Chapter One: Dragon Realm

Looking into the distance, there was a vast expanse of snowy plains. A sudden rain had just passed, and the raindrops that fell to the ground instantly froze into solid ice. In this harsh weather, William Harper had been lurking in the snowfield for seven days, constantly changing his hiding spots, surviving on moss growing on the ground and the occasional snow fox that ran by.

He felt cold and hungry, and was starting to lose heart. It seemed he wouldn't be able to find it.

William Harper was playing a virtual online game called Dragon Realm. In Dragon Realm, all sensations felt real, giving people the feeling of truly being there. He had already leveled up to the rank of God King, and what he was searching for was a powerful boss in the game—an evil dragon of God King level called the Ancestral Dragon. Legend had it that the Ancestral Dragon was one of the most ancient dragon species in the Dragon Realm, possessing many mysterious abilities.

The Ancestral Dragon was an existence that countless players could never reach.

Enduring what others could not, doing what others dared not—this was William Harper's idea of fun. William Harper was a somewhat cold and obsessive person, blessed with extraordinary talent: a PhD in mathematics, biology, and quantum mechanics; national champion in hovercar rally racing; national fighting champion; member of the National Artists Association... William Harper had lost count of how many titles he held.

In the words of his mentor, this kid was a dragon—either soaring through the skies or stirring up storms. In real life, William Harper truly soared, making many contributions in biology and quantum mechanics, such as digitizing bioelectric current simulations and participating in the development of Dragon Realm. In the game, William Harper stirred up trouble, making life difficult for several major guilds, who hated William Harper with a passion.

For someone like William Harper, who always sought excitement, life was about finding joy in constant challenges. If there was no challenge, he would seek one out; if he found a challenge, he would conquer it. Seeking, discovering, pursuing, conquering—these were the elements of William Harper's life.

He was like a wolf hunting on the grasslands, exuding a wolfish nature, forever chasing his prey.

In the blizzard, William Harper thought of that eccentric who had developed Dragon Realm with him. That person always wore a black silk robe, only revealing hands covered in atavistic fish scales. Just thinking about it made him feel disgusted.

But William Harper had to admit, that weirdo was very talented, even surpassing William Harper—which was one of the reasons William Harper disliked him. During the development of Dragon Realm, aside from a few technologies like virtual bioelectric currents that were researched by William Harper and other scientists, nearly 70% of the technology was completed single-handedly by that weirdo. If William Harper was a genius, then that person was simply a monster.

William Harper remembered the first time he played Dragon Realm, that weirdo had said to him in a sinister tone, "Welcome to Dragon Realm. Enjoy your journey." That sharp, raspy voice still sent chills down his spine.

After Dragon Realm was developed, that weirdo disappeared—rumor had it he was taken into state protection. Indeed, people like that should be kept in a cage like a treasured panda.

After completing the development of Dragon Realm, William Harper entered the game as an ordinary player, starting from the lowest level and eventually reaching God King rank. William Harper had to admit, Dragon Realm was the greatest masterpiece of virtual technology.

When he advanced to God King, that weirdo had an old colleague deliver a note. On it was a strange sentence: "If you reach God King, go find the Ancestral Dragon. The answer will reveal itself."

What did that weirdo mean? With this mystery in mind, William Harper set out onto the polar snowfields, searching for traces of the Ancestral Dragon. But after seven whole days, William Harper still hadn't found any sign of the Ancestral Dragon. On this snowfield, aside from a few mosses and snow foxes, no other creatures lived. Beneath his feet was a layer of ice that hadn't melted in a thousand years, and above was an eternally dark sky.

William Harper dug up some moss and chewed on it. A salty, bitter taste seeped down his throat. This was something most people could hardly swallow, but to him, it was a treat—any food at all was a blessing on this snowfield.

"If only I had some vinegar or sauce," William Harper couldn't help thinking. Just as he was chewing the moss, the cold wind suddenly intensified, sweeping up countless snow and ice, forming a swirling hurricane that rolled off into the distance before finally calming down.

Something was happening! William Harper quickly stuffed the moss into his backpack. A huge shadow shrieked as it flew across the sky, blocking out the sun. A powerful gust swept up the nearby snow, plunging the surroundings into darkness.

William Harper's heart skipped a beat. Could this be the Ancestral Dragon he had searched for these seven days? Looking up, he saw a creature resembling a giant python, its body covered in golden scales, with eagle claws and deer antlers—surely a dragon from the Dragon Realm.

After searching high and low, he had finally found it.

William Harper checked the Ancestral Dragon's stats and found, to his surprise, that it had the rare "no attribute." Attacks of lightning, fire, wood, ice, and earth attributes would only deal half damage to it; only chaos attribute was effective.

Chaos and no attribute were opposites, suppressing each other—when one was strong, the other was weak.