Leon felt that he was still a person with a conscience, even if he occasionally didn't act like one.
Honestly speaking, Hell had treated him fairly well. Over the past eighteen years, he had received far more kindness than hardship.
Though he could hardly be called loyal to the Demon God, seeing the Demon God's people suffering so miserably outside still made his heart ache.
Especially when he looked at Sarah, he saw another version of himself living under different circumstances.
For every bit of kindness he had felt in Hell, this little one had suffered an equal measure of malice on the surface.
Anyway, the day was almost over.
For these last few hours, he would be a decent person.
Just as Lord Demon Lord tucked the blanket around the little stray cat he had picked up, the players who had spent an entire day grinding in Demon Lord Territory were also getting ready to log off in the cave on the other side.
Facing the gloomy, pitch-black mine, Boar-Headed Knight suddenly spoke up in delight as though he had discovered a New World.
"Everyone! I don't know if you noticed... but this game doesn't strain your eyes at all!"
One Leaf Knows Autumn gave him a strange look.
"Is that weird?"
Boar-Headed Knight said excitedly.
"Of course! Don't you think that's amazing?!"
One Leaf Knows Autumn: "It's fine... After all, your eyes are closed once the game starts, right?"
Boar-Headed Knight froze for a moment.
"Huh? Seriously?"
One Leaf Knows Autumn: "Just a guess."
Boar-Headed Knight: "..."
One Leaf Knows Autumn: "Come to think of it, this game really is a little strange. Even though it takes a lot of grinding to play, its impact on real life isn't as big as I imagined."
He had been online at high intensity for more than ten hours, only logging off midway to eat, yet he did not feel tired at all.
This further confirmed his guess. The game's developers had probably mastered some kind of epoch-making technology.
For example...
Controlling people's dreams.
Whenever One Leaf Knows Autumn thought about it, he could not help getting excited.
It was not just because he saw the game's vast commercial potential, but because he would witness the birth of a groundbreaking technology firsthand—the changes it would bring, and all the possibilities behind it! Perhaps people would not have to wait until the next century to work in their dreams and save their waking hours for themselves.
The thought was rather wonderful.
Tanghulu: "As long as it doesn't affect real life, it's fine."
Roasted Mutton Skewer: "Don't you people have jobs to go to?!"
Hu Wan: "Don't learn from him. This guy is probably a pro gamer."
One Leaf Knows Autumn shot that quiet guy a sidelong glance.
A pro gamer, huh.
The real professional player was right here, wasn't he?
He was no professional player, just a casual player who had played a lot of games.
Drink It All In One Gulp said, "...Come to think of it, I'm suddenly curious. What would happen if you stayed online for twenty-four hours?"
Xiao Wan Can't Get Enough: "You'd wake up hungry! I tried it."
Roasted Mutton Skewer: "Even if hunger didn't wake you up, wouldn't your body give out first?!"
Brother Yikou showed a somewhat regretful expression.
"Sigh, what if you managed to endure it... Would you get transported straight into the game world?"
Everyone fell silent for a moment, then turned subtle looks toward this guy with an unusual train of thought.
Boar-Headed Knight: "I could accept getting transported as a Succubus, but becoming a Skeleton Soldier... I'll pass."
One Leaf Knows Autumn: "Isn't the real problem the ID? Being in the game is one thing, but getting transported into the game world with that name... You'd have no friends."
Seeing Brother Yikou on the verge of breaking down, Hu Wan gave a light cough and patted his shoulder.
"...You should go get some sleep."
Watching that appetite-killing ID head toward the corner, One Leaf Knows Autumn said goodbye to Hu Wan and prepared to log off as well.
Seeing that this grind king was actually getting ready to rest, Knowledge Explosion could not help asking curiously.
"Say, why aren't you continuing to farm monsters?"
One Leaf Knows Autumn: "Why would I, when I'm already max level?"
Everyone was instantly shocked.
Minotaur Warrior: "Holy shit? You bastard, you're already max level!?"
One Leaf Knows Autumn: "It's only LV3. Don't make it sound like I'm level 100... By the way, I'm looking for the Demon Lord. Have any of you seen him?"
Boar-Headed Knight: "Nope... Why don't you attack that statue once? He appeared when I touched it last time."
One Leaf Knows Autumn: "Fuck off. Go fool Newbie players. Don't try to fool me."
Elsewhere.
While wandering aimlessly near Demon Lord Territory, Gou Shi ran into another oddball after Brother Yikou.
In the corner of the mine, a Skeleton Soldier was fiddling with wooden planks he had dismantled from somewhere. He was smearing mud mixed with ratman innards onto them, making square patches that resembled little gardens.
However, that thing clearly was not for growing flowers or grass. At least, Gou Shi had never seen anything planted like that.
Out of curiosity, he walked over and asked.
"Bro, what are you doing?"
The skeleton raised his head, and a uniquely creative ID appeared beside his skull—
Tables and Stools
Gou Shi nearly spat.
Tables and Stools: "Growing mushrooms. What do you need?"
"Mushrooms?"
Gou Shi paused, then leaned closer to look. Sure enough, he saw tiny mushrooms growing on the ratman corpses.
Most of the mushrooms grew around their abdomens, especially around wounded areas.
