Marvel's Kryptonian Scientist Chapter 338 338

The Version 0.3 update included several major additions.

New NPC Added: Swarm Queen

The Swarm Queen rules both the Swarm and its howorld. Players are advised not to bother her unnecessarily, as she generally does not interact with players.

Warning: If you sohow manage to anger the Swarm Queen and get eaten, your account will be locked out of the ga for three days.

Faction Transfer System Added

Players may now freely switch factions.

Those who have already joined the Kryptonian Empire may spend a significant amount of Energy to transfer to the Swarm faction.

After changing factions:

Reputation converts into Swarm Reputation.

Equipnt will not carry over.

Housing, territory, and furniture will be lost.

Currency remains intact.

Faction transfers are expensive.

Choose carefully.

Additional content will be added in future updates.

The announcent triggered exactly the reaction Drex Valen expected.

The newly introduced Swarm faction imdiately attracted countless players who had long since grown tired of playing humans.

The mont the 0.3 patch notes were released, the community exploded.

[Code777]:

"My humanity ends today!"

[Dark Fla Infernal Dragonblade]:

"Swarm confird. Kryptonians, tremble before the glory of evolution!"

[ThatPageNeededAMatureWoman]:

"Long live the Swarm! Down with the false Emperor!"

[Kerrigan]:

"The true Queen has arrived. Where are my blade brothers?"

[OneThousandAndOneHorrorStories]:

"Kryptonian dogs. Swarm pigs. Fight."

[MashupKing]:

"Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne! Eternal war across the galaxy! Death to the False Emperor!"

The argunts continued without end.

Forum wars had beco a form of entertainnt all their own.

While millions of players fought online, the mighty Emperor of Krypton was occupied with sothing far more important.

For the first ti in a long while, Drex was spending ti with the won who mattered most to him.

Life had been busy.

Research.

Expansion.

Evolution.

One crisis after another.

Still, the effort had paid off.

He had finally discovered a clear path toward the Multiverse.

The journey would likely take an unimaginably long ti, but at least he now knew the destination was real.

Even Esdeath had returned.

After years of constant warfare, even she occasionally needed sothing beyond battle.

The mont she saw him, she crossed the room and wrapped her arms around him.

"Drex..."

Then she kissed him.

Not a brief greeting.

Not a polite reunion.

The kind of kiss that seed determined to steal every last breath from a person's lungs.

Fortunately for everyone involved, neither of them actually needed to breathe.

Several minutes later, the others finally dragged her away.

"She got the first one again."

Lyra Yan folded her arms and pouted.

"That's completely unfair."

Drex glanced around the room.

It was obvious they had planned this.

Every one of them had arrived wearing the outfit associated with her original character.

For a brief mont, he found himself lost in the illusion.

As though he had truly traveled across countless worlds and brought them all back with him.

His gaze settled on Tifa.

"Tifa."

He pulled her gently closer.

Authentic or not, it didn't matter.

As long as they remained beside him, he would always have a reason to keep moving forward, no matter where the future led.

Leaning forward, he kissed her.

The hours that followed passed peacefully.

For once, there were no cosmic mysteries to solve.

No enemies to conquer.

No civilizations to reshape.

Only warmth, companionship, and the rare luxury of simply enjoying the company of those closest to him.

anwhile, inside Kryptonian Empire...

"Maintenance starts in ten minutes! Store your stuff and log out!"

A helpful player shouted across a public square.

There was no world chat in Kryptonian Empire.

No guild chat.

No private ssaging.

If soone wanted to tell you sothing, they had to physically say it.

The ga's commitnt to realism bordered on insanity.

Veteran players had already learned their lesson.

The mont maintenance warnings appeared, everyone imdiately began returning to their hos, warehouses, or guild storage locations.

Losing valuable equipnt because of a shutdown wasn't an experience anyone wanted to repeat.

Groups of players headed back together.

Although the new Swarm faction looked interesting, most people ultimately decided not to transfer.

The Kryptonian Empire still had plenty of content left to explore.

The newly introduced biological armor system was especially attractive.

Besides, the Swarm Howorld wasn't going anywhere.

There would be ti to experience it later.

More importantly...

Most mainstream players simply couldn't appreciate the Swarm aesthetic.

And based on the ga's history, everyone knew exactly what a newly opened faction ant.

Work.

Endless work.

Mining.

Construction.

Expansion.

Resource gathering.

Players would probably be worked to death.

"Your Majesty, I've followed your instructions and designated an undeveloped planet as the Swarm Howorld."

The Swarm Queen hesitated.

"But are you sure this is a good idea?"

She was genuinely worried.

Those players were complete lunatics.

What if they corrupted her swarm?

Not that it should have been possible.

Every creature in the Swarm remained under her absolute control.

Still...

Players had a talent for turning impossibilities into reality.

[Server shutdown in 30 seconds.]

[To avoid unnecessary losses, all players are advised to log out imdiately.]

The final system announcent echoed across the empire.

By then, not a single player remained standing online.

The servers shut down.

Outside the ga, Umbrella Corporation released another batch of gaming pods.

They sold out almost instantly.

Demand had beco absurd.

The player population currently sat at two hundred million.

After the Third Beta launched, estimates suggested that number might climb beyond four hundred million.

The ga's online activity was equally ridiculous.

At its peak, over one hundred million players had been connected simultaneously.

Unlike traditional gas, each pod was tied to a single account.

No multiboxing.

No alternate accounts.

No AFK farming.

The numbers were completely genuine.

Across the industry, gaming companies watched with envy.

Everyone wanted to create a true full-dive virtual reality ga.

Unfortunately, the technological gap between themselves and Kryptonian Empire might as well have been asured in centuries.

The Third Beta officially began.

A massive group of newly selected players materialized inside the ga.

Each appeared as an exceptionally attractive young man or woman, standing in orderly lines before an NPC marked:

Kryptonian Instructor

Their interfaces imdiately populated with daily, weekly, and monthly missions.

Most involved familiar tasks:

Mining.

Territorial expansion.

Construction projects.

Infrastructure developnt.

Normal beginner activities.

Yet unlike ordinary newcors, these players weren't clueless.

Anyone lucky enough to enter the Third Beta had likely spent months studying the ga.

Even if they had never played before, they had consud countless guides, videos, analyses, and forum discussions.

Many joked that they had already completed the ga ntally before ever receiving access.

As a result, most newcors entered with clear goals.

Independent players without guild ambitions imdiately began searching for established organizations to join.

Others preferred a lone-wolf approach and intended to play entirely by themselves.

The largest group, however, consisted of ambitious players seeking fa.

Future guild masters.

Alliance leaders.

Community celebrities.

Months of testing had already proven one thing beyond any doubt.

Kryptonian Empire was not a ga where a lone player could thrive.

Dungeons required teamwork.

Campaign battles required teamwork.

Exploration required teamwork.

Construction required teamwork.

Trade required teamwork.

Even completing routine weekly objectives beca easier with friends.

Social connections weren't rely useful.

They were essential.

In many ways, the ga felt less like a ga and more like a second reality.