October 26, Saturday, Earth ti.
College sophomore Zheng Qingyue didn't imdiately imrse herself in gaming on her day off. Instead, she started her morning by preparing a bowl of instant sour spicy noodles before sitting in front of her computer and browsing the forum.
The daily playti limit for the ga "OtherWorld" was set at 12 hours. In theory, this duration should have been sufficient for most players. However, this ga was unique in that it could be played even while sleeping.
Many players would put on their helts and neck supports before bed, intending to play for just a few hours before logging out. Yet, they often ended up playing through the entire night, losing themselves for eight or nine hours in the process.
In the remaining three to four hours, players would have to strategically ti their logins—perhaps during a lunch break or a short session after dinner. They would then eagerly await midnight for the daily playti counter to reset.
Zheng Qingyue found herself unable to resist the temptation and ended up playing for more than six hours straight. It was only when the ga marked an entire in-ga day that she realized her precious Saturday ga ti was dwindling, prompting her to hastily log out.
There was a significant reason why a disciplined and academically accomplished student like Zheng Qingyue broke her established routine—she had finally succeeded in her job advancent.
She was one of the ga's prominent top-tier big-shot players, yet she had surprisingly taken this long to complete her first job advancent. The ga's uneven class balance was evident right from the start.
Nevertheless, all her efforts had been worthwhile. In Zheng Qingyue's own opinion, the completion of her job advancent and the acquisition of four new skills left her genuinely satisfied.
Upon entering the forum, Zheng Qingyue wasn't surprised to find an experience-sharing (or rather, show-off) post from Blossoming Strokes, who had completed the job advancent alongside her the previous night:
"Hello, everyone! It's , Blossoming Strokes. My new novel, 'The Prequel of the Wolf Emperor,' is now available on XX Literary City. For those who enjoy fantasy adventure novels, please show your support by reading the official version!
"But I digress… Let's get back to business. I'm thrilled to announce that I've successfully advanced jobs and have finally beco an Apprentice Mage! [Image] [Image]
"Though I'm elated, I have to repeat this a thousand tis: The job advancent quest for the mage class is truly insane! Not at all recomnded for newbies! When this ga is officially launched, new players must consider carefully before deciding to play as a mage! It's really too difficult!"
The forum post continued after the long rambling of complaints.
"The four skills of the mage class were shared by Boss Ou Huang a week ago. I'm reposting them here for the convenience of those who missed it—
"Corrosion: Reduces the target's ntal resistance by 5%, causing continuous shadow damage.
"Slowdown: Reduces the target's ntal resistance by 5%, decreases the target's movent speed by 20%.
"Dark Blessing: Inflicts ongoing shadow damage on non-undead creatures while continuously restoring health to undead creatures.
"Shadow Force: Deals significant shadow damage to non-undead creatures while greatly restoring health to undead creatures.
"Compared to the first-tier skills of other classes, mage skills are simply outrageous! Possessing offensive and control abilities, and capable of both dealing damage and healing!
"Last night, after obtaining these skills, I sparred with my friends. The wanderer class's Basic Wind Manipulation skill can counteract the effects of the Slowdown to a large extent, and it was rather even between and Give dicine. Perhaps if Give dicine had a bow, my chances of victory would be lower. However, everyone should know how clumsy I am, and I can't compare my abilities to the likes of Boss Ou Huang.
"Against warriors and knights that don't have Basic Wind Manipulation, there's no contest at all. Mages have the upper hand!
"While a warrior's charge allows them to close in effectively, as long as I withstand the initial onslaught, warriors are virtually powerless against a mage.
"As for knights, it's a no-brainer. The attack skill of a first-job squire is currently limited to a basic slash. By applying Dark Blessing to myself, I can negate the knight's damage.
"And these were still internal fights between undead! Shadow Force cannot be used as it would only heal the opponent. If new races are introduced in the future, I suspect that anyone, regardless of race, would find it challenging to surpass the undead mage in one-on-one combat."
