Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Li Yuncheng opened his eyes slowly and felt that his surroundings were somewhat imaginary.
He first stretched out his hands and subsequently tried shaking his legs. Then, he took a closer look at his attire. A hemp garment made of coarse material paired with a pair of wide trousers. It was the standard costume level-one players with a blank slate wore in any game.
“It’s getting hard to distinguish between reality and illusion!”
Li Yuncheng recalled the so-and-so’s comment in the forum of the official website from before. The person mentioned one would gasp in astonishment upon entering the game; he was definitely in awe right now.
“The scene’s changed!”
“The attire’s different as well. The second beta test is awesome!”
“Where are we now, protagonist? Is this a new gathering place?”
“Holy, there are so many NPCs!”
“Oh my god, is this really a game?”
…
As chattering voices filled his ears, Li Yuncheng looked toward the direction from which the sounds were coming. Only then did he notice that the current location he was standing on was similar to a portal. A group of people started coming out one after another from around him, all dressed in the same attire.
“Hmm, these people should be players as well!”
From the clothes and looks of the people around him, Li Yuncheng was able to guess that these groups of people were players, much like himself.
“Hey, Liu Chuanfeng, why is the bone cleaver still with you?”
“I dunno. When I logged out the last time, I kept it in my hand. I didn’t expect to have it after logging back in. The equipment might be bound to me!”
A young man with long hair and compass legs was chatting with a 32 or 33-year-old man. As a veteran in gaming, Li Yuncheng was able to tell in a split second that the two had probably participated in the first beta test before.
However, his gaze continued to scan the room, looking for female players. The game was very lifelike and real, but he was convinced that he should soon be able to find her.
Sure enough, amongst all the blank slate players, Li Yuncheng noticed a beautiful silhouette. She was in the same crude clothing, but it did not affect her appearance and figure in the slightest. On the contrary, she even gave out a different type of aura.
“Could she be Tangtang?”
Li Yuncheng was slightly thrilled and was about to squeeze himself through the crowd toward the female player’s direction. All of a sudden, a cold and clear voice was heard from a high platform in front of him.
“Pipe down!”
In the chaotic summoning circle, everyone was immediately attracted by the talking figure.
She had a pair of long legs, exquisite body lines, and a longbow in her hand with a quiver strapped to her back. Her beautiful face was only faintly visible under her wide hood. This made all the players that were present fall silent for a moment. Then, the sounds of even louder discussion erupted.
“This… is a f*cking NPC?”
“She’s too beautiful!”
“Those long legs could kill someone!”
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh. This game’s company is awesome!”
“Can we get married in this game?”
“I’m doomed, I’m doomed, I’m doomed.”
“Mommy, I’m in love!”
…
Phoenix frowned as she stood on the high platform and looked down on the chaotic scene below her. She turned her head slightly and glanced at Meng Yang, who was not far away, and saw that he had his usual expression on.
She was filled with all kinds of suspicions at this moment. These outsiders’ physical qualities were probably unable to even compete with the elderly or the women in the settlement. Could they really be of help to them?
From her perspective, she was felt that a few of these people might not even be able to fight off a single jackal. Furthermore, the gaze that some of them gave her from time to time made her feel slightly repulsed.
However, upon considering the characteristics of these players that Meng Yang had mentioned to her before, she suppressed the doubts in her heart and shouted once more to the group of chaotic players. “Quiet down!”
This time, everyone’s voices finally lowered down, and only words such as, “The story is about to begin.” and “The NPC is about to release a mission.” were uttered occasionally.
Standing in front of the summoning circle, Meng Yang looked at the players who had begun to settle down. He had long expected such a scene to unfold.
This was not a place that was filled with constraints. It was not easy for the players who suddenly entered the game to stay still in such a tight formation. However, at least for now, since everyone had only just entered a different world, they were still adapting and astonished.
