At noon, Nina and her friends delivered a brand-new Star Domain helmet to Ethan.
They had planned to invite him out for lunch, but Ethan's host, the Wild Wolf, had just leveled up to elite, and he was completely engrossed in the game.
So the group decisively turned into delivery runners, bringing food instead.
None of them expected that Ethan would actually be playing games at home.
Ethan examined the new helmet. In both appearance and material, it was far superior to his old, shabby one.
He put it on.
"Welcome to Star Domain. The game will officially launch in 18 hours, 35 minutes, and 20 seconds. Please be patient!"
A pleasant electronic voice echoed in his mind, and before him stretched an endless sea of stars. No horizon, no end in sight.
"So it really launches tomorrow," Ethan muttered, taking off the helmet.
He swapped back to his old helmet and entered the game again. Now he realized that his old helmet wasn't just ugly—it had a terrible attitude. Despite entering and exiting the game countless times, it had never welcomed him.
In the game, the Elite Wild Wolf still stood dumbly in place. Ethan shook his head. Its rank upgrade had done nothing for intelligence.
From noon to afternoon, from afternoon to evening, the Wild Wolf's intelligence remained pitiful. Yet its speed in killing monsters had skyrocketed. Hundreds of monsters had fallen beneath its jaws.
Ethan checked his attributes: 0.862.
He had slain a total of 581 monsters. He was finally approaching an all-attributes score of 1.
The Elite Wild Wolf had leveled from 1 to 5. Its impressive stats sparked envy in Ethan, which he converted into determination.
Unable to resist, he took another bite at the Wild Wolf.
"If I'm not having fun, neither are you, little wolf cub," he muttered.
Then a system notification appeared.
Ding. "System: I've seen weaklings, but this is the first time I've seen one as dumb as you. You've attacked a thousand times without breaking its defense! Don't you know to pick on something weaker than you?"
Ding. "System: Congratulations, you've earned the title 'Devout Believer.' Without firm faith, who could endure a thousand blows? You truly deserve this title."
Ethan stared at the message, utterly confused. Praise or insult? Hard to tell.
Ding. "System: Congratulations, you've received the reward 'Hand of Faith.' It has been placed in your storage backpack."
He opened the storage. In the first slot lay a pitch-black hand, ugly enough to rival Ethan's Parasite.
[Item]: Hand of FaithStatus: Bound (Non-tradable, Non-droppable)Quality: NoneLevel: NoneAdditional Attributes: NoneEquipment Requirement Attributes: NoneEquipment Requirement Profession: None
Ethan's eyes widened. What was this? A reward with no stats? Not even one?
He was ready to rage at the game designers. Finally a reward, and it was trash.
Then he noticed a line of small text beneath the Hand of Faith. The font color nearly blended with the background, which was why he hadn't seen it initially.
[Additional Trait] "Fool's Privilege: The God of War says one weapon is enough; only fools wield two. You're not the God of War—you're a fool. Therefore, you have the privilege to equip an extra weapon!"
Ethan stared at it, speechless. Then he checked the Parasite's attribute panel.
Tears welled in his eyes. He finally had an equipment slot! No longer would lack of a weapon stop him from dealing damage.
"When the game launches, I'll buy a divine weapon and see which monster I can't cut down," he muttered, already daydreaming.
The Fool's Privilege didn't bother him. After thousands of failures, what was a little foolishness?
Still, he had to vent: My character may not be human, but you game designers are dogs!
Having such a powerful tool, Ethan celebrated in his own way. Every wild monster within an eight-hundred-mile radius of his host suffered.
Ding. "System: Your host has defeated the opponent. Parasite all attributes increased to 0.912."
Ding. "System: Congratulations, your host's quality has improved. Parasite all attributes increased to 1.412."
It was a double blessing. Obtaining the divine item had boosted the Parasite's attributes by 0.5, finally breaking 1.
Ethan checked his attributes: all attributes at 1.412. Finally normal.
He still didn't understand the game logic—why all attributes were the same, and why secondary attributes didn't rise—but there was no one to ask. He let it slide.
Ding. "You attacked the target, causing 0 damage. Unfortunately, you couldn't break its defense."
Ethan tried again. Still nothing. Even stronger, the Wild Wolf now faced an even tougher monster.
[Name]: Wild Wolf Leader ★★★Quality: BronzeLevel: 1Aptitude: DHealth Points: 110/110Physical Attack: 22Physical Defense: 10Magic Defense: 1Skill One: Rending Roar Level 1. Each attack deals 150% of current attack power. Every 5 attacks, unleashes a roar dealing 200% damage to all enemies within 5x5 meters, with a 10% chance to stun.Skill Two: Summon Level 1. Summons a normal Wild Wolf to assist for 20 seconds. Cooldown 600 seconds.Talent One: Overwhelming Physique Level 1. Recovers 1 Health Point every 10 seconds in battle. Recovers all lost Health Points within 60 seconds after battle.Talent Two: Bloodthirst Level 1. Each attack increases its attack power by 1, up to 3. The boost disappears after 10 seconds.Description: A terrifying leader monster. Don't look at its aptitude, focus on its skills! Find someone to kill it quickly.
The Elite Wild Wolf had transformed into the Wild Wolf Leader, gained two new skills, and upgraded to Bronze quality.
Ethan guessed that only once a monster became a leader would the game distinguish qualities.