“Ark” had captured the attention of gamers worldwide ever since its first promotional video was released. Although the trailers revealed little, each scene was more than enough to ignite excitement—be it a battlefield so realistic you could see the sheen of blood on every blade, a towering cityscape that inspired awe, or a meteorite crashing down from the heavens, heralding cataclysmic change. Every detail made players long to step into this new world.

The cutting-edge VRMMORPG gear sold out during the closed beta phase and was restocked just one week before the public launch. Within less than an hour, frenzied players from around the globe snatched up every last unit of the new gaming helmets. Many joked that the whole situation felt eerily similar to the launch of Sword Art Online, and on the eve of the official release, fans across the world excitedly donned their gear.

A few players, with dramatic flair, even left written wills on their desks—formally asking their families not to remove the helmet under any circumstances. Cough, cough.

—

October 5, 1087, Terra Time – 10:00 a.m. – Day One of the Public Beta

As the servers opened, anxious players surged into the game, only to hit a surprising bottleneck at the character creation screen. The system allowed users to recreate their real-world appearance with near-perfect accuracy. For many proud members of the “Appearance Association,” this posed an unexpected dilemma.

Those confident in their looks activated the face-scan function and imported lifelike avatars. Others—like socially reclusive otakus—either overlooked the message or skipped straight to the manual character creator, immediately diving into the highly detailed customization tools. Some spent hours fine-tuning every facial feature, a fairly standard behavior in games of this caliber.

Then, as the light of data streams surged, more than eight million players entered the world of Ark, version 1.0. Each was assigned a starting location, descending into their designated novice villages scattered across the land of Terra.

Near the base of a rugged mountain outside the Yellow Sand Settlement, streams of players appeared out of thin air. The first sensation to greet them was the searing heat of the sun. Hands instinctively rose to block the light as wide-eyed players took in the vivid, lifelike surroundings.

“Shit, it’s just like the beta testers said… This world is unbelievably real!”

“I have a tail now—hehehe! Lupo! My sweet Lupo, I love you!”

“Wait—why can’t I take off my underwear? I demand to file a complaint! I’m going to report this!”

The players’ chatter created a chaotic hum, making it difficult for anyone to hear clearly. Still, the excitement on their faces was unmistakable. Some Lupo players began stroking their newly acquired tails with wild delight, laughing strangely as they admired their transformations.

“Hey, where’s the Novice Village? Didn’t the beta players say there was supposed to be a village here?” a confused player asked, scratching his head and scanning the surroundings.

More and more players materialized at the foot of the mountain. Within minutes, the area was packed with thousands of avatars, each with a unique ID hovering above their heads. A few players spotted a fenced-off settlement not far away—the Yellow Sand Settlement—and assumed it must be the Novice Village. Without hesitation, they surged forward toward it.

Inside the settlement, a sharp-eyed patrolman spotted the approaching crowd. His eyes widened in alarm as he registered the number of people. Panicked, he blew his whistle with urgency.

Within moments, village chief Lycan and several patrol members—young and strong—rushed to the scene. When they saw the throngs of strangers flooding toward the village, they were dumbfounded.

Lycan’s heart sank. If these people are infected… the Yellow Sand Settlement is doomed.

Outside the fence, the players found themselves blocked by armed patrols, frustration beginning to bubble over.

“Wait, this isn’t the Novice Village? Then why can’t we get in? What’s going on?”

“I’m dying of thirst here! Can someone at least give me some water?!”

“Hey, I see someone inside with a player ID!” a sharp-eyed player shouted. “That has to be a beta tester!”

Everyone turned to look. Sure enough, among the Lupo youths standing near Lycan, several had visible player IDs floating above their heads. Unlike the newcomers, they were dressed in coarse cloth and animal skins, each armed with a crude iron spear or sword. Clearly, they had already integrated into the game and progressed.

Lycan’s voice trembled with both shock and apprehension as he turned to the local leaders nearby. “Where did these wanderers come from? There must be thousands of them… If they’re infected, we’re finished.”

“Should we try talking to them?” someone suggested.

“Are you insane? Do you want to provoke them?” Lycan snapped.

A patrolman with keen eyesight returned with an update. “Chief, they don’t appear to be infected. No signs of Originium on their skin. And there’s no one sick or elderly among them—they’re all healthy young adults.”

One of the telltale signs of an infected group was the presence of the gravely ill, often visibly on the verge of death. Hearing that this crowd was made up solely of strong, young individuals, Lycan finally exhaled in relief.

