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MoP: Ch. 47
🕑 Added 2025-02-03 22:03:02 +0000 UTC---Third POV---
The remaining divine power were left unused for now by Viktor.
Calculating the time, the first batch of three veteran players was nearing level five.
He planned to use these divine power to perfect the training plans for them.
After finalizing the distribution, he closed the console and opened the official website to draft a new announcement for the next update.
---
[Chronicles of Aeltia Update Announcement]
[Key Updates:
New World Map Section: Sea of Mist:
Detailed content available in the Encyclopedia section.
New Watcher Member: Claire:
Specific information to be discovered by players.
Exploration Event – "Truth of Destruction" Begins Soon!
A sturdy defensive town once standing at the edge of the Great Oak Forest was swept into ruin in mere days by the magic tide.
The town, known for its solid defenses and robust military, was completely powerless against the sudden tide, leaving only an ancient church intact.
What secrets lie hidden within this catastrophe?
Complete the relevant quests in Honeyvale Town to unlock more details about the magic tide!
Game Function Updates:
New Backpack Space Attribute:
Carrying too many items with no place to store them? Opt for magical storage space!
New NPC Favorability System:
Specific mechanics to be explored in-game.
Other Updates:
- Enhanced visual art style
- Adjusted game physics engine
- Fixed text bugs in-game
Note: Construction activities are in full swing—looking forward to seeing the contributions of all returning players!]
---
As expected, curious players quickly flocked to the announcement, likely having nothing better to do after logging out.
[BobBobby]: Huh? Didn't they just update earlier this morning? Why are there two updates in one day?
[LootGoblin]: Wow, instant reply! The rumors were true—BobBobby really is online 24/7!
[HornyHedgehog]: Cloud players wouldn't get it. Something major happened in the game today! New content is totally reasonable
[Actually_Hitler]: What? They can trigger updates based on storyline progression?
[SoySauceLeader]: Wait, wasn't the starter village in a forest? Why is the new map set near the sea?
[ProGamer_Daddy]: It's a long story… Just wait for tonight's post from Garble or NeverShowOff. I didn't fully figure it out either!
Felix aka "ProGamer_Daddy" had just typed this response on his computer when his messaging app pinged.
Abandoning the curious cloud players' flurry of complaints, he closed the official site and logged into the messaging app, and immediately opened the group chat [Lucky Stars].
This group was formed by him and the other two veteran players who were part of the first batch to experience this virtual reality game for just 10 bucks—a true stroke of luck.
[HornyHedgehog joined the group chat.]
[Hedgehog]: Hello!
[Garble]: Welcome.
[ProGamer_Daddy]: Welcome, welcome! Post a pic!
[NeverShowOff]: Don't mess around. Since we're planning to form a squad, why don't we treat this group as our team chat?
[NeverShowOff]: If anyone has objections, feel free to say so
[Hedgehog]: Great idea! It'll make sharing intel much easier
[ProGamer_Daddy]: I object! Calling our team 'Lucky Stars' sounds way too cheesy!
[Hedgehog]: Hey, we're like shooting stars that got picked for this game! First batch players out of thousands—if that's not destiny, what is?
[Garble]: No objections from me
[NeverShowOff]: Uh… If anyone has a better name, feel free to suggest it—I'm terrible at naming
[ProGamer_Daddy]: Fine, I guess 'Big Luck' isn't too bad after all
[Garble]: "..."
[Hedgehog]: "..."
[NeverShowOff]: Let's focus. Let's analyze the update announcement
This was the main reason Logan had summoned everyone online.
Originally, game characters needed four more hours before they could log in, so he had planned to get a swimming membership in the meantime.
Even though swimming wasn't an in-game skill yet, he thought learning it in real life could still prove useful—and it'd keep him physically fit, too.
But the development team's speed at releasing updates once again defied his expectations.
He put the swimming membership plan on hold.
[NeverShowOff]: We've already discussed the newly added lore information in the game, so I won't go into that
[NeverShowOff]: The key is the new event and features
[ProGamer_Daddy]: Finally, portable storage space is here!
[Hedgehog]: According to the description, the backpack has five slots, each for a different item. Could we use it to transport wood and stone?
