Chapter 4 : A Necessary Sacrifice

After much deliberation, Li Wen decided to start with his eye.

Of course, he didn’t intend to sacrifice both—just one.

Losing one eye would certainly affect his field of vision, but it wouldn’t completely hinder observation.

Besides, in World Tree: Origin, being one-eyed wasn’t necessarily a debuff…

With that thought, Li Wen raised his hand and plunged the dagger into his left eye.

With a single motion, he gouged out the entire eyeball, nerves and blood vessels trailing, and tossed it into the basin.

Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt much.

The default pain sensitivity in World Tree: Origin was set extremely low.

Even something as brutal as gouging out an eye felt like little more than a prick from a needle.

As the eyeball hit the basin, a crimson spring bubbled up, rapidly filling the entire pool.

Li Wen wasn’t sure whether this was a good sign or a bad one—at least not until the game notified him: [You have completed a “Sacrifice” (Permanent)].

Only then did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He muttered a command and opened the Blessing panel. Among the three traits, a blinding light—brighter than fresh blood—pulsated at the center.

What was that?

Before Li Wen could make sense of it, the ground beneath him vanished.

The entire chapel dissolved like foam.

He was startled at first but quickly realized—this was the final sequence.

He plummeted like a meteor, diving straight into the World Tree.

What followed was a lengthy introduction cutscene, mostly focused on establishing the world’s lore.

Li Wen fast-forwarded through it all.

When it ended, he found himself lying in an unfamiliar forest.

He touched his left eye—it was still there.

He could open it normally, but couldn’t see through it.

So, it seemed that restoring vision through magic or other means wouldn’t be a simple fix.

“No idea where I’ve spawned…”

He tried to stand up.

The body he now occupied—female—was much smaller and more delicate than what he was used to.

Not yet adjusted, he nearly stumbled.

“From now on, at least in this game… I’m a girl.”

He—no, she—murmured softly.

Human players always spawned within the borders of human nations.

That meant even though she was in a forest, there should be a town or village nearby.

And in zones where humans were active, high-level monsters were rare.

At worst, there might be a few wild beasts.

Aside from the occasional beast, the only threat Li Wen needed to worry about was other humans.

But that could wait.

Before she truly began the game, there were a few settings to adjust.

First…

“Character panel.”

A pale blue screen unfolded in front of her eyes:

【Mephisto – Terra Human – Overall Level 0】

【HP: 100% – Healthy】

【Class: None】

【Language: Terra Tongue Lv1】

【Traits (4/5): Shadow Walker (Blue) – Nimble Fingers (White) – Professional Pickpocket (White) – Necessary Sacrifice (Red)】

【Status: One-Eyed (Hit rate with thrown weapons -10%)】

【EXP Pool: 0】

【Necessary Sacrifice Lv1 (0%)】

【Trait – Growth (Red) – Special】

【As the Black Sheep once said: To receive the gift, one must sacrifice.

To sacrifice, one must receive the gift!】

【With this trait, when you perform a sacrificial-type ritual, your blood counts as a flesh-type offering equivalent to [Trait Level]; additionally, when offering flesh-type sacrifices, ritual success rate increases by [10% × Trait Level]】

“Necessary Sacrifice”—this was the trait Li Wen had gained from giving up an eye in the Sacrificial Chapel.

Honestly, it was a powerful trait.

Its real strength lay in its potential for growth—it scaled significantly in the later stages of the game.

All in all, the sacrifice had been a solid deal.

The only downside was that the trait offered little immediate benefit to her current situation.

“Still better than nothing.”

Li Wen remained calm.

“Custom UI – Grimoire – Black – Float – Invisible to others.”

The moment the command was issued, the character panel burst into glowing fragments, which reformed into a sleek, black grimoire.

With a flicker of thought, it vanished from the air and materialized in her hand.

“Much better.”

The custom UI wasn’t just about aesthetics—every page was editable.

Players could log quests, access various panels, and manage information however they liked.

Flipping to the settings page, Li Wen found the pain sensitivity slider and dragged it to 100%.

Though the game advertised full realism, it thoughtfully defaulted the pain setting to the minimum.

But pain was a crucial part of survival.

A lower pain threshold dulled one’s awareness of danger.

Li Wen couldn’t afford that.

Besides, habits were dangerous.

In her previous life, many top players had mentally collapsed after being transported into the real version of the game, unable to cope with the overwhelming sensation of pain.

The time ratio between World Tree: Origin and reality was 2:1. Li Wen had logged in at 9 a.m., so in-game it was currently daytime.

That meant she didn’t need to stumble through the forest in the dark.

And since most beasts were nocturnal, daylight offered relative safety.

She didn’t rush to leave.

After jumping around to get a feel for her new body, she picked up a stick that looked usable as a weapon and set off in a random direction.

New players were automatically given a set of clothes matching the world’s aesthetic.

Though not as comfortable as real-world attire, it was enough to blend in.

Whether it was a village or town, settlements were always built near water sources—just like in reality.

If Li Wen could find a river and follow it upstream or downstream, she’d likely come across signs of civilization.

World Tree: Origin prided itself on realism—and it delivered.

This world wasn’t just a simulation.

It was real.

Even with her past-life memories, Li Wen didn’t dare act recklessly. Her goal for now was simple: make it to civilization without dying once.

As for how long that would take?

That was up to fate.

Maybe fate really was listening.

Or maybe that in-game super-AI, Sophia, had already anticipated this moment.

Because Li Wen had barely taken a few steps before she heard something.

It wasn’t the sound of water or footsteps—it was unmistakably the creaking of wheels rolling over firm earth.

Tightening her grip on the wooden stick, she moved toward the sound.

After pushing through a thick patch of underbrush, she emerged to find a muddy trail that barely passed for a road—and a cart pulled by some sort of animal, perhaps a cow or donkey.