Chapter 7
[Hunter 081] and four other players, confused and dazed, clicked “Return” immediately after surviving the full seven days.
They didn’t know what had happened. All they knew was that after a huge explosion, the foreman told them not to work in that area anymore and just take on other tasks. When they sneaked over to look, they found the place had been razed flat.
For the rest of the time, they encountered no danger at all, living peacefully until the end.
Back in the settlement space, [Hunter 081] stared in disbelief at the lowest D-rank rating the dungeon gave him.
“System, this isn’t right! I want to complain! In the later stages, the dungeon gave me no chance to perform. I didn’t even…” [Hunter 081] protested. With this grade, he’d barely scrape by in reality, let alone use it to climb in his guild.
But why would the main system of the Evil World care about a minor player’s opinion? The settlement completed, and he was sent back.
When he returned to reality, his gaming instructor and classmates were staring at him eagerly.
“Teacher, the game bugged out.” Before anyone asked, he explained the situation. “We never even found the dungeon boss. It never showed up.”
“What did I teach you? This is classic ‘carry run.’ Someone secretly cleared the dungeon, stayed inside, and prevented the boss from appearing.” The teacher punched him in the head without mercy.
“N-no, impossible. There were only eight of us total, all together. If someone cleared it, it should have been me…” He froze mid-sentence, his expression twisting as he remembered there had been another stray player he had ignored.
“Damn, I was played! That guy was hiding his strength. Teacher, I might have run into a player from another guild!”
Meanwhile, Lu Chuan was in the settlement space, hearing overlapping notifications from both the Evil World’s main system and System 888.
[Congratulations, player, on completing a 100% dungeon clear and earning a hidden achievement.]
[Detected: player has not yet chosen a game nickname. Please confirm within three minutes. If time expires, your real name will be used.]
Huh? There’s such a thing?
[Yes, Host! Hurry and pick one. Most new players choose nicknames immediately to avoid exposing their real names.] System 888 reminded him. [Though in your case, it doesn’t matter. I brought you here, so using your real name won’t expose anything.]
“Still, I don’t want my real name shouted in the next dungeon. I’ll be doing many… unspeakable things in the future. My identity must stay hidden.” Lu Chuan thought for a moment, then typed into the game panel: [Arrival of the God of Wealth].
Nice. Golden, flashy, and auspicious.
System 888 nearly exploded. [H-host, how could you blatantly call yourself the God of Wealth? If that gets exposed, the main system of this world will devour me whole!]
“It’s just a nickname. Besides, the most dangerous place is often the safest. I’ve entered it already, can’t change it now.” Lu Chuan said carelessly. “Come on, let’s see what rewards I got.”
[Congratulations, player [Arrival of the God of Wealth], for receiving a hidden achievement reward: 100,000 points.]
[Congratulations, player, for owning your first territory in-game: 10,000 points.]
[Congratulations, player, for obtaining the item Cursed Puppet (C-rank). In a critical moment, it can block one attack from a monster no stronger than A-rank. Duration: 5 seconds. Single-use.]
[Congratulations, player, for obtaining the item Gifted Bible of the Church (D-rank). While carried, it resists partial mental corruption from soul-type monsters.]
[Overall evaluation: S+]
[You have been ranked in the Evil World’s “Newcomer Potential Top Ten.”]
…
Lu Chuan stared at the string of rewards, his grin almost splitting his face.
System 888, on the other hand, was screaming in excitement.
[Awooo! 110,000 points! I can upgrade several tiers with this!]
[Host, you’re my god!]
[All my past hosts combined never earned even a fraction of what you did!]
[Host, meeting you is the luckiest thing in my life!]
System 888 was practically losing its mind with joy. 110,000 points! That was the kind of score usually seen after an A-rank dungeon. Normally, a newbie dungeon gave maybe 500 points as a baseline reward.
Who would’ve thought this was possible?
“System, are game points really that valuable?” Lu Chuan asked, more concerned about practicality.
[Points can only be spent in the in-game shop on items, or used to upgrade skills. But unlocking a skill costs 50,000 points. They can’t be transferred.]
[But if players join a guild, the guild can establish rules that require members to hand over a certain percentage of their game points.]
System 888 did its best to explain the situation to Lu Chuan.
[The professions in the Evil World can be broadly divided into three main categories, with dozens of subcategories. Generally, players need to clear several dungeons first to save up enough points and to figure out which path they want to strengthen. Game skills can also be used in the real world—that’s why players now stand at the top of society.]
[The three main classes are Clerics, Demons, and Sword-bearers. Clerics include but aren’t limited to priests, Taoists, monks, witches, and so on. Each type strengthens different abilities. Demons, as the name suggests, gain power by choosing certain dark creatures to worship. Finally, Sword-bearers enhance different organs of the body and weapons—the more they fight, the stronger they become.]
Lu Chuan nodded. “So basically, the first two are mages, and the last one is a warrior.”
[You could put it that way.] System 888 replied. [Once you’ve chosen skills, you can also join certain factions inside dungeon worlds. That helps players integrate more easily and explore the dungeons.]
“What about me?” Lu Chuan asked. “Since you bound yourself to me in advance, you should’ve already chosen my skill path, right?”
[Yes, Host.] System 888 answered cautiously. [You’re bound to the God of Wealth System, so other abilities aren’t compatible with you. We’re walking a one-of-a-kind path.]
Lu Chuan chuckled.
System 888 almost blushed—if it had a face. [I also upgrade using game points. Once I level up, I can grant you corresponding skills. When the skills are fully leveled, you’ll become the God of Wealth!]
“So what kind of upgrade can I get right now?” Lu Chuan asked.
[That depends on how many points you give me. Game points and my upgrade points are about 100 to 1.]
“I’ve got 110,000 points. Keep 5,000 for emergencies. You can have the rest.”
[Got it, Host! Just wait—I should be able to give you at least one skill. I’ll upgrade right away!] System 888 was so excited it could’ve jumped for joy.
“Mm, and I’ll take a look at what this new world is like.” Lu Chuan exited the settlement space. Compared to the main system of this Infinite World, he trusted #888 more.
At least #888 seemed stupid and clumsy—but it could help him get rich.
When Lu Chuan opened his eyes again, he was standing on a street.
He looked up and immediately saw a massive poster covering the entire side of a skyscraper across from him.
Huh?
Lu Chuan rubbed his eyes, uncertain, then looked again.
It was still a character poster.
And not just one—ten of them!
The building opposite was a twin-tower structure, soaring into the clouds. In the sky above, all sorts of strange people were flying—
Some with angel wings, some with bat wings.
Some riding brooms, others lying on beds.
On the giant electronic screens covering the skyscrapers, endless cycles of digital posters and introductions of various characters played on repeat.
“Super player [Abyss Crocodile] from the Abyss Guild has completed Hero Certification. Players, join the Abyss Guild now!”
“Congratulations to the Star Guild’s super player [I Don’t Feel Like Raiding Today] for clearing an S-rank dungeon!”
“A new super player has emerged in the Noah Guild. Congrats to [Wandering with Sword] for entering the God-tier Rankings!”
“The Ocean Heart Guild’s leader [Captain Storm] has risen to #3 on the God-tier Rankings!”
“The Resurrection Guild has launched a new recruitment policy—discounts for female players signing up!”
…
Fortunately, before he transmigrated, #888 had already unlocked this world’s language for him. Now he could speak and read fluently, like a native. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have understood any of it.
The flood of ads and text made his head spin.
This world was… hard to describe.
Lu Chuan lowered his head, looking at the ground beneath his feet.
He was standing on a barren mountain. The city within sight was no worse than the one in his previous life—in fact, its architecture looked even more advanced and high-tech.
But surrounding the barren mountain were clusters of shabby huts and wooden houses. The closer to the city, the better the construction, but at best they were just ordinary low-rise houses.
The stark contrast gave the whole scene a surreal, almost magical feeling.
As expected, even with the collapse of social order, the disappearance of nations and laws, class still hadn’t vanished.
And in a world without order, such class divisions would only grow sharper.
Lu Chuan thought for a moment, pulled out a small piece of gold, and decided to head into the big city. He’d buy a place to live first.
Property in a big city should hold its value.
