‘Could it be the weapon?’
‘Will I regret choosing this weapon?’
‘Then I’ll just change it.’
Xiao Nanchu moved his finger upward and selected the option above: **[Twin Blades]**.
Confirm!
**[Please enter your character name —]**
“Left Hand High Damage, Right Hand High Damage!”
Confirm.
**[Congratulations! Character creation successful. We wish you…]**
*Click.*
The clock ticking sound echoed once more.
***
**[Congratulations! You have successfully descended into Xushi!]**
**[Please select your…]**
‘Wait, still not working?’
‘I’ll try another one!’
**[Longsword]**
Confirm!
“Left Hand High Damage, Right Hand High Damage!”
Confirm.
**[Congratulations! Character creation successful. We wish you…]**
*Click.*
***
**[Congratulations! You have successfully descended into Xushi!]**
**[Please select your…]**
‘Oh?! This is getting interesting.’
**[Bow]**
Confirm!
…
*Click.*
***
**[Congratulations…]**
‘Hah!’
**[Spear]**, **[Lance]**, **[Shield]**, **[Greatsword]**, **[Axe]**…
*Click. Click. Click. Click. Click…*
***
**[Congratulations! You have successfully descended into Xushi!]**
**[Please select your…]**
He had lost track of how many times he had gone through this. The familiar voice echoed in Xiao Nanchu’s ears once again.
“Come on! It has to be right this time! It has to be!”
Crazed excitement flickered within Xiao Nanchu’s hollow eyes.
**[Longsword]**
**[Twin Blades]**
**[Single-handed Sword]**
…
The familiar panel appeared. But Xiao Nanchu didn’t even give it a glance. His finger instinctively moved to his very first choice.
**[Single-handed Sword]**
Confirm.
**[Please enter your character name —]**
“Left Hand High Damage, Right Hand High Damage!”
Up to this point, everything was identical to the first time. Xiao Nanchu’s actions were instinctive, right up until he finished confirming his name.
Only then did focus return to his hollow eyes. He did not click confirm. Instead, he returned to the initial weapon selection screen. With mechanical precision, he pressed each weapon in a very specific, rhythmic order.
Confirm, back.
Confirm, back.
Confirm…
He repeated the cycle over and over again. Until…
**[Please decide on your initial weapon and name as soon as possible.]**
‘It triggered! It finally triggered!’
The excitement in Xiao Nanchu’s eyes was so intense it almost seemed to jump out of his sockets. God only knew how many times he had repeated those actions to trigger this specific system prompt!
**[Please decide on your initial weapon and name as soon as possible.]**
The cold system prompt continued to ring in his ears, and even the selection screen began to flash with a line of blood-red text.
It was here!
The next step was the most crucial one. He completely ignored the system’s constant urging, and he paid no mind to the red text bleeding across the screen.
The system’s voice became increasingly frequent. Eventually, the urgent broadcasting blurred until it was no longer intelligible, turning into a sharp, continuous drone.
“Beep — “
Xiao Nanchu grit his teeth, still ignoring it. The selection screen was now entirely crimson. A massive **[Confirm]** button jumped out from the screen, looming right before his eyes.
If he so much as blinked, it would count as a confirmation click.
But this wasn’t Xiao Nanchu’s first time experiencing this; he had closed his eyes long ago. ‘As long as I don’t blink, you can’t do anything to me!’
However, even with his eyes closed, Xiao Nanchu could still see the selection screen. An arrow made of mental energy moved instinctively toward that massive confirm button.
Xiao Nanchu focused intently, exerting constant control to keep the arrow stationary.
‘Thank goodness for Luo Taozhi!’
If she hadn’t taught him Spiritual Power Differentiation — a technique for controlling mental energy — he probably would have been stuck here forever! Starting over didn’t increase his mental energy, but the control he developed through training was something he could carry back with him!
After countless resets, Xiao Nanchu could now precisely control his meager mental energy to keep the arrow from moving.
1 minute, 2 minutes…
Xiao Nanchu counted silently in his head. He continued until 5 minutes had passed.
The piercing explosion of sound in his mind vanished, and the red light on the screen returned to normal. With his eyes closed, Xiao Nanchu could no longer see the screen.
However, he continued to count.
6 minutes, 7 minutes, 8 minutes…
Xiao Nanchu waited for a full 30 minutes before he slowly opened his eyes. The panel before him hadn’t changed; the options remained the same.
**[Longsword]**
**[Twin Blades]**
**[Single-handed Sword]**
…
**[Single-handed Sword]**
Confirm.
“Left Hand High Damage, Right Hand High Damage!”
Confirm.
**[Congratulations, you have **%… $# successfully, wish you (*)&…) … descent *… pleasant!]**
The system prompt was a mess of corrupted code.
However, Xiao Nanchu didn’t let his guard down! Just as the string of characters was about to disappear, he lunged forward and bit down hard on the text!
He clenched his teeth and held on tight until his body completely vanished.
…
**[Welcome, player, to Novice Village No. 001!]**
The sounds of a bustling crowd and the stinging glare of sunlight flooded Xiao Nanchu’s vision.
Finally… he was finally in!
Xiao Nanchu was on the verge of tears. He was just trying to enter a game; why did it have to be such a struggle? That final attempt at biting the text had been his last resort. If that hadn’t worked, he would have had to consider other methods…
Fortunately, heaven helps those who help themselves. He had succeeded!
That damned *click* never sounded again! He had finally escaped that wretched loop. Now, he was going to play this game — the one he had gone through hell to enter — with everything he had!
It would be a disgrace to all the time he’d wasted in that loop if he didn’t!
‘Let’s see if there’s a reward for all that suffering!’
“Open Status Window!”
As Xiao Nanchu spoke, a panel appeared before his eyes.
[Status Window]
ID: Left Hand High Damage, Right Hand High Damage (Switchable)
HP: 100/100
MP: 100/100
Mental Power: 500
Qi Attack: 500
Qi Defense: 500
Skills: Slash, Block
Trait: One Who Stands Alone — You will have two identities; this is what you deserve.
‘That’s it?’
Xiao Nanchu couldn’t help but feel a wave of disappointment as he looked at his simple attributes. After everything he’d been through, he expected something like “10x Damage,” “10x Attack Speed,” or “10x Drop Rate.”
Was he really being sent away with just a simple trait called “One Who Stands Alone”?
What was the point of all that suffering? ‘Does my ability to suffer actually count for something?’
He had never endured such hardship in his entire life. He shook his head.
Regardless, this game was a revolutionary masterpiece endorsed even by the government. Since he’d gone through such lengths to get in, he had to see it through to the end!
Gripping his weapon firmly, he walked toward the glowing Village Chief.
“Young adventurer… our village has been attacked by monsters. Could you…”
**[Accept Quest: Kill Small Wild Boar x 10?]**
“…Accept.”
‘What a generic novice quest…’
Xiao Nanchu felt a bit speechless. Aside from the Village Chief, there wasn’t anything else glowing in the area. Did that mean this was the only tutorial quest available?
He decided to follow the instructions obediently. He was far too lazy to go looking for other tasks. He had dealt with enough puzzles already…
He was honestly terrified that he might hear another *click*.