What? Is this a scam vehicle?

Jiang He Yi swung his blade, and a blazing, brilliant stream of dark red light erupted from the short knife’s edge. The strike landed upon the rushing river; scalding "water mist" surged toward him, dazzling splashes obscured his vision, and radiant colors enveloped him.

The blade trembled violently, numbing his grip. Staring into the glare, his eyes burned and watered. Twisted buzzing mingled with sharp screeches, forming a sound that stabbed into his eardrums, making his hair stand on end. The stench of proteins burning under high heat began to seep into the air.

He had no shield. As a warrior, in the fleeting second of sudden contact, Jiang He Yi did everything a fighter could. Now, his senses had been sealed by an enemy he could not see.

The fragile defense granted by the full force release of his Warrior’s Heart was nothing more than a placebo. The crude protection from the cheap elemental shield potion he took beforehand was already groaning its last.

His instincts told him: in three or four seconds, he would have to break his defensive stance. Not too soon, not too late. Too early, as the primary target, moving recklessly would endanger his teammates. Too late...

“It’s fine, I still have teammates.”

He had done all he could; now, it was time to trust his team—

A fireball exploded against his back.

Jiang He Yi staggered, feeling the “enthusiasm” of his companion as he stood like a wall before his teammates. Rolling aside, he shot a quick glance at the mage who held his staff aloft, suppressing the urge to curse outright.

The battlefield was chaotic; everyone was new, and accidental friendly fire was inevitable—he could understand that.

Having dodged direct magic, he finally saw the monster he faced—a girl wiping away tears.

Her long, vine-like dark green hair draped over her shoulders. Her tattered, filthy dress was adorned with leaf-vein patterns. The girl, barely reaching Jiang He Yi’s chest, extended one hand straight ahead, clutching a black obsidian lantern that flickered erratically, wispy light particles drifting from it.

“A humanoid monster?”

Thanks to his “helpful teammate,” Jiang He Yi’s already fragile shield shattered completely. No longer the monster’s primary target, he turned to the most crucial support in their trio—the Follower.

“Where’s the elemental blessing?”

Light blossomed in the Follower’s hands.

“Slow reaction, but at least she’s—”

His internal monologue was cut short as the radiant element flickered around the nearby mage.

“He has an elemental shield, potion, full status—you should be healing me!”

The lantern burst into blue flame, streams of light surged forward, and the mage, intent on continuing his spell, was instantly engulfed.

Was he really so reluctant to interrupt his casting?

Elemental shield, potion, Follower’s blessing—none of it could save him from his foolish actions.

“Give me a shield,” Jiang He Yi waited for healing.

The Follower cast again, blessing light blossoming around her own body.

“Bless me! Can’t you hear me?”

As the eerie lantern girl floated toward him, Jiang He Yi shouted this time.

Ripples appeared atop the Follower’s head, and the words “Watermelon Shaomai” slowly surfaced.

Voice chat connected.

Watermelon Shaomai replied angrily, “What’s with your tone? Can’t you speak properly?”

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Having been hit by the mage’s misguided fireball, Jiang He Yi felt that, as fellow novices, they ought to be understanding. Not receiving the elemental blessing after his shield was emptied, he chalked it up to accidental mishaps.

But when Watermelon Shaomai, with their indeterminate, androgynous voice, demanded “attitude,” Jiang He Yi’s blood pressure spiked. Then, calmly, he stepped aside, letting the lantern girl pass.

In a flash, the lantern’s blue fire engulfed Watermelon Shaomai, the acrid smell of burning flesh filling the air. Jiang He Yi didn’t need to look to know her fate.

“Cyber Potato, do you even know how to play?” Watermelon Shaomai’s voice sharpened at her sudden demise.

“Why did you give up your position?” The mage, “Breakfast with Two Braised Eggs,” joined with his deep, resonant voice.

Their duet echoed in Jiang He Yi’s ears.

Really, even here, there were fountain commanders—dead but still barking orders at the living.

He had no time to deal with this negative duo, nor to mute them.

He triggered his quick-cast magic shield scroll.

The girl’s lantern shone directly upon Jiang He Yi. In less than a breath, the scroll failed, shield gone.

He switched to his backup weapon, aiming for the lantern-bearing wrist.

A cold glint flashed, the lantern dropped; the terrifying magical beam shot forward, igniting a towering ancient tree. Deep blue flames illuminated the dark forest.

Dawn was breaking, the sky brightening.

The weeping girl shrieked, blood streaming from her hollow eye sockets, her hands clawed at the air before her, sending chills through Jiang He Yi, who was only a step away.

It was as if giant hands gripped his throat. The girl made no sound, collapsed gently to the ground, and began to dissolve into motes of light.

Just as he expected, the monster’s true body was the lantern.

“High offense, low defense? Whew...” He exhaled in relief, quickly checking, “Where’s the experience... Isn’t it dead?”

