I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Page 524

The door had become loose, and Old Eggplant pushed it open.

crunch--

With a loud noise, Old Eggplant felt himself enveloped in darkness.

Before he could even assess his surroundings, he felt a chill.

It felt as if something was covering my body, like water.

But the thing smelled foul, causing Old Eggplant to instinctively hold his breath. He soon realized that he seemed to be in sewage.

No, it's muddy water; this is a mud pit!

When Old Eggplant realized it, an invisible force pulled him up, and in an instant, Old Eggplant was pulled out of the water.

He took deep breaths, the air carrying a slightly putrid and earthy smell.

Old Eggplant lay on the ground, enveloped by a feeling of relief after surviving a disaster.

He only snapped out of his daze when he heard the voice beside him, straightened up, and looked ahead.

Around him, many ragged people looked at each other in bewilderment, including some game streamers that Old Eggplant was familiar with.

Standing before them was a majestic knight dressed in red armor, riding a horse.

"Get up, you bunch of good-for-nothings, now is not the time to rest."

The knight's voice reached Old Eggplant's ears, and he realized that he had entered the game.

All around was a vast and deep forest, and in front of him was an NPC who seemed to be a guide.

Old Eggplant pinched his face, which was still covered in mud and water, and felt a pain.

"This game is so realistic."

He couldn't help but sigh.

Chapter 704 Reporting Numbers

Old Eggplant's感慨 (feelings of emotion) wasn't simply because he saw the game's visuals.

It's not the atmosphere itself that matters.

During the "Summoning Night," because he was in a secluded room, and because the Stormy Manor was actually built in a relatively modern architectural style, Old Eggplant felt as if he had entered an old house to explore.

He later analyzed that people have the ability to fill in the blanks in their minds. Many times, he would glance at something and fill in the rest of the scene in his mind, which is why it seemed so real.

Like many games, if the background is urban, such as racing or war, the graphics will be very realistic because there is reality as a reference. Top-quality graphics can even be indistinguishable from reality.

Therefore, when people evaluate the quality of a game engine or the skill level of a development team, they often use the modeling and textures of non-realistic objects as a reference.

Therefore, there has always been a saying online that to truly see the visuals of "Morning Star," one must look at truly fantastical works.

But now, the filthy, stinking mud, the towering trees that block out the sunlight, and the red knight's mottled yet gleaming armor before my eyes are so real, so tangible.

Old Eggplant has played countless fantasy games. Sometimes he rides a horse through dilapidated villages, sometimes he wanders on foot across snow-capped mountains, and sometimes he stands inside a magnificent white castle. But none of them can compare to what he is seeing now.

The mud pit deeply shocked him.

"Everyone stand still, I'm going to count the number of people."

Brown looked at the hundreds of people crawling out of the mud and shouted somewhat insecurely, "If Lu Ban hadn't explained to me before that these people were all summoned by Lu Ban, Brown might have wet his pants right now." At first, Brown was a little worried about whether these summoned barbarians understood what he was saying and whether they had basic common sense and manners.

But Brown was dumbfounded when they arranged a neat square formation in just over ten seconds.

He clearly didn't know that these summoned "barbarians" had all undergone military training in their youth, and when it came to marching in formation, no one understood better than these people what it meant to move in small, quick steps.

"One, two... there are a lot of people, can you call out your own numbers?"

Brown initially wanted to count them himself, but considering that it seemed a bit embarrassing to count on his fingers in front of hundreds of people, he decided to let them count on their own.

next moment,

Brown was stunned.

Suddenly, the person on the far right of the line stopped and shouted.

"one!"

Then he looked at the person next to him, and the person being looked at immediately said "two," and the word was passed on to the next person.

When the entire array was almost finished reporting, Old Eggplant thought for a moment and felt that this was his chance to shine. In this kind of game, it would definitely not hurt to get along well with the NPCs.

He quickly did the calculations, and as soon as the last person to call out their number fell silent, Old Eggplant immediately called out.

"Report: 346 people are present!"

“…Good, you come out here and take charge of managing them.”