He stepped up to the fence and called out, “Wanderers from this land of hardship, where do you hail from?”

The crowd fell silent.

A system prompt immediately popped up before every player:

[Quest Triggered: Persuade Lycan]

The task required them to convince the village chief to let them into the settlement—but they had just entered the game. Aside from a few references to global factions, they knew next to nothing about this world. The name “Yellow Sand” barely even registered for most of them.

Faced with the unexpected question, the players stared blankly at each other, completely at a loss.

Lycan frowned. Don’t these thousands of people have a leader? Though young and able-bodied, they were likely a bit weaker than the Yellow Sand patrol team—but they had the overwhelming advantage of numbers.

The beta testers within the settlement stood beside Lycan, watching the situation unfold like a drama. During the closed beta, they had descended directly into the village without any of this fuss. Back then, only a hundred or so had entered, and their appearance hadn’t caused a stir. Now, however, they were also greeted with a system prompt:

[Quest Triggered: Persuade Lycan]

The objective was to convince Lycan to allow the public beta players outside the settlement to enter. But the trick was, it had to be done in a way the NPCs could understand. When the beta testers saw the quest rewards—experience points and LMD—their eyes gleamed with interest.

“What? You say you know the wanderers outside?” Lycan asked, surprised as one of the players stepped forward.

The leading beta tester nodded. “Yes. We were part of a settlement not far from here… But a few months ago, it was destroyed. Because we were delayed on the road, the main group fell behind.”

The other beta testers glanced at him with admiration. Though he spoke a little awkwardly, his explanation fit well within the established lore. Nicely done, man.

“You could treat them as labor,” the player continued. “If you’re willing to give them water and food, they’ll work for the Yellow Sand Settlement. Didn’t you just open a new residential zone? We could move them there to help.”

Internally, the beta players chuckled. Wow, this guy’s ruthless. He mentioned water and food—but conveniently skipped over any mention of LMD.

Lycan, however, seemed convinced. With a group this size, opening up a new zone for development made sense. Water and food were manageable logistics.

He turned to the mass of players outside the fence and relayed the situation to them.

Almost immediately, the initial quest for the public beta players grayed out and vanished. A new mission appeared before them:

[New Quest: Yellow Sand’s First Job]

[Quest Details: Upon arriving in Terra, you encountered the Yellow Sand Settlement. While the locals are wary of you, they’re offering work in exchange for water and food. Earn their trust. Once your relationship with Yellow Sand Settlement reaches ‘Neutral,’ they will begin to accept you.]

With a new mission in hand, the public beta players finally felt grounded. At last—something to do! They eagerly followed the NPCs’ instructions, heading off to designated work areas and throwing themselves into the experience.

Using their LMD, they could purchase simple food and water from merchants within the settlement. Meanwhile, the village provided modest tents as temporary housing. Thousands of new players began forming a second ring of community just outside Yellow Sand’s walls—the first real expansion of the settlement.

This small event was just a glimpse of the larger chaos unfolding across Terra. On that unforgettable first day, excitement buzzed through every corner of the game. Even the most mundane happenings were posted to the forums like grand tales. Reply counts were far outnumbered by original posts—everyone wanted to share what they experienced on Day One.

“I feel like my snake tail is a bit too thick. Will it affect combat?” A female player from the Archosauria Crocodile race posted a selfie, showcasing the thick, plump gray-white tail that swayed behind her otherwise slender figure.

“Someone please understand what I’m going through. There’s an infected camp right next to the Sarkaz novice village. I’m terrified.” Another post came from a Sarkaz player, sharing a picture that captured smoke rising from a nearby cooking fire—and several muscular, hostile-looking mercenaries stationed outside the ominous camp.

“Not only can’t you take off your underwear, there isn’t even a function for using the toilet? Let’s count the sins of Ark—is it laziness, or just a lack of ambition?” A critical thread began making rounds in the forum, denouncing the production team’s so-called realism. How can you claim it’s a real-world simulation without basic bodily functions?

“It’s over. I hugged a beautiful villager, and now I’m forced into a five-minute cooldown. When I finally came back online, I was arrested. Someone please save me—coordinates attached…” The accompanying screenshot showed a charming girl from Yan Country, smiling innocently as if nothing had happened.

While public beta players worked enthusiastically—posting, laughing, and sharing stories—veteran beta players were quietly making a fortune behind the scenes.

…

Meanwhile, chaos was unfolding for the Dynasty Team.

All of them had chosen the Sarkaz race, and during the closed beta, they had successfully left the novice village and integrated into larger settlements. But now, upon logging in, they discovered their original spawn point had been reduced to ruins.