The lantern shattered, fireflies scattered, and blue motes gathered into the phantom of a nun.

The nun’s robe was immaculate. She hung her head, shyly hiding her face from Jiang He Yi.

He swallowed. The reason for no experience was clear—the girl was merely a vessel borrowed by the nun, who now radiated dark energy and twisted the space around her.

Dawn broke; darkness retreated.

Ignoring everything else, the nun condensed into a single firefly, vanishing with the ebbing darkness, too swift for the eye to follow.

“A wraith-type?” Jiang He Yi was drenched in sweat.

Defeating the vessel was a stroke of luck; this was his first encounter with such monsters. It seemed the transition from night to day had spared them from facing the nun’s second phase.

“Beep, beep.”

“The radiance of the stars is fading. The path of guidance is about to begin.”

“Please note...”

Jiang He Yi quickly silenced the built-in reminder, focusing intently on where the lantern girl had vanished.

The monster’s materials were wrapped in translucent bubbles, floating in midair. One bubble glittered with rainbow light.

The two fountain commanders, quieted by his heroic feat, shouted excitedly about “loot,” but Jiang He Yi’s joy faded with their voices.

The distribution mode was wrong.

They had agreed to set it to contribution-based allocation, where the loot would be divided according to each person’s contribution, as calculated by the “Certificate of the Stars” algorithm.

But now, the loot was pooled, requiring negotiation for distribution.

This mode was better for close-knit groups to share as needed, with morality as its only restraint.

In other words, if someone lacked morals, they could take everything—as long as they could eliminate those who disagreed.

The rainbow drop’s allure was obvious. The Follower, “Watermelon Shaomai,” and the mage, “Breakfast with Two Braised Eggs,” used the starter “Blessing of the Stars” for instant, consequence-free resurrection.

“Wait, I set the wrong distribution mode. We need to discuss how to split the loot.”

“How do you plan to divide it?”

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“In any case... let’s gather it all first, then discuss how to split.”

Jiang He Yi snorted, walking toward the loot.

Magic surged, elements stirred.

As “Breakfast with Two Braised Eggs” began casting, Jiang He Yi abandoned the rainbow orb, appearing before him in a flash.

The short blade pierced the mage’s heart, twisted forcefully, and his flesh rapidly disintegrated, leaving only a pale spirit behind.

He really loved channeling—so much that he wouldn’t cancel even when stabbed.

He must have played a black mage in that famous game before joining this one.

His other short blade shot like a meteor into “Watermelon Shaomai’s” forehead. Without a shield spell cast beforehand, it was an instant kill.

Who goes on a dungeon run without a helmet?

Jiang He Yi nearly monopolized the loot, leaving only scraps. The team voice chat filled with profanities.

After indulging in their impotent rage for a few seconds, he smiled and activated the “Echoes of the Stars” skill to leave.

If he still couldn’t see that the mage and follower were a duo, and that the “wrong mode” was just a ruse to scam him, he’d have wasted all those years gaming.

It almost felt like, “Add me as leader, he’ll tell you more.”

He blamed himself, too, for not double-checking the settings after configuring distribution—lesson learned.

“Just two days into the game and there are already such gems...”

Reflecting, Jiang He Yi appeared in a space bathed in soft white light. Looking up, the mist-shrouded sky was dotted with giant, translucent bubbles.

This was the starting zone for every player in the epoch-making game “Certificate of the Stars”—boundless, empty...

Well, not entirely empty.

A blob resembling a slime hovered midair, semi-transparent, glowing with ethereal blue light.

It was the only “living thing” here.

Before interacting with it, Jiang He Yi opened his backpack panel. He eagerly activated the iridescent bubble.

Avatar Shards: 10

Seeing the “choose your own” note, Jiang He Yi’s eyes sparkled.

“Certificate of the Stars” featured three major paths: Warrior, Mage, Follower.

Beyond the sprawling class tree lay hidden professions—not unique to the whole server; as long as you gathered enough shards, you could awaken them.

As for how to obtain shards, the only known method so far was “Leopard Leap.”

Why “so far”? Because this groundbreaking game, which only began after entering dreams, lacked any real tutorial.

Only two days since launch and four days of play in total, everyone was still exploring, unfamiliar with their new bodies in-game, and the mechanics remained shrouded in mystery.

Jiang He Yi had already seen people hawking game info on major platforms during the day.

To be fair, his luck in games had always been excellent, especially with gacha draws.

Others ten-pull for pity; he gets the jackpot in one.

Others see blue skies and white clouds; he gets two golds, three golds.

“What breed of dog barks so fiercely?”

“I, Whale, am here to share your joy today.”

Such comments were practically tailored for him.

“Could my gacha luck have carried over to ‘Certificate of the Stars’?” Jiang He Yi wondered.

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