【 CURIOSITY IS THE START OF ONE’S DOWNFALL 】

After handling the matter of the red dragon, Tiberia, Eve returned to her Divine Kingdom.

Three days had passed since the public beta began, which roughly equated to a day back on Earth. By now, most of the 100,000 newcomers had started to familiarize themselves with the intricacies of how the Elven Kingdom operates.

Of course, such a sudden influx of new players was bound to bring about various issues. Without institutional constraints or rules to abide by, most people would indulge upon their desires, venting their negative emotions without reservation simply for the fleeting satisfaction it brought.

“Human nature is inherently flawed.”

Evé firmly believed in this saying.

The world of games was often a reflection to humanity’s darker impulses and destructive tendencies, offering a space in which the consequences of one’s actions could be far less tangible. In the real world, many were already weighed down by the relentless grind of daily life. Therefore for some, a game became not just an escape, but a place where they could indulge in reckless abandon without fear of repercussions.

Thus, much like during the fourth beta, a number of new players in the public beta found amusement in sheer destruction.

The once pristine Chosen City, diligently maintained by veteran players and the natives, was now littered with trash carelessly discarded by these newcomers.

Moreover, conflicts among players rose exponentially, becoming too numerous to count, with some even escalating to the point of dying as a result.

These were only some of the inevitable consequences of a large-scale influx of players.

Fortunately, the chaos remained confined to the players themselves and did not extend to the native elves.

This, at least, was an unspoken rule among veteran players.

For all its flaws, humanity’s defining trait that sets it apart from animals is the ability to grow, to conform to civic rules, and to make personal sacrifices for the sake of a better community and environment.

This was especially true for chinese players, who had a strong sense of collectivism.

In fact, this was one of the key reasons why Evé had never opened the game to foreign players.

Although the game’s western fantasy setting might hold greater appeal for western players, their deeply ingrained individualism and love for personal freedom might clash with the chinese cultural values.

Being Chinese herself from her previous life, Evé preferred to stick with the cultural foundation she was more familiar with, one steeped in thousands of years of collectivist ideals.

Because, in the grand scheme of things, she would much rather have a group of players who could work together and set aside their personal interests for the sake of development and progress, rather than one outstanding player who might prioritize personal glory over the greater good of the community.

And in this regard, the chinese players, which are known for their strong camaraderie, were the ideal choice.

Not to mention, they were highly pragmatic, efficient, and adept at discovering new gameplay mechanics. Their antics could be exasperating at times, but they had undeniably shaped the unique charm of Elven Kingdom.

As time passed, the integration between veteran players and NPCs deepened.

More and more players no longer viewed Elven Kingdom as just a game but as an alternate immersive world to experience life the second time around.

With this mindset, coupled with Eve’s deliberate introduction of relevant quests, many players had begun taking it upon themselves to uphold the games civic order and even protect the native elves. ȓ𝘼ŊỖ฿ΕŜ

Thus, while the initial chaos brought on by the influx of new players had been significant, it did not escalate further thanks to the efforts of the veteran players. The disorder gradually settled, and the prior peace eventually returned.

This greatly reassured Evé.

The dynamic between the players and NPCs was exactly what she had envisioned.

On one hand, players retained their unique fearlessness and creativity. On the other, their deep integration into the Elven Forest fostered an increasingly harmonious relationship with the natives.

Perhaps this was the essence of Elven Kingdom’s ‘atmosphere.’

It is such a strange thing since even within the same school, different classrooms can have completely distinct environments. Likewise, even within the same game, different servers develop their own unique cultures.

Of course, Elven Kingdom had only one server.

And in Eve’s eyes, the atmosphere of Elven Kingdom had been cultivated quite well.

People are shaped by their environment.

So as long as she carefully controlled the influx of new players and give them proper time to adapt to the game’s atmosphere, absorb its culture, and integrate into the world—the Elven Forest could continue to develop just exactly as Evé intended it to be.

This only strengthened Eve’s resolve to implement public access in batches.

Maintaining the game’s atmosphere was no easy task and if too many new players flooded in beyond what the system could assimilate, the delicate balance Evé had spent a year building between players and NPCs would crumble in an instant.

Fortunately, her faction was now progressing along a stable path.

Of course, those unruly public beta players who disrupted this atmosphere did not go unpunished. Evé had no hesitation in issuing warnings to these people, banning accounts, and even permanently revoking access when she deemed it necessary.

By now she had long stopped worrying about player retention as at this point there was no shortage of new ‘leeks’ eager to join the game.

The only concern for her now was managing the influx rate of new players, ensuring that each batch was properly trained so that these newcomers could seamlessly assimilate into the culture fostered by the older players.

