The Leeks Started Moving on Their Own!

The Leeks Started Moving on Their Own!

Calamity Online's forum.

Only an hour had passed since the game's actual launch, yet posts about the closed beta experience had already filled dozens of pages!

Old Man at the Village Entrance: "Brothers! I tested it for you! The Calamity Online development team wasn't bullshitting! This game is freaking insane!!!"

Boar-Headed Knight: "Insane my ass! Where's the succubus from the promotional PV?! (Angry)"

Minotaur Warrior: "Exactly! Why am I just a skeleton after entering the game?! (Angry)"

Old Man at the Village Entrance: "Damn! Your standards are way too high!"

Peerless Hero: "Exactly! Isn't it enough that you can move? A fully immersive virtual reality game—something that only existed in sci-fi blockbusters a few decades ago—and you're already playing it. What more do you want?!"

Knowledge Explosion: "Exactly, exactly!"

One Leaf Knows Autumn: "To be fair, this development team really has some skill. Both the lighting and shadow effects and the sense of impact feel completely real! If playing as a skeleton didn't weaken the immersion, I'd almost suspect that this wasn't a game at all, but a real alternate world..."

Gou Shi: "A X Da, is it? (Smirk)"

One Leaf Knows Autumn: "Something like that... What kind of stupid ID is that? (Sweat)"

Heaven Defying Dragon Emperor: "Tch! What a bunch of people with no ambition!"

Unruly Life: "I'm dying laughing. If it's really as awesome as you say, I'll eat shit standing on my head!"

Knowledge Explosion: "%￥#@!"

"..."

Under the most popular post, comments refreshed at a rate of nearly five per second!

Zhao JinYan, who was lurking behind his computer screen, stared in astonishment. He was both amazed by how fast these people typed and regretful that he had acted too slowly and missed the opportunity.

"Holy shit... Is this game really that amazing?"

Though he had not entered the game yet, just reading their discussion had already made his heart itch. He wished he could put on the VR Glasses and dive in immediately.

That was the most ridiculous part.

He had not even played it, yet he was already experiencing withdrawal symptoms?

Past Events Like Smoke: "Does anyone know when the next batch of codes will be handed out? T.T"

Gou Shi: "No idea. Go ask the Dog Devs. (Smirk)"

Past Events Like Smoke: "Damn... By the way, will the test data be wiped? If it isn't, wouldn't you guys who got in first have too much of an advantage?"

One Leaf Knows Autumn: "Hard to say. I feel like the game's overall technical polish is already very high. It just needs some debugging in a few areas, so maybe the open beta won't take too long?"

Past Events Like Smoke: "Then what do you think? Is it fun?"

One Leaf Knows Autumn: "Honestly, at its current level of completion, it isn't that fun. A lot of systems are quite rough. For example, you can accept quests from NPCs, but you have no idea what rewards you'll get for completing them! And then there's the awful beginner guide. If you aren't smart enough to figure things out yourself, you'll enter the game with no clue what to do, and so on..."

One Leaf Knows Autumn: "But then again, Rome wasn't built in a day. Although these problems exist, I think they're all minor. Like I said before, this game's technical polish is incredibly high—high enough to be unbelievable. You can even treat it as a completely real alternate world!"

One Leaf Knows Autumn: "The flawless physics system, realistic environmental destruction, and highly intelligent NPCs provide players with unparalleled freedom, to the point that the flaws I mentioned could even be considered part of the game's appeal... Of course, it would be great if the development team saw my comments and made improvements. Adding a currency system and a shop feature shouldn't be too difficult."

Boar-Headed Knight: "Damn... This guy isn't some official shill, is he?"

Minotaur Warrior: "+10086."

One Leaf Knows Autumn: "...I'm not writing guides next time."

Peerless Hero: "Don't, bro! I even followed you!"

Knowledge Explosion: "Me too! I love watching you brag!"

One Leaf Knows Autumn: "..."

Xiao Wan Can't Get Enough: "Mice! Those rat monsters are way too ugly... Could the developers replace them if they see this? They're so huge, I really can't handle them. T.T"

Can't Afford to Play: "What?! Too huge to handle?! Mine's small!"

Xiao Wan Can't Get Enough: "Get lost! (╯‵□′)╯︵┴─┴"

"..."

While everyone noisily exchanged their experiences, a certain "mastermind behind the scenes" of Calamity Online was also quietly lurking in the forum.

Amazing, brother!

