MoP: Ch. 184

---Third POV---

"Although the newly unlocked spells fall into the flying and earth categories, I feel it's not that simple. For example, earth, as one of the four fundamental elements, water, fire, earth, wind, and the only one that exists in solid form, represents matter, solidity, and creation. Could it be related to keywords like stability, toughness, minerals, and protection? The sky can represent freedom of flight, so if we extend that to the concept of celestial bodies in the universe, could it possibly enhance astrology?"

"..."

"That's all I'll say about the new spells for now. After all, we're still in the exploration stage, and if I say too much, you won't want to listen anyway. Having finished a class-change topic that only closed-beta players would care about, the next topic should obviously give cloud players a sense of participation too."

"For example, Chronicles of Aeltia has finally entered open beta! Just kidding. As everyone knows, there has always been a mysterious voice wandering around the Chronicles of Aeltia forum. Does a game with 100% realism actually exist? How exactly did some users on the forum obtain their avatar frames and achievement badges? Is this just a new version of a troll forum, or some self-indulgent hoax by one or more groups?"

"Since the only gameplay footage available has been a few official promotional videos, the forum, originally meant to be the game's official companion forum, has forcibly evolved into a mixed-bag knowledge forum covering weapon crafting, house building, agricultural pest control, emotional advice, and all kinds of other topics. Now, the game's recording function has finally been unlocked, and it even includes all gameplay footage from the day of the siege up to now. For example, like this: (Nary Town Gate Image) (Wasteland Image) (Dungeon Combat Footage)"

"Looking forward to everyone's screenshots!"

---

[prpr]: Amazing!

[AlarminglyHandsome]: I didn't really feel it just from the official announcement. Turns out there's so much new content!

[AccountDeleted]: Holy crap, the detail in these images, the model precision. This is insanely immersive!

[ClankClank]: Flying-type spells, so I can really fly now?

[ProGamer_Daddy]: Already buying the flight spell skill book, don't @ me.

[ChestBurster]: What a pity, I liked the strategy group's abstract drawings.

[Hedgehog]: Correction: those were Apple's abstract drawings. Mine have always been very expressive!

[ProGamer_Daddy]: Get lost! I stopped doing illustration guides for new maps ages ago!

There were also quite a few dissenting voices.

[PinkGuy]: After all this hype, the money-grabbing finally shows its true face? People are so easy to fool nowadays. Three images and some promo videos from an official account, and not a single overlapping element. And you call this real gameplay?

[ExpiredKid]: Exactly. There's not even a UI, obviously CG animation. This only fools laymen who don't know any better.

[Child]: Wait, did you guys even watch the latest expansion info?

[ExpiredKid]: It's because I watched it that I'm saying this is CG animation, or some images made with advanced rendering techniques. Lighting, reflections, fine details... only outsiders praise game visuals like that. Anyone who knows the industry understands that if visuals this detailed with lighting this smooth were put into a holographic VR headset, your head would heat up enough to cook an egg in under ten minutes!

[PinkGuy]: Use CG animation to scam investors, then the first and second test trailers gradually degrade, and in the end they serve up a pay-to-win legendary game. I know game company tricks way too well!

[Child]: ...

[ExpiredKid]: What, convinced by the two of us?

[Child]: First of all, there's no UI in the footage because, aside from the game panels, the game world and reality are basically indistinguishable. Second, is making "CG animation" really that easy? (Attack on the Mayor's Manor Video 1) (Video 2) (Dungeon Battle Footage Video 1)

As soon as the videos were posted, the comment section under Child went silent for quite a while.

[CowardlySurvivor]: Uploading three big videos like that must've cost at least triple-digit, right?

[Child]: I'm not logging in today anyway, might as well burn mana however I want!

[CowardlySurvivor]: Haha, then I'll throw in a few pics too! (Image 1) (Image 2) (Image 3)

[Lux]: I'm joining too. Let everyone see the glorious moment when I was preaching to the masses! (Image) (Image)

[Hedgehog]: Don't forget me!

[ChestBurster]: Holy shit, a cyber cult leader?

[DroolingEvenCured]: Wait, this game actually exists?

