Chapter 8 Virtual Reality Games
The incessant spring rain falls unceasingly.
The lush forest displays more vitality after being washed by the rain, and a gentle breeze brings the fragrance of earth as everything revives…
Standing in a side chapel of the Natural Temple, Elf Saintess Alice watches the small world outside the window in a trance, still feeling a trace of surrealism.
The Mother Goddess… has truly returned.
Even though three days have passed, she still feels it all like a dream.
At this moment, the Elf Girl appears even more sacred and noble.
Having been promoted to a Saint, her strength has undergone a remarkable transformation, skipping the Black Iron Rank and directly entering the peak of Silver Lower Rank (Level 50)!
However, the girl does not rejoice in her increased power; her heart is filled only with endless joy for the return of the Mother Goddess and remorse and self-blame for almost abandoning her faith.
I must practice diligently, live up to the entrustment of the Mother Goddess, and fight for the faith of the Mother Goddess and the future of the Elf Clan!
Looking at the distant mountains, the girl tightens her pink lips and clenches her little fists.
"Alice."
An elderly voice interrupts the girl's contemplation, and Alice's pointed ears twitch slightly.
She turns her head and sees Old Priest Samir slowly walking toward her.
Samir wears a gray-white priest robe and carries a prepared knapsack on his back, looking radiant as if he had rejuvenated hundreds of years.
This image is hard to connect with the aged man who chose to abandon faith just three days ago.
Having reinforced his faith and received the blessing of the Goddess, Samir has also advanced in rank, becoming a Silver Lower (Level 41) powerhouse himself!
"Grandpa Samir."
Alice bows to the elder who has always looked after her.
She glimpses the pack on the old man's body, her eyes brighten, and she asks joyfully:
"Are you… ready?"
Samir nods his head and turns around, looking toward the direction of the main hall, his expression fervent:
"The Mother Goddess needs to gather our people. Right now, I'm probably the only one who can contact those remaining kin."
Three days ago, Mother Nature Eve Yoctrahill issued the first divine decree: to re-gather the Elf Clan members.
And among them, Samir was the most suitable for this task.
After speaking, his expression turned sorrowful again:
"For the Mother Goddess, for the Elf Clan, and for my own sins, I am ready."
Feeling the power granted by the Mother Goddess, Samir feels that his previous decision to abandon faith was utterly disgraceful!
At the same time, his faith in Mother Nature has grown even stronger.
Hearing Old Priest's words, Alice's emerald eyes slightly brighten:
"Gathering our kin… that's wonderful…"
Then, she adds with some worry:
"You are alone; you must be careful."
Hearing the girl's words, a gentle look crosses Samir's face, and he gently pats Alice's head, saying:
"Don't worry! I am enough. Not to mention, under the care of the Mother Goddess, I have become a Silver Priest, and the Mother Goddess has even bestowed upon me a divine artifact which can detect our kin within a certain distance and defend against attacks of the Gold level."
He stretches out his hand, in his palm lies a leaf emitting a holy aura.
It is a leaf from the World Tree, which Eve used 1 point of Divine Power to enhance, making it a crude sacred object.
Three days ago, Eve gave this leaf to Samir, ordering him to start searching for the remaining kin and guide them back.
"That's good…"
Alice nods slightly, then speaks somewhat regretfully:
"It's really nice… I wish I could join in searching for our kin."
Samir laughs heartily, then seriously says:
"You have an even more important task. You must assist the Mother Goddess well and guide the Chosen Ones who are about to arrive."
Guiding the Chosen Ones…
Hearing this, Alice's eyes subtly light up, and she nods gently.
Recalling the divine prophecy of the Mother Goddess, her heart swelled with admiration and zeal once again.
Chosen One!
Three days ago, the second divine prophecy decreed by the Mother Goddess mentioned that soon, Chosen Ones from another world would arrive to help the Elf Clan revitalize their civilization as "heroes"!
Furthermore, the Mother Goddess commanded Saintess Alice and the Oak Guardian Berserker to guide the Chosen Ones and assist them in adapting to this world.