Speaking of the latter…

While the new players were steadily growing, the veterans were already moving forward. Following Eve’s directives, they had begun venturing into the Dark Mountains, taking the fight directly to the orcs who were stirring trouble at the borders.

She was also preparing to send an advance force into the Desert of Death to investigate the movements of the orcs and launch strategic disruptions to their supply lines, aiming to weaken their influence in the region.

But before that, there was another matter she needed to address…

“With more players, a larger map, and the veterans scattered far and wide, the previous method of dragon bonding selection is no longer viable.”

Evé murmured to themself.

As per her agreement with Reinhardt, the dragons would send someone to visit the Elven Forest once a month. While dragons had a rather languid sense of time, their visits had generally been consistent so far.

However, with the players now spread across vast regions, many of whom were engaged in important tasks and quests, having them return to Florence just for a chance to form a dragon pact was, quite frankly, rather inefficient.

For instance, some veteran players were already deep within the Dark Mountains, nearing the Desert of Death. If they wished to form a pact with a dragon, then they have no choice but to make a lengthy return trip, only to journey back again afterward.

Such back-and-forth travel was an unnecessary burden in Eve’s eyes.

It was no surprise that dragons had an overwhelming appeal to the players.

Everyone dreamed of having a dragon partner.

Eve could already foresee that whenever a dragon arrived in Florence, every player who could make the trip would rush there, hoping for a chance to form a pact with one.

However, with Florence’s limited capacity, the sudden influx of so many players would make it difficult for the hatchlings to properly choose their partners.

Still, this was only a minor issue.

And Evé had already devised a solution for this.

Whilst seated upon her Divine Throne, Evé murmured thoughtfully.

“I guess it’s about time I use that method, Virtual Space.”

༺⟐༻

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ The Dark Mountains, Near the Foothills of the Desert of Death

A group of bloodied orcs fled in terror, their weapons and armor discarded during their frantic escape.

Suddenly, a blur of swordlight flashed before crimson blood sprayed out from the Orcs throats.

Then, as if struck by some sinister magic, each corpses withered at an unnatural speed, crumbling into ash within seconds.

Only the scattered remnants of broken weapons and smears of blood remained, a silent testament to the massacre that had just taken place.

“Seventeenth one.”

A voice, cool and commanding yet laced with a magnetic edge, echoed through the still air.

It belonged to Moon Jasmine, a warrior-class player.

She sheathed her longsword with practiced ease before efficiently gathering the fallen orcs’ equipment, storing it in a recently acquired small storage artifact.

“Clap, clap, clap…”

A round of applause came behind her.

Dressed in priestly robes, Caesar slowly approached, his expression filled with admiration as he gazed at his in-game partner.

“Jasmine, you’re getting stronger and stronger! That attack of yours was an instant kill!”

His voice brimmed with amazement.

Moon Jasmine, however, let out a soft sigh.

“It’s still not enough. Boxlunch is already Level 48, and I’m only 42.”

“Come on, that guy is the number-one combat player in the entire game and a veteran from the first-beta at that. You shouldn’t compare yourself to him! For a fourth-beta player like you to have come this far is already an incredible feat. You’ve shocked countless people! Do you even realize you’re in the top ten of the combat rankings now? Some players have even started calling you the Valkyrie, you know?”

Caesar exclaimed.

Moon Jasmine simply shook her head.

“I just hope that I can take another step forward after completing this task.”

She glanced at her task list, where the ‘Scout the Desert of Death’ task was displayed but not yet active.

Then, turning to Caesar, her gaze softened slightly.

“By the way, congratulations on advancing your Priest class to intermediate Iron-rank.”

“Ah, thanks but I’m still a little bit behind. My priest subclass level still hasn’t even surpassed my main class yet. I heard Heart of Nature’s Dongdong has already fully transitioned into a primary-class priest and is now preparing to break into Silver-rank.”

Caesar sighed with a wry smile.

“Tsk, don’t compare yourself to her. She has an entire guild backing her. And besides, she supposedly also compiled The Sacred Codex of Life herself and many shallow believers from Ouros were converted into devout followers because of her.”

Moon Jasmine reassured him.

Caesar shook his head.

“No, that fact that she could do it proves her real strength.”

Then, as if something had just occurred to him, he asked:

“By the way, Jasmine, aren’t you planning to return to the Elven Forest? The new batch of dragon hatchlings should be hatching tomorrow, right? I heard that this time, the dragon envoy brought along chromatic dragon eggs, and these species place great value on combat ability. I think you have a solid shot at forming a pact with one of the hatchlings.”

