Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

If the gap couldn't be blocked and the enemy cavalry were allowed to charge through unimpeded, the entire formation would collapse immediately, which in the age of cold weapons almost guaranteed defeat.

Because once the organization of an army was broken, even the most renowned general couldn't regain control over the forces amidst the chaos, and a one-sided rout was inevitable.

Luo Ying's viewpoint then rapidly descended, landing amidst the reserve troops behind the phalanx of spearmen.

Subsequently, the Trial Illusion remained in a frozen state, and three talent skill cards appeared before Luo Ying.

[D-level·Steady as a Rock (Golden): Your stance is stable, making it harder to be unsettled by enemy impacts.]

[D-level·Extraordinary Strength (Golden): The core strength of your upper body is significantly enhanced.]

[D-level·Skillful Butchery (Golden): When using cold weapons, it's easier to target and cleave through the enemy's vulnerable spots.]

A new skill was added to the additional talent skill slot above.

Originally, there were two inherent extra talents: the golden talents "Memory Fragment" and "Inspire Morale." Now, an additional one, "Surviving against the Odds," had joined them.

[D-level·Surviving against the Odds (Golden): When in dire situations, you're more likely to unleash tremendous potential. Concentration sharpens, thought processes speed up, physical strength increases significantly, allowing you to discard pain, doubts, and other negative sensations to some extent.]

The bright golden talents nearly dazzled.

So luxurious!

Although Luo Ying had never played before, he knew about the rarity of golden talents in the game Dark Sand.

Of course, such a large number of golden talents wouldn't normally appear in an actual Trial Illusion.

Supplementary trials, exemplified by "Easy Pickings," were usually of very high difficulty, which is why they all featured golden talents, minimizing the impact of randomness on the players.

The development team seemed to be saying: it doesn't matter, even with three golden talents, you're still going to suffer.

Moreover, there were the inherent extra talents listed below.

Following the updates, the players could carry more innate extra talents, all of which were golden and linked to the skill levels of the players.

This update introduced many new talents, and the four that appeared this time were evidently ones Luo Ying had never seen before.

Particularly this freely given "Surviving against the Odds."

It seemed much like the "Blood Bath" talent commonly used by combat-oriented players, but it was more comprehensive.

When the player was backed into a corner, not only did their physical attributes and combat abilities improve, but also the mental speed and focus of strategic players, among other things.

In other words, it was a classic talent where "you don't play well unless you're on the brink."

Apart from that, another crucial point was that this time, D-level skills and new talents were prematurely released in the instance.

Logically, these should have been launched in the Liang Dynasty instance that would start seven days later.

But their activation now meant that the supplementary identity trial Luo Ying was undertaking was already part of the Liang realm.

Luo Ying gazed at the three talents in front of him and fell into deep thought.

"Hmm… which one should I choose?

"Steady as a Rock increases the stability of the stance, but is stance stability that important? Do I really need a golden talent for it?

"Since it's a high-level golden talent, it must be valuable, but the key is whether it can still hold its value compared to the other talents.

"Extraordinary Strength enhances core strength, and Skillful Butchery can directly increase combat effectiveness.

"In ancient times, the so-called 'strength' referred to the connective tissue outside the human kidney along the spine that appears white or bluish. The ancients believed that the thicker and bluer this membrane, the greater the core strength of a person's abdomen.

"Extraordinary Strength generally refers to a warrior's ability to easily lift heavy weapons, draw strong bows and crossbows, lift heavy stones, etc. Generally, the stronger the back, the stronger the combat effectiveness, in other words, not an effect you could achieve just with hard training.

"And Skillful Butchery means that when using cold weapons, one could strike the enemy's weak spots more precisely, and even against armored enemies, it could be very effective...

"Hmm...

"I saw players debating incessantly on the forums about which skill to choose, always feeling that they are all similar, so why not just pick one? But when it's my turn to choose, it's hard to make a decision."

Luo Ying sank back into contemplation.

As with most players in many Trial Illusions, all these skills had their uses.

But which one was more suitable for him was hard to say.

After much deliberation, Luo Ying made up his mind and lightly tapped on "Skillful Butchery."

He felt that this ability to directly enhance the lethality of cold weapons was more useful.

Especially since in the battle formation, since they were fighting the elite of the enemy, the rate of armored soldiers would definitely be high.

Against armored enemies, being able to accurately strike at weak points and cause effective damage was very important.

After selecting the talent skill, everything around him began to move rapidly.

Luo Ying looked down at his own body.

The first reaction was, I'm so tall!

He even felt a bit dizzy.

In reality, he was just an ordinary man about 1.7 meters tall, and after developing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, his mobility had gradually worsened, and he rarely stood for long periods anymore.