That was incredible!
Were they some fictional fungus species from the game world?! But...
"...What's the point of that?"
"I don't know." Tables and Stools shook his head and answered as though it were only natural.
Gou Shi could not resist complaining.
"Then why are you growing them?"
Hearing such a thoughtless question, Tables and Stools instead gave him a strange look and asked in return.
"Then why do you play games?"
Gou Shi stared at him dumbfounded, unable to find a single word of rebuttal.
That made so much sense!
He was convinced.
"...Bro, let's add each other as friends. I think you're a real talent. Let's keep in touch!"
"Whatever."
After casually accepting the request, Tables and Stools stopped looking at him and returned to watching his mushroom garden with rapt attention.
"Just don't disturb me."
Early the next morning, Leon got up early. He had originally wanted to make a simple lava-soft-boiled egg, but unfortunately, there were neither firebird eggs nor lava here, so he had no choice but to give up.
Bread would have to do.
After quickly dealing with breakfast, Leon fetched water from the well in the inn's backyard and washed up. Then he took a moment to check on the little stray cat he had picked up the night before.
Sarah was sleeping soundly, curled into a ball beneath the blanket. Her steady snoring sounded exactly like a kitten's.
However, Leon could tell that she was not sleeping deeply. Even the slightest sound could wake her.
Perhaps she heard footsteps by the door. The snoring gradually stopped, and her closed eyelids opened into a narrow slit, revealing amber eyes.
"What do you want for breakfast?"
Sarah had still been bleary-eyed a second ago, but the next, she sat straight up from the bed with renewed energy.
"Skewers! Rats! Tails!"
"We'll talk about that stuff tonight." Leon tossed the bread into her hands. "Eat something light in the morning."
"Bread!"
Smelling the mouthwatering scent of wheat, Sarah's eyes shone as she bit into it, nearly eating her index finger along with it.
Watching her wolf it down, Leon, who had just finished eating, suddenly felt hungry again. He stopped looking at her, picked up some wooden planks dismantled from the neighboring room, and began writing and drawing on them with a magic crystal pen.
Yesterday's daily active user figures had been quite good. It seemed there would be no problem completing the Calamity System's mission.
Once the Mission Complete, a large wave of new players would enter. To keep them from running around like headless flies, he needed to make some simple signs and place them in the mine, telling them where they could and could not go.
Also, some directionally challenged players could not find their way back home. That problem needed solving too.
As for the last plank, it was for Sarah.
Having finally finished the bread in her hands, Sarah licked her fingers with lingering satisfaction. Only then did she notice what Leon was doing and curiously scooted over.
"What is that?"
Her furry ears tickled his nose, so Leon reached out and pushed her back a little before holding up the plank in his hand.
"Today is the opening day of the Demon Lord Territory Convenience Store. I'm planning to write the sign myself."
"Convenience store? Sign?"
Though she did not understand either word, her two ears had already perked straight up with curiosity.
"Basically, it's a place like a shop. You promised to work for me last night... Don't you remember?"
Sarah looked at him blankly. She felt as if that had never happened, yet vaguely seemed to remember hearing something about it.
"What does Sarah need to do?"
Leon answered casually.
"It's simple. When my servants come here to buy things, just give them the goods. I'll teach you the details later."
You You could handle things like payments by adding "game rules."
Simply put, if a player had enough balance, a transaction successful option would pop up before them.
Otherwise, if a player did not have enough balance but still forced the transaction after seeing the prompt, they would suffer Lord Demon Lord's Punishment.
Although she was the shop clerk, Sarah did not actually need to handle payments. She only needed to manage the inventory.
As for the players' ridiculous chatter, she could answer with a meow if she felt like it. If she did not, she could simply ignore them.
Those guys liked that sort of thing anyway.
"Leave it to me!" It sounded rather interesting, and Sarah nodded eagerly. "Sarah can work!"
"Mm! Work hard, and you'll get paid!"
Leon smiled as he patted her shoulder, then handed her the finished plank.
The wooden sign read "No Feeding," though Sarah could not understand it because it was written in square characters.
After finishing all that, Leon brought Sarah to the mine, intending to introduce her to the players.
However, the instant he stepped into Demon Lord Territory, a Skeleton Soldier respectfully dropped to one knee.
"Honorable Lord Demon Lord, I am your most, most, most loyal servant, One Leaf Knows Autumn."
"My Contribution Points have reached 1000. Surely that is enough to prove my loyalty—"
This guy had excellent social skills.
But Leon had other things to do and did not want to waste time listening to him beat around the bush.
"You want to level up, right? Granted."
With that, he extended his Magic Wand and ceremoniously tapped it against the Skeleton Soldier's forehead, while silently calling for a certain clingy little thing in his heart.
You You, I'll leave it to you.
Oh! Got it!
A dark green light flashed and struck the Skeleton Soldier precisely atop the head.
The sensation was wondrous.
It was like his soul had been elevated, like a barren desert being nourished by sweet spring water... In short, one word described it perfectly: incredible.
One Leaf Knows Autumn savored the sensation for a long time. When he finally came to his senses and was about to deliver his advancement speech, Lord Demon Lord was already gone.
"...?"
Well, damn.
Had he just been skipped by an NPC?
Before you continue