Hearing his words, Moon Jasmine shook her head.

“No. The Desert of Death map is opening soon, and making a round trip back to the Elven Forest at this point would take too long. My only alternative would be to kill myself to respawn back, but since I’m a Level 42 Silver-ranker, the demerits I’ll incur will be doubled. So dying at my current level would cost me 84 revival coins, which is roughly equivalent to 10,000 contribution points.”

“Damn… That’s brutal.”

Caesar wiped a cold sweat from his forehead.

Jasmine nodded.

“So… does that mean you’ll skip this one out and just wait for the next batch?”

Caesar asked with a hint of regret.

Jasmine was about to respond when, suddenly, a system notification flashed in her vision.

A soft chime echoed in the air as a new floating announcement appeared in the game interface.

“Hm? A change to the dragon bonding procedure?”

Jasmine raised an eyebrow.

She tapped on the notification and quickly skimmed through the details.

“Hmm… it says that, to accommodate players across the entire land, the dragon bonding event will now be held through a Virtual Space, in which every player wishing to participate will be mentally summoned for a competitive selection process.”

Her eyes gleamed with thought.

“So it will now be held in a Virtual Space just like the PvP arena?”

After a brief moment of contemplation, she turned to Caesar.

“Caesar.”

“Hm?”

“Check the new update announcement. We might not need to return to the Elven Forest after all. We might still have a chance to compete for a dragon pact.”

༺⟐༻

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Elven Forest, City of Florence

The proud red dragon Tiberia placed a massive log onto the construction site with a dignified air before swaggering back to her temporary makeshift nest.

Of course, she hadn’t built the nest herself and was the work of those lowly elves.

The moment Tiberia returned, a few eager players scurried up to her. With awkward yet determined movements, they began scrubbing her magnificent, gleaming scales with steel brushes, while offering up freshly roasted meat in an attempt to curry favor with her.

Tiberia cast a haughty glance at these players before extending a claw with practiced indifference, casually bringing the roasted meat to her mouth.

“Chomp, chomp…”

To be fair, this meat’s taste was exquisite.

“Hey, hey wasn’t there someone bragging about never accepting food from such ‘weak elves?’ Tsk tsk It’s only been what, five days and you’ve already given in?”

A drawling, mocking voice drifted over from the side.

Lounging lazily on a bed of gold coins that the players had hastily arranged, Meryer smirked as he jeered at Tiberia.

For a brief moment, Tiberia froze mid-bite.

Truth be told, she had wanted to resist at first…

But who could blame her?

These elves’ roasted barbecue meat was simply too tantalizing! This food had an otherworldly temptation that Tiberia had never experienced back on Dragon Island.

It was as if some devil had conjured up the perfect flavor for her taste bud, luring her into depravity.

Still, Tiberia quickly straightened her posture, lifting her head high with pride.

“Hmph! It’s merely because these lowly elves are desperate to serve me. As a noble red dragon, it is only natural to have some attendants for myself.”

With that, Tiberia turned to look at the groveling players, who instantly took the cue and enthusiastically echoed:

“Yes, Lady Tiberia! Our glorious Red Dragon Queen!”

Tiberia nodded in satisfaction.

Then, with practiced ease, she spat a glob of saliva into a waiting basin.

“Take this with gratitude, you pathetic weaklings. Consider it a reward from I, the benevolent Tiberia.”

The red dragon declared loftily, though her voice was a little hoarse, perhaps from spitting too much recently.

The players, however, were overjoyed, carefully bottling up the dragon’s saliva like a priceless treasure.

For newbies like them, this dragon spit was actually a rare loot, something they could trade with veteran players or NPCs for a significant amount of contribution points.

Meryer, who was watching this whole spectacle unfold, let out a derisive snort.

“Hah! Servants? What a joke. It’s just a transaction for them. I’ve been doing this far longer than you.”

With that, Meryer casually pulled up his task menu, sent a task to the players surrounding him, and watched as their faces lit up in delight. Renewed with enthusiasm, they began massaging his scales even more diligently.

Then, with a smirk, Meryer shot a glance at the red dragon and said smugly:

“See? True superiority means having others work for you with just a single command.”

“Tch!”

Tiberia let out a sharp huff and turned away, but not before sneaking a quick glance at the black dragon.

The Red dragon’s amber-gold pupils flickered with confusion.

No coercion… no transactions…

How is this black dragon making these elves willingly obey him?

But her curiosity would have to wait for the time being.

Because in the next instant, Tiberia sensed something—

Specifically, the eggs she brought along with her in the plaza was starting to stir.

— 488 —

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep