"So, although virtual gas have beco more popular in the last two years, because the market isn’t fully developed and there are so many shady companies trying to get a piece of the pie, the quality of ga production is uneven. Not to ntion those bandwagon projects..."
Jiang Shang lowered his helt’s sleeping pod and said seriously,
"So... Ziya, do you think this ’Immortal Cultivation Sect’ ga is not well-made?"
Outside the sleeping pod, another boy, who looked only about eighteen or nineteen, tall and skinny, asked.
Hearing the nickna, Jiang Shang twitched his mouth and complained:
"How many tis have I told you not to call by that nickna..."
After speaking, he climbed out of the pod and put on his glasses.
"Which virtual ga do you think is the best? I think this ga is quite good! Well... maybe it’s because it’s the first virtual ga I played after buying a virtual pod, it all seems very novel to ."
The tall and skinny boy asked again.
Jiang Shang thought for a mont, shook his head, and said,
"Akai, you still know too little about virtual gas. Actually, last year, a masterpiece erged in the virtual gaming world. Compared to that masterpiece, all other gas are just subpar."
"A masterpiece?"
Akai frowned.
"You should have heard of it."
Jiang Shang smiled aningfully.
Seeing his friend’s smile, Akai rubbed his temples while trying to rember:
"Hold on... I’ll definitely rember it... Let think..."
A mont later, his eyes lit up, and he looked at Jiang Shang:
"Oh... I rember now! It’s a Western fantasy MMORPG, I think it’s called ’Elf Kingdom’! It was even trending!"
"That’s right, it’s the one."
Jiang Shang nodded.
Then, he sighed again,
"This was a phenonal ga during closed beta, with over ten million sign-ups. It was quite terrifying."
"And, you probably saw plenty of info about it on the bullet comnt video sites, even when watching other videos. You must have seen those fans flooding the screen, like... ’World Tree Players.’
"’World Tree Players’?"
Hearing this, Akai raised his eyebrows:
"I rember seeing a lot of them in bullet comnts, apparently because the ga’s ti and reality are different. It led to so confusion and resulted in a joke similar to mocking ’ti managent masters.’ But, it seems this ga has quieted down a lot recently, with no news."
"That’s because it’s been in closed beta all this ti!"
Jiang Shang pushed his glasses up, looking frustrated.
He sighed, saying,
"You just bought your sleeping pod, so you might not yet know the industry. If you make a list of virtual gas worth playing right now, ’Elf Kingdom’ would be the undisputed number one."
"Whether it’s the world-building, imrsion, ga graphics, music, or physics engine, even the NPC system, and now you can see so marketing accounts describing its mind-accelerating technology as Tianchao’s black technology... ’Elf Kingdom’ can outperform any other ga in all aspects!"
"I’m not the only one saying this; it’s the evaluation of many professionals. Even many old gars from Europe and Arica have been climbing over the Great Firewall just to get registered!"
His expression was extrely passionate, like he was discussing a marvelous piece of art.
"Here we go again, I know you like virtual gas, and I know you have a thing for big titles. But, have you played it?"
Akai asked.
Jiang Shang’s expression froze slightly.
In an instant, his excitent about discussing his favorite topic turned into disappointnt. He seed to emit a gloomy aura, almost crouching in a corner drawing circles.
"I signed up, but I wasn’t selected."
"Sigh... you don’t know how frustrated I am..."
"I’ve been following this ga since it first released its trailer, to be honest, the first ti I saw it, I was amazed."
"When it officially started the closed beta, I signed up imdiately, but unfortunately, I didn’t get selected."
"For the subsequent closed betas, I signed up each ti, and still... wasn’t selected."
"I’ve seen so many lucky guys on forums and Weibo who got in on their first try. Why are others so lucky while I’m so unlucky? I’m green with envy..."
"Oh, it’s so hard for ..."
He complained resentfully, like a wife abandoned by her husband.
"Maybe you’re just bad at it; every ti we team up, you’re always at the bottom."
Akai laughed mischievously.
"Get lost!"
Jiang Shang glared at Akai.
"Even a noob has dreams! Moreover, with this ga’s high degree of freedom, who says I must fight all the ti when I get in?"
He mumbled.
Afterward, he sighed again and began muttering,
"But, I’ve continued to follow it. This ga really is a masterpiece. You can tell just from the videos other players have uploaded what a great work it is!"
"That’s right, great! I truly want to call it great because in my view, this isn’t just a ga; it’s clearly a genuine otherworldly reality created!"
"Though I haven’t played this ga yet, I’ve watched almost all related videos online, and I believe my understanding of this ga has beco quite deep."
"If given a chance, I’m sure I could really shine in this ga!"
Jiang Shang said excitedly.
"Don’t get too excited, Ziya, you’re what they call a cloud gar."
"Get lost, that’s just pure-hearted enthusiasm! And stop calling Ziya! I’m not that old!"
Jiang Shang glared fiercely at his friend.
Then, he added,
"This MMORPG is different from others; it only has one server, but the entire ga’s story is driven by the players’ actions, so the sense of engagent is trendous."
