Role-Playing in the Ultra-Ancient Era

In the eyes of adventurers, the Painting World is divided into two main types.

One method involves simply throwing people in without saying a word and letting them explore. If they find a way out, they come out; if not, they stay inside and wait out the time, acting as human batteries for the Zane Dungeon.

A representative work of this type is the Painting World Anor Londo.

One type is where adventurers, upon entering, acquire an identity related to the Painting World, experiencing the painting's content within this small world as someone else.

Representative works of this type are "Painting World: Wolf Knight" and "Waste Stone in the Painting World," both of which were once wildly popular and went viral.

Overall, the second type is more common. To some extent, the Painting World seems to serve more of the narrative of the Zane Dungeon, and is created for adventurers to understand what legendary stories have happened on the land they live in.

If you were to ask Hervey which type of Painting World he prefers, he would undoubtedly answer the second without hesitation.

After all, exploring on your own is never as fun as role-playing.

"The last time I entered this type of Painting World, I played the role of the Elden Lord."

He was referring to the scene where he played the Tarnished in the Waste Stone of the Painting World, which was indeed very memorable.

The discovery of the Mimic Tear in the Eternal City has reignited the discussion about the Tarnished, and has also boosted the popularity of the Painting World Waste Stone. It was already popular, but now it's even more popular.

However, the spread of news is delayed. It wasn't until the church support from the Arnor Kingdom arrived that Hervey learned about the new areas of the Eternal City. Unfortunately, even though he was interested in the area, he couldn't leave his post without permission.

Fortunately, the church brought back some local specialties from that region from the Eternal City, just to satisfy his cravings.

"I'm going to have a blast today."

Seeing the dragons turning and charging towards him, Hervey immediately roared and activated the Weapon Skill he had mastered, [Boasting Roar].

It's unclear how much fighting spirit this roar ignited within him, but all the flying dragons that had been chasing after the local residents just moments before turned their heads and stared at him with a dozen pairs of eyes.

"Come on, you should be targeting me!"

Hervey thumped his chest and said loudly. After assuming his current identity as an ancient Sun Warrior, he felt that it was appropriate for him to say such a line at this moment.

As he wished, the dragons were successfully enraged by his attitude and charged forward, howling and roaring.

When groups of small dragons move, they don't have the same imposing presence as giant dragons, but they also lack the wisdom of dragons and are filled with the ferocity of monsters, which in some ways makes them more frightening to ordinary people.

Each of these small flying dragons is a powerful and ferocious monster; these creatures could easily occupy a territory if released in the outside world.

Dealing with so many Bloodlust hounds at once would be tricky, let alone so many wyverns.

Hervey had neither [Endurance] nor [Iron Pot Incense] or Havel's Set, so he couldn't stand and fight like an Alien Empera in such a powerful monster tide. Therefore, after attracting the monsters' attention, he turned and ran.

Run towards the relatively narrow alleys to avoid being surrounded by small flying dragons in open areas.

Just as he lured away all the small dragons, the attacked local residents finally gained a moment of safety, and hope appeared on their faces, which looked like plumper Living Dead.

It might be a bit old-fashioned and cliché, but they cheered and thanked Hervey, who had run away, expressing their gratitude to the Sun Warrior who had saved them from danger.

The gratitude from the rescued person, and the fact that the gratitude was expressed less than a minute after they were rescued, is a real-time response that would make most people who offered help feel genuinely happy about this immediate positive feedback.

Sure enough, when Hearing the voices of gratitude coming from behind, Hervey couldn't help but smile, feeling as if the Sun Emblem on his body was shining brightly.

However, if we look at the details, the development here is a bit illogical.

For example, how did the ordinary people who were attacked react and express their gratitude in such a short time? Logically, they should have been rushing to escape and saving their thanks for later, or...

But this is just a Painting World, isn't it? Why think so much about the Painting World?

If you can provide enough of the emotional and material value that adventurers expect, then it can be considered perfect!

These shouts of gratitude from the rescued individuals, who were unafraid of the monsters turning to face them even if it meant shouting their thanks, successfully changed Hervey's mindset.

The attitude changed from "Since I'm playing the role of the Sun Warrior now, I might as well save those people" to "I'm the Sun Warrior now, no one here will die!"

He's become so immersed in the role that he's started to accept his current identity and even adds his own dramatic flair! For example, he'll take a moment to turn around and shout to the crowd, "You guys run! I'll cover your retreat!"

This transformation was certainly influenced by various factors in his Painting World and his personal character.

But it's probably also related to the massive Hypnosis Magic that Gong Qiying set up here.

The main effect is to hypnotically suggest that adventurers who come here accept the role-playing setting. Because it does not contain any malice, it is difficult to detect.

If Hervey weren't currently caught up in a tense and exciting plot, perhaps if he came in a few more times to think things through more deeply, he might discover a problem.

Why does it feel like this Painting World has a much deeper influence on role-playing?

In the past, Painting World with this element tended to focus on the identity played by the adventurer, but here it seems to emphasize the adventurer's own emotional experience more.

This is because Gong Qiying made some modifications to suit Scamellon's national conditions.

In order to better adapt to the environment of the Ska Meron and to make the Zane Dungeon more localized, he has done a lot of work these days. One of the results is a series of [Oath-type] Painting World represented by this.

As is well known, in order to establish a religion, the founder must first have the ability to fabricate and tell stories.

Create enough legendary stories for your god, create a bunch of awesome followers for your god, and finally modify and summarize their stories into a doctrine, and a brand new religion is born.

Furthermore, some people in Scamellon have already started using the existence of beings in the Zane Dungeon to spread their religion; they're so desperate that they've even dragged out someone like Red Wolf for propaganda. Therefore...

