a Talent far surpassed those of a Skill. A powerful Talent could even change a player’s entire playstyle and was their main source of strength.
However, unlocking a Talent was a matter of luck. Some closed beta players hadn’t even managed to unlock one by the time the beta ended.
’To think I unlocked a Talent right from the start... My luck is off the charts.’
It seemed his luck in this game was pretty good. Not only had he not found any bugs, but he had even unlocked a Talent.
Clicking on his Talent, Duan Fei saw its detailed description.
"Gift of Chaos: You are being watched by the Chaos in the Abyss. Your extraordinary aptitude has caught its attention, and it has bestowed its power upon you. In every dungeon, you are more likely to encounter random events, for better or for worse. Furthermore, in every dungeon, you will be tainted by the power of Chaos. Some of your stats will be drastically increased or decreased; some may even become their inverse. When you guess what the effect is for a particular dungeon, you can say it in your mind, and the text of this Talent will tell you if you are correct.
Note: I know I already said it, but I have to say it again. How did you provoke that thing!"
After reading the Talent’s effect, Duan Fei felt like the game’s development team was specifically targeting him.
’This Talent... It feels like it’s just making excuses for my bug-attracting constitution.’
Shrugging, Duan Fei decided to ignore the issue.
Gripping his Crowbar, Duan Fei heard the voice again: "Next up is the official dungeon segment. Different dungeons have different objectives. You can mentally say ’Dungeon Objective’ to view them. This concludes the beginner’s guide. I know you probably still have many questions, but our capabilities are limited. This is as far as we can take you."
"After this, you will find a fire door. There will be markings on the door indicating the dungeon difficulty, party status, and other information. Please pick a fire door you like and begin the game."
"As you progress through the game, you will unlock more features in the main world and gain more conveniences. We sincerely hope you will explore here for a long time and unearth more secrets."
"You can also search for information on the game forums, but our forums are currently occupied by a bunch of trolls, and we don’t have the time to maintain them. Therefore, please use your own judgment when evaluating the content on the forums."
After hearing the last part, Duan Fei felt the game’s production team was truly absurd.
’They clearly have the energy to create so much interesting content, but not enough to maintain a forum. It’s just too weird.’
Looking around, Duan Fei did indeed spot a red fire door.
A large number "2" was painted on the door in black, indicating that this was a Tier Two Dungeon.
Below it was a line of small text: "Two-player dungeon, supernatural type, recommended game Level 1-10."
After reading the notice on the door, Duan Fei thought, ’Great suggestion, but I’m not taking it.’
He pushed open the red fire door and took a firm step inside.
’Abyss, here I come.’