[Garble]: Theoretically, yes. But we'll need to test it in-game to confirm how much it can carry
[ProGamer_Daddy]: New players have it so easy now. They'll never experience the joy of hauling hundreds of pounds of wood back to town! ⋋_⋌
[Garble]: And then there's the favorability system. We were just speculating about it this morning, and now it's implemented in the afternoon
[ProGamer_Daddy]: Speaking of, didn't Hedgehog get blocked by the new NPC lady?
[Hedgehog]: It's all a misunderstanding! I'm such an honest guy—there's no way I offended her on purpose!
Had he known about the favorability system earlier, he wouldn't have been so reckless in front of the NPC.
Now, even basic quest connections were hindered. His fate was truly miserable—
[NeverShowOff]: Let's set aside the backpack and favorability system for now. What do you all think about the new event?
[Garble]: It's an exploration event, and since rewards weren't emphasized, it's probably designed for veteran players to expand the lore
[ProGamer_Daddy]: That's us, right?
[Hedgehog]: Wait, you're not continuing to grind quests and level up?
[ProGamer_Daddy]: Of course not! NeverShowOff and Garble will likely hit level 5 tonight, and I'll follow tomorrow. After that, it's all about exploring outside the town!
[ProGamer_Daddy]: We're not here to be workhorses in the game
[Hedgehog]: I thought being workhorses was the gameplay—grinding hard labor, then dying on the battlefield!
[NeverShowOff]: You might have a bit of a masochistic streak...
[Garble]: Agreed
[Garble]: Anyway, since we have a new member, I'll go over what we've discovered so far in Honeyvale
The three veteran players had been exploring the game world for nearly ten days, naturally poking around the leftover objects—or debris—in the abandoned town.
Most food had long since rotted and turned into fertilizer for weeds.
However, some houses still contained stone tools. After cleaning off the moss and dirt, these could be converted into player loot.
Pottery and wooden items, on the other hand, were completely unusable, having rotted beyond recognition.
Strangely, items with written records were exceedingly rare.
Only the stone pillars inside the central church bore strange, smudged inscriptions.
[ProGamer_Daddy]: I know why! Anti-religion, obviously—it's Viktor's doing!
[Garble]: It's not just the church. No matter how backward the world's lore might be, any town should have a few literate wealthy people with private collections
[Garble]: Yet, we've found none
[NeverShowOff]: I suspect the missing books are tied to the event's central mystery!
Text could carry a massive amount of information. In ancient times, there were even officials specifically assigned to record every word and action of the emperor.
For something as significant as the magic tide, it was impossible that there weren't people dedicated to recording and observing it.
The event quest could totally start from this angle.
[ProGamer_Daddy]: Wait, could this connect to those weird markings we found in the riverside mine?
[Garble]: Doubtful. The mine tunnels are untouched—no signs of any struggle or conflict down there
[NeverShowOff]: Right. If anything dangerous came from those mines, they wouldn't leave baby monsters behind as ticking time bombs
[Hedgehog]: Perfect, then it's decided! As soon as we log in, we'll hunt down these missing books in Honeyvale!
[Garble]: Not 'we'—you're sitting this one out
[ProGamer_Daddy]: Yeah, the three of us are about to hit our advanced class change. You haven't even picked up basic skills yet. Focus on your leveling first!
[NeverShowOff]: Don't worry, we'll keep you in the loop if we find anything interesting
[Hedgehog]: Come on, please! You can't do that! No!!
Exploring Honeyvale sounded way more interesting than grinding through dull quests.
Unfortunately, leveling up was more important.
---
At night, Garble logged in, and another new day began in Aeltia.
Although the official site's update announcement had been extensive, there wasn't much change in the game itself.
At most, Honeyvale, which used to feel eerily empty with only three players, now had a bit more liveliness.
A voice came from Garble's lower right.
"Holy crap! Someone logged in earlier than me? No way! No one can out-grind me!"
With that, LootGoblin's legs—which were half the length of an average person's—blurred into afterimages as he dashed out of the chapel with a swoosh.
Garble was stunned.
New players were really motivated these days, already racing to do quests.
ProGamer_Daddy got up from the ground, clutching his head.
"This game's hallucinations are getting too real. I think I just saw a rat bigger than a piglet run right past me."
