Chapter 9:

The cunning Murphy entered the game forum with an ulterior motive. He found that a very active shitposting thread had already appeared on this newly opened forum. However, shitposting without gaining experience is meaningless. Why would a sensible person chat in the posts? So he ignored the thread in typical vampiric cold and elegant fashion, and carefully studied the various functions of this forum first. In the backend, there was an “Application Area”. Here, one could view test applications and allocate test slots. The five test invitation codes Murphy just obtained could be used here. He could also edit the questionnaire for the《Reality Realm》game test application himself. Unfortunately, there were no new test applications yet. However, he could copy the questionnaire link to veteran players, who could then invite newcomers through it. Uh, this process sounded a bit like a pyramid scheme, didn’t it? If he wasn’t currently in a real otherworld, he would suspect himself of trying to start some dangerous organization, and report himself to the nearest police officer while he was at it. With such strange thoughts, he also discovered a “Feedback Area”. According to the forum rules, this was where the《Reality Realm》test players, that is, the gamers, could provide feedback to the game production team about existing problems in the game. In layman’s terms, it was called a “suggestion box”. “But this is just for show, right?” The vampire glanced at this well-designed feedback and complaint area, and couldn’t help but inwardly mock: “The admin system clearly states that even if there are complaints, it can’t solve any problems. After all, this real world is not a game, and I’m just a poor test admin, not a creator god. I have no way to patch bugs from the void. So this feature is specifically to test my skills at misleading and making excuses, isn’t it? Hey, you saw right through me.” Within minutes, the few players still on the forum almost simultaneously received an invitation to an internal forum group from Murphy. The LeadingPigeon, who was about to take off his headset to eat, saw that the invitation was from an ID called “Alpha” marked as the forum admin, so he immediately accepted it. After entering the group, he saw that the 10 players who had received invitation codes were all here. Alpha: 【Yo, hello everyone, I’m the little newbie from the《Reality Realm》game testing team. I’ll be responsible for interfacing with the test players and collecting your feedback on this game, as well as moderating the forum a bit. Feel free to speak your mind, don’t be reserved. Voice any opinions you have about this game or submit feedback posts, and I’ll promptly relay them to the production team.】 LeadingPigeon: 【Hello, admin! 】 The pigeon immediately went to greet him, and the others followed suit. The atmosphere instantly became cordial. MeowKing: 【Damn! You guys had fun with the combat test today, didn’t you? I was at work then, and I feel like I missed out on a million bucks! Come on, someone tell your brother what it feels like to slash people in this game!】 DoesTheCyborgSnailDreamOfElectronicTrees: 【I don’t know what slashing feels like, but I can tell you what being slashed feels like. It was so stupid, the game experience was extremely bad! Negative review!】 LeadingPigeon: 【Shut up, you noob. You just logged in and got one-shot by an arrow to the head, and you still have the nerve to jump around? You pathetic waste, you’re embarrassing our dorm! As the dorm head, I can’t even show my face to the NPCs.】 DoesTheCyborgSnailDreamOfElectronicTrees: 【Damn! You dare talk to your dad like that, you ungrateful brat? Dad won’t bring you food today! And you can forget about attending the morning roll call tomorrow, (╯‵□′)╯(┻━┻】 LeadingPigeon: 【Noooo! Dad, I’m sorry.】 DoesTheCyborgSnailDreamOfElectronicTrees: 【Good boy.】 InvincibleTyrannosaurCar: 【Good boy +1.】 AhYuen: 【Good boy +10086.】 DumpTruckIaido: 【@MeowKing you’re Old Yang right? I remember your game name is this. Last night after drinking with Old Lin, we suddenly received two headsets, followed the instructions to the forum, and we’re still confused. Can you tell us two what’s going on with this game?】 MeowKing: 【Hey, are you suffering from middle-aged internet syndrome or what? Don’t reveal my real name, you mutt! Call me by my ID or just Brother Meow, the rest in private chat!】 AhYuen: 【@Alpha Are you nitpicking? Hmm, let me think, I previously saw the three noobs who died turn into light particles after death, and the white-haired NPC nearby looked dumbfounded. This made me feel that our ‘exit method’ lacks that role-playing flavor. This game is so realistic, having such a flaw really breaks the immersion. I strongly suggest that players should leave complete corpses behind after dying in the future.】 DoesTheCyborgSnailDreamOfElectronicTrees: 【Brother Yuen, be honest, what do you want to do with our corpses? Horrified.jpg】 LeadingPigeon: 【Evil grin, of course brother Yuen wants to do some ‘terrible’ things, like draw little turtles on your noob faces or spam crouch and insult emotes.】 Alpha: 【This one... you do make a point we didn’t consider before. I’ll submit the feedback to the dev team and see if they can make some modifications. Additionally, there’s some bad news. The dev team wasn’t very satisfied with the effects from that just-completed basic combat test. They felt the test player reactions weren’t professional enough, resulting in a lot of combat data not being collected, so they may conduct another combat test soon. This time, we hope the participating test players can perform in a more professional manner, at the very least not having the embarrassing situation of dying right after logging in.】 