“What the hell? What happened here? Why is our spawn point gone?” Dynasty Team’s captain, Huang Tian Hou Tu, could barely contain his frustration. He checked the relationship map—only to find that the entire town had gone grey, no longer displayed, as if it had never existed. Where did all our reputation points go?

“Should we try asking around, see what’s going on?” suggested the team’s deputy captain, Chengwangbaikou.

The fifteen-member team wandered across the war-torn terrain for hours. Some munched quietly on the dwindling supplies from their inventory. Eventually, they spotted a distant settlement and sprinted toward it, hope rekindled—only to be stopped by a group of grim-faced mercenaries.

“Where are your identification badges?”

A new system prompt popped up:

[Quest: Inquire for Information]

Huang Tian Hou Tu quickly stepped forward. “Brother, our camp was destroyed a few days ago. Everything we saw on the road here was nothing but scorched earth. What happened?”

The mercenaries eyed them warily, as if they were clueless bumpkins dropped from the moon.

“Kazdel Civil War. War of Succession,” the guard replied curtly.

Huang Tian Hou Tu and Chengwangbaikou were stunned into silence. They hadn’t anticipated that an in-game NPC war would sweep up players too. Not only had the conflict wiped out all the faction relationship points they’d worked hard to build in the beta test—it seemed, based on what the mercenaries said, that Kazdel was descending into a long and brutal civil war.

A war of succession had erupted between Theresa, the legitimate sovereign of Kazdel, and Theresis, the acting regent king.

Dozens of Dynasty Team members exited the settlement. Huang Tian Hou Tu took in a sharp breath. “This… is an opportunity to join a faction.”

“At this moment, with civil war tearing the nation apart, we can choose to side with one of the camps—as mercenaries. Then, step by step, we grow stronger. Military service gives access to rare class advancements and secondary professions,” he explained, his voice calm but resolute. “I’ll consult the coach later, but we should at least settle the general direction now.”

“Should we pick one side and go all in to maximize our combat strength?” someone asked from the back.

Huang Tian Hou Tu thought for a while. “My idea is to split the group. Half joins the orthodox royal camp, the other half joins the regent’s. That way, we’ll gain advantages from both ends.”

“But that has its drawbacks,” another player interjected. “We won’t be able to act together, which will hurt our performance in the pro circuit. No synergy, no communication, no joint tactics… It could cripple us. Hold on—I’ll check with the coach.”

Moments later, Huang Tian Hou Tu’s character logged out on the scorched earth. About five minutes later, he reappeared.

“The coach said it’s better we join the same side—for the same reasons we discussed. Team coordination takes priority.”

Winners and Losers nodded. “Which side do we choose? Whoever loses the power struggle ends up with nothing. We know nothing about either Theresa or Theresis—not even a rough estimate of each camp’s strength.”

Huang Tian Hou Tu was quiet for a moment before responding. “Our supplies will last about a week. In the meantime, we gather intel—learn who’s more likely to win, or who offers the better rewards. Once we’re sure, we’ll swear allegiance.”

The professional players of Dynasty Team all nodded in agreement. For them, it wasn’t about storylines or loyalties—it was about becoming stronger, sharpening their mechanics, and eventually dominating the professional league. Morality didn’t matter. If the so-called evil side offered better combat benefits, why not take it?

Several days passed, filled with careful questioning and quiet observation. Eventually, they came to a decision: they would join Regent Theresis. His camp offered more tangible benefits, and his subordinates were clearly stronger. For a professional team, no other faction provided such fertile ground for growth.

From that moment on, their titles changed to [Mercenaries under the Theresis Army]. Their faction relationship with the Theresis Army rose from Cold to Neutral, while their standing with the Theresa Army turned Hostile.

The Dynasty Team was elated. Laughing and chatting, they entered the Theresis camp and began taking on faction quests.

—

A flash of light streaked across his vision, and when Dandao Dantart opened his eyes again, he found himself back inside the church where he had last logged off.

The public beta had finally begun.

Now, he thought, I can spend every day and night with my Xia.

He looked around expectantly—but Felix was nowhere to be seen. Frowning, he approached an NPC and asked, “Where is Felix?”

“Oh, you mean that handsome Mr. Sankta?” the NPC replied with a polite smile. “He left. I’m not sure where he went.”

The smile on Dandao Dantart’s face instantly vanished.

He dropped to his knees like a man crushed by fate.

“No!!!”

“My Walking Merchant!!!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep