: WHO SAID THEY’D ONLY PLAY FOR HALF A DAY?!

【WHO SAID THEY’D ONLY PLAY FOR HALF A DAY?! 】

—

The wedding, which felt more like a grand festival, was finally drawing to a close.

Seizing the opportunity to enjoy some free food and drink, Cáo Língxuān and Mao Mo had once again set off on their first journey in-game.

Whilst trailing behind her mentor, she listened to his hearty laughter, an exasperated look on her face as she asked:

“So… Black Cat-laoshi, you knew from the start that those people without usernames were NPCs?”

“Hahaha! Come on, Little Cao. You didn’t seriously think they were players hiding their usernames, did you?”

Cáo Língxuān: “…”

Seriously?

They were that intelligent?

Never mind their realistic expressions and fluid movements, there wasn’t even the slightest indication of them being NPCs during her conversation with Nightingale at all. She even knew about ‘players’ and ‘the real world’ too!

Who could possibly have guessed they were NPCs?!

She grumbled inwardly.

But at the same time, she couldn’t help feeling a subtle mix of wonder and awe.

“Then why didn’t you say something earlier? I genuinely thought I was talking to other players…”

She spoke with a trace of resentment.

“Haha, I just wanted to see how long it would take you to figure it out! I saw you chatting with Nightingale for ages, I thought you’d already noticed.”

Mao Mo chuckled.

Cáo Língxuān: “…”

While she had sensed something off about Nightingale’s manner of speech, she had immediately assumed the wrong thing and mistook her for a chuunibyou.

“This game… really is full of ‘surprises,’ huh…”

She murmured with a sigh of amazement.

“Exactly. The hyper-realistic NPC system is one of ElvKing’s three major selling points! Something no other virtual game could match. Lemme tell you, it’s one of a kind.” ṟᴀNＯ𐌱Ё𐌔

Mao Mo explained.

“Three major selling points? What are the other two?”

Língxuān asked, curious.

Mao Mo glanced at her and grinned.

“Well, you’ve already experienced one just now. How was the food?”

Cáo Língxuān nodded vigorously and gave a thumbs-up.

“Pretty amazing.”

Then, her eyes lit up as she exclaimed:

“Wait…you mean the food? The taste?”

She paused, then shook her head.

“No… it wasn’t just taste. There was also smell, touch, sound… or in other words…the five senses!”

“Exactly! all five senses! ElvKing’s sensory system is the most immersive among all virtual games. That’s the second groundbreaking feature of this game.”

Mao Mo said with a proud smile.

Língxuān fell into thoughtful silence.

“And… the third?”

This time, Mao Mo gave a mysterious smile.

“The third one… hehe, Little Cáo, you’ll find out later after you log out.”

Cáo Língxuān: “…”

Then, changing the subject, Mao Mo added:

“But honestly, what surprises me the most… are the NPCs here. The thing that shook me to my core was these NPCs!”

As he spoke, he leapt onto a stone by the roadside and pointed at the native elves walking to and fro in the vicinity.

“Look at them, Little Cáo. These NPCs, or rather, I should say these native inhabitants of Elven Kingdom. Hmm, yes, that’s the more fitting term to use…”

“Anyway, if you take the time to talk to any of them, I mean really interact with them like real people, you’ll find that they’re not just shallow characters or background fillers. Each one of them have their own story! An ongoing story that grows and changes as we players interacted with them.”

“Ongoing stories?”

Cáo Língxuān echoed in surprise.

“Exactly.”

Mao Mo nodded.

“Every single one of them has a story of their own, and if you befriend them, maybe they’ll tell you more about it.”

He pointed toward a blacksmith shop up ahead, surrounded by a crowd of players.

“For example, see that shop? The owner is named Carlos Rageflame, a master elven blacksmith. He once had a very gifted child, but four hundred years ago, his child was killed during a raid by the orcs.”

