Chapter 34: I Could Do So Much More

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“I wanted to ask, what the hell is up with that summoning circle now having insufficient energy and all that waiting for the resurrection stuff?”

In the discussion area of ​​the official website that gave off a strong copycat vibe, a netizen nicknamed ‘IAintPretentious’ appeared.

After just a minute or two, post replies appeared one after another.

IAmALoneDrunkTraveler: The guy above me, were you in the second beta test as well? I can’t log in either.

SeaSpirit55: F*ck. Where are you, doggy GM? I can’t go online anymore!

RoyalProtagonist: Was the system buggy? The saw-toothed tiger was humongous. As soon as it touched me, my whole person turned to ashes and smokes!

CatChan: Ashes and smokes +1

NaturalSong: Ashes and smokes +2

…

IAintPretentious: Every above me, were you all the ones playing with me earlier? It’s me, Dafa, the little captain. What happened just now?

IAmALoneDrunkTraveler: The game was awesome. @AreYouCryingAreYouTired Come out here! I’m already convinced!

CatChan: @IAintPretentious Captain, don’t shoot, it’s me! I was in your team, and you were bitten to ashes by the saw-toothed tiger.

SeaSpirit55: Why were we not resurrected?

NaturalSong: I don’t know. Is everyone logged out of the game?

RoyalProtagonist: What the hell is going on! Is there no one managing the game? Come out and explain yourselves.

IAintPretentious: F*ck, are they on maintenance again? The first time around, I was kicked out of the game as soon as we completed the task.

GoddessApproves: What the hell is server maintenance?

RoyalProtagonist: Ahhh… I wanna play…

IAmALoneDrunkTraveler: I wanna play too. I’ve never experienced something like this before. The out-of-vessel version was truly terrifying. 

SeaSpirit55: Let’s make a guild, guys!

…

The forum of the official website was currently bustling, but at the same time, in the survivor camp of the City of Despair, seven to eight players quietly followed Phoenix out of the camp. They walked toward another part of a dark and desolated neighborhood. 

Phoenix chose eight people from amongst the players to aid her in search of the magic crystals. The remaining players waited in the camp.

The players did not know Phoenix’s selection criteria. Still, there was a high probability that it was a bonus for getting a high reputation or prestige and the battle’s performance earlier. Although some people felt that it was unfair, they did not have any significant objections.

The experience of virtual online games was sometimes alluring to people. The task was one aspect to consider, but the details and daily in-game life were also things important.

“I can’t make them wait around like this; the footmen need to move about.”

Meng Yang saw that some of the players had slowed down, and some were scurrying about the camp. They were getting close to some of the elderly and children. It seemed like they wanted to test if they could trigger a mission. Meanwhile, others started sneaking toward the camp gate in an attempt to leave.

This was expected. Players were still players after all, and it would be impossible for them to wait around patiently.

Running around the map and exploring the unknown was part of the fun.

However, at this time, Meng Yang did not dare to let them out as the supplemental magic crystal was not yet in place. If the players died when met with danger, they would not be able to be resurrected for the time being. 

Of the fifty people who entered the game before, almost eight to nine people, including Zhuang Dafa, were currently waiting to be resurrected. If more people were left dead and waiting, then the second beta would really need to end to enter another maintenance state.

It could be brushed off the first time it happened to the original five, but if it were to happen a second time, the scale of people had increased by tenfold. If he continued to do this, it would really cause damage to the game’s reputation. 

“Let’s issue a mission!”

Meng Yang wandered around the camp and found that, except for the players, many older people and women in the camp were not idling about, and were busy cleaning the battlefield and repairing the fortifications of the wall.

A small number of jackals and gnolls had already attacked the camp before the big gnoll war and caused some damage. Hence, he should take advantage of this time to fix up the camp. 

The name of the mission was straightforward; it was [Clean-up After War]. The players would also increase their favorability and prestige at the same time.

The first thing to do was to clean up the jackal and gnoll carcasses outside the camp. All they had to do was throw it slightly further away. Monsters were everywhere in this crisis-ridden city, so if such a large number of gnoll corpses were piled up like this, it could easily attract some powerful carnivorous creatures.

For instance, this camp was within the hunting range of the saw-toothed tiger from before. Thus, it was immediately attracted by the smell of blood after the war.

However, due to the player’s madness, the saw-toothed tiger wisely chose to temporarily retreat after killing seven or eight players at the cost of minor injuries.

