"Thousands of hours, and finally, a perfect ending."
In a single apartnt, Wang Mu, his eyes bloodshot, stared at the full-screen CG ending image on the 4K monitor.
On the screen were seven stunning beauties, each with their distinct charm. From dainty and adorable to valiant and heroic, to cold and sorrowful, undeniably seductive, to gentle and demure, their presence was commanding... So wore flowing white gowns, ethereal and peerless; others donned green robes with swords at their sides, their deanors proud and unyielding; and yet others were adorned in phoenix crowns and wedding dresses, radiant as if goddesses...
At that mont, in the picture, they were all, without exception, gathered around a man.
This was a hidden ending of a single-player martial arts role-playing ga called "Heroic Road Dust": The Love Saint.
There were dozens of endings in the ga, and this one was the most challenging. So challenging that no one had ever completed it since the ga’s release. The difficulty was due to the fact that this ending could only be achieved on ’Peerless Under Heaven’ mode, which ant you couldn’t save your ga.
As an avid gar, Wang Mu had spent thousands of hours over several months, restarted countless tis, morized over a hundred thousand words of event choices, and planned the distribution of action points every month...
A developnt tiline spanning decades, tens of thousands of event choices where no mistake could be made, hundreds of roaming paths, countless martial arts and ntal thods to select from, victory in every battle, and even the usage of each consumable...
Wang Mu gazed at the picture, his face flushed with excitent, as he recalled every mont. The excitent was not just about the twists and turns of pursuing seven heroines, nor was it rely about the peerless martial arts and divine skills. It was about the sense of achievent that ca with reaching the ending.
Conversely, to Wang Mu, these seven heroines were more like tools for reaching the ending, hardly worth ntioning. Of course, Wang Mu still admired the ga developers for creating each heroine so vividly, with fully-fleshed-out and distinct personalities.
Yep, he liked each and every one of them.
After imrsing himself for a mont, Wang Mu was about to take a screenshot as a keepsake when suddenly the picture changed slightly; the image disappeared, and a few words appeared:
"Congratulations on achieving the unique ending. Would you like to enter New Ga Plus?"
Wang Mu was taken aback. New Ga Plus generally ant playing through the ga again after completing it. Usually, to enrich the gaming experience, ga developers would hide so content or completely new endings for players to discover in New Ga Plus. However, after the release of "Heroic Road Dust," the developers seed to have vanished, and there was no talk of any New Ga Plus content. As a result, this ga was quite niche and not well known.
A unique ending? How can a single-player ga have a ’unique’ one?
Once I release a walkthrough, won’t everyone be able to complete it then?
Wang Mu shook his head with a laugh; thinking this, he decided not to continue. For a gar, a ga that has been conquered on the highest difficulty was like a marriage suffering the seven-year itch, only recalling the good old days from ti to ti. Normally, even touching it could bring nightmares. After all, he was too familiar with everything in the ga. The passion was gone.
At this mont, another line of text appeared on the screen.
"Tip: The difficulty of New Ga Plus is higher. Please be ntally prepared if you wish to continue..."
?
Reading this ssage, the emotions Wang Mu had suppressed were imdiately stirred.
Heh, trying to provoke , huh? I always fall for this kind of challenge!
Confirm!
In the next instant, there was a flash of light.
And then the world was short one handso young man...
---
In Huangtian Continent, at Anle Village, located at the foot of Gu Yun Mountain. Outside the village, a ragged young man with disheveled hair looked at the sign at the village entrance, his heart pounding, his head spinning, and murmured a few words:
Is this freaking New Ga Plus?
Wang Mu had never imagined that he would be transmigrated just like that. Feeling the comforting breeze on his face, the familiar yet foreign wooden houses in the village ahead, and the soft, muddy path under his feet made every detail feel incredibly real.
This is really...
Wang Mu’s expression changed gradually, and he beca excited. This is just too aweso... Earth Online was tough and grindy; I’ve long wanted to quit that ga!
In his previous life, he was just an ordinary ga otaku who, with his own effort, had barely managed to save up a few million by the age of 27. Of course, that level of wealth was considered poor online, where the average annual salary was in the millions. Yet to Wang Mu, it ant he didn’t have to worry about food and clothing. As long as he didn’t spend recklessly, he could essentially slack off and live out his life in peace.
The main thing was.
That money is also enough to repay my parents for raising , to support their retirent.
Wang Mu thought about his parents. He wasn’t an orphan; he had parents. But his was a blended family. His father had passed away early due to illness during Wang Mu’s high school days, when the family was financially strained. His mother, who only had an elentary school education, couldn’t carry on alone and later married another man to get by, subsequently having another son and daughter. The people were actually quite nice, but for Wang Mu, who was still in high school at the ti, his family falling apart and the lack of emotional connection had left him with little expectation from his family.
However, there was no angsty lodrama to it. He went through college unremarkably. After graduation, he worked to support the family, was exploited as an intern, worked as a waiter, sold bubble tea, delivered food, learned tech skills, had a relationship, and let years slip by without achievent. The many hardships endured were best left unsaid to others.
Eventually, after so twists and turns, he beca a strear who specialized in playing different gas. During the era of explosive internet growth, he managed to get a taste of success, making a modest sum of money. Of course, Wang Mu believed his success was mainly due to his solid gaming skills. It had little to do with his handso face. As for the title "Wu Yanzu of Bilibili," Wang Mu rejected it.
And his family ties had faded. So much so that now, reflecting back, Wang Mu’s mind couldn’t conjure many warm mories; what appeared more were various screens of gaming achievents:
Beating a Valkyrie into submission with a wooden stick...
Encountering Ganon right after walking out of the starting cave...
Defeating the Elite Four with just a Magikarp...