“Devastated by the loss, Master Carlos grieved for centuries, until the players arrived, that is. They drove the orcs out of the Elven Forest and welcomed Carlos’s clan back. Only then did he slowly begin to heal.”

“He’s quite old now, and his greatest wish is to find an heir to pass on the art of elven blacksmithing. Unfortunately, no one in his elven clan has the aptitude to inherit his craft.”

“But…surprisingly, he’s found someone among the players instead.”

“See those players working in the forge? They’re his new apprentices. Since taking them in, the old elf’s has been smiling more and more these days.”

After finishing, Mao Mo turned again and pointed toward a distant temple.

Cáo Língxuān followed his gesture and saw a handsome male elf leading two visibly emotional elves into the temple.

Hmm… no, those two following behind seemed a little different from the others as their ears looked more human than elven.

“They’re half-elves,” Mao Mo explained. “They came from the demirealm of Ouros.”

“Ouros is a subsidiary realm of Seigües. You can think of it as just another map in the game—only, it’s an enormous one.”

“Ouros had long fallen into disaster and obscurity, but players rediscovered it and saved the demirealm. These half-elves are the inhabitants from Ouros whose bloodlines were purified after players spread their faith to them.”

“See the one leading the group? That elf’s name is Taylor Rocksand. He was the first among the half-elves to purify his bloodline and become a true elf. Right now… he’s probably taking those two into the temple to help them complete their transformation into true elves.”

“Taylor used to be an adventurer. He’s incredibly knowledgeable…and also a bit of a drunkard. If you befriend him, you might get to hear tales of his adventuring days over a drink.”

“And his stories? Each one is more gripping than the last. Through him, you can learn about the culture, history, and lore of Ouros. Just that one map alone carries an epic scale and grandeur most games can’t even begin to match.”

“Oh, and remember that new arc we added to our manuscript?”

Mao Mo turned to Cáo Língxuān.

She raised a brow and asked, “You mean the plot twist where the protagonist’s former lover turns against him? The readers actually liked that, though you did get roasted pretty badly for killing off a main character…”

“Hahaha, getting roasted means I did my job right,” Mao Mo chuckled.

“Actually the inspiration for that arc came from a story in Ouros. It involves a half-elf named Ouros.”

Hearing that, Cáo Língxuān couldn’t help but ask, “How are you so familiar with this game? When did you learn all this?”

“Haha! From gameplay videos, of course!”

Mao Mo burst out laughing.

Cáo Língxuān: “…”

Oh right, her mentor had been binging game videos for the past six months.

How did I forget that?

No wonder he adapted so smoothly once he got in.

Mao Mo continued, “I wasn’t selected for the game’s earlier beta tests, so I turned to watching videos for material. Over time, I ended up learning a lot even though I hadn’t played yet.”

He paused, his tone turning wistful.

“Elven Kingdom really is an endless treasure trove of ideas.”

“Every single NPC here has a story waiting to be told. And more than that, their stories also intertwine, forming a vast, interconnected web of history. It creates a sense of depth and realism unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.”

“You know, there was a player who once did an experiment. He spoke to various NPCs, recorded their pasts, and later discovered that their stories were all interconnected.”

“For example, one NPC recounted a war he’d lived through. He mentioned several other characters during the tale. The guy then went and found those other NPCs and they’d share with him their own accounts of the same war but from their unique perspective.”

“Heh, sure, many RPGs use this kind of narrative technique. But what sets ElvKing apart is that the connections between NPCs go beyond a single war or storyline.”

“If you dig deeper, you’ll realize their lives are interwoven. Every detail has the potential to involve multiple NPCs. Their backstories aren’t standalone—they form an incredibly complex network of relationships.”

“For instance, every elf in the Elven Forest is linked. If you start from any one of them and trace their social circles—friends, family, acquaintances—you’ll find that within four or five connections, you can trace every NPC here in the forest.”

“This kind of layered realism and emotional weight is something no other game has ever achieved.”

At that, Cáo Língxuān murmured in awe, “It sounds just like a real world…”

“It is a real world.”

Mao Mo replied.

“‘The most immersive, most realistic epic fantasy ever created!’ That’s Elven Kingdom’s slogan—and they’ve not only lived up to it, they’ve surpassed every expectation. No—surpassed imagination itself.”

“And it doesn’t stop there. NPCs aren’t static either. Their interactions with us players are incredibly dynamic as well.”

“They live their own lives. They have emotions, routines, desires. Players can freely talk to them—some even become friends with NPCs.”

“And players’ actions influence the NPCs: their beliefs, their behavior, their choices. Those, in turn, reshape the game’s entire narrative.”

“Just like the line in the opening cinematic describes it: every player is both witness and writer to its history,” Mao Mo said with quiet reverence.

“Wait… are you saying NPCs can even fall in love with players?” Cáo Língxuān asked, intrigued.

“Hmm? You mean Nightingale?”

Mao Mo glanced at her, rubbing his chin. “Now that you mention it… her story is a classic ‘hero saves the damsel’ trope. A bit cliché, sure—but still memorable.”

Cáo Língxuān: “…”

“So when you said we were gathering material… you were aiming for these NPCs all along?” she asked, a sudden thought striking her as she looked at him.

“Bingo! You nailed it!” Mao Mo snapped his fingers.

His expression turned a little complicated.

“To be honest, the more I learned about the backstories of these NPCs, the more I felt… defeated.”

“Huh?”

She looked at him in surprise.

Mao Mo let out a sigh.

“Little Cáo, you know I’ve always prided myself on being the kind of author who creates the most realistic and consistent worldbuilding in my works. And my readers also agree that the characters I create are vivid, grounded, and multidimensional.”

“I used to believe that only I could present such a convincingly real story to readers. No one, I thought, could surpass me in crafting characters or in logical narrative development. But after learning about Elven Kingdom, I realized… I was still too naive.”

“The people who created the world of Elven Kingdom, who designed each of these NPCs and wrote their backstories—they’re the true masters!”

Cáo Língxuān: “…”

“Laoshi, don’t be so discouraged,” she said, trying to comfort him. “A game of this scale must’ve had more than one writer, and they probably spent years planning it. You, on the other hand, are just one person.”

“But, even so… it’s still astounding. That’s exactly why I wanted to dive into this game and study it. I want to learn how the developers of Elven Kingdom construct such interwoven stories—I want to understand this world.”

Mao Mo replied.

“Black Cat-Laoshi, you’ll definitely succeed!”

Cáo Língxuān gave him a little cheer of encouragement.

Mao Mo smiled.

“I hope so too.”

Cáo Língxuān: “…”

“Alright, alright, enough talking. Time to get to work. Let’s begin our research! Hmm… I’ll start with the novice tasks!”

Mao Mo clapped his hands and said with a grin.

He stretched a bit, then jogged off toward the quest designation area.

Cáo Língxuān hesitated for a moment, then quickly followed.

After a few steps, she muttered under her breath with a strange look:

“Start with the novice tasks? Wait, wasn’t this just an excuse to play games…?”

And just like that, under Mao Mo’s guidance, Cáo Língxuān officially embarked on her in-game journey.

According to her mentor, doing these tasks was the most reliable way for beginners to level up in Elven Kingdom.

While most of these tasks were a little dull and involved menial grunt work, once your level was high enough, you could start accepting tasks from NPCs—and that was her mentor’s real goal.

Even though he’d warned her the novice tasks might be boring, they were actually quite enjoyable for someone like Cáo Língxuān, who rarely played games.

Gathering berries in the forest, searching for magical ingredients…

To her, Elven Kingdom’s scenery was so breathtaking that doing these mundane tasks felt more like she was sightseeing rather than working.

It also helped that the scenery around her was absolutely stunning.

