53. Avatar of Gluttony and Specialized Class (Please Subscribe for the First Chapter)

Soul dust is the most abundant basic material obtained on the fifth floor, and it is also a lower-tier material compared to soul fragments.

During the collection process, everyone inevitably thought of Mint, who was probably grumbling and muttering in the guild that they were all idiots.

Wondering if she would instantly pull off a dramatic expression flip upon seeing them return with so many dark-element materials.

With tacit understanding, everyone ignored the rainbow pillar of light in the center of the arena that provided illumination until they had licked clean every last material, and only then did they gather around.

The good stuff must be saved to be enjoyed last.

Orange Tea was quite conscious of this now, proactively stepping forward to touch the two orbs of light.

[Avatar Fragment: 20]
[Avatar Revelation (Random): 1]

"Holy shit, Orange Tea!" Jailer Brother cried out.

This time it wasn't just a routine cheer to pump up the atmosphere, but a cry born from the bottom of his heart.

Pulling a whole set of rewards from a drop was simply too perverted.

Knowing full well what this group of players would do to her, Orange Tea simply spread her arms wide.

This was Cover's first time participating in the unique loot-settling phase of the Realm of Reality and Illusion, but despite being socially awkward, she didn't act coy at all, receiving a warm hug from Orange Tea.

"Don't bother distributing, take them all."

Original Fries snatched away Jiang Heyi's usual role of distributing loot, making the decision in a near-commanding tone.

Knowing that Original Fries was afraid he might have contributed the most yet still modestly divided the rewards among others, Jiang Heyi smiled, his lips curving upward as he hesitated no longer and accepted all the rewards.

Before things were over, Jailer Brother had already squeezed in impatiently: "Avatar Revelation, use it quickly, use it quickly, I'm dying of suspense!"

[Avatar Revelation]: Upon use, randomly obtain information to activate an avatar.

Aside from relying on luck, the known methods of acquiring Avatar Fragments included the rewards from the upcoming official guild battles.

Although participation gave everyone a chance to obtain them, a detailed look at the tournament rewards made it clear that the core mechanic was still luck.

By participating in guild battles to earn lottery draws, players needed to fish avatar fragments out of the game's prize pool using a gacha format.

Only top-ranking guilds would have a higher probability of acquiring them.

Having fragments alone wasn't enough; players had to activate the avatar information to understand the prerequisite conditions for unlocking the avatar before they could finally awaken their avatar abilities.

The gaming community generally believed that the first player to awaken an avatar would appear some time after the guild battles concluded.

Yet now, another opportunity to race ahead had been placed right before them.

Although Jiang Heyi's luck when playing other games was decent and he often scored top draws, with an even more powerful European Emperor standing before him, he still couldn't resist grabbing Orange Tea's hand to borrow some luck before opening the prize—perhaps it was useless, but if you were in his shoes, you would have to try it too, because...

What if it actually worked?

"Unlocking Avatar Revelation."

Jiang Heyi stared intently at the system notification bar.

"[Avatar: Glutton], activated."

Within a slightly parted, giant mouth, a red fish tail that had not yet been swallowed was vaguely visible, and shattered scales clung to its lips. The icon of the [Glutton] avatar was exceptionally wild.

"Feasting, the primitive and ancient desire of life."

"In the depths of the stars, within a certain ancient world, the legend of the Glutton is passed down."

"An absurd legend full of misunderstandings, because of the multitude of believers, it became reality."

"His traces can no longer be found, but if you gaze up at the starry sky, offer tributes, and pray with piety, perhaps you can hear his greedy echoes lingering among the stars."

Swallowing hard, Jiang Heyi scrolled the projected light screen.

There were three prerequisites for unlocking [Glutton].

First: Possess 100 avatar fragments.
Second: Complete the offering.

The offering list was as follows:
129 rabbits (breed unrestricted)
712 deer (breed unrestricted)
301 largemouth bass.

Third: When darkness retreats and light has yet to arrive, consume 9 different dishes made from the offered materials.

The completion difficulty was far simpler than Jiang Heyi had imagined. The only real challenge seemed to be figuring out how to collect such a massive quantity of items in the early stages.

"Does it not specify the exact effects of the Glutton avatar?" Original Fries asked.

"No, there's only a riddle-like description. I guess we'll only see them after completing the awakening."

With a cumbersome process and extreme difficulty in acquisition, if it wasn't a gameplay loop full of gaming fun and interest, it had better boast some magnificent numerical stats.

Jiang Heyi currently only had 30 avatar fragments, still a long way from 100. However, this didn't stop the Realm of Reality and Illusion crew from making a decision: as long as more fragments could be acquired in subsequent raids, they would be prioritized and allocated to him.

Zhong Zemo said: "You're the main carry, take more resources, and once you're fed, carry us through."

Orange Tea also regretted it, feeling she shouldn't have accepted Jiang Heyi's initial distribution and taken 25 fragments; otherwise, he would only be half a set away by now.

Cover even declared that she could take none at all and would gladly act as cannon fodder for Jiang Heyi, as long as she had the right to be carried to victory.

Being a tagalong accessory to a high-tier veteran was a truly joyful thing!

The fifth-floor guardian, [Wraith Aggregate], did not have its own exclusive drop. Its prominent characteristic was that it granted an immense amount of experience.

After the combat settlement, everyone noticed that their experience bars, which had previously been crawling at a snail's pace, began to skyrocket.

Original Fries leaped two levels in a row, reaching level 12.

Relying on the experience from the Wraith Aggregate and the minor specter mobs, Jiang Heyi likewise reached level 12.

