by <unknown>
“Come on, even though it’s a prototype, at least show it some love, you assholes!”
As Han Xiao examined the suit with crossed arms, numerous ideas began to pop up. However, it was still too soon to rush upgrades. Some of the tweaks he wanted to make required knowledge that he did not currently possess. Hence, after performing just some simple maintenance, Han Xiao got Feng Jun to help him return it to Zhang Wei.
Currently, Han Xiao’s primary concern was regarding the three successfully destroyed Germinal bases, and what information he should disclose to Stardragon next.
The three captured bases were indeed the only ones located within Stardragon. If Stardragon wanted to continue its assault on the Germinal Organization, they would have to take the fight to a foreign nation. While relations among the Six Nations were truly not that amicable, no one really wanted to continue fighting since a lot of resources had already been depleted during the transition to the new era. Each nation was still counting their losses.
Hence, Stardragon would have to seek the cooperation of the other nations, and that would be complicated to accomplish. Han Xiao himself would also have to be directly involved as he was the key source of information.
The question was whether the higher-ups would let Han Xiao leave the Western Capital.
Suddenly, the phone rang. It was Feng Jun, who said gravely, “Han Xiao, Germinal operatives are on the move. They seem to know that you are with us and are trying to track you down.”
“I know.”
Han Xiao had expected this. He had instructed Li Ya Lin to use the mecha arm while knowing that Hila would recognize it.
“Rest assured. There will be men keeping watch around you 24/7.”
The Western Capital was Division 13’s territory. Even if the Germinal Organization were to find out Han Xiao’s exact location, they would probably not be able to touch him – not easily, at least.
Still, as there were several superhuman assassins amongst their ranks, Han Xiao knew that he could not afford to let his guard down.
‘Looks like I should prepare some defensive measures.’
“Help me draw two Berserk Eagle handguns from the armory.”
The Berserk Eagle was a close-range, large-caliber handgun. It had an effective range of 30m, where its power was comparable to that of a sniper rifle.
It would work wonders with Han Xiao’s [Strafe].
However, Han Xiao would need more.
Over the past three days, Han Xiao had gained 100,000 experience points from crafting gunpowder. He decided to spend 40,000 to raise [Basic Refining] to Lv. 5, fulfilling the requirements for crafting the [Platinum Alloy].
“It’s time for upgrades.”
…
A few days ago, upon learning of the appearance of the mecha arm in the hands of a Stardragon agent, the boss came to the conclusion that it must have been Zero who leaked information on their three bases to Stardragon.
“Is he a psychic?”
The boss found it hard to explain how Zero could have accessed top secret information. In fact, he had not once suspected Zero. Instead, he had mistakenly assumed that there was a traitor amongst his ranks. As a result, he had even wrongly killed one commander.
His mind flashed back to a month ago, where Zero had declared his intention to destroy them.
The boss clenched his fist.
“I may have underestimated you, but you are still a nobody – I don’t believe that you possess more intel.
“Pass down my order: recruit some wanderers to investigate Zero’s trail in Stardragon. The Germinal Organization will reward those who find him!
“If found, send Rosa to finish him off.”
Rosa, like Hila, was a Germinal commander. She was an assassin.
Each commander had their own specialty, but no one knew exactly how many commanders there were – not even most Germinal agents themselves.
The boss gazed into the distance.
‘Did you think that gaining Stardragon’s protection would keep you safe?
‘Naive!’
Chapter 54. Beta Test‽ |
The Platinum Alloy was an alloy composed from a few rare ores. Han Xiao had to spend quite a sum of money to purchase enough of them.
After making the alloy, Han Xiao used it to craft a Retractable Knife and another Lightweight Mecha Arm. Both had above average stats – as expected – and the Retractable Knife was even of a higher grade.
_____________
Retractable Platinum Knife
Grade: Green
Base Stats: 24-28 Damage, 355/355 Durability
Bonus Stats: +3 DEX
Length: 0.77m
Weight: 8.7kg
Additional Effects:
Retractable – This knife’s blade can be retracted.
Durable – The platinum alloy in this knife makes it less susceptible to wear and tear.
Note: This knife can even be used as a shield.
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The following day, Feng Jun came over to deliver the two Berserk Eagles. The Berserk Eagle had a slight longer barrel than the average handgun, and it was much more destructive at close range. Upon testing, they proved capable of blowing a chunk out of a test dummy’s head. The recoil was also extremely powerful, but Han Xiao possessed enough strength to tame the beasts.
They would serve as his protection against assassinations alongside the Platinum Retractable Knife. Han Xiao also altered his clothes to conceal several magazines – two magazines of incendiary ammo and four regular ones. For regular ammo, Han Xiao chose to use steel core bullets as their penetrative power suited the Berserk Eagle well.
Han Xiao brought up the information tab to check his remaining experience points. He currently had close to 200,000.
