[...
..
.
"The Goblins would spawn randomly, so be careful of ambushes. If the density of goblins reached a certain threshold, they would build a fortress. Please be careful! Goblins were not even 1st stage, but they were quite sly, and a few dangerously possessed unique abilities."
Sincerely, the Game Master]
This should be good enough. I comfortably lay in my gaming chair as I posted this announcement through my PC. This PC was a better investment than I thought. I didn't even need to use quintessence just to post a quest or in this case, an expansion announcement.
My words were sincere though, and it was not like I could convincingly treat this world like a game, even though I said it myself that I would turn it into one. Frankly speaking, I thought that earning one quintessence from killing the beast was too generous, but considering how often my players were dying, it wasn't so generous anymore. The problem with the method of earning quintessence through killing was limited too considering that life was not so easy to create.
Even beasts would find difficulty in giving birth, and lately, the Butter Berry Forest population had been going down by a lot. My solution to this was to create a new kind of monster for my players to subjugate. I was planning on recycling my excess quintessence from now on as monsters. The Goblin template was especially useful for this given that Goblins were known for their prolific breeding abilities.
The Goblins I recreated from quintessence was essentially a new lifeform in this world. It was kind of scary for me to create such monsters as while they might not seem much, I knew better that I have to be careful of the monsters I create.
Anyhow, I wondered what my dear players would do.
~~~
Ping!
Stay still for 14 hours straight 14/14 hours
It was a joyous occasion for Lurker. After some idiot disturbed him staying 'still' that took him a good 4 hours… and then fighting the said idiot for another 4 hours… and then dying the next hour… and then another fighting, this time, against the female cultivator with the bunny for another 4 hours--- Lurker finally found a moment of peace as the pings just saved him right on time. It was sad though he really had to run back to the Game Master's abode to ask for asylum and help so that his fellow players would not hunt him anymore!
When Lurker had to be preparing for the Beta Expansion Pack, he had to run off because he was being scared to death by his supposed-to-be comrades. It was not helping at all that he was now Lurker the Third since he died from the bunny and the human!
Counting the wasted hours, it was a total of 13 hours! Lurker wasted 13 hours fighting his fellow sect members! Was this hazing? Or were they just torturing him!?
Lurker swore he'd get back at them especially that swordsman who called him a retard!
If it were not for the pings, he'd be already Lurker the Fourth! Because of a misunderstanding, the swordsman Humble Blade almost killed him the second time. If not for Lurker shamefully begging for his life by quoting the system announcement, he definitely would have been traumatized by the event. The great Crocodilian had fallen very low!
Learning that the resurrections have limitations, Lurker felt more grateful for his new life. "The Game Master must be thinking highly of me, thank heavens!"
Delusional but was still alive.
Lurker moved on, hoping to have his fellow players stop killing him. "This Croc didn't do anything wrong, but I was continuously being bullied like this!"
~~~
At the news of the Expansion Pack, Nee Chen and Xiang Ya immediately made plans for their hunting of the Goblin King. It was for the sake of getting stronger so that they could avenge their village. Xiang Ya was especially motivated.
They still needed to grow. In this expansion pack, the two of them hoped to become stronger together.
"Chen, why did you think little Gao decided not to join us?"
"Huh? I wouldn't know, but he must've plans of his own. Though he was just a kid, he now had the ability to think for himself. Hmmm..."
"What?"
At this moment, Xiang Ya was clinging to Nee Chen's arm which was making the latter uncomfortably flattered.
"Would you please stop being suddenly affectionate to me? Just call me Nee Chen like you would usually do. Your clinging to me like this… felt strange. I… could feel your boobs…"
"Tsk, why wouldn't you just be a man and take it?"
"…"
'Elder Fu, forgive me! I don't have impure thoughts towards your granddaughter.' Nee Chen and Xiang Ya bickered as the latter continued to tease the former.
"Don't worry, if someone would have impure thoughts, then it would be me." Xiang Ya said teasingly as if she could read Nee Chen's thoughts.
"..."
Nee Chen's silence had become more than silence. He reached a state of profound emptiness that even monks would be unable to replicate. This was the emptiness of the mind brought by awkwardness.
~~~
Meanwhile, Lu Gao approached a certain figure.
"Mr. Lurker, would you like to form a party with me? I would be going to the royal capital of Biron Kingdom… Though you have a quarrel with my elder sister and elder brother, I don't think that it was necessary that we treated the friends of your enemy as your enemy…"
"I accept."
"…"
Wasn't that too easy? Lu Gao deliberated whether he was being led or not. But it was he who offered a hand of friendship, so why was he being too cautious? He admonished himself for his indecision.
