Malphegor
patreon
MoP: Ch. 82
🕑 Added 2025-03-19 20:36:41 +0000 UTC---Third POV---
After much thought, Viktor ultimately decided to leave the choice to the players.
"As gamers, they'll naturally pick the option that benefits them the most."
Don't forget, the players he attracted were all veteran gamers with over a decade of online experience. Immersion and a sense of belonging weren't things that could simply be handed out—they had to be earned.
What seemed like a tough decision was actually a win-win when you flipped the perspective.
If they succeeded, he would gain top-tier combat strength.
If they failed, the divine avatar's innate abilities could still compensate for some of the shortcomings.
Sighing, he muttered, "I'll release the strategy guide later. What to do next will be up to them."
Creak.
The wooden door opened, and he strode out of the room containing the the array.
---
On the forums, chaos reigned.
LootGoblin was still arguing with Lux and the others.
LootGoblin: Let's put aside how your Holy Light is so OP for a second. What's the point of me getting severely injured or outright dying, other than extending my respawn timer?
Looking at the living conditions of goblins, it was obvious they wouldn't have great medical care. And even if they did, they definitely wouldn't use it on him.
Otherwise, when "he" was poisoned by the green-tailed weasel's venom, the treatment wouldn't have been just "resting."
Who knew if the goblins who came later to reinforce them even noticed his traitorous behavior? If they had, the outcome would have been even worse.
CowardlySurvivor: We came back after respawning to save you! This way, we can preserve the extra experience points you didn't save yet!
LootGoblin: Sure
Lux: This time, we're serious!
LootGoblin: Yeah, I totally believe you
Having been tricked once already, LootGoblin had sealed off his trust completely. No more false promises.
LootGoblin: I don't care. Give me back the intel I provided for free earlier!
Not only had they failed to help him, but he'd also lost a life because of them. Never had he made such a bad trade.
CowardlySurvivor: Ahem, is there a chance you were just accidentally rescued? We should stay optimistic...
LootGoblin: Optimistic! Do you think I wouldn't love to?
Having lost a life, LootGoblin cursed everyone who spoke up, equally and without discrimination.
He, more than anyone, wanted to stay alive.
Experience gain in the goblin nest was absurdly fast. He'd already racked up several hundred extra experience points! He was so close to catching up with the Lucky Stars members.
But now, all of it had gone down the drain!
The anger and regret boiled inside him. Did they think he didn't want to live?
Even if he ignored the treatment he'd receive for being gravely injured and suspected as a traitor, surviving the infection's danger zone wasn't the end of his problems. His identity as a dwarf hiding among goblins was a ticking time bomb.
Plant-based dyes weren't part of his biology. Any explosion would burn through his camouflage entirely.
Once the goblins found him in their midst, they'd easily discover that he was a dwarf infiltrator!
Lux: Actually, goblin blood is red too, so temporary camouflage isn't impossible...
LootGoblin: And after I heal? What's the explanation for me mutating because of an explosion?
Lux: Well... Actually, Viktor asked us to bring you more dye. When the time comes, you can just reapply it
LootGoblin: ???
Viktor had remembered LootGoblin complaining a few days earlier about his dye wearing off. Worried something might go wrong on-site, he had specifically told Lux to bring supplies to ensure LootGoblin could continue living among the goblins without escaping.
Lux: Viktor really is thorough. He sent dye, food, and healing potions for you too But since they were heavy, I left them near the giant pit—shouldn't have been hit by the explosion
LootGoblin: I hate to ask, but what's the logic behind leaving supplies I need to live in the goblin nest outside?
CowardlySurvivor: Ahaha, well, they came in handy, didn't they?
Lux: Exactly!
The two laughed nervously, unable to admit they'd doubted Viktor's precautions and left the supplies outside to lighten their load and earn extra task rewards.
LootGoblin: ...
LootGoblin still doubted their reliability, but it was too late to argue further. If he could, he still wanted to recover his extra experience points.
After confirming where the supplies were buried, he decided to assess the situation when he could log back in before deciding whether to settle scores with them.
On the forums, only a few beta testers were active.
---
Honeyvale Town, however, was bustling.
Having pinpointed the goblin nest's location and seeing it had recently suffered heavy losses, Viktor wasn't going to miss the chance.
