Here, when the first simulation machine that allowed human consciousness to dive into a system was developed for gaming, humanity entered a new era, known as the New Century.
And today, the world's largest companies jointly released a game—Myriad Worlds!
Today is also the day the servers open.
"Please enter your nickname," the system's cold voice echoed in Kaede's ear.
"Kaede." Without hesitation, Kaede spoke this single word. No one had ever given him a name, and he had inherited no surname. A name was just a code; choosing one he liked was enough.
No matter how advanced the era or how developed the technology, there is always a dark side. Unfortunately, Kaede lived on that side.
Kaede was an orphan—or perhaps not. Regardless, he had never seen his parents. From the moment he gained consciousness, he could only survive on leftovers. He had managed to hold on until now, but this winter, Kaede felt he might not be able to persist any longer.
It was at this time that the company announced it was recruiting game players—the kind who sold their very selves. However, they claimed they would provide these players with an unlimited supply of nutrient solution, so they wouldn't have to worry about their physical bodies starving while in the game.
Kaede wasn't very interested in games, but the latter point made him realize that this might be his last straw for survival.
As for selling himself—would someone about to starve or freeze to death care about that? Kaede was someone who couldn't even fill his stomach; he hadn't studied great philosophies or understood concepts like integrity. He only knew what he had to do to preserve his life.
Kaede didn't know where his survival instinct came from, nor was he clear on how he had managed to support himself in the beginning.
But since he had lived until now, he would continue.
And so, Kaede entered the game.
"Would you like to perform a lucky draw now?"
"There's a lucky draw too?" Kaede was a little surprised.
"Every novice gets one."
"Draw then!"
"Scanning body... removing incompatible items and abilities..."
"Starting lucky draw."
"Congratulations, you have obtained the class: 2D Soul Painter."
"A class?" Kaede didn't know much about these, but it sounded quite good.
"Due to the requirements of the 2D Soul Painter, all extra attributes have been converted to Magic Power. Please check for yourself."
"Hmm?" Kaede opened his status panel.
Name: Kaede
Class: 2D Soul Painter
Attributes: Strength: 1, Endurance: 1, Agility: 3, Magic Power: 45 (Note: When physical attributes are below 50, extra attributes will be supplemented up to fifty points. Attributes are distributed randomly. Those who already have fifty will receive Magic Power equal to their average value. Human maximum attribute is 20 points; 8 points is normal.)
Overall Strength: LV0
Skills: Drawing LV0, Soul Drawing
Equipment: Soul Brush, Soul Drawing Board (Class-specific equipment).
Kaede looked at his attributes somewhat speechlessly. In other words, his body was nearly five times worse than an ordinary person's. But that wasn't why Kaede was surprised—what was with this Magic Power?
According to the system's explanation, the luckiest an ordinary person could be upon entering was 26 attribute points... and he had 45.
"But it seems a painter isn't a combat-oriented class." This was what Kaede cared about most.
"Attributes confirmed. Beginning teleportation. Wishing you a pleasant journey."
Kaede only heard this voice before his vision blurred, and his body vanished from that small space.
When Kaede regained his vision, he saw people crowding all around him. However, the appearances of these characters were a bit strange; they didn't look like people in reality.
However, Kaede didn't care about that. To him, as long as he didn't starve to death, it didn't matter what he became in the game.
Watching the players shouting enthusiastically about forming parties to grind monsters or taking on quests, a sense of detachment flashed in Kaede's eyes. Those people had smiles on their faces, but... they couldn't hide their dark inner hearts from Kaede's eyes.
Staying close to the wall, Kaede slowly walked out of the novice respawn point, which was a single room.
During this time, not a single person noticed him. Whether he did it on purpose or was just used to it, no one knew.
One only knew that his figure seemed isolated from the world.
"This physical sensation... really isn't much different from reality." Kaede frowned, seeing that his stamina bar had already dropped by nearly half. He hadn't even walked that far. "With a body like this, I'd probably be insta-killed just trying to fight monsters." Although he hadn't played games, he had seen such things on big screens before.
