---Third POV---
Viktor imdiately smiled.
"Well then, let's sign the contract."
He was curious to see just how far the players' potential could be pushed.
With two contracts in hand, he walked away.
ProGar_Daddy, burdened with 3,000 coins of debt and a four-figure balance on his ga panel, sat down on the ground holding his head.
"Ah—this is too hard. Looks like I'll have to live inside the ga for the next three days."
"What's there to be afraid of? We're practically living in the ga already," NeverShowOff said, patting his shoulder in consolation. "We'll help out."
After all, the completion of the armory was sothing that would benefit everyone. There was no way they'd let ProGar_Daddy shoulder the burden alone.
Hedgehog, on the other hand, stared pensively at the retreating figure of the undead.
"What does he need so many giant serpents for?"
"Who knows? The ga's probably gearing up for another big event," ProGar_Daddy said casually.
In any case, his focus would be on researching gunpowder.
Scratching his head, he then muttered, "The funds are there, but figuring out how to trick others into risking their lives is the problem."
The Great Oak Forest beyond the safe zone was just too dangerous. Without the kind of group exploration they did that morning, even offering high payouts wouldn't attract many players willing to help. After all, the penalty for death far outweighed the magical coin rewards.
Hedgehog offered a suggestion, "Why don't I log off tonight and help you rally so people on the forums?"
"Plus, there's a new batch of players coming online tomorrow. The recent groups are probably still curious about maps outside the safe zone."
Exploring areas beyond the safe zone was perilous, and today's expedition had only included veteran players from the first three batches. This would be a good chance for the newbies to witness the world's dangers firsthand!
The more Hedgehog thought about it, the more feasible the plan seed. Imitating NeverShowOff, he tried to rest his hand on ProGar_Daddy's shoulder.
"Don't worry, I… Hey, hey, hey! So heavy!"
Sothing must have gone wrong with his movents, causing his pain sensitivity threshold to drop. The mont his senses recovered, the first thing he felt was the weight pressing down on his back.
In a panic, he dumped the contents of his backpack.
A heap of black rocks tumbled to the ground with a clatter.
"Oh yeah... I've been carrying a bunch of stones I picked up outside."
Hedgehog rubbed his sore arm, grimacing.
No wonder sothing had felt off. So this was the problem.
NeverShowOff picked up a palm-sized, oval-shaped stone and inspected it.
"What's this stuff?"
"Looks like… rocks I grabbed from the edge of the serpent lava pool?" Hedgehog guessed uncertainly.
At the ti, the stones had seed out of place in the jungle environnt, so he figured they might be valuable. He ended up hauling a whole bunch back. He'd carried so much that it even limited the space for silken loot from the Spiders.
"Lava pool?" ProGar_Daddy's spirit was instantly reinvigorated. He braced himself on one hand and got up, grabbing one of the black stones to sniff at it. Then, holding it up to the sunlight, his expression shifted from doubt to delight.
"This is obsidian! And it's of remarkably pure quality!"
"Obsidian?" Hedgehog looked at the variously sized black stones scattered on the ground. "You an that jewelry people are hyping online?"
Mimicking ProGar_Daddy, NeverShowOff picked up a piece to examine. Under normal light, the stone appeared purely black, but under sunlight, subtle hints of brown, gray, or green beca visible.
"It's quite pretty," NeverShowOff remarked. "I think it's also called 'Apache tears'?"
"But what would we do with a pile of overpriced jewelry?" Hedgehog questioned.
They hadn't even solved basic necessities like food and shelter yet. Where would they find the energy to speculate on luxury stones?
ProGar_Daddy shook his head knowingly.
"No, obsidian has another na—volcanic glass."
"It's primarily composed of silicon dioxide, ford when volcanic lava cools rapidly, resulting in a natural glass."
NeverShowOff quickly caught on, his eyes widening.
"A habitat forcibly assimilated by magical creatures could yield logical chemical materials?!"
The lava zone in the jungle had been an anomaly to begin with. And now it turned out the environnt could genuinely produce volcanic byproducts?
ProGar_Daddy's mind temporarily froze. "Magical creature habitats that adhere to scientific principles… Why does this feel both absurd and oddly reasonable?"
"That's not the point!" he struck the ground with the stone, his tone growing animated.
"If we can find obsidian there, we're bound to find sulfur!"
With sulfur, they could make gunpowder, couldn't they?
