Starting from Zero Vol 1 Chapter 2

Chapter 2 — Character Creation (1)

Starting up the headgear, everything before my eyes went black. Following which, I appeared in a light blue room. Extremely mechanical noises rang. “Locked onto irises, attempting access to brainwaves.” Paused for two seconds. “Access normal, body scan normal, identity binded, installation complete. Welcome to using our system. Next up, we’ll be handing you over to the host brain guide!” There was another two second pause before a female’s voice sounded at my ears. Although it wasn’t very attractive, it was actually quite easy on the ears.

“Hello! Welcome to the world of . The account number you are using comes with a prize. Please start spinning to obtain your prize item.”

Suddenly, a gigantic turntable appeared in the room. I looked at it doubtfully, asking, “May I ask what meaning this reward item holds?”

“The number of prizes every prize-inclusive account can receive is random. The number of prizes you will receive is determined after you spin for your prize. As for the number, the largest value is four and the smallest value is zero.”

“What? Zero? Then wouldn’t it become the same as a normal account number that doesn’t come with a prize?” How is this damned system so perverted! If the prize-inclusive account that I had been squeezed half to death for all came to nothing, I would definitely cry to death!

“Please start spinning for your prize, alright?” The system urged.

I felt helpless, but since there were a total of five numbers, the possibility of getting a zero is only twenty percent. Walking up to it, I spun the turntable with force and the turntable immediately started spinning quickly. Watching as the turntable slowed down, my heart had already risen to my throat. The pointer was now at three, and the turntable was still spinning slowly, but it seemed like it was about to stop soon! Inwardly, I prayed for it to by all means, not stop at zero. Yet the pointer was still moving, and it was now already at one. I pray, even if it stops at one, that would still be fine!

The pointer was already at zero, but the turntable was still moving slowly. However, it seemed to be almost impossible for it to move beyond the zero area. I had already closed my eyes in disappointment. After a crisp “ding”, the system’s prompt sounded. “Congratulations! You’ve spun the largest prize number of four items!”

“What!” I opened my eyes, not daring to believe my ears, only to see that the pointer had seemed to stop at the line between zero and four. However, since the system’s accuracy level is greater than the human eye’s, it should probably be right.

The system confirmed once again, “You’ve indeed spun a four. Please confirm your own character. Your account number can create two characters, so would you like to split your prizes between two characters, or have them all concentrated on one?”

What a joke! Need this still be asked? “One!” When playing games, obviously only one main character is enough, wouldn’t splitting it between two be an evident waste!?

“Please set up your character first. The prizes will be used on this character’s person.”

“Sure, but how do I set it up?”

“First, please announce your character’s name. This name will be your character’s name for life. After setting it up, you will not be able to change it unless you kill yourself and remake your character. As much as possible, please use a Chinese name.”

“Zi Ri!” I’ve always been using this cool, cool name and I’ve used this username in every game I play.

“Character Zi Ri has been set up, now the calculation of your prizes will take place.” The system paused for two seconds. “Your first prize item has been decided. Your first prize item is a granted ability for you to also be able to choose from secret races. Now, please choose a race for your character.”

“Race? What races can I choose from?”

A white light flashed in front of my eyes, and instantly, two rows of people appeared. The first row of people stood directly on the floor, while those in the second row hovered in mid-air. Looking closer, these fellows seem to be rather familiar-looking. Wait! Aren’t these me? Why do they all look sort of similar to me!

The system seemed to sense my misgivings. “These are the models of the different races that were set up based on your appearance. You must first choose a race before modifying your appearance of up to a difference of 10%. The bottom row comprise of races anyone can choose from, while the top row can only be chosen by those who have been granted the secret races from the prize-inclusive account numbers. Normal races include twelve different types, which are: Orc, Human, Elf, Dwarf, Gnome, Fire Elemental Human, Water Elemental Human, Earth Elemental Human, Undead, Air Elemental Human, Goblin and Monster. Special races include seven different types, which are namely: Angel, Devil Race, Half-elf, Spirit Elemental People, Half-orc, Half-angel and Demon Race.”

Since the row above was designated as secret races from a prize, then they should definitely be stronger than this row below. “Can you give a specialised introduction to the specialties of each race above?”