After thinking for a moment, Kaede ducked into a dark corner. Even though corners are symbols of danger in movies—usually involving some 'hero saves the beauty' plot—for someone like Kaede, this was undoubtedly the safest place.
He had seen heroes save beauties, and he had seen the tragic beauty when no hero appeared. But he had always hidden there, coldly watching these things that had nothing to do with him. He wouldn't be a hero, nor would he participate.
Even if he knew his own life was worth little, were those people... really any more noble?
Returning to Kaede, his purpose for coming to the corner was to study his skills.
The drawing board was already floating in front of Kaede, and the brush was held in his hand.
Then, a figure appeared next to the drawing board—wearing a cloak, with a slender hand gripping a rapier.
"Is this... asking me to draw it myself?"
It was the only possibility. So, Kaede began to work. He soon discovered that the blue bar representing his Magic Power was slowly decreasing. So that's how it worked.
Kaede continued to draw. When he finished, he was panting slightly. He looked at his remaining 4 points of Magic Power, and then at the cloaked creature he had drawn that barely looked human. Well, it was impossible to tell what it was; maybe if the cloak was removed, a monster would pop out...
Then, Kaede clicked 'Confirm,' and a flash of light burst forth.
Kaede was stunned. Not for any other reason, but because...
"Verification failed. Unrecognizable. Skill activation failed!"
Kaede fell silent. He had never studied drawing; being able to draw a human shape was enough, what more did it want?
However, Kaede could only give up. Watching his Magic Power recover by one point every few minutes, he sat in the corner, hugging his legs, watching the outside world as he usually did.
Kaede's forehead was covered in sweat as he stared at the drawing board. He didn't have drawing skills, but he had a good pair of eyes. After several attempts, the drawing board finally showed something that looked like a cloaked person, and the system seemed to grudgingly accept it.
"Would you like to activate the class skill?"
"Yes!" After being busy for half the day, wasn't it all for this?
Then, a flash of light erupted.
Kaede felt a warm sensation all over his body, and he felt filled with strength.
"So it can be like this..." Kaede thought he had discovered the characteristic of this class. Just as he wanted to go grind monsters, he suddenly realized he seemed to have gained a cloak.
Suddenly, Kaede went silent. He touched his face with his hand; it was no longer that skin-and-bones, dry feeling. The smooth, delicate sensation made Kaede's heart tremble.
Looking at his slender palms and feeling those extra, indescribable parts, Kaede confirmed one thing.
His body seemed to have changed, but specifically what was different...
Kaede wasn't entirely clear. He just felt a bit strange. The pair of heavy things on his chest also made him feel a bit uncomfortable, but... this feeling of his body being full of strength... Kaede's eyes flickered. It was wonderful.
Actually, you couldn't blame Kaede. He only knew a tiny bit about the difference between men and women. So, regarding becoming female, well, he didn't feel much at all. It didn't conflict with his initial thoughts; as long as he could survive, it didn't matter what he became. If someone told him he could live forever by becoming female, he would probably choose it without hesitation.
Ultimately, Kaede only knew that the character he had turned into had long chestnut hair. He didn't even know what his face looked like, since there were no mirrors here.
He opened the status panel again.
What he saw shocked him.
Strength: 23, Agility: 42, Endurance: 20, Magic Power: 0
Moreover, several basic skills had appeared.
"Time to level up." After seeing the attributes, the first thing Kaede wanted to do was level up.
However, at this moment, the system's voice appeared in Kaede's ear once again.
"Since the player is using this class skill for the first time, you receive one free Two-Dimensional Soul Trial opportunity. In the future, you will automatically receive one each time your drawing skill breaks through. Please prepare, beginning teleportation."
There was no room for negotiation. Before he could even walk out of the alley, Kaede was directly teleported away by a burst of white light.
An empty little alley was left behind. Not a single person noticed that someone had vanished from here.
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