Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
As the many players started to attack the saw-toothed tiger, Meng Yang rushed back to the summoning circle in the fortress camp.
Sure enough, the nearly twenty kilograms of magic crystals that Phoenix brought back were almost exhausted, and the radiance surrounding the summoning circle had turned extremely bleak.
“This won’t do!”
Meng Yang stood in front of the summoning circle. The energy consumed by resurrection was almost the same as the energy he used to summon them. Initially, he thought that these magic crystals could perhaps last a few more rounds, but the frequency of resurrection was too high.
“If anyone else dies, there’s no way they’ll be able to go online anymore.”
Meng Yang looked around the camp and noticed some older people, women, and children looking at him eagerly. For the people in this camp, everything that happened today was akin to a dream.
These adventurers from another world were really helping them by repelling the gnolls’ attack, and now they were attacking the powerful saw-toothed tiger. This scene was unimaginable for the villagers.
In their memories, proactively provoking and fighting the monsters was something that the defense army and Extraordinary People could do before the City of Despair was destroyed. After the city’s fall, even camps with a more significant number of people could only brace themselves from monster attacks.
Such a victory was so encouraging that even the prestige and image of Meng Yang, the one who made the call to take action, had improved in these people’s eyes.
When Meng Yang observed the older people, women, and children around him, trying to find a solution, the Summoning Pixies in his mind began to pop up one after another, notifying him that several more players had entered the state of death and were unable to resurrect.
“Should I initiate second maintenance?”
Meng Yang felt that if the players kept dying this way, it would be impossible for him not to issue a maintenance announcement.
Fortunately, only seven to eight players died before the situation was able to stabilize.
Meng Yang breathed a sigh of relief. As long as half the players remained, he would be able to continue “operating”. To stabilize the players’ game experience, he felt that he should not turn off the servers randomly. Just patching it up would do.
“Hmm, when Phoenix comes back, I’ll ask her to find some more magic crystals.”
Although Meng Yang did not know what was going on outside the fortress since the players had stopped dying, he reckoned that they should be near the end of the battle, and everyone outside would soon start returning.
‘Wait… this won’t work either. For long-term operation, it would be impossible to rely on Phoenix alone.’
‘Perhaps I’ll limit the number of resurrections? Three free resurrections a day?’
Meng Yang grasped his chin and stood still whilst deep in thought. Then, he shook his head again.
It did not seem feasible because once the three free resurrections were used up, how would he deal with the subsequent resurrection? He could not think of a solution for a while, especially since the City of Despair had been shattered, and there was no financial system here. Hence, he could not even reward the players with money. Meng Yang could create a gold coin reward all on his own by using Summoning Pixies, but it would not be long before there would be a crash in the system. Currency? Implementing such a thing would be courting death.
As he thought about the players’ energies while charging toward the monsters, and the fact that there would be more and more players exploring outside in the future. He estimated that there would be all kinds of strange ways to die. It was not a long-term solution to have Phoenix go after the magic crystals alone.
Ding——
Ding——
Sounds of metals and rocks started beating in Meng Yang’s head suddenly, making him immediately let out a peal of mischievous laughter.
“If you lack a gun or a cannon, then you can build it yourself. A footman must be self- reliant.”
Although he had never done any game development before, Meng Yang was still someone that had played countless games before. Since the summoning circle required the use of magic crystals, the players should find it by themselves.
This was the virtuous cycle of things. Moreover, now that the camp was running smoothly, if there were more players in the future, Meng Yang would have to consider opening up bases along the way. These kinds of things were unavoidable.
Meng Yang was roughly aware of how the magic crystal was a type of energy crystal. The purpose of its existence was definitely not limited to being an energy source for summoning a magic circle. After all, as an energy source, it was simply a sharp weapon for climbing the ladder of science and technology if it were developed further. Not to mention, this world came with original enchantment, weapon enhancements, and the like. It was a pity that Meng Yang was now left with little to nothing, so he could only wait for the future.
“Hmm, but I don’t know where Phoenix got these magic crystals from in the past. If there are veins of ore, then it’ll be perfect.” Meng Yang’s eyes glowed with a longing vision. The game must have a mining system.
However, he still had to quickly resolve the problem of rewards for missions now. The task rewards he was now distributing to the players were almost insulting. If he did not come up with something soon, even if the players were interested in exploring this other world, it would still dampen their enthusiasm.
As he was lost in his thoughts, Meng Yang turned around and saw Hera by the door near the wall walking in with the gnoll leader’s heart. His eyes lit up and he walked forward to greet her.
