Chapter One: Entering the Central Mind Space for the First Time

In an ordinary student dormitory, a young man wrapped in a coat.

“Ah hahahahaha!” The young man roared.

“The brakes… are broken.” On the laptop screen, two characters, one with naturally curly hair and the other with short black hair, looked utterly bewildered.

The computer was playing episode 237 of Gintama. At the moment when the shogun and the chief’s prostate brakes failed, the young man flailed his arms and accidentally knocked over a drink bottle beside the laptop. The ice pear soda, known as the “yellow rose of annihilation,” spilled onto the keyboard.

Realizing what had happened, the young man scrambled to find some tissues. Suddenly, a pop-up window appeared on the computer screen.

“Click me to join our game and realize your wish (smile),” read the black background with red characters at the top. Below were two options: “yes” and “yes,” both written differently.

“What the heck? Is this a forced entry?” The young man muttered reflexively, surprised.

He didn’t take it seriously and moved the mouse to click the top right corner of the screen, but at that instant, his vision began to blur. Before losing consciousness, he saw that the familiar red X in the corner had disappeared, replaced by a red background with white letters reading “hai.”

A pure white plaza. Above it floated a gigantic orb radiating a gentle white light. Beneath the orb, the young man, dressed in a coat, triangle briefs, and slippers, stood, mouth agape, staring dazedly at the light.

“Déjà vu?!” He wiped the corner of his mouth.

“Don’t tell me this is Infinite Horror…” He scratched his head.

“Player 73950, random profession selection beginning.” A mechanical voice suddenly spoke.

“What?” The young man stared, stupefied, at the slot machine that appeared before him.

“You have ten seconds to choose, or it will be considered a forfeit.”

“Huh?” Half-doubtful, he pulled the lever on the right side of the slot machine.

The three icons on the slot machine began to spin.

“Aren’t there buttons to stop them yourself?” He looked for buttons corresponding to each icon but found none.

“Ding! Ding! Ding!” Three consecutive chimes sounded.

The left icon showed a person hiding behind many strange creatures, the middle depicted a burly man clutching a body pillow of Qiongmei and sitting at a computer, and the right was a standard stick figure.

“Oh my God! How many people would relate to this!” The young man looked utterly embarrassed.

“Player 73950’s profession selection complete. Talent activation in progress…”

“Talent? Coach, I want to be an ice mage.” He seemed somewhat naïve.

“Talent activation complete. Please check your attributes.”

“What’s this?” He looked at the icon that appeared on his left palm—a circle formed of chains.

As he gazed at the circle, a window resembling a game character interface appeared before his eyes.

Name: Hao Ren

Title: None

Age: 18

Attributes:

Strength 13 (average adult 10)

Agility 11 (average adult 10)

Constitution 14 (average adult 10)

Intelligence 9 (average adult 10)

Spirit 13 (average adult 10)

Charisma 10 (average adult 10)

Profession: Summoner (anime/game type, humanoid creatures)

Talent: “Summon Link” Lv1

0/500 (Can receive reverse attribute bonuses from all linked summoned creatures, currently 10% bonus; any beneficial status effects received by the summoner are reflected onto linked summons; current link capacity: 1)

Skills: None

Equipment: None

Summoned creatures: Currently 0

LP points: 2

“In ten minutes, player 73950 will be transferred to the novice game instance.”

“Can you explain in detail what kind of game this is?” The young man—no, our protagonist Hao Ren—asked the orb that seemed to play the role of the main god.

“Player 73950 has joined a large-scale game hosted by the Dexus Galaxy, modeled after Earth culture. Players will complete tasks issued by the main brain in various game instances. The game is primarily camp-based competition, supplemented by other forms, encouraging confrontation and interaction between players. All players are primitive inhabitants of Blue Star; player numbers are randomly generated and do not represent ranking. Each player’s game instance progress will be broadcast across major planets of the Dexus Galaxy, but private time outside the game will not be disturbed. Every new player entering the space is granted a random profession and awakens a personal talent. Since player 73950’s profession is summoner and has no combat skills, the main brain rewards 1 LP point as initial summoning funds. At the end of each game, players must possess at least 1 LP, or face erasure. Note: summoners can use 1 LP to perform a summon; no limit to the number of summons; summoning range is random. Note 2: player 73950’s summoner profession is restricted to anime/game humanoid creatures. Note 3: summoner is a fragile profession—summon useful creatures as soon as possible; chances of summoning powerful beings are reliable (smile).”

“There are too many issues! Primitive! Your whole family’s primitive! LP! Do you think this is Yu-Gi-Oh’s life points? What’s with the parenthesis and smile?!” Hao Ren shouted.

“Oh well. Looks like I’ve really been tossed into something big.” Hao Ren sighed.

“A summoner… and anime/game type, huh, they really catered to me. Being a freeloading pretty boy is my lifelong dream. Main brain! Grant me a soft, S-shaped girl with a big bust!” Hao Ren’s eyes sparkled as he chose to summon a new character.

Spending 1 LP, like a coyote summoning the king, a circular magic array appeared before Hao Ren. After a burst of blue light, a figure that astounded Hao Ren appeared at the center of the array.

Blue kimono, red jacket, short hair just reaching the ears, a delicately beautiful face that left gender ambiguous.

“Are you my master?” came the question.

“Ryougi Shiki!!!” Hao Ren’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

“Seems you’re just an ordinary person.” Ryougi Shiki sneered, curling her lip in disdain.

Hao Ren quickly called up the summoned creature’s attribute window.

Name: Ryougi Shiki

Attributes:

Strength 13 (average adult 10)

Agility 21 (average adult 10)

Constitution 19 (average adult 10)

Intelligence 14 (average adult 10)

Spirit 17 (average adult 10)

Charisma 15 (average adult 10)

Loyalty: 50

Relationship: Ordinary

Skills:

“Eyes of Death Perception” Lv1 (0/500), after activation, can see the “death lines” of any object for a set period; each use causes a mental penalty of -10 lasting two hours. Can consume 1 LP for ten minutes of use or 500 LP for free Lv1 access; skill is upgradeable.

“Blades Mastery” Lv1 (0/500), passively increases blade damage by 15%; skill can be improved by repeated blade use or by spending LP.

Skill: Hidden (requires certain conditions to trigger)

“Did I just win the grand prize?” Hao Ren stared at Ryougi Shiki.

Let’s review Hao Ren’s current equipment: coat, triangle briefs, slippers.

From any angle, he was the very definition of a pervert.

“Looks like this master is just another ordinary pervert.” Shiki crossed her arms and looked at Hao Ren coolly.

“Time’s up. Beginning transmission of player 73950 to the novice instance.”

“I’m not ready yet!” Hao Ren hugged his chest and crouched like a violated maiden.

A flash of white light, and both Hao Ren and Ryougi Shiki vanished beneath the main brain’s orb.