Pirate: I Loaded the Game Panel

Cao Renqi chuckled, his vaguely sleazy expression full of dreams for the future.

Meanwhile, the other players on the beach were talking over one another.

"It feels so real! I love it!"

"What are we supposed to do now? Why aren't there any prompts? Not even a guide NPC?"

"Damn it! Why can't I take these pants off? Let me try another way..."

"Can we hurry up? Speed is everything!"

Just then, a hunched old man with graying hair and a wrinkled face came ambling over from the north. A crowd of players surged forward and surrounded the fisherman-looking elder, pelting him with questions.

"Sir, do you need any help?"

"Sir, can you give us any hints?"

"Hey, old man, can you help me get these pants off?"

"Sir..."

At the edge of the crowd, Cao Renqi took advantage of the commotion to secretly use Detect on the fisherman-looking old man.

[Based on your level and attributes, you have obtained the following information]

[??—Flower Country Fisherman] (Pale Red)

[Level: 1]

[Attributes: Strength 3, Agility 4, Stamina 4, Intelligence 6, Charisma 3, Luck 1]

[Skills: Fishing, ?]

[Danger Level: Medium]

Players had a detection function that let them see some of an NPC's information and abilities, but a large level gap would leave parts of that information hidden.

The bigger the gap, the more information was missing.

An NPC's name color indicated their relationship with the player: green meant friendly, yellow neutral, and red hostile. The danger level gave a rough measure of the difference in strength between the player and the target.

Because they were both level 1, Cao Renqi could see most of the NPC's information.

"I thought he was a fisherman, and it turns out he really is one... But can someone tell me why this old fisherman's attributes are so much higher than mine when we're both level 1?"

Cao Renqi opened his profile and looked at his six attributes, questioning everything.

Strength 1, Agility 1, Stamina 1, Intelligence 1, Charisma 1, Luck 1.

A true all-rounder, perfectly balanced—with every stat at 1!

Cao Renqi grumbled, "Even a level 1 fisherman has a medium danger level? This game's way too hard. Good thing I'm not into fighting monsters and leveling up..."

At the same time, quite a few other players detected the old fisherman's attributes and began muttering.

"What the hell? This old guy's stats are way too high!"

"He looks like that and has three Charisma? I'm way better-looking than him!"

"Why does he have six Intelligence? Is he some kind of monster that learned to think?"

The players' expressions gradually turned dangerous.

The old fisherman suddenly cried out and scrambled out of the crowd. Despite their "mighty" three points of Strength, not a single player managed to hold on to him.

"Trouble! Trouble!" the old fisherman shouted as he fled. "A whole bunch of pirates have arrived!"

"Pirates? Is he... talking about us?"

"Wait, what? The newbie guide just ran away?"

The experienced players stood there in bewilderment, thrown into brief chaos.

Sure, they had never played a fully immersive VR game before, and the game company had been secretive rather than giving them anything useful. But they had seen enough games not to be easily shocked.

So what was with this old geezer, who looked like the starter village chief, running off?

And why had he called them pirates on his way out?

It was a game, sure, but what was this NPC playing at?

[Newbies' First Experience]

Before long, the old fisherman returned to the beach with an unfamiliar man.

The newcomer was tall, with a tangle of long orange hair. His heavily muscled upper body was bare, with only a simple green cape draped over his back. Strapped behind it was a massive battle-axe nearly as tall as he was.

"Whoa! He's huge!"

"He's got to be three meters tall, right?"

"Those muscles! Yes, please! I'm sold!"

"Is he even human? Is that a muscle suit?"

The players exclaimed in astonishment.

The towering man took the battle-axe from his back and brought it down in front of him, scattering sand and gravel.

He swept a contemptuous glance over the so-called "pirates" and declared, "I'm Jixiang, a squad captain of the Three Treasures Navy! You drifters from overseas had better find honest work if you want to eat. The Flower Country has no use for worthless freeloaders!"

After a pause, Jixiang continued, "You're all so short, you probably don't have much strength. You won't make it as fighters, so go farm the fields. The docks need laborers to haul cargo, too. In the Flower Country, as long as you work hard, you won't starve..."

According to Jixiang's Three Treasures—

No, wait!

Based on what Jixiang, squad captain of the Three Treasures Navy, had told them, the players got a rough idea of how things worked.

The temporary [Drifter] tag they had entered the game with was not a profession but a social status. To gain the locals' acceptance, they would at least need [Commoner] status;

In the Flower Country, everyone had their own role. The ruling forces were called "navies," ranked in order from the [First Treasure] (the first?) to the [Eighth Treasure];

And places throughout the Flower Country needed plenty of labor. Applying for work should unlock the corresponding Secondary Professions, such as [Farmer].

Once they had sorted that out, the players grew indignant.

They were experienced players who had fought hard for precious closed-beta slots to gather information early and get a head start—not to farm fields, haul sacks, and do manual labor!

From within the crowd, a guild player respectfully asked Jixiang, "Lord Jixiang, could we join the Three Treasures Navy?"

Jixiang burst out laughing. "You little runts want to join the Three Treasures Navy?"

