Chapter 142:

47 hours and 55 minutes after the players left Transia. In the midnight chamber below the Blood Vulture Halls, Murphy was quietly waiting in the darkness. In front of him, his little players were lying on 60 tables, with 10 vacant spots waiting for newcomers. These 10 spots were the manpower feedback that the over 1,800 people rescued from below the Blood Vulture Halls gave to Murphy. Subsequently, over a hundred more people left, so the accurate total number of test spots was 16. But releasing 16 spots didn’t sound proper, so Murphy kept 6 in hand, planning to release them together with the next wave of feedback. The vampire lord patiently waited. In the darkness, he stroked his core bead, continuously weaving and modifying the soon-to-be-released quest content. He had done this many times before, just like deceiving people. At first, one would feel embarrassed and suffer from pangs of conscience, but if you were deft enough, you could quickly turn it into an art. At the moment when the major version update countdown ended, Murphy took a deep breath and cast the summoning spell again. His spirit pool was vast enough, and some of his potential had been unleashed. He could complete the summoning of all players at once, though it would be very taxing! Like the beautiful process of rewarding oneself, leaving one’s waist hollow. The veteran players had already bound their save points, so Murphy didn’t need to summon them anymore. But the newcomers were different. All new players had to be summoned by Murphy himself during their first login, like some sort of peculiar “authentication ritual.” Fortunately, Murphy was a vampire. Their diverse race’s traditions have always emphasized the sense of “ritual.” Flickering spirit light dots wove the forms of ten new players in the darkness, while the veteran players crawled up from where they were lying, as if waking from sleep. Not everyone had logged in yet, as some were busy working for a living. But Murphy believed that on this day of the “new version” release, they would definitely not miss this novel experience. Maxim, by his side, had witnessed his master’s power before, but this time he finally couldn’t help but comment: “Let me state this in advance, Master. I don’t have any opinions about your eye for choosing warriors, and I won’t treat the warriors differently based on gender. But this gender ratio is a bit too skewed, isn’t it? Out of the 70 warriors so far, there are only four ladies.” “Do you think I want this?” Murphy retorted: “But in my warriors’ world, the female desire for adventure is still far less than that of men. However, you must admit that our four current female warriors are truly unique.” “Yes, I don’t deny that. Their courage and strength are no less than men’s.” Maxim nodded and said, “I have decided to confer the knight titles in my hands to Your warriors.” “You can decide these things yourself. They are your knights, and you are their lord. You need to manage them well. If anything happens, you’ll be held responsible.” Murphy waved his hand and said, “I don’t care or mind. But please be cautious and add some ceremonial flair. You know, they all like ceremonial flair. The more spectators, the happier they are. The more ladies among the spectators, the more excited they become. Actually, it’s not just them. Basically, all men are like that.” “Hmm.” Maxim responded with a nod, saying nothing more. On the players’ side, they were already familiar with the routine. After getting up, they greeted each other. Spicy Gugu Chicken took out prepared charcoal pencils, ready to draw something on the face of the sleeping Heaven’s Chosen Grayman nearby. Unfortunately, each table here had a spirit protection, preventing Spicy Gugu Chicken from carrying out their prank. “Ah, the security settings in this safe zone are too terrible!” Spicy Gugu Chicken complained. “I was planning to draw a little turtle on some unlucky fellow’s face.” “But you know it’s necessary,” said Precipitation Niuniu, stretching their body and pursing their lips. “If we could touch offline players’ bodies at will, my elder sister and the other three girls would be in danger.” “Dude! Who would do such a disgusting thing?” Spicy Gugu Chicken refuted. “Now that there are 60 of us who know each other inside out, no one would do such a thing, right?” “Not now when we’re few, but what about when there are more people?” Meow King chimed in, working his neck. “Who knows if future additions might include deviants? If something like that really happened, even with punishment mechanisms, it could jeopardize the entire game. The best way to prevent a rat turd from ruining your soup is to cover your soup pot from the very beginning.” “So that’s why the developers have already thought it through. They used an invitation system instead of randomly handing out test codes. This way, at least the people who come in can be guaranteed to have a basic moral standard.” Challenging Black Iron tier elite creatures is extremely dangerous! Only those with an extremely high understanding of their profession and mastery of their strength have a chance of succeeding in the challenge. Please cherish your once-every-three-days life, test personnel, and do not attempt it recklessly.】 “Hah, finally a real upgrade!” Onboard Joy Stick cheered. He liked everything about this game, except for the level system. Levels 1-10 had no attribute increases, purely cosmetic. Of course, complain as he might, Onboard Joy Stick also knew that his combat prowess at level 10 was absolutely several times higher than at level 1. Not because of level suppression, but because level 10 players had already surpassed newbies in terms of skills, combat will, and combat experience. So the level system was still useful. At the very least, it could show at a glance a player’s degree of mastery over their strength at each power tier. If one had to make a forced analogy, it was similar to the concept of “character training” in nurturing games. “My warriors, the domain we have seized together still faces many dangers, but for your Black Iron Trial, I can offer you some advice.” Seeing the rowdy little players excitedly preparing to go out and slay monsters, Murphy stopped them and said: “The reconstruction of the outer city is about to begin, but the ghouls lurking in the city sewers have become a serious safety hazard. Warriors aspiring to cleanse the darkness of demonic forces and protect the citizens can report to the Baron of Leim. He will command you to enter the sewers from several entrances marked by the Kadman Civilian Self-Defense Force and eliminate those demonic beings. But be sure to stay safe! My scouts have reported the appearance of Black Iron tier ghoul individuals in the sewers, including some elite leaders. If you find the sewer environment distasteful and crave a true challenge, then I suggest you seek out my intelligence officer, Lady Adele. She also has some secret troubles that require your assistance. Finally, the Crimson Regent Miriam is planning to reclaim the abandoned villages near the Crimson Citadel and dispatch people to spread the lord’s authority to other villages. You can also participate in this. If you lack combat experience, you can proceed from the hallway stairs to the desolate inner city above. The mysterious shadows of the Astral Realm’s creation shroud this area, and Duchess Tris is recruiting warriors to clear the spawn of despair and the challenging Astral Realm beasts there. But whichever plan you choose, it is all to contribute to the development of the Count of Kadman’s domain! I will keep it in my heart and send my quartermaster to prepare loyal rewards for you. You have also received Night Mother’s blessing, allowing you to stay in this world longer. I believe you will make even greater contributions to our common cause in this great reconstruction.” “Ding ding ding ding ding” With each sentence Murphy spoke, the players’ character interfaces would chime, leaving the little players looking at each other bewilderedly. Wow, this new version was truly stimulating and different. Quests that previously required finding on their own were now directly given by the main NPC upon logging in, a whole five of them! 《Trial of Strength – Black Iron Body》, 《The Underground Shadows of Crimson Citadel》, 《The Baroness of Shadows’s Secret Errand》, 《The Crimson Regent’s Authority Procession》, and 《Astral Realm Mysteries: Chapter Two》 – five quests with different starting branches clearly pointing to four different storylines and one player strength advancement chapter. And this didn’t even count the first chapter of the main quest line that hadn’t triggered yet. “Damn, I said that eight extra hours of game time would definitely be enough for a satisfying session, but with so many quests, where will I find enough liver to dedicate to my beloved otherworld? This developer really has ill intentions, don’t they? I just knew it, they gave us all these conveniences not just to enhance the player experience! Hmph! I feel like I’ve been tricked.” Miaomiao Shark immediately let out a strange cry. Afterward, happy laughter erupted from the crowd, filling the air with joy. However, would players ever complain about having too few quests? The more, the better, the merrier, brothers. For the sake of this wonderful otherworld, offer up your livers!