012. My World
This was a miscalculation.
Originally, Li Aozi thought these subjects shouldn't be too difficult, as they should be basic-level knowledge. With the experience he had, he figured he could easily master them to the bachelor's level.
A bachelor's level of proficiency means that one has already mastered the knowledge, officially moving past the beginner, intermediate, and advanced stages, and can now participate in practical application.
Generally speaking, for any exam, a bachelor's level is usually sufficient. At least, Li Aozi thought passing the magic aptitude test should be a sure thing.
Reaching the master's level means gaining attribute bonuses, but that doesn't matter much for now.
But it turns out there were three [Advanced] and one [Professional] book, which made his experience insufficient.
""Basic Principles of Magic Construction", "Rune Formulas", and the elective subjects all fall under the knowledge category of 'General Magic' and benefit from the Tanas people's talent, with a learning speed bonus."
Li Aozi pondered this for a moment and flipped through the textbooks, eventually realizing that "A Brief History of Magic" required rote memorization.
—Turns out it's purely a humanities subject, so no big deal.
Li Aozi happily poured all his experience into the other four subjects. The amount of experience he had accumulated was enough to push all four of them to an advanced level of proficiency.
Due to the professional-level subject "Rune Formulas", Li Aozi's experience was nearly exhausted. At least until next month when the players paid their rent, he would have to rely on the meager experience provided by his main body in its abstinent state.
"I just hope I don't run into any fights in the next month."
Li Aozi silently prayed. He didn't have a main profession yet, and if he ran into a difficult opponent, it would be a disaster.
As for "A Brief History of Magic", he decided to memorize it himself.
With this plan, Li Aozi estimated that he should be able to get into a decent academy. At the very least, he was confident he would go to university rather than a magic workshop.
The magic aptitude test required booking an exam location. Li Aozi used an information crystal to select the nearest city, then began immersing himself in his studies.
Although he was sure to pass the undergraduate threshold, Li Aozi still set a strict study plan for himself and began seriously delving into the study of magic.
A long time ago, Li Aozi realized that the knowledge he was learning in this life was different from the purely "entries" from his previous life. It had real, traceable logic and systems.
The path of [Starfall Master] was very similar to that of [Mage], with much shared and common knowledge. Although it wasn't as compatible as [Architect], many players still chose to take up the secondary profession of [Mage], mainly because it allowed them to learn a wealth of knowledge early on.
In the past, Li Aozi had learned a lot of knowledge and mastered a lot of Omega Energy, but he never really understood what those things actually were.
He learned them, completed the progress bar as required by the system, learned new skills, and unlocked new abilities.
And that was it.
Players couldn't create skills themselves, they couldn't customize the trajectory of skill changes, nor could they innovate or develop using the knowledge they had learned.
They didn't know what the Lorcheni coefficient specifically was, how to derive the black hole radiation for Starfall Magic, or how boson anomaly rays specifically operated, but they naturally used the knowledge behind them.
They only "knew that it worked" without understanding the "why" behind it. Players simply waited for the progress bar to finish and then used a certification to release skills.
But the more Li Aozi delved into it, the more he felt that this world was incredibly real.
That might sound strange, considering he had been in the game world for six months… but what he meant was, the magic theory he was mastering, the physics and biochemistry, all the knowledge completely aligned with the laws of this world.
—And they also matched the laws of the real world from his previous life.
"When you think about it, the cognitive filter in the game system for players might not just be there to protect them from mental harm."
Li Aozi mused as he read his textbooks.
Perhaps thanks to his significantly increased [Intelligence], his thoughts became incredibly expansive and active, summarizing details he hadn't previously noticed.
Would a company like Qiqiao Network, which specializes in games and information technology, really overlook the importance of internal voice communication?
Was it that they didn't care, or was it simply too difficult to implement?
Why can players only enjoy the "three-death rule" per day for their characters? And why are their characters always recruited from the local NPCs?
The cognitive filter not only filtered out scenes that would cause pain, blood, or inappropriate content for players, but also filtered out knowledge.
Yes…
Based on the knowledge Li Aozi now had, if players truly mastered the information they were learning, they would be fully capable of casting magic outside of the game.
Qiqiao Network didn't seem to have any professional game designers, but there were always rumors that their game testers were substituted with death row inmates, with many reports of sudden deaths from overwork…
Did they really "die from overwork," or had they learned things they shouldn't have and had to be "suddenly silenced"?
For a game, there were both electronic immigrants and players. Government troops from various countries were sent to oversee game production.
"Damn… this is getting more and more absurd."
Li Aozi didn't dare think further, but his high [Intelligence] had already allowed him to deduce a self-consistent logic.
—"Star Abyss" wasn't just a game world; it was a real world.
"If there wasn't a cognitive filter for players, it could mass-produce extraordinaries in the real world, because the rules of reality and the game are connected!"
Qiqiao Network was just a front.
Li Aozi realized that with only 84 points in [Intelligence], he had managed to deduce all this. It was likely that the cognitive filter didn't just block knowledge; it also filtered out the players' [Intelligence] attributes.
He had always thought [Intelligence] was useless, but now it seemed the game completely blocked how high [Intelligence] could affect a player's experience.
The game itself was just a front.
"Star Abyss is a real world… at least in terms of its physical laws, they're the same as the real world."
Realizing this, Li Aozi felt a bit lost for a moment.
If this wasn't just a game world, where did the players come from?
The players travel through time and space, directly entering another world, borrowing the bodies of local people to entertain themselves, play, consume, and fight. They resemble the local inhabitants but are not quite the same, equipped with a disguise mode, yet unable to fully integrate. They can only progress bit by bit with the game and are restricted by version updates.
This sounded vaguely familiar.
Li Aozi felt a hint of recognition, but at this point, he wasn't sure what it was.
"In any case, I truly crossed over, coming to this era, this universe."
Li Aozi didn't dwell on questions like "Why me?" or "Who am I?" or "How do I get back?"
Thinking about why he crossed over was meaningless and would only cause more trouble. As for "Who am I?"—he was Li Aozi, carrying the consciousness and memories of Liz, Li Aozi, and Leo, perfectly integrated into the current universe.
Going back?
Li Aozi had never considered going back.
Here, this was his stage.