Chapter 3

"Respected player, welcome to 'Skyrim.' There are ten minutes left until the official server launch, and we are now conducting identity verification." A gentle system prompt sounded, which was very soothing to hear.

"Fingerprint and retinal scan complete, verifying your identity... Respected player Mu Feng, welcome to the world of 'Skyrim'!" Excellent, the identity verification went without any errors. Mu Feng, who had undergone a transformation due to the mysterious crystal, was really afraid he wouldn't pass.

"The system is now tallying your online time and achievement points in 'Magic World,' and will soon provide you with reward compensation!" Immediately after logging in, the system issued another prompt.

"Reward compensation?" This was something Mu Feng hadn't expected. There had been no prior information, so it felt like a bonus.

"Data tally complete. Based on your online time and achievement points, you will receive one lottery chance. Your 'Magic World' character ID 'Melancholy Wind and Star Evil' has been selected as a star ID and is now bound to you, and you can only create it. Additionally, you will receive two ultimate lucky lottery chances!" After a few seconds, the system finally revealed the specific rewards.

"Three lottery chances?" If he couldn't make a name for himself with such powerful items, Mu Feng might as well give up! However, from another perspective, players had spent so much time and effort in 'Magic World,' and it wouldn't be fair not to provide some compensation.

"The lottery is now beginning!" As the prompt sounded, a huge wheel appeared before Mu Feng, spinning rapidly.

"Lottery complete, you have won a green-quality 'Scarlet Cloak.'" Scarlet Cloak: Cloth armor, quality (excellent), armor value +5, stamina +5.

"Lottery complete, you have won a purple-quality 'Stone of Life.'" Stone of Life: Accessory, quality (epic), restores 10 HP every 5 seconds when equipped. Usage: Restores 300-700 HP, 10-minute cooldown.

"Lottery complete, you have won an epic mount 'Obsidian Wings.'" Obsidian Wings' Reins: Mount, quality (epic), a swift flying mount. The owner automatically learns the corresponding riding skill at the appropriate level. Maximum land speed 120%, maximum flight speed 400%.

After hearing the results of the three lotteries, Mu Feng was very satisfied. He believed many people would receive rewards, but they would likely be just green-quality items, at most a blue-quality one. The ultimate lottery for the star ID was indeed powerful.

The first item, the cloak, was nothing special. It was a common defensive cloak with high armor and stamina values, which would significantly boost Mu Feng's survival capabilities in the early stages. However, compared to the Stone of Life, it was insignificant. With these items, Mu Feng believed his leveling speed would skyrocket.

As for the Obsidian Wings, it saved Mu Feng the cost of buying a mount and learning riding skills, and also saved him the trouble of running around. However, mounts could only be used at level 20, so for now, it was just for show.

"Skyrim will begin in ten seconds, please prepare. Ten... nine... eight... seven... one!" As the countdown reached one, the originally chaotic space suddenly lit up, and the game officially began.

Upon entering the game, Mu Feng found himself in space, facing a beautiful planet emitting a brilliant light, which was the world he would soon descend into. At the edge of the universe, countless stars were continuously dying. The destruction, like a plague, was rapidly approaching! Finally, it reached the upper atmosphere of the beautiful planet! Countless meteorites pierced through the clouds and fell into it!

At the same time, Mu Feng's perspective rapidly descended and landed on the planet before the meteorites. The people here were unaware of the impending tragedy and continued their ordinary lives. However, the meteorites falling from the sky changed everything.

The meteorites created massive craters, and vicious demons emerged from them, brutally slaughtering innocent people. Farmers, workers, and soldiers raised their weapons to defend their homes. To survive, they had to fight! Warriors, mages, priests, and other classes emerged, bravely charging towards the demons who sought to destroy their homes!

"Regardless of race or strength, everyone has a duty to fulfill. War does not recognize tears; put aside complaints and chaos. When the seemingly small forces unite, they possess the power to resist everything. Whether or not you are an orc or an elf, a mage or a knight, all those who have been baptized by war have a new unified name: Hero! In the face of true war, no one can escape unscathed. This world awaits your salvation!" A profound narration ended, and a character creation panel appeared before Mu Feng.

"Phew..." Taking a deep breath, Mu Feng calmed his excitement. The opening animation was truly breathtaking, making him feel the significant difference between virtual reality and the previous holographic technology!

"Dear player, please choose your desired class and race. Different races have different innate skills, and there are certain restrictions on the classes you can choose. You can only have one character, and if you delete it, you must wait three days before creating another. Please choose carefully!" The system prompt sounded.

"I choose Demon Hunter!" Mu Feng answered directly. This was a decision he had made long ago, and he had been training for it over the past few days.

