Underworld Player

If he could turn back time just a couple of minutes, Bai Zhi would have stopped his foolish finger from sealing his fate, but no matter how many times he replayed the recent events in his mind, he could not find a single clue that could have warned him about such a dramatic twist.

Just as there were requirements to using equipment, it was natural for there to be requirements for learning skills, but his skill card reward from the Newbie run, which should have been requirement-free, had been altered for some strange reason.

Not only did its class get upgraded by two tiers, going from Rare to Perfect, but the change had also introduced requirements where there once were none.

So, just what was the significance of a requirement like 15 Intelligence, 15 Charisma and 15 Perception?

For most Players, the values of these three attributes typically hovered around 10. Even the most talented in these areas would need to reach about Level 10, at least, before they could meet the requirements for learning this Perfect skill.

To spend one's precious growth stats on these attributes would mean neglecting the others, which had a more direct impact on a Player's survivability. Survival—that was what truly mattered.

Besides, most of the equipment sold in the Marketplace had requirements that focused on Strength, Dexterity and Constitution, so obviously, in the early game, spending points in those attributes was the way to go.

Bai Zhi's was a special case—with 15 in Intelligence and Charisma from the start, as well as 13 in Perception, he could have met the requirements... if he hadn't already spent his growth stats earlier. Then again, who could blame him? The skill card he expected to get from the Newbie Run was supposed to be requirement-free, and the choice to bolster his Constitution was the optimal one, considering his overall survivability. The bizarre transformation that happened to his card had completely blindsided him!

Bai Zhi shoved the card into his Inventory with a thunderous expression on his face.

After becoming a Verified Player, a bar for Spiritual Energy, similar to MP in video games, was now visible. One point of Intelligence granted ten points of SE, so Bai Zhi had a maximum of 150 SE. Not that it was any good right now. Until he got to Level 5 and satisfied the requirements to learn the Perfect skill in his possession, it was unlikely that he would use any of it.

Still incredibly annoyed, Bai Zhi brought out the Shadowland Pass and Shadowland Perpetual Deed for a closer look. The items' descriptions were as terse as before, but Bai Zhi becoming a Verified Player seemed to have unlocked additional details.

[ Item Name: Shadowland Pass ]

[ Type: Special ]

[ Class: Ultra Rare ]

[ Description: Essential item for traveling within Shadowland. Can be used when in dark places to open a 2-way portal to Shadowland. ]

[ Special Trait: Permanent ]

[ Requirements: ]

- To Equip: None

- To Use: Sanity of 10 or above

[ Bound to Player ID, Cannot be Sold, Cannot be Discarded, Untransferable, Always Drops on Death ]

[ Item Name: Shadowland Perpetual Deed ]

[ Type: Special ]

[ Class: None ]

[ Description: The Owner of this Deed may receive a plot of land in Shadowland and perpetual rights to its use as the Landlord ]

[ Special Trait: Shadowforged ]

[ Requirements: ]

- To Equip: None

- To Use: Sanity of 100 or above

[ Shadow Crystals: 1 ]

[ Bound to Player ID, Cannot be Sold, Cannot be Discarded, Untransferable, Always Drops on Death ]

"'Always Drops on Death'... No wonder that little boy glared so hatefully at me at the time."

Bai Zhi smirked as he perused the newly-revealed information about the two items.

He had no idea how many Shadow Crystals the little boy who last held the Shadowland Perpetual Deed had amassed, but his efforts had clearly been wiped out overnight. Bai Zhi shrugged, then, noting the Sanity requirements, he brought up his Attributes panel.

His Sanity was still displayed as "???".

...So, do I meet the requirements or not?

Very little was mentioned about Sanity in the information freely available online. Everything worth knowing was locked behind some paywall or other, so as a newbie Player, Bai Zhi barely understood what Sanity was.

After his various experiences since then, he had developed an inkling of what it could be.

"If it truly is what I think it is, the system behind this world goes much deeper than I thought. What I know now is just the tip of the iceberg; who knows how much is hidden beneath the surface?"

Bai Zhi sighed as he massaged his temples.

I'll figure out how to learn more about Sanity from the information brokers out there later. Right now, I need to focus on getting to Level 5 ASAP...

Bai Zhi leaned back in his chair as the gears of his mind began to turn.

There were many ways for Players to earn experience points, but none of them were easy.

The first, and most reliable, method was to complete the mandatory quests sporadically issued by the system—these could range from the role-playing Scenarios that he had completed for his Newbie Run to urgent quests that needed the Players to step in and handle a sudden incident, thus risking their lives in potentially dangerous situations.

Since they were mandatory quests, Players could not avoid them, for better or worse. Completing the quest would grant the Player the associated rewards—experience points and coins were basic rewards, but there were also the randomly selected item rewards, which could be a skill card of various possible levels or equipment. So far, the mandatory quest had been the only proven way to obtain skill cards, though it still hinged on luck.

Another way to earn experience was to participate in supernatural incidents on the Player's own initiative. Back when Bai Zhi got involved with the supernatural entity masquerading as a little boy who stepped on shadows, he had been awarded 50 experience points for contributing to its defeat. Naturally, the lion's share had been given to Wu Hua and Xu Qiang.

While this method offered great flexibility in choosing the means of earning experience, it also posed great risks, as Wu Hua and company could attest—they had nearly died picking on the wrong entity.

Taking down hostile supernatural entities also potentially offered extra rewards in the form of loot, things obtained from the entities which could be imbued with unexpected power, such as the Shadowland Pass and Shadowland Perpetual Deed that had fallen into Bai Zhi's hands.

With unexpected power comes unexpected side effects—the loot dropped by supernatural entities sometimes brought their holders misfortune and calamity, so one could never be too careful. In fact, being paranoid could mean the difference between life and death.

Bai Zhi suddenly realized that he owed some gratitude to the other supernatural entity on the scene, the shapeshifter who had so kindly drawn Wu Hua and his partner away. If not for that act of Good Samaritanism, Bai Zhi wouldn't have been able to pick up the loot that he had.

The third method of gaining experience could be said to be the easiest, and also the hardest. It was by killing the "neutral creeps" that randomly spawned around the world, such as the Scuttle Crab that Bai Zhi had encountered his first day in this world.

It was easy, because they were far weaker than the usual supernatural entities, and killing them not only rewarded the Player with experience, but also equipment as loot—not bad for a day's work, so to speak.

What was hard was even encountering one, as the chances of neutral creeps appearing were quite low, and they often spawned in remote, uninhabited areas. If they were not killed within a certain time after appearing, they would disappear again, which made it harder for Players to track them.

Above all, Players who hoped to hunt neutral creeps needed to be very careful not to mistake a supernatural entity for a neutral creep, or they would be in for a painful lesson, if not something far worse.

As for the last method of gaining experience...

"I want to play a game..." said Bai Zhi as he narrowed his eyes mischievously.