It’s worth noting that the game’s initial promotion did mention earning money through gameplay—but the real spotlight was always on the “Second World” concept and the organic hype from players after launch.
Naturally, quite a few players were drawn by the money-making angle. Yet most early-access players weren’t short on cash. Even those who came for profit were first awestruck by the game’s cutting-edge tech. For all these reasons, only a rare few instantly grasped the exchange rate issue.
Of course, the design had its logic.
Xia Xinyan didn’t know the exact reason, but linking it to future events, she could guess part of it. The game’s core purpose was boosting player strength. Earning money? Less a goal, more a marketing hook. To avoid falling behind, players shouldn’t cash out game points—and spending real money to buy points for growth was perfectly reasonable. Moderate cashing out was fine, but emptying your balance would trap you later in a vicious cycle of failing dungeons.
Why set RMB-to-points at 1:1? Likely to stop players from becoming paper tigers: strong on paper, utterly pathetic in real combat due to zero experience. Imagine handing an ordinary person Superman’s powers—they’d still get crushed by the real deal. Heck, they might not even know how to use their own strength.
As the saying goes, biting off more than you can chew only leads to trouble.
So the system practically screamed: this path isn’t endorsed. A little spending? Fine. Overdoing it? Pointless.
Sure, in her past life, some ultra-rich players bankrupted themselves later trying to cheat fate—but from what she recalled, their endings were grim. Many players never even realized the issue before the Great Cataclysm hit.
Thanks to her reincarnation, Xia Xinyan now saw online chatter with fresh eyes. Last life, she’d been lost in hype for *Realm of Divine Descent* at this stage. Not this time.
This time, she’d guide Ling Mo to become one of the first pathfinders.
So she’d keep an eye on this small player group. A well-timed minor investment? With smart management, it’d pay off handsomely later.
Hmm… Speaking of management, one person came to mind.
After tidying the living room, she slipped into the game pod and launched.
Consciousness plunged—eyes opened. She stood in her private space.
A message glowed in her friend list: Murong Yue. One reason she’d logged on.
*"Murong Yue: Why log off so fast? Uh… I gave you guys seriously solid cover at the end. How ‘bout waiving the game points debt?"*
Sent after yesterday’s dungeon run. Murong Yue was still online—status: [In War Zone Dungeon].
Xia Xinyan suspected she’d been grinding all day.
She replied:
*"Half off."*
No rush—dungeon players couldn’t receive messages anyway. She sat by the wooden table and opened the Tianji System menu.
Yesterday’s game points were already sunk into physical stats. But system points and the lottery chance remained. Now inside-game, she could examine them properly.
The Tianji Shop mostly offered supernatural abilities for points—but also held high-tier gear unavailable elsewhere. Solid early-game boosts, genuinely helpful before personal strength matured.
…Though prices weren’t trivial. A single piece cost hundreds, even thousands of points. Rarer than game points? Absolutely. She couldn’t bring herself to spend.
After browsing, she set the shop aside and focused on the lottery chance.
Dungeon clears had ratings: B to SSS. Higher ratings meant more game points and personal score—key for leaderboard rank. Clearing usually guaranteed A-rank or above; S-rank wasn’t rare if you didn’t slack off. So Tianji’s rating reward felt like a newbie bonus.
Xia Xinyan had never seen this last life. Curiosity piqued.
*Another ability?*
Hmm… Dual abilities were already unprecedented. Triple? Unlikely.
Too many abilities weren’t always better—like overeating delicious food and getting sick.
She used the chance.
A virtual wheel, visible only to her, appeared. No labels—just colored sections. It spun on its own, stopped seconds later on gold.
Then… nothing.
“…So what does this mean?” she muttered.
*[Congratulations, Host. SSR.]*
“…”
*A bit cheesy.*
*[Doesn’t this give you that gacha-pull thrill? My masterpiece.]*
She ignored it.
The result flashed in her mind:
*[War God’s Mark (Bound)]*
*[Unleashes user’s full power for thirty minutes.]*
*[Remaining uses: 3/3]*
Xia Xinyan fell silent.
No wonder it’s the system.
Truly overpowered.
Items like this? Impossible to buy in-game. Maybe dungeon drops—but with insane difficulty. She’d seen similar in Tianji Shop before… prices made her wince.
Felt like scoring thousands of points for free.
But [Bound] meant only she could use it. Intangible BUFF-type items ranked among the rarest in-game.
If she could transfer it to Ling Mo? Game-winning move. Too bad—non-transferable.
Still, using it herself was enough. First dual-ability player? Even if she underperformed slightly, she’d still be strong. Couldn’t match Ling Mo? Fine. Still a powerhouse.
Hmm… Time to test her abilities.
