World of Insanity

Chapter 2: Arrival in the gu world

As an experienced gamer, Zander had navigated many virtual worlds and knew that some games imposed strict controls over the use of the game bracelet. Once activated, it would automatically bind to the player's identity, eliminating any chance of trading the bracelet.

But what he was experiencing now was unprecedented.

"According to descriptions from other players on the forum, in this game, players are granted one life every day. Even if they die, they are resurrected the next day. No character faces permanent death."

"Could it be that the death referred to here is the actual death of the real-life player?"

A chilling thought crossed his mind.

Zander immediately dismissed it as absurd.

He had just encountered the previous owner of the bracelet not long ago.

It couldn't be possible that the owner had died in such a short span of time.

Moreover, even if the owner had truly perished, how could the game be aware of it?

Unable to unravel the mystery, Zander chose to set the troubling thoughts aside and focused on the game's prompts. Another question emerged.

"It seems that the game's initial setup doesn't grant any talents. What happened to me?"

He had encountered numerous games that bestowed divine equipment and mythical creatures at the outset, but he hadn't seen any mention of this on the game forum.

"Is this some hidden feature in the game?"

After pondering for a moment, he decided not to overthink it and proceeded to confirm the inheritance.

[Dao ability acquisition complete, please check the Personal Information Panel.]

As the words appeared, the scenery before Zander shifted, and he found himself in a dim world.

He was now standing on the edge of a towering cliff.

[In the Era Of Dreams Year 745, you arrived in this world ruled by the the Twelve Venerables. It is a realm where strong reign supreme, and human life is as fleeting as grass. In this world, humanity holds a lowly status, with Insanity as the law of the world.]

[It is said that this world was once under the iron grip of an evil organization known as the Heavenly Court. Fortunately, the rise of Great Love freed the world from the cruel dictatorship of the Heavenly Court.] 

[However, the peace was short-lived, lasting only a little over a thousand years, before being shattered by the arrival of the Demoness of Dreams and Song of Calamity. This caused a seven hundred years long bloody war in the gu world, in which everyone was a part of, from a insect to a dragon. Some died, some gained more power and more blood was shed, more life was lost.]

[The war was fought between twelve forces, each having a venerable at their lead.]

[Until forty-five years ago, someone actually refined a ****** and discovered that by using that thing, it was possible to gain an Eternal life. Founding about that all the other twelve Venerables joined an alliance and waged a war against that single person but even by their joint alliance, they couldn't kill him and barely managed to survive.] 

[Unfortunately, this method has a fatal drawback. The eternal life he gained was in the cost of his life itself.***********************************************************************

*****************] 

[What's worse is that the world nearly lost all of its vitality because of that. It turned into a lake without any water, the life in this world started to get extinct at rapid pace and their life forces began to weaken.

Their structure and life fluid began to change, all the strong cultivators turned into demon and other different and strange creatures. The number of human cultivators now was less than even the one-tenth of the non-human cultivators.] 

[Since then the gu world is now ruled by Twelve Great Venerables]

Lines of text jumped before his eyes, quickly presenting the background of the game world. 

He had seen this information on the forum just now, and Zander just glanced at it now. 

In short, the game takes place in a world plagued by demonic havoc. To gain strength in this realm, one must constantly integrate the bloodlines of demons.

However, fusing demonic bloodlines is fraught with danger. It can lead to physical changes and conflicts between bloodlines, potentially resulting in a loss of control and being overwhelmed by evil energy.

[The Gu World is full of perils; here, you cannot trust anyone but yourself.]

[As an outsider, if you wish to survive, you must continually integrate the bloodlines of powerful monsters to gain their abilities.]

[To better navigate the Gu World, please set a name for yourself.

Warning: Please don't put any thing in your name that might get yourself killed...]

"What the fuQ.. A mere wrong name can kill me, anyway lets see"

"Demon Destroyer"

[Warning: This name might led you to some unexpected situation that might or might not kill you]

"Huh.. What about.."

[Naming successful]

He naturally wouldn't use his real name and quickly devised a false one.

[Character template creation successful.]

[Character descending...]

[Character descent successful. Outsider, please start your game and enjoy your journey.]

A sudden sense of weightlessness enveloped him, as if he were falling from the sky. The scenery shifted once more.

Opening his eyes, Zander found himself in a straw-covered room, facing a thick metal door.

"My head aches as if someone struck it hard."

The intense pain made Zander gasp, and he instinctively touched the back of his head. Thankfully, he felt no blood.

Acidic pain and weakness coursed through his limbs. Leaning against the wall, Zander struggled to stand.

Taking deep breaths of damp, moldy air, he felt utterly drained and weak.

The room was dimly lit, with only a reddish-yellow light seeping through a small hole above the metal door.

Various sensory inputs bombarded Zander, making him feel as if he were in the real world.

