Chapter 332: Pixel World

Naimi Xisi woke up amid a sharp electronic buzzing.

A lingering sense of chaos clung to the back of his head; he opened his eyes and found the world around him warped into bizarre pixel blocks. The cobblestone road looked as if cut by a low‑resolution filter, the clouds in the sky were pieced together from mosaic color squares, and even his breath revealed tiny floating specks of light in the air.

"What… is this? A pixel world?" Naimi Xisi was shocked; he lowered his head to look at his own body, which was also a pixel‑formed little figure.

"Warning: Unknown intruder, loading backup protocol."

A mechanical female voice detonated deep in his cochlea, and a translucent blue interface suddenly popped up on his retina. Naimi Xisi instinctively stepped back half a pace, his boot heel striking a serrated stone step—its edges uneven as if a child had crudely erased them with an eraser.

【Welcome to Grey Hawk World·Data Version b0.73】

【Please select an initial class:】

Grey Hawk World? What does that mean? Where is this? Naimi Xisi's mind swirled with countless questions, and he asked the voice his doubts.

"Unknown intruder, please select an initial class," the voice said, offering no answer, only urging again.

Naimi Xisi squinted, ignored the voice's urging, and steadied his mind to begin observing his surroundings.

This oddly perceived place was clearly man‑made; he recalled that before losing consciousness, he had been drawn in by that computer.

So this is the world inside the computer? Hah, I must admit, the style does match.

Naimi Xisi's mastery of protective spells was already profound; he understood that most powerful sealing spells have corresponding unsealing methods.

It was a measure taken out of necessity.

Even the strongest sealing spells fear violent unsealing techniques such as Magic Duncen Fracture; therefore Mages devised a roundabout method: deliberately granting the seal a weak point.

This weak point is akin to a high‑level dispelling curse, a path by which ordinary people, given favorable time, place, and circumstances, can also break the seal.

By providing this weak point, Mages secured a massive boost from the Magic Net to the seal's strength, rendering such seals with a known bypass virtually impervious to brute‑force spell breaking.

Only by walking the path it provides.

Naimi Xisi guessed that everything before his eyes was probably linked to the unsealing path.

"Given that, let's choose a class first," Naimi Xisi felt the two Infinite Gems still floating in his mind and curled his lips.

As for class, of course I'll stick to my old trade.

Beneath the glowing text floated twelve class icons. As Naimi Xisi's finger passed through the holographic projection of a knight's armor, he suddenly noticed each icon's edge shedding colored pixels, like a corroding electronic mural.

Warrior, Wanderer, Martial Monk, Sorcerer, Priest.

When his fingertips brushed each class and confirmed by touching the Mage badge, the entire interface suddenly flickered violently. A new dialog box popped up amid blinding red light:

【Detected abnormal talent: ■■■■】

【Error code #vecna_666】

【Force loading now.】

Naimi Xisi's temples throbbed, a cold sensation crawling up his spine. The right side of the class panel unfolded two blood‑red Runes, one of which emitted an ominous purple glow:

【Talent 1: Spell Slot Expansion (Activated)】

Effect: Spell Slot ×10 per level

【Talent 2: Strength Amplification (Inactive)】

Effect: Unknown. "Indeed, the power of the Infinite Gem forcibly altered this world's rules," Naimi Xisi had long anticipated; this is why he chose the Mage class—whether for his own vast knowledge of countless high‑level spells or the Mind Gem's ability, Mage was the most fitting profession.

A pixel‑style class panel appeared on his retina, digitizing his entire body as if in an online game; compared to reality, everything here was heavily simplified, lacking six‑dimensional attributes and containing only the most basic data.

Name: Naimi Xisi

Class: Level 1 Mage

EXP required for next level: 0/5

HP: 15/15

Casting Resource: one Spell Circle spell ×1 (mutated by talent)

Known Spells: one Spell Circle spell (Magic Missile, Shield Spell error @#! #@, total 213.)

Talents: Spell Slot Expansion, Strength Amplification.

When Naimi Xisi rose, leaning on the suddenly‑appearing oak staff, he suddenly heard a rhythmic clack from the plaza direction. Three townsfolk were repeating a mechanical dance before the Grey Hawk goddess statue, their brass‑colored eyes rotating at identical angles.

A burning sulfur smell suddenly stung his nostrils. Naimi Xisi's Mage intuition screamed a warning; he instinctively uttered the 【Shield Spell】 incantation. The lingering instinctual memory in his mind saved his life. A purple ray struck a force‑field shield three inches from his nose, scattering pixel sparks that illuminated the cloaked figure in the alley.

"Outsider, you shouldn't be here," a gear‑grinding voice came from beneath the hood; the black‑clad man's head bore a strange bubble displaying his identity—Black Market Merchant Carlos.

He raised the Scroll in his hand: "Lord Vikna sends his regards."

Naimi Xisi quickly scanned the system prompts:

【Siege Hammer generating…】

!

【Current usable spells: 1 Spell Circle】

He decisively rolled toward the barrel on the right; Carlos's Scroll unfurled into a rotating hexagram. The stable thirty feet away was struck by the suddenly‑appearing force‑field hammer, its pixels disintegrating, the wooden fence turning into a cascade of green code, and a brown draft horse shattering into mosaic squares amid its whinny.

【Magic Missile】!

As the incantation rang out, three crimson Arcane missiles burst from Naimi Xisi's fingertips. Yet, empowered by the talent, ten trailing comet‑tail light spheres poured forth. Carlos's black robe was instantly torn into data fragments, revealing a mechanical body of gears and purple crystal beneath.

"Huh? Wasn't the Strength Gem talent unactivated?" Naimi Xisi was startled, then immediately noticed the system indicating his HP had dropped from 15/15 to — 10/15.

"What the heck, using the Strength Gem's ability costs five HP?" Naimi Xisi was irritated; this world's suppression made the spell‑cannon‑practitioner Juan Ce Long rather uneasy.

"Error! Error!" The mechanical creature Carlos's eye sockets flared red, "Unauthorized unit using excess spells—"

Naimi Xisi seized the moment Carlos froze, blasting the final Magic Missile into his chest gear assembly. The black‑market merchant collapsed amid exploding purple sparks into a metal cube the size of a d16 die, its clatter mixing with system prompts:

【Obtained anomalous item: Vikna's Encrypted Die (Legendary)】

【Gained 5 EXP】

【You have leveled up, current level: Level 2 Mage】.

【Spell Slot increased by 1, HP increased by 5】

"You shouldn't have destroyed the monitoring terminal."

A female voice with electronic reverb came from behind. When Naimi Xisi turned, the tip of her staff was already glowing with Dance Light Technique, cold white light illuminating the glowing pattern on the mill girl's neck—those pale blue Runes were spreading along her clavicle toward her heart.

The bubble above her head gave away her identity—Emma.

"Every new Mage triggers the cleanup protocol." Emma's pupils flashed with an unnatural wariness: "Are you also an intruder?"

(End of Chapter)