Active skills leveled up much slower than passive ones, as they required frequent use. Of course, there were ways to boost skill growth. Beyond faction skill books, special talents could accelerate skill leveling, such as:
★ Master of Techniques: When a skill levels up, there is a 100% chance for double effect.
Simple and straightforward, but overwhelmingly powerful—the leveling speed of all skills doubled.
Another human soul talent:
★ Fire Transfer (Lv.1): Consume your own skill points to grant another player 10% of the corresponding skill experience. Each level increases this effect by 10%, reaching 100% at level 10.
This was a top-tier human player's money-making skill. During beta, the Fire Transfer market was perpetually in high demand, with prices skyrocketing.
Other skills also had modest effects on accelerating skill growth.
Other Shadow Direwolf Soul Skills:
★ Wolf Howl (Lv.1): Emit a howl for 1 second, reducing attack of enemies within a 15-meter frontal 60° cone by 1% for 1 minute. Cooldown: 3 minutes. Can stack up to 5 times. Each level increases the effect by 0.5% and duration by 5 seconds. Level 10: 5.5% for 1 minute 45 seconds.
★ Wolf Stride (Lv.1, Passive): Increases running speed by 10 points and removes footstep noise while walking. Each level adds 5 points; at level 10, +55 points. Walking grants experience.
In-game, Beasts had no mounts. A Shadow Direwolf's standard walking speed was 150, with no stamina consumption; running speed 400, consuming stamina. Stamina depletion prevented running until recovery. Humans had walking speed 100, running 200, but mounts consumed no stamina. Humans and Undead factions had famous horses reaching speeds of 500–600, though some areas were inaccessible while mounted. Overall, balance was maintained.
★ Shadow of the Full Moon (Lv.1, Passive): Increases damage by 10% during full moon nights. Each level adds 2%, reaching 28% at level 10. Online during a full moon grants experience bonus.
A game day lasted 12 hours: 8 daytime, 4 nighttime. Every 30 game days was a full moon night—15 real days. Though brief, this skill was a perk for Direwolf players. During full moons, beta players often gathered for events, dungeons, guild wars, and faction battles.
Thanks to soul skills, most players leveled from 1, striving to learn all soul skills and choosing talents that boosted experience:
★ Learn by Example: Increases experience gained by 30%.
Players aimed to reach max level quickly, acquire soul skills, then rebirth and repeat. Beta testers reportedly rebirthed 15 times, acquiring 10 different soul skills. Duplicate skills upgraded automatically. Experienced players prioritized leveling soul skills during rebirth.
Blood March was born. Lu Yun checked the attribute panel and soul talent: indeed, only Divine Traveler. He smirked and began the game.
Soul Journey was designed as a metaverse game with a mature economic system. Player activity generated real economic value, and the game's economy interacted with the real-world economy. Worldwide, only five such metaverse games existed, enabling about 20% of players to sustain themselves fully, and 50% to supplement income. Lu Yun's home, the Yuxia Federation, fully supported the industry.
Lu Yun didn't care much. He wasn't rich but wasn't poor either.
His parents divorced when he finished middle school. His mother went to Europe for art; his father went abroad for business. By the time Lu Yun graduated college seven years later, he had seen his mother only a few times and called her fewer than ten times. His father returned five times total, never more than 20 days combined. In recent years, he rarely stayed at home. Two years ago, his father left a contact "Auntie X" for him.
Lu Yun understood her role. He held no resentment; upon divorce, his parents transferred the apartment to him. His father covered all living expenses, tuition, and gave New Year's red envelopes. In high school, ~200,000 yuan/year; in college, ~300,000/year, plus a car worth over 100,000 yuan. Even after graduation, funds continued.
Though he disliked their divorce, his parents taught him life was his own. He had no pressure. Gaming, browsing, wandering—the freedom to live as he pleased suited him.
Controlling Blood March, Lu Yun started familiar quests, accepting six in one go, completing them in just over two hours, reaching level 5. In version 1.0, max level was 50. Lu Yun estimated ~150 hours to max; 10 hours/day equaled roughly two weeks.
At level 5, he left the newbie village, heading to the Shadow Direwolf headquarters, Shadow Fort, in the center of Misty Forest, 15 minutes away. He picked up a series of familiar quests.
As one of the Beast Alliance's twelve tribes, the Shadow Direwolves controlled two core territories: Misty Forest and White Stone Plains. The leader, Shadow Venomfang, ruled Misty Forest; the deputy, White Stone Bloodclaw, ruled White Stone Plains.
Lu Yun leveled efficiently, reaching level 8 quickly. His faction reputation hit level 5, unlocking faction-granted skills. He visited the skill instructor:
★ Night Vision (Lv.1, Passive): Increase night vision by 1 level per level; dark attribute boosts effectiveness by 1 level per point. Level 10: +10 levels. Essential for navigating dark areas without light sources.
★ Shadow Claw (Lv.1): Adds 5–15 shadow damage to attacks; increases by 5–15 per level, reaching 50–150 at level 10. Highly effective as most enemies and players had low shadow resistance.
After nearly two more hours, he reached level 10, eligible for guild membership. Feeling hungry and tired around 4 PM, after seven hours of play since 9 AM, he removed his helmet, grabbed two slices of bread, and napped.
He soon drifted into vivid dreams: gaming with parents as teammates, dating a tsundere girl resembling the school belle, playing with cousins at his uncle's house, or a distant black planet emitting a dark beam striking Earth, turning him into an Esper in the dream—crazy about eating plastic cups, his favorite snack.