Brown hesitated for a moment, but then thought the man seemed quite resourceful, so he put him in charge of managing these people.

They've all come out of the mire, so they should be able to communicate with each other better, right?

Brown was somewhat uneasy.

Old Eggplant's behavior also surprised the surrounding players.

When people subconsciously lined up, they were still in a state of confusion and adaptation to the environment, like newcomers who had just arrived in a new world.

But Old Eggplant's shout immediately made them realize that this was a game!

This is an online game.

Being able to build good relationships with NPCs will definitely bring many benefits. Look, this guy has become their leader, and who knows, it might even trigger some hidden quests or storylines. Many people's minds are still stuck in the old days of games, waiting for NPCs to give them tasks.

But this is a virtual reality open-world game; how can you expect to gain anything if you don't actively seek it out?

"Sir Knight, what should we do now?"

Following his habit of asking questions in similar games, Old Eggplant carefully considered his words.

“Let’s go back to town. This forest is dangerous. Don’t stray too far from me.”

Brown replied, also quite pleased with the man's attitude.

"Sir Knight, that sounds wonderful!" He turned his horse around and led the group forward, with several knights in silver armor guarding the group.

Old Eggplant walked in front, very curious about his surroundings.

According to the knight, this should be the Black Forest of the Night Kingdom.

The Night Kingdom is plagued by a demonic tide, a scene of despair with countless monsters attacking. Could the main storyline of this game be about fighting against the demonic tide?

Old Eggplant wanted to reach out and touch the surrounding trees, but before he could even raise his hand, he heard a commotion behind him.

He turned his head and saw that a restless player had run away.

Old Eggplant was taken aback for a moment, but quickly understood.

Since it's an open-world game, there are actually no restrictions on what players can do.

Some people might pick apples by the roadside and climb all the way to the snow-capped mountains without triggering the initial storyline, while others might travel the world and return fully armed before finally fighting the first boss. Freedom is the main theme of the game.

That player probably just wanted to see if the forest was just a texture or a real space to explore.

"Danger? Oh no, isn't he afraid of dying?"

Brown instinctively wanted to call out to him, but then he remembered what Lu Ban had said: these "players" were special summoned creatures that would revive after death, so he became a little curious.

The person ran into the depths of the forest and quickly disappeared into the shadows.

Brown waited for a few minutes, and suddenly, bubbles rose from the mud, and a hand reached out from the mud, which made Brown shudder.

The person who had just escaped climbed out of the mud, but instead of fear and confusion, his face showed extreme excitement.

"Brothers, no invisible walls, holy crap, that's awesome! No invisible walls, I can run around like I want, but halfway through I tripped over a vine and a flower ate me! Holy crap, that hurt so much, but it's so awesome!"

He excitedly told the others.

Brown simply couldn't understand why this person was so excited and thrilled after being killed by a monster, as if he had encountered not some terrifying beast, but a princess in distress.

Hearing this person's words, the others were also eager to try, which made Brown a little worried.

Although these people seem to be able to come back to life, it's not good to waste time here like this. Maybe those monsters will follow the scent and come looking for them, and then I won't be able to deal with them.

Just as Brown hesitated, Old Eggplant spoke up.

"Guys, I think we should run the main storyline first. Otherwise, with our current equipment, we'll definitely get repeatedly wrecked when we try to find monsters. Besides, there's no tutorial yet. Let's just go and see how it goes."

Upon hearing Old Eggplant's words, everyone expressed their agreement.

The most important thing in testing is the progress. As for those off-topic explorations, we can do them after the official release.

Soon, the line stood in neat rows again, waiting for Brown to lead the way.

"..."

Brown listened to their discussion but didn't understand a single word.

What's this "main storyline" and "beginner tutorial"? What are they all about?

However, it seems these "players" aren't planning to run around anymore?

That would be wonderful.

Brown thought for a moment, cleared his throat, and said, "I'll take you to see the Baron. Follow me."

Chapter 705 Sword in Hand, Follow Me

Walking in the forest, Old Eggplant suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu, like he was on a night march during his university military training.

He just felt like singing a song.