DoesTheCyborgSnailDreamOfElectronicTrees: 【!!!So you could see our performance in the game? Admin, no need to publicly execute me like that!】 Alpha: 【No need to be so dejected. In my opinion, your arrow-to-the-head earlier looked quite dashing. In all my years doing this, it was the first time I saw someone take an arrow that accurately. This is our home too, who would make a mess in their own home? Whether you believe it or not, the Blood Vulture clan even has an official ‘Protector of the People’. So please direct your hatred and anger to the right place. Secondly, I don’t have much time to console you, girl. As you overheard earlier. The dangerous Witch Hunters are hunting me down, and they won’t spare you either after you killed one of their own. So whether you’re willing or not, you’ll have to follow my arrangements if you want to survive. Now tell me, what’s your name?” Faced with Murphy’s inquiry, the girl showed some resistance, but after a few seconds of hesitation, she obediently lowered her head and sighed: “Miriam.” “Hm? No family name?” Murphy raised an eyebrow in surprise and said: “An aspiring girl able to attend university thousands of miles away on the Genoa Peninsula shouldn’t lack even a family name, right?” “I’m the village chief’s illegitimate daughter.” Miriam said softly, a bit embarrassed. “This return was for an arranged marriage set up by my father to the son of a wealthy merchant in Kadman City. The inheritance from my late mother is what allowed me to attend university. But my father has been a bit short on funds recently...” “Oh, I see.” Murphy’s gaze became subtle as he said: “So that anger earlier was just an act, wasn’t it? You don’t actually have any feelings for this place. Alright, no need to explain, I’m not interested in family dramas. I can see you’re a clever one, and that’s what I need now.” He stood up, drew the Blade of the Desire Clan and with a flick of his wrist, swiftly sliced through Miriam’s ropes in a practiced arc. Then he pointed outside and said: “Go find weapons and armor from those corpses to protect yourself. And gather enough equipment for ten people to use. I need to think about what we should do next.” Without a word, Miriam lowered her head and walked towards the exit. Her legs were trembling slightly, her fists clenched. Just as she neared the door, Murphy said in an ominous tone from behind: “Your heart is racing, are you plotting something dangerous? As a native of Transia, you should know that vampires like me can track life by scent up to three miles away, Miriam. Need me to explain to you the principle behind the spirit mark that forms on the killer when a Witch Hunter dies? I hear that mark lasts at least seven days, and all Witch Hunters who pass the Hunting Rites can see it and will go to any lengths to avenge their comrades. It’s their tradition! From the start of the Ten Year War until now, the number of ‘vampire cultists’ killed by Witch Hunters is astronomical. And unfortunately, from any angle, you now belong to this group. So, do you truly understand your predicament now?” “I...I can!” Miriam clenched her fists and shouted back at Murphy without turning around. She strode out of the dilapidated hut, but made no attempt to run on her two legs. Instead, she obediently began gathering the equipment Murphy needed. Inside the house, Murphy’s hand also moved away from the hilt of the sword at his waist. He would not be deceived by Miriam’s seeming meekness! A young woman capable of lethally ambushing and killing an aroused Witch Hunter one-on-one with her beauty alone could hardly be harmless. And this one was even a third-year student at the prestigious Shaldor Engineering Academy. That was one of the three great academies on the continent! Who knows what kinds of thoughts and self-defense techniques those cunning and mysterious halflings instill in their students? Perhaps that Witch Hunter’s death held more to it, but now was not the time to dig to the root since Murphy needed Miriam’s help. Murphy glanced out the window at the annoying dawn light, representing his upcoming vampiric torpor. Staying up all night left him a bit fatigued, and the lingering weakness from the Witch Hunter’s poison blood made him drowsy. However, the exhilaration of combat and his first kill seemed to have awakened some vampiric dark traits in Murphy, he found himself displaying an unexpected coldness towards death, especially the deaths of others. He didn’t know if this was normal, but with the constant threat of vengeful Witch Hunters, Murphy felt he should prepare early. Most importantly, he had reaffirmed his next objective: Before completing this troublesome journey to return to Kadman City and see Tris, he had to finish his Newbie Guide Quest, unlocking all possible functions to allow the small players to reach their full potential. Only by them growing stronger could he and Tris stay safely away from the ever-present danger. The young vampire squinted at the outside sunlight. In that moment, Murphy actually looked forward a bit to the potential hunt the Witch Hunters might launch. Gradually realizing the true usefulness of the test admin system, he no longer had much to fear. Now he only hoped the storms of life would come with greater ferocity, to water and nourish his little leeks, helping them grow strong and tall. Though the leveling function was still locked, without slaying monsters, where would experience for leveling come from?