Chapter 211-1: Outwitted by an NPC’s Intelligence (Part 1)

"Respected Lord Draco, we are willing to join the Dark Pact and use our lives to protect President Iro, and uphold the glory of the Dark Pact!"

HunYuan knelt on one knee solemnly, making a vow to a stubbly-faced Level 9 warrior.

Behind him, Thunderhands and Cheng Kun also followed suit, kneeling respectfully.

They were inside a large, dimly lit room, dark due to its small windows.

Along with them were over thirty other NPCs, all of whom had been selected this time around to join the Dark Pact as new recruits.

As the Dark Pact recovered its strength in the Western District and stabilized its territory, Stanley ordered a new wave of recruitment to replenish their forces.

By chance, or perhaps sheer shamelessness and fearlessness, HunYuan, Thunderhands, and Cheng Kun successfully became part of that recruitment wave.

Draco, the Level 9 warrior in charge of recruitment, had been quite impressed during the seven-day evaluation period.

Other recruits would occasionally dodge danger or avoid trouble, but these three? They charged headfirst into every fight with no hesitation, always on the front lines.

Draco found that extremely satisfying.

However, he soon discovered something unusual about the three.

During a battle against a group of cultists, he personally witnessed them being hacked to pieces by a Level 10 berserker wielding a giant axe. They had died, utterly and undeniably.

But the next day, they were back. Completely intact. Not a scratch on them, only a faintly weaker aura compared to the day before.

Otherwise, they were no different from normal.

Draco had been shocked. He then arranged two missions where death was inevitable and had the three stick together.

As expected, they were slain. And, again, returned alive the next day.

This incredible phenomenon instantly put him on high alert. He immediately reported the matter to Stanley, the one currently holding full authority over the Dark Pact.

Stanley, once a devout follower of an evil god, was a cunning and seasoned dark force leader. When he heard the report, he took it very seriously.

Possessing an undying body, able to resurrect—this was nothing short of terrifying.

After several rounds of questioning, the three players, completely lacking any sense of secrecy, spilled the 'truth': they were from the Lost Planes, and they really could resurrect endlessly.

However, they clarified that they needed a full day between revivals, and their strength would diminish slightly each time. Their immortality wasn't without cost.

Still, even with that limitation, the upper ranks of the Dark Pact immediately began treating them with the highest level of attention.

Stanley instructed Draco to monitor these undying ones closely and report any unusual behavior at once.

Stanley was not a kind man. His interest in the players had already led him to draft a number of schemes.

Including, but not limited to:

Sacrificing them to an evil god's altar.

Sending them to a necromancer's domain to be transformed into undead.

Feeding them to a Soul Eater Demon in the Abyss.

Dissecting them to research the secrets of resurrection.

Using magic to control their souls.

However, these plans were temporarily put on hold, because the players mentioned that the first wave from the Lost Planes had included 100,000 people, and more might follow in the future.

This made Stanley wary.

An entire army of undying beings arriving in the Glory Main Plane… what would that mean for them?

Stanley sensed a looming crisis.

He resolved to remain vigilant and decided that once Lord Progenitor returned, this matter must be reported, and it could not be ignored.

Meanwhile, HunYuan, Thunderhands, and Cheng Kun had no idea they'd just been placed under the microscope by the Dark Pact's upper echelon due to their… "unconventional" behavior.

They were still ecstatic about having joined the organization.

Thanks to posts on the forums, they'd come to understand the huge advantages of having a powerful faction backing you.

Take the robbery incident: they once mugged a fruit vendor on the street and nearly got hunted to death by members of Sinking Mist.

Luckily, the Dark Pact stepped in and saved them. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't even be able to stay in the city now.

And joining a faction didn't just give them protection, it also meant free class changes to become professionals.

All three of them were now Warrior Apprentices, a major step up from the other poor souls who had to slog through endless "mentor quests" just to class-change.

Speaking of quests… those were every player's eternal nightmare.

