A Brand New Game Experience and Hidden Quests

Chapter 34: A Renewed Game Experience and a Hidden Quest

Murphy slept for a full seven hours. By the time he woke up, it was already late morning the next day. If there hadn't been a sun in the forest, the scorching heat alone would have been enough to turn him into a pile of ash.

The more he got used to the vampire life, the more he felt its limitations. Just this deadly weakness to sunlight was enough to negate all the advantages this race possessed.

The game experience was terrible!

A bad review!

If he could change races, Murphy would have switched to a regular human or another race right now, like an Elf?

"Let's go."

Murphy quickly washed up and drank down the virgin blood the Young Miss had brought to "replenish his body." He had no desire to know where the Young Miss got these "supplies."

Perhaps the somewhat unstable vampire Young Miss herself didn't know either.

He signaled to Maxim and Mirian, and then two carriages, one after the other, drove out of Smuggler's Woods, heading towards Cadman City.

The front carriage carried miscellaneous items.

This included the 3,000 Computing Orbs, the firearms, armor, and some blood-stained money collected by the Players. This was Murphy's startup capital, personally guarded by the loyal Maxim.

The carriage behind was driven by Mirian.

Inside the carriage were two coffins. One was for the Young Miss, and the other was for Madam Adele, who was still unconscious and sleeping.

Murphy figured that with the Young Miss's typical vampire habits, she would have already hidden in her coffin to sleep after the sun appeared. However, when he entered the carriage, he found that the Young Miss wasn't resting but was decorating Madam Adele's coffin.

Hiss... The scene was quite chilling.

Madam Adele, now wearing a blood-red robe, lay in the black coffin with her hands folded on her flat abdomen, as if she had stopped breathing. Beside her, the Young Miss was placing dried white roses, sprinkling some lightly scented perfume around them.

This scene looked like a farewell to the dying.

But in reality, this was just the "daily routine" of vampires.

As True Vampires, they were very meticulous about these details. They had to showcase their elegance and nobility as "Midnight Aristocrats."

"Thanks to the Blood Essence you gave her, she only needs two days to wake up and avoids the tedious process that other vampires need months to adapt to new lives."

The Young Miss, draped in a veiling black gauze and cloak, kept herself wrapped up even in the dim carriage to avoid being disturbed by the heat from the annoying sunlight.

As she arranged the items in the coffin, she sat on the edge of her own coffin and said to Murphy:

"I haven't thanked you yet, Murphy. It's not just about the victory of intercepting the transport team. I know what you did for Adele. You didn't have to. I owe you one."

"You don't need to be so polite, Young Miss. After all, it was for myself too."

Murphy sat at the back of the carriage, watching the Smuggler's Woods recede in the distance beyond the curtain. He leaned against the carriage wall, propping his chin with his left hand, and said softly:

"At my current rank, I can only take on one offspring. Although I come from Triss's lineage, it doesn't mean I can tolerate my first offspring being as useless as I was back then.

I just want to give her the best.

However, given Madam Adele's loyalty to you, it will take some time for her and me to gradually adjust."

"She is your elder."

The Young Miss said in a low voice:

"Whether she likes it or not, she has to obey you! The blood connection will change her mind. One day, she will forget all her feelings for me.

Yes.

One day.

She will only fight for you.

To be honest, I regret it, Murphy."

Murphy thought to himself, Is the Young Miss having second thoughts and trying to negotiate?

So he didn't answer, waiting for her next words. But she remained silent for half a minute, which threw Murphy off. He sighed, thinking how this Young Miss never played by the rules, and then changed the subject, asking:

"What's the deal with Adele's bloodline? Why does she have a quarter Elf blood? Where did you find this oddity? Elves haven't been seen in the Transylvania region for hundreds of years!"

"Ah? She's actually a Half-Elf?"

The Young Miss, who was reaching out to cover Madam Adele's coffin lid, was startled by Murphy's words.

This reaction made Murphy's eye twitch.

Good heavens!

This is your most loyal and only Blood Servant, and you don't even know her hidden race? You dare to keep her by your side without knowing anything?

Are you that carefree?

"Because I've never tasted Adele's blood, nor have I allowed any other vampire to do so. Plus, she shows no Elven characteristics and is usually quiet, so I..."

Perhaps seeing the undisguised surprise in Murphy's eyes, the Young Miss explained:

"But I don't think any of that matters. She is loyal and capable enough. In the face of excellent work ability, her origin is a trivial issue. Besides, Adele has been with me for twenty years, and I watched her grow up day by day.