This time, he had summoned one hundred players through the summoning circle. Even so, perhaps due to the fact that he did not execute a large-scale spell, a pop-up window reminder that Meng Yang received a moment ago stated that there were only 54 players who had entered the Other World. Among all of them, 42 were male players, and only 12 were female players.
Nonetheless, Meng Yang was quite satisfied with the turnout. Given the camp’s current circumstances, it could not possibly accommodate too many people. Moreover, when there were more people around, it would be fundamentally impossible to constrain them. These people were real living players, so who knew what would happen if chaos ensued.
The summoning circle he built this time around was merely a small circle. This was partially because of the insufficiency in the magic crystal’s energy, but also due to the venue. If he wanted to build the Other World into a complete game system, Meng Yang felt that there was no possible way for him to get results overnight. He needed to take it a step at a time and slowly accumulate experience.
As the human race was scarce in the Land of the Forgotten, he would slowly overcome the deficiency by filling it with players.
This time around, Meng Yang had made a couple of corrections using the Summoning Pixie. Facial alterations and naming functions were yet to be launched. After all, this was the Other World, and putting names above players’ heads would look silly. Despite this, the adjustment for pain sensation levels from 0 to 100% was now available. Additionally, there was the blank slate outfit that all players had equipped when they entered. At the very least, it should look more like a game now.
Besides, Meng Yang mainly wanted the players to solve the upcoming issue. As for the future, who knew what was going to happen…
Looking at each of the inquisitive players, Meng Yang felt like he had returned to kindergarten to amuse a group of children. He felt like he was now both the director of the kindergarten as well as the headteacher.
After the players were quietened down by Phoenix, Meng Yang knew that it was his time to go on stage and ready himself to con, wait no, to appeal to this group of players.
“Adventurers from another world, I was the one that had summoned you. There were five adventurers amongst you that had extricated me from my past predicament. However, due to the arduous challenge this time around, I needed more of you to provide assistance to me.”
As soon as Meng Yang’s voice rang out, many people amongst the player group started making a scene.
“Who is this fellow?”
“Are NPCs supposed to be so humanlike?”
“He’s not even handsome, why is he standing next to my goddess?!”
…
“Shut it!”
Amidst the discussions, a handsome looking player suddenly silenced the crowd that was beginning to grow lively once again.
“That’s the protagonist of the storyline!”
After Sun Shuai spoke out, Xu Zhe briefly explained to the group of people next to him, “Our mission for the first beta testing last time was to save the protagonist. After that, he may have reached this camp and became their leader.”
“F*ck, there are actual veteran players!”
“Please carry me, masters!”
“Quiet down, quiet!”
…
After seeing player Sun Shuai shushing the others, Meng Yang maintained a steady tone and continued, “After the fall of Land of Despair, we’ve been occupied by countless monsters such that our camp is on the verge of being overrun by gnolls. I’ll be letting my assistant, Phoenix the marksman, lead you!”
At the same time, a task reminder popped out beside all the player’s ears:
[The protagonist of the Land of the Forgotten, Meng Yang, and Gustav, the Survivor’s Stronghold leader, escaped from the pig-headed monster with the help of five adventurers. The protagonist and Gustav encountered various difficulties and obstacles along the way in order to return to the Survivor’s Stronghold. However, the Survivor’s Stronghold’s leader, Gustav, passed away from his critical injuries and entrusted the entirety of Survivor’s Stronghold to the protagonist before taking his last breath.
Now, the Survivor’s Stronghold is met with a life or death crisis as the gnolls have discovered this camp. The protagonist activated the summoning circle at a critical moment and summoned you all, adventurers from another world. Please aid them in protecting the Survivor’s Stronghold!]
[Mission: Steel Line of Defense]
[Rewards: Increase in the protagonist’s favorability, increase in City of Despair’s prestige, and an increase in the goddess’ favorability. (A small probability of acquiring the skills of the female marksman, Phoenix, and the healer, Hera.)]
…