Chapter 3: Boon and Sacrifice
In the mirror was a maiden in the prime of youth, her hair black and soft, falling over her shoulders. Her features were exquisite and delicate, with a hint of frailty in her brows.
Li Wen wasn’t surprised by her appearance, though it was true the maiden in the mirror was astonishingly beautiful. More importantly, he recognized the face, though he had no memory of where he’d seen it.
[Please edit and confirm your name!]
“…Mephistopheles.”
After some thought, Li Wen chose to use his name from his past life, a reference to the devil’s name from *Faust*. In *World Tree: Origin*, nicknames could be repeated and held little significance.
[Name available. Please edit and confirm your game appearance!]
While it was called editing, it only allowed for minor adjustments to the original appearance.
As Li Wen thought, the maiden in the mirror changed accordingly. After tinkering for a while, he finally achieved a satisfactory result, mainly by changing the waist-length hair to shoulder-length, reducing the sense of frailty, and making some minor detail adjustments.
As long as acquaintances couldn’t recognize him immediately, Li Wen reasoned.
[Please select your race.]
The mirror split into six, each showing Li Wen as a different race.
They were Terra Human, High Mountain Race, White Elf, Half-elf, Dwarf, and Citizen of Sin City.
“Terra Human.”
Li Wen made the decision without hesitation.
Among the six races, humans were the most balanced, possessing no significant advantages but also no major drawbacks.
For example, the High Mountain Race had exceptional physique but a natural negative trait of [Clumsiness], rendering them unable to use nimble or high-dexterity weapons; Dwarves were short and ugly but possessed strong creativity; Elves had long lifespans, but their lineage and inclinations were less complete than humans…
Considering societal factors, humans were the most suitable choice, and the strategy guide had reached the same conclusion.
After selecting his race, the six mirrors disappeared, replaced by a long, void staircase extending upwards into the unknown.
Li Wen ascended the stairs. After an unknown duration, perhaps a moment, perhaps days or months, the end of the staircase revealed a magnificent church.
“Welcome to the Church of Sacrifice…”
Almost as Li Wen stepped into the church, a gentle female voice sounded in his ear.
He didn’t try to find the source of the voice, instead looking up at the church.
Twelve statues stood within the church, each depicting a person or humanoid figure of varied appearance. In the center of the statues was a raised platform, upon which lay a book that appeared very ancient.
“The Whisper Elf has already told me your name, Mephistopheles. Go and receive your boon.”
The voice continued.
Without needing the reminder, Li Wen placed his hand on the book.
[Nameless Book of Gifts]
[Consumable – Book – Magic (Blue)]
[An unwritten Book of Gifts, said to be a relic of the ancient Norradon Empire, its manufacturing process long lost. Write your true name upon it to receive a great boon!]
[Upon use, gain [1] Extraordinary Boon, [2] Common Boon.]
[Do you wish to write your true name?]
“Yes.”
As he spoke, the book transformed into a blue light spot and two white light spots, entering Li Wen’s body one by one.
[Item used. Silently recite “Boon” to open the Boon panel and use Boon points.]
Before the prompt appeared, Li Wen had already silently recited the word.
A azure light screen appeared before him, displaying two white and one blue orbs arranged in an inverted triangle.
Boon points were a very rare resource in *World Tree: Origin*, usable to unlock traits and special skills.
Li Wen already had a clear plan for what to unlock.
“Unlock the Extraordinary Trait [Reverse in Shadow], the Common Traits [Nimble Hands] and [Professional Pickpocket].”
The three boon points exploded sequentially, transforming into the traits Li Wen desired, floating as orbs in the Boon panel.
[Reverse in Shadow]
[Trait – Extraordinary (Blue) – Dark]
[Shadow assassins of the Dark Lineage know how to move silently in shadows. It is said that the most skilled among them can even enter the realm of shadow through this.]
[When your entire body is shrouded in shadow, your presence is reduced by 50%: Dark Lineage classes gain an additional 10% reduction.]
[Nimble Hands]
[Trait – Common (White) – General]
[Your hands are nimble enough to perform most complex and delicate manual activities.]
[Professional Pickpocket]
[Trait – Common (White) – General]
[You are a professional pickpocket, able to easily steal wallets from people’s pockets.]
With these three traits, Li Wen was one step closer to his goal.
After confirming his traits and preparing to leave, Li Wen suddenly recalled a secret, a story circulated among members of the strategy team. It wasn’t even a concrete strategy or technique.
It was said that a strategy team member was disabled in reality before transmigrating. When creating their character, they chose to inherit their real-life characteristics, and naturally inherited their disability. The result was that the individual received extra boon points because of this.
Thus, some speculated that the game might possess a hidden defect compensation mechanism.
This was based on the belief that Terra Humans generally believed that those with natural defects often possessed special talents in certain areas.
Li Wen, however, wondered if people with disabilities in reality could choose to return to normal in the game, or choose not to and receive boon points. If so, could people with normal bodies sacrifice certain normal bodily functions to gain more boon points? This also made him recall the church’s name: “Sacrifice”…
“I want to sacrifice!”
Lost in thought, Li Wen immediately attempted it.
However, the game offered no interaction. Just as Li Wen was wondering if his guess was wrong, the female voice spoke for the third time:
“Are you… certain?”
Li Wen was startled.
“I am certain.”
Then there was no further response. Instead, the raised platform that had held the Book of Gifts slowly disappeared, replaced by an empty basin. In the center of the basin floated a dagger, as pure and white as ivory.
Li Wen didn’t hesitate and stepped forward to pick up the dagger.
[Please select the offering for sacrifice.]
For his first attempt, Li Wen dared not act rashly, simply cutting a lock of his hair with the dagger and dropping it into the basin.
However, as the hair fell into the basin, there was no reaction.
It seemed the cost of sacrifice was too minor to cause any change, Li Wen mused.
He then began to consider what he should sacrifice from his body.
Firstly, hands and feet, which affected his actions, were out of the question. Secondly, his eyes were also a no-go; observation was too crucial in combat. This ruled out ears and nose for the same reason.
This left only taste, but how could that be done? Taste buds were mainly on the tongue. Did he have to cut off his entire tongue? But if his tongue was removed, he wouldn’t be able to speak. This game had no built-in communication system, and without speech, he could only communicate with others through sign language, and would also lose the ability for spellcasting through language, so that wouldn’t work either.
Rib bones could be taken, one or two, without affecting his body, but their weight was too low, unlikely to yield many traits. He heard some people sold their kidneys to buy phones, but he wasn’t sure if that was reliable…