"Whoosh!" The screen changed, and a handsome character appeared before Mu Feng. Pale skin, purple hair, pointed ears, and eyes that shimmered with a faint, star-like light. It was clearly an elf. Upon closer inspection, Mu Feng noticed that the elf's face was at least 80% similar to his own.

"Choose your race." Since he had already chosen his class without hesitation, it was time to choose his race.

"Sorry, dear player, the Demon Hunter class currently only has the elf race as an option. Please proceed with character detail settings." The system's response surprised Mu Feng.

"Only elves?" Mu Feng fell into thought. Logically, there shouldn't be a class limited to a single race. The Demon Hunter class should at least have a dark tribe race as an option, otherwise, dark tribe players would curse Skyrim, and it would severely affect the balance of the game's factions. Mu Feng couldn't come to a conclusion for the moment.

Without time to waste, to quickly enter the game, Mu Feng began to adjust his character's appearance. He increased the overall appearance by 10%, changed his hair to silver, and chose a skin color close to a normal tan. He also took a look at the racial traits he couldn't choose.

Elves: An ancient and isolated race, they love nature and possess a great magical civilization. Their dependence on magic has led them astray under the leadership of Queen Azshara.

Racial Trait: Magic Resistance: Elves, who love magic, have a natural resistance to it, reducing damage from spells by 2%.

Racial Trait: Swift: Flexible elves have a 2% chance to completely avoid melee and ranged attacks.

Elf Soul: Fallen elves appear as elf souls, moving much faster in the spirit world than ordinary souls. After death, they transform into small elves, with a 70% increase in movement speed.

"Please enter the name you wish to use for your character." The system prompted again.

"Star..." The words "Star Evil" almost slipped out, but Mu Feng suddenly stopped. He remembered his final battle with Wu Feng, where the mysterious figure had seen through his identity as "Melancholy Wind"... So...

"Melancholy Wind!" Closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, and reopening them, Mu Feng chose this name.

Using this legendary name was Mu Feng's greatest motivation. If he failed, he would become the biggest joke in history. But he wasn't afraid; in the face of contempt and doubt, persistence was the highest form of defiance! He decided to use this name, which was exclusively his, to create another glorious achievement!

"Now conducting a physical scan. Based on your physical attributes, your character's initial attribute points will be determined. Each attribute has a maximum of 20 and a minimum of 5. Scanning begins..." The system prompted.

"Physical scan?" Mu Feng recalled that there was such a mention in the information he had gathered.

Mu Feng wasn't worried about the so-called physical scan. His physical strength was monster-level due to the green crystal that had replaced his heart!

"Physical scan complete. Now conducting an intelligence and mental scan. You may experience some discomfort during the scan, please bear with it." After the system's prompt, Mu Feng felt a slight pain in his head, as if his mind had been gently pricked. He didn't expect Skyrim's technology to be so advanced that it could even do this!

"Scan complete. Your base attributes are: Strength: 20, Agility: 20, Intelligence: 20, Stamina: 20, Spirit: 20!" All five attributes were at their maximum!

"You will receive 20 free attribute points. Please distribute them freely among Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Stamina, and Spirit. When you level up, you will automatically receive one fixed attribute point and five free attribute points to distribute."

"20 free attribute points?" Mu Feng's eyes lit up. In 'Magic World,' players had complained about not being able to freely distribute attribute points, and it seemed that Skyrim had taken this feedback into account and made changes. It wouldn't be long before many unique builds emerged.

Before allocating the precious initial 20 free attribute points, Mu Feng needed to understand the benefits of each attribute. Focusing on the attribute allocation interface, he saw the benefits clearly listed.

Strength: Each point of Strength increases attack by 1, slightly increases weapon parry chance, and increases backpack and equipment weight capacity.

Agility: Each point of Agility increases attack by 2, slightly increases dodge and armor value, and slightly increases critical hit rate.

Intelligence: Each point of Intelligence increases maximum mana by 10, increases spell power by 1, and slightly increases magic critical hit rate.

Stamina: Each point of Stamina increases maximum health by 10.

Spirit: Each point of Spirit slightly increases health and mana recovery outside of combat.

Many of the benefits were vague... Mu Feng understood that "slightly" meant the effects would be hard to notice without sufficient points. However, through these descriptions, he gained enough information. The Demon Hunter was indeed a versatile class, with boosts to Strength, Agility, and Intelligence. However, it was clearly more inclined towards Agility, with more attack and critical hit bonuses.

The damage dealt by physical classes is the sum of weapon damage and the character's attack attribute, minus the target's defense. Since weapon damage has a range, the final damage will also vary.

After some thought, Mu Feng made his decision! He allocated all 20 free attribute points to Agility! He didn't add any points to the other attributes for now!

It wasn't that Mu Feng didn't need those attributes, but to maximize his attack for quick leveling. Once he reached a higher level and learned more skills, he would add points to Strength and Intelligence. If he had distributed points from the start, it would have wasted the advantage of having all attributes at their maximum. Although he didn't add any points, Mu Feng's health and mana were not too low, sufficient for prolonged battles.

