Linde was not disappointed. Just as darkness was about to fall, the immortal White stockings Lover returned, dragging a mangled wolf carcass behind him, despite having one arm severed.
His grotesque face wore a mad grin: "Hahaha, my lord, I'm back!"
Linde: "..."
So this is how players look from an NPC's perspective? One arm missing, a large gash in his abdomen, yet still laughing maniacally—truly an absurd spectacle, more terrifying than a ghoul.
"You have passed my test. You have gained the friendship of the Star Dragon Outpost. Starting today, you may purchase some goods here, and we will do our utmost to assist you."
Looking at the blood-soaked, grievously wounded, and yet still frantically leaping immortal, Linde sighed in resignation. He once was one of them; he had just transformed into an NPC who could die.
NPCs were destined to die. After all, Linde had once commanded more than nine soldiers, and the fallen soldiers would not "respawn"; dead was dead.
When facing players, strength always came first; it wasn't just about being strong—it was about being strong enough to instill despair in players.
Otherwise, all benefits and good intentions would be fleeting; disordered players would not engage in reasoned discourse.
At most, they would exclaim after killing him, "He even gave me equipment; he wasn't such a bad guy."
White stockings Lover's ability to remain expressionless and unconcerned in the face of severe injuries led Linde to suspect the reason. Perhaps the game could adjust pain perception. Was technology on Earth advancing that rapidly? He had only been here for a few days, and it must be a parallel universe to Earth.
The soldiers increasingly believed that the immortals were monsters. With their bellies cut open, they could still chat and laugh—what else could they be but monsters?
White stockings Lover looked at Linde and said, "You know, you're an NPC, right?"
Linde: "..."
His mouth twitched.
Should he say he knew, or that he didn't?
"You really are impressive for an AI," White stockings Lover marveled. "You can even react with disbelief to things you don't understand."
No, I understand.
Without needing Linde to ask a single question, the other had already revealed quite a bit of key information. However, as his voice grew quieter, the gravely injured immortal collapsed to the ground, wearing an ugly smile, like a baby in sleep.
"Thud~"
The body turned to a wisp of ash and scattered on the ground.
"Y-Your Excellency?" Many soldiers who had not witnessed this scene before were now trembling as they saw it firsthand.
A living person just vanished into thin air. Even if they had known in advance, it was still terrifying.
Yet Linde advised, "Keep an eye on him when he reappears. If they show any signs of hostility, make sure to strike first and cut him down."
Players were untrustworthy, but Linde could trust his soldiers. He genuinely feared that players might take violent action against them because they were envious of the soldiers' armor and weapons.
For now, their combat strength exceeded that of the players, but only marginally. If players truly wanted to grind him down, they could certainly do so.
"And also, handle the body. Tonight, we feast on roasted meat!"
"Worship the Lord!" The soldiers cheered in delight
The technological advancements appearing in recent days were far more significant than anything that had emerged in nearly a century.
Kuma could hardly contain his excitement and quickly sat down at his computer desk, opening the official website for "Apocalypse Law Ring."
["Apocalypse Law Ring" internal test version 1.01, 3000 slots have been allocated, testing begins today.]
Kuma had a clear goal and navigated to the official forum section, which was surprisingly quiet at the moment.
"Too bad the death count has reached its limit."
In real life, the resurrection count refreshed every day at 6 PM, seemingly reminding players not to become too absorbed in the game.
Players still needed to use the restroom and eat in reality, and as for the nutrient pods mentioned in novel settings, they had not yet materialized.
Given the game's punishment mechanisms, it was likely that many would prefer to avoid dying even once, as death meant losing the chance to play.
Playing the game while sleeping felt like having a fully remembered dream; one's body wouldn't grow tired. Aside from the game helmet being somewhat uncomfortable to lie down with, like wearing a motorcycle helmet, there were really no drawbacks.
It was reasonable to believe that third parties had already begun producing related accessories; nutrient pods might not even be a far-fetched dream.
"I just wonder how this game and helm came about. It shouldn't be alien technology, right?"
Amidst the countless complaints about this game being a cash grab and poorly made, one thread quickly caught Kuma's attention.
[New! Please, everyone [Newbie Post]]
Kuma moved his mouse and clicked on the thread.
@Long Live Understanding: "Am I in a bad spot? My spawn point is right next to a bunch of ghouls; I died three times in a row just after entering the game. I'll respawn here next time too. What should I do? Is there anyone experienced who can help me?"
That's pretty tragic.
Kuma scrolled down and noticed only a few scattered replies.
"Heh, you think putting on the helmet means you can just play the game? This isn't SAO."
"Making some fake videos and a barely functional forum isn't going to cut it—where's the game? What about the graphics?"
Still, no one seemed to believe that such a game existed. After all, just a few days earlier, everyone had been cheering for that pieced-together monster of a game. But even in their cheers, they were sitting at their computers, and the only price they paid was receiving debuffs like [You have gained +50 eyesight], [You have developed hemorrhoids, constipation], [You have tendonitis], while staring at a mere screen.
People's understanding of virtual games still revolved around the image of a JK girl playing "Beat Saber."
Now, if you turned around and told me that all I had to do was wear this motorcycle helmet and I could enter a completely immersive game world, would you expect me to believe you?
Glancing at the time, it was only 1 AM.
Kuma rubbed his hands together and decided to get to work. How could a groundbreaking game not have his own video content?
In the context of high-traffic short videos, aside from those veteran gaming YouTubers who had built up a large following over the years and managed to maintain their standards without resorting to cash grabs, new gaming content creators faced an uphill battle in growing their channels. However, it wasn't impossible—if a game was popular enough to break through, it could help newcomers quickly gather followers.
"Apocalypse Law Ring" was obviously that game; it was the first to utilize a virtual stealth technology that had only existed in fictional settings, offering an experience vastly different from wearing a cumbersome VR headset.
Kuma recorded the entire gameplay process.
After exporting the data from the helmet, he opened the software to begin rough editing, voiceovers, and adding subtitles. It was a dull and time-consuming task, but he tried to streamline the process.
Ideas flowed easily; creating this new video was satisfying. Since he had recorded so much content, with plenty of interesting moments, he didn't need to spend time sifting through for entertaining clips. The editing felt as smooth as a morning release after a long night.
In the end, after exporting the video, the sun was rising.
Glancing at the time, it was a little past five.
"What should I title it?"
After some deliberation, Kuma typed on the keyboard.
"White stockings Teaches You to Save the Magical World."