The neon glow of Neo-Tokyo flickered across my face, reflecting in the sleek visor of my neural interface helmet. 2077. Humanity had traded endless commutes and soul-crushing jobs for a shot at godhood, or something close to it. That something was Zenith Online, the first true full-dive VRMMORPG, and like billions of others, I was ready to escape.
My real name is Xam, but in the sprawling digital continents of Zenith, I was a blank slate – literally. I'd spent weeks enduring the pre-launch hype, the endless ads promising a world without limits, a chance to forge your own destiny. What they didn't tell you was the agonizing wait to actually log in. Launch day felt less like a revolution and more like a digital riot, a lag-choked battle for server access.
Finally, finally, the character creation screen materialized before my eyes. Forget choosing a class; Zenith Online threw that tired trope out the window. We got a "Blank Slate"—a foundation to build upon, to discover our own skills, our own combat styles. It was exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure.
I meticulously crafted my avatar, a lean, nondescript figure, a mirror of my own unremarkable physique. As I finalized the details, the system hiccupped.
Red text flashed across my vision:
"System Instability Detected." "Compensating for Data Corruption." "Acquiring Unique Skill…"
My gut clenched. A bug? A crash? I hovered my mental cursor over the "report error" button, but before I could click, the final message slammed into my consciousness like a digital thunderbolt.
"Unique Skill Acquired: Plundering Genesis God (SSS-Rank)"
The words hung there, shimmering with an impossible weight. SSS-Rank? My knowledge of game mechanics stretched to God-rank skills, the kind whispered about in hushed tones on forums, boasting a 0.0001% drop rate. But SSS-Rank? It was the stuff of legends, a myth, a statistical anomaly with a chance of 0.000001%. My mind blanked, rebooted.
My character status window snapped open, the impossible skill blazing like a supernova:
Name: Xam Level: 1 Class: Adventurer (Provisional) HP: 100/100 MP: 100/100 Strength: 10 Agility: 10 Vitality: 10 Intelligence: 10 Wisdom: 10 Luck: 100 (Bonus from Tutorial) Skills: Plundering Genesis God (SSS-Rank)
The description burned itself into my mind:
Plundering Genesis God (SSS-Rank):
Active: Steal any skill, ability, or attribute from any entity (including NPCs, monsters, and other players) with a success rate based on the user's level, Luck, and the target's resistance. The stolen skill's rank is reduced by one level (e.g., an S-Rank skill becomes an A-Rank skill).
Passive: Grants the user an exponentially increasing growth rate for all stats and skills. The more the user plunders, the faster they grow.
Ultimate: XXXXXXXXXX
Restrictions: XXXXXXXXXXX
Initial success rate is extremely low.
Plundered skills have a 24-hour duration
I was numb. This wasn't a skill; it was a cheat code masquerading as a skill. I could steal anything? Exponential growth? I was looking at a power curve that defied the laws of virtual physics.
A manic grin stretched across my face. Was this real? A pre-launch prank by the devs? My heart hammered against my ribs, a drumbeat of disbelief and exhilaration. I had to test it.
The tutorial zone shimmered into existence around me, a tranquil forest teeming with docile Forest Slimes. I approached one, my breath hitching in my throat. I focused on Plundering Genesis God, on the "Steal" function.
A mental interface flickered into being, displaying the slime's meager offerings:
"Target: Forest Slime Available Skills/Attributes:
Acidic Spit (F-Rank)
Slime Body (E-Rank) Success Rate: 0.1%"
My euphoria deflated like a punctured lung. 0.1%? It was a statistical middle finger. My level-one status, my newbie stats, were crippling the skill. But I had to try. I selected "Acidic Spit," channeled my will, and…
"Plundering Failed."
Again. And again. My mental stamina, my MP, dwindled with each failed attempt. Ten, twenty tries, each one a soul-crushing rejection by the system. Doubt gnawed at me. Maybe it was bugged after all.
Then, on the twenty-fifth try, a surge of pure, unfiltered energy coursed through me.
"Plundering Successful! Acquired Acidic Spit (G-Rank)."
The world swam back into focus, and a new skill bloomed in my awareness. I checked my status, and there it was: Acidic Spit (G-Rank). Pathetic, the lowest rank, but I had done it. I had actually stolen a skill.
I threw my head back and laughed, the sound echoing in the digital forest. The odds were stacked against me, but it was possible. And with that passive ability… every level, every stat point, would amplify that success rate. I was a snowball at the top of an avalanche.
I spent what felt like hours torturing the local wildlife, plundering skills from slimes, rabbits, and anything else that moved. My level crawled to level 5, my stats ticked upward, and my repertoire expanded: Acidic Spit, Rabbit's Agility, Keen Sense (courtesy of a rather unfortunate wolf), and Stone Skin (the less said about that, the better).
As I finally stepped out of the tutorial zone and into the sprawling plains of Zenith Online, I knew my life had changed forever. I wasn't just another player anymore. I was Xam, the Plunderer, and I was going to rewrite the legends.