MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

A young man slowly removed the VR helmet he had been wearing, the pain in his stomach reminding him that he had skipped lunch.

Jack quickly headed to the kitchen, whipping himself the most delicious dinner: an omelet filled with thinly sliced ghost peppers and a nondescript gray cheese (?). Well, whatever it was, it tasted like food.

Lilly had left a note:

“Gone to study at a friend’s house. Try not to die of hunger while gaming. =P”

Pfft— as if that would ever happen! He’d end up at the hospital at worst…..not that he could afford such luxury.

Talking about the old man, he was nowhere to be seen and was probably still working.

Jack wanted his help for his next step. He quickly sent him a text before hurrying back to Infinite. He decisively headed back to the village to do some business, only to be intercepted by a random party.

They eagerly addressed him:

“Oh my god, the Demon King!”

“Thank you so much for opening the dungeon!”

“How is it inside?! Are there many bloodthirsty foxes?!”

“Will you create your own guild? How can one apply? I have silvers and credits!”

“Say, mister Demon King, are you looking for attendants by any chance? I can be very, very devoted .”

The last one was a village-toppling beauty!— not worth much in a game. She made sure to bend, showing off her profound valley and fleshy rump as she seductively offered her services.

“I gotta go. You guys have fun. Be careful; surprisingly, there are many foxes in the FOX Grove.” Jack sarcastically uttered as he left, ignoring the astonished girl.

Still, people sure were strange. Did they really think he’d invite them to a legit guild just because they had a bit of money? Guilds in Infinite could generate so much profit that it had to be seen as a business.

He reached the village, a guy rushing toward him. This one was with the Mighty Wolves if he wasn’t mistaken.

“Boss, you’re back!” His shout brought the attention of everyone around.

Jack felt the gazes of the bystanders resting on him. Did they think that they could figure out his secrets by staring at him or something?

“Hey…you. Anyway, what’s up?” Jack greeted.

“Boss, I wanted to ask you how we should deal with the fans?”

“The fans?”

“There are so many players pestering our group asking to be introduced to you. So many have tried bribing us ever since that golden light happened.” He explained.

Wait….bribing?!

The more it went, and the more players were “coincidentally” gathering at the village. Some talked to their friends, others typed messages, and some were “reorganizing” their inventory, yet all watched him!

He truly realized how much impact he was making on them for the first time.

Jack felt like a young maiden desired by all. That’s when he resolved to suck them dry, all of them! He’d make them all come over to him and throw money at his feet. The only question was how.

Jack actually had experience creating a ?c? ?u? ?l? ?t?…a friendly group. Three elements were vital:

1. A feeling of belonging + exclusivity.

The harder it was to join an organization, and the more valuable membership was. People would brag about being part of it!

2. Lots of concrete benefits.

Sweet promises were nothing but ridiculous dreams if none of it was concrete. Hell, even pyramid schemes could become super legit once they sold scented candles or plastic containers!

3. Disadvantages to being out of it.

This could be anything, from fear of losing out to peer pressure. People had to feel that being outsiders brought demerits. It could be as simple as one potentially missing their favorite Neetflix show because they had canceled their subscription.

It was time to cover every point one by one!

Jack precisely knew where to start. How could one show guild membership? With the guild system, players could proudly display it atop their heads. How could he achieve the same result without actually creating a guild? He’d use Physical proof!

He entered the nearby training camp, finding Igor, who instantly raised an eyebrow at him:

“Let me guess. You’re here to ask for something crazy again?”

“What? I would never!”

“-_- The mana engul—”

“It’s long in the past! Anyway, can you carve me faction tokens?” Jack asked, hopeful.

“For guilds, one has to register at Sprigfield town. Otherwise, it won’t be official. As for a faction—”

“Ah, it won’t be an actual faction or even a guild. I just want tokens to show unity between the people of this village.”

“Oh, I see….very noble indee— is that what you think I’ll say? You’re scheming something, aren’t you?”

“What?! Nooo wayyy!”

“Oh well….fine, but only at one condition.”

“You want me to gather wood? I’m on it!”

“Hehe, do you think that will be enough? I have an old friend called Hector at the royal capital. Bring this letter to him and follow his instructions afterward, and I’ll do it. You can’t open the letter, of course.” The trainer grinned happily.

