“Hmph…”

A death knight with his arms crossed, clad in full armor and a sword gleaming coldly behind him, sneered, “A bunch of worthless trash—do you really think you can compete with true undead warriors for a spot on the Storm Platform? Dream on!”

As he spoke, he shot me a cold glance and said, “Kid, the spot on the Storm Platform is mine. If you know what’s good for you, get lost now!”

I frowned and said nothing. These NPCs were way too arrogant, completely disregarding the players. Maybe, in their eyes, I wasn’t even considered a player anymore?

…

Just then, a wailing, ghostly sound rose from above. Black mist quickly spread over the Storm Platform, rapidly condensing into a human face—an old man’s visage, wearing a tall hat and flowing robes, exuding a somewhat immortal aura, though the aura of death all over him made it feel out of place.

“Greetings, Elder!”

A group of undead immediately knelt in reverence.

I was stunned for a moment, then had no choice but to kneel on one knee as well.

“No need for formalities.”

The old man’s face, floating in the air, looked down at us and said, “This Storm Platform duel will determine a single victor. He will represent our Black Castle, becoming a powerhouse of the world of death, and let those heroes from other worlds experience the true terror of power. Now, you may begin your preparations. Soon, those called will step onto the stage to decide the outcome!”

“Yes, Elder!”

The next moment, “swish”—a preparation interface slid open before my eyes, displaying a list of personal attribute adjustment options. At the same time, a chime sounded in my ear—

“Ding!”

System prompt: Young undead, after completing your Storm Platform transformation, all your attributes will increase by 1000%. At the same time, the level system will be activated. Now, please select the skills you wish to carry!

…

A flash of light swept by, and my personal panel finally unlocked the level system! And again, a chime sounded in my ear—

“Ding!”

System prompt: Dear player, your personal growth system has been activated. Since you are an assassin class with Asura bloodline, your personal growth values are as follows: Strength 1.0, Agility 1.3, Stamina 0.9, Spirit 0.9. Good luck!

The moment I saw these four growth stats, my mind went completely blank for a second. No wonder the system sprite said my class and hidden race were a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—these growth rates are absolutely insane!

As far as I know, after the launch of Illusory Moon, the class with the highest four-dimensional growth is the swordsman, and even then, it’s only 1.0, 0.9, 0.8, 0.8. Swordsmen are known for attack and agility, but that’s just 1.0 and 0.9. Compared to my 1.0 and 1.3 growth, they’re totally outclassed!

Growth refers to the attribute point growth value. For example, strength increases attack power. With a 1.0 growth value, 1 point of strength equals 1 point of attack power, while a 0.5 strength growth only gives 0.5 attack power per point. The difference is huge.

Right now, my total four-dimensional growth is as high as 4.1—absolutely overpowered!

Taking a deep breath, I opened the attribute panel—

【July Blaze】 (Undead Assassin)

Level: 1

Attack: 12–19

Defense: 21

HP: 100

Critical: 0

Comprehension: 94

Charisma: 0

Soul Star: 0

Contribution: 3

Combat Power: 23

…

My original attack was 5–10, and defense was 6. The reason my stats are so high now is all thanks to the Ancient Bracelet, which adds 9 points of strength and 15 points of defense. It may not look like much, but after stepping onto the Storm Platform, my stats will be matched to the boss and increased tenfold. That means the Ancient Bracelet will provide 90 attack and 150 defense. On the first day of the game’s launch, that’s insanely powerful!

Looking at my attribute points, now that I have a level, I also have 5 free points to allocate. Without hesitation, I put all 5 points into HP. With my stamina growth, each point of stamina gives 90 HP, so my health bar instantly shot up to 550.

With attack, defense, and such a massive HP pool, let’s see who can stand against me!

A dazzling light appeared before my eyes, and a list of skills appeared—these were all skills available for my assassin class—

【Stealth】 (B-rank): Enter stealth mode while out of combat, movement speed reduced by 50%. Selecting this skill costs 1 contribution point.

【Stunning Strike】 (B-rank): Deal 120% damage to a target head-on and stun them for 1.5 seconds. Selecting this skill costs 1 contribution point.

【Backstab】 (B-rank): Attack a target from behind, dealing up to 250% damage. Selecting this skill costs 1 contribution point.

【Godslayer’s Blade】 (A-rank): Ignores 30% of the target’s defense and deals 165% damage. Selecting this skill costs 15 contribution points.

【Hunter’s Edge】 (S-rank): Launch three attacks on the enemy. The first attack’s damage is based on attack power, the second on agility, and the third on critical. Selecting this skill costs 100 contribution points.