More and more closed-beta players discovered the recording feature and began uploading images and videos.

Just as the cloud players finished watching the new expansion and were about to complain that the siege battle was padded with filler, how the defending NPCs automatically raised their hands 100% of the time, totally lacking conviction, what they saw first instead was player-contributed content that might as well have been DLC for the expansion.

From various perspectives and different angles, these uploads filled in scenes that were missing from the expansion or lacked sufficient detail.

Combined with the participating players' self-praise, they somehow managed to describe a one-hour steamroll lightning battle as a nerve-wracking war of attrition.

The cloud players, seeing so many in-game environments for the first time, were completely bamboozled.

[This isn't just a shitposting forum?]

[Isn't this some content creator's elaborate gag game?]

[Isn't this like a casual game aggregation site?]

The cloud players were collectively stunned. If only one person had posted so-called real gameplay images, they might have doubted it.

But once the number of players sharing gameplay videos reached a certain scale, and their footage could mutually corroborate each other, it became impossible not to believe.

A 100% realism holographic game for only 10 bucks?

Was the game company doing charity?

PinkGuy tried to struggle on the brink of death.

[PinkGuy]: I suddenly realized, aside from the magic effects, the rest of the scenes aren't impossible to recreate in real life. It's probably real-world footage plus post-production effects. More sophisticated than CG animation, but the actual cost is about the same. The goal is still to scam investors.

Unfortunately, Garble chose this moment to speak up.

[Garble]: Ahem, let me reveal an easter egg that wasn't recorded in the expansion, an allied NPC who will appear in the future. (Claire close-up) (Claire full-body shot) (Claire full-body shot with five severely injured sirens)

The comment section exploded instantly.

[Holy shit, white hair! I'm immediately prprprprpr!]

[Is this beauty something humans are allowed to have? It's too pleasing to the eye!]

[I confidently turn around. Hi, wife!]

[Where's the guy who said this was real life earlier? This level of beauty can only exist in games!]

[Why does the game only have 200 closed-beta slots? I need to go meet my wife!]

In just half an hour, the number of game pre-registrations grew exponentially.

Ten thousand, twenty thousand... The number easily broke thirty thousand and was charging toward fifty thousand.

---

Having just settled rewards, players were probably going to engage in quite a celebratory feast, consuming the food materials they'd drawn from the reward pools.

Viktor didn't need to be present. He simply headed back to Honeyvale Town first.

Edgar stared blankly at the imposing boundary marker more than three meters high before him.

"This is Honeyvale Town?"

Before he left, this place had clearly been ruins with just a few small wooden cabins newly built. How come there was even a boundary marker now?

From a distance, he could also see several multi-story wooden buildings. It really had the appearance of a town now.

"You were gone for nearly two months. It's normal for there to be changes."

Viktor led him past the boundary marker.

"The players discovered a boundary marker in the northern Giant Pit Ruins and were clamoring to build one in Honeyvale Town too. Since there was no harm in it, I just let them go ahead."

After walking a short distance, strange buildings with various designs gradually appeared on both sides of the leveled dirt road.

There were ordinary wooden cabins, primitive stone houses piled from large blocks of stone, dark-style skeleton ghost houses, absurdly thick and abrupt trees with tree houses on them... Regardless of safety and durability, just in terms of creativity alone, the imagination was immense.

Seeing Edgar's gaze drawn to these buildings, Viktor simply introduced them.

"Some players don't like regular houses, so I separately allocated a plot of land without buildings and let them unleash their creativity. Don't worry, the houses in the city center are very normal."

After all, players built houses purely for fun and to look impressive. Safety was really hard to guarantee. There was no way he would let such houses appear in the city center with its extremely high foot traffic.

"Later I'll take you to see the industrial district. The changes there are huge..."

As he spoke, a player riding a bicycle whizzed past the two of them.

"Hey Viktor, going to the celebration feast?"

"No," Viktor replied.

"Looks like today's celebration feast is happening server-wide. You're in for a treat."

Precisely because the undead couldn't eat, he'd come back to avoid it, yet he still couldn't escape. Was it because the recording function was enabled, giving newbie players a sense of participation? Or were the players simply finding an excuse to gather together?