He began by purchasing raw materials for anti-illusion potions in bulk. After investigating on-site in the morning, he'd obtained details about the illusions and refined the potion's recipe.
Both primary and secondary ingredients could be found in the Great Oak Forest. With a few samples of magical plants, the players would naturally bring back what he needed.
The day passed in a flurry of activity.
Newbie players were sent to the weapons factory and Cloth Cuckoo Workshop to help out, while most veteran players ventured out to collect potion ingredients.
By sunset, the task point's counter was piled high with materials—three large crates' worth, to be exact.
Alyanne meticulously counted the herbs.
"321, 322... 401," she reported as she sorted complete sets of materials and separated extras. "We have 401 full sets of materials and about 200 extra tricolor herbs."
Viktor pondered for a moment. "Looks like tricolor herbs are abundant around here."
He stored the sorted materials into his inventory and added, "I'll take these for now. For the next three days, keep buying these materials. Lower the price for tricolor herbs by two magic coins."
Even 401 anti-illusion potions wouldn't suffice for the players. Until they destroyed the illusion array core deep in the goblin nest, these potions were essential for the assault.
"Oh, and list these potions in the shop," Viktor instructed.
While organizing a server-wide attack plan, he knew some players would always prefer to act independently. As a game designer, he didn't want to limit their freedom too much; otherwise, they'd rant on forums for days.
However, he couldn't let too many players go rogue and disrupt his plans. To strike a balance, he controlled the supply of key resources like these potions. If players managed to secure them, they could act solo; otherwise, they'd have to join the main effort.
Alyanne nodded as she eyed the two rows of 20 potion bottles. While she didn't understand why the same location was called both a task point and a shop, it seemed perfectly normal to everyone else. So, she simply followed suit.
With the anti-illusion potion issue resolved, Viktor went to check the progress on gunpowder production.
The moment he arrived, ProGamer_Daddy gave him a big thumbs-up. "Alyanne is amazing!"
---
Outside of assigning tasks to players, Viktor often asked Alyanne to assist at the weapons factory.
Her immense strength greatly sped up the process of extracting ore.
ProGamer_Daddy finally experienced firsthand the difference between an ordinary worker and an elite one.
It was exhilarating!
"Hey, take it easy!" Hedgehog shot a sideways glance. "I'm still here, you know!" Could you at least check if the person in question is present before you praise one while putting down another?
"Ahem, as long as you get the point," ProGamer_Daddy coughed awkwardly. He kept winking at Viktor, trying to signal something.
"So Alyanne will be helping out again tomorrow?"
"Of course," Viktor replied with a smile.
Alyanne was very curious about explosives. She would probably help out for free until the full-scale assault on the goblins began.
Viktor reminded him, "I remember telling you to keep her task completion rate separate."
"Don't worry, I've got it all noted," ProGamer_Daddy said, thumping his chest in assurance. "With such an efficient worker, forget you paying her—if it came down to it, I'd pay her out of my own pocket without shorting her a single coin!"
Hedgehog commented with a faintly bitter tone, "So it's okay to short me, huh?"
"Ahem, do I look like that kind of person?" ProGamer_Daddy averted his guilty gaze and forcibly changed the subject.
"Anyway, let me show you the progress we've made!"
Due to a lack of manpower for construction, the weapons factory was currently just a long, narrow hut with two sides open to the wind. Most of the space was occupied by piles of unprocessed ore.
On the other side were four burning kilns.
He led the way, introducing things as he went.
"Although the purity of this roughly extracted ore isn't as high as the magma pool ore we found earlier, and the power of the resulting bombs can't compare to the original 12 coconut melon grenades, we can make up for it with quantity!"
He brought Viktor to the warehouse reserved for the weapons factory.
In the corner, five neatly arranged crates were stacked.
"In just two days, we've produced 30 new coconut melon bombs. And that's with a lot of time spent on prep work. Once everyone gets the hang of it, production speed will improve dramatically."
Viktor went over to inspect the bombs.
They were noticeably larger than the original coconut melon grenades he had received earlier. It seemed even bomb size was part of ProGamer_Daddy's quantity-focused strategy.
"Do we have enough coconut melons for this?" Viktor asked, slightly concerned.
