'I knew it. This game definitely wouldn't progress slowly according to real-world time.'
'Otherwise, with this so-called faction-building family gameplay, wouldn't I have to play until I die of old age?'
'Besides, if the time flow was too slow, there would be fewer events to trigger, and the game would lack playability.'
'Sure enough, even though this game is a bit unorthodox, it still adheres to the basic settings of a normal game...'
After making his choice, Lince let out a long sigh of relief and muttered to himself.
However, at that very moment, something unexpected—even beyond common sense—happened again!
This only served as further proof of how mysterious and unfathomable this game was.
After Lince selected the course of action for the Rock Dragon Giant Lizard, the computer screen began to fade to black.
Suddenly, two lines of text reappeared, shining with a golden light against the dark background.
[Congratulations to the Player for successfully completing the Initial Entry game achievement.]
[Initial reward being distributed.]
'Initial reward? There's a reward for this?'
Just as Lince was staring blankly at the text,
the next moment, on the computer screen, the two lines of golden text suddenly converged into a single golden point of light.
The golden point of light shot out of the computer screen and struck Lince squarely in the face.
Acting on instinct, Lince jumped up from his computer chair with a cry of alarm.
"Damn! What the hell was that?"
But just as the words left his mouth, a golden, floating object appeared before Lince's eyes.
It was a golden card, the size of a playing card.
The card slowly floated and rotated directly in front of Lince's chest, well within his reach.
'What's this?'
As if possessed, before Lince's mind could even catch up, he had already instinctively reached out and pinched a corner of the card.
Following that, a stream of information quickly appeared in Lince's mind.
[Character Card] (Equipped)
[Rock Dragon Giant Lizard]
[Star Level: ★★★★]
[Attribute: Earth, Wind]
[Soul Binding: Player Lince]
(Note: The Character Card is only visible to the wielder.)
[Skills: 1. Frenzy, 2. Earth Spike Technique, 3. Extreme Speed, 4. Stone Armor, 5. Dragon Might]
[Usage Restrictions:
1. This Character Card can only be used once per day, with a current time limit of 30 minutes.
(Cooldown resets automatically at midnight in real-world time.)
2. The holder of this Character Card can acquire 5% of the game character's Power when used. The Player is invited to experience the specific Abilities for themselves.
(For certain reasons, the game's Character Card has had most of its Power restricted. The usage rate may be gradually increased later.)
3. This Character Card cannot be transferred, traded, or dropped.
(If the Player dies, the Character Card will automatically dissipate.)]
Silence.
The entire room fell into a profound silence.
——————
「Human Union Calendar, July 12, 2048, 23:12. East Great States Union District, Dawn City, Riverfront District's Riverside Park.」
A summer breeze blew. In an undeveloped, deserted area by the river, a muffled THUD suddenly echoed.
As the sound faded, a large boulder beneath a human figure was already shattered into pieces.
'This Power! It's truly inhuman.'
Lince stared at the results of his own punch, his heart surging with excitement.
At the same time, Lince had transformed into a monster with the head of a 'dragon' and the body of a man.
He was over two and a half meters tall, and his entire Body Type was incredibly muscular.
His entire body seemed to be composed of gray, rock-like material.
He unclenched his fist, revealing hard, powerful claws.
'And this is only five percent of its Power!'
The next moment, Lince stomped his foot forcefully.
Instantly, dozens of spikes, each about ten centimeters long, shot up from the ground in a five-meter radius around him.
'My vision, hearing, and overall physical fitness have all been enhanced. I can even see in the dark.'
'And I can use all the Skills normally, though their power definitely can't compare to the Rock Dragon Giant Lizard in the game.'
'But even so, this kind of Power is enough to strike fear into anyone's heart.'
He looked at the dense, menacing spikes on the ground, which resembled steel needles.
Afterward, Lince spent some more time testing out his various Abilities.
Only then did he control his Power, carefully smoothing the numerous spikes that had emerged from the ground back into soil.
At the same time, with a thought, he let the Power of the Character Card recede.
