I Make Games Inside a Mobile Game?! Chapter 56 56: Not for Sale

Before Carl could figure out the newcor's identity, Hasumi, who seed to have finally confird who it was, cried out in exaggerated shock.

"One... one of the Seven Swords of the Holy Nation... the... the commander of the Abyssal Knights, An... Anan?"

"You recognized even like this? Stop shouting. I'm here for treatnt, so... want to buy a flower?"

The little girl whom Hasumi had called one of the Seven Swords of the Holy Nation impatiently told her to stop making a fuss. Then she pulled a flower from her basket and asked again.

"Of course! I never thought I would have a chance encounter with one of the Holy Nation's legends here! What incredible luck! Please give one!"

Hasumi enthusiastically bought the flower the little girl offered.

"So... Hasumi, can you explain who this is exactly?" Carl looked the little girl up and down, taking in her ragged clothes. No matter how he looked at her, she seed like a pitiful little girl of about ten years old, barely scraping by as a flower seller.

If she had a side quest attached to her, it would definitely be the kind of tearjerking, heartwarming side story that made players cry.

"Yes! The Seven Swords of the Holy Nation are the commanders of the seven pillar knight orders that support the Holy Nation. The leader of each order possesses world-shaking power. This is Anan, commander of the Abyssal Knights, the Holy Nation's... no! Humanity's frontline knight order in the fight against the Calamity Virus."

Hasumi introduced the knight order's history as though she were recounting a legend, her tone passionate and stirring.

"She is undoubtedly a hero who belongs in legends! I never imagined I would et such a great figure in this form today. What incredible luck!"

So this little girl standing before him was one of Elysium's top-tier combatants?

Soone in the sa category as Void Hunters, Sentinels, or Emanators?

Carl really wanted to ask her, when are you joining the gacha pool? You look like a featured banner character. I'm saving my stones to pull for you.

"Your..." Carl had only just started speaking to her when she corrected his form of address.

"Just call Anan. Our Abyssal Knights have finally returned from the front lines. We ca here for treatnt this ti, disguised as ordinary NPCs so we could interact with the Saviors using a shapeshifting potion."

The little girl who called herself Anan seed to instantly see through what Carl wanted to ask and answered his question first.

Then she revealed her wrist, which had been hidden beneath her sleeve.

"Years of fighting entities infected by the Calamity Virus have caused most mbers of our knight order to beco infected as well. If we do not find Saviors to cure us soon... I... probably will not last much longer."

The skin on Anan's wrist had already turned a pale gray. If it continued, her body itself might begin to mutate.

"In that case, the most effective thod should be for the Academy Head to arrange for you to enter the gacha pool. With your strength, Ms. Anan, you should be extrely popular with a large number of Saviors, right?" Carl asked.

The "Academy Head" referred to the developers of Oath.

To be fair, Carl thought Anan's character design was fantastic at first glance. On the surface, she was a poor little girl selling flowers. After regaining her mories with the players' help, her true identity would be revealed as the commander of one of the strongest knight orders on the continent, with absolutely overpowered combat strength.

That kind of character design would be popular anywhere.

"Do you think it would be appropriate for to et the Saviors at this stage, given my current strength?" Anan turned the question back on Carl.

Unlike Griff, the permanent Annihilation character who could suppress his power, Anan was the type who, the mont she entered the gacha pool, would be announced as an ultra-super-tier unit capable of instantly overpowering every current gacha character.

That included all characters previewed for the current version.

The Oath developers definitely intended to add her to the gacha pool, but not until around Version 2.0, or even Version 3.0.

For now? Not for sale. Just there to tempt you.

"I just wanted to say that if working as a side quest NPC, well... a side quest actor, in your current state cannot completely cure the Calamity Plague inside you, Ms. Anan, you can ask for help."

Carl did not hesitate to extend an olive branch to her at that mont.

The NPCs of Elysium did not rely solely on absorbing players' happy emotions to cure the Calamity Virus.

In essence, all positive emotions worked, including overwhelming joy, being moved to tears, sorrowful weeping, and so on.

Judging by Anan's current attire, she definitely had a side quest designed to trick players into crying.

Unfortunately... Anan was far less gullible than Hasumi. She looked Carl up and down, as though she had recognized his true identity.

"You... are the Forbidden One the Academy Head has repeatedly warned us not to contact, right? I do not necessarily believe everything the Academy Head says, but all resources for interacting with the Saviors are in the Academy Head's hands."

"If our Abyssal Knights cooperate with you, we risk a complete break with the Academy Head," Anan said.

These side quest NPCs must have all received training before coming here. The developers of Oath seed to have specifically emphasized things like, "Do not listen to any sweet talk from Carl Agata."

"It seems I really cannot persuade you at this stage. However, Ms. Anan, when the ti cos, please believe in the Saviors' choices."

Carl did not insist. Just as he was about to leave with Hasumi, Anan spoke up, perhaps to establish goodwill, or perhaps to criticize Carl with sothing like, "You cannot even take care of the person beside you, yet you want to recruit ."

