Chapter 7: The Game's Prototype. White hair, red eyes, and a beauty mark under her eye. ...
East bent over, clutching his heart. His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of his chest. It wasn't love or attraction; it was just the restlessness in his blood that made his heart beat faster. His gaze was fixed on the screen, unwavering. This wasn't the end of it.
East noticed that the three people opposite Asan all changed their expressions. The mage stepped out from behind the two knights, placed his magic wand at his chest, and bowed deeply. "Archbishop Ham Bright of the Sky Temple, hereby offers the most sincere blessings and warmest welcome to the most powerful demon lord. I also hope that the most powerful demon lord can forgive our offense."
Asan snorted coldly and lightly waved his scepter, knocking down the three people opposite him who coughed up blood. "This is a lesson for the ignorant."
"Thank you for your forgiveness, Demon Lord." The sentiment was one of gratitude and sincerity.
Asan scoffed indifferently, arrogant and condescending, "Forgiving you is the duty of God, not of a demon like me." He spread his wings and vanished in an instant.
Then something unexpected happened: three beams of light enveloped the three people, and when the beams disappeared, the three people also disappeared, leaving only white ashes scattered in the wind.
East's turbulent blood and wildly beating heart slowly returned to normal. He weakly rested his head on the dining table. "System, do you think this is appetizing?" He wasn't stupid; he could imagine what had happened to those three. "Also, what happened to me just now?"
System, [I thought they were going to fight.] Wasn't he just trying to make the host watch the show? I didn't expect three against one and they didn't even fight. What a waste! [Host, regarding your situation just now, I have a guess: you possess demonic blood. High-ranking demons have a deterrent effect on low-ranking demons.]
A strange look appeared on East's tired and weak face. Is this...that...normal? It shouldn't be what he thought, right?
Easter admired his own associative abilities, tapped his head on the edge of the table to clear his mind of the jumbled thoughts, and said, "Let's think about our plan first."
[Okay.] The system replied, "It's best to avoid doing things that are unnecessary and redundant in the future."
Easter closed his eyes in deep thought. He had considered the idea of "holographic online games" before, but in his original world, all games were virtual, while he was in a real world.
"System, if I bring people here, will it affect my original world?"
[Host, the impact will definitely exist, for example, in the economic sphere. Let's say we promote it through a game; you can think about the profits involved. There are other aspects as well, such as social culture, healthcare, education… and even the military.]
"Besides these, is there any magic over there?" Ister had considered these aspects from the beginning, although his thoughts might not have been as comprehensive as the system's.
"No," the system replied definitively. "They've always followed a technological path. Even if things change in the future, it will only be cybernetics ascension. Their world consciousness is very strong, so strong that it rejects all interference from mysterious forces. If I weren't from the Dimensional Management Bureau, there's an 80% chance they would have destroyed me, and only a 20% chance they would have let me go."
[They say they're drawing people's souls over, but only a part of them, not the whole. It's a rather complicated explanation, but it basically means they're only drawing their consciousness, not their complete soul, nor is it a fragmented or divided entity. Therefore, it won't have any negative impact on their physical health.]
[Host, don't worry too much. We can completely disguise ourselves. After the publicity, we can customize holographic glasses, helmets, and game pods for our game. I can also tamper with certain programs to install our game on existing devices. We're not the first holographic game; they can completely treat this place as a game. Once players log in, I can monitor their behavior. Bad players, those who indiscriminately kill innocent players, etc., can all be kicked out. We don't want trash.]
“Add a little more,” East said, his head still resting on the edge of the table. “Players shouldn’t be allowed to kill; they shouldn’t have to bear that burden.” After all, this was a real world. He had his own selfish motives, but he couldn’t let those motives harm others.
"No problem," the system said, adding that its host was a little angel.
"That's all. Let's design the plan first. It's supposed to be a game, so it should have a main storyline and gameplay, but those are secondary. The most important thing is that a game isn't something you can just launch with a few words. If there's nothing there, what's the point of playing it?" East raised his head and rubbed his face, looking tired.
"Host, why don't you eat something first?" the system advised. "There's a time-stopping magic circle on this table. The food is edible, and it even contains a certain amount of magic that's good for your health."
"System, have you unlocked more features? It seems more mature than before?" Easter asked uncertainly.
[Host, these are system-defined functions. I was too flustered before, and I didn't have time to study them.]
East, “…” Maturity and all that, he was overthinking it.
East gave a curt "Oh," his gaze falling on the food on the table. He picked up his knife and fork, cut off a small piece of roast meat, and put it in his mouth. His expression twisted for a moment. The fishy smell mixed with the strong smell of blood made the taste indescribable.
I felt nauseous, but it was food, so I swallowed it dry. Looking at the exquisite dishes, my eyes became a little complicated and strange.
Easter put down his knife and fork, picked up a piece of bread, and took a bite. It was dry, a bit hard, and had a strange grainy texture. After chewing a couple of times, Easter stopped, staring at the bread in his hand.
It's nothing serious. It's just that the fermentation and baking techniques aren't very advanced. It just tastes a little off. It just might have some wheat bran or pebbles mixed in. (On the verge of tears.jpg)
Easter silently put down the bread; he was homesick, more so than ever.
