49 - Experience Points and Questionable Joints
---Viktor's POV---
I understood why the new players didn't want to sabotage themselves deliberately.
Nobody had experience with dying, so who could tell if the pain at the moment of death would exceed the threshold for sensory filtering?
The death penalty in Chronicles of Aeltia wasn't light.
Before someone dared to be the first to eat the metaphorical steak, no player wanted to face off against the external creatures, which couldn't even be defeated by taking on a lowly worm.
Facing monsters that far out-leveled them head-on? That was not called challenging; that was called asking for abuse.
The turning point came when three veteran players reached level 5 and revealed the new mechanics for progressing further.
After level 5, task-based experience points and extra experience points gained during exploration would be completely separated. To level up, both experience bars needed to be filled!
While task experience could be farmed, the method for gaining extra experience wasn't clearly explained. Based on the trials of the three veteran players, extra experience was linked to a player's focus. Thinking more during tasks made it easier to uncover bonus experience.
However, the longer a single task was repeated, the less extra experience it would provide. In other words, to efficiently gather extra experience, players had to frequently switch tasks and explore Honeyvale and its surrounding forests.
Although new players weren't at level 5 yet, extra experience was calculated separately, meaning they could start preparing early.
For a while, the variety of tasks players undertook skyrocketed, leaving Alyanne—who handled the task rewards—completely overwhelmed. Although she had studied arithmetic, her level of skill was only passable among mercenaries. Asking her to handle accounting was really too much for her.
As the instigator, I could only silently apologize. If she didn't do the work, the one surrounded by the constant chatter of players would be me instead. No way around it—better her than me.
"There are only nine players right now. Hopefully, Alyanne can hold out," I sighed.
After discovering the favorability system, the players reined themselves in a little but not entirely. Players with chaotic-neutral tendencies still approached NPCs differently than how the natives of Aertiya treated them. As for the experience of dealing with it... the NPCs would just have to endure and reflect on it themselves.
I opened a new system window, displaying the players' extra experience data:
NeverShowOff: 193
*'?￥#…&%!: 190
ProGamer_Daddy: 163
LootGoblin: 48
HornyHedgehog: 39
...
This was essentially the progress they had earned on their own. Even though the magical talents of the divine avatars were generally good, there were still individual differences among people.
Among the three veteran players, despite NeverShowOff's fireball being unimpressive, his magical talent was the best of the three. Although Garble lacked talent, his comprehension was incredible. After NeverShowOff explained how to gain extra experience, his diligence bridged the gap between them.
On the other hand, ProGamer_Daddy, who kept clamoring for new spells, was progressing the slowest.
As for the second-tier new players, their extra experience typically hovered between 30 and 39 points, except for LootGoblin. Due to his dwarf racial traits, He leveled faster than human players. Combined with his eagerness in completing tasks, he was far ahead of other new players in terms of extra experience.
I nodded with satisfaction. "The revision of the level progression system is working quickly!"
On the first day, the new players' extra experience values were all in single digits. But after realizing its importance, they shot up in just three days!
I had no intention of letting them rely entirely on divine power to learn magic. The divine avatars were already an immense advantage and should be utilized properly. Previously, I had emphasized tasks to establish Honeyvale. But now, with external threats looming, as long as the town was barely livable, all spare time should be devoted to training!
Experience might not improve players' grasp of spells, but it would deepen their understanding. My calculations showed that accumulating 1,000 extra experience points would allow players to qualify as novice mages, just in time for their first job specialization.
Having gauged the progress of the nine players, I focused on the IDs of the two players ranked lowest. Their extra experience was barely in the double digits.
"I need to find a way to motivate them," I mused. "How about increasing the daily food stipend?"
If they didn't want to train, they could go do actual hard labor. In the pioneering phase of Chronicles of Aeltia, I wouldn't tolerate pure leisure players!
Judging by their level, those two players likely spent their days earning just enough magicoins to buy sweetfruits, then wandered around town aimlessly. They were dragging down the rebuilding speed of Honeyvale.
After checking the warehouse's inventory of the fruits, I deemed my plan feasible. With Edgar away from the town indefinitely, there was no way to restock sweet fruits. It was a perfect excuse to raise prices.
Mercilessly, I hiked the price of sweetfruits to 3 magicoins.