Felidae animals were comparatively smarter in hunting. They would back off almost immediately if they discovered that the situation was not favorable, even if they had sufficient strength.

Meng Yang was actually a little worried that the players would object to the release of this particular mission. Then, he discovered that he was overthinking it. These players that probably found daily tasks such as doing laundry and folding quilts annoying were different once they entered into a game, and would diligently become a coolie.

‘Perhaps I should have a clearer plan for the future.’

Meng Yang walked a single time around the camp as he watched the players who were beginning to enter a busy ant-like state. He thought silently to himself as he observed them.

Ever since he traveled into this world, he had never thought about how to control the players. On one hand, this was the Other World, and he had the mentality where he simply needed to ask others for help. But on the other hand, in the eyes of every player, they were the protagonists of the game. 

Even Meng Yang could not quite believe this alternate world.

At first, he wanted to find someone to help save his life, so turning this into a game seemed to be the perfect method. Then, he came to the City of Despair and saw the impact on the city after being destroyed as well as receiving Gustav’s temporary entrustment. Not forgetting to mention the danger posed by the gnolls. Therefore, he had to quickly summon the players back.

Now, it seemed like he could do so much more.

Human creativeness was endless!

“Roar!”

A low roar suddenly interrupted Meng Yang’s thoughts of the future.

Meng Yang was startled and instinctively jumped backward. Then, he took a look in the direction from which the roar came from and saw a wounded jackal. It was limping on one leg and was standing not too far away with some difficulty. It seemed to want to attack him.

“Sh*t, why… why are there still hunting jackals here?”

Meng Yang drew the iron sword that was tucked into his waist scabbard. Ever since Gustav gave him this iron sword, he had always carried it with him. Even in the face of this hunting jackal who had survived for unknown reasons, he was 100% vigilant.

“Please wait a moment, Meng Yang, Your Excellency.”

Just as Meng Yang was preparing to face the hunting jackal and preparing to fight off the opponent’s violent attack, a panicked figure ran over to him.

“Player?”

After Meng Yang clearly made out the figure, he was slightly stunned. He first thought it was someone from the camp, but to his surprise, it turned out to be a male player.

Moreover, although Meng Yang did not know this player’s name, he had a clear impression of him.

It was the one who first ran out of the group during the initial gnoll attack and was then torn apart by four to five hunting jackals.

Since he was a player, Meng Yang instantly straightened his posture and fixed his facial expression. Then, he used the usual NPC tone and said, “What do you want, adventurer? This is a hunting jackal, it’s perilous.”

“I know, I know.”

Wen Na puckered his lips as he nodded. He first glanced at the lame hunting jackal, then turned his head toward Meng Yang. He said it in a somewhat *ss-kissing manner, “Your Excellency Meng Yang, this hunting jackal attacked me before, so can you leave it to me?”

“Leave it to you?” Meng Yang raised his brows slightly, not knowing the other party’s intention.

Then, a player next to him suddenly yelled; he seemed to be a bit more familiar with Wen Na. The player said in a joking tone, “You can’t be serious about getting revenge on it by flaying it about, are you, Old Wen?”

“Yeah, dude, that’s cruel~”

“It only bit you once.”

Wen Na looked at the players he had recently become acquainted with booing him and immediately waved his hand. “Beat it, hurry up and do your work. You can’t get rewards if you don’t have enough prestige.”

As he spoke, he turned around and walked in front of Meng Yang with a flattering smile. “Boss, can… Can I handle this jackal for you?”

Meng Yang hesitated slightly and could probably guess the player’s intentions. He looked at the half-crippled hunting jackal and thought it would pose no threat to the players. Thus, he slowly put his sword away.

“I can hand it over you, adventurer, but you must be careful not to let it hurt the others.”

The issue of restricting players from attacking NPCs had been emphasized, and punishments had even been made. However, there were many children like Lil Angie in this camp, whom Meng Yang did not want to be hurt by these beasts and monsters.

“Sure, of course.”

Wen Na saw Meng Yang’s nod of approval, and the expression on his face instantly lit up. Afterward, he ignored Meng Yang and cautiously approached the hunting jackal.

Meng Yang no longer cared about the jackal. He turned and walked toward the outside of the camp as he intended to scout the environment.

The camp was getting a bit cramped from the combined population of the entire camp and the players. Changes needed to be made, and now that they had the players’ resources, he could do a lot more.

However, before he even took a few steps forward, Meng Yang heard a cry from behind him. It was evident that the conflict between the player and the jackal might not have gone as smoothly as intended.