Conquering OtherWorld Starts With a Game

After another barrage of heartfelt ranting toward the devs, the group of players headed back into the wastelands indignantly.

Frankly speaking, the Sandworm monsters in this area weren't very strong. Their attack strategy was monotonous: ramming into players and dealing fairly tolerable damage. Even for a newbie player like August Melon, who lacked robust equipment and had a short health bar, getting knocked over by a Sandworm only resulted in a moderate loss of health, which wasn't lethal.

In the quest to find the NPC Meri Bowen, the players also discovered the Sandworms' tendency to fight alone—even those emerging from the same nest did not attack in groups, preferring to strike individually.

As players gradually got accustomed to the Sandworms' tactics and were able to predict their movements by subtle ground vibrations, Give Me Medicine, an experienced hand, came to a realization.

"Vanilla, don't you think this place is quite suitable for solo grinding?"

"Eh?!" July Snow and August Melon looked toward Give Me Medicine in surprise.

Qin Guan kicked a sandworm corpse he had just slain and tried dragging the meter-long, thermos-thick creature. "It feels to me that this place seems like a special grinding spot designed for newbies."

"Huhh??" The month sisters turned toward Qin Guan.

"These Sandworms are indeed disgusting, but they're weak, don't swarm, have similar health to spider monsters, and are even smaller, making them relatively easier to kill," Qin Guan explained. "If you aren't squeamish and have enough patience and attention to detail, even a small group of two or three newbies could grind here. The loot is quite decent and comparable to doing the manual labor and errand quests of zombie NPCs."

An intact Sandworm corpse could be exchanged for a copper coin at the zombie NPC Stephen Bernie's. A small group of newbies maintaining a rate of over ten Sandworms per hour could indeed earn a tidy sum.

Give Me Medicine persisted, "The profitability also makes it ideal for well-equipped veteran players to solo grind."

"The only hassle is getting here. You can't make it from the town to here alone or in a small group; you need a large party. After arriving, you can't log out in the city, only store your bones in the mining area and log in and out there," Qin Guan reasoned.

"Those who don't enjoy group play can come as a team and then split up to do their own thing," Give Me Medicine suggested. "If I didn't already have a regular team, I'd consider camping here for a few days."

Indeed, Sandworms were disgusting, but were the weird, tentacled, scythe-legged spiders in the Spider Cave any less so?

In short, it was all about getting used to it. To play this game, one just needed mental fortitude.

July Snow and August Melon exchanged glances, both seemingly tempted. An area where a small party of two or three could happily grind… Wasn't this tailor-made for them?

Including their offline male companion, the three girls could spend a few days here and possibly catch up with the veteran player group in terms of gear!

After roaming for over half an hour, the players finally found the NPC Meri Bowen crouching behind a large rock.

Qin Guan approached to interact and state their purpose, and the NPC handed them another quest: It had lost something very important in the southern mudflats. The players needed to retrieve it before it would agree to return to the mining zone base with them.

Enduring the NPC's whims like obedient dogs was an experience every player had to undergo countless times. With the mindset that the southern mudflats couldn't be weirder than the Sandworm wasteland, the players briskly headed there.

And then… the players were stupefied.

Layers of thick, semi-transparent, leathery surfaces piled upon each other, oozing dirty water and sticky muck, resembling giant snotty slugs—slime monsters!

"My eyes!" A player dramatically pretended to gouge out his eyes. "I'm going blind!"

"Uh… calm down, dude. These monsters are actually quite rewarding. They drop magic residue and are easy to kill. Just pierce their skin, drain the water, and they're done for. Five of these skins are worth a copper—

"Oh yuck!" Another tried to rationalize until the sight of the slime monsters moving in a skin-crawling, squelching manner turned their stomach.

Next to the slime monsters, the putrid-hide gators in the riverbank looked almost graceful.

Qin Guan used Identify to check the monster levels and had a complicated look on his face. "It's definitely a newbie grinding area. Those alligators, like the sandworms, are Level 1, and the slime monsters are Level 0."

This was the first time the players had encountered a Level-0 monster, leaving no doubt that this was a newbie grinding spot.

Give Me Medicine felt a sense of irony as he compared the Spider Cave with the Sandworm Desert and Slime Monster Flats. Both spots seemed like beginner-friendly grinding areas designed by the damned designers for new players, and this caused envy to arise in veteran players that had only known Spider Cave.

What the players didn't realize was that even those disgust-inducing monsters, had they been a bit less challenging to hunt, would have been Level 0 as well.

"Worldview Breakthrough quests are a prelude to unlocking new maps. The goal is to inform players about the existence of the big boss Charlotte and to introduce these two new grinding spots." Qin Guan turned to Drama Thirteen, who had just logged in.

Drama Thirteen, fresh from a heavy hotpot meal, immediately felt nauseous at the sight of giant white worms and giant booger-like slimes.

Despite their initial disgust, the players soon got down to business. Meri Bowwen claimed her lost item might have been swallowed by a slime, so they had to farm monsters to find it.

Gradually, their repulsion turned to enthusiasm. These abundant slime monsters were an unprecedented resource!

Even Drama Thirteen, a newbie who had spent 100 yuan buying a steel knife from a veteran, could solo grind here!

The real appeal of games, compared to other forms of mental satisfaction, lay in the immediate gratification. The direct correlation between effort and reward—level ups for monsters killed, treasures for quests completed—was what hooked players. Compared to the uncertainty of real life, games offered a much-needed stress relief.