"Moreover... the ga’s freedom is incredibly high. Whatever you want to do in the ga, you can do it, except... well, the color-specific stuff isn’t allowed."
"For instance, in this ga, once you pick the priest class, you actually have to spread beliefs to level up! Yes, just the preaching you think it is! And the tools used are scriptures compiled with player involvent; it’s really interesting!"
"And there are many similar things, like players creating guns in the ga! Although they’re magic versions."
"In any case... the freedom is exceedingly high! And the plot is fantastic!"
"If you don’t believe , I can recomnd so videos to you!"
Jiang Shang said excitedly, grabbing his phone to send links to his friend.
Akai’s phone pinged, and he raised an eyebrow, took out his phone, and opened the videos Jiang Shang sent.
After watching briefly, he remarked,
"Hmm... indeed, if not for the ga interface and magic, I wouldn’t have realized this was a ga; it’s so realistic."
While watching, he made a surprised sound,
"Hmm?"
"What’s wrong?"
Jiang Shang was slightly puzzled.
"Oh, it’s just that I saw a familiar character. So Eve Goddess is a character in this ga!"
Akai remarked lightly.
Jiang Shang leaned in, seeing a video of a ga character’s appearance.
It featured an elf girl with silver hair and purple eyes, wearing a crown and a gorgeous divine dress, bathed in holy light, looking extrely sacred, dignified, elegant, and beautiful.
When Jiang Shang saw the familiar character in the video, his eyes lit up slightly:
"Exactly! That’s Goddess Eve! She’s the most popular NPC in the ga and my favorite character!"
"Gah... she’s the most perfect NPC I’ve ever seen; the modeling is superbly done. I don’t know which expert designed it... you don’t know, but I already have three figurines of the goddess at ho!"
Jiang Shang’s expression was filled with excitent.
But, he was t again with a friend’s sarcastic remark,
"Four stab ducks." (Said in a thick accent akin to "far too obsessed.")
Jiang Shang: ...
"Get lost! Did I eat your rice? You know you’re more of a geek than I am!"
He glared at his friend.
"Hahahaha..."
Akai let out a series of laughs.
Watching his friend, Jiang Shang felt a bit speechless. He sighed and continued,
"You can interact with the goddess in this ga too. Supposedly the goddess has an intelligent system similar to other NPCs, making it possible to converse with and increase your rapport with her."
"There’s a popular saying in ’Elf Kingdom,’ ’As long as you fight for the goddess, we’re best friends from different parents!’"
"In short... I really love this ga."
"Sigh, who knows when ’Elf Kingdom’ will finally have a public beta. It’s been a year in closed beta; it’s taking too long. There are all kinds of flashy posts and jokes popping up online."
Jiang Shang secretly shook his head.
"Uh... is it the one that goes, fifty years later, Jiang Shang lies on his deathbed and says to his grandson, ’Dear grandson, when ’Elf Kingdom’ releases for public play, don’t forget to burn a paper for and tell your great-grandfather Akai too.’..."
Akai wobbled his head, speaking theatrically.
Jiang Shang: ...
"I feel like you’re mocking indirectly?"
"That’s your illusion."
Jiang Shang: ...
He glared at his friend, feeling too tired to retort.
But suddenly, as if rembering sothing, Jiang Shang curiously asked,
"By the way, Akai, how do you know about Goddess Eve? You didn’t seem to follow this ga much before. I rember you were more into Japanese gas..."
"Oh, Goddess Eve! An old model, the new generation’s book king!"
Jiang Shang: ...
Soone was visibly shocked.
The atmosphere beca a bit awkward for a mont.
A mont later, Jiang Shang cleared his throat twice,
"Cough, cough, cough, got any study materials?"
"Yes, I’ve got quite a few on my phone, along with so links, I’ll send them to you now."
"Good buddy."
"Heheheh..."
The two of them exchanged a series of strange laughter only n could understand.
Akai operated his phone, but as he manipulated it, his expression suddenly beca peculiar.
"What happened?"
Jiang Shang asked curiously.
Akai took a deep breath,
"Nothing much, just got a Weibo notification... from a ga blogger, sothing like Little Mu. You recomnded him to , and I only followed him yesterday. Psst... Ziya, you might not need a paper offering anymore."
"Huh?"
"Looks like ’Elf Kingdom’ might be opening for public testing."
"What?!"
Jiang Shang’s expression changed, and he quickly grabbed the phone...
It was a new Weibo post, published a minute ago.
And its content was a screenshot of an announcent from ’Elf Kingdom’s’ official website...
It was the open testing announcent.
————————
A bit of writer’s block tonight, only a little over 3000 words. Owe you one update, but I’ll make it up tomorrow.
I’ve seen readers say daily updates aren’t as good as before. Let explain, recently, I’ve been combining two updates into one, and occasionally burst to 6000 words. Also, Qidian charges per 200 words per Chapter; I control the postscript to not cost extra, but it does affect the reading experience. I’ll try to use it less in the future.
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