A Level 1 leader monster actually had four skills; this Wild Wolf Leader was absurdly overpowered.
Looking at his own pitiful attributes, Ethan shook his head helplessly and logged out.
He was really looking forward to tomorrow's open beta. With such explosive stats, the Wild Wolf Leader would dominate Novice Village.
More importantly, he wanted to see if he could use the new game helmet to create a character tomorrow.
The official announcement stated that each player could only have one helmet and one character, but the broken helmet he was using wasn't bound to anyone. That meant his Parasite character could belong to anyone who wore the helmet.
And so the day passed.
The next morning, Ethan got up early as usual.
"Welcome to Star Domain. The open beta will start in 1 hour, 46 minutes, and 53 seconds. Please wait patiently!"
Originally hoping to see if he could create a character early, Ethan was disappointed and put on his old helmet.
He resumed his monotonous grind. The leader monster killed minions faster than elites, striking down enemies with ruthless efficiency.
Ethan watched as the Wild Wolf Leader tore through its own minions, fascinated by the carnage.
Ding. "System: 60 seconds until the open beta begins. Please prepare yourselves, players."
Ethan didn't expect there to be only a minute left. He quickly logged out and put on the new helmet.
"The Star Domain open beta is officially starting. Welcome! Dear player, your journey in Star Domain begins here."
The scene shifted rapidly: from starry sky to galaxy, from planet to landmass, finally settling on a small village.
The village teemed with people, packed shoulder to shoulder as far as the eye could see.
At first, Ethan thought it was just a game screenshot—but it wasn't. This was live, real-time, complete with sound.
"Move aside, newbies! You're slowing me down in my quest to become the world's top expert!"
"Please, take me along!"
"Oh my god, this game is so realistic it even scanned the pimples on my face. Ouch!"
"Move along, folks! Are you here to fight monsters or sightsee?"
After watching the live scene for a while, Ethan opened the character selection screen with anticipation.
"Detected that the player is already bound to another device. This device cannot be bound again. If you need to unbind the original, operate on the original device. If damaged or lost, contact the game officials."
Ethan blinked. If you can't bind it, just say so! Why all the fancy animation? What a waste of hype!
Frustrated, he reluctantly picked up the old helmet and continued his journey as a Parasite.
But this time, entering the game felt different.
"Welcome to Star Domain, enjoy your game."
Ethan almost cried. The game finally treated him like a real player, even welcoming him.
Then he froze.
Ding. "System: Detected abnormality in player character, system is auto-repairing. Please wait."
Ethan regretted it. It really was a bug. A billion-dollar opportunity had just slipped through his fingers.
Ding. "System: Repair completed. Repair failed! Player has not named their character. Please name it!"
"Huh??"
Ethan blinked. Should he report this or not?
He picked a name.
Ding. "Sorry, 'Your Handsome Guy Is Online' is taken. Choose another!"
Ding. "Sorry, 'Dazzlingly Handsome' is prohibited!"
Ding. "Sorry, 'Poke Your Whole Family' is prohibited!"
Ding. "Sorry."
Ding. "Sorry."
Ding. "You have successfully named your character 'Spicy Ribs.' Enjoy your game."
Ethan silently saved "Stir-Fried Horse Meat with Dried Bamboo Shoots" for later.
Re-entering the game, he immediately noticed a change. The dumb Wild Wolf was actually fighting monsters on its own!
Had they increased its intelligence in the open beta? This made things far easier for Ethan.
But weapons were still a priority. He urgently opened the Exchange, eager to buy one and finally fight monsters himself.
Although the server just opened, he expected the market to be slow. But his enthusiasm was quickly crushed.
Ding. "This feature is available to players above Level 1. Your level does not meet the requirement. Level up quickly."
Ethan stared blankly. His level was 0.
He clicked on the Face-to-Face Trade Function.
Ding. "This feature is available to players above Level 1. Your level does not meet the requirement. Level up quickly."
The repeated prompt sank Ethan's heart. Level 1 was the minimum to equip weapons, yet he was stuck at Level 0.
No weapons meant he couldn't kill monsters. No monster kills meant no leveling. No leveling meant no weapons. Vicious cycle. Pure torment.
Meanwhile, the Wild Wolf Leader finished off its opponent.
Ding. "System: Your host has defeated the opponent. Parasite all attributes have become 1.782. When you reach Level 1, the attribute increase per level will be 178.2% of the original increase."
Ethan swallowed hard. He didn't even care about leveling anymore.
Was this the secret behind All Attributes?
According to the system, if All Attributes reached 2, per-level growth would become 200% of the original.
Reach 5, and it becomes 500%.
Reach 10, and it becomes 1000%!