The pitch-black void became a blank, blinding white.
Chen Mo's senses returned in the blink of an eye, overstimulating him excessively and leading to him collapsing onto his knees. It's going to take a while for him to get used to this transition. For now, he'll have to simply endure it and resist the nauseating urge to vomit every single time.
He'd find himself wearing the last set of clothes he had donned before entering the game: the fashion statement piece of blue and white striped pajamas.
In the blank that seemed endless and boundless, a neon-lime system sign shone vividly: [EXIT]
Once Chen Mo recuperated with a strained grunt, more words typed themselves into existence. This time, they appeared closer to Chen Mo, and directly facing him as well:
[Please choose the attributes you would like to upgrade. Remaining: 5 Rubies]
[Strength: Lvl 1]
[Agility: Lvl 1]
[Vitality: Lvl 1]
[Durability: Lvl 1]
[Perception: Lvl 4]
My perception is already level 4? Chen Mo tilted his head slightly. Looking at the currencies presented, it wasn't difficult to deduce that Rubies were used for upgrades, while Sapphires were used to purchase items.
He had just received 5 Rubies from the School of Apparitions, but he was unsure of how upgrading actually worked. So, he formed a question in his mind; the system responded accordingly:
[Each Ruby increases one level of one specific attribute of the player's preference. Each upgrade increases by a fraction less than the previous one.]
Each upgrade is less than the previous. That meant growth in this game must not be linear. Newcomers would grow faster, while late-game players' growth would inevitably plateau.
Chen Mo asked another question using only his thoughts. "Why is my perception already level 4?"
[Each player enters the game with a base power that is derived from the player's actual power in real life.]
[The system has determined that, in real life, you have level 1 strength, level 1 agility, level 1 vitality, level 1 durability, and level 4 perception.]
[By adding all levels of all attributes, the player's total power is calculated. Thus, your initial power was 8, deeming you an F rank player.]
Ouch. Chen Mo didn't even ask for that, yet he was still reminded that he had started as an F rank. And since these stats were derived from real life, that meant Chen Mo was physically F rank in reality as well.
Just for the sake of his own fragile ego, he asked for the average power and rank of starting players.
[D rank. 26 to 50 in power.]
Urgh.
Chen Mo scanned the attributes that he could upgrade, finding most of them comprehensible, if not straightforward and self-explanatory. Except for one: 'vitality'.
He extended the description for that attribute:
[Vitality determines the capacity of your Arcane storage. Arcane Energy (AE) is used to activate Arcane Abilities (AA).]
[Your current AE storage can hold one hundred units.]
"What are my Arcane Abilities, and how much do they cost?" Chen Mo wondered internally.
[... ... Loading...] The system erased all of the previous words, then replaced them with an entirely new page:
[Congratulations! You have been awakened!]
[NEW: Arcane Abilities unlocked!]
[You have unlocked your Character Title!]
[Character Title (CT): Psychopathic Psychiatrist.]
Chen Mo wasn't entirely sure about the psychopathic part; he considered himself to be quite mentally stable and healthy. The psychiatrist part, however, was dead-on accurate. Chen Mo was studying psychology, with firm intentions of becoming a medical professional in the future.
The neon-lime system continued elucidating further:
[There are three tiers of basic AA and two full-release AA (to be unlocked) for every awakened player with a Character Title.]
[You have unlocked Tier 1 basic AA!]
[Your Tier 1 basic AA: Ragebaiter]
[Cost: 20 AE.]
[Use: Implodes pent-up anger of any individuals within range. The more rage released, the more stats increase.]
What? Chen Mo scratched his head as he stared at his incredibly Gen Z-sounding first-tier ability. Ragebaiting? Seriously?
Chen Mo wasn't complaining too much, however; he could clearly see strong utility within this ability when used correctly. The cost of 20 AE was also relatively cheap. With his current AE storage of 100, he could comfortably activate this ability five times in a single game, perhaps even more if...
"Does AE regenerate?" Chen Mo pondered thoughtfully.
