Chapter 27 Dress Up, Boy! (Vote for Recommendation!)

Hearing Demacia's proposal, the Oak Guardian's gaze immediately changed.

Berserker's eyes flickered with a hint of disappointment and disgust:

"Chosen One, I thought you were an upright warrior, but I never expected you to be such a sneaky little man, truly a disgrace to the 'World Tree Guardians'!"

Alice, however, looked at him indifferently, her gaze growing colder, as if she were looking at a pile of harmful trash.

[Ding—Your favorability with Berserker has decreased by 40 points, reaching "Dislike"]

[Ding—Your favorability with Alice Wind has decreased by 40 points, maintaining "Disgust"]

Demacia stared at the system notification that flashed before his eyes, feeling somewhat stunned:

"Really? Even this lowers favorability?"

Meanwhile, the players also fell into hesitation...

"This... doesn't seem too good, does it?"

"What if there's danger? Although it's a game, the consequences... are somewhat unimaginable."

"Yeah, it's not like those old 2D online games, but a virtual reality game with almost a hundred percent realism..."

"And you can't log off during combat; if you force quit, your body stays in place, what if you can't commit suicide..."

"In that case... there would be psychological trauma, right? There definitely would be, right?"

"At least it would make me feel very uncomfortable, those goblins just look too disgusting."

"I'm not going anyway, whoever wants to go can go."

"I'm not going either."

"Demacia, you must be a forever-alone in real life, right?"

"Deservedly without a girlfriend."

Demacia: ...

Li Mu, on the other hand, remained silent, thoughtful, and then a notion struck him:

"Beauty trap? Actually, that's not a bad idea."

The players were startled:

"Holy crap, Brother Mu, you think so too?"

"That's not very nice, is it!"

"Brother Mu, are you also a forever-alone? With fancy boxers and big slippers, buying soy milk and doughnuts by yourself in the morning?"

Li Mu: ...

He coughed a few times, then immediately said:

"No no... While it's a beauty trap, we don't necessarily have to send female players to take the risk."

Saying so, he looked Demacia up and down, then stroked his chin and said:

"I remember, someone here received the Illusion Technique skill."

Demacia shivered, suddenly feeling a chill down his back...

...

This was a dense primeval forest.

Huge trees blocked the sky and sun, and the lush underbrush made the already difficult-to-navigate jungle even more intricate.

But for the Oak Guardian, this was nothing of concern.

Berserker was walking through the forest as if he was strolling in his own backyard, and sitting on his shoulders from left to right were four elves dressed in Hemp Robe and Wooden Armor, followed by... a heavily sweating Demacia.

These five people were the special task force chosen by the players.

Other than Demacia, those sitting on Berserker's shoulders were Li Mu, an owl, and two players named Bento and Little Xian Miao.

Among the players, Li Mu and Little Xian Miao were casters, while Demacia, Bento, and the owl were strength-based.

Originally, Li Mu planned to have a team of five players skilled in stealth, but due to the scarce number of players who drew stealth skills, they had to settle for second best, foregoing the original idea and assembling a relatively strong team with complementary abilities ready to die daringly.

Li Mu had two skills, healing minor wounds and entangling vines, excelling in healing and control, and also served as the commander of the team.

Little Xian Miao was a petite female player who drew the rare Illusion Technique skill—Disguise, which could change the appearance of a target for a limited time, lasting twenty minutes.

Although the owl was female, she had trained in Taekwondo in real life, had strong melee capabilities, and also possessed the Sharp Hearing skill, able to hear sounds from a great distance, useful for reconnaissance.

Bento was a silent male player who had no stealth or reconnaissance skills but had considerable scouting ability, which allowed him to detect a level 9 Forest Python early on.

As for Demacia, with his Whirlwind Slash and Unyielding skills, he was thoroughly a brute force damage dealer and tank role.

Hmm... After discussion, it was decided that he would also serve the important role of "taunting".

All 5 players were a neat and clean level 10.

After discussing the plan, they set off riding on Berserker, although the Oak Guardian refused to carry Demacia, who could only scurry along behind.

The other players watched their progress through a live broadcast and waited to be transported.

Yes, live broadcast.

Although Segis World and Blue Star have different time flow speeds, this did not affect the players logged into the game from accessing the internet through the game system network. And the players of the special task force who opened live broadcasts online could naturally be watched normally by other players through the system window.

This was also a new gameplay method discovered by the players, similar to early years' YY and QQ voice, only it was a video version. Players had used this tactic for scouting when hunting monsters before.

When Eve discovered this, she was also amazed at the players' cunning operations and likewise opened the live broadcast in the Divine Space, joining the audience.

