Chapter 201:

The noisy little players entered the game. Since they were all “friends and family”, even the veteran players got busy, mostly putting aside their current tasks to guide the newcomers. For example, Onboard Joy Stick as usual gathered a large group of new players with combat professions and once again took them to his beloved “Place of Destiny” – the sewers. Joy Stick learned from Grayman that the sewers weren’t just two levels deep. There was a hidden third level below the “ancient area”, so he planned to explore its reality. It was a good opportunity to train the little players’ combat skills and make them realize the importance of teamwork in this game through real battles. Because of previous experience in guiding newcomers, there were no unexpected casualties this time. However, screaming in fear at the sight of ghouls and losing control of emotions were still common occurrences. After all, who wouldn’t be confused when a group of atheists saw such fantastical and realistic creatures? The ghoul’s terrible appearance and nauseating stench alone were enough to scare these “pampered” sweethearts from the real world to “lose their composure”. While the little players were battling in the sewers, the girls’ team was at the Adventurer’s Guild camp with their own “newbies”, helping Lady Aqua complete her Oak Apprentice class change. This was currently the only known healing profession in the game. Due to Murphy’s advance instructions, Guildmaster Natalie had prepared uniforms for the “warriors”, but there was a problem: “It’s too tight! I can’t breathe.” At the camp, Lady Aqua’s face was flushed red from the constricting standard nun’s robe. Sister Jules and Grandma Marianne exchanged glances. They had already found the largest size of nun’s robe, but the “proportions” of this newly initiated warrior were simply too magnificent, making even the large-sized uniform struggle to contain her. The tightly stretched chest area looked a bit too undignified. “The design of this nun’s robe is very classic, clearly referencing clerical vestments, but it must be altered. Not just the bust size, but also this conservative style. Wearing such ‘lifeless clothes’ is simply intolerable. Do you have a needle and thread? I’ll modify it myself. It won’t take too long.” Lady Aqua, always picky about clothing, took off the constricting garment. She found needle, thread, and tailoring tools in Sister Jules’ tent, and then busily set to work in a skilled manner. Captain Natalie, who had been observing this scene, said in an odd tone to her assistant Amber: “We’re supposed to be a proper church.” “Indeed, how can such a sacred nun’s robe look so... indecent on that woman? It could almost be called ‘depraved’.” Miss Amber also looked perplexed. Clearly, this unexpected situation left both Avalon Church Witch Hunters at a loss. “This obviously isn’t a problem with the clothes,” whispered Bursting Belly, who had just completed his Oak Apprentice class change. “Given Lady Aqua’s situation, even if you put her in the most solemn papal robes, it would be the same. She has that enviable natural gift. Sigh, Lady Aqua’s husband is truly the enemy of all men!” “The Avalon Church doesn’t have a pope. We’re governed and led by the Elder Council of Nature,” Captain Natalie sternly corrected, then glanced at the “Beast Tongue” skill book Bursting Belly was holding. She advised: “This tome is very abstruse. It records techniques for communicating with wild creatures. Many Witch Hunters can’t master it. Perhaps you should start with simpler skills?” “Huh? Abstruse? Not at all, it’s explained very clearly. I’ve already learned it.” Brother Belly, a fierce beast keeper, blinked his eyes. Fearing Captain Natalie wouldn’t believe him, he demonstrated his skills by turning to call out to several male falcons that were bobbing their heads, trying to court the proud falcon Swift Shadow perched on a tent nearby. His call wasn’t quite Proficient yet, but it clearly carried peculiar spirit energy waves. Those foolish birds engaged in their “naughty business” immediately turned their heads, their small eyes filled with shock. As Brother Belly called out again in a vivid imitation, one of the falcons cautiously flew over, landing on his arm. Brother Belly then fed it a few sunflower seeds he had bought specifically for this purpose. With the financial support of Rich Brother, Feel You Poor, he was considered wealthy compared to the generally cash-strapped little players. He could even afford things like the Spirit Microphone that even some veteran players couldn’t easily buy. “You see, Miss