Zhong Zemo jumped 3 levels at once, soaring straight from level 7 to level 10.

Jailer Brother rose from level 8 to a little past level 11.

Orange Tea apparently benefited quite a bit from the bonuses of [Endless Trial], unexpectedly jumping from level 9 to level 12, and her experience value even surpassed Original Fries, making her the top player in the guild.

Every time experience was gained, Endless Trial would trigger a judgment, and that horde of specters just now had truly stuffed Orange Tea to the brim.

Of course, among everyone, the most excited and happiest ones were Four Prototypes and Cover.

Although Four Prototypes, who had been acting solo previously, was diligent in hacking down monsters, the experience he gained only managed to barely bump him to level 5.

Participating in a group activity for the very first time ended up being a massive battle defeating a floor guardian. He gorged on experience in one go, pushing his level straight up to 9, just a hair's breadth away from the threshold of level 10.

Cover was the same. Having joined the guild just today, she was merely a level-4 minor warrior. Vaulting straight to level 8 left her feeling overwhelmingly ecstatic.

Chasing down the Dream Sovereign with the mindset of "if I can't play the game well, none of you will have a good time either," she had driven herself to complete bankruptcy over the past few days.

She had completely abandoned her gaming experience, seeking only to vent her spleen over her initial good deed going unrewarded and being sickened by the experience.

Who could have guessed that she would stumble in a wondrous way into the world bubble of the Realm of Reality and Illusion, get invited into the guild by the high-tier veterans, and incidentally receive a massive experience pack along the way.

As the saying goes, coincidences make a story, and sometimes fate always feels ineffably marvelous.

Since four more people were now eligible for class advancement and specialization, the task of searching the fifth-floor ruins and scavenging the remaining loot was handed over to Four Prototypes and Cover.

Jiang Heyi asked out of curiosity: "Why aren't you going with them?"

Original Fries replied matter-of-factly: "To see how you guys make your choices, and then point fingers and critique."

"..."

Reaching level 10 meant one had officially entered the world of the Star's Testimony.

The existence of class advancement and specialization meant there were a vast number of branches beneath the three major paths of Warrior, Mage, and Believer.

[Memory Fragments], items that players could use to learn skills and acquire experience in crafting and tailoring lifestyle professions, also required reaching level 10 and completing a class advancement and specialization before they could be used.

"I'm done."

A golden glow rippled across Zhong Zemo's body, and a vibrant vital energy surfaced on the surface of his skin.

[Immaculate Wall]
A specialization profession within the warrior path that leaned toward support.

The class-exclusive skill, [Immaculate Sanctuary], was the reason Zhong Zemo chose it.

It could temporarily increase all player attributes, reinforcing shield defense and blessing effects.

While under the state of Immaculate Sanctuary, once the shield shattered, the player could choose to consume all stamina, enter a weakened state, and trigger a secondary skill to summon a temporary, attribute-free [Immaculate Shield].

The Immaculate Shield would change its attributes based on the damage it received.

Considering that the Realm of Reality and Illusion consistently raided high-difficulty dungeons above their level and had not yet acquired any [Memory Fragments] to learn those unlit specialized profession skills, having readily available, excellent support skills became Zhong Zemo's optimal choice.

He pushed functionality and support capabilities to the absolute limit. Although his personal gaming experience might suffer quite a bit, making sure everyone could happily clear dungeons mattered more than anything else.

After weighing his options, Jailer Brother decided to choose [Necromancer].

Class-exclusive skill: [Death Retinue]
Consume a massive amount of mana to summon one of three retinues—bone skeletons, specters, or rotting corpses—to fight for the player.

He, too, had taken the current situation of the Realm of Reality and Illusion into consideration.

Sister Alna's tragic death.
The Pure One who had been turned into a necromantic creation.
The necrotic attributes of the first-floor guardian, the Frog-Headed Stitch Monster, and the fifth-floor guardian, the Wraith Aggregate.

The power wielded by the Eternal Night Church was undoubtedly closely related to darkness and necromancy.

Learning skills related to darkness and necromancy would allow him to snatch a portion of enemy resources during combat and gain home-field advantages.

The frequent drops of darkness and necromancy materials after raids also hinted that this place might eventually produce sets of equipment related to necromancy.

Jiang Heyi didn't hesitate too much. His choice had already been made the moment he saw Original Fries select [Berserker].

[Magic Warrior]
This was a very special specialized profession that could be chosen by both warriors and mages.

The class-exclusive skill, [Magic-Warrior Dual Cultivation], was a passive skill.

It granted warriors the ability to perceive the flow of mana, giving them heightened mana perception.

At the same time, it granted warriors the power to study and use magic.

Able to change combat styles at a moment's notice to adapt to the situation, it could be said to hold the highest flexibility among all specialized professions in the Star's Testimony.

And the higher the flexibility, the higher the learning curve and crafting cost would be.

For a player like Jiang Heyi who loved the "I want them all" approach, this was truly a great profession to cure his indecision.

A long time had passed since the three of them finished making their choices, and Four Prototypes and Cover, who had been exploring the fifth-floor ruins, had already returned smiling and fully loaded, sharing the materials hidden in inconspicuous corners.

Right now, only one person had yet to complete her choice.

Orange Tea's gaze shifted up and down, left and right from time to time, her small hands darting back and forth across the projected light screen, beads of sweat covering her forehead.

"Wuwu... I want to play all of them... They all look so interesting."

Orange Tea hugged her head in anguish: "What should I choose?"
"Help me!"

A patient with even more severe indecision than Jiang Heyi had appeared.

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