Next, I reviewed the task list.
Although the variety of tasks had increased, the high-yield timber and stone collection tasks still dominated. The timber had already piled into small mountains. Stones were fine, as they could be stored indefinitely. But timber had a limited processing time and would rot if left too long.
With Honeyvale's current timber supply sufficient, that task could be put on hold.
I finalized the task list.
---
Main Quest: Fortify the Town Walls Against the Magic Tide...
Event Quests: Infrastructure... Exploration...
Timber Collection: Chop down one tree over 8 meters tall for 3 experience points and 1 magicoin, species unrestricted.
Street Cleaning: Collect one bucket of trash for 2 experience points and a 40% chance of 1 magicoin dropping.
Stone Collection: Gather one unit of stone for 2 experience points and a 40% chance of 1 magicoin dropping. Units calculated as follows:...
Wild Fruit Collection: Gather one unit of wild fruit for 1 experience point and a 20% chance of 1 magicoin dropping. Units calculated as follows:...
---
The experience reward for timber collection was slashed by 40%, though the magicoin payout remained unchanged. This should curb players' obsession with rushing off to chop down trees.
After finalizing the updates, I submitted them decisively. I then opened the official game website and changed the internal beta player recruitment to an ongoing, open application process.
Even for veteran players, collecting 1,000 extra experience to reach level 10 would still take quite some time. With over 500 divine power points at my disposal, recruiting new players was ideal.
Previously, the limitation was the number of divine avatars available, preventing large-scale player recruitment. Now the problem was Honeyvale's lack of NPCs to handle too many players.
And... my game was still obscure on Earth.
Staring at the application count of fewer than 40, I couldn't help but feel anxious.
"Hm... The video by NeverShowOff got deleted, cutting off the game's promotional channel entirely. I have to think of a new way to boost Chronicles of Aeltia's visibility."
Previously, I had piggybacked off the popularity of Netherworld Revolution to recruit my first three players. But now that Netherworld Revolution had fallen out of favor, there wasn't even a coattail to ride.
"Judging by forum reactions, there are still plenty of players interested in VR games—they just don't believe Chronicles of Aeltia's claims."
I sank deep into thought.
"Perhaps the best approach is to prove that the promotional content is 100% real!"
The most effective way to verify the game's authenticity was to let players see it for themselves.
In other words—game live streaming.
I barely let the thought of live streaming games cross my mind before dismissing it with a slap.
"I am already lucky to upload two videos to Earth. Live streaming for players? Get real!"
Progress in transmitting magic to the blue light orb depended entirely on luck. Other than the day of the revival ritual incident, I never skipped injecting magic into it.
Yet, the accumulated magic power was only enough to upload two videos of about 10 minutes each or around 500 high-resolution images to the official website.
Live streaming? That was a far-off dream!
I had tried every method imaginable but couldn't find a way to upgrade the Earth's network permissions. I could only abandon the idea entirely.
---Third POV---
"Looking for teammates! Anyone up for the logging task? One chops, one carries, rewards split evenly!"
A player held a sign at the church gate, recruiting others.
Mornings were peak hours for players logging in, and most hadn't yet taken up any tasks, making it the perfect time for recruitment.
Sure enough, a player on their way out paused.
"Seriously? Logging quests are nerfed into oblivion, and someone still wants to do them?"
"Don't remind me! I didn't grind tasks in the first two days after launch. Who knew they'd nerf it this fast?"
Lamenting was all they could do now. Desperate for extra experience points, the player had no choice but to grit their teeth and take it on.
ProGamer_Daddy stopped in his tracks and backtracked, his eyes gleaming as he stared at the recruiter.
"You're taking the logging quest?"
The recruiter glanced back at him curiously. "Uh, yeah."
"Perfect!" ProGamer_Daddy's eyes filled with tears of joy as he grabbed the recruiter's hand.
Three days. Three whole days! He hadn't found a single player willing to do a logging quest!
The recruiter stepped back in alarm. "Dude, relax. Just say what you want!"
"Don't worry, fighting is prohibited among Watchers. We're all civilized here." ProGamer_Daddy flashed a mysterious smile.
He tapped the air, pulling a green saw from his inventory. "Friend, interested in buying a tool?"
"Uh…what?"