"That's your buddy who rolled the dwarf race. He went off to do quests in a hurry," Garble said.
"Oh—LootGoblin." ProGamer_Daddy's eyes flashed with understanding. "That makes sense. No wonder he's as big as a rat."
A shriek came from behind them.
"Ah! Ouch, ouch, ouch!"
Garble turned around just in time to see Hedgehog writhing on the ground, clutching his neck and howling.
"Help! I think I broke my neck!"
He kept squirming, trying to sit up.
Each attempt tugged at his nerves, making him scream louder, so he could only lie back down.
"Let me take a look!" Garble knelt to inspect him. "It's a stiff neck. Don't move; I can fix it."
Hedgehog tilted his head awkwardly, casting a grateful yet pained look at him. "Alright... Ow!"
A louder, more pitiful scream echoed, as if his head was about to fall off.
Garble didn't even flinch. He simply adjusted Hedgehog's neck a bit more and let go after confirming it was fine.
"There, try moving now."
"Whew... Uh, it really doesn't hurt anymore!"
Hedgehog touched his neck in amazement and twisted it left and right.
Then he quickly got to his feet, a look of relief on his face.
"I almost thought my first time sleeping on the communal bunks would be my last."
It was already ridiculous that players had to log out by lying on communal bunks.
If sleeping there had led to him becoming the first player to "die" in the game, he'd be laughed at on the forums for months!
ProGamer_Daddy scratched his head sheepishly. "I logged out in a hurry last night and forgot to warn you. Sleeping on the floor often leads to stiff necks."
"It's best to buy a couple of pieces of fabric from Edgar and make a pillow. That way, you won't have lingering effects the next day."
The pain from a stiff neck was just subtle enough to evade the game's pain-blocking settings.
Apart from the sharpest moments when realigning the bones, players had to endure the rest of the discomfort as-is.
They had learned this lesson the hard way after multiple stiff necks.
"What? Even sleeping has tricks to it?" Hedgehog groaned. "The Watchers faction is so stingy—they don't even assign members houses?"
ProGamer_Daddy added dryly, "Not exactly. NPCs have houses. It's just that players don't qualify."
"But soon, that won't include us!"
Hedgehog's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, what? You guys have saved up enough to buy land already?"
"Mm-hmm!" ProGamer_Daddy tilted his head back proudly, hands on his hips.
He had originally wanted to stuff his hands into his pockets, but the game's beginner gear was too basic to even have "pockets," so he had to give up on the idea.
Garble elaborated, "It's not enough for a big plot, but we can afford a small house just for logging out."
"That's the house we're working on for the resident housing task."
"Once it's built, we'll have just enough magicoins to buy the land and house together!"
ProGamer_Daddy patted Garble's shoulder.
"You're one of us, too. We'll set up a comfy, stiff-neck-free bed for you!"
"Man, it's so unfair..." Hedgehog's jaw nearly hit the ground.
The wooden house the three veteran players were building was something he and Garble had passed by during a quest.
It was a two-story house with an attic.
Forget fitting four people—it could easily sleep nine if they skipped designating spaces like a kitchen or living room!
Meanwhile, Hedgehog couldn't even afford the magicoins to buy sweetfruits daily.
And here were players who had just logged in a few days earlier than him, already achieving financial freedom and buying property in the game.
"How did you guys manage that?" he couldn't help but ask. "Land in the game isn't cheap."
Considering Honeyvale's limited residential space and the uncertain timeline for future expansion, the devs had heavily restricted land purchase qualifications and area per player. The price tag was as stunning as buying a house in real life.
"Simple—by pooling our money!" ProGamer_Daddy said matter-of-factly.
"Each of us saves about 50 magicoins daily after basic expenses. By the time we finish our current task, we'll just reach the minimum for land."
Hedgehog did the math on his fingers.
"That still doesn't add up to 1,500, especially since Viktor got injured yesterday. We barely did quests for half a day."
ProGamer_Daddy suddenly grinned mysteriously.
"Because we had a little golden goose!"
He leaned in and whispered to Hedgehog.
Hedgehog took a sharp breath. "Two hundred magicoins for making a bird's nest???"
Even robbing people wasn't this fast! Who on earth was this rich, foolish benefactor?
