Chapter 1 – The beginning of everything


“No! I am… I am the leader of the 72 demons, how could I lose to…”

Staring at the repetitive lines on the screen, the young man in front of the computer impatiently tapped the space bar to skip the dialogue.

Finally, a blue box appeared on the screen, with the following words:

“Honorable Brave, congratulations on clearing Hell difficulty and meeting all the conditions for the True Ending.

Achievement unlocked: ‘Godslayer’ (This achievement has a 0.01% acquisition rate).”

Seeing this, the young man nodded in satisfaction, stretched lazily, and muttered, “This acquisition rate, tsk tsk, my half-month of grinding wasn’t in vain.”

He skillfully took a screenshot of the achievement and posted it in a gaming group chat.

As expected, the screen was flooded with messages of “Cool” and praises of “Awesome!” The young man loved this feeling of being the center of attention, as aside from being somewhat good at games, he was quite ordinary in every other aspect.

The young man’s name was Ye Shuangluo, a gaming enthusiast who loved collecting all the achievements in games.

To Ye Shuangluo, collecting all the achievements in a game was the true joy of gaming.

At school, Ye Shuangluo was just a small, unnoticed figure with average grades, an unremarkable appearance, and mediocre athletic ability.

The only thing special about him was his background.

Yes, Ye Shuangluo was an orphan. His parents were turned into minced meat by a drunk truck driver when he was nine.

The truck driver was sentenced to death.

Notably, Ye Shuangluo’s parents left him a substantial inheritance.

Due to his age, the inheritance was temporarily managed by his uncle and aunt.

Fortunately, Ye Shuangluo was lucky; his uncle and aunt did not mistreat him like the evil relatives in many stories, depriving him of food and clothing.

His uncle and aunt treated him well, although they did use part of the inheritance to buy a car, a house, and a bunch of luxury items for Ye Shuangluo’s twin cousins.

But Ye Shuangluo could accept this, after all, they had taken care of him for so many years, and even hiring a nanny wouldn’t be free.

So, even though his cousins often said he was freeloading at their house, Ye Shuangluo never got angry.

After all, what could two little brats know? They were just parroting what they heard from adults.

Ye Shuangluo lay back in his swivel chair, his gaze uncontrollably drifting to the window.

Outside, the maple leaves were slowly falling, and Ye Shuangluo suddenly felt lost. What would his future be like?

He was already 17 years old, and according to the law, he would be able to control his parents’ inheritance when he turned 18.

But would his uncle and aunt really return the money to him?

After a brief thought, Ye Shuangluo concluded: No.

Not to mention his aunt, who always looked down on him, even his uncle Jiang Yiming had clearly gotten used to a high-society lifestyle.

It’s easy to go from frugality to luxury, but hard to go back.

At that moment, a message notification sounded from the computer.

Ye Shuangluo slowly sat up, only to see a blue pop-up window on the screen, resembling a chat window from a communication software.

Faced with this sudden situation, Ye Shuangluo tried to close it with the mouse and keyboard, but all attempts failed.

Even unplugging the computer to force a shutdown didn’t work; the screen remained lit.

Despite the bizarre situation, Ye Shuangluo didn’t panic. Instead, he considered whether to smash the screen with a hammer.

Just as Ye Shuangluo was about to destroy the computer, he inadvertently saw the content in the small window.

[Do you want to play a truly interesting game that can change your fate?]

[Yes/Very much]

“Giggle, is this a multiple-choice question? There’s no option to refuse.”

Ye Shuangluo was holding a hammer in front of the computer screen. If he wanted, he could easily smash it to pieces.

But the small text seemed to have a magical power, making Ye Shuangluo’s heart race uncontrollably with excitement.

It felt as if his body was telling him that he would regret it for life if he missed this opportunity.

So Ye Shuangluo dropped the hammer, sat back at the computer, and moved the mouse to select “Very much.”

As soon as he made the choice, the small window on the screen turned into a white light that engulfed him.

Then the computer screen went dark, as if nothing had happened.

***

When Ye Shuangluo opened his eyes again, he found himself in a desolate ruin, with no one around.

Just as Ye Shuangluo was wondering what was going on, a mechanical voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

[Welcome, Reserve Player]

[This world is the Novice Trial World. To enhance your gaming experience, the following buffs are awarded:]

[1. Increased drop rate: You will find it easier to obtain equipment and various items (expires after three worlds)]

[2. All attributes increased: All your attributes except luck are increased by 5 points (expires after one world)]

After listening to the mechanical voice in his mind, Ye Shuangluo, relying on his years of gaming and novel-reading experience, silently thought:

“Personal Panel.”

With Ye Shuangluo’s call, a light screen visible only to him appeared in front of him.

***

Player Name: Ye Shuangluo (from World sl1122)

Health Points: 100% (This attribute cannot be fully quantified and will change based on injury severity)

Mana Points: 50/50 (Intelligence Attribute ×5, current recovery rate: 1 point per minute)

Strength: 9 (related to Attack Power and carrying capacity)

Agility: 8 (related to Movement Speed and attack speed)

Constitution: 10 (related to Health Points, defense, and abnormal Resistance)

Intelligence: 10 (related to spell damage and Mana Points limit)

Charisma: 12 (related to interaction and summoning skills or items)

Luck: 3 (related to item crafting and various probabilities)

PS: The average attribute for an adult male is 5 points, with 1 point in Luck.

All attributes above include the added Buff.

Talent: Achievement Master (unique exclusive talent)

***

Ye Shuangluo clenched his fists, feeling an overwhelming surge of energy, as if he had boundless strength.

This feeling was intoxicating, but he didn’t get too carried away, knowing that his current attributes were a benefit from the game system.

But Ye Shuangluo believed that with effort, he could soon possess even greater power than he did now.

After silently making up his mind, Ye Shuangluo noticed the talent section at the end of the attribute panel.

With a thought, the talent panel unfolded.

Achievement Master (exclusive unique talent)

Talent Description: (Every time you enter a Trial World, a series of achievements will be generated. Completing them will grant you special rewards to help you become stronger.)

Achievements currently available:

Good Person (Save 1 life)

Philanthropist (Save 100 lives)

Saint (Save 1,000 lives)

Living Buddha (Save 10,000 lives)

Evil Person (Kill 5 people)

Villain (Kill at least 100 people)

Killing Maniac (Kill at least 10,000 people)

God of Slaughter (Kill 99% of the population in a city)

***

Looking at the familiar achievement panel, Ye Shuangluo couldn’t help but smile.

A truly interesting game with achievements to unlock—his joy was doubled.


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