Conquering OtherWorld Starts With a Game

As the 30-minute battlefield timer expired, both groups' battlefield mode pioneers failed to complete their assigned missions and were booted out of the locale.

"It ended before we even found the place?!"

"So close, damn it!"

"How is the aggro range of those octopus monsters so huge?!"

"Queue again! I refuse to believe we can't do this!"

"F*ck, why are we in the queue? Were people let in as soon as we got out?!"

This bunch of players that had nearly exhausted themselves to no avail couldn't help but unleash a torrent of curses.

However, not all was lost for those who had toiled in the monstrous battlefield for half an hour. As the initial wave of frustration subsided, a player in Brother Lahong's group couldn't contain his excitement, "Holy crap, I got over 200 honor points and have been promoted from Civilian to an Auxiliary! What about you guys?"

"How did you get so much honor? Damn, I've only got 80 points?"

"Haha, I made it to Auxiliary too!"

"What the heck. I died several times too, how cI've only got 60 plus points?"

"Oh, does that mean my hundred-something points aren't too shabby?"

As Qin Guan led his team back to the Town Hall, he glanced at the newly added honor section on his character panel and grimaced. Turning to his friends, he inquired, "Blossom, how much honor did you get?"

"20 points," she replied.

"You too? I thought I was just unlucky getting only 30 points," Yang Ying chimed in.

Unceasing Entropy thought about something and said, "Everyone, report your honor points in the group channel."

A flurry of numbers quickly filled the group channel chat, ranging from twenties to sixties.

Qin Guan's mood instantly soured. "What's going on here? We weren't slacking off, so why is our side's average honor so much lower than theirs?"

After exchanging glances with Unceasing Entropy, Blossoming Strokes concluded, "It seems the honor points aren't about luck or the number of monsters killed but rather the contribution to the battlefield objectives."

Unceasing Entropy nodded in agreement, adding, "Though Brother Lahong's group didn't complete their mission either, they did locate the mission site, which likely accounts for their higher average honor points."

"Those guys must've just stumbled upon it by sheer luck!" Qin Guan grumbled, casting an envious glance at the chattering bunch inside the Town Hall.

Blossoming Strokes and Unceasing Entropy, undeterred by Qin Guan's frustration, huddled together for a brief discussion. Then, Blossoming Strokes knelt down and, with a finger tracing the earth, sketched a rudimentary map of the battlefield as they had explored it, marking spots with small indentations.

"I kept circling in this direction, and since my honor points are low, it indicates our objective isn't that way," Blossoming Strokes explained, marking her position with a small indent.

"I was over here, closer to our base," Unceasing Entropy added, marking another spot.

The rest of the young group, quick on the uptake, grasped their intention immediately. Jia Luo, eager and excited, crouched down, pointing at a specific direction on the makeshift map. "I was chased by the sFlDemon in two separate encounters, forcingto run upwind, right in this direction! Xiao Tang lacked speed skills and fell here, while I was caught after a long chase!"

Tang Jia earned 50 honor points and Jia Luo was 60, which was the group's highest.

"From this, it seems the correct spot is in the direction where Jia Luo fled," Blossoming Strokes concluded with renewed vigor. "Alright, everyone take a break, repair your gear if needed. Let's wait for the others to cout and then we'll head back in to tackle this mission."

Despite the pitfalls that had the players at their wits' end, the monster battlefield mode—with its high stakes and generous rewards—proved irresistibly thrilling.

Accumulating enough honor to rank up to Soldier would allow players to exchange honor points with the battlefield quartermasters, Wagner and Kenn, for equipment and even specially select the attributes they want.

With higher ranks, players could request for better gear. There was even godly double-attribute equipment visible in the preview list of rewards—at present, this means of gear acquisition was unparalleled for PVP players.

Of course, while the monster battlefield offered a steady stream of rewards, nothing beat the exhilaration of combat quests where players could freely loot their foes. However, such quests were few and far between, making the regularly scheduled monster battlefield a more reliable source of excitement and reward.

True to form, not a single player in the group entertained thoughts of leaving; they all held resolve, only dispersing to attend to their personal tasks.

"Xiao Tang, Sis Ying, Qingyue, lendsmoney." Jia Luo reached out to her friends. "I sold my bow for a dagger earlier, but I think I'll need a bow after all."

"You don't have to buy one, just borrow Orange Cat's for now… Hmm? Where's Orange Cat?" Yang Ying looked around, but the rich whale, who was supposed to wait outside for them, was nowhere to be seen.

"I messaged him as soon as I got out; he's off sucking up to Ou Huang and teleported to Weisshem," Jia Luo informed.

"…Only he would be thick-skinned enough to pester Ou Huang like that," Yang Ying jested.

Ou Huang, known for his icy demeanor in-gdespite his adorable forum persona, reportedly had only one person on his friend list—Orange Cat.

