Chapter 37.1: Tool Player Slots

On the 12th of October, Ou Huang, the game's number one player, logged out after his first day attempting the mage apprentice job advancement quest. On the 13th, he didn't log in for the entire day.

On the 13th, Ou Huang still hadn't logged back in, while in the game, a second wave of players reached the required threshold for the first job advancement. One of them was Give Me Medicine.

Give Me Medicine had long since farmed enough Treasure Expert reputation and had been stuck at the last bit of Potential to reach level 1 for several days. Finally, he managed to level up, and he eagerly logged in during his lunch break to go visit Finley and accept the job advancement.

And then.. A short while later, Give Me Medicine died and was kicked offline.

There was no need to elaborate on how frustrated Give Me Medicine was when he died and was kicked offline. But as an engineering geek, Give Me Medicine had strong resilience under pressure. As soon as the death penalty timer was up, he immediately logged back in with high spirits, ready for another round.

However, Give Me Medicine wasn't alive for very long before he died and was kicked offline again..

During the short two-hour lunch break, Give Me Medicine died a total of three times.

By the time he resumed his work in the afternoon, Give Me Medicine, wearing a safety helmet on a construction site (in the real world), took out his phone and posted on the game forum out of anger:

"Attention, players who are grinding levels and reputation! The job advancement quests are a complete sham!

I can't reach Ou Huang, so I don't know how the first job advancement for mage apprentice is done, but the wanderer's class job advancements are a complete nightmare! historical

It's the lowest-level job advancement quest, goddamn it! Seriously, even the first task requires players to sneak out under the watchful eye of that giant rat in the south of town to retrieve a quest item called "Leafless Flower'' in the valley outside where the town is located!

It's freaking ridiculous! I was killed by that giant rat three times, and that's a whole afternoon of my time! Is that rat meant for players to farm, or is it farming us players instead?! I made sure the area was clear and couldn't see it, but it came charging me!

Is it even reasonable for a measly first advancement quest to be so frustrating? Are they trying to discourage players from transitioning classes? I demand a reduction in quest difficulty!"

There were many among the players that were working individuals that couldn't play during working hours like Give Me Medicine. When they saw this post criticizing the advancement quest difficulty, many players who were close to leveling up joined in the pleading and begged the game developers to show mercy.

Of course, any discussion on the Internet would not be complete without the presence of self-proclaimed experts looking to argue. In this thread where players voiced their concerns about the game experience, there were inevitably all sorts of sarcastic comments too:

"I feel like the advancement quest is designed just fine. The wanderer class is supposed to be a combination of the traditional thief and hunter classes from other games, where sneaking/kiting is required to kill monsters. If you are gonna be a wanderer that can't stealth or kite, then you might as well go play a mundane lifestyle class like a noob."

"Having trouble defeating a mere elite monster? You guys are just terrible at playing games."

"It's not the game's difficulty. You guys are just noobs!"

For other games, the appearance of such condescending individuals would easily have led to heated online arguments. A post originally intended to protest the game developers' approach could easily veer off-topic.

However, it was different for the game "OtherWorld." With only 310 closed beta slots issued and only two "newbies" seen out of the 10 additional helmets distributed by the unscrupulous developers, players not only remembered each other's IDs, but it was also rather challenging for non-playing netizens to sneak into their ranks. The few instigators were quickly identified as non-players and were subjected to ridicule and sarcasm.

And then.. the thread didn't go off-topic, but numerous threads like "Discrimination against non-players," "The need for respect toward non-players," and "Non-players also want to spend money on the game" popped up, which pushed Give Me Medicine's appeal to the second page..

Ou Huang, real name Lin Rulong, who was going through a two-and-a-half-day journey to rebuild his confidence, scrolled through several pages before finally seeing Give Me Medicine's post on the forum.

The "game's number one player" was silent for a bit before he clicked on "Create New Post."

Unlike Ou Huang's usual aloof manner, there was a cute touch to his writing style in posts, and this one was no exception:

"Hello everyone, I'm Ou Huang (〃'▽'〃)

Thanks to some good fortune, I received the mage apprentice advancement quest two days ago.

The job advancement quest is really difficult and it was a serious blow to my confidence. ┭┮﹏┭┮

The first quest is a multiple-choice quiz with a passing requirement of 70% accuracy. The quest panel lists the names and characteristics of several dozen plants that have to be remembered before being quizzed. It's actually quite simple.

