Elena considered deleting Warcraft: Rifts of Dread from Ethan's device once he downloaded it—but discarded the idea. Risk was too high. If he woke early and noticed? If she ended up missing the talent draw herself?
No. She'd stay in his room all night, watchful.
Midnight struck.
Elena grabbed her phone, searched the app store for the game. The "Download" button glowed—just as she recalled. She tapped it, no delay. She didn't care how many others played tonight, or how long last life's beta-famous "lucky ones" spent in-game. Every second mattered.
The game opened with a cinematic, then jumped to character creation. The default avatar bore an uncanny resemblance to her—likely the game's energy sync. She didn't want attention, so she randomized her in-game look and typed "Kaelen" as her username.
The lore leaned fantasy: multiple races and factions, united against Earth's invasion. Humans were a small part, but Elena picked a race first—each had unique talents, and she hoped to "claim" a racial ability later. Of all the races she'd fought in her past life, the Undead were the one she feared most… and now craved.
Undead had two racial talents:
Undead Resolve: The closer to death, the stronger your will. HP below 50% boosts all stats by 100%; below 30%, doubles again.Cannibalize: Feast on fallen foes to regenerate HP—no cooldowns, no potion reliance.
Perfect for comebacks. Drop to 50% HP, and she'd already overpower most; hit 30%, and she'd be unbeatable. Cannibalize meant she'd never run out of healing mid-fight.
"How many foes will I need to take down?" she whispered.
She selected Undead. Her avatar's face turned pale, gaunt—fitting.
When the game invaded, every being got one shot at a Divine Talent—Earth's last hope to fight back. Elena knew this was her moment.
After creating Kaelen, the screen shifted to a sky full of stars—each a potential talent. She tapped the screen.
Stars crashed like meteors. A notification popped:[Impersonate](High-Rank)Mimic any person. Kill them, absorb their essence, and they join your "Identity Slot"—switch anytime, no disguise detection. Slot vanishes if you cancel.Skill 1: Store up to 2 alternate identities.Skill 2 (Shadow Copy): Mimic seen skills, but power drops to 60%.
Elena frowned. This was her past-life talent—the one that made the Su, Han, and Liang families hunt her… but also let her escape for months. Useful, but not enough. She deleted Kaelen and restarted.
Last life, a top player admitted he'd deleted his first character for a bad talent—then rolled a god-tier one. Beta time was precious, but a weak talent would ruin everything.
She created and deleted characters, drawing talents one after another:[Broker](High-Rank)Earn 50% cut for brokering deals.Skill 1: 50% chance to copy a traded item's skill if the deal closes.Skill 2: If either party cheats you, the weaker side's goods transfer to you.[Ascension](High-Rank)Upgrade one item's rarity. Cooldown: 72 hours.[Quick Fingers](High-Rank)Steal items, stats, or talents from others. One attempt per target—success depends on your rank vs. theirs.Skill 1: 30% chance to steal one item; 50% chance to take 3 points from their highest stat.Skill 2: 0.05% chance to steal a talent (high risk, high reward).
Elena hesitated at [Quick Fingers]. Stealing felt off—but in a world where survival meant killing, was it worse? Tempting, but the low success rate and inevitable hatred made it too dangerous. She deleted the character.
Finally, after dozens of tries, a blinding light burst. A voice echoed: Greed, restraint, disguise—you have the makings of a Thief God.[Thief God](Max-Rank)Steal anything: items, stats, talents, life force. Steal from the same target multiple times, but each attempt after the first costs 60% of your current HP. Hard Rule: Only target those with higher vitality than you—prey on the strong, not the helpless.Skill 1 (Take One): 60% chance to steal one item + a modest coin pile; 30% chance to take 3 points from their highest stat.Skill 2 (God's Heist): Risk it all—steal a target's Divine Talent. One use per lifetime; succeeds only if their talent is below Max-Rank.Skill 3 (Shadow Veil): Summon a veil to change your face, body, and scent. No detection possible. Duration: 3 hours. Cooldown: 8 hours.Skill 4 (Forget-Me-Not): After a successful steal, the target loses all memory of owning the item—they'll only notice it's gone 12 hours later.
Elena tapped "Confirm" immediately.
Thirty minutes ago, she'd wondered if stealing was worth it.
Now, she smiled. "Yes. I'll take everything."