Leon had been worrying over how to issue quest rewards to the players, but One Leaf Knows Autumn's comment had given him an idea.

He could print money out of thin air!

Can't buy anything? Wasn't that perfectly normal for a game still in development?

The shop system was still under development. Once it was finished, they could buy things! "You You."

"What is it, Lord Demon Lord?" You You said brightly from inside the mirror.

Leon stroked his chin and voiced his idea.

"I want to create a currency system, something like gold and silver coins, to use as quest rewards for the players... Can you do that?"

You You froze for a moment before speaking hesitantly.

"Conjure silver and gold? That... might be a little difficult."

Leon shook his head.

"I'm not asking you to conjure gold. I mean some kind of virtual currency, like gold or silver coins, got it? The kind used to fool people."

You You's eyes lit up.

"As expected of Lord Demon Lord! I understand what you mean! Simply put, we just add an adjustable parameter to the players' character interface, right?"

Leon replied casually.

"More or less. Just do whatever's most convenient."

You You said eagerly, "Mm-hmm! That won't be a problem! Oh, Lord Demon Lord, what should we call our new currency? Gold coins? Silver coins? Or both?"

"Having too many messy categories would be a hassle."

After giving it some thought, Leon said, "My territory is called the Great Cemetery... so let's call it Hell Money."

"..."

"What?"

"Nothing..." You You forced a smile and offered a hollow compliment. "As expected of Lord Demon Lord. It really suits your style."

Leon glanced at the guy in the mirror.

You've only known me for a few days, and you already understand my style? While the two discussed the details of Hell Money, the forum chat continued. Before long, the complaints about the game mechanics turned into a discussion of the game's content.

This was also what Leon cared about most.

Although You You could be used as a camera, the Demon Lord Territory currently covered only a small area around the statue. He could not see the mine tunnels any farther away.

As for the maze ruins left behind by the Old Demon Lord, he was even more in the dark there. He could barely see a little around the entrance.

For those blind spots shrouded in the "fog of war," Leon could only learn the specifics through the players' discussions.

One Leaf Knows Autumn: "...Earlier, I received a maze exploration quest from the Demon Lord, so I went down and took a look. What I found was quite shocking! Unlike the cramped mine tunnels, it was a massive underground space, supported by sturdy stone pillars and unbelievably spacious! The only downside was a group of waist-high spiders wandering around, along with lots of spider eggs!"

One Leaf Knows Autumn: "They didn't seem interested in a bag of bones like me, but I could feel their gazes warning me... If I got any closer, they would attack."

Xiao Wan Can't Get Enough: "Why is it always either rats or spiders? T.T"

Boar-Headed Knight: "Just wait until giant cockroaches show up. (Evil grin)"

Old Man at the Village Entrance: "So did you attack them?"

One Leaf Knows Autumn: "Are you crazy, or am I? Those were obviously not creatures a level-zero player could challenge. They felt like they were at least level 10, maybe even level 20!"

Knowledge Explosion: "A wide-open space, huh... It sounds more suitable for a Novice Village than the mine tunnels."

One Leaf Knows Autumn: "Exactly. I had the same thought at the time. The development team could actually move the Novice Village down there—the maze is clearly way cooler than the mine tunnels. But after thinking about it, this might also be part of the game experience."

Old Man at the Village Entrance: "What do you mean? (Confused)"

One Leaf Knows Autumn: "Extremely high freedom, practically nonexistent beginner guidance, and an ecosystem realistic enough to pass for the real thing... All these clues suggest that this game's development team wants us to create our own game experience and build a Demon Lord Territory that belongs to us!"

Minotaur Warrior: "Holy shit? Paid beta testers?!"

One Leaf Knows Autumn: "You didn't pay either. (Side-eye)"

Minotaur Warrior: "But I came for the succubi! T.T"

Gou Shi: "Look at it from another angle. There are already level 10 or 20 giant spiders on just the first floor, so maybe the succubi are in the maze too? (Smirking side-eye)"

Minotaur Warrior: "Brothers! Log in!!!"

Boar-Headed Knight: "Awooo!!!"

Watching the screen through the mirror, Leon wore a stunned expression.

Well, damn.

The leeks had started moving on their own?

The next day.

Unable to resist staying up until late into the night, Leon slept until well past noon the following day.

Having never slacked off like this before, he hurriedly sat up on his bedboards and meditated for a while.

After an entire night, his Calamity System seemed to have completely digested the Demon Lord Territory, integrating all the functions that originally required complex rituals to unlock directly into the Calamity System.