"Relax. There are plenty of these hard, inedible fruits outside. No player would bother stealing them!" ProGamer_Daddy reassured him. "We have more than enough to last for the next few days."
Viktor nodded. "That's good."
---
After leaving the weapons factory, he quickly brewed 400 doses of illusion-breaking potions.
Leaning against the table with a throbbing forehead, he gazed out the window.
The sky had darkened completely.
"Sigh, managing an organization is such a headache..." he muttered with a long sigh.
Back when he first established The Watchers, he hadn't fallen to the point of personally mass-producing low-grade potions. This relentless work was even wearing down his undead stamina.
He mumbled to himself, "Once this is over, some players should reach level 10. I'll see if I can recruit a few lucky ones to become alchemists."
The process for making low-grade potions was simple: purification, extraction, magical catalysis, and balanced sealing.
With the players' natural talents, they could easily handle it. It was time to delegate the work to them!
He shifted his gaze back inside and opened the administrator panel. Sliding to the quest section, he began editing the main quest.
With the arrival of the last batch of new players, another five days had passed in Honeyvale Town.
The sacrificial ceremony was drawing closer.
Now that the goblin nest had been discovered, the main quest had to move to the next phase.
---
[Main Quest Updated!]
["Darkness and Threats in the Jungle!" has been completed!]
New Update:
Through the efforts of all the returning travelers, the location of the goblin nest has been uncovered, but the problem is far from solved.
The goblins who have allied with monsters have occupied the ruins of the Skyborn. Their settlement numbers nearly a thousand. A direct assault would leave us with little chance of victory.
But with the sacrificial ceremony imminent, rescuing the discovered dwarf comrades, preventing the expansion of monster influence, and safeguarding The Watchers' sole stronghold are all imperative.
War is unavoidable.
Fortunately, as those who have traversed many worlds, we return to our homeland with unique advantages, and victory is not out of reach.
Main Quest, Phase 2: "Enemies Ten Times Stronger Than Us" begins!
---
All online players received the notification. NeverShowOff was no exception. He had guessed something big was coming earlier in the day when Viktor was frantically buying up herbs.
He had even warned familiar players to conserve their energy for the evening. Although the timing was later than he had anticipated, the outcome was exactly as he had predicted.
Scanning the quest details briefly, he excitedly raised his head from the ore pile.
"Guys, we've got a big job to do!"
The other players quickly joined in.
"Whoa, I thought tonight was going to be nothing but grinding ore. Turns out you were spot on, Show!"
"What's this about dwarf comrades? When did we have comrades?"
"Must be from that lucky group who picked up the rare items. We took their stuff, so now they're considered comrades, right?"
"What are we waiting for? Let's get moving!"
ProGamer_Daddy's face darkened immediately. He tossed a rock at Hedgehog, who was standing on a grindstone.
"What are you doing? Planning to mix your foot dirt into the explosives?"
"Haha, just got a bit excited!" Hedgehog laughed as he jumped down. "I'll watch out next time."
Though he said he'd watch out, he didn't look the least bit sorry.
Stretching his arms, he said, "Phew—after all this waiting, we finally get to fight a faction war!"
"If you're going, go now. Stop treating my factory like a casual task hub," ProGamer_Daddy grumbled, pulling the ore closer to himself.
Hedgehog was surprised. "You're not coming with us?"
"The frontline death rate is too high. I can't leave my factory unattended." ProGamer_Daddy gazed lovingly at the dusty ore in his hands. Ever since discovering gunpowder, he had delved deeper and deeper into experimental crafting. Every colored stone he saw made him want to toss it into a furnace.
Lately, he wasn't just obsessed with improving gunpowder formulas; he was fixated on inventing a gun. If others died, they'd just spectate from the forum for a while. If he died, finding the materials to continue his "criminal" experiments in reality would be far harder!
Without turning back, he waved his hand. "My spirit will always support you. But my body's staying here."
His resolve was firm. With Garble yet to respawn, NeverShowOff could only lament how their recently formed Lucky Stars Team was increasingly falling apart.
He then led Hedgehog and other interested players to Viktor to start the mission.
Comments
lohan seibert raimundo
Obrigado pelo capítulo