The system instantly removed the bottom row, and the races on the top row automatically flew in front of me. “You can see their appearances directly, I will mainly introduce their attributes. First would be the Angel. This race’s specialty is that in the situation where all their attribute points are the same, their attack and defense abilities will be higher. They also have high HP and the innate self-recovery magic ‘Divine’. The second is the Devil Race. Both their defensive abilities and magic attacks are very high, their regeneration is also relatively quick. The third would be Half-elves. This race possesses both the great agility and night-vision of the elf but at the same time, it also has higher HP than normal Elves, which can usually reach a human’s level. The fourth would be the Spirit Elemental Human. This race is naturally magic-oriented. All the magic they release will have a 5% increase in attack power, and their SP recovery rate is also very fast. The fifth would be Half-orcs. This race has high attack and defense just like the Orcs. However, at the same time, they will also have the agility and intelligence levels of someone with the Human race. They are also able to undertake the mage profession that would definitely not appear for the Orcs. The sixth is the Half-angel. This race has attack and defense levels similar to that of the Angel race, but are usually slightly lower than them. On the other hand, Half-angels have the restriction of being unable to learn attack-type magic and their resistance against Dark-type magic surpasses an Angel’s. The last would be the Demon Race. This is a very unusual race. The Demon Race has mixed blood of the Angels as well as the Devil Race. They have very high physical attack power and magic attack power. Unlike Angels, they do not have a fifty percent damage absorption towards Light-type magic, nor do they have a fifty percent damage absorption towards Dark-type magic like the Devil Race. However, at the same time, they do not have zero defense against Dark-type magic, like the Angels, or zero defense against Light-type magic, like the Demon Race. Basically, they are a middleground race. Also, the system restricts the number of characters who are Demon Race. Only the first ten account numbers who choose it will have a chance. In future, only six races will appear in the selection for the prize races.

Haha! Now I understand. However, it’s still hard for me to make a choice, since all of the above are good choices! “May I ask if you can exclude the races I eliminate?”

“Do you intend to decide by elimination? Of course it’s fine!”

Damn! What kind of system is this! Such an extraordinary AI! Who cares, I’ll choose first. “Spirit Elemental Human is something I definitely won’t choose, it’s too ugly!” The Spirit Elemental Human before my eyes instantly disappeared as specks of stars, leaving six characters behind.

“Half-orc is too barbaric, I don’t want it.” Another flash, and there were five races left.

“Half-angels and Half-elves don’t have an obvious advantage, eliminate!” The last three! How should I choose this time! “My character’s name is Zi Ri (lit. Purple Sun), and an angel doesn’t seem to suit this name, so remove it!” That devil race is clearly a mage race, but I prefer knights. “I’ve decided, the race I am selecting is the Demon Race!”

The system replied immediately, “The Demon Race has been successfully selected as your race. Congratulations, you are the first person to have chosen the Demon Race, so the system awards you with a basic attribute point. Now, please start setting up your character’s appearance.”

In front of me, the only person left was of the Demon Race, and I looked carefully. There was no difference in height, it was the same 172 cm as in reality; it looks like choosing the Demon Race has no impact on height. Four well-proportioned limbs, and a face that was slightly evil; besides the additional pair of black wings on its back, there was almost no difference between this character’s appearance and the way I looked in real life. “May I ask if I can get rid of this pair of wings?”

“Sorry! Wings are a specialty of the Demon Race, it’s the same as how you can not request for a dwarf player to grow above 1.6 metres. But rest assured, these wings can be hidden, so if you do not display them, nobody will be able to see them.”

“That’s fortunate! Then, I want to make the lines on my face a little straighter, I don’t want so many curves. Make the edges of my nose bridge a little more pronounced, right, and make my eyebrows a little sharper as well!” Looking at the character in front of me change gradually, I was quite pleased with my own changes.

“You have reached the limit for modifications, can you please verify if you will use this model?”

I gave it a look over. Although I had tried my best to make it uglier and more manly, no matter how I look at it, the character in front of me still had a girl’s appearance! Sigh! Forget it, let’s just go with this! “I confirm that I’m using this model!”

“Verification success! Character generation complete!”

Chapter end