Seeing Igor chuckling, this quest was probably one that would be a pain in the ass. How ironic that he would have to get scammed in order to scam others. Perhaps there would even be a life lesson in there.

[New Quest: Mysterious letter from Igor!]

Jack headed to the wood to collect fallen branches. People couldn’t help but watch with curiosity. Why was the Demon King doing this? Had he finally decided to complete the stick quest?

But as they saw Igor get to work, they felt puzzled. They hadn’t heard the earlier discussion, so they tried to piece it together.

“Wait, is Igor creating accessories now?! I want some!”

“Less talking and keep watching. There’s something phenomenal bound to happen!”

“No shit, sherlock! Do you think we’re all here to check the training instructor? Always assume that the Demon King is doing something, OP!”

A few minutes later, it was time for the moment of truth! Igor polished his creation one last time before handing it over.

“Here you go, amazing isn’t it!” He confidently bragged.

“Eh— It’s amazing alright!” Jack exclaimed.

It truly was….how could it be so horrible?!

Inscribed on the surface was a really badly drawn dick with a single semi-hairy ball on top. Jack couldn’t help but recoil in shock while giving the man a confused look.

“Really?”

“Don’t you think it represents you very well?” Igor insisted, smiling warmly.

“How so?” Jack couldn’t understand. Had he unknowingly pissed off this NPC?!

“You’ve been going around the village with that wolf of yours. Of course, it should be on top of your head on the emblem.”

That’s when Jack finally realized that the “dick” was supposed to be a tall man (?) and the disgusting thing above his wolf (?).

He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. It didn’t help that his pet seemed to utterly love it as it pointed toward the emblem with its tiny paws.

“Woo!” (Excited)

“Yes, that is supposed to be you…..emphasis on the supposed.” Jack admitted.

“Woo!” (Happy)

He turned toward Igor:

“Say, how about you add a few lines so we understand that it’s a wolf and a human?” Jack guided the NPC to achieve artistic perfection….or not.

After a few iterations, he was finally happy with the result that looked way cleaner. Now it was as if a five years old kid had drawn the picture. It was actually kind of cute. Oh well, this would do.

“Perfect! I’ll need lots and lots like that!” Jack requested.

“Since you’re so friendly, I’ll sell each for ten silvers. This should be fair.” He said.

Jack really wanted to haggle, but the man’s eyes were resolute. He wouldn’t back off as he knew that he was the only NPC able to do woodworking in the village.

Jack could only sigh. The cost would add up, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world. He would just have to make their recruits pay the price.

“Alright, you win.” Jack

“Nice, soon so many will be wearing my medallions. It will be so damn majestic!” Igor happily rejoiced.

Meanwhile, the spectators were twisting their heads to try and understand the drawing without being able to.

“Wow, from afar this looks so cryptic!”

“What do you guys think it all means?”

“Who knows? Maybe it’s some secret runes like on their cloaks!”

Jack twitched as he heard them. The vestige of the dick could still be seen. How would they react once they saw it up close?

Anyway, now that this was settled, it was time to focus on the other issues.

Luckily, he was the one they called Demon King. Would it work if he just used his reputation to drive fear into his enemies? It should suffice for now.

The most challenging part remained: to bring them benefits for joining.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

He began mentally listing everything he could think of:

– Food: Maybe make a deal with the butcher? Then again, what kind of meat would that guy even supply him with?

– Training: While he wouldn’t teach anything too advanced, he could show them a few moves. He could actually just set up a quick system with everyone training together.

– Discounts?!: He’d have to ask the other NPCs. Maybe they could buy/sell items in bulk.

– Protection services: Akin to a yakuza he could protect its members from getting bullied.

– Butchering services: This one had lots of potential to level up his life skill. He just had to find a method to set up a stall that looked decent enough.

– Faction grouping: This would help Newbies to find parties.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

There were so many possibilities. That’s when Jack spoke once again talking to the crowd: “All of you, I have exciting news!”

The bystanders all held their breath…

Creator’s Thought

For most, the ultimate goal of creating a faction is to get a return on one’s investment. Ideally, it should be an entity that is able to run by itself with minimal input from its creator. But, many quickly realize that such an endeavor is actually quite troublesome!