Chapter 33: Second Game Character Creation (1)
The two were chatting when suddenly, a cold, mechanical voice echoed from the ceiling's broadcast system, "Calamity-level Esper, ID 10059—'Urabe Ruri' requests a meeting with the Instructor."
Calamity-level Esper? How come every random person dragged out in this creepy place turns out to be a monster? It's like the ground’s crawling with them... Damn, looks like I won’t be able to squeeze any intel on 'Exorcists' out of the Instructor today after all.
Ji Minghuan raised an eyebrow and silently memorized the name "Urabe Ruri."
Hearing the broadcast, the Instructor looked up at Ji Minghuan, "I have some business to attend to, we'll stop here for today. If you're interested, I can tell you more next time."
"Alright," Ji Minghuan nodded.
As the Instructor's figure disappeared behind the heavy metal door, the cold fluorescent lights gave a collective "click" and dimmed. Ji Minghuan was left alone in the cramped detention room, sitting quietly with his own shadow.
"With this, the preparation work is pretty much done. Aside from Exorcists, I’ve got a decent understanding of the other two races. My odds of generating a high-potential character should improve quite a bit."
Thinking this, Ji Minghuan lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.
He switched to the perspective of Game Character No. 1, "Black Cocoon," opened his eyes from the bed, clicked the gear icon at the bottom right of his vision, pulled up the System Panel, flipped to the last page, and found the most eye-catching option written in bold red and black letters—【Create Game Character】.
【Would you like to spend 3 Split Points to create a brand-new Game Character in the real world?】 Without hesitation, Ji Minghuan selected the "Yes" option below.
The next moment, everything went black. Both his main body and his game character's perspective vanished without a trace.
【Entering "Game Character Creation" process.】
That was the last thing he heard.
..............
..............
【Loaded into the "Game Character Creation Space." During character creation, your consciousness will be disconnected from your main body and your current game character. For emergency logout, click the exclamation mark at the top right of your vision.】
Opening his eyes, Ji Minghuan once again met his old pal—the "Index Finger Cursor."
He vividly remembered how bored he had been last time during character creation, toying with it for quite a while.
Slowly emerging from the darkness was a panel woven in red and black hues, resembling a UI screen from an RPG.
At the center of the panel, a line of pixelated text appeared:
【Would you like to start creating your "Second Game Character" immediately?】
【Warning: "Full Split Mode" is currently active. If you create a second Game Character, your consciousness will be divided among three bodies simultaneously, severely increasing the sense of mental tearing. Please carefully consider whether to disable "Full Split Mode" before proceeding.】
Ji Minghuan, however, wasn’t fazed. Multitasking with three bodies? At worst, he’d just die from a brain hemorrhage.
He dragged the Index Finger Cursor and clicked the 【Yes】 option without hesitation.
【Next, a dice roll will be conducted. Please choose a random number between 1 and 6.】
Six options—"1," "2," "3," "4," "5," "6"—appeared below.
Although he had no idea what the point was, he followed the system's instruction and, going with his gut, clicked 【6】.
【You selected number "6."】
A red-and-black dice materialized in the darkness, each face etched with a number. It shot upward, spun through the air, and then "clack"—landed on the ground, bouncing two or three times before slowly coming to a stop.
Facing upward was a blood-red "6."
【Congratulations, you’ve won the dice roll! As a reward, you will receive an extra "Character File" choice during this creation session.】
"Nice, they’re giving me a backup file to pick from. Mama won't have to worry about me pulling a low-star card anymore."
Ji Minghuan’s eyes lit up as he muttered under his breath.
【Now, please choose one of the following three "Character Files." The selected character will debut on the "Real World" stage.】
【Character File No.1】
【Name: Nana Ozawa】
【Gender: Female】
【Age: 17】
【Race: Asian】
【Category: Esper (Superhuman) (One of the three major Extraordinary Species. Each Esper possesses a unique power shaped by their personal growth.)】
【Base Attributes: Strength: C+; Speed: C+; Spirit: C++】
【Initial Rating: C+】
【Background: You were a geisha in Kabukicho, Tokyo. At 12, your white-collar father, Yamamoto Ozawa, was brutally killed by the Yakuza. You were sold into Kabukicho by them and lived as a prostitute for five years, officially becoming a geisha only recently. One night, you awakened your own Esper ability—the power to generate and control "Thorns." Driven by your father’s death and years of humiliation, you decided to extend your vengeful thorns toward the Yakuza families, aiming to either destroy their ecosystem... or unite Japan’s Yakuza under your rule as a saintly queen of the underworld.】
【This character has two "Growth Routes" to choose from:
Route 1: Avenger;
Route 2: Yakuza Saintess.】
【Note: Once a Growth Route is selected, it cannot be reversed. Please choose carefully.】
"I mean, I’m okay with playing a female character, but this backstory is way too complicated."
"Heh, feels like when the character’s memories load... I’m gonna see myself lying around in some weird places getting done in by strange men, totally shattering my worldview and my sexual orientation."
Ji Minghuan thought to himself, hesitated half a second, and decisively passed on the first character panel.
Honestly, the main reason he rejected it was because it belonged to the Esper category. He already had an Esper character and now just wanted a new one from either the "Exorcist" or "Anecdote Envoy" race.
At this moment, he was truly grateful that the dice roll had given him an extra choice.
Otherwise, if the second Character File also sucked, what could he do? No way would he waste this rare chance to create a new character—that would be a real shame.
Sliding his gaze over, he looked at the second Character File floating in the pitch-black space.
【Character File No.2】
【Name: Al Pacino】
【Gender: Male】
【Age: 25】
【Race: Caucasian】
【Category: Anecdote Envoy (One of the three major Extraordinary Species. They obtain "Anecdote Fragments" from secret realms around the world and use various fragment powers recorded in their Anecdote Codex to fight.)】
【Base Attributes: Strength: D; Speed: D; Spirit: D】
【Initial Rating: D】
【Background: You grew up in Sicily, Italy, and moved to America to pursue a career as a Hollywood actor. However, you were crushed by the industry's dark side and were on the verge of giving up.
One gloomy morning, you received an invitation from the "Whale’s Garden." Late that night, you went to New York Harbor with the invitation and witnessed the legendary whale, "Chikanao," swimming across the sea. Thus, the door to the world of Anecdote Envoys opened to you.】
【This character has two "Growth Routes" to choose from:
Route 1: Anecdote Sentinel;
Route 2: Evil Anecdote Envoy.】
"This one's not great either," Ji Minghuan thought. "Even though I really want to try playing an Anecdote Envoy after hearing the Instructor’s explanation, compared to previous characters, these base stats are pathetically low..."
"And judging from these two Growth Routes, there’s not much potential. Based on my experience with the 'Black Cocoon' character, the best characters have special experiences and ambitions that trigger unique main quests."
He sighed, "Better check out the third Character File... hopefully it’s not another Esper, and hopefully the stats aren’t trash."
Carefully, he moved his gaze away and cast a last hopeful glance toward the third Character File in the darkness.
That one glance froze him for half a second.
The background of the third Character File was completely different from the previous two—it was black-and-white, just like:
—The checkerboard of a chessboard.
【Hint: A "Rare Character" has appeared in this character generation.】