chapter 17

“For us, this is not only a game, but also a pure land far away from chaos…”

“All the trees, grass, flowers, and plants here are so real.”

“Our five senses have been fully reproduced. The non-player character is so harmonious…”

“If there is no game system or the Internet of the blue planet, I would have really thought that I actually transmigrated into a world of swords and magic.”

“I think I really understand the official words in the promotional film–”

“We have created an epic fantasy world that is the truest and the profoundest in history. It is of the best sense of substitution and the highest degree of freedom!”

“The official game company really wants to portray a real world for us…”

Li Mu exclaimed as he turned to the others. He smiled and said, “After all, we have stayed here for so long. You guys should carefully think about what we have done.”

These people looked at each other.

“Cutting trees?”

“Sweeping the floor?”

“Flirting with the non-player character?”

“…”

Li Mu was left speechless.

He glared at Demacia, who opened his mouth at last, and continued to say, “On this day, we actually perform hard work all the time. In reality, this involves moving bricks! Who wants to do such a thing? But as you can see, at the end of the day, hundreds of us are all still excited like idiots. We are on cloud nine even after cutting down trees. Why do you think this is the case?”

Demacia dragged his red exploding hair and said unsurely, “Because we can run naked here and release ourselves?”

Li Mu was left speechless.

He glared at the hopeless guy again and said, “It’s the sense of substitution! Everything here is so real that we have unconsciously forgotten this is a game. Here, it seems that we have started another life. This is the essence of this game!”

Upon hearing this, these people felt the same way.

“You are right, Brother Mu. As you put it, I feel the same way. Perhaps because the scenery is so beautiful in the forest, I feel that I have forgotten all my troubles in this game.”

“Me too. Me too. Sometimes I wonder how nice it would be if it were a real world… It couldn’t be better to have mysterious magic and endless adventures…”

Li Mu nodded as he listened to his companions.

“Yes, this real sense of substitution is the essence of The Kingdom of Elves! The person who produced this game is a genius indeed!”

“But what does this have to do with Alice’s favorable impression, Brother Mu?” Demacia asked.

Li Mu finished eating the berry in one bite, spat a few seeds aside and said, “The same is true for the non-player character’s favorable impression. Since the core of this game is the sense of substitution, we cannot just treat NPCs as NPCs. This is not an ordinary game. You cannot simply improve the impression by completing the NPC’s tasks. You must treat the NPC as an equal while communicating with her…”

As he said this, Li Mu slowly stood up. He faced the bonfire, leaving a deep shadow to those players. His voice became increasingly calm as if he was a wise elderly man.

“As long as you are in the game, you should regard this place as a real world. Similarly, you should also respect the NPC in the same manner you respect human beings. Only in this way can you give them a more favorable impression. I think this is the real intention of the designer and the core of the impression system.”

“The reason why I can give Alice an impression of 20 points is that I never regard her as an NPC. I really consider her to be a respectable priest of nature while communicating with her, and it is my respect for her that earns her recognition.”

Upon hearing Li Mu’s words, these players instantly realized and said, “So, that’s how it works!”

“No wonder I’ve finished many tasks but little sister Alice only showed me a kinder face at most. There are still very few impression points.”

“I’m over it! How could I be cheeky enough to want to touch the NPC…”

“Don’t mention it, Demacia. You just like making mischief.”

Li Mu suddenly turned around as he heard the players teasing Demacia. He smiled brilliantly at these people, his expression turned mysterious,

“In fact, the sense of substitution is one thing, but what really makes me love this game is not just the sense of reality.”

“What is it?”

The players froze.

Li Mu smiled and said, “Don’t you think that as long as you give something in the game, you will be rewarded? As long as you work, you can see your experience points increase. Although small, once you complete the task, you can see a big increase… This sense of gain is the core of all games!”

These people heard him and nodded.

“Yes! Yes! I feel the same way.”

“Although cutting trees is slow, the experience value is actually increasing, however small it may be.”

“Although you can upgrade in most games through hard work, I always feel that this game is more real and more refreshing!”

“Yes! It is a perfect combination of the sense of reality and the sense of gain!”

“It is so cool to feel myself growing increasingly more powerful!”

“It is terrific to use magic in person!”

“And the sword skills! I always feel that the Cross Slash is very handsome!”

“Yes yes!”

Seeing these people approve, Li Mu smiled brightly.

He opened his system interface while saying to them, “Yes, that’s it. It’s wonderful to combine the sense of gain and the sense of reality. And what is more wonderful is…”

After a brief pause, Li Mu clicked the upgrade button under these people’s expectant gaze.

Ding–

With the lovely soft sound of the system, Li Mu upgraded to the rank five in a brilliant light.

Seeing these people’s envious eyes, Li Mu smiled awkwardly and showed a mouthful of white teeth.

“When I upgrade I see that you guys are green with envy…”

“…”

“Sorry, everyone, I’m one step closer to changing my profession. You guys need to work hard!”

“Damn!”

…

The players’ carnival lasted until midnight.

Elves’ bodies could still be tired as sleep was essential for low-level creatures.

Although players could turn off the fatigue caused by lack of rest in the game system, they could not completely avoid the body’s fatigue debuff.

In this case, the body’s various abilities would decline to a certain extent, which could even lead to death in severe cases.

Therefore, except for some determined ones, most players chose to rest after calculating their gains and losses. They planned to go offline, wait for a few hours, and play the game again after recovering their physical strength.

At that time, there would also be daylight in the game, making it more convenient for activities.

Countless players went into the wooden houses that were already built in a tight huddle and fell asleep, while awakening on the blue planet.

Li Mu also chose to go offline.

Coming out of the game cabin, he looked at his watch and found that only four hours had passed. The long-time entertainment before seemed to be just a dream.

Taking in a deep breath, he felt excited. For the first time, he felt the urge to continue playing the game.

“This great game will go down in history!”

After exclaiming for a while, Li Mu turned on the computer and prepared to make a quick review based on his game experience.

This time, he would hype it up!