Chapter 2: Alright, I Really Am Not Very Serious

On the next day, "The First Epoch" officially entered its public beta, as a torrent of players poured into this game touted as a cross-era masterpiece.

"Cancel. Cancel everything, reject all terms." As soon as he entered "The First Epoch," Gu Shanhai immediately uttered these words.

He had practiced quick rejection last night while getting used to his body. After all, having come back from the future, he naturally found his current frail physique quite unaccustomed. Luckily, with experience on his side, he adapted quickly.

"Sly as a fox, if I hadn't spoken fast, I'd be trapped by now." Gu Shanhai watched the disappearing prompt panel and heaved a sigh of relief in his heart.

Half-digitalization was not something to be agreed to lightly—if a player didn't cancel immediately upon joining, they'd be deemed to have consented by default, not asked whether they wanted to load in.

What normal person could anticipate these pitfalls?

With the rejection taking effect, Gu Shanhai could feel his body, originally ethereal, becoming real. At the same time, his logout function was erased.

Because this was his real body, not a created player avatar. Other players who were digitized would have to wait for "The First Epoch" to completely devour the whole world before their real bodies could come.

Furthermore, the various functions in the player's room gradually faded away—those were benefits for players, which he did not have as a temporary worker.

A line of text abruptly appeared on the wall.

[Would you like to enter the newcomer tutorial?]

[Yes/No]

"Although they're not great with benefits for temp workers, their attitude is still there." Of course, Gu Shanhai chose yes, as it concerned his subsequent development.

As a rebirthed individual, he had plans for the first two instances. As for what lay beyond that, well, have you heard of the butterfly effect?

In his previous life, he had officially entered "The First Epoch" half a year later. After all, spending ten thousand bucks on a game was quite a luxury.

Additionally, the game world one enters is mostly random. "The First Epoch" has myriad game worlds, like a forest of hairs. The chance for a newbie to enter a world he'd experienced in a past life was slimmer than finding an Innate treasure just by walking out the door.

However, there were exceptions, such as the newcomer tutorials and the first entry into a beginner instance, which were quite special.

The special thing about the newcomer tutorial was that it could be reset. In other words, if you're not satisfied with the game world of the tutorial, you could switch to another one until you're content.

Since the awards from different tutorial worlds vary—for example, in urbanized worlds you might gain basic firearms skills, in Martial Worlds it could be Grand Ancestor Long Fist, and in Magic Worlds perhaps the Fireball Technique—of course, don't think that Fireball Technique would simply crush Grand Ancestor Long Fist or anything of that sort.

Actually, regarding these skills, they were of the same quality; in Gu Shanhai's view, it was just a change of special effects and name. Whether it was damage or utility, there wasn't much difference.

And the first beginner instance following the end of the tutorial would likely lean towards the system of your tutorial. For example, if the tutorial was in the Martial World, then the first beginner instance would likely also be martial-oriented, eventually, continuously enhancing compatibility, allowing the player to grow like a snowball within that system, thus achieving the aim of nurturing players.

Such compatibility could naturally be changed. "The First Epoch" was not rigid. In his previous life, Gu Shanhai had drawn from various systems to form one unique to himself.

[Newcomer Tutorial: Blood and Fire City...]

"Change it."

Gu Shanhai saw the words twisting on the wall—they hadn't even fully appeared when he demanded a change.

Then, the tutorial began to shift again. After a glance, he called out for another change.

This was random; he couldn't just pick whichever one he wanted. He could only draw them out slowly.

"Thank goodness this gacha doesn't cost money, otherwise it wouldn't even be close to enough if I had to foot the bill with my own meager resources," Gu Shanhai quipped.

After more than half an hour, he finally paused as he looked at the characters on the wall.

[Newcomer Tutorial: Hundred Veins Valley·Nameless Hut]

"Finally got a random one, my luck's really not bad." Gu Shanhai breathed a sigh of relief, having considered the possibility of needing to randomize for three days and nights. After all, there were many worlds in the newcomer tutorial.

This newcomer tutorial's world was an Immortal World already in the End of Dharma era.

That's right—most newcomer tutorial worlds were of this nature. For example, in the Martial World, being on par with "Lu Dingji" in terms of level means mastering the Inner Strength and belonging to the top masters. In the Immortal World, reaching the first level of Qi Refinement would likely make you a major player, while in the Magic World, casting a Fireball Technique might leave you completely drained of Magic Power.

At the beginning, "The First Epoch" naturally would not let players face those powerful worlds head-on. This was a period of nurturing, therefore both the newcomer tutorials and the beginner instances were such projected areas, not the true worlds.

So under normal circumstances, newcomer tutorials in urban worlds were the most lucrative, especially those with hot weapons. Without discussing anything else, just picking up a gun and sneaking into a basic firearm skill, the first initial instance was virtually guaranteed, and the following ones tended to be fairly simple.

Most active skills required an energy bar. With the performance capabilities of players or NPCs and monsters in beginner instances, a player with firearms who had a solid mentality was completely unstoppable within seven steps with speed, and within seven steps, he was both fast and accurate.

For newcomers, as long as the operation was normal, quickly forming a system wasn't a problem for the first three instances; at least there was no need to worry about getting bloodily crushed within the instance.

Except well, most players acted on impulse aside from those professional players, hardcore fans, etc. For most, strength might be dependent on the patch, but being handsome or not was a matter for a lifetime.

Yet, Gu Shanhai mentioned that even though "The First Epoch" had two updates, he had never seen an underdog from the sewers make a comeback.

After confirming the newcomer tutorial world, the text on the wall vanished, morphing into a doorway formed by white light.

All he had to do was walk through it.

'Sheesh, are the benefits for a temp worker in the first version really this good? To think they actually set up a portal,' Gu Shanhai couldn't help but inhale sharply in his mind.

For him, player transport usually just meant closing and opening your eyes and you're there. It was pretty much the same for the non-half-digitized temporary worker players.

Stepping through the portal, Gu Shanhai looked around the small hut covered in a layer of dust. Not far away, the completely decayed skeleton of a body was seated on a chair, its wide blue robe concealing bony hands propped on the table, giving the impression of deep contemplation.