"Hahaha! Hedgehog, you're a lifesaver. The debt I just racked up is about to disappear!"
Excited, he slapped Hedgehog's back several tis, nearly jumping for joy.
Seeing his enthusiasm, NeverShowOff couldn't resist throwing cold water on the situation.
"Have you forgotten? Viktor ntioned that once magical creatures die, new ones quickly take over their territory."
"If we leave and co back, the situation will almost certainly have changed."
Chances were, any effort to return would be wasted.
Hedgehog nodded vigorously in agreent.
"Exactly! That place is so far from the safe zone, it'd be hard to make it back alive!"
Sensing ProGar_Daddy wavering, Hedgehog slung an arm around his neck and earnestly advised him, "Listen to . There are countless ways to extract sulfur. Let's not put all our eggs in one basket."
"Who knows? There might be a safer mine nearby."
"If all else fails, we can flip through the iron ore veins along the riverbank to see if any associated minerals contain sulfur. That's still a better plan."
Though the iron mines also housed magical creatures, at least they were unhatched. Plus, Viktor was stationed nearby, providing so backup.
This plan was far more feasible than returning to the lava zone.
"But…" ProGar_Daddy looked conflicted, staring at the stone in his hand. "The purity of this obsidian is too high."
"If there's sulfur nearby, its quality would also likely be exceptional. The bombs we'd make would be phenonal!"
NeverShowOff and Hedgehog exchanged a glance and shook their heads in unison.
Being overly perfectionist would only waste ti and energy. All they needed was a bomb that could take down goblins—it didn't have to be extraordinary.
Just as they were about to continue persuading him, ProGar_Daddy spoke wistfully.
"And besides, there must be other treasures there, like this obsidian."
"This is a material that's been utilized since prehistoric tis. Obsidian's sharp edges make it excellent for tools and weapons, even surgical blades sharper than modern steel scalpels."
"Oh, and polished obsidian can also be used as a mirror—"
Two pairs of hands pressed down on ProGar_Daddy's shoulders simultaneously. Hedgehog declared, "Say no more. I think going back isn't such a bad idea after all!"
"Let's check out the situation, at least," NeverShowOff added.
"…"
Why did they always change their minds when he was about to give up?
In the end, the three of them decided to return to the lava zone, but not until tomorrow.
It was nearing evening now.
If they couldn't handle the Great Oak Forest during the day, setting out at night would be a disaster. Carrying a torch would only make them an easy target for attacks.
The remaining ti was not wasted.
NeverShowOff and Hedgehog went around to other players who had taken limited-ti tasks to see if they had brought back anything valuable from the magma field.
If possible, they intended to buy so of those items.
ProGar_Daddy went to check on the newly built kiln.
High-temperature firing is the simplest thod of ore purification. However, it must be at extrely high temperatures—a simple wood-fired pile is not considered a proper kiln.
In the morning, the Lucky Stars Team had deliberately contacted two players claiming to have experience to handle this task. ProGar_Daddy went to check on their progress, discussing sulfur extraction techniques and improving the structure of clay molds along the way.
The atmosphere among the players was generally relaxed, but activities such as gathering materials for explosives and exploring the surrounding terrain subtly increased the pace overall.
---Viktor's POV---
Late at night, most players had exhausted their energy and logged out at their respective logout points.
I arrived at the door of the Flesh Rebirth Array.
The newly repaired wooden door now had several new holes in it.
Shaking my head, I pretended not to see it and stepped inside.
The more players were forbidden from approaching a place, the more they wanted to co and check it out.
I was already considering the feasibility of adding a window nearby or relocating the array entirely.
Initially, enclosing the array with a wall was ant to prevent players from accidentally wandering into the transparent barrier around it while exploring the church, which could injure them. However, after the wall was built, the frequency of players loitering around the area increased.
"Until a new magic power node is found, the array can't be moved... I'll just make do for now," I consoled myself.
A new large magic power node would co. A new Flesh Rebirth Array would also co. There was no need to fret over this.
I opened the door.
The ground revealed a blood pool ford by the dissolved array.
In the blood pool, fragnts of the serpent's body were faintly visible.
Everything in the blood pool was slowly, yet visibly, sinking and disappearing.
"It looks like the serpent will be fully dissolved into conversion substrates within two hours at most," I murmured as I observed the array.
"The dissolution speed seems slower compared to the ti with the two-headed howling wolf?"
