"Hmm, this UI looks pretty nice!"
After entering the game, Jiang Ping's eyes lit up when he saw the UI.
Although Jiang Ping was not yet a particularly seasoned LS, he had not played many Gentleman Games.
Still, he had some superficial experience with this type of game.
Though they were all made using official game engines, most of the ones he had played had utterly messy UI content.
But at least in terms of its UI, "Magic Mirror" was genuinely quite good.
"I can only choose one character?"
After clicking into the game, Jiang Ping looked at the diamond in the center.
There were several different characters inside, but only one dark-skinned elf could be selected.
The rest were locked.
"So many selectable characters? This seems... a little impressive!"
A surprised expression appeared on Jiang Ping's face.
At the same time, he felt a little excited inside.
Subconsciously, Jiang Ping glanced toward the dormitory door.
The dormitory door was still closed, and his roommates had all gone out today for various reasons.
Jiang Ping walked over, shut the dormitory door, and locked it from the inside.
Sitting back down in front of the computer and looking at the game screen he had entered, he took a deep breath. His expression turned solemn and sacred.
Of course, he had a completely different thought in his heart.
Starting with a character like a dark-skinned elf?
This was way too exciting!
With just a tiny bit of excitement, Jiang Ping followed the tutorial and clicked an icon that looked like it was for battle.
'On this deep, dark night, the isolated Blackwater Castle unexpectedly welcomed an uninvited guest.'
'That nearly invisible shadow gradually emerged.'
Looking at the scene in the game and the options that followed, Jiang Ping froze. Wasn't this a Gentleman Game?
Why... did it look like a visual novel?
There was even a plot?
Jiang Ping scratched his head, but he did not think too much about it and casually clicked a few times.
When he saw the game enter combat, Jiang Ping froze again.
This game was actually Match-3?
Jiang Ping had seen someone on a forum say it was the most fun Match-3 game, but he had thought it was fake.
But now, this game's gameplay really was Match-3?
"Hmm, orange orbs increase physical attack. The sword icon is physical damage, stars are magic, and potions restore health."
"Matching four gives you an enhanced orb, while matching five creates a magic diamond that can deal massive damage."
"There are also items and special skills, though for now there's only something that restores health."
Following the beginner tutorial, Jiang Ping quickly figured out the game's combat system.
Then he was a little stunned.
Was he playing a Gentleman Game, or a normal Match-3 game?
Why were there so many mechanics?
Jiang Ping was full of surprise. The Gentleman Games he had played before, let alone having this many mechanics—
Some had basically just been click, click, click, and then the character art popped up.
And some low-quality ones were especially perfunctory.
But this "Magic Mirror" was something else!
This combat system was almost excessively rich!
Well, for a Gentleman Game.
And beyond that, it actually had a plot!
And this LS element... it had potential. A whole lot of potential!
Jiang Ping pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes, leaning forward slightly as he turned off the small speakers on his desk.
He took a pair of earbuds from the drawer, plugged them into the computer, and put one earbud in one ear.
After successfully making a match and launching an attack, the dark-skinned elf even had sound effects for getting hit.
And once her health bar dropped to a certain point, her clothes...
Ah! That was right!
Based on the earlier plot, this was probably the medieval era, wasn't it?
No wonder the clothes were such poor quality!
The people's living conditions back then must have been terribly harsh. Just look at how tattered those clothes were, and how dark her skin had gotten from the sun.
Matching five identical tiles even created diamonds, and the damage was so high!
There were unique skills to use, and corresponding items to buy to assist with attacking.
There was even a turn limit. Only thirteen turns remained, so why did this elf still have so much health?
After a brief trial run, Jiang Ping's attention quickly shifted from the elf's clothes to the Match-3 game.
He had to admit, this Match-3 game actually seemed pretty fun!
"This quality is absolutely insane!"
After two consecutive battles, he entered PLAY mode.
Jiang Ping felt as if every Gentleman Game he had played before had been a waste of time.
What was a Gentleman Game?
This was a Gentleman Game!
What had all those previous games even been?
They had Gentleman content but no game.
Of course, that alone would have been fine. After all, even without gameplay, their practical value was still acceptable.
But some of them were also shoddily made. Did they really think a gentleman's money was not money?
Look at this "Magic Mirror." Not only was it practical, but its gameplay was also so rich. This was the quality a Gentleman Game should have, the content a true Gentleman Game should have!
And it even had galgame elements?
There were even two endings?
Jiang Ping got the Pure Love Ending on his first playthrough. Thinking about the different choices from before, then seeing that the dark elf character was only at 50% unlock progress, he became extraordinarily excited.
He had never expected that instead of finding the doujin he wanted—
He would find such a god-tier game!
"Hmm, I won't play the new character yet. Let's check out the other storyline first."
"Going by normal game logic, the second ending should be the ending where the dark elf turns bad, right?"
With curiosity, along with a tiny bit of excitement and nervousness, Jiang Ping clicked in once more.
Ten minutes later—
"Why did it turn out like this?"
Jiang Ping sat before the computer, feeling both excited and deeply moved.
She had been born into nobility, yet cared for the poor commoners. She had even personally stolen to help relieve their suffering.
Yet those poor people she had once aided were ugly and shameless, repaying kindness with hatred.
Faced with the dark elf captured by a demon, those commoners had nothing in their minds but vile thoughts.
Although the character art in the game was still as explosive as ever, and its voice acting was utterly incredible compared to other Gentleman Games—
Jiang Ping still felt a complicated mix of emotions.
Especially when he saw that a young guard who entered later, despite having kind intentions—
Still failed to uphold his moral bottom line and reached out with his sinful hand.
That was like the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Combined with the final scene of the demon laughing quietly outside the wall, it left Jiang Ping even more deeply affected.
Perhaps he could understand why those famous gentlemen on the forums had reacted so differently to this game.
This was not merely a simple Gentleman Game.
It also questioned humanity and explored good and evil.
In that instant, Jiang Ping began to have philosophical questions and thoughts.
Was human nature inherently good, as Mencius claimed, or inherently evil, as Xunzi said?
Why could these people repay the elf who had helped them with hatred?
Why, when they clearly still possessed kind thoughts in the end, did evil nevertheless take the upper hand?
Jiang Ping had entered philosophy mode and was thinking seriously.
Yet this was only the beginning.
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