In Version 1.0 Galaxy, it was thought for a while that investing experience points into skills instead of leveling was optimal.
The reasoning for this was that, since the death cost was low around Lv. 20 to 30, it was an optimal level range to grind PVP. Unfortunately, it had all been someone’s ploy.
When the system congratulatory message popped up to celebrate the first Lv. 60 player in Version 1.0, the entire server was first stunned, then outraged. It was none other than the same guy who had advocated the theory of self-capping one’s level.
Han Xiao decided to spend 180,000 experience points to level up three times.
_____________
[Novice Technician] has leveled up! +30 Energy, +1 DEX, +1 END, +1 INT, +3 unassigned stat points, + 1 talent point.
[Novice Technician] has leveled up! +30 Energy, +1 DEX, +1 END, +1 INT, +3 unassigned stat points, + 1 talent point.
[Novice Technician] has leveled up! +30 Energy, +1 DEX, +1 END, +1 INT, +3 unassigned stat points, + 1 talent point.
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Besides these newly acquired stats, Han Xiao had also gained 30 Energy from regular use of the [Energy Training Technique] over the past few days, so his Energy was now Lv. 4 at a total of 280.
_____________
Lv. 4 Energy (200):
+3 STR, +4 DEX, +5 END, +4 INT, + 150 Max Stamina, +4% Crafting Speed, +4% Machinery Power
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In total, Han Xiao gained +10 STR, +10 DEX, +14 END, +8 INT, +320 Max Stamina, +10% Crafting Speed, and +10% Machinery Power from Energy bonuses, which made up nearly a third of his total stats.
Initially, Han Xiao had invested quite a number of points into STR and END in order to ensure his survival during his escape from the Germinal laboratory, but now, as he could focus solely on INT, which was all that a Technician needed, he immediately spent all 9 unassigned stat points on INT, reaching a total of 58 points.
Now Lv. 24, and also a Lv. 4 Novice Technician, Han Xiao’s combat power was at 160 ona.
/> “At this rate I should be able to remain much stronger than the first batch of players for a while…”
Suddenly, a notification sound played.
When Han Xiao opened up the notification, he received a huge shock.
_____________
Beta testing has been scheduled
Retrieving Information…
Retrieval Complete
Beta Test Period: 12 Days
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“Beta testing‽
“I completely forgot about that!”
Han Xiao vaguely remembered that the beta test had been a two-day event. As time was accelerated by six times in Galaxy, that translated to exactly 12 days.
The beta test period was extremely short, and only had 30,000 slots. Most of them were taken up by big corporations and gaming organizations, leaving only a fraction to be distributed through a lottery system. Han Xiao was not lucky enough to win a slot.
From his memory, the beta test was held only a week before official launch, translating to about over a month inside the game. Yet, on the system information interface the countdown still displayed 130 days!
“Could it be that the in-game clock runs differently when service is down? That must be it! Each version update takes two or three days to go live, but between updates years could have passed by in-game. It makes sense!”
Han Xiao rubbed his chin with his fingers and realized that a beard was growing. He had been in Galaxy for over half a year. He suddenly remembered a controversial version update from his past life – ‘The Chosen Ones’. This version update was unlike any other. Other updates typically came with world-changing events and incidents, but this one had completely lacked a theme. No one could make sense of the version’s title, nor its contents.
Suddenly, the interface lit up, giving Han Xiao a start.
_____________
NPC functions unlocked!
Discussion board unlocked!
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“NPC functions? What’s this?”
As it did not come with any further information, it seemed that Han Xiao would have to figure it out on his own. In any case, it was likely to do with the ways that NPCs interacted with players, such as handing out quests, buying and selling goods, and imparting skills.
In the beta test, the 30,000 players were distributed across over a dozen planets. Han Xiao was not too concerned over this, as one or two thousand players per planet would not really have much of an impact. Official release would be when all hell broke loose.
Nonetheless, interacting with some of them would be a good opportunity to learn more about his NPC functions.
The discussion board, on the other hand, was something that Han Xiao was already familiar with. It was an internal forum that players frequented a lot – especially while waiting to revive.
“To think that we would meet again. It’s probably only unlocked now due to the time being synced up.”
The button for the discussion board was located on a corner of the interface. Upon opening it up, Han Xiao was greeted by an empty forum. The account name on the top right of the window indicated ‘Guest’, and the registration button was grayed out.
Han Xiao clicked it out of curiosity.
_____________
Attempting to Connect to the Dive-capsule…
No Player Detected
Registration Failed
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It took a few moments for Han Xiao to understand why – accounts for the discussion board could only be created with the unique ID of the user’s dive-capsule. This rule was implemented as a measure against trolls.
“Well, I can’t create a forum account, but at least I can access the forum for reading!”
There were a million questions on Han Xiao’s mind regarding the state of his existence. Perhaps, this forum would be able to give him the answers if he watched out for his own username.
“Interacting with the beta testers will be a good start.”
