Chapter 1: A New Skill

“Do you want me to go find her? That’s out of the question. I have no interest in undertaking such a side quest. If I want a follower, I can recruit one myself using Black Magic Crystals.” Hearing Raymond’s words, Li Mingxing shook his head.

“That’s not the same. Aisha can appear in the Inner World on her own and leave at will. This indicates she possesses formidable power. If used wisely, she could be a great asset to you. But I have a word of advice: never intend to turn your followers into heroes, or one day they will betray you,” Raymond said.

“Is it really that serious?” Li Mingxing asked, suddenly tense.

“Absolutely. If you only have one or two followers, you might not notice anything. But as their numbers grow and their strength increases, their ambitions will become clear. If by then they’ve become heroes, they’ll find ways to take your place. The only way to prevent that ambition is to ensure they always remain your followers,” Raymond spoke gravely.

Li Mingxing was about to say more, but Raymond interrupted, “Enough about that. You’ve completed a low-level quest, and now you can choose from three low-level skills. Pay attention, these are ones I’ve selected for you, suited to your constitution and usable both in the real world and the Inner World. Take your time and choose wisely.”

Li Mingxing glanced at the three skills Raymond had picked out, but instead of examining them closely, he asked, “How do these differ from the skills I got at the start, like that Lustful Dragon Constitution?”

“These three are active skills. You can choose to use them or not, and when you do, you only need to expend activation experience. The usage time is limited,” Raymond explained.

“Experience? Why is it experience and not something like magic points?”

“In truth, it isn’t really experience. We call it that so you’ll understand. It’s all a form of power, including Soul Coins. This power comes from the soul. Externally, Soul Coins are solid and can be used for trade; internally, it can be used to enhance your strength, or as magic points to activate skills and spells.”

“So experience can be used both to enhance skills and to use them? Isn’t there a conflict?”

“No conflict at all. Skills that consume experience can still be upgraded after certain uses, increasing their potency. It’s no different from skills enhanced directly with experience.”

“And how do these differ from intermediate skills earned by completing quests?”

“There’s definitely a difference,” Raymond explained. “Intermediate skills are the next stage after low-level ones. Their power and features are entirely distinct.”

With Raymond’s explanation, Li Mingxing reviewed the three skills presented to him. As Raymond had said, they had been chosen specifically for Li Mingxing’s constitution.

Level 0 Psychic Blade: Dark-type slaying skill. Condenses new psychic force into a blade, which can detonate inside a target’s body, causing death. Each use consumes 20 experience, with an attack range of 100 meters.

Level 0 Scroll of Schemes: Dark-type plotting skill. Activating the skill produces a scroll, allowing you to simulate schemes based on the current situation. The more detailed the intelligence, the more comprehensive the simulation at higher levels. Each use consumes 30 experience, lasting 30 minutes.

Level 0 Insidious Eye: Dark-type plotting skill. Upon activation, allows you to perceive the psychological activities of others; the darker their thoughts, the more detailed the insight. At higher levels, you see even more. Each use consumes 25 experience, lasting 30 minutes.

All three were suited to the stealth and ambush characteristics of the dark type, making them excellent choices for Li Mingxing. Especially the latter two: the Scroll of Schemes was perfect for calculating others’ habits, while the Insidious Eye allowed him to discern how others might plot against him.

These two skills complemented each other, and Li Mingxing’s main task now was to choose between them.

After some thought, Li Mingxing opted for the Insidious Eye. He trusted himself in matters of scheming, and he feared relying too much on the Scroll of Schemes might make him helpless when faced with future problems.

Raymond said nothing about Li Mingxing’s choice, merely pointed, and Li Mingxing saw that after his initial three skills, a new one had appeared.

The skill’s icon was a black eye, but unlike the previous skills, it remained a constant grey. Li Mingxing puzzled over how to use it, when Raymond shouted from the side, “Don’t you understand yet? Using the skill’s experience is all in your will.”

A flash of insight struck Li Mingxing. He focused, and 25 experience points flowed into the skill icon. Instantly, his vision dimmed.

He turned to Raymond, but saw nothing above his head except the purple words “Raymond.”

Raymond chuckled, “Your skill has only just begun. To affect someone of my level, you need to upgrade it to at least level 4.”

Li Mingxing thought for a moment, then marshaled his experience. After his previous Inner World quest, he had over five thousand experience points. He kept two thousand for using the Insidious Eye, and the rest he intended to use to upgrade skill levels.

Yet for some reason, he didn’t rush to pour all his experience into the Insidious Eye. Instead, he transferred a thousand points into his Imperial Aura.

As the thousand experience points infused, Li Mingxing felt something ignite within him—a hot stream coursed over his body, spreading outward.

He could sense the extent of the aura’s spread, which eventually reached thirty meters from his body before stopping.

After reaching its peak, the aura lingered at thirty meters, then quickly contracted just as it had expanded.

Suddenly, Li Mingxing felt uneasy. He sensed that if he allowed the aura to withdraw fully into him, he would gain nothing.

Gritting his teeth, he kept thinking about not letting the aura retract. The aura responded, pausing at twenty-five meters, then gently pushing outward again to thirty meters.

After maintaining the aura at thirty meters for five minutes, Li Mingxing realized his Imperial Aura had successfully upgraded. A small “1” appeared beneath its icon.

Level 1 (Basic Level) Imperial Aura: Universal-type kingly skill. Naturally exuded aura inspires submission, causing others to obey arrangements involuntarily. Effective range: thirty meters. Affects those below third rank.

Seeing this information, Li Mingxing suddenly asked, “Are all skill upgrades like this?”

“Of course not. The meaning of skill levels is quite specific,” Raymond explained. “Level 0 is entry-level, meaning you possess the skill. Level 1 is basic, requiring not just experience for upgrading but also your control over the skill. If just now you hadn’t controlled your Imperial Aura, the thousand experience you spent would’ve been wasted.

Above level 2, each skill has its own requirements. Besides fulfilling upgrading conditions, you must complete an upgrade quest.”

Li Mingxing looked at the new requirement for his Imperial Aura: perfect control over its coverage range was needed to advance from level 1 to level 2. He nodded lightly, “So how do I level up?”

Raymond glanced at Li Mingxing and finally smiled. “There are only a few hero levels, most tied to the Inner World. Other things don’t affect a hero’s level.”

Li Mingxing slapped his forehead, thinking that he was still trapped in the mindset of various games, unable to break free. Once he returned, he must change his attitude.

Raymond continued, “I heard that in your recent Inner World battle, you took down two followers of the Alliance of Light and nearly killed a trainee hero?”

“Yes, just barely missed. In the end, that guy escaped with an inter-Inner World teleportation channel. Otherwise, I’d have finished him off. By the way, they dropped two white diamonds.”

“Your luck was just a bit off. If you had managed to defeat that trainee hero, you would have gained great benefits. But it can’t be helped this time. Next time, you must try harder. Oh, and you can take the two White Radiant Stones to the bartender—she can help you exchange them for Black Magic Crystals,” Raymond sighed, genuinely seeming to regret that Li Mingxing had missed such an opportunity.