She's like my daughter.

Therefore, I hope you will teach and protect her as I have cared for her."

"?"

Murphy almost couldn't hold back his laughter after hearing that.

He looked at Femis, who was as short as a sixteen-year-old rich loli with a youthful, doll-like face, and then at Madam Adele in the coffin, who was at least thirty-five and had "matured" in every aspect.

Anyone seeing this scene would think it was a daughter sending off her mother, but the reality was the opposite.

Adding to that, the Young Miss had a serious expression, clearly not joking, showing she had absolutely no idea how her unique appearance might affect others.

Murphy had to bite the tip of his tongue hard to stop himself from speaking out.

By now, he had completely confirmed that this Blood Vulture Young Miss, who maintained a serious and cold demeanor in front of others, was actually a naturally naive person with no concept of common sense. It was hard to imagine how she had developed such a personality.

But then again, wasn't this the norm for the "colorful" lives of the Long-Lived Races?

Because they lived too long, their perspectives on the world became distorted.

If nothing else, didn't he have a useless Vampire Girl at home who claimed to be five hundred years old but was still hopelessly addicted to alcohol?

Compared to Triss, the Young Miss in front of him only showed symptoms of being a bit naive.

Overall, she was still quite reliable.

However, at that moment, Murphy really wanted to ask the Young Miss how old she actually was.

But after hesitating for a long time, he still didn't ask.

Asking such an offensive question to a lady he wasn't familiar with could easily get him killed on the spot.

"If you're interested in Adele's background, you can ask her yourself later. You are her elder, and she shouldn't hide any information from you.

All I remember now is that I found her twenty years ago while traveling in the Dark Mountains, in a village in Southern Transylvania.

She was alone then, surviving by stealing, but her skills were poor, and she almost got beaten to death.

I felt sorry for her, so I gave this skinny little monkey with bones sticking out some food, and she's been with me ever since."

Young Miss Femis shook her head, yawned, opened her coffin, and said to Murphy:

"Do you have anything else important?"

Murphy immediately got up with great tact and bid the Young Miss farewell, wishing her goodnight.

Even though the sun had just risen.

But for a Vampire, this was the time to say goodnight!

It was a matter of etiquette.

Moreover, he had come to gauge her reaction and see the Young Miss's attitude towards the annihilation of the Vampire group. He hadn't expected her to not mention it at all, acting as if the deaths of sixty Midnight Aristocrats meant nothing to her.

But this could also be the Young Miss's pretense.

In the worst-case scenario, the moment Murphy returned to Cadman City, he would be arrested and subjected to the Sun Scorch punishment in the Blood Vulture Corridor for betraying his kin.

Perhaps he should make preparations?

After confirming that Femis had gotten into her coffin, he pulled up his hood, wrapped himself up tightly, jumped off the carriage, and ran to the carriage in front to tinker with those Computing Orbs.

Four hours later, at the hottest part of the day, during the break when Maxim and Mirian were having lunch, in a small grove by the roadside, Murphy, clutching his broken pocket watch, confirmed the pop-up window for the player's active login precisely at the time the new version update was announced as complete on the forum.

Almost simultaneously, in another world, the impatient Little Players saw that the always-locked Active Login Function on the VR Interface inside their Game Helmets had lit up.

This was their first attempt at active login.

A gentle light covered their vision within the helmets, and in a daze, they saw the vast, swaying dark nebulae again. Then, a tangible projection woven from psionics appeared, shining brightly before Murphy. Without him needing to activate his Summoning Arts, the adorable Little Players reappeared by his side.

They were like eyes opening from a deep sleep.

Just like their previous login experience, sunlight grazed their faces and bodies through the shade of the trees, making them feel the same warmth as in the real world.

"No way, no way, no way! This is so cool! Sooo cool!"

A Ru, who was lively and good at making friends, was the first to jump up, doing a "flashy cross-over" in place, only missing a basketball in his hands.

The other players, upon confirming that they could log in automatically, also showed joy. This meant they finally had control over their game time.

No more passive waiting!

They could log in whenever they wanted from now on.

"My warriors, I have finally completed my Summoning Arts improvement. You are now free!"

Murphy, still in a [Weakened] state, smiled and spread his arms towards the players.

At his feet lay the players' previous equipment. These guys, all dressed in "newbie briefs," walked up, put on their Retainer Armor, and draped their "Closed Beta Reward" cloaks, instantly transforming into a group of Blood Servant guards that looked impressive, at least on the surface.