And the best part?

She could fully enjoy the visuals and sensory immersion without the fatigue or exhaustion that would come with doing such things in real life.

That captivated her even more.

Plus, watching her experience bar slowly climb and seeing her character grow stronger bit by bit was oddly satisfying.

That thrill of leveling up was amazing!

Of course, not everything’s perfect.

For instance, there were simply too many players around…

It wasn’t so bad while roaming the forest.

But lining up to be issued a task? That was a nightmare.

Still, before she even realized it, Cáo Língxuān had spent the entire day playing the game alongside her mentor, Black Cat.

It wasn’t until the sun had set and night had fallen that she suddenly remembered, she’d originally only planned to play just for an hour or two.

“Oh no! The draft!”

She slapped her thigh and hurriedly reminded a certain carefree man nearby:

“Black Cat-laoshi! We forgot about the manuscript! We’re running out of time!”

Then she groaned inwardly in regret.

How… how could she have forgotten something so important?!

She had even set an alarm on the virtual pod!

Why didn’t that stupid machine alert her?!

But upon hearing her panic-stricken face, her mentor remained completely relaxed.

“No worries. We’ve still got plenty of time. Once we’re back at the inn in town, we can work on the draft in-game.”

Cáo Língxuān: “…”

What do you mean, plenty of time?!

The deadline was almost here!

And… working inside a game? What kind of nonsense was that?!

Oh… right. Elven Kingdom does support opening external softwares.

But still… was the environment in this game even remotely suitable for work?!

And seriously, Laoshi—aren’t you just using this as an excuse to play a little more longer?!

Cáo Língxuān had so many complaints bubbling up in her mind.

Noticing her shifting expressions, Mao Mo chuckled and said,

“Little Cáo, relax. Try logging out for a second…or just check the real-world time.”

Real-world time?

Cáo Língxuān frowned, slightly confused.

She opened her mouth to speak but then instinctively followed his suggestion and checked the time outside the game.

As soon as she accessed the external interface and saw the time displayed in the virtual pod, her brows furrowed deeper.

“….3 PM? Did the machine’s clock break?”

But Mao Mo just continued to knowingly smile at her.

Cáo Língxuān: “…”

Something felt off.

A second later, she chose to log out.

When she climbed out of the pod and looked around—

“…It’s still daytime?!”

She was left utterly stunned.

“—Of course,” came the familiar, gruff voice of her mentor from the other side.

He had also removed his helmet and sat up in his pod, grinning as he explained:

“Little Cáo, ElvKing uses neural acceleration technology. So while we’re inside the game, our thought processes run at four times the normal speed. Which means time in-game passes four times faster than in reality. So even though it felt like a full day passed, only a few hours went by in the real world.”

“Hehe, we’ve effectively gained four times the working hours if we do our work in-game. That means we can totally get our manuscript done without worrying about the deadline!”

“Haha! With this game, we’ll never have to panic about submitting our manuscript at the last-minute ever again!”

“Alright, alright, let’s log back in quickly. Our avatars are still out in the wilderness. We don’t want someone to loot our belongings. Let’s play for another half-day, then we’ll get back to work!”

With that, Mao Mo quickly lay back down and reentered the game.

Cáo Língxuān: “…”

She shot him an exasperated look and shook her head.

But still… she decided to logged back in too.

“Four times the speed, huh…”

“If that’s really the case, then we do still have plenty of time. Just a little longer then… just one more level!”

She muttered to herself.

༺⟐༻

Three in-game days later…

At a hotel run by the Amway Trading Company…

Inside one of the rooms sat two players—one man, one woman—both with dark circles under their eyes, staring blankly at the drawing software floating in their vision, hands constantly gesturing in midair as they worked.

“Little Cáo, we only have three hours left until the deadline. Pick up the pace!”

“I am working! I’m swamped already! Who was it that said we’d just play for half a day anyway?!”

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