Earth Online: Eternal Land

After leaving the guild, Ace returned home.

"Liquidated damages... I'm going to have to pay a lot of money." Ace scratched his head. "Starting with a debt of 500 million, it really was a hellish start."

"However, these are minor issues. For someone who has been reincarnated three times, this kind of adversity is nothing."

"Brother, are you back?" As soon as Ace opened the door, he heard his sister, Sofia, calling out as she walked out of her room.

"Yeah, I'm back," Ace replied, looking at Sofia, who was still rubbing her eyes and seemed half-asleep.

"Bro, why are you back so early? Aren't you supposed to be at the guild's company tonight, catching up on the schedule and playing Eternal Land all night?"

Seeing his sister again, Ace's expression softened significantly. "Um... well, it's a long story."

Sofia is his step-sister. Ace's biological father left home before Ace could remember, and his mother remarried afterward. Her new husband had a daughter, Sofia.

Although they are not related by blood, Ace and Sofia grew up together like true siblings. However, three years ago, their parents were involved in a car accident, leaving only Ace and Sofia to rely on each other.

Ace feels a bit emotional when he thinks about the memories from "hundreds of years" ago (if you sum up Ace's age from his first life to now).

"Fia, the new server will open later. Do you want to play with me?"

Fia was Sofia's nickname.

Sofia instantly became excited when she heard her brother's invitation. "Really?!"

From Sofia's perspective, Ace was a professional player who had recently joined the Bloodlust Legion guild. He was usually too busy to play with her, even online, as he spent most of his time training.

Naturally, Sofia was thrilled to finally have some time to play with her brother. Although she had just started college, she was also a gaming addict.

"But will this slow down your game progress, bro?" Fia asked her brother, a hint of worry in her voice as if something had just occurred to her.

The opening of the new server in Eternal Land was a major event. In the early stages, all the top guilds would be rushing and competing fiercely to make progress.

Sofia didn't know that her brother had already quit the Bloodlust Legion guild. She naturally felt concerned about him spending time playing with her.

Seeing Sofia's worry, Ace smiled and reassured her, "No, I have my own plan." After a brief pause, he added, "The server will open soon. Get ready to go online later."

"Oh, and I'll give you a talent activation code. Just copy it when you're ready."

"Talent activation code? Really? Woohoo! Thanks, bro!" Sofia's worries instantly disappeared, and she jumped around excitedly.

After a while, Ace sent the talent activation code directly to Sofia's phone. After receiving it, she immediately imported the code into the game cabin and saved it to the clipboard.

Meanwhile, Ace had already returned to his room and was lying down inside his game cabin.

"I hope this life will go smoothly. I really don't want to go through it all again," Ace muttered to himself before closing his eyes in the game cabin. He then added firmly, "LINK START!"

[Ding! Verifying if you're not a robot...]

"_"

[Ding! Verification complete!]

[System: Welcome back, master! How may I assist you?]

Hearing the game cabin's system, Ace replied calmly, "Open the Eternal Land game."

[Ding! Launching... Eternal Land!]

*BUZZ*

As if his consciousness were being pulled away, Ace felt his soul being transported instantly into a vibrant, colorful world.

[Welcome to Eternal Land!]

[Please select the server you want to enter!]

[Server 1: Game ID: Shadow (Assassin Class)]

[Server 2: Game ID: Shadow (Assassin Class)]

[Server 3: None]

"Select Server 3!"

[Ding! Entering the server!]

[Ding! It is detected that the player has not created a character on this server. Do you want to create a character?]

"Yes!"

[Ding! Please enter your name (Note: existing names will not be valid!)]

"This time, I'll stay true to myself and won't play low-key like I did in Server 1 and 2. Whether in reality or in-game, I'll create my own legend! Let's name it... ACE," he said with determination.

[Ding! No duplication detected; the naming process is complete!]

"Luckily, it's successful! With so many players entering the new server, choosing a name will be insanely competitive, especially among the top guild players," Ace breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his game name was accepted.

[Welcome to Eternal Land, Server 3, Player ACE!]

*BUZZ*

[Ding! Please select your class!]

Suddenly, many bright lights lit up, and various weapons appeared, floating above the ground, each accompanied by a distinct statue standing behind it.

A slightly thick golden book with colorful crystals on top. Behind the book is the statue of [God of Magic • Merlin], with her hands holding the book.

A long sword and a shield. Behind them is the statue of [God of War • Warion], with his sword pointing to the sky while roaring.

A staff with green round beads on top. Behind the staff is the statue of [God of Life • Seiya], with a gentle expression as she holds the staff.

A black dagger. Behind the dagger is the statue of [God of Death • Necros], with his face obscured by black mist.

A golden bow. Behind the bow is the statue of [God of Bow • Silphion], plucking the string of the bow with the arrow pointing at the sky.

A sharp sword, shining with a cold light. Behind the sword is the statue of [God of Swords • Fujin], with the tip of the sword kissing the ground.

An egg. Behind the egg is the statue of [God of Beasts • Beastor], riding on the back of a dragon.

Mage, Warrior, Priest, Assassin, Archer, Swordsman, and Summoner—these are the classes in the Eternal Land.

"It's time to make this choice again." Seeing the weapons floating and the statue behind them, Ace recalled his previous lives.

In his first life, before reincarnation, his class was an assassin. However, at that time, he knew nothing about the gods, was killed by them, and was reincarnated through an item called "Reincarnation Eyes" that he had obtained.

In his second life, the first reincarnation, Ace also chose the assassin class. But he was under too much pressure from the guild and couldn't plan in advance.

In his third life, the second reincarnation, Ace still chose the assassin class, and this time, he used the SS-level talent activation code he had obtained by accident.

The difference in Ace's third life was that he left the guild and chose a solo path, stirring up the entire Eternal Land with his own strength. But in the end, he was still killed by the gods. He also discovered that there were far too many gods.

Now, this life is his fourth life, his third reincarnation...

"Sigh... I can't choose you this time, buddy," Ace said as he looked at the dagger in the distance.

"I've experienced three reincarnations. If I don't have some special means this time, it would be a waste," he said while looking at the other weapons. "Let's activate my talent first."

"System, activate the talent activation code."

In front of Ace, a panel popped up.

[Ding! Please enter the activation code: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _]

[Note: You only have three chances to enter the code. If you fail to activate the code three times, you will lose the activation right!]

In the Eternal Land, after completing certain special tasks or achieving certain achievements on the first two servers, you may receive a talent activation code as a reward, though the probability is low.

In the real world, A-level talent activation codes can be sold for 20 million on the market. When the Eternal Land begins to merge with the real world, the price of an A-level talent activation code could rise to 20 billion. But by then, money would have also depreciated.

As for S-level talent activation codes? There has always been a price, but no market. Before the Eternal Land affects reality, you could still buy one. After the Eternal Land merges with reality, even if you exchange the resources of an entire country, you might not be able to obtain it.

However, Ace's goal is not the S-level activation code. He was SS-level in his third life and was still killed by the gods, let alone an S-level talent. So...

"Enter the activation code..."

[Activation code: JODIAFWGHKJNKDFBOHEWUFAIJPQIOFJWDKNVAJHGPAEJFKLVNBWEIRUH849TYWUAOIHFEBHUASDFFYGQ8UFWOHEFGBVSAHUBKGWRIQHU9OIRHUJEWJF123456KDAHUK67283951GADILOFWDO2Q365785AIGYUWAIEOUT45HIL4FWJK26245DFHA5BWJ4UR3KY289QCHUGJAOUIWRU64536465NTGVQYC6545WFAHEUIDRJOQ6745KUFIHOWRAEOGJIARWEHE89UOIFH13GJDSKGNIELATHJIWEORPKLFDGH]

Ace looked at the 300 words in the activation code panel in front of him and said, "Even the luckiest person has no chance of guessing it right..."

But suddenly, Ace remembered something. "No... with so many players rushing into the new server, and given that there are 3 attempts for the talent activation code, there's still a chance of guessing it."

Ace decisively clicked the confirm button on the panel.

[Ding! Congratulations on activating the talent activation code!]

[You have successfully activated the talent: Eternal Ruler!]

Hearing the system prompt, Ace breathed a sigh of relief. "This is the only talent I want to gamble on in this life."

"This is also one of the two talents I got by chance in my first life, during the first server release. It's a talent I gamble on, hoping it can grow to SSS-level."

In Ace's first life, he was one of the few people who played the game Eternal Land during its first release. He used the three available attempts for the activation code on the first server and, by chance, obtained an A-level talent and an S-level talent.

The talent activation was both loved and hated by players. If you're lucky, you'll get a B, A-level, or even S-level talent—it's like winning the lottery with a 0.001% probability.

However, if you're unlucky, you'll hate it, and even the developers of the game can't escape the players' scolding and curses.

Too bad, the game Eternal Land was mysterious. It suddenly popped up out of nowhere, with no official website or anything. Players even speculated if it was developed by aliens.

But Eternal Land was still generous. If players received nothing from the activation code, the game would give them a random talent box. However, this only made the players angrier, as the highest talent in the random box was only A-level, and with a low probability at that.

They have no choice but to stand still and get hit by a bullet. Who made this game so realistic and fun?

Though some lucky players will receive a talent activation code as a reward in the game, but.... this motherfucking game doesn't allow the players to create a new account.

Their only choice was to sell it in the real world and get rich overnight to relieve their suffering. That's why A-level and S-level talent activation codes were sold at sky-high prices.

Okay, back to the story, and don't add salt to the players' injury.

...

[Talent: Eternal Ruler (A)]

[All effects of this talent are only activated when you are the guild master!]

[Effect 1: Elite

•The fewer the guild members, the stronger the other effects of the talent will be.]

[Effect 2: Challenger

• The guild will have a challenging task function, and completing the challenge will reward you generously. (The fewer the members, the higher the reward for completing the task.)]

[Effect 3: Glory (Create Your Own Legend)

• After dropping your guild name and guild members in certain events, you will receive a richer reward than usual. (The fewer the members, the higher the reward.)]

[Effect 4: All-Rounder

• You can obtain all the abilities of any member of your guild and can copy the weapon they wield.

Duration: 2 minutes

Cooldown Time: 2 minutes

(The fewer the members, the longer the duration and the shorter the cooldown.)]

[Description: An extremely special guild talent, this talent seems to have infinite possibilities.]

"It is this talent I luckily got, besides the S-level talent in the first server. Although it is A-level, players can upgrade their talent in the Awakening Hall as one of the rewards if they achieve good results in the assessment."

(Maybe the developer couldn't stand the players' scolding and added a talent upgrade function in the new server, lol.)

"But... this A-level talent seems a bit OP."

"Though I just abandoned it in the inventory and never read its effects, and chose the S-level talent on the first server..."

"I've never heard of an A-level talent that has four effects."