Was there an issue with the array?
Unfortunately, since the array was currently active and couldn't be stopped for inspection, I could only jot down the problem for later.
I then checked the reserve of conversion substrates.
The conversion rate was even higher than I had initially anticipated. Combined with the leftover substrates from the two-headed howling wolf, there was more than enough for the players to waste.
I gently touched the array, now gradually exposing the earthen floor beneath it.
"Hang in there for a while longer..."
The array would likely have to operate at full capacity around the clock for so ti.
Although my tone was sympathetic, my hands showed no hesitation.
A new announcent was sent to the ga's official website.
---
[Chronicles of Aeltia Test Server Version Update Announcent]
[Key Updates:
Infrastructure Event Concludes!
Thanks to the collective efforts of all the Returnees, Honeyvale Town has resolved its basic housing issues. All building tasks have returned to normal, with no additional rewards.
Industrial Star Event Begins!
The first step after resolving basic needs is developnt. An individual Returnee's strength is limited—they may have ideas but lack the ti and energy.
So why not seek help from Lord Viktor?
He is actively constructing Honeyvale Town's industrial district and is always generous in supporting outstanding Returnees.
Current Investnts:
Weaving Factory x1 (Owned by: Lucky Stars Team, Guaranteed by: NeverShowOff)
Planned Investnt:
Armory x1 (Owned by: ProGar_Daddy, Guaranteed by: ProGar_Daddy)
Main Quest Update—Darkness and Threats in the Jungle!
Active goblins in the vicinity pose a severe threat to the safety and stability of Honeyvale Town. With the help of Returnees (@NeverShowOff and others), we successfully captured a large goblin.
(Attached image.jpg)
This led to intelligence about a series of events at the goblin nest. In just over half a month, they plan to hold a cruel, inhumane live sacrifice ceremony.
The Watchers will not tolerate such atrocities!
After careful deliberation, Lord Viktor has decided to take the initiative! Before the sacrificial event occurs, the goblin nest will be destroyed, and the captives will be rescued!
To this end, Honeyvale Town will enter an ergency warti state, with the following special buffs in effect:
During industrial activities, only war-related industrial ideas will receive his support.
Resurrection chanism changes:
- Death penalty for resurrection materials is removed.
- Magicoin penalty is halved
- Resurrection cooldown remains unchanged
Other Updates:
- Enriched ga ecosystem
- Adjusted certain item textures
- Minor bug fixes]
---Third POV---
The website's traffic was now busier than ever, with many active players.
As soon as the announcent was posted, a bunch of players I couldn't even rember rushed to flood the front page.
"Wow! That's one ugly but realistic monster!"
"The rendering is incredible!"
"I was just reading about how to make a stone hoe, and now the ga's progressed to the Industrial Age?"
"Wow, both nad factories belong to the Lucky Stars Team!"
"I get it, but why are goblins so ugly?"
"Main quest update... does this an a new video is coming? Aweso!"
After the red-scaled worm video, the official site hadn't released any new videos in a while. They only occasionally uploaded a photo to the creature compendium when introducing a new species.
The drama-loving community was on the verge of being assimilated into the ga, treating it as divine lore.
One main quest update announcent reminded them of their original reason for following the official site.
They were already eager and ready to jump in, waiting for a new video so they could pretend to be gars again!
Unlike the casual onlookers, beta players quickly grasped the key points in the announcent.
CowardlySurvivor: No penalty for resurrection materials, and magicoin penalty halved… Oh my god, we're about to take off!
Hedgehog: Tears of joy, finally free to die as I please!
ClankClank: Ahem, don't you think your idea of freedom is a bit… off?
NeverShowOff: I was just thinking about how to recruit more players, and now our private actions have directly beco the main quest
FastingMidLane: Told you saving up magicoins was useful! Let's see anyone stop from charging the frontlines now!
LootGoblin: I'll take on ten of them!!!
The reduced death penalty gave players the confidence to leave the safety zone.
Beta players were already brainstorming creative ways to get themselves killed in the comnts, leaving the casual onlookers in awe.
"Is this the kind of artistry that cos from years of experience?"
The onlookers almost believed it.
But without the beta tester tags, their attempts to blend in were ignored.
Frustrated, the casual players reopened the application page and filled out their registration forms again, improving their details.
How, funny, they refused to believe their years of gaming experience couldn't qualify them to be forum perforrs.
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