“Can this heart really be made into a magical potion that could give people Extraordinary Power, Hera?” Meng Yang asked as he pointed toward the faintly reddish heart.
“Of course,” Hera nodded without hesitation. “The three ways to advance to the Extraordinary rank are by natural awakening, bitter cultivation, and lastly, by consuming magical potions.”
Hera paused slightly. “It’s just that Extraordinary Creatures are powerful beings. In the past, it was difficult for us to obtain their organs to synthesize potions. Moreover, more than half the time, the individual would go out of control after consuming the potion.”
“Go out of control? You mean to turn into a monster?” Meng Yang probed.
Hera shook her head. “It’s more likely to die from a body explosion. So, even during the era when the City of Despair had not yet fallen, potions were very rare. There were not too many people that were willing to consume it.”
Meng Yang nodded slightly; a probability of failure higher than fifty percent was indeed quite dangerous for many people. Although the Extraordinary Power sounded terrific, not everyone would be willing to take this risk when they only had one life. Not to mention, there were still two other ways of becoming an Extraordinary, which was through natural awakening and cultivation.
“Then…” Meng Yang pointed at the gnoll leader’s heart once more. “How many potions can this make?”
Hera thought about it for a moment before responding, “With some of the materials I have stored before, it would make about five servings worth.”
“Only five portions?” Meng Yang frowned slightly when he heard this. He had thought about using the feasibility of this potion as a reward for the mission ever since Hera mentioned this world’s Extraordinary System.
“Do you want to use the potion, leader?” Hera could not help but ask when she saw Meng Yang’s inquisitive expression.
Meng Yang shook his head. What kind of a joke was that, with more than a 50% probability of failing? He was safe and sound for now, so it was definitely not worth the gamble.
Especially when he had no clue whether he could be resurrected like all the other players. He might consider it if he could, but if this were his last life, it would be like kicking his own bucket.
However, Meng Yang paused and continued, “I think that the adventurers from the other world truly helped us. However, you saw how weak their bodies were, so I think I should use the potions as their reward for assisting us.”
For ordinary people, the probability of failure of more than 50% was no joking matter, but it was not a problem for the players.
It was just that five portions were indeed too little. They still had more monsters to kill; otherwise, this looping system would not work out.
“By the way, are there any kinds of special abilities after awakening the Extraordinary Seed?” Meng Yang was really curious about the Extraordinary System. “For instance, having the ability to heal just like you?”
Hera shook her head slightly. “It’s not something we can decide. At best, some preferential attributes can be decided via the formula of the potion. After awakening the Extraordinary Seed, some people may have an increment in their physical strength, or the increase in affinity toward elements or perhaps nature. Moreover, the awakening is only the first step in entering the Extraordinary state. It’s still far from being enough to go contend against those powerful monsters.”
As she said these words, Hera appeared to be caught in a memory, and there was a slight fear in her eyes.
Meng Yang did not probe her anymore. He thought about the Forest of Bones outside the City of Despair and could guess how powerful the high-level Extraordinary Creatures were.
“When can the potions be made?” Meng Yang continued.
“Soon, about an hour or two,” Hera replied.
“Please send me the potions after making it. I’ll give them to these adventurers from the other world as a prize for them aiding us.”
Meng Yang nodded. He probably had some understanding of the potion system now. The most challenging thing was still the materials. After all, Extraordinary Creatures were not easy to hunt.
“Okay,” Hera nodded as she held the gnoll’s heart and left.
“Extraordinary Powers, huh. I don’t even have the chance to experience it myself; this is a small treat to you guys.”
Meng Yang muttered as he stood in place and thought about the next step that was gradually beginning to take shape.
He had little to nothing now, and the only things he could make use of was his favorability and prestige. It would be natural for him to make the best use of these two attributes. Otherwise, why would these players come and kiss his *ss? Furthermore, he could not allow them to stare at him as if they could kill him in hopes of him dropping some equipment.
This world was quite dangerous, so Meng Yang’s top priority now was to make the players stronger. Hmm, yes, this way, he could be well protected.
As for the issue of disequilibrium, Meng Yang did not think too much about it. He felt that he could ask Phoenix and Hera to explain natural awakenings and the method of awakening Extraordinary Seed through cultivation afterward.
Of course, Meng Yang did not think that many of the players were willing to expend a great deal of effort in studying these as it would be nice to take drugs and become stronger just by consuming some concoction. This was always the mainstream way. However, god forbid that several ruthless emperors or swordmasters emerge from this method.