The second quest, though, is rather painful. It requires players to enter an underground passage, activate meditation in the town's shelter, and enter a quest area called the 'Mental Trial.'

It's a bit like clearing a hundred floors. In the trial, you have to concentrate and make various choices quickly. If you fail one, you have to start over. It's really tough for me, and I've only managed to reach the 60th floor. _(:τ」∠)_

And I don't know why, but the 'Mental Trial' seems to consume a lot of energy. If you fail several consecutive attempts, you have to go offline and rest. ヘ(_ _ヘ)

Anyway, I've decided to challenge this quest again. Everyone also has to buckle down together and complete the job advancement early to learn new skills, okay? (づωど)"

As for the discussions and arguments that ensued among other players after seeing Ou Huang's post didn't have to be mentioned. On the other hand, the rather talented and reputable duo, Blossoming Strokes and Unceasing Entropy, who were grinding the Lord's reputation daily, immediately called each other after seeing the post.

Unceasing Entropy, who already had her own companions, had no intention of joining the two emerging player factions. During the "night of rampaging" on the 12th, they had even managed to snatch quite a bit of loot from the two major player factions despite most of them being unaffiliated.

However, this didn't affect her friendship with Blossoming Strokes. Even though there was a major tension between Brother Lahong and Vanilla Pudding, players on both sides would still team up to complete quests and farm monsters in their spare time.

That night, the two girls agreed to come online at the same time and attempt the mage apprentice job advancement quest together.

When they arrived at the Town Hall, they happened to encounter Guileless Gale and Phantom, two of Brother Lahong's buddies. Despite their fierce battles against each other just two days prior, this close-knit duo greeted them warmly and expressed that they wished to hear their experiences of the advancement.

"Not a problem. We were actually planning to make a post sharing our experiences after successfully completing the job advancement," Blossoming Strokes said with a smile.

After parting with this duo, the two girls approached Lord Yang, who spent most of his time in the Town Hall.

Compared to the other advanced NPCs, Lord Yang could be considered a more handsome category. The black mage exuded a mature male charm and the refined air of a middle-aged gentleman with the wisdom of years. He had a clean-shaven face, neat and tidy shoulder-length hair, a slender face, and a melancholic gaze. His Eastern features, in particular, appealed to the players that were from China.

Every time players approached this NPC for quest interactions, they would find Lord Yang either dressed in a stylish black robe, lounging in a chair while reading a book, or wearing a formal vest and pants, sitting by the table sipping tea. It could be said that Lord Yang was the epitome of human NPCs in the game.

But, an NPC, no matter how handsome, was still an NPC. Moreover, Lord Yang hadn't been given much screen time in the main quests players had undertaken, so even female players who liked handsome gentlemen didn't particularly have any fondness for Lord Yang.

"Are you ready to embark on the path of becoming seekers of magic?" Lord Yang, who was sipping tea, looked up and initiated the conversation as the two female players that had reached "friendly" reputation approached.

"Yes, Yang, we wish to become mage apprentices." Blossoming Strokes stepped forward to interact.

The advanced NPCs in this game were highly intelligent. Even if the dialogue used during interactions wasn't particularly formal, key phrases being mentioned would elicit a corresponding response from the NPCs.

Of course, because these NPCs were so intelligent.. it was important to be polite and not have a poor attitude during interactions, as it could easily provoke the NPCs and result in being killed with a single blow..

Lord Yang set down his teacup, clasped his hands on the edge of the table, and solemnly said, "Magic is a dangerous power. While it is beautiful, it can easily lead one astray. Those who seek the path of knowledge must possess the strongest will, never abandoning the purest convictions deep within their hearts, regardless of the circumstances they face. No matter how powerful their abilities become, they mustn't lose themselves. Undead friends born from evil chaos, are you truly prepared?"

Blossoming Strokes and Unceasing Entropy were both expressionless.

What nonsense are you spouting, you evil black mage who even deceived the pure-hearted zombie general and seized the opportunity to take over and proclaim yourself Lord?!

But because this fellow was the only spellcaster advanced NPC and angering him might result in being incinerated by a massive fireball, Blossoming Strokes maintained a straight face and was as courteous as possible. "Yes, Lord Yang, we are prepared."

Fortunately, the NPC didn't ramble on further this time. He simply nodded and, being as pretentious as ever, said, "I admire your courage, undead ones," before issuing the quest.

As they left the Town Hall, the two girls whispered to each other, "This guy will definitely end up as the boss of a dungeon sooner or later.."