"We've arrived."

Suddenly, the massive Oak Guardian stopped.

He knelt down halfway, setting the players down on the ground, and said:

"We are less than a kilometer away from Feilengcui now, to prevent my identity from being discovered by the goblin priest, I will not approach any further. From here, you're on your own."

After speaking, he turned around without a word and disappeared into the forest.

Demacia finally caught up, gasping for breath leaning on a tree. He bent over to rub his sour knees, looked at Berserker's indifferent demeanor, and sighed:

"I mean, why... It was just a suggestion... and my favorability dropped by so much, you wouldn't even let me get on the ride."

"You also don't see what kind of stupid idea you came up with."

The owl looked at him coldly.

The chat room floated with players' uniformly teasing comments:

"Running more not only improves physical fitness but also gains a point or two of experience. Why not?"

"Haha, Demacia, did your favorability with Berserker also drop to a negative?"

"Pfft... I remember this guy bragging before about reaching a friendly level with Uncle B, and then promptly making a fatal mistake."

"Hahaha! I just realized that goblins are the most despised intelligent creatures by NPCs in the game. Only you would think of using a beauty trap with a girl to lure monsters. You deserve to be hated by NPCs, hahaha!"

"The Elf Clan and Oak Guardians are quite proud."

"Hahaha, and then the 'taunt' ended up on yourself."

"Looking forward to the mob luring!"

"Expectation +1"

"Expectation +2"

Watching the rapidly passing comments, Demacia's face was turning green.

The GuGu bird didn't continue mocking. She turned her ear, listening quietly...

Skill — Keen Hearing.

"There are no other creatures nearby."

She said after a moment.

After scouting the area, Brother Mu also shook his head.

Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Li Mu looked around and took out a set of Array setting tools that Alice had given him, saying:

"I think the terrain here is quite good. Let's clean up this area and set up the Array. A distance of one kilometer is about right; getting any closer would increase the risk of exposure."

After speaking, he glanced at Demacia with a hint of a smile:

"You guys should also start preparing. After we set up the Array, we'll go and lure a goblin to test their strength."

Hearing Li Mu's words, Demacia instantly deflated like a punctured ball, creeping to one side with a forced laugh, he said:

"Brother Mu... Uh... you guys, you can't be serious?"

"Wasn't it Demacia who suggested this method?"

Little Xian Miao said while gracefully pulling out a light green dress from behind her:

"Hurry up and put it on. This is generously provided by Miss Alice."

Seeing the dress, Demacia's face turned even greener:

"F*ck! You're serious? You really want me to cross-dress?! I was talking about using a beauty trap! Not a handsome man's strategy! I'm a full-grown man!"

"No problem, Salted Cat's Illusion Technique was prepared just for this. I guarantee you'll be unrecognizable."

Salted Cat said with a beaming smile.

Demacia: ...

"I recall your house isn't finished yet, right?"

The player camp construction leader, GuGu bird, asked casually.

Demacia: ...

"Do you really intend to let female players take the risk?"

Boxed lunch frowned.

Demacia: ...

Even the chat room's comments became much more cheerful:

"Hahaha! Brave Demacia, quickly put on the dress and transform into a muscle girl!"

"Quick, once you put it on you'll definitely become stronger!"

"You came up with this great idea, hahaha!"

"Hurry up and wear it, otherwise, your home will remain unfinished, haha..."

Demacia: ...

Li Mu coughed twice, patted Demacia's shoulder:

"Demacia, you should do it. After all, you have plenty of lives. Counting the one granted by the quest, you have a total of eight. Besides, being a man, you're not afraid of death nor being caught by goblins – it's much less risky than letting the girls do it. Cough cough... If you're caught, just commit suicide, or force log out if things go really bad."

Demacia: ...

Are men not in danger?!

However, seeing everyone's resolute expressions, in the end, he could only grimace and pick up the dress:

"I'll go... I'll do it, okay?"

With that, he began to reluctantly change clothes.

"Don't strip here, the Holy Light is blinding."

Demacia: ...

"Hahahahaha!"

"Hahahahahahaha..."

In the chat room, laughter completely submerged the scene...

Even Ivy watching the live stream found it amusing, but as the pleasure wore on, a touch of sentimentality crept into Their heart:

"How nice..."

"I'd love to have a body that can move freely too..."

Some things are not cherished when had, only to be realized as precious once they're lost.

Regrettably, without sufficient Divine Power, Ivy couldn't create a physical form capable of housing Their Divine Soul.

At this moment, the joy and noise of the chat room seemed so distant to them...

So distant...

As if from two different worlds.

"One day..."

They murmured in Their heart.