[Yes. Five minutes = One AE]
Not an ideal recuperation rate, but still better than having none at all, Chen Mo thought to himself.
Nonetheless, it meant that vitality, or rather, the capacity of AE storage, was relatively important. Chen Mo returned to the page displaying his attributes, then selected one Ruby for each attribute except perception.
[Strength: Lvl 1 > Lvl 2]
[Agility: Lvl 1 > Lvl 2]
[Vitality: Lvl 1 > Lvl 2 (100 > 120)]
[Durability: Lvl 1 > Lvl 2]
[Power: 8 (F rank) > 12 (E rank)]
[Congratulations! You have now reached E rank!]
That left one more Ruby. Chen Mo stroked his chin as he thought carefully. But first, he voiced the question, "Does saving Rubies have its merits?"
[Yes! The element of surprise! Rubies can be used at any time. By saving Rubies and not upgrading immediately, a player can lead opponents into underestimating his abilities.]
Alright, that's stupid, Chen Mo thought to himself bluntly, before depositing the final Ruby into his agility, because he was still only an E rank; running and escaping would be extremely useful.
[Agility: Lvl 2 > Lvl 3]
[Power: 12 (E rank) > 13 (E rank)]
Still E rank. Chen Mo let out a quiet sigh, slightly disappointed in himself for not hitting the gym in real life to increase his base stats beforehand.
Now that all Rubies were expended, Chen Mo moved on to his 334 Sapphires, which were mostly from donations before the Glass Queen had abruptly shut it all down.
There were multiple sections in the Store: Weapons, Auras? Buildings?? And then cosmetics.
There was one additional message at the end of the four categories: [For more variety of items, shop at the Game Lobby's physical Store!]
Chen Mo didn't think that would be necessary; he simply wished to disguise himself before exiting the blank white space he now stood within.
Glass Queen seemed to have completely demolished his reputation; he wouldn't enjoy public exposure right now, especially not if the crowd might target Amelia as well.
Wait, where's Amelia?
Chen Mo suddenly realised this. He was completely alone, yet he could swear the system had mentioned something about Amelia being his reward.
The system seemed to notice Chen Mo's confusion and answered before he even asked, [Your slave, Amelia Cunningham, has been teleported to your Personal World. Would you like to teleport her here?]
My slave?
Chen Mo didn't inquire any further; instead, he simply insisted on her presence with a single, fervent thought: "Yes, bring her here."
She wasn't the first thing that began materialising from thin air. Instead, it was something metallic, gleaming neon-lime before it fully presented itself onto Chen Mo's palm.
They were chains — iron chains that kept elongating, extending further and further until they stopped at the neck of a neon-lime silhouette.
The neon-lime figure twisted and turned, shifting and morphing, until Amelia's shape was fully moulded. Then, colours intruded, vividly painting Amelia Cunningham in the same high school uniform, but not in the same demeanor.
Rather than her usual youthful and cheerful temperament, she looked frightened and utterly defeated. She gazed intensely at what was choking her.
She was chained. Chen Mo was the one holding the enslaving instrument.
He flinched, stepping back and letting go of his grip on the iron chain. However, it didn't leave his skin; it refused to leave, no matter how hard Chen Mo shook, yanked, or struggled.
Tears suddenly began welling up around Amelia's eyes as she helplessly wept.
"No. No, it's not me," Chen Mo attempted to comfort her. "Don't cry."
He said that as a consolation, not as a command. Nonetheless, Amelia acted as if she had been ordered by a superior. She immediately straightened her neck, eyes forward and rigid, wiping her tears off frantically.
She forced the crying to stop so intensely that veins began to spiderweb across the whites of her eyes.
Chen Mo wanted to tell her, "Stop!"
But he didn't, because he had already realised exactly what was happening.
Slave...
"How do I free her from me?" Chen Mo thought within his mind, louder than all the other questions he had asked before.
The cold, emotionless neon-lime system returned:
[You cannot. She will obey your every whim, as she is now yours, and only yours.]