Natalie, Beast Tongue isn’t difficult to learn.” Brother Belly raised his arm to show the falcon to the two Witch Hunters. Natalie and Amber exchanged glances, and the gray-haired witch hunter said very seriously to the warrior before her: “You might have the talent to become a ‘Druid’, warrior. Such Mastery of Beast Tongue is a rare gift. Unfortunately, the old Druid orders have perished in the wars. You can only explore this path on your own.” “There, I’ve finished the alterations.” At that moment, the curtain of Sister Jules’ tent was lifted, and Lady Aqua walked out wearing her self-modified nun’s robe. The neckline had been cut to create some openness, preventing the clothes from constraining her. The loose robe had been tailored into a fitted style, cinched with a belt, transforming the originally baggy nun’s robe into what looked like a special dress. Paired with the vampire riding boots that Fatal Orchid Huahua had kindly contributed... tsk tsk, all that was missing was a pair of classic white stockings for nuns. Sister Jules, following behind Lady Aqua, was a traditional and conservative believer. She kept praying, seemingly asking Avalon to forgive this new devotee for certain aspects of her “offense” against faith. The old sister, who had lived most of her life, had never imagined that the faith of the Avalon God could have such a “vivid and charming” special version. “Hey! You’re here to help with healing, not to make clothes! Come on, let’s take you monster hunting,” called out little Sword Saint Ashina, chewing on candy. Lady Aqua, with a beaming smile, bid farewell to the church members very amiably and properly using the old church rituals she had just learned. Holding her Thorn staff, she left the camp with her friends. However, monster hunting was out of the question. As someone who entered the game as a “Master of Manufacturing”, she still had to attend Professor Malcolm’s “professional skills assessment” later. The administrator was counting on Lady Aqua to train some advanced tailors in his domain. This was the best use of “otherworld knowledge”. As for Lady Aqua herself, she was probably the busiest among this batch of newcomers. Nevertheless, she didn’t dislike this unique and vibrant “otherworld gaming” career, recording everything she saw with wise and gentle eyes. But Ah Yuen has bad luck and hasn’t gotten any, sob~ Oh, speaking of this, I should add something! If you really don’t like the dark environment of the sewers, or if you get dizzy from the stench of ghouls, there’s a second leveling route to choose from. Now Baroness Miriam has started issuing daily quests to clear gnolls. I estimate that our next attack focus might be on the gnoll bandits who are said to be rampant in Transia. So, making an irresponsible guess, if little players form teams to hunt gnolls and bring back enough claws and tails to turn in to Maxim, it should trigger a Hidden Quest. But the problem with humanoid monsters like gnolls is that there are many enemies in their lairs, and these guys are smarter! According to information kindly provided by Rich Brother, Feel You Poor, gnolls will actively flee when defeated and call for their kin to seek revenge, just as annoying as murlocs in a certain game! Moreover, gnolls often cohabitate with kobolds! Although kobolds are easier to deal with, occasionally there will be spirit individuals among them. Those earth spirit spells hurt a lot and come with control effects, so be extra careful when going out to subjugate them. Ah! These are Ah Yuen’s leveling suggestions for new players. Finally, to summarize, this game isn’t about killing more monsters to level up faster. The focus is on honing your skills. Brother Mao is the best example, his feat of defeating an elite without taking damage has become a beautiful tale even among NPCs. The part about ‘titles’ and ‘honorifics’ belongs to advanced content. New players should consider this aspect after passing the Black Iron Trial~】 Fatal Orchid Huahua: 【Great summary, but there’s one point you didn’t mention, little Ah Yuen. At the adventurer’s camp, you can find Guildmaster Natalie to purchase spirit bead plugins. Administrative players will be given Spirit Microphones, but other players have to buy them themselves. Although it’s a bit expensive, I suggest new players equip themselves as soon as possible, otherwise communicating with NPCs will be very troublesome. The translation module that comes with the Computation Bead isn’t particularly accurate and can occasionally lead to errors in quest content. Just now, Lady Aqua has tried the spirit shield and spirit ray