Easter picked up a carrot from the plate. Unlike the brightly colored carrots of later generations, it was small, thin, and dry. He took a careful bite and could only say that compared to the awful taste of the previous two, the carrot was neither good nor bad, and he could even taste a hint of sweetness that he couldn't quite place.
"Crunch~ Crunch~" Ister munched on two carrots, staring at the table full of food that looked good but wasn't eating this. Is it really right for a great mage to be eating this?
He picked up another carrot and started munching on it. He thought, "If this idea comes true, there will definitely be a chef among the players, right? I want to eat something human food."
[Host, the main storyline is quite simple. We'll tentatively name this game "Rise of the Kings," what do you think? Next is the character design, their appearances, and their skills. I've already addressed the other questions you raised. Once the game is set up, we can start promoting it immediately. In a couple of days, when it has gained some popularity, we can begin closed beta testing.]
The screen unfolded in front of East, showing him the game's promotional poster. It was very Western fantasy in style, with a huge miniature of a continent as the background, silhouettes of various otherworldly creatures standing on it, and the words "Rise of the Kings" in the center.
After the posters disappeared, a series of images were displayed, introducing elves, dragons, demons, dwarves, goblins, and other creatures.
Finally, there was a man. The description of this man was that he was "the king of a fallen kingdom," "the fallen king," and "the king rejected by the gods." Yes, that's right. No matter how down on his luck he was, he was still a king. His bloodline was incomparably noble, and his talent was one in a million. On the day he rose to power, all living beings would grovel at his feet.
East ignored the incredibly awkward introduction, his gaze lingering on the man's face. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt the face bore a resemblance to his own, though younger, perhaps around twenty years old.
He has striking, Western-looking features, yet his appearance is gentle. He may not be the most handsome, but he is sure to be the most likable person in a crowd. He is handsome and harmless, and even his red eyes do not diminish his gentle charm.
His red eyes were not like those of a demon, which were as bright and deep as rubies. They were very light and pale, as clear as delicate, pure, and flawless jade, or as fresh and soft, transparent crystal. They were very beautiful, so beautiful that countless beautiful words could be used to describe them.
He also has warm white hair, with fine, soft strands, reaching just below his shoulder blades—not too long, not too short, just right.
All of this seemed to have been filtered through a gentle lens, a warm and harmless light.
This is assuming we ignore the beauty mark under the corner of the right eye. At first glance, the beauty mark appears black, but upon closer inspection, it turns out to be a deep red that's almost black. This isn't a big deal in itself; the gentle and soft appearance remains just as it does. It's just that it adds a touch of hidden, dangerous allure to that gentle light.
This is his original appearance, and it is also his current appearance. East understood the demon's words: too soft and gentle, without a trace of aggression. There's nothing wrong with that. "System, have you noticed that the original appearance clearly says 'indifferent to worldly affairs'? If you fight for supremacy with this face, I don't think many people would truly submit to you, right?"
System, [Host, it's okay, this is very deceptive, isn't it? How about we create a character with a strong contrast for you? Look at that beauty mark under your eye, it suits you perfectly~] This beauty mark under your eye is really well-placed.
Easter: "I don't think it's very good."
System, [Okay.]
Why is there still a bit of regret? Easter was speechless.
"Let's talk about the game character settings." East was too lazy to argue with the system about trivial matters anymore.
System, [Okay, their awakened professions, usable skills, and levels can all be arranged this way. What are your thoughts on their character appearance, host? Should they be in human form?]
“Ist Felix,” Ist said, then paused for a moment before adding, “that’s the Flame Man.”
“It’s like that fire-type character that two people can raise together on a popular app in my original world, Felix, which happens to mean phoenix, the immortal bird, which is a perfect match for a fire-type character.” East would never admit that he had a slightly perverse sense of humor. “The appearance definitely can’t be completely based on that. You can adjust the design parameters yourself; you’re definitely more professional than me.”
【no problem. 】
"Right, make it impossible for the two sides to communicate verbally. Also, make our side the only viable faction, so that I can't be harmed by the players. Otherwise, given the players' mentality, what do you think will happen?" This was what East suddenly thought of. When he used to play games, there was a scene that left a deep impression on him: excited and crazy players would "roar" and besiege "innocent" NPCs. He was shocked at the time, and now when he thought about it again, he felt a chill run down his spine. He didn't want to experience that himself.
The system did a quick calculation, and its core was almost burning up. [Don't worry, that text...?] It's definitely impossible to completely hide it.
"It depends on fate." Easter picked up the half-eaten piece of bread and started eating it halfway through. Isn't there a saying about breaking the fourth wall?
Where should the publicity begin?
East ate his bread with difficulty, not even wanting to open his mouth, and answered the system in his mind: "You make a promotional video, based on the original owner's experience. His life was dramatic enough, and this place can serve as a newbie village."
The system got busy. As for game design, it was a piece of cake for him. After all, it was called a system, so it had all the functions that most systems had. Besides, the world was right there, which saved him a lot of trouble and made the problem very simple.
A note from the author:
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Just when I was thinking about the player's design, something happened: my best friend and I raised our little fireman for a long time and it died [crying]. I was still struggling with what kind of appearance it should have, but suddenly I had a flash of inspiration and decided on this appearance.
Um... This setting is actually quite common; it's just that the flames grow arms and legs. I remember seeing it in games and various novels. I asked the editor, and it's fine. [droopy-eared rabbit head][droopy-eared rabbit head]
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