Beneath Blossoming Strokes' triumphant post were a bunch of comnts that were a mix of despair from non-player forum users, seeking to know when the open beta would arrive, as well as players feeling deeply torn over whether they had chosen the right class to play…
"Why doesn't this ga have a pre-registration option? I want to reserve an account!"
"The skill system seems terribly unbalanced. Shouldn't leather armor classes be strong against cloth armor classes? How can it be even?"
"Damn, I've advanced to a wanderer for close to ten days already, and they tell that mages are the coolest? Can I delete my character and start anew?"
"True to its na, the mage is truly divine! Mages, 666!"
"It's over. Warriors are still just warriors. No chance of turning the tables. Luckily, I've wised up and changed to beco a wanderer. A balanced fight is better than a lost one."
"I'm already in the process of transitioning into a mage! I'll definitely complete my job advancent before next week!"
"A mage went for a stroll outside after having a al. Suddenly, a knight erged from the bushes, sword in hand, and charged the mage. After a while, the mage asked, 'What do you want?' The knight smiled apologetically and said, 'Just helping you scratch your back.'"
"Hahaha, a backscratch, really?!"
"Gosh, I've advanced to beco a knight, while my girlfriend is currently trying for her mage job advancent. Is it too late for to break up with her?"
"Snap out of it, you don't have a girlfriend!"
Zheng Qingyue finished her breakfast while reading the comical remarks of the players. After that, she did a quick ntal calculation of her daily playti… then resisted the urge to log in and started doing her schoolwork.
Course notes, post-tutorial assignnts, unit tests, chapter exercises, a two-thousand-word essay, various diagrams…
Close to eleven in the morning, Zheng Qingyue's phone rang.
"Qingyue, log in quick! There's an event!" On the other end of the phone, her childhood friend, Tang Jia, sounded frantic.
"An event?" Zheng Qingyue instinctively went to her web browser and refreshed the official website. "There's no announcent on the official site?"
"The announcent is in-ga, saying that there will be regular weekend events from now on. Oh, co on, stop dawdling and get online. Everyone's waiting for you!" Tang Jia pleaded urgently.
Zheng Qingyue checked on her assignnt progress… Then, considering there was still a day and a half left of the weekend, she said, "Alright, alright, I'm logging in right now."
In just a few minutes, academic achiever Zheng Qingyue, who had been itching all morning, logged in with the ID Unceasing Entropy.
While it was almost noon in real-world ti, it was currently late night in OtherWorld. Upon opening her eyes, Unceasing Entropy found herself in the dark, desolate streets of Exile Town, without even a streetlight in sight. Since players had night vision capabilities, the darkness or light of the surroundings didn't affect them much.
Her online companions were already waiting for her near the spawn point. Upon spotting Unceasing Entropy, Tang Jia hurried over. "You've finally co in! Quick, check the in-ga announcent!"
"…Hmm?" Unceasing Entropy paid no attention to Tang Jia and instead looked around in puzzlent.
It was still the sa spawn point of Exile Town and the familiar empty streets, but for so reason, Unceasing Entropy felt a little suffocated, as though she was confined inside a small box.
At this mont, a window popped up in her in-ga panel, displaying a ssage in black fonts: "An ominous atmosphere shrouds Exile Town."
"Um… Why does this feel like playing an imrsive single-player horror ga?" Unceasing Entropy casually closed the panel and began reading the announcent.
———
With the arrival of civilians, vitality has once more blossod in Taranthan after long years of desolation.
The undead have proven their respect and concern toward life as they warmly welco the new residents. They recognize the need to grow stronger to protect their holand and the people who rely on Taranthan.
Yet, at this mont, an ominous shadow begins to stir. As life flourishes on this land, it seems that a dreadful entity is also gradually awakening on this ancient soil…
Weekend Exclusive Dynamic Plotline: [Resurgence of Fear] is now launched.
Drawn by the allure of human flesh and blood, a terrifying presence descends with the darkness, invading the undead's holand.
Successfully repelling the corruption will earn contribution points, which can be converted proportionally into Taranthan prestige.
———
After reading the announcent, Unceasing Entropy's first reaction was, "They've introduced a new way to earn territory prestige. Looks like the developer team is finally sensible for once. They must have realized that their requirent of exchanging high-grade materials for territory prestige was unreasonable."