After they finished changing, Murphy took out another box, took out the Computing Orbs one by one, and distributed them to his Little Players, explaining as he did:

"These are the rewards you deserve! They are the cargo from the transport team we intercepted last night. I never expected them to risk offending the Halflings by smuggling these Computing Orbs.

But perhaps this was fate.

These items, which were meant for killing and warfare, can undoubtedly play a more valuable role in our Grand Plan!"

The Little Players didn't know what the Computing Orbs in their hands were, but this didn't stop them from catching a hint from the NPC's words.

Combined with the update entries on the Official Forum posts, they could easily guess that the items in their hands were the "Player Interface" that the Development Team had temporarily added to the game.

"So, even our player interface has to be snatched back by ourselves?"

Meow King toyed with the jewelry-like Computing Orb in his hand and complained to Happy Stick beside him:

"Damn! Isn't this too hardcore?"

"I actually think it's pretty good."

Happy Stick said, rolling his eyes.

"It's better than them just conjuring an interface out of thin air, right? This game really takes immersion to the extreme. But seriously, how do you use this thing? Voice control? Or thought control?"

"The Computing Orb is a marvel of Steam Engineering. It needs to be activated. Please wait a moment, my warriors."

Murphy took out the Fourth Generation Prototype Computing Orb hanging around his neck and infused it with psionic energy. Red dots of light flickered on the smooth gem's surface, and the gears of the internal Psionic Differential Machine began to spin.

An invisible psionic energy of a special frequency emanated from the Core Computing Orb in Murphy's hand. The moment it resonated with the lower-tier orbs, the "Player Interface" in the little players' hands finally activated.

Leading Big Pigeon stared blankly at the Computing Orb in his hand.

He could feel the small object in his hand making a faint humming sound like a precise instrument. Then, a semi-transparent psionic light screen projected in front of him, hovering over his palm, with text scrolling and appearing:

[Computing Orb Activated!
Initializing, please wait...
User information scan, consciousness binding complete!
Player Attributes loading complete!
In-game Communication Channel grouping complete!
Friend List loading complete!
Translation Module loading complete!
Information Recording and Map Function loading complete! Further functions are still under development, please look forward to it. Wishing you a smooth gameplay experience.]

"This little thing is so smart!"

Invincible Tyrannosaurus Cheche stared at the semi-transparent light screen in his hand.

He tentatively reached out and tapped on one of the listed modules. Then, his personal information was projected, refreshing like an XP system screen.

"Strength 5, Dexterity 5, Stamina 5, Intellect 5, Perception 5, Charisma 5... Why are they all 5? Is something wrong?"

Cheche grumbled unhappily.

He felt like the game developers were mocking him for being a weakling with only 5 combat power. He then turned to look at Niu Niu beside him. Upon seeing Niu Niu's player interface, he couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

"Damn! Intellect is only 2! Niu Niu, are you serious? Officially recognized as an idiot, hahahaha!"

Seeing Cheche clutching his stomach and laughing so hard his back hurt, Chen Dian Niu Niu, with a dark expression, unhappily clenched his fists. He then grabbed Cheche and flipped him onto the ground. He yelled, "My intellect might be only 2, but didn't you see my Strength is 8? And you, a weakling, have the nerve to laugh at me! If I don't 'screw' you today, I'll write my name backward! Someone come! I'll handle taking Cheche's pants off. You guys find a tree! That one next to us looks good, thick and big, that's the one! Come on, let's get this Aluba going."

Seeing the screaming Cheche being lifted up by the other six members of the Student Faction, his pants removed, and subjected to the "traditional skill" Aluba, the other unscrupulous players burst into laughter, repeatedly marveling at how realistic the game's physics engine truly was.

Even Murphy beside them had a fond smile, remarking on how passionate the little players were. If he weren't playing an NPC and had to maintain his composure, he would have loved to join in and reminisce about his long-lost youth.

The next second, however, he saw Brother Wu Miao sneakily approach him, fidgeting nervously and saying with embarrassment, "Um... the forum reward..."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Murphy replied with a stern face.

This made Brother Wu Miao's eyes widen as he exclaimed that the NPC had embezzled his reward. But then he saw Murphy rub his forehead in confusion and say, "Although I don't know why you'd be rewarded, a voice seems to be telling me that you have indeed made unknown efforts towards the Grand Plan. So, come here, my warrior Wu Miao King, I happen to have something that would be suitable for you."