In an instant, his body shrank back down to his normal human form.
He walked to a stone railing to the side, grabbed his clothes and pants, and quickly put them on.
'Good thing I anticipated this and took off my clothes and pants beforehand.'
'Otherwise, wouldn't I have had to streak all the way home?'
'Still, it's a bit of a shame that I couldn't completely transform into the Rock Dragon Giant Lizard.'
Lince was something of a monster fanatic.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen a non-Human Race when playing games.
That's right.
In True Game, you could choose your Race when first entering the game.
However, the choice of Race was limited to Human Race and non-Human Race.
And regardless of whether a Player chose Human Race or non-Human Race, the character was randomly assigned.
For Lince to randomly get a Tier Two Magical Beast like the Swamp Giant Lizard right from the start, it was hard to say if he was lucky or unlucky.
After all, he had no idea what the situation was for other Players.
'The Power of my game character can be brought into the real world. Even if it's not the full amount, it's still enough to cause a significant disturbance.'
'Looks like I need to be careful from now on.'
'I need to be wary of intervention from official powers and avoid getting caught up in Extraordinary events created by other Players.'
'Keeping a low profile is the way to go...'
Lince was overjoyed at having obtained Extraordinary Power, but at the same time, he felt a sense of crisis.
After all, he wasn't the only Player in True Game.
He knew that sooner or later, he would encounter other Players, both in reality and in the game.
Therefore, he didn't let the sudden acquisition of Power go to his head; instead, he became even more cautious.
In short, at this stage, there was only one thing he wanted to do.
That was to develop his power in the Game World as rationally as possible.
At the same time, he also had to prepare for the Extraordinary events that might soon occur in the real world.
And so, Lince quickly got dressed and headed back the way he came.
By now, the night had grown deep.
Lince jogged along, just like a nighttime runner out for exercise.
He jogged for over half an hour along the desolate riverbank of the undeveloped area, only returning to the paved path of Riverside Park just after midnight.
It was only then that he began to occasionally see figures moving about under the streetlights.
Once he reached the main path, Lince breathed a sigh of relief, slowed to a walk, and took out his phone.
As usual, he opened his favorite video-sharing website, Pi Station.
The moment he opened Pi Station, he was stunned by a recommended banner on the homepage!
At the very top of the homepage was a wide, animated image of pale blue stars.
And on this animated image, a line of large text was displayed.
[Extra! Extra! All spots for the first round of True Game's closed beta were snatched up in a single day! Click to see the first-round Player test compilation!]
Looking at the familiar image and the promotional slogan before him, Lince desperately wished he was dreaming, but he knew he wasn't.
So, Lince first froze, then felt his blood pressure spike, giving him the illusion that his vision was going dark.
And so, the next moment, he couldn't help but let out a curse!
"Damn it! And I was just wondering why this damn game had no promotion!"
'So you were holding back for a big reveal!'
'You're really running this thing just like a normal game?!'
'Bro, are you sure this game of yours can even see the light of day?'
Alright!
Lince had to admit that a game this incredible probably wasn't afraid of seeing the light of day.
He just had no idea what the hell was behind this game!
But, speculating about it now was useless.
At this moment, looking at the promotional banner on his phone, he could only silently pray that this damn game wouldn't release the kind of terrible footage he was imagining.
He clicked the ad banner.
The next moment, the page changed.
Instantly, a compilation was displayed.
But one look at the compilation made Lince's face darken.
[True Game · Player Test Compilation: 1/100000]
'One hundred thousand videos?'
'Does that mean one hundred thousand closed beta Players?'
Lince felt his vision go dark again. 'So many people? And you fucking call this a closed beta?'
'Why not just give every single person on Blue Star a beta spot?'
'Alright, having a lot of Player videos might not be so bad. At least the risk of me being exposed is much smaller.'
So, Lince began to carefully watch the first video in the compilation.
[Story Showcase: The Storm Church Court Saintess and the High-Class "Tea-Artist" Lecherous Prince]