"No, the developers are as damned as ever." Tang Jia deadpanned.
"That's right. We all thought the sa at first, only to be schooled by the damned developer team," Jia Luo chid in wryly. "Qingyue, make a guess as to why we are all waiting so orderly for you to log in?"
"…You guys got wiped?" was Unceasing Entropy's reply.
Tang Jia, Yang Ying, Jia Luo, and the unaffiliated players who were new additions to their small team all nodded.
Unceasing Entropy: "…"
Well, most gas have rewarding events, but this ga? Maybe not so much…
Party leader Tang Jia added Unceasing Entropy to the team. As they moved together, Tang Jia started to explain the situation, "I didn't play the ga while I slept at night, saving up my playti for dayti. When I logged in this morning, there was nothing going on in the ga during the dayti. But then, when it turned to dusk, around 10 o'clock real-world ti, the NPCs suddenly 'left work' early. Except for the two in the rchant Association canteen and the zombie NPCs, all the other NPCs have disappeared.
"We found it strange at first, then we received the notification, 'An ominous atmosphere shrouds Exile Town,' followed by the announcent. But at that ti, we didn't think too much about it and just ford a team to go hunt for materials…"
"You're too long-winded, let take over," Jia Luo interrupted Tang Jia and addressed Unceasing Entropy. "When there's an event, it's a must to participate. So, we didn't go monster farming and instead looked for clues in town. And that's when Sis Ying discovered a commotion coming from a wooden house near the Warrior Guild site."
"Right, right. I found it," Yang Ying took over. "We often pass by that wooden house. I rember it's an NPC-free house. So, I walked closer and peeked inside through the window. There was a bed, a table, and a civilian NPC sitting on the bed.
"At that ti, I didn't think much of it. I assud that this wooden house was also assigned to one of the civilian NPCs we brought back with us. So, I was about to leave…"
At this point, Yang Ying paused, and her tone beca sowhat strange. "As I walked a couple of steps away, it suddenly dawned on … All the NPCs we escorted here were middle-aged or elderly. There was only one young person, and I rember she was assigned to the tailor shop. But the young woman sitting on the bed was soone I had never seen before."
Unceasing Entropy: "??"
Even she was taken aback. "What the hell! Doesn't this sound like the rhythm of a horror ga?"
"The scarier part happened next," Yang Ying said with exasperation. "I realized sothing was off, so I turned back to look. And then, that woman was leaning on the window, staring at , and her face was less than half a ter away!"
Unceasing Entropy: "…"
Yang Ying seed to have a high resistance toward horror. While Unceasing Entropy felt a bit unnerved just by listening, she remained relatively calm and continued her narration.
"'You can see ?' That's what she said. We can't interact with civilian NPCs, and we totally can't understand what they say, right? Plus, this NPC's hair was floating, and her eyes were like black sockets—no pupils, no irises, just like our eyes. I knew for sure she wasn't an NPC; she was a monster. So, I swung my sword at her…
"In the end, my sword just went through the monster's body and didn't even cut her. The monster reached out to grab … and I died in one hit." Yang Ying couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, this event's monster can't be hit. The announcent didn't even make it clear!"
"Exactly!" Jia Luo chid in. "I saw Sis Ying get instakilled, so I turned to run, but the monster actually teleported. It suddenly passed through my body and appeared in front of , saying, 'You see too.' It grabbed , and that was it."
"Sa here," Tang Jia said with annoyance. "I was really far away, the farthest, and yet I couldn't escape!"
Others chid in with complaints, "Just seeing it leads to instant death? Was the one who planned such a monster so kind of idiot?"
"I think the developers are really incompetent!"
"Damn ridiculous event!"
Unceasing Entropy: "…"
Could at least one of you co and experience the scare with ? Just listening is seriously giving goosebumps…
Zheng Qingyue suddenly longed for the ti when she discovered the spider's nest with Brother Lahong and Study Obsessed. At least those two were normal, with reactions sowhat similar to hers…
Reviews
All reviews (0)