Li Wei was stunned. He almost fell asleep halfway through.
He finally understood, he'd been made into an educational example.
"Very good, leader, I agree." clap clap clap
"This mission spans your entire journey. Do you know what Failure means; do you know why you're Case #004?"
"Gasp!" Li Wei: "The first three… failed?"
"No. There was no #1, #2, or #3. We start at #4 to scare you a little. Boost morale."
"...Your bosses sound fake as hell."
"Shut it! Even leaders make mistakes… sometimes..."
"Hey, I'm human too! I make mistakes. If I fail this mission…"
"Pfft! You're just a tool! A glorified one, sure, we offer great benefits, but a tool nonetheless!"
"…?! There's more than one boss?"
"Anyway, finish your job and you'll get to keep some territory. Now here's the overview, this platform is the Multiverse's finest patriotic education simulator."
"...Huh?"
"Codenamed: Iron Wind of Europa Under the sea of Stars."
"Similar to Earth, Timeline: ~700 AD to 2400 AD. Map size: 9.6 million km² of land, 3 million km² of unexplorable fog-sea. You'll never touch the unknown."
"Got it so, it is Earth, but not really." [Performs French salute.]
"Exactly, this way we avoid legal issues. Just try not to die."
"Bro, look at me. You think I can survive 2000 years?! That's from 700 to 2400!"
"Don't worry. You'll get a Valhalla System. If people around you die, you can summon them. If you die, you reincarnate into your son, or grandson. Eventually we'll give you an immortality quest."
"Didn't you say this was supposed to be scientific?"
"And immortality isn't? You gotta believe in science."
"Alright, now you choose your race…"
"What?"
"Race selection, I can tell just by looking, you're not human."
"I am human!"
"Pfft, Sure, But you should choose something else, humans are weak."
"This is getting sketchy…"
"Don't worry, the body still looks human. This is a feature from the Dark World expansion. I recommend Dragonkin, super OP."
"…Fine."
"Next, choose your culture—wait, what is this?! I'm purebred Chin…."
"Don't say it. Remember the blank zones? Just pick anything, How about French?"
"Nope, surrender monkeys."
"English?"
"Nope, drama queens."
"German?"
"Spit-talking problem children."
"Celtic?"
"Basketball and extinction."
"Iberian?"
"Robbers who got robbed."
"Jewish?"
"Nomadic pros."
"Middle East?"
"No sheep action, thanks."
"Who told you that's only the Middle East?! You're biased! What do you want then?!"
"Hmm, what's this button?"
Presses button
"Whoa, what's this 'Lost Civilization' option?!"
"...Eh, pick whatever. Oh? You're a Rome fanatic? Fine, you're the last Roman. That culture's dead here."
"Didn't you say it doesn't matter?"
"Exactly, you can change it later. Now look, your first side quest is here."
The fat man, now with G-cups, hands over a scroll…
...........................…
[Collect 10 Viking Heads]
Viking Heads: 0/10
Description:
Even if you might not accept it, you are already an excellent warrior, at least according to your character setup. Don't worry; your current condition isn't great, but definitely not terrible. Think about it, my friend, I'm speaking to you in this awkward translation style to help you relax, right?
Quest Reward:
XP: 300
Reward Money: 1 gold, 25 silver, 0 copper
...................................
Li Wei almost choked when he saw the quest.
"You want to kill me? No need to torture me first, right? What even is the enemy, can I even fight it?"
"You're a human who, at the very least, received higher education a thousand years in the future. Your average level is much higher than that of this world. In terms of combat, sure... you might be a chicken, but in other areas you're quite capable. Just look at your five attributes...ah, the system interface was borrowed from the world next door, just make do. Just think '[Panel]' in your mind to activate it."
Wait, even the interface was borrowed from next door?
Politics & Diplomacy: 15
Military & Combat: 1
Administration & Finance: 15
Espionage & Conspiracy: 15
Knowledge & Culture: 20
XP to next level: (0/1000)
"...So is this considered high or low?" Li Wei stared blankly at his stat panel. "I've lived decades of ups and downs, and now you're reducing my whole life into a few crappy lines of text and numbers?"
"An average adult human has a stat of 5. You're about to enter combat, you can redistribute other stats into combat. The strongest orc you'll face only has 20 in combat." The chubby man put his hand on Li Wei's shoulder. "Of course, you could stick to your stats. Your life is meaningful and shouldn't be defined by a few numbers. Maybe with your current skill, you'll pull off a miracle? As long as your feet keep moving, your destination lies ahead. So—"
"No! I love system-based stories!" Li Wei suddenly became righteous and serious. This was not the time to raise a death flag. He had never liked system novels before, but suddenly he understood the mindset of the authors: "Respect to all my fellow system authors; so, I can redistribute stats? Please transfer everything into combat."
"...Are you sure? This may affect your personality…"
"I'm sure! Between personality and survival, I'll pick survival. I'm the cowardly type who clings to life."
.....................................
Chapter One: Sailing Through Drought, Welcoming Viking Elegance
Year 769, June 1st.
Children's Day.
The place where dreams begin.
As the Germanic and Slavic peoples migrated across Europe, they settled in various regions: the Goths and Lombards in Southern Europe, the Franks in Gaul, and the Saxons across the sea in Britain. Meanwhile, the Eastern Roman Empire faced threats from the Goths and Avars, and fierce battles with the ancient Persians. The Islamic expansion swept through the Middle East and North Africa. On the steppe, the Khazars were on the rise. In Scandinavia, a force that would soon shake the world was coming of age.
In Britain, not only had the glory of the Roman era vanished, but so had the tranquility of earlier days (not that Britain was ever truly peaceful with all the rebellions).
If we had to summarize daily life in Britain right now, it'd go something like this:
"Rebuilding Rome from Zero"
"Do You Like Vikings, Mother-Splitters?"
"My Britain Isn't This Weak"
"Problem Children All Come from the Vikings"
"Is It Wrong to Seek Romance in the Dark Ages?"
"My Roman Slice-of-Life is Problematic After All"
"Stuck between the Plague and the Vikings: A Medieval Hell"
"What Are You Doing at the End of the World? Wanna Fight Vikings?"
"Perverted Vikings vs. Stone-Faced Brits"
"The Melancholy of Britain"
"Total Viking Frenzy"
"Sailing Through Drought, Welcoming Viking Elegance"
That's right—Vikings.
Besides the occasional plague or small-scale village brawls, the eternal theme was Vikings.
Li Wei had a quest.
What does "quest" mean?
Some say it's a job. Those people are corporate slaves, or aspiring ones, Basically voluntary slaves.
Some say it's a responsibility. They're idealistic types destined to drown in their own dreams.
Some say it's an instruction. These are programmers, bald by thirty.
And then there are those who say quests are: (0/XX), an exclamation mark, daily dungeons, or log-in check-ins.
These people generally do not reproduce, mostly because they can't find a girlfriend. They're hardcore otakus.
Li Wei just accepted his first quest.
Triggering it was simple, like most online games, completely unrealistic.
Li Wei did something he might regret for life.