The red countdown ticks away rapidly, soon freezing at 00:40:00.
"Only 40 minutes left? I can't die here." The scorching pain forces Vale to double over, crawling on the ground.
This is the first time Vale has experienced such vivid pain in the game.
Just as he tries to grit his teeth and stand up, several phantom figures flash across the center of Fountain Square.
Vale's pupils reflect his sister... Victoria.
"Victoria, don't go..." Vale's face turns deathly pale—he can practically feel his life force ebbing away.
"Alice's Blood Sacrifice Blade is a cursed spell. If the caster dies, the curse will naturally dissipate." Driven by sheer survival instinct, Vale's mind races as he frantically searches for a way to live.
I've been rolled back to level 0. Everything starts over. How can I possibly defeat Alice, the 10th-ranked final boss in the game—the Goddess of the Blood Moon?
"Actually, there's one thing I still don't understand—why would a top-tier boss appear in the early game? I remember the monsters near Victoria City are supposed to be level 20-30."
Vale shakes his head. Right now, he has no energy to dwell on this question. His only goal is to survive and find his sister.
"The freedom of Chaotic Realm Online is extremely high, but based on players' long-term exploration, there are four main schools before level 20:
the One-Hit Flow focusing on Strength,
the Reflect Damage Flow emphasizing Constitution and Stamina,
the Ranged Magic Damage Flow centered on Magic,
and the Curse Flow specializing in Agility."
Vale feels his body's adrenaline surging as he rapidly analyzes the situation.
"One of Alice's boss traits is her love of toying with prey—like a cat, she often just wants to play with her victim rather than kill it immediately."
Vale stands up and checks the timer, realizing two minutes have passed.
"Alice's stats are undoubtedly top-tier. The only way to harm her is through the Curse Flow, but ordinary curses are useless against a boss like her. Only by obtaining the SSS-tier talent Bone Erosion can we deal true damage to her."
With this thought, Vale makes up his mind.
He prepares to perform the Destiny Summoning Ritual in the game–a core gameplay mechanic where starting characters can conduct a ritual in front of the central statue in the city to determine their Destiny.
The so-called "Destiny" refers to drawing a unique talent for oneself.
Talents often determine a player's upper and lower limits in the game; an exceptional talent can even lead to dominating the entire game.
Soon, he reaches the statue altar on the eastern side of Fountain Square.
An old man robed in a long cloak, clutching an ancient grimoire, says kindly with a gentle gaze,
"My child, have you come to partake in the Destiny Summoning Ritual?"
Vale nods, "Yes, I wish to participate."
The old man nods in reply and continues, "Very well. Remember, child—your Destiny is bestowed by the heavens and cannot be altered, unless you choose a secondary Destiny after reaching level 20."
Vale replies firmly, "Yes."
The old man strokes his holy tome, and suddenly the book erupts with brilliant light.
The ground begins to tremble as four massive stone tablets surge from the earth, lightning crackling in the sky.
The four ancient, imposing gray tablets emit a sacred glow. With withered fingers, the old man points to the four gigantic tablets floating in the sky and says, "Child, place your palm in the direction of the tablet you wish to choose.
The heavens will naturally heed your call and bestow the words of the divine."
Vale closes his eyes and begins to focus, his mind silently pleading: "Heavens, please—bless me with the SSS-tier talent Bone Erosion. I'll grind for your favor in this game."
Then, Vale extends a finger and points at the golden-hued stone tablet glowing in the sky, murmuring under his breath: "Golden legend, activate!"
Suddenly, the sky roars with thunder and lightning, and howling winds rage.
A gigantic skill book woven from golden threads descends from the heavens, sliding slowly into Vale's hands.
With trembling fingers, Vale opens the book, his pupils contracting sharply. Instantly, disappointment floods his face.
The old man, puzzled, hurries forward. "Child, what's wrong? Are you dissatisfied with the heaven's gift?"
Vale sighs wearily and tosses the skill book to the old man. "The class fits, but the rank is trash—it's an F-tier Poison Casting spell."
"Yes, it is. But it's still a gift from the heavens for you, you must accept it." The old man emphasizes.
"I can't accept a trash book." Vale mutters aloud, when a familiar voice echoes in his mind.
"Detecting an F-tier Curse Flow skill book. Initiate administrator panel to modify this skill book?" Susan's voice remains cold and emotionless.
"Modify?...modify the skill book?! There's such a good thing?!" Vale exclaims in disbelief upon hearing this.
"Yes, Vale, but you'll need to open and operate it yourself. I'm not authorized to actively assist you with the panel's functions," Susan replies.
Vale can hardly wait to open the game administrator operation panel.
A slew of gray-locked buttons materializes in his field of vision, with only one glowing active.
As he reads the text on the button, he ponders its meaning: "Modify Specified Skill Book."
Susan points to the activated button and explains,
"Due to your low level, you can currently only use the most basic function of the panel. Additionally, using the skill book modification feature requires consuming 10 administrator points.
Once modified, the skill book will only remain effective for two hours. After the expiration, it will immediately revert to its original state."
Upon hearing this, Vale's excitement is immediately dampened, but he quickly recovers.
"It doesn't matter—two hours is more than enough. After all, this is the SSS-tier talent Bone Erosion: it deducts 10% of the target's maximum wound value per second.
It ignores defense, can't be purified, and applies a healing block.
That means once a target is cursed, they're guaranteed to die after 10 seconds."
Vale immediately spends 10 points to convert the F-tier skill book into an SSS-tier one, and soon masters the skill. "The ordinary F-tier Poison Casting book only inflicts 0.5% wound damage at level 1."
"To kill a regular mob, it wou
ld take at least 200 seconds. If the target has poison resistance or heals faster than the damage ticks, the skill becomes completely ineffective."
"The Curse Flow is a weak archetype in the early game, which is why most players avoid it—unless they're heavy spenders."
Vale equips the new skill, and his next strategy is to pretend to grind mobs and level up as before, wandering through the Abyssal Forest outside the castle where Alice appeared last time.
Alice possesses human-like intelligence, even more cunning than humans, so to avoid arousing her suspicion, Vale must relax his guard just like before and lure her into the trap.
Of course, this time Vale has prepared some dialogue tactics – after all, dealing with a talkative boss like Alice, only by keeping up a constant stream of chatter can he buy time.
If he can just get ten seconds, he can finish her off.