Lurker who possessed wisdom brought by old age recognized the young boy's skepticism.
"Don't overthink. I accepted because there was something I wanted to confirm through Biron's royal archives. Anyways, nice to meet you, please call me Lurker." The truth was Lurker just wanted out of the Butterberry Forest and far away from the murderous trio.
In response to Lurker's introduction, "I am Lu Gao." Lu Gao cuffed his fist in greeting like a martial artist would. Lurker responded the same way, awkwardly cuffing his fist.
"Good, let's be on our way. I would take the lead." Lurker added.
'He looked like a nice guy.' Lu Gao thought. Inwardly, he had ascertained his decision over and over, deciding that it was time for him to find his distant relatives. His mom had been insistent on not doing this if possible, but recently, Lu Gao's curiosity was becoming stronger and stronger. The reason was loneliness.
Perhaps, there was a hole in Lu Gao's heart that could never be filled by either Nee Chen or Xiang Ya.
'I even got permission from the Game Master, so I could do this!' Lu Gao psyched himself giving more strength to each of his steps.
The team of brooding Lu Gao with a young-looking-oldie started their journey towards the royal capital of Biron Kingdom... The city of Blood and Iron... The Biron Capital!
~~~
In the Bones Devouring Sect's secret conclave, a group of demonic cultivators gathered in a circle.
"How was the collection of the bones?"
"It was going very well, Sect Master..."
"The Biron Kingdom?"
"They remained unaware of our ploy..."
"Excellent, we would rain blood in this kingdom at the resurrection of our Demonic God!"
~~~
While my two other players decided to go and explore the world, Bi Yuan, Nee Chen, and Xiang Ya decided to remain. I would not know why, but Lu Gao insisted on going out earlier than I intended. It would be a great help for him to increase his levels first before going out. I would not know what it was that was going in his head, but I think I got the idea.
He was young. He was alone in a sense that Nee Chen or Xiang Ya could never understand. If it were me at his age, I would have despaired and would have strayed on the wrong path. I would not know about being a parent, but I felt like I needed to do this. I recalled using Mind's Eye on Lu Gao in combination with Telepathy hoping to see something.
It was like Lu Gao was suppressing his sadness by leveling up or seeking death in a sense. I worried for that young man...
Diving deep in a herd of 1st stage monkeys was one of the few tendencies Lu Gao had shown recently. If not for Nee Chen coincidentally luring the monkeys from their territory because of his own shenanigans, Lu Gao would have definitely died and been resurrected again.
It was a herd! Not just a couple of dozen beasts, but a hundred! Through my Mind's Eyes, I watched Nee Chen run from them with desperation while waving his sword one at a time. That was when I coincidentally spotted Lu Gao.
I would not know what to do with Lu Gao. Sigh… I guessed I should just be supportive of him, and if I noticed that he was going on the wrong path, I'd just have to set him straight. I watched Lu Gao leave the Butterberry Forest with Lurker as his companion through the Mind's Eye.
When they were gone, I returned to my task of finalizing my Goblin Blueprint.
Sitting on my comfortable gaming chair, I focussed on my task at hand. It was time I did a recruitment drive. Turning people into players wasn't really an easy thing.
First, the individual had to accept the system of their own free will. Second, the individual had to accept my terms and conditions with sincerity and could not be forced. I have tried it on different beasts of different cultivation levels, and it was not working.
After that, I realized that Bi Yuan, that little bunny was a very rare coincidence. I thought that I could replicate it. But so far, not a single ordinary beast accepted the system. not to mention beasts with higher realms! Only Lurker was the exception perhaps due to his exceptional cunning incomparable to most beasts with cultivation levels.
I wasn't even confident that I could recruit Lurker. Though what I did to Lurker was considered forceful, the Croc was intelligent enough to choose what was right for him... His sincerity in accepting the system greatly had spoken of this. It felt contradictory yet reasonable.
It seemed that the system had a criterion of its own. Perhaps, was the system actually alive?
Sure, why not? It better be my type, it definitely had to be buxom, and most of all, it had to be nice, sweet, and gentle…
My perverted thoughts aside, it looked like the Mindless Monk was almost at the Azuon Empire's borders. Good, with several clicks on my mouse, I made the monk speed up. Crossing the Sandwyrm dessert, the Mindless Monk tirelessly ran since I made it do so after recruiting the croc into my fold.
"This should be for the best."
End of Arc II--- Beta Testers
The Goblins I recreated from quintessence was essentially a new lifeform in this world. It was kind of scary for me to create such monsters as while they might not seem much, I knew better that I have to be careful of the monsters I create.
I wonder if it was a good idea to create a race like goblins?