But even within this immediate gratification loop, there's a difference between easy and hard modes. For instance, the currently popular Poisonous Marshlands, which required a full 11-member team, including a knight to tank, to even start.

For players who disliked socializing, sticking to fixed teams, or lacked the advantage of finding a team, this proved an insurmountable barrier.

The Slime Flats would undoubtedly become a favored spot for players who loved grinding but disliked managing fixed teams. After merging into a large group to get there, anyone could solo grind at their leisure, and the vanquished monsters were easily cashed in (Meri Bowen bought slime hides at five a copper). Wasn't this essentially a newbie paradise?

Halfway through the quest, not only were the three newbies who had suffered in the Spider Cave tempted, but several veteran players also decided to camp here for a while to farm some money before returning.

Give Me Medicine felt uneasy and pulled Qin Guan aside while others were busy grinding and seeking the quest item. "Vanilla, this place might become a hotspot for gold farmers and attract a swarm of players. Could that devalue the copper coin? Should we warn Xiao Zhou and the others to offload their copper?"

"In the long term, it's possible; in the short term, unlikely," Qin Guan replied with a wink. "Did you forget what Blossom and the others are doing in Indahl?"

"Grinding reputation for the Undead Merchant Association?" Give Me Medicine then smacked his forehead. "Ah, right, of course!"

Qin Guan chuckled. "Right? Once they finish their quest, imagine how many players will reach Honored reputation with the Association. Wouldn't those with some brains surely think of seizing the opportunity to hoard land and set up trade caravans?

"Brother Lahong has been feverishly stockpiling copper coins these days. Their core players, Phantom and Study Obsessed, are there, too. When they return, they'll surely use their reputation privileges and Brother Lahong's authority as Exile Town mayor to monopolize land. Just watch."

Give Me Medicine clutched his chest. "Thank goodness, we also sent Blossom and Mulberry on our side. Hey, Vanilla, do we have enough copper coins? Are we hoarding land in Exile Town or Weisshem?"

"Of course, we have enough. I've already instructed Xiao Zhou to hold off on selling, saving it for us," Qin Guan confidently replied. "As for the land, we'll bet on both sides, acquiring in both Exile Town and Weisshem. One can never put all your eggs in one basket."

"Then, as soon as we finish this quest, I'll suicide and respawn back in town to organize everyone who wants to farm coin and bring them over here," Give Me Medicine immediately proposed.

Qin Guan nodded. "Not just our own guys, we need to organize more newbies too. This new map is also lucrative for new players. We need to stay ahead of Brother Lahong and attract newcomers to our side… Otherwise, we'll end up giving an advantage to that crafty girl, Unceasing Entropy."

In Indahl, Unceasing Entropy, who had just logged in after her evening self-study session, suddenly felt an itch in her nose.

"Did I catch a cold…" she mumbled to herself.

She then got Yang Ying to watch over her skeleton while she logged out to check her physical condition in reality… and found out she had laid down without a blanket and quickly added an extra blanket to cover her stomach.

When Unceasing Entropy logged back in to join the casual players in their quest to hunt ghostly monsters in the sewers, Zhao Zhenzhen came over.

Zhao Zhao Zhenzhen wasn't alone; she was accompanied by the intelligent Blossoming Strokes, who had made a fortune through the art of makeup.

"Sis Zhao? It isn't even dark in the game yet. Why are you here?" Yang Ying greeted, though somewhat surprised.

Zhao Zhao Zhenzhen appeared very serious, nodding at Yang Ying and the other players before addressing them, "Here's the situation: I've accidentally triggered a hidden quest in Indahl, but as you know, I'm not a player account and can't do it. I was wondering if any of you are interested."

Before Yang Ying could respond, Phantom and Orange Cat squeezed to the front. "Yes, yes! Definitely interested!"

"I have to warn you, though. This quest is highly challenging and has strict limitations," continued Zhao Zhenzhen. "If you take it on, you must follow commands and can't act recklessly. If not, it could cause our current special quest [Weisshem Debt Crisis] to fail, and that will have very serious consequences."

Phantom and Orange Cat immediately realized the seriousness and stopped their chatter, turning their expectant gazes toward Blossoming Strokes who seemed to have some insight.

"It's a quest issued by the night watchmen of Rhine Kingdom's Church of Lady Gold Coin," Blossoming Strokes explained. "Our characters are the undead from Taranthan, smuggled into the city disguised as goods in a carriage and mustn't be exposed.

"If the Church of Lady Gold Coin discovers that we, the undead, have infiltrated the city, it isn't just about our group being wiped out; the reputation gain being halted and facing failure penalties are the bigger issues. To succeed in this hidden quest, we must conceal our identities…"

As Blossoming Strokes explained the difficulty of the quest, Zhao Zhenzhen standing beside her solemnly couldn't help feeling a little awkward. She had to shoulder the blame for this situation.

After one night in OtherWorld, her newly registered Exorcist ID recorded over a dozen ghostly presences. When she took it to claim the gold coin reward, the officials of the night watchmen corp were astounded and immediately tossed a "hidden quest" her way…Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs N(o)vᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt

Unfortunately, before even voicing a declination, she could only watch as young Brook accepted the task due to his faith in the undead's omnipotence.

And most importantly… was the reward for this commission—the night watchmen had promised a whopping five hundred gold coins as payment!