Of course this didn't mean there was shomosexual romance brewing between them… The fellow whale who used to shadow Orange Cat wasn't his lover but his brother-in-law, a thoroughly heterosexual man who frequently shared photos with his beautiful wife in their group chats.

Orange Cat's inclusion in Ou Huang's friend list boiled down to his knack for making connections, his gregarious nature, and an utter lack of shame… which was why he blended seamlessly into their team comprising entirely of women.

As Yang Ying and her companions eagerly anticipated their next venture into the monster battlefield, Orange Cat was ambling through the streets of Weisshem alongside Ou Huang, who was lugging a large woven bag. From the look of things, it suggested that Orange Cat had close camaraderie with Ou Huang as if they shared a deep bond.

"If not for Lahong being so cunning and stingy, I'd definitely have snagged a piece of land in Exile Town to play around with. It's supposed to be available to anyone who's earned enough reputation with the merchant association, but that brat only approves those that join his blood alliance. Isn't that just outrageous, Ou Huang?"

Ou Huang: "…"

"And you, always shunning group monster farming, flitting between Exile Town and Weisshem all the time. What exactly do you get up to?" Orange Cat, undeterred by Ou Huang's lack of response, prattled on.

"You can't possibly be grinding quests all the time; how dull would that be? But then again, your gear's pretty up-to-date, and I've never seen you deal in RMB. Could it be you've discovered ssolo farming method?"

Ou Huang: "…"

"I'm not buying it if you say you got that gear from soloing in the mining zone. I've checked that place out; you can only earn coins there but no prestige at all."

Orange Cat, ever the extrovert, slung an arm over Ou Huang's shoulder. "Never mind, I won't pry. After all, the likes ofcouldn't possibly replicate the feats of a god gamer like you…"

Ou Huang: "…"

Ou Huang sighed softly.

Orange Cat, misinterpreting the sigh, grew melancholic. "Did you think I was having an inferiority complex? Not at all. I've been pretty decent at other games, really. I've had my moments in auto chess, Plants vs. Zombies, you nit.

"It's just this gthat's a real headache. Take the most popular farming spot, Spider Cave. Is that even designed for normal people? Giant spiders taller than a person, and then there are those with octopus or scythe-like legs. What's up with that?"

Ou Huang decided to ignore this buffoon and, without a word, stepped into a nondescript little shop by the street.

"Whoa, you didn't get a quest from one of these civilian NPCs, did you?" Orange Cat, completely oblivious to Ou Huang's disdain, followed right in.

The shop, a cramped space sandwiched between two buildings and no more than 20 square meters, was manned by a single elderly attendant.

Orange Cat was taken aback at the sight of this aged attendant.

Unlike advanced NPCs, civilian NPCs didn't have a green ndisplayed above their heads unless "Identified." Most wouldn't even yield upon "Identification" due to lack of narrative development, showing only "Weisshem Civilian" in green text.

Yet, this elderly attendant of this tiny shop had a green nfloating above his head just like those advanced NPCs: "Employee: Dick Bill."

The civilian NPC named Dick Bill stepped forward with a respectful bow upon seeing Ou Huang enter. "Good day, Mr. Ou Huang."

"What the hell?!" Orange Cat was utterly gobsmacked. He could understand this civilian NPC's words!

Ou Huang nodded in acknowledgment, set down the hefty woven bag he was carrying on his shoulder, opened it, and gestured toward its contents and then to the shelves.

Dick Bill, seemingly accustomed to the taciturn nature of this undead man, promptly stepped forward. Together, they began unloading various types of dried wild gfrom the bag, methodically arranging each piece on the shelves…

Orange Cat's might have been at a loss for words, but his wits were intact. Observing the seamless, wordless coordination between Ou Huang and the commoner NPC, he quickly pieced together the sequence of events. It was as if he had stumbled upon a new world, and he couldn't help but exclaim in astonishment, "Holy crap! Things can be done this way!"

Ou Huang paid him no mind, while Dick Bill, who could understand the language of the undead, seemed a bit startled by the outburst.

It was no secret that Ou Huang had mastered the seldom-chosen lifestyle class of butchery.

Nor was it a secret that Ou Huang, with his exceptional skills and daring, would venture alone into the mountains surrounding Exile Town to hunt wild beasts, always managing to return safely.

The fact that Ou Huang had devised a way to trade the products of his lifestyle profession with the merchants of Weisshem, obtaining NPC currency not accepted by the system, and then using this currency to exchange for "outfits" from NPCs, was also well-known… Many players had followed in Ou Huang's footsteps to finally upgrade from their perpetual "newbie gear."

This included Orange Cat, though he hadn't pursued any lifestyle classes himself, opting instead to buy the products from other players who did.

And now, Ou Huang was once again pioneering a path that most players hadn't even considered—faced with the inability to secure land in Exile Town, he had ventured to Weisshem to open his own shop, employing a civilian NPC as shop attendants, and directly selling the products of his lifestyle profession…