Glory was insane. Its quest system was nothing like other games. NPCs set their own rewards, the system had no control.

Many players completed arduous tasks, only to be killed and robbed by the NPC who gave the quest.

The idealistic gamers had been mercilessly punished by Glory's NPCs again and again.

And to top it all off, quest EXP was pitiful. After nearly ten days, no one in the beta test had even reached Level 2.

Yet despite all this… almost no one quit. Players kept diving deeper into this endlessly compelling world.

Raging at the devs one minute… shouting "THIS IS AWESOME" the next.

"Ding~ Congratulations, you have successfully joined the Dark Pact as an Outer Member. Gained Character Experience: 20 points."

HunYuan grinned as he heard the system notification.

Exchanging glances with Thunderhands and Cheng Kun, even his usually emotionless face showed joy.

"Third Brother, Fourth Brother, did you get the EXP too?"

"Yep, hahaha, amazing! We did dozens of quests this week for barely ten points total, and just joining the Dark Pact gives us 20! That's fortune smiling at us!"

Thunderhands laughed, but then his face suddenly stiffened.

"Damn it, what the hell am I happy about?! These damn devs are monsters. Do you know how it feels to finish a quest and get 0.1 EXP?! I swear to—%@#￥%…!

I've played games for years, and I've never even seen 0.1 EXP in my life! Absolute cruelty!"

The three immediately gritted their teeth.

Other games let you level through quests and monster hunting, but Glory was just weird. The EXP they got from quests was pitiful, sometimes even 0.1.

And to level from 1 to 2? You needed 100 points.

If they kept doing these low-yield quests, it might take months to level up.

Killing monsters? Useless.

Doing quests? Worse.

Glory had ripped out the heart of the traditional leveling loop, leaving players psychologically scarred.

HunYuan watched the NPCs getting up and motioned for his companions to follow him to a quiet spot nearby.

He spoke thoughtfully.

"Joining the Dark Pact gave us more EXP than all our effort last week. Seems like… we've been going about this the wrong way.

No. Maybe not wrong, just too narrow-minded."

Thunderhands and Cheng Kun exchanged confused looks.

HunYuan had always been the brains of the group, responsible for strategy and quest planning.

His intelligence? Way out of their league.

"Second Brother, what are you saying?"

HunYuan frowned. "Remember the mutated Level 3 sewer rat we killed two days ago?

Each of us got 2 EXP from that."

He continued, his expression gradually lighting up.

"So far, it seems Glory has multiple EXP sources, not just the usual kill-and-quest system.

Killing that rat took hours of effort. In another game, we'd have gotten tons of EXP for such a high-risk battle.

But here? Just 2 points.

Which means… killing monsters to level up is not viable. Not unless you have months to waste.

And quest EXP? Also trash.

This proves one thing: Glory must use an open-ended EXP system."

Thunderhands and Cheng Kun were still baffled. "So… what does that mean?"

HunYuan shook his head. "It means we need to explore alternative methods to earn EXP.

Don't hang ourselves on just one tree.

Joining a faction gives us EXP—so what if we join multiple?

Monster kills don't help? Then what if we raise one?

Quest rewards suck? Then let's try creating quests ourselves.

Combat yields little, what about crafting and life professions?"

His words opened a whole new world for the other two.

They hadn't thought of that at all. Their eyes lit up with admiration.

"Second Brother, I'll make sure Third Brother is scrubbed clean and sent to your bed tonight.

Third Brother, don't look at me like that. Second Brother just made a huge contribution, he deserves a reward."

"Your grandpa! Why not sacrifice yourself, huh?!"

"Pfft, I'm afraid of pain. You? You're used to it."

"HunYuan, Thunderhands, Cheng Kun. Come with me."

Just as they were arguing, their superior, Draco, the Level 9 warrior, approached and called out to them.

Why do I feel like those three names belong to the same person? HunYuan Thunderhands Cheng Kun? What kind of weird Lost Planes are these guys from…