What would the Chosen Ones be like, I wonder? Are they Elves too?
Or perhaps… Divine Envoys?
A wistful look crossed Alice's face.
After all, since they are chosen by the Mother Goddess, they must be like us Elves—kind, just, honest, and selfless!
She couldn't help but look forward with anticipation.
Watching the eager young girl, Old Priest Samir's expression grew gentler.
He looked up at the still dry canopy of the World Tree, his eyes gradually firming:
"The Mother Goddess has just revived, and her powers are still limited, we must strive to spread faith, to return the Mother Goddess to her peak soon, and lead us towards prosperity…"
Finishing, he and Alice exchanged glances, sharing a smile.
"Praise the Mother Nature!"
"Praise the Mother Nature!"
Their voices were filled with vigor and passion!
After delivering the task to several believers, Eve delved back into her Divine Space.
She reconnected with the network world of planet Blue and began constructing the "game," preparatory for the arrival of players.
In three days, she had already tested her ideas for feasibility, and now, what she needed was to perfect this game she named "Elf Kingdom," and to make a name for it online!
"The level settings must be properly defined, in fact, taking the system of Segis Continent as a template makes sense… for the initial phase, just having the Black Iron Rank is fine, with a max level of 40."
"The job system could be directly copied too! Plus, add the attribute settings, these are the basics..."
"For the early stages, I should make an appearance, just create a systemic interlude with a character model! Also give the players some little gifts, to pull on their affections..."
"For the players' bodies, let's choose Elves! Being born as Elves is inherently a capability of the World Tree, to save Divine Power, their strength could be adjusted to the lowest level 1, anyway, those grinder players will definitely strive to level up..."
"Hmm… For their easier advancement, all potential talents of the body could be maximized… yep, all of them are genius-level!"
"Transforming 'War Priest,' integrating this skill into the body and combining it with advancement, this way, every time players advance, they also provide me with power!"
"Uh... Based on this, 1 Divine Power can create about 100 bodies, early on, just 300 people as a prudent measure! Still need to leave some Divine Power for self-preservation, can't use it all up."
"When selecting candidates, attention must be paid, best to choose those who spend big time in virtual games, perhaps find some influential streamers online... this way can quickly establish a reputation, facilitating the increase in player numbers later."
"Ah, also the system settings, this part can be managed by the Divine Power."
"Restricting the activity range of the born players, this way I can easily revive bodies upon their death, meanwhile replacing their bodies and reclaiming any residual power, making them start from level 1 and work for me again..."
"As for experience points, rely on body state detection, display it in some form of quantification..."
"Game script... This can refer to some online materials, hmm... the theme is the rise of the Elf Clan!"
"Also, the publicity animation, this really needs to be well made! The World Tree heritage has some ancient divine battle scenes, yeah… can directly use those, effects are stronger than anything! Hmm, as for background music, Elk Clan seems to have many classics... use Alice as the cover, those beasts like cute girls… uh, add some handsome guys too, to attract female players..."
"Different time flow between the two worlds, this can be a major highlight... How to promote this? Uh… right, just tell them we adopted black technology: the thought acceleration technology! Game time is four times that of reality! Haha, I'm truly a genius!"
Unknowingly three days passed, and with the help of Divine Power, a massive game gradually took shape...
"Finally got it down!"
Looking at her creation, Eve was immensely satisfied.
At this moment, her original 20 Divine Power points had dwindled to just 11.
Operating across networks still consumes a great deal.
"As for the game's beta test time, let's set it to one week from today on Blue! Find out in 7 days how many people can be swindled!"
Eve assessed her condition, making her judgement.
Next, it was time for publicity.
Again by manipulating the Blue's network with Divine Power, Eve stealthily established a company named "World Tree Black Technology Co., Ltd.," registered "Elf Kingdom" as a virtual reality game, and then threw the promotional video online...
Next, just wait for the promotional video to ferment, and welcome the first batch of players.