It seems I’ve been exposed, after all…
Yue Mingyan pressed a hand to his forehead, a helpless sigh escaping him.
“As you can see, I seem to have encountered a bug; the data from my previous account has been perfectly preserved on this new one.”
“A bug, you say… could something like this truly happen?”
Alice seemed to realize something, a flicker of unease crossing her features, though Yue Mingyan failed to notice it.
“So, what will you do?” Yue Mingyan asked, his gaze unwavering on Alice. Despite the myriad of reluctance churning within him, his expression remained as placid as still water.
“Will you report me to the GM to have my account banned?”
“Hmm… what should I do?”
Alice adopted a troubled expression, sending Yue Mingyan’s heart leaping anxiously into his throat.
“Well, never mind. I’m just an AI responsible for chatting, so why should I meddle in such affairs?”
She chuckled softly, her bright eyes fixed on Yue Mingyan, a mischievous smile gracing her delicate face like that of a lively young girl.
“Hey, hey, don’t talk as if it doesn’t concern you! You’re also an AI designed by this game company, aren’t you? Shouldn’t you be dedicated to maintaining the game’s balance?”
“Oh? It seems you’re quite eager for me to report you to the GM and have your account banned, then?”
“No, I apologize, I spoke out of turn.”
Yue Mingyan decisively bowed ninety degrees, prompting Alice to cover her mouth and giggle sweetly.
“Besides, Yue Mingyan’s previous account ID was ‘Pitch Black…'”
“Don’t say it out loud, hey!”
Alice shrugged, looking at him as if she couldn’t quite grasp the concept of human shame. Nevertheless, she considerately sealed her lips, skipping past the embarrassing chuunibyo (TL Note: A Japanese term meaning ‘eighth-grade syndrome,’ referring to adolescents who have delusions of grandeur and unique powers.) ID and continuing.
“I still remember, Yue Mingyan has always been an interesting person, a powerful player who genuinely loves this game. For a player like that, wouldn’t it be acceptable for me to cut them some slack?”
She playfully stuck out her tongue, her relaxed tone sending ripples through Yue Mingyan’s heart. His previously tense heart instantly eased, and he couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank you…”
Yue Mingyan uttered softly.
“More important than that, the immediate priority is for Yue Mingyan to level up again and become as strong as before. I recall Yue Mingyan was among the top few on the world’s clear-rankings, wasn’t he?”
“Well, in this new server, I’m just a newbie who just logged in.” Yue Mingyan offered a slight, wry smile. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, he looked at Alice with a puzzled expression.
“By the way, Alice, have you become more lively?”
“Eh? Have I…?”
Alice averted his piercing gaze.
“Of course you have! Before, your conversations never touched upon game data, clear rates, or anything like that… at most, it was just casual chatting, issuing quests, or introducing events…”
“Haven’t I enriched my database through interactions with various players? Besides, the version has updated, so I’m bound to have changed a little, aren’t I? Never mind all that, let’s quickly embark on our adventure!”
Alice seemed disinclined to continue the topic, clumsily attempting to shift the conversation.
“Oh, alright.”
Yue Mingyan mused for a moment before responding.
Perhaps, just as Alice suggested, AIs also undergo a process of learning and evolution. He didn’t dwell too deeply on the matter.
The immediate priority was to level up, but before that, two other tasks needed to be accomplished.
“Inventory.”
Yue Mingyan, his heart pounding with excitement, called up the inventory interface. Although he had vaguely anticipated this and mentally prepared himself, he was still overcome with exhilaration when the dazzling array of treasures appeared before him.
Just as he thought!
The items from his previous account’s inventory had indeed been preserved!
Gazing at the backpack brimming with treasures, he had a sneaking suspicion that in this new server, which had only been open for a few days, no one would possess more wealth than him.
Fortunately, in “A World of Companion Gods,” the inventory was by default only visible to its owner. Yue Mingyan had no desire to flaunt his riches and invite trouble upon himself.
Okay, one matter confirmed. All that remained was to go there!
The most renowned place in “A World of Companion Gods”!
Yue Mingyan lifted his foot and strode towards the center of the town before him.
The town was named “Starting City.” As its name suggested, it was the “newbie village” found in all RPGs. However, “A World of Companion Gods”‘s Starting City was always bustling, constantly filled with dense crowds of players, the fundamental reason being that one particular place!
Yue Mingyan arrived at the center of Starting City, before a lavish and exquisite fountain.
Hovering in the air above this fountain was a circular platform that would never fall. Yue Mingyan activated the stone tablet before the spring, and after a flash of light, his figure appeared upon the circular platform.
The pristine white platform was quite empty. At the center of the circular platform, a beam of light shot straight up into the sky. Yue Mingyan, his heart thrumming with anticipation, walked towards that ray of light.
Just as “A World of Companion Gods” advertised, every player who logged into the game was unique, the fundamental reason being each person’s exclusive companion skill and companion-tier weapon.
And every novice player arriving in this world could obtain their unique, inherent companion-tier skill from this very beam of light!
Yue Mingyan calmed his racing emotions, raised his hand, and reached out to touch the beam of light.