components, and little Sword Saint has tried the spirit scope. They all work well, especially the scope – putting it on feels like suddenly turning into an FPS game. The shield component can create a volatile spirit shield. It lasts for 30 seconds and can withstand two attacks from Black Iron monsters. When the shield breaks, it casts a mind-piercing spell on the monster. The ray component is even more straightforward. When activated, it fires a searing ray. Its power is equivalent to a small-caliber bullet and can penetrate a gnoll’s head at close range. The charging time is a bit long, once every 5 minutes, but it’s very useful as a support skill. Equipping all these plugins can effectively increase the survival rate of new players. Conveniently, our Computation Bead has three slots, probably a patch added by the development team later, perhaps a small benefit for new players?】 Scholar Xiao Zhou: 【How can there be such expensive benefits? Sister Orchid, that Black-Hearted Witch Hunter Natalie set the price too high. Buying all three costs 60 gold coins. Where would new players get so much money?】 Sword Saint Ashina: 【The “Pride of Silver Moon” team is now recruiting melee fighters above level 5 to participate in the subjugation of gnoll lairs. The requirement is to kill at least 50 gnolls. After the action, we will gift each participating player one of the three bead plugins! Only 20 spots! First come, first served!】 Does the Cyborg Snail Dream of Electronic Trees: 【Me, me, me! Rich lady, choose me! Strong Black Iron rank vampire Tomb Guard, can fight, can tank, and can even act cute! The money in the kid’s hands has all been taken by the stupid Leading Pigeon to buy alchemy materials. Urgently need plugin support.】 Kono Maomao Shark: 【Strong Black Iron rank vampire Midnight Hunter looking for a team! First-class reconnaissance, invincible assassination. Rich lady, give me a chance.】 North Forest Dog’s Paddle: 【Damn! You two are in such a miserable state? As mighty Black Iron rank players, you’re competing with new players for jobs, shameless! Rich lady, why not choose us? Although we’re not vampires, strong swordsmen have higher attack power. We also have experts like Brother Mao. Beating a few gnolls is absolutely a piece of cake.】 West Valley Wolf’s Prowl: 【What are you butting in for? Hurry back to fight monsters! That mysterious NPC is just ahead. Brother Mao says we must complete his Hidden Quest. You bastard, hurry up! Whether we can learn powerful skills all depends on this wave.】 North Forest Dog’s Paddle: 【Oh, coming.】 Onboard Joy Stick: 【??? You guys encountered a mysterious NPC in the sewers? And triggered a quest? Damn, eating alone, huh? Brothers, report the location. I’ll bring people over to help immediately.】 Like A Tiger Can Edge Wood: 【The 7th collapsed tunnel on the northwest edge of the ancient area in the sewers, come quickly! The monsters here are endless, they keep coming out! Ghouls and wraiths mixed together, bring some Spirit Mages! Civilian Protection Officer Kudel requires us to hold this place for at least an hour before he will acknowledge our will and combat power. We just triggered this quest, and it can be shared! This NPC is powerful and will definitely lead to some impressive plot.】 Meow King: 【Damn! You guys are really eating alone! Wait, this powerful mage will bring people to support you right away.】 What started as a nice newbie post suddenly turned into a Hidden Quest recruitment, leaving Murphy with a helpless expression. His little players were indeed “quest experts”. However, Ah Yuen’s summary was indeed good and very helpful for newcomers. It could also deepen their stereotypical impression of this “game”. It’s worth pinning! And it deserves a hefty reward, to encourage Ah Yuen to produce more game guides, telling everyone that this is just a game! Moreover, it’s a game still under development, so various game features are not complete and need to be launched successively. Don’t overthink it, okay? “Master, your smile looks strange,” Lady Adele said softly, making Murphy immediately straighten his expression. He folded his wings and descended from the high altitude, landing on the hills near the Baroness of Shadows’ territory. In front of him, a caravan was slowly approaching, and on the lead carriage, a small figure waved in the night, showing no trace of midnight nobility as she spread her wings and flew towards them. Like a wanderer returning home, or a friend coming back from a long journey. The young lady was back. From the shelter where she once wanted to spend the rest of her life, back to her true home.