After allocating the points, Mu Feng's un-equipped personal attributes became: Health: 200, Mana: 200, Attack: 100, Spell Power: 20. An extremely extreme allocation, but it created infinite possibilities, depending on how Mu Feng utilized them.

"Confirm, enter the game!" Finally, everything was set, and Mu Feng chose to enter the game!

"Whoosh!" Mu Feng finally arrived at the newbie village. His birth location was a military fortress in a deep mountain, and he was randomly placed in the square. All around were Demon Hunter players, rushing out to kill monsters. Some players even had decent-looking weapons in their hands! It must be a benefit for returning players; having a weapon at level 1 was definitely a stroke of luck.

Having played 'Magic World' before, Mu Feng's first reaction was to look for quests. However, before he could take a step, a tall NPC automatically appeared before him, with a large quest icon above his head.

"New recruit Melancholy Wind, there you are!" It was a tall male elf, bare-chested with a body covered in runes, and his eyes were covered by a black cloth, a typical Demon Hunter appearance. His name was New Recruit Captain Ilysaerien.

"Is there something you need, Captain?" Mu Feng asked politely. When interacting with NPCs, Mu Feng was very game-spirited, now a common elf new recruit preparing to accept his first quest. Many people were too lazy to listen to NPC chatter, only wanting to know where to kill a few monsters. In Mu Feng's view, this was a way to kill the game's fun and reduce the sense of realism.

"As a new recruit, you need to prove your abilities to us. Not everyone has the qualifications to become a Demon Hunter. To the south of the fortress, there is a group of Nightblade Leopards that have gone berserk. Eliminate ten Nightblade Leopards to resolve this threat! This is your trial!"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it!" The prompt sounded, and Mu Feng successfully accepted the quest.

"Good luck, boy! I've been training new recruits in Shadow Valley for many years, and I've never seen such a promising recruit. Don't disappoint me! When you complete the quest, I will reward you and teach you more skills." Ilysaerien said.

After bidding farewell to Ilysaerien, Mu Feng quickly headed south towards the village, while checking his inventory and skill bar. To his surprise, Skyrim was quite generous, providing new players with five white-quality items.

New Recruit Outfit: Leather armor, quality (common), armor value +3.

New Recruit Leather Pants: Leather armor, quality (common), armor value +3.

New Recruit Leather Boots: Leather armor, quality (common), armor value +2.

Three pieces of armor, ensuring that he wasn't barefoot, exposed, or naked... Adding 8 points of armor seemed significant, but it also meant that the damage from monsters would be high. Fortunately, Mu Feng had the Scarlet Cloak, which added 5 points of armor and 5 points of stamina.

According to the information Mu Feng had gathered, Skyrim's equipment was divided into five grades: common, excellent, superior, epic, and the very rare legendary, represented by the colors white, green, blue, purple, and orange.

Common-grade equipment would only increase armor or attack power based on whether it was armor or a weapon.

Excellent-grade equipment would increase attributes like Strength or Agility, and the best would have a green attribute like critical hit or hit chance.

Blue-grade equipment would have one green attribute in addition to an increased attribute, and the best would have two attributes or an additional green attribute. Higher-grade equipment might also have unique and rare effects, like Mu Feng's Stone of Life.

Of course, higher-grade equipment would have significantly higher base armor and attack power compared to lower-grade equipment.

Next was the weapon. New Recruit Short Sword: Main hand weapon, 3-6 damage, speed 1.9.

New Recruit Dagger: Off-hand weapon, 2-4 damage, speed 1.5.

Indeed, Skyrim didn't give new players class-specific weapons from the start, just a simple sword and dagger combination. Being able to dual-wield was a benefit.

Skyrim's weapons were categorized, with main-hand weapons only equippable in the right hand and off-hand weapons only in the left, which couldn't be changed. Unmarked weapons could be equipped in either hand. The speed 1.9 referred to the attack interval of a single weapon. You could only use this weapon to perform a normal attack every 1.9 seconds.

As for the equipment and mount mentioned before entering the game, they were now in a compensation box in Mu Feng's inventory. Opening the box, Mu Feng equipped the Scarlet Cloak and the Stone of Life. His inventory had only 20 slots, and Skyrim was quite stingy. Inside was also a Hearthstone and ten loaves of bread and water, with the remaining space waiting to be filled with loot.

As a level 1 Demon Hunter new recruit, Mu Feng had only one skill in his skill bar. Fierce Strike: Level 1, simultaneously attack with main and off-hand weapons, dealing 100% of the main and off-hand weapon damage! 5-second cooldown, 5 mana cost.

After checking everything, Mu Feng had already reached the forest outside the fortress to the south, ready to begin his first quest!