“Congratulations on acquiring a Companion-tier Skill:
Companion Skill ‘Agile Manipulation’: When holding a weapon, the weapon and equipment become extensions of your body, allowing for effortless control. Weapon and personal attributes are increased by 20%. Even when separated from the body, 10% of the main body’s inherent abilities can still be produced.”
Here it comes! His companion skill, the unique ability that would determine his future path of adventure!
But before Yue Mingyan could fully revel in his excitement, the system’s notification sound rang out once more.
“Congratulations on acquiring a Companion-tier Skill:
Companion Skill ‘Heavy Strike’: Focuses all bodily strength into a single point. When released in one strike, single attack STR (Strength) is increased by 60%. Usable once per combat state.”
!
This! This…
Wasn’t this the companion skill from his previous account!?
And this, too, was the reason he had been dubbed the “Berserk Greatsword Wielder.”
Indeed, for a greatsword player with maxed-out STR and attack specialization, a companion skill that boosted a single attack’s STR by 60%… it was likely that even a semi-tanky warrior couldn’t withstand that one strike…
Yue Mingyan’s mouth twitched. He felt as though history was about to repeat itself.
Moreover, this newly acquired companion skill was excessively powerful as well!
When wielding a weapon, both his own and the weapon’s attributes would increase by 20%… While it might seem like only 20%, not matching the previous companion skill’s 60% STR boost.
Yet, this was a 20% increase to *all* attributes! Not just attack, but even his VIT (Vitality/Defense), which he had previously specialized in for health, and his currently unspecialized SPD (Speed/Agility), would all increase by 20%! What’s more, even the weapon’s attributes would be enhanced!
One must remember that the attributes of companion-tier weapons in this game were already incredibly high…
‘Is there really any point in continuing to play this game…?’
Yue Mingyan thought helplessly. Others would play for two days, painstakingly clearing events, and already be ecstatic to have two companion-tier skills, yet he had instantly acquired two…
He was certain that if others ever found out about this, he would be envied to death.
It seemed he would have to continue playing the game while enduring the accusations of his own conscience for some time.
With that thought, he teleported off the platform.
“How was it? Are you going to level up now?”
Seeing Yue Mingyan appear before the fountain plaza, Alice asked him with a smile.
She couldn’t enter the floating platform; this had always been the case.
“Hey, hey, right now, apart from my companion skills, I have no other abilities. Are you seriously suggesting I go fight monsters like this?”
After all, he used to wield a greatsword, and now he had switched to a spear, so naturally, his old skills were unusable.
Yue Mingyan looked at Alice with an expression that seemed to question her intelligence, or rather, if there was an issue with her AI program’s processing.
“With your absurd attributes, wouldn’t you be fine even fighting monsters bare-handed?”
Alice seemed displeased with his gaze, puffing out her cheeks in annoyance.
“You already know my stats are ‘absurd’… I really don’t want to expose that. A level one spearman running off to grind monsters without using any skills—wouldn’t that scare passing players to death?”
“Hmm, you have a point…”
Alice nodded, then obediently followed Yue Mingyan to the library.
“A World of Companion Gods” had another unique feature: the omnipotence of money. Aside from companion-tier skills, which couldn’t be purchased in the library, as long as one possessed the in-game ‘Divine Coins,’ they could buy as many skills as they wished. Furthermore, learning skills didn’t require skill points; one only needed the corresponding skill book.
“Boss! I’ll take all these skills!”
With a resounding “clunk,” Yue Mingyan slammed a small mountain of skill books onto the counter before the library NPC.
“That will be one hundred thirty-five million Divine Coins in total.”
“Here.”
Yue Mingyan decisively handed the Divine Coins to the boss, then collected all the towering skill books.
“You’re truly extravagant with your wealth…”
Alice spoke softly from behind him, seemingly stunned by his ‘nouveau riche’ display.
Yue Mingyan was unsurprised by Alice’s comment.
“Well, money can always be earned again anyway. Besides, you know how severe the inflation was in the old server I played on. One hundred million Divine Coins is nothing; I still have plenty more in my inventory. It’s best to buy more items before the new server experiences inflation.”
“I suspect inflation is caused by people like you…”
Alice retorted mercilessly, then sat down at a library desk, idly flipping through books on the shelves.
‘She truly is free,’ Yue Mingyan mused, gazing at Alice’s serene profile, unable to help but feel a pang of emotion.
It seemed that apart from that floating platform, there was no place in this world she couldn’t go. Like a player, she enjoyed this world, experiencing endless wonderful adventures. In this light, she appeared less like an AI and more like a true living being from another world.
Yue Mingyan didn’t disturb her. Instead, he sat on the chair beside her and began to learn the skill books he had just purchased, one by one.
Although he could have learned these skills directly through the system, the process of reading them made Yue Mingyan realize how exquisitely designed the game’s spear skills were. Many of the skill movements shared a surprising resemblance to the spear techniques he practiced in reality. It seemed the “innate advantage” of bringing real-world skills into a fully immersive virtual world was indeed true. He distinctly felt that executing spear skills came far more naturally to him than when he had used greatswords previously.
‘Am I walking down a cheater’s path of no return?’
Yue Mingyan offered a helpless, wry smile, his gaze flickering towards Alice’s serene profile as she quietly read a novel beside him.
‘Well, since things are already like this, I’ll just try not to affect other people’s gaming experience and properly enjoy this world,’ he concluded.