Edgar stared intently at the bicycle's rotating rubber wheels.

"This is..."

"A new product from the industrial district. Looks like they discovered rubber trees in the forest, hmm, or some other similar latex sap?"

Viktor speculated.

"However, natural rubber isn't durable enough, and muddy ground easily causes bumps. This bicycle won't last long before breaking down. Perhaps we should renovate the road surface."

Edgar listened quietly, suddenly meeting Viktor's gaze and finally reacting.

"You want me to oversee road repairs?"

"Of course. Otherwise why would I bring you around for this whole tour?" Viktor asked in return.

The situation in Nary Town had locals solving it. On the Honeyvale Town side, he naturally also had to grab a laborer to handle trivial matters.

"Players have recently started researching chemical products. The discharged sewage and industrial gases are increasing daily. I plan to move the entire chemical industry zone to the Giant Pit Ruins. The potatoes planted in the agricultural district mature once every three months. There's still a month and a half until maturity. The magic wall construction takes more than two months. Both require a large amount of manpower. You handle the arrangements. There's also the settlement of beastmen and sirens... It's time to start printing magicoins. At least enough to supply Nary Town and replace Sol... Oh right, I also plan to build a school..."

Viktor talked on and on.

Alyanne's usefulness was limited. Now that Edgar was back, naturally these tasks didn't need him to handle. As a so-called leader, of course he only needed to give orders and inspect results. He patted the other's shoulder, skillfully picking up the art of painting grand visions.

"I've already made plans for the general direction. As for the remaining implementation part, I believe you're very experienced at it from your time in the Radiant Church."

Edgar replied, "In the Church I only needed to go out and fight."

"Ahem!"

Viktor changed his tune without any embarrassment.

"This is real power, the organization's recognition of you. When Claire comes back, I'll even have you lead troops in the army."

Although currently The Watchers didn't yet have an official military force. But the future looked promising.

"Claire..." Edgar's eyes narrowed.

Speaking of that siren colleague who studied spirit speech, the doubts in his heart only grew.

"She's very skilled at internal affairs?"

Spirit speech became reality once spoken, but it also restricted the caster's speech ability, making it impossible to communicate frequently with outsiders.

Viktor chuckled softly.

"Since she managed to create a third organization right under the White Dove and Deep Sea Cult's noses, she's far better suited to be an administrator than I am. After we deal with the magic tide here, I'll let you witness her abilities."

Claire was currently the oldest member of The Watchers, second only to Kasha. Edgar had only joined less than a hundred years ago. It was normal not to know much. The fact she hadn't left him any message meant she was temporarily safe. There was no rush to meet up with her.

Beep!

A notification interrupted their conversation.

Seeing Viktor's expression suddenly become somewhat grave, Edgar asked curiously.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just that the number of players who can be called has increased."

Viktor closed the pre-registration count that had grown to 40,000. When he decided to unlock the recording function, he'd foreseen today's situation. It was just that the growth rate of pre-registered players was faster than he'd imagined. After spending a bit of time figuring out the reason, he found it both frustrating and amusing.

"Sometimes looks really are useful."

Players had clearly posted various videos of Aeltia. Yet the post that exploded in popularity was the Claire projection he'd deliberately cut out.

The filthy dungeon, the blurry, illusory projection, a few pure character beauty shots with no storyline. That alone could gather a bunch of perverts drooling over looks.

If he found her person and brought her out, who knew how much appeal she'd have. After Viktor once again reinforced the official website firewall with magic, he continued forward.

"Let's go. We still have quite a few things that need our attention."

---

After the celebration feast ended, different players had different plans. Especially the first-tier players.

NeverShowOff helped load the last package onto the wagon, looking toward LootGoblin sitting on the wagon's edge.

"You've really decided?"

"I heard the Elven Forest is on the easternmost part of the entire continent, and we're close to the southern Sea of Mist. Our trip will require crossing six medium-sized countries, countless small countries and tribes, and even making a circle through the Berrian Kingdom, one of the Three Great Empires... before you can reach the Kingdom of Sylvia near the Elven Forest."