To level up quickly, ProGamer_Daddy had been dreaming of building a chainsaw. But Honeyvale Town's resource scarcity was brutal; everything was in short supply. He had to lower his standards repeatedly.
In the end, he just wanted to modify some thornleaf shrubs to double the efficiency of chopping wood. Yet, when he used those shrubs to create a saw that improved logging efficiency by 350%, the logging quests were nerfed!
No new players were taking on logging quests, and his manual saw had become completely useless.
Finally! Today, he found someone!
The player, who had reluctantly taken the logging quest, frowned as they looked at the saw in ProGamer_Daddy's hand.
"It's just some thornleaf tied together with some resilient grass and vines. And you're charging 3 magicoins?"
"That's enough to buy a sweetfruit! Isn't that a bit too much?"
"No, no, no!" ProGamer_Daddy shook his head gravely. "Think of it this way: for the price of one sweetfruit, you can get my Lazy Man No. 1 manual saw!"
"Consider this: your team's efficiency caps at 150% without it. For the cost of skipping one sweetfruit, my tool boosts your efficiency by 350%!"
"We're just game characters. Missing one meal doesn't matter. We even have resurrection skills! Are you seriously afraid of starving?"
The player was getting a little dizzy from his pitch.
"What you're saying… makes some sense."
"Of course, it does! My Lazy Man No. 1 is absolutely worth it!" ProGamer_Daddy declared with conviction.
"Skip dinner and log off; have breakfast the next morning. You won't even feel the hunger. Isn't that as good as getting the saw for free?"
"It really is!"
The player was sold. He gripped ProGamer_Daddy's hand firmly and declared enthusiastically, "I'll take your saw!"
"Deal!"
Under the stunned gaze of onlookers, the transaction was completed quickly, with delivery on the spot. Both parties left smiling, heading in opposite directions.
"Wow. Do they not realize it takes three logging quests just to afford that tool?"
An onlooker muttered as he walked away, "Oh no, that poor player just got scammed by him!"
After successfully offloading his modified saw, ProGamer_Daddy ran out of the church at full speed, worried the buyer might regret it.
He left the town and entered the forest. Far from the town's boundaries, the area remained untouched by the players' activities. Towering, unnamed trees grew wildly, their canopies forming an impenetrable green dome.
A tangle of vines and tree trunks created a natural maze of vegetation. He stepped lightly on fallen leaves and branches, which crunched softly underfoot.
Turning a corner, he spotted three figures crouching behind a bush—NeverShowOff and his two companions.
"ShowBro, I'm here." he whispered, lowering his voice intentionally.
NeverShowOff shifted to the right, making space for him.
"What took you so long?"
He and the other two, Garble and Hedgehog, had been waiting for quite a while.
Hedgehog chuckled. "Yesterday, you were all about getting up first. Guess shouting about it doesn't make it happen."
"I had my reasons!" ProGamer_Daddy retorted indignantly. "I sold that manual saw!"
He went on to recount the story of meeting the "sucker."
NeverShowOff clicked his tongue in amazement. "You've got some serious luck!"
Since Edgar left, the price of sweetfruit in town had skyrocketed. Even with the scarcity of goods in the store, most players were hoarding their magicoins.
Yet ProGamer_Daddy managed to sell a few scrapped leaves tied together for 3 magicoins? His luck was unbeatable!
"Hehe!" ProGamer_Daddy grinned proudly. "Not just that—I plan to follow up with him tonight for feedback!"
He was serious about making a business out of this. Hoarding more magicoins was always a good idea.
Don't underestimate his Lazy Man No. 1—it only sold for 3 magicoins, but if the reviews were good, he could keep selling to new players! With more players, wouldn't he make a fortune?
Though Garble thought the plan sounded a bit fantastical, he still offered encouragement.
"As long as it makes you happy."
"Thanks for the support! Enough about me—how's it going on your end?"
At the mention of their mission, the trio's expressions grew serious.
NeverShowOff said, "The swamp situation is bad. We have to act today."
Not far from their hiding spot in the bushes lay a small swamp, filled with mud. Occasionally, bulges of swirling muck surfaced, along with segments of red, writhing bodies.
The swamp housed eight red-scaled worms. Or rather, two days ago, they had all been one single worm.