"The Shadow Cloak needs 3 Evolution Points to reach the next tier," Silas noted, checking his interface. "And I only have 2 left..."
Efficiency was the only rule Silas lived by. Rather than hoarding the points, he turned his attention to his second skill.
[Consumed 1 Evolution Point. Backstab Mastery: Inferior -> Common.]
Passive Effect: Damage bonus when attacking from behind increased from 10% -> 15%.
Silas nodded. While a 5% increase seemed marginal, he knew how these numbers scaled. In the God-Abandoned Game, damage multipliers were the difference between a struggle and a slaughter.
"My class passive already doubles damage from stealth," he calculated. "If I can evolve Backstab Mastery to 100%, those bonuses won't just add up, they'll stack. I could be dealing four, maybe five times the base damage in a single strike."
Having spent nine years among the global elite, Silas understood the terrifying impact of "perfect scaling." If his skills continued to evolve, they wouldn't just be "strong", they would eventually transcend the Immortal-tier.
"If Shadow Cloak keeps evolving, will the cooldown eventually hit zero? If Backstab reaches 100% or 200%, will I be able to one-shot Bosses?"
It was a prospect that had never existed in his previous life. In the old world, a skill book's rank was fixed. A Bronze skill stayed a Bronze skill forever. But his Primordial Talent had shattered the laws of the universe.
"Time to begin."
He had one point left, but no skills cheap enough to upgrade. He closed the evolution menu. Immediately, a translucent prompt hovered in his vision:
[Please enter your Game Alias.]
In this world, every player needed a handle. It was the name that would eventually be carved into the global rankings, or onto a tombstone.
Silas didn't hesitate. He reached out and traced two words into the air.
[Your Alias is: Shadow]
[Entering the Lands of the Forsaken...]
The darkness around Silas dissolved like smoke in a gale.
His boots met solid stone. As the haze cleared, he found himself standing in a central plaza. Above him, a moon hung heavy in the sky, draping the world in a cold, silver veil that made the dilapidated buildings look like skeletal remains.
This was Shell Town.
Around the plaza, a dozen or so other "players" had materialized, all clad in the basic grey-black robes of initiates. They looked around with wide, terrified eyes, whispering in the familiar accents of the Great Federation, specifically, his home region of Riverspire.
There were no NPCs in sight. Silas knew why. The inhabitants of this world weren't programmed scripts; they were intelligent beings from fallen or forgotten civilizations. To them, "Blue Star" humans were currently worthless, trash with no life-currency to trade.
A familiar chime rang in his mind:
[Welcome to the Lands of the Forsaken.]
This is a desolate realm teeming with monsters. They are ready to tear you apart and harvest your life.
Leave the town and slay monsters to earn Tradeable Lifespan.Warning: If you die, 50% of your remaining Lifespan (both Tradeable and Non-Tradeable) will be forfeited.
Silas ignored the warning. He had lived it once; he didn't need the reminder. He pulled up his map and status.
[Shell Town: Peace Zone (No combat permitted)]
[Current Population: 128 / 1,000]
"I'm 128th," he noted. "Ahead of the curve."
Then, he opened his attribute panel. In this game, stats weren't just numbers; they were the literal ceiling of your physical existence.
[Alias: Shadow]
[Class: Shadow (Unique Hidden)]
[Level: 1]
[Non-Tradeable Lifespan: 75 Years]
[Tradeable Lifespan: 0]
Strength: 10 (+3)Constitution: 10 (+3)Agility: 10 (+8)Intelligence: 10 (+5)Free Attribute Points: 5
Silas stared at the numbers in genuine shock. "The stat growth for a Hidden Class is... insane."
In his past life as a Warrior, his starting bonus had been a measly +3 Strength and +3 Constitution. But the Shadow class was a monster: +8 to Agility and +5 to Intelligence right out of the gate.
He knew exactly what each stat did. Strength for power, Constitution for health, Intelligence for elemental resistance. But Agility... Agility was the god-stat of the early game. It controlled movement speed, attack speed, and skill execution.
"Most people will dump points into Strength because they want to feel powerful," Silas thought, a cold pity for the other players crossing his mind. "But the monsters in this realm are faster and stronger than any human. If you can't outrun them, you're dead."
In the God-Abandoned Game, damage was a luxury; speed was a necessity.
"Besides," Silas grinned, "my Bronze-tier Shadow Cloak already gives me +90 bonus damage. That's equivalent to 90 points in Strength. I don't need power. I need to be a ghost."
Without a second thought, he dumped all 5 free attribute points into Agility.
His body felt lighter, his senses sharper. He was ready to leave the "Safety" of Shell Town and enter the hunting grounds.