"Before that, you should first cure the Calamity Plague afflicting this young lady. Her infection symptoms are quite severe." Anan pointed at Hasumi.

"...What?!"

Carl's gaze instantly snapped to Hasumi. He looked her up and down. She was still the dazzling Knight Princess, but...

"Hasumi! Pull up your sleeve and show your wrist!"

"Do not worry, Lord Carl. I will be fine."

Hasumi said this, but complied anyway. The result was that her wrist also showed signs of graying, and the gray was continuously spreading up her entire arm!

What do you an, fine?!

What should you do if a gacha character gets infected with the Calamity Virus? The answer is, replace them!

Just as Anan could change her appearance with a potion, other knights from the Dawn Radiance Knight Order could simply take on Hasumi's form and replace her.

After a few versions, the original Hasumi would be forgotten anyway.

"Do not overthink anything for the next few days! Withdraw your primary consciousness from all worldlines. I guarantee that in three days, you will be incredibly popular again!" Carl said.

"Mmm... Thank you for your kindness, Lord Carl. If... no, it is nothing. I look forward to that day."

At this point, Hasumi did not even believe her own words. She probably wanted to say, "If only that could really happen."

And so, three days passed, bringing them to the Oath Version 1.2 preview livestream.

Originally, during the preview period, players still could not enter the City of Glory. They would have to wait several more days for the new version to officially launch.

But Oath had cleverly granted preview test server access to the top ten thousand players on the first season's Extre Abyss leaderboard.

It allowed those ten thousand players to act as free ga testers, letting them enter the City of Glory early and explore.

The Oath Version 1.2 preview livestream also featured three Holy Nation characters, including the Saintess, guiding everyone on a tour of the City of Glory's layout while occasionally switching to gaplay footage from other players for the broadcast.

Carl watched the livestream through a web tool. The official livestream's concurrent viewer count had already exceeded three million.

This also indirectly proved just how unprecedentedly popular Oath was.

After the Saintess, along with her ntor and that loli knight, finished touring the City of Glory, the screen suddenly switched to the luxurious manor the Holy Nation had prepared for the players.

"This is the luxurious residence I have prepared for all you Saviors! A massive, extravagant manor. The items displayed inside are all artifacts from our Holy Nation, each with over a hundred years of history. It can truly be called a museum-level palace!"

The world the Saintess was touring was precisely the worldline where Macchiato, the top whale of the Do Alliance, was located.

"Look... it is a Savior. Let us hide and see the Savior's surprised reaction!"

The Saintess, who understood livestream engagent, did not imdiately reveal herself to the player.

At that mont, Macchiato was inside the manor, examining the vast array of opulent artifact souvenirs displayed in the exhibition hall.

In Carl's view, the Holy Nation had really gone all out this ti to win player favor.

The collection in this manor could rival the Hermitage Museum in real-world Russia. Every piece was a dazzling, priceless treasure from the royal collection!

Macchiato looked at the porcelain plates with exquisite patterns and gold trim, the jewel-encrusted crowns, the scepters, and more... The feeling was no different from visiting Russia's finest historical museum. The most tempting part was that these treasures were right there, seemingly within every player's reach.

And so... even Macchiato, a top-tier whale, did what any player would do upon arriving at a world-class museum and discovering that they could touch all the exhibits!

That is... steal!

Macchiato looked left and right, confird no one was watching, reached out, picked up a jewel-studded crown, and tried to stuff it into her backpack.

Unfortunately, Oath did not have a theft system.

The mont Macchiato put the crown into her backpack, it instantly reappeared on the display case.

"Isn't this just pure temptation?"

At that mont, an unprecedented sense of loss welled up in Macchiato's heart. Refusing to believe it, she tried stuffing other artifacts into her backpack.

Regrettably, it was useless. It was a futile effort, like trying to scoop the moon out of the water.

The Saintess noticed Macchiato's disappointnt and quickly stepped out from behind cover.

"Savior! If any of these artifacts catch your eye, I can gift them directly to you!" the Saintess said, walking out with a smile.

Then... the Saintess did not see any look of pleasant surprise on Macchiato's face. Instead, she saw an indescribable disappointnt.

Why are you just giving it to ? That is not the gaplay I want! Is it really about getting the thing?

It is about the thrill of stealing it!

How can a gift compare to the joy of sothing stolen?

Precisely because you cannot commit cris in real life, committing them in a ga is especially thrilling.

Unfortunately, no Elysium ga supported player criminal behavior within the ga. PvP against other players was already the limit.

"Hmm... there are so many things, I do not even know how to choose."

Macchiato gave a perfunctory reply, knowing they were on a preview livestream.

However, right at that mont, Macchiato suddenly received a short ssage from Vengeful Blood, the leader of the Do Alliance.

"I checked all the guild mbers with preview access. Turns out you are the only one who did not kill Carl Agata in Version 1.1."

"So the organization has decided. You are now assigned to investigate what is going on with Descent into Netherworld Village!"

(To be continued.)