"Is this game a bit too realistic?" Zander wondered. It was his first time playing such a lifelike game.

"You didn't die?"

A surprised voice interrupted his thoughts.

Turning around, Zander saw other people in the room.

The room was small, about twenty square meters. In two corners, four young men in their twenties squatted, looking haggard and ragged, as if they had endured a disaster. The young man who spoke was on the left, his clothes tattered.

This was a prison cell!

Zander's current identity matched the other four—they were all prisoners.

As the thought crossed his mind, Zander quickly assessed his surroundings and identity in the game.

Before he could speak, the young man continued, "What's the use of not dying? We'll die soon anyway."

The despair in the young man's voice gave Zander a bad feeling.

He was about to inquire further when he heard faint footsteps outside the room.

Dada...

Dada...

The rhythmic footsteps approached.

Zander remained unfazed, but the others in the cell shuddered as if they had heard something terrifying.

"They're coming! They're coming again!"

"It's over. They take two people every time, and now there are only five of us left. It might be my turn this time!"

"I don't want to die... who will save me... great lady.. please save me"

The young men's faces turned pale, as if facing a great enemy.

Simultaneously, a series of messages appeared before Zander.

[An unknown danger is approaching. Panic is spreading rapidly. Even though you don't know what's happening, you realize you might die here if you don't act.]

[Novice Task activated. Task Panel is now accessible.]

[Personal Information Panel is now accessible.]

[Personal Space is now accessible.]

"The Novice Task is here!"

Zander's eyes lit up. He knew from the forum that the main gameplay revolved around tasks.

Players could upgrade their characters by completing daily tasks and mainline tasks.

"Open the task list."

Without hesitation, Zander summoned the task list through his consciousness.

[As an outsider, you are protected by Heaven and Earth. Gain power by completing Novice Tasks.]

[Please choose one of the following tasks to complete and unlock subsequent Daily and Mainline Tasks.]

[Novice Task 1: Escape from Cell No. 19.] 

Task Difficulty: Rank-2 

Task Reward: Mortal-Level Bloodline, 5 Dao-points. 

[Novice Task 2: Kill a Guard.] 

Task Difficulty: Rank-3 

Task Reward: Mortal-Level Bloodline, Mortal-Level Demon Sutra, 15 Dao-Points. 

[Novice Task 3: Kill the Uncontrolled Cultivator.] 

Task Difficulty: Rank-5

Task Reward: Unknown Inheritance 

[Note: Tasks refresh daily. The selection and completion of Novice Tasks will directly affect the opening of subsequent Mainline and Daily Tasks, so choose carefully.]

Zander could choose any of the three tasks. After a quick glance, he found it strange.

"Aren't Novice Tasks usually Rank-one difficulty? I have a rank-three task here and even a rank-five task?"

"Why are there no rank-one difficulty tasks?"

In the Demon World, task difficulty ranged from Rank-one to Rank-five, with five levels of difficulty within each task.

Whether there were higher levels above Rank-five was unknown.

On the forum, most players received Rank-one tasks, and only a few got two-star tasks.

Even so, many couldn't complete Rank-One tasks.

Rank-three and Rank-four tasks were rare, and Rank-five tasks were simply unheard of.

"This isn't right. My Novice Task even has a Rank-five task. This is outrageous!"

"Is it because there's something wrong with my starting location?"

Zander pondered the possibility.

It seemed likely. If he was in an advanced map, even the simplest tasks would be extremely difficult at this stage.

"Starting with a Rank-five task, is this good luck or bad luck?"

Zander remained silent. The tasks were so challenging that many players quit the game.

Although he had inherited another player's talent, he wasn't arrogant enough to think he could complete tasks others couldn't based solely on that talent.

His gaze swept across the three tasks, and he didn't make a choice immediately.

The Novice Task was crucial, requiring careful consideration.

Rewards in the game consisted of three parts: Bloodline, Demon-Sutra, Dao Points.

Bloodline was the foundation for cultivation. Only with a bloodline could you cultivate the Dao-Mastery, which required Dao-points to advance.

In his three tasks, the two-star task had two rewards—Bloodline and 5 Dao-power points—while the three-star task offered an additional 15 Dao power points.

The rewards for the Rank-five task shall be even greater, but the reward is not known, what if I get something useless.

Such rewards were generous.

"Perhaps this is a good thing. The higher the task difficulty, the more generous the rewards."

"And since the Novice Task is related to future Mainline Tasks, if I complete a Rank-two Novice Task, the subsequent Mainline Tasks will be no easy feat."

Zander quickly adjusted his mentality.

Most players hadn't completed their Novice Tasks yet. If he could complete a Rank-two or even a Rank-three task, he might catch up with most players, even if he joined later.

This might be his chance.

With this in mind, Zander quickly summoned his Personal Information Panel.

He wanted to see what kind of talent he had inherited.