The Almighty Ring

“If the waking world has denied me this paradise, I’m going to take whatever neverland offers!”

His spirits suddenly uplifted upon that “drop everything and stop thinking” approach had been decided on, he went on and created his first game character as per the assistant’s guidance.

“Please select your race!” The young cheerful girl cried out.

A clear chime rang through the air, and the male representatives of four different races took form before his eyes; Elf, Orc, Human, and Spectre.

When Jiang Fei honed in on the male Elf, a notification popped up stating:

The Elves. A peaceful-loving race gifted with strong, agile bodies. They possess a natural talent for magic control.

Strength growth: B

Health growth: C

Agility growth: A

Intelligence growth: A

Spirit growth: B

Initial Attribute Bonus Points: Agility +1 Intelligence +1

Race Perk: Child of the Forest. Gains 10% bonus overall Attribute Points whenever the character is in a Forest Terrain.

Jiang Fei nodded after reading the full message and moved on to the remaining three.

The Orcs. Known for their commanding bravery and overpowering strength. A race of warrior that values strength above all else. Possess significantly denser musculature and along with it, immense strength. In exchange for this power, they do not have any aptitude for magic.

Strength growth: A

Health growth: A

Agility growth: B

Intelligence growth: C

Spirit growth: B

Initial Attribute Bonus Points: Strength +1 Health +2

Race Perk: Berserk. Instantly increases Attack Power by 50% and reduces Defense by 50%. Lasts for 10 seconds. Cooldown duration: 10 minutes.

Humans. A jack-of-all-trades. An isolated race that pursues knowledge while ironically knowing little of other races. Humans may start off average, but their growth potential is limitless.

Strength growth: B

Health growth: B

Agility growth: B

Intelligence growth: B

Spirit growth: A

Initial Attribute Bonus Points: Health +1 Spirit +2

Race Perk: Evolution. A Human character could potentially evolve into a different race by means of a hidden race quest. Search and complete the hidden quest to evolve into a different race. (Note: There are 36 different Race Progenitors. Only one player may complete the Evolution Quest, and each Progenitors would only issue one Evolution Quest. Heavy consideration is advised.)

The Unyielding One: Completion of an Evolution Quest will grant the player the blessing of The Unyielding One, granting the player an additional 5% Experience Points (EXP) for foes slain, quest rewards, and skill masteries.

The Spectre. The living dead. The undead. They broke free of the Spectre Emperor’s control and are of their own free will. Persisting on this unnatural form of existence by sheer willpower, they only seek to extend their presence.

Strength growth: A

Health growth: B

Agility growth: B

Intelligence growth: A

Spirit growth: C

Initial Attribute Bonus Points: Strength +2 Intelligence +1

Race Perk: Spectre’s Will. Purges the effects of Spirit-based Magic and gains Immunity for 5 seconds. Cooldown duration 10 minutes.

“I’m in a dream; this can’t be real. Might as well reach for the stars! Let’s go! For humankind!”

If Jiang Fei had been playing the game in a real pod, it would have been the Elf race, no question about it. He never thought of himself a professional player, where entire companies would be out there sponsoring his progress, actually paying him to play. There was almost no way for him to invest that much effort and butt heads with actual professional players to compete for those Hidden Evolution quests. This was a dream. Who the heck settles for mediocrity and risk-free decisions in dreams?! If you did not go all out in dreams, you have a serious problem!

“Selection confirmed! Human race selected! Please wait…”

“Please adjust your character appearance! Please adjust the appearance grade and intensity. You may also manually adjust your appearance! Be advised; all features may only be tweaked by a maximum of 20%!”

This was the character appearance adjustment phase, a feature commonly seen in most online games. Male players would typically opt for the randomization function, while female players would take as much time necessary to make the most improvements possible. Emphasis on possible — otherwise the sky was the limit.

“Improve all tabs by 10%!” said Jiang Fei without a moment’s pause. He could only dream for so many hours, and he might never return to it again — or so he thought. He would not waste any time in the character creation phase. If he “woke up” there and then, it would be game over.

“Character creation in process… Please wait!”

“Please enter your name!”

An input box with the title “Name” appeared in front of him, as well as a man with a slightly altered face of “Jiang Fei” who stood at a height similar to its real-life counterpart.

“Verdure Glider!”

Jiang Fei was being an utter troll. In other games, Jiang Fei would never himself an uncool name. However… This was a dream. Why rack precious brainpower to come up with a cool name?!

“Character creation complete. You will now be sent to NO2015 Beginner’s Village!”

A loud chime was heard, and a bright light flashed again. The light engulfed both Jiang Fei and the character he had just created. After a brief second, Jiang Fei came up and realized that his surroundings had changed again.

“HARGH! TAKE THIS!”

Someone in the distant plains screamed at the top of his lungs as he crossed blades with some unseen foe.

“Top of the morning to you sir, how may I be of assistance?”

The shopkeeper called out to players passing the front of his shop.

Those were only a few of the noises that Jiang Fei picked up. With a grin, Jiang Fei grew excited.

“Not bad! Not bad at all! Such a realistic dream.”

“What are you talking about? Shengshi has spent years developing this game! How could it not real! It’s the pride of the game!”

A player standing next to Jiang Fei snorted.

“Hmm? How- Could I be- How is interaction possible in a dream?”

Jiang Fei grew anxious. Something was aloof. The scenery, the players, dialogues, ambiance… They were all far too realistic!

“I’ll try pinching myself!”

Jiang Fei reached out for his right leg, and pinched it — hard!

“Eh?!”

Pain jolted through his body. They type of pain that did not belong in dreams and if it did, would give the deepest sleepers a rude awakening!

“What’s going on?! This hurts way too much!”

Jiang Fei gasped.

“What on earth is going on?! Is this real?! Am I really in the game?”

Jiang Fei’s brain got to its feet, patting the dust off itself. He started recalling past advertisements of the game. There was talk of how even the sensory level could be tweaked by 20% to 0%. If one went for the all 0% extreme, one might lose a huge chunk of what the game could offer. Naturally, most female players would opt for 0%.

“Oh my god! I AM in the game!”

At that moment, Jiang Fei was on cloud nine. For that moment, he had completely forgotten about the mysterious ring that was still on his finger.

“Eh? How are you with me?” said Jiang Fei, his eyes finally catching its glint. Real-world objects did not typically follow their users into the game. However… If the ring was responsible for him being in the game, it had all rights of being in the game as well!

As he rubbed the ring, a sudden pop-up gave Jiang Fei a mild start. It was 36 slot inventory page!

“Hohoho… This is a blessing!”

Jiang Fei smiled. As a longtime veteran gamer, he was all too aware of the benefits that came with a large inventory, especially in the early stages of the game!

“I’m not going to put too much thought into this. It’s here, it’s doing something, so I’ll use it!”

With nothing but gaming on his mind, Jiang Fei decided to dive deep into the game. What ring? What about it?