System Alert: Congratulations on defeating the World Boss! Would you like to publicly display your in-game ID? Yes/No?
Soulshadow Tianyou couldn’t believe it. A humanoid Boss—one that even an entire guild couldn’t guarantee killing, let alone the New Year Boss—had been poisoned to death by him using just three Poisonous Mushrooms.
“HAHAHA! Serves you right! You all fought so hard to claim it, yet this useless me got the kill! How do you like *that*?!” Tianyou yelled at the sky, his voice raw with triumph.
An inexplicable, electrifying rush flooded his chest.
“No! Let you never know who killed you! May you all have a *thoroughly* confusing New Year’s Day!” he muttered maliciously, his finger pressing “No” before he even realized it.
Announcement: The New Year World Boss [Corrupted Monkey King of Turbid Qi] has been slain by guildless player XXXX. Reward distribution commencing.
The system voice echoed across the entire game world.
The virtual realm trembled. Madness erupted everywhere.
But Soulshadow Tianyou knew nothing of it. Slumped against a tree, he looked utterly drained. His vision blurred. His mind went blank. His body felt hollow—all symptoms of holographic dizziness syndrome.
Yet he pushed on. He tumbled from the tree, crawled on the ground, dragging himself toward the loot.
The Corrupted Monkey King’s corpse dissolved into white light, fading into shimmering particles. Only three golden orbs remained.
Soulshadow Tianyou crawled to them, stuffing each into his inventory. Two items went in without a glance.
System Alert: [Gender-Swapping Magic Ring] requires account binding. Confirm?
Before Tianyou could even read the name, he’d already hit “Confirm,” shoving the last item into his bag.
He instantly pulled up the menu and clicked “Log Out.”
System Alert: Are you sure you want to exit the game?
“Yes!”
---
I jolted awake, ripping the game helmet off my head. Staring at the ceiling, I gasped for air, sweat drenching my entire body.
*Huff… huff…*
I took slow, deep breaths, sitting up on the bed and covering half my face with a trembling hand.
*I killed the New Year Boss… and got its legendary drop. Life’s full of surprises.*
I wanted to laugh, but dizziness washed over me. I collapsed back onto the bed—elated yet hollow.
What good were legendary items to me? I couldn’t even play properly… But不甘心. I refused to give up. *At least let me see what I got.*
“Past five already…”
Unable to sleep, I waited two hours for the weakness and nausea to fade. Then I put the helmet back on and logged in.
---
Soulshadow Tianyou opened his eyes. White particles still glowed around his body. He was still sprawled beside that same tree.
He slowly sat up, leaning against the trunk—but dizziness slammed into him instantly.
“The dizziness got *worse*… damn it…” He bit back a curse, forcing the nausea down.
It felt like stepping off a rollercoaster only to be shoved back on immediately. His stomach churned, bile rising in his throat.
“HAH!” He leaned against the tree, scrolling through the world chat log, a dry laugh escaping him.
World Chat:
ClassroomCrazy: What even happened this year?!
FakeBeauty: The New Year Boss was killed by some guildless nobody?!
DemonAlpaca: IMPOSSIBLE!
ShallowWound: A solo guildless kill?! Unthinkable!
PlayToDie: Who’s this hidden god?!
NumbAssassin: Name one top-ranked player without a guild. Go on.
RevolverAndBlood: Must be a game bug! We didn’t even *see* the Boss!
WateryTears: Can I swear? Don’t ban me.
…
The chat exploded—thousands of new messages flooding in by the second. The world had gone mad. Yet the culprit, Soulshadow Tianyou, watched it all with eerie calm, already opening his inventory.
His menu revealed three items resting quietly in his bag: a piece of equipment, a pet egg, and a special class-change manual.
The first was a ring…
[Gender-Swapping Magic Ring]
Quality: Ancient Legendary (Unique)
Strength +0
Constitution +0
Agility +0
Intelligence +0
Willpower +0
Effect 1: Removes all negative buffs and effects (70% success rate in duels).
Effect 2: Grows with the wearer. Gains +10 Intelligence and +10 Willpower per level.
Side Effect: Changes wearer’s gender.
Description: A mystical ring forged when an ancient witch slew an Outer God from beyond the cosmos. It holds boundless magic, eons of history, and power alien to this world.