…
Character Name: Frenzied Sword
Regular Settings Selected
Character Creation Complete
Race: Human (Yellow)
Based on your preferences, you have been matched to Planet Aquamarine
Starting Zone: Big Horn Village (24.152, 182.644)
Spawning… Please wait…
Chapter 55. Our First Day Together |
Big Horn Village was one of several starting zones on Plant Aquamarine.
As Frenzied Sword’s consciousness slowly adjusted, he found himself standing atop a loess field. The warmth of the sun felt just like it was real and so too did the earthly smell of the soil. When he looked down to see his two arms, he was shocked by how realistic they looked and felt.
It was a small field, and Frenzied Sword noticed that there were hundreds of other players around him; they, too, were curiously examining their ‘bodies’. Each player’s name was displayed on the top of his head.
Following the mini-guide shown during character creation, Frenzied Sword opened up the character information window. It displayed that he was Lv. 1 and also showed the default starting equipment that he was equipped with: a shirt, a pair of pants, and a pair of shoes. They did not come with any stat bonuses.
“Damn it, I can’t strip!”
A fellow player nearby was causing a commotion. He appeared to be trying to remove his pants unsuccessfully.
‘What the hell are you even trying to do that for?’
The alarmed Frenzied Sword decided that moving away would be a good idea.
Frenzied Sword was a professional gamer, albeit not so well known. Aspiring professional gamer would be more accurate. He had only recently joined the scene, so he was, by all counts, a newcomer. He had been keeping a close eye on Galaxy ever since learning of its promising e-sports prospects, so when the beta test was announced, he immediately asked his association for a slot.
As the saying goes, the early bird gets the worm. Frenzied Sword was determined to succeed in this new game.
Conversation broke out amongst the crowd.
“This is so realistic!”
“What should we do now?”
“Any hints?”
Suddenly, a white-bearded, fearsome looking white elderly man appeared before the crowd and bellowed, “All of you outsiders! If you want to eat, then find yourself a job! Loafers are not welcome in our village! The crops in our farms need picking, and the shops to the south need workers! As long as you work hard, you will have food to eat!”
Beside the players’ health bars were two other bars for hunger and thirst. Upon reaching 0, the player would gain a [Hungry] or [Thirsty] debuff that would cause their health to drop.
Frenzied Sword ‘examined’ the old man.
_____________
Based on your level, you acquired the following information:
Xander – Big Horn Mountain Village Chief
Level: ?
Stats: ?
[I am your village chief now.]
Danger Level: Middle
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Players had an ‘examine’ function that allowed them to learn an NPC’s name and information. However, the amount of information obtained differed based on their level difference.
“The weapons store sells guns, bullets, and other weapons, the marketplace is where people sell food and water, and the amphitheater is where you will find mounts to rent. If you wish to leave, there is a train station several kilometers north of here. If you wish to learn a craft, the blacksmith’s or the tailor’s are good choices…”
Xander’s explanation filled in the new players on their situation. There were only a few sub-classes and one combat class – [Novice Hunter
] – available in this village, and they cost money to learn.
Frenzied Sword opened up the map to find it mostly shrouded in fog. Before he explored the planet, he would have to first earn money.
“Is it possible to take on hunting quests straight away?”
Frenzied Sword recognized the man, SliceYouUp, as the guild leader of the guild ‘Kill-all’. His IGN was telling of his personality.
Upon hearing his question, Xander burst out into laughter.
“You weaklings think that you stand a chance against wild beasts? See those mountains over there? If you are not afraid to die then by all means try, but it looks to me like none of you are even strong enough to even take on a Silver Hyena.”
The players looked towards where the old man pointed to see a range of forested mountains in the distance. Some of the mountains stood so tall that the clouds seemed to encircle them like huge, coiling pythons, creating an extremely scenic view that stole the breaths of the players. The graphics were incredibly life-like. Galaxy was clearly ahead of the competition.
Refusing to believe the old man, SliceYouUp took his party to purchase some basic equipment with the starting money of $100 and headed for the mountains.
It did not take long for them to return.
SliceYouUp, in particular, was shaken up quite badly. The first beast that he had encountered was a gorilla larger than an adult man. As soon as he raised his dagger, the gorilla threw its excrement at him, the force of which blew up his head. And it only got better. He respawned in the middle of a stampede.
‘Why the hell would that freaking monkey know how to throw its excrement‽ Must everything be so realistic‽’
For some reason, the foul smell still lingered around even after respawning. The developers were definitely trolling when they decided to add in this smell.
“WTF, aren’t those monsters too strong?”
“They didn’t even stand a chance!”
“He only managed to do 1 damage!!”
“Damn it, I dropped the knife I just bought!”
The amount of experience lost upon death depended on the character level. The respawn time also increased with each death. For the first death, respawning only took 10 seconds, but it would take a minute for the second, five for the third, and half an hour for the fourth, increasing up to a whopping six days.