Gong Qiying then used this to create Painting World for role-playing.

Gwyn, the Sun King; Nitocris, the Graveyard King; the Witch of Chaos; Gwyndolin, the Dark Sun; and the Abyss.

The various beings that the Scamellon people could worship as "gods" would become themes in one Painting World after another.

When adventurers enter Painting World based on a particular oath, they will assume the role of a legendary hero of that oath, created by Gong Qiying, and enter a customized story.

Regardless of the type of oath the adventurers enter, the core purpose of this Painting World the same:

That is to make adventurers feel from the bottom of their hearts that making this vow and believing in this god is really great, awesome and happy!

Rather than letting those Scamellon people who don't know the details or the level of education make random changes and rewrites.

It would be better if the city lord, Gong Qiying, just stepped in and started preaching!

However, the content of the teachings he personally imparted was slightly more diverse.

But in general, whether it's the Sun Warrior or the Soul Eaters, whether it's the Dark Moon Blade or the Tomb King's minions, the moment they became known to the world, people's faith still pointed to the source of these oaths— the Zane Dungeon!

Yuenka had planned for so many years, attempting to use the faith of the entire Warrior Country to make himself the God of Magic. This means that faith definitely has some positive effect on such a mysterious thing as "becoming a god".

In other words, faith is a good thing.

However, the vast majority of people don't know how to use it, or even know about this concept.

Gong Qiying didn't have a particular desire to become a god, since he didn't know the specific procedures, such as whether he should apply for a household registration from some divine council. Yuenka hadn't revealed the process of becoming a god before he died.

Therefore, the actions he is currently taking are essentially aimed at helping the Zane Dungeon adapt to the magical land of Scamellon and better promote itself.

As for the beliefs of people who might have faith in the future, he wouldn't use them, but since they're good stuff, he'd take a little.

Who knows, we might need it sometime in the future?

Therefore, Hervey's character, the Sun Warrior, is able to receive thanks immediately after saving someone, because this aligns with the Sun Warrior's mission.

Similarly, if someone enters a Painting World themed around Dark Moon Blade, they will immediately receive praise from Gwyndolin after completing their revenge.

If Fingel's Dark Moon Blade Oathsworn came over, they'd probably have a collective climax.

Now, as the first adventurer to successfully enter the Painting World, Hervey will become a beta tester for the Zane Dungeon.

I realized how popular a Sun Warrior could be in an exaggerated situation.

"Wait a minute, stop trying to help me, run away!"

"I really can't take any more, please stop throwing equipment at me!"

Are all the people around here this enthusiastic???

In this settlement designed in the style of the Undead Burg, Hervey's voice came from a place that was both helpless and anxious, but what was most amazing was that there was also a hint of smugness in his voice.

Yes, it's a secret thrill.

At this moment, the number of small dragons chasing him had not decreased much. He was just leading these monsters in circles in the narrow alley, occasionally turning around to attack, as he was still looking for the most advantageous terrain.

But what happened here was something he hadn't expected.

Whenever he had run a few steps, the windows of the houses along the alley would suddenly open.

He initially thought there were monsters hiding there planning to launch a surprise attack on him, but it turned out he was completely wrong.

Because what appeared by the window wasn't a monster at all, but rather a group of local residents.

They shouted encouraging words like "Sun Warrior, I'm here to help you!" "Please accept my gift!" "Go for it!" while pulling out all sorts of things and throwing them out.

What was given to Hervey were Green Blossom, Dripping Stone, and Flying Dagger —things that were usable and not unusual to be found in people's homes.

What was thrown at the flying dragon were all sorts of pots, pans, chairs, and kitchen knives, and the rarest of all were Oil Urn and Flame Pot.

While the damage these things inflicted on the monsters was negligible, it gave Hervey a peculiar feeling.

"I feel a connection with the residents here!"

It's like finding a kindred spirit!

Even within the Sparkfire Church, where faith is united, disagreements arise among believers for various reasons, preventing everyone from achieving a state of unity.

But here, in this community, he suddenly felt like a beloved superstar, with all the residents wholeheartedly supporting him and willing to take any risks to help him.

The reason they did this is in the words they shouted.

Go, Sun Warrior!

Upon hearing these words, Hervey shuddered violently, goosebumps rising all over his body, and words could not describe his current feelings.

That's it, that one.

"Were the old-timer Sun Warrior really that popular!?"

He felt somewhat overwhelmed and at a loss by the enthusiasm of the crowd.

That feels so good!

When have I ever been treated like this?

Only now, as a Sun Warrior, can I truly live up to this!

In the "Synergies" module of the Zane Dungeon, Hervey and Sion's bond is growing rapidly, and their individual character portraits are almost ready to be revealed.

An unprecedented surge of power welled up in his heart. Hervey suddenly turned around and stopped. The Choking Dragon Fang fangs ignited and combined to form three Agheel's Flame. He was now going all out. He had never been this enthusiastic when fighting the Asylum Demon!

"I must win this time, I absolutely cannot lose face in front of so many supporters!"

The scene seemed to be filled with rousing battle background music, and these small dragons appeared to be insignificant shrimp soldiers and crab generals in the eyes of Hervey, who was full of ambition.

A loud roar echoed all around, and a dragon, whose size had finally grown to a gigantic state, streaked across the sky. It was clearly on the side of the demons, and its oppressive aura was extremely strong.

But in Hervey's eyes now, that thing was just a threshold waiting for him to cross.

With the support of these afterimages, he felt invincible!

"It's about to start!!!"

A thrilling and intense battle immediately ensued!

Poor thing.

His emotions were completely manipulated by Sain.