Scenes from the past surfaced in his mind. After all, these were the things that accompanied him the longest in his gaming ti.
Wang Mu chuckled and shook his head, everything fleeting like clouds and smoke. His vision gradually beca clearer as he turned to look at the village.
Anle Village, the initial nurturing place for a beggar start in the ga.
A deep confidence filled Wang Mu’s eyes. He had transmigrated into the ga world.
With my knowledge of this ga, how could I not skyrocket from here? System Daddy? Get lost! I am the cheat code! I, Wang Mu, need no cheat codes!
At that mont, Wang Mu was radiating confidence from every inch of his being.
As he walked into the village, Wang Mu felt that it was bigger than he had imagined. This was nothing unusual, perfectly normal even. Heroic Road Dust was just a single-player martial arts cultivation ga, where the villages were tiny maps with just a handful of households. But this was the real world.
The beggar start, seemingly the worst in the ga, actually has the highest potential ceiling.
From the sons of wealthy rchants, second-generation heroes, to court guards, Hao Gang’s children, descendants of famous families, and so on...
Wang Mu reminisced about the ga’s starts; these starts, more or less, ca with favorable conditions, such as money, initial martial arts, family backing, brothers to rely on, or famous teachers for guidance.
A beggar start had nothing. However, a beggar start was the only one that could be nurtured in Anle Village. In Anle Village, one could learn fishing, hunting, mining, cooking, herb gathering, pet raising, among other things. Learning these skills would increase one’s attributes, laying a solid foundation. With a foundation, one could choose their own martial arts path—an extrely open-ended journey!
After a few steps, Wang Mu spotted an older woman with a charming silhouette, carrying a fish basket, heading to the other side.
Wang Mu pondered for a few seconds, then walked over and said, "Excuse , Sister, may I ask what this place is?"
The older woman turned around while bellowing loudly, "Huh? Are you blind? Didn’t you see this is Anle Village..."
Before she could finish, she turned and caught sight of Wang Mu, her eyes widening: Such a handso young man!
Despite his beggar appearance, he was fair-skinned with white teeth, standing tall like a pine, eyebrows like swords, and eyes like stars. Even his ssy hair and ragged clothes couldn’t hide his otherworldly charm. That call of "Sister" made the older woman’s heart bloom with joy, her voice suddenly much gentler, "Young man, this here is Anle Village. By your looks, you must be a refugee from a nearby village, correct?"
"Exactly, exactly!" Wang Mu hurriedly put on a gloomy face, then lowered his voice, "Both my parents and our village have been..."
As he spoke, Wang Mu feigned touching a sorrowful spot, showing a face of grief. It was always like this with a beggar start. However, what saddened Wang Mu at the mont was the painful mory of countless restarts when he had finished the ga. The thought alone made Wang Mu don a mask of suffering, looking like a master of expression managent.
"It was the Fierce Beasts that attacked, wasn’t it?" The older woman frowned, touched by Wang Mu’s show of genuine emotion, and felt deeply sympathetic. "It’s been like this around here recently..."
"You first co with inside."
OK! Successfully entered the village!
Wang Mu nodded. In this real world, although there was no interface or choices popping up, he was in familiar territory.
Afterward, the older woman took Wang Mu to et the Village Chief first. After explaining Wang Mu’s background, the chief arranged a rather intact small wooden hut for him in a corner at the village entrance. The villagers were still simple and honest. Although their nas were quite different from those in Wang Mu’s gaming mories, there were similarities. Wang Mu felt nothing amiss.
"My surna is Hong, given na Cuixia. Just call Aunt Hong."
"Young man, now that you’ve co to Anle Village, just stay well and start anew!"
"Don’t belittle this wooden hut."
Aunt Hong pointed at the wooden hut in front of them, explaining in detail to Wang Mu.
Hearing this, Wang Mu knew there must be a story, so he continued to ask, "Sister Hong, does this hut have so kind of story?"
"Of course, it does!" Aunt Hong said proudly, the confidence on her face almost overflowing. "This is the place where Dongfang Mu, an Ancient Sage from a millennium ago, once stayed. Our Anle Village was once quite glorious!"
???
Wang Mu was taken aback, a few question marks popping up in his mind.
An Ancient Sage from a millennium ago. What kind of setting is this? I’ve never heard about this in Anle Village. Could this be so new feature in New Ga Plus? Or is it a difference due to this being the real world? Wait a minute! Dongfang Mu?
He seed to rember sothing. Wang Mu’s expression grew extrely odd, and a strange feeling began to rise in his heart.
"Sister Hong, is this Dongfang Mu the hero Dongfang Mu who once defeated the Devil Piao Miaoxu and unlocked the Gate of Apocalypse?"
In the ga, the player’s ending involved defeating an archenemy, Piao Miaoxu, and then unlocking the legendary and mysterious gate, the Gate of Apocalypse. As for what lay beyond the gate, that was an open-ended conclusion, left to the player’s imagination.
"Oh? I didn’t expect that in this day and age, there would still be young people who know about these old stories." Aunt Hong looked at Wang Mu approvingly. "Ah, Wang, that’s very good. Since you know this, you might as well co and pay respects."
Wang Mu quickly nodded, yet he was shaking on the inside.
Pay respects?
He followed Aunt Hong to the center of the village. There, stood a stone statue several tens of ters high. The statue stood with hands clasped behind its back, exceptional swords and daggers strapped to its back. Its posture was magnificent and peerless, its gaze sweeping disdainfully over the world.
However, as Wang Mu looked at the statue, waves surged in his heart:
Holy crap, isn’t this my ga character from when I cleared the ga, the renowned Love Saint Dongfang Mu?
User Comments
0 comments from readers