It seemed that although the God of Machines was not much of a fighter, it truly had some impressive technical skills.

A virus from a thousand years ago had actually managed to infiltrate an operating system from a thousand years later.

At that moment, a thought suddenly surfaced in Leon's mind.

Could it be possible... that the core of the Demon Lord Territory was also a kind of divine spark? He had heard that Bayeri, the third-generation Demon God, had once been a Demon Lord...

In other words, Hell had found a way to mass-produce gods?!

And by sheer coincidence, the Calamity System left to him by the God of Machines was also a divine spark, so the two had fused together...

The more Leon thought about it, the more terrified he became. He had the nagging feeling that he had stumbled upon something extraordinary by accident.

Of course, all of this was merely speculation.

He had far too little information...

Sinking his consciousness into the Sea of Consciousness, Leon carefully examined the changes in the Calamity System and found that the biggest change was in the Faith Points section.

In his memory, it had originally been nothing more than a simple counter. Now, however, it had gained two additional entries for income and expenditure.

Faith Points: 277
Daily Increase: 101–120
Daily Consumption: 100

"Faith Points dropped from 377 to 277... Does that mean summoning a skeleton costs one Faith Point?"

At the same time, Skeleton Soldiers summoned through the Demon Lord Territory also had a maintenance cost.

Although that maintenance cost was not high, it still added up to a considerable amount.

Originally, the Faith Point balance of the Demon Lord Territory's core had not been displayed in numerical form. The Demon Lord could only estimate how many Faith Points remained available based on the crystal's brightness and personal experience. However, after the Calamity System absorbed part of the former's functions, it directly quantified that number.

"That's a handy feature... But isn't this daily Faith Point growth way too low?"

Thunder City was a major city with a population of a million, after all. Were its citizens really that loyal every day? Of those hundred-odd points of income, more than half might well have come from his players.

Leon did not believe that not a single person ate their fill, then turned around and cursed the one who fed them. Just yesterday, he had heard quite a few people in the tavern secretly sending their regards to old Saint Siss.

By rights, those actions should have counted as selling their souls to the Demon God...

"That's strange."

Just as Leon was wracking his brains over it, a Dark Green notification window appeared before him.

Mission: For three consecutive days, ensure that the average daily online time of currently online players exceeds 5 hours. (Current average daily online time: 2 hours 33 minutes)

Reward: 400 Closed Beta Qualifications.

"You You."

"What is it?"

"Don't give missions to Your Majesty Demon Lord."

As though she had guessed that Leon would misunderstand sooner or later, You You hurriedly explained.

"No, no, no, Lord Demon Lord, I didn't issue that mission."

Leon frowned slightly.

"What do you mean? Is there another divine persona in my head?!"

"No, that's a program written into my underlying code. You can think of it as... something that comes with the Calamity System."

You You explained with an amused, helpless expression, but Leon could not shake the feeling that she had simply run out of excuses.

With a sigh, he continued.

"Fine, I'll assume that's the case... So what exactly triggers these missions?"

"I don't know either..." You You said quietly and awkwardly. "But I feel like... maybe it only appears to give you some motivation to move forward when your progress is slow."

Leon: "..."

And this was considered slow?! Twenty-four hours ago, he had still been eating in the cafeteria of Demon Lord Academy's West Tower District.

"Raise the players' online time... In short, I just need to give them something to do, right?"

He could have cheated by simply using a "stay online and receive Hell Money" method, but for the sake of long-term development, he could not mess around like that.

"That's right... You You thinks everyone actually likes you very much. Maybe you could try responding to their expectations? Find something for them to do?"

"Got it."

They wanted work?

Couldn't be easier.

If they had nothing to do, they could all go mine coal. First, he needed to boost the daily active player count.

Leon got out of bed, tidied up his appearance in front of the mirror, and then headed for the mine.

The entire mine was thick with the stench of blood. It must have been the ratmen's blood...

He made his way to the deepest part of the mine, arriving near the Demon Lord Territory core he had placed there yesterday—the place where he kept prisoners and where the players spawned.

However, when he entered that gloomy, pitch-black tunnel, the sight before him froze him in place.

The statue housing the Demon Lord Territory core had, for some reason, not taken the form of the Demon God Bayeri. Instead, a tall and heroic human stood there.

Leon could not believe his eyes. He hurried forward and, sure enough, found his own face on the statue.

Oh no—

Why was I the one growing on it?!—(Please vote with monthly tickets~~~)