MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

While Jack was having a very peaceful and pleasant dinner, the world of Infinite was going through its first upheaval.

So many braves had spawned in the New Leaf Village and had made their way toward the New Leaf Plain. Even the ones that had decided to explore the village first had joined them not long afterward. After all, no one wanted to do the odd jobs the NPCs offered.

At first, people kept dying to the surprisingly overpowered beginner monsters, but now they could hunt them relatively efficiently. They would almost spawn-kill the creatures by surrounding their respawn points. The task was becoming an automatism to them.

On a nearby rooftop, a pink-haired girl was observing them while recording. Seraphine had no clue what kind of event Jack had been referring to. Did he have information from a private beta test or from a dev directly?

But, as she kept looking, she noticed something. The more the Players killed the chickens and the angrier they appeared. The once cute and cuddly creatures now spawned with feathers raised in anger.

The physical model of the creatures steadily changing had to be a clue! That’s when she remembered Jack’s warning about not ganging up on chickens anymore. Had he been serious?!

The more she looked and the more she could discern pure and unadulterated rage in the chickens’ eyes. Did she imagine things? It was more likely that Infinite was full of easily overlooked details that would give hints about the game.

Such a concept was definitely different than most regular MMOs! Usually, one could skip quest dialogues and simply follow the minimap to one’s destination. Infinite seemed to reward players for truly playing and not just mindlessly grinding. Well, this tactic would probably work to an extent…

That’s when an outburst happened in the crowd as a party suffered many casualties. Instead of one chicken, two had spawned.

“You guys suck! You can’t even take care of 1 chicken!”

“Shut up. There were two! That’s a goddamn bug!”

“Yes, we were just unlucky.”

A bug? Was it really? It started as an isolated case, but then it spread all over the field. The Players had no choice but to be even more vigilant as one-chicken spawns became scarce. Many died, but they could run back very quickly after reviving in the village. But, what was happening?

“Guys, perhaps there are more mobs during nighttime?”

“Oh, this sounds about right. The night is about to fall.”

“Hear that, brothers? We gotta grind harder!”

“I’m reaching level 1 before I sleep for sure!”

“Slay them chickens! Huzzah!”

The casualties were not enough to dampen their rekindled motivation. Even when there started to be instances of 3 chickens spawning, they remained motivated. Every three-chicken spawn meant a complete party wipe of all Players in the vicinity.

Seraphine was observing the chickens, and they seemed ready to commit murder. Their physical model kept evolving: they were literally spawning with red murderous glowing eyes.

“Guys, look at this! Red eyes!”

“Damn, night chickens are badass!”

“How are we supposed to kill packs?!”

“Kill the groups of 2 beforehand, that’s all!”

“The stronger they are, the more XP they’ll give!”

That’s when there was a flash of red light as a single chicken spawned. Instantly, many Players nearby charged at it to pummel it. But, they couldn’t help but freeze a second later. What the fuck was this?!

<Chicken Overlord Level 6: Vengeful>

The monster was bigger than humans: it was one fat chicken! It didn’t even budge as so many fists landed on it. Then, it counterattacked. It pecked a nearby Player, reducing his head to a bloody mush.

The Players could only watch in complete stupor and fright as the Chicken Overlord turned to one Player after the other and reproduced the same feat. A single peck was all it took to one-shot people. Seriously?!

It wasn’t even over: the Chicken Overlord clucked loudly toward the sky. The weird noise reverberated across the entire hunting ground, affecting its brethren. They all charged toward the nearest brave, disregarding their normal aggro range.

Seraphine was glad to be watching from above. This was a bloody massacre! What made it even more nightmarish was that the chickens kept spawning over and over, seemingly infinitely.

Some tried resisting:

“Stay strong, brothers! This is an event!”

“Kill all the chickens!”

“RAWR!!!”

But, these screams of bravery soon turned into dying screams. In a few minutes only, not a single brave was left standing. That’s when the Village Chief came running. He was holding a bright blue gem in his hands. He activated it, and suddenly a flashy blue barrier appeared all around the village!

A newbie had just revived when he saw a chicken charge at him. Just as he was screaming in panic, the creature bounced back on the blue screen. Thank God the village was a safe zone!

It was ironic how the tables had turned. The chickens were now the ones spawn-killing the Players! They were giving them a taste of their own medicine!

Was this why Jack didn’t want to farm just yet? There was no point trying if he would have to evacuate not long afterward. Now that people were safe, they were clamoring loudly.

“Holy crap! What kind of game launch is this?!”

“Was this a scripted event?”

“Perhaps they really are trying to get revenge.”

“This game sucks. It’s too hard!”

“You can leave, but I’m staying. This looks hella fun!”

“This is a beast tide, isn’t it? How many games have this?”

“None as early as the beginner village, for sure!”

“Still, what do we do now?”

“Guerrilla tactic? We can kill a few at a time.”

“Nope. There’s way too many of them.”

That’s when the village chief walked toward the crowd. “It seems I have overestimated you all. To be subdued by chickens is extremely shameful.” He sighed, the players hanging their heads low. Others came forward and opened their mouths.

“Sir, we wish to get revenge! How can we become stronger!”

“Yes, Sir. Please tell us!”

“We’ll do anything!”

They all chimed in, all sharing the same sentiment. They could all feel that the Chief’s apparition was no coincidence. He was the key to success!

“Alright, I’ll give you all a hint. Two individuals can potentially help you. Whether they decide to train you will depend on how sincere you can be.

– In the house with no door is a man that used to be an instructor for the royal army. He could teach you all you need to know about weapons.

– In the shop with the flowers is a great florist that also dabbles in magic. He should be able to teach you all the basics.”

Hearing this, the Players couldn’t help but beam: they had been right!

“Ah! I see. Thank you so much!”

“I know where the building is!”

“Thanks for the guidance!”

“We’ll do just that!”

“Weapons!!!”

“Magic!!!”

“Hell yeah!!”

With a clear goal now in sight, they all turned their effort to finding themselves a teacher. They were overflowing with motivation!

As Seraphine watched it all happen, she was itching to join in on the fun. Where the hell was her teacher?! That’s when she noticed a line appear in front of her, one that disappeared as soon as it came.

– Jack’ O: Yo, Bubblegum! I’m back. Everyone died yet or no?

How was she even supposed to reply?! “System, write back: Motherfucking Chicken-ageddon happened! What’s our next move?!” She tentatively said.

– Jack’ O: Chicken-ageddon, eh? As for our next move, you’ll see soon enough…

Creator’s Thought

In Infinite, some events are driven by both the world and the Players. For instance, it would most likely be possible to unlock the instructors early if everyone begged them to teach. But, it wouldn’t make much sense without prior information now, would it? Plus, the Chicken-ageddon made it easier to convince them anyway.