With a casual flick of his wrist, he tossed the enormous, nearly man-sized battle-axe in front of them as though it weighed nothing. The door-sized blade of forged iron gleamed coldly before sinking straight into the ground with a hiss.

Jixiang announced, "Go on, give it a try. Whoever can pull my axe out gets to join my squad as an exception!"

Most of the players eyed the huge battle-axe eagerly.

Things impossible in real life could be done with ease in a game through attributes, levels, and the like. That was part of gaming's appeal.

And if someone really could lift that axe and join the "Three Treasures Navy," wouldn't they gain a main profession right at the start and immediately pull ahead of the other players?

The experienced players exchanged challenging looks.

"That main profession is mine!"

"Just watch me, you scrubs!"

Before long, players lay sprawled all over the ground. Every one of them had failed to lift the axe. If anyone could have seen their system panels, they would have found their stamina nearly depleted.

Jixiang shook his head. "I told you not to set your sights too high. You drifters should settle down and live ordinary lives. Fighting really isn't for you."

Perhaps sensing the players' frustration, Jixiang added, "See that forest over there? If any of you still aren't afraid of dying, go try hunting in the mountains! Hunting up there is safer than going out to sea to catch fish."

The players looked over. A vast green mountain forest rose before them, its layered slopes lush beneath wreaths of white, chilly mist. It looked like paradise, more beautiful than any five-star tourist destination in real life, let alone the scenery in other games they had played.

"It's gorgeous!"

"How dangerous could a place that beautiful be?"

A group of skeptical players immediately ran toward the mountains. Only a few minutes later, the handful who remained trudged back with their heads down.

"The wild monsters are way too strong! I couldn't even see their levels, and one of their legs was thicker than me!"

"Right? When one charged at me, it was like getting hit by a tank! Where's my F key?"

"You can't even chip away at their health with guaranteed damage. Terrible design!"

"The guys who died messaged back! Holy crap! Dying costs experience, respawning takes half an hour, and the wait keeps getting longer? You can only die five times in a game week? How the hell are we supposed to play?"

Seeing what had happened to the monster hunters, the more sensible players abandoned the idea of leveling through combat for now. At low levels, they were better off doing quests and earning experience.

The old fisherman, whom they had frightened earlier, suddenly became popular. A crowd of players gathered around him to ask about his [Fishing] skill.

"Didn't Jixiang say hunting in the mountains was safer than going out to sea to catch fish?" one player asked, puzzled.

"You heard him. He said going 'out to sea' to catch fish," another player said confidently. "How dangerous can fishing from the shore be?"

Voices chimed in one after another.

"Yeah, exactly!"

"There's nothing to be afraid of now."

Just then, a small Sea King hunting offshore burst out of the water.

It stood dozens of meters tall, with a strange fish several meters long clamped between its interlocking fangs. It leaped from the sea, sending spray everywhere and radiating savage menace.

The beach fell deathly silent.

After a long while, a player said quietly, "I think working on land is safer."

"Yeah. No way am I going out to sea. Not in this lifetime."

"Why don't we check out a nearby town? It's too remote here, and there aren't many quests."

Hearing that, Cao Renqi, who had barely drawn any notice in the crowd, nodded furiously. He had wanted to visit town for a while, but he had not dared go alone. The wilderness in this damned game was far harder than he had imagined. He would feel a little safer traveling with the group.

The players promptly left the old fisherman behind and set off toward the nearby town in a lively crowd.

About half an hour later, they reached the town entrance. After a brief inspection by the guards at the gate, they entered the town.

"Surviving out in the wild is tough, but this game really feels real!" the players said, looking around the town in admiration. "It's like we've actually traveled back in time! The architecture, the detail—isn't it way better than Hengdian?"

"Honestly, everyone in this world is huge!"

"Yeah, and their boobs are bigger too!"

"Bro, I don't know what you're talking about, but something's a little off with you."

"Did the game company not consider average height in the real world when they made this? All these tall people are kind of intimidating..."

"We're just playing a game, bro!"

After a burst of chatter, the players who had entered town scattered. Like drops of water merging into the sea, they vanished into the passing crowds.

From what they had seen so far, Pirate King was clearly a game with enormous freedom. If they wanted to establish an early advantage and pull ahead, they could not waste a moment of the precious closed beta.

Compared with the professional players rushing to explore and complete quests, Cao Renqi was far less conspicuous.

As a casual player lucky enough to win a closed-beta slot, Cao Renqi had no intention of immediately running off to do quests and earn money. He had come to experience another life and have fun!

"Whoa, that girl's beautiful!"

"That blonde girl is so cute!"

"..."

"I, Cao Renqi, would sooner starve or get beaten to death by a monster than run around doing quests for money!"

After wandering aimlessly around town for most of the day, a ravenous Cao Renqi went to the docks and helped the old fisherman hawk his fish.

[Arriving in the Flower Country]

Ohara.

Ever since the system panel notified him that the closed beta had officially begun, Adrian had been considering how to make contact with the beta players.

Fortunately, the [Player Forum] had opened alongside the beta!

Unfortunately, after secretly browsing the forum for a while, Adrian discovered that although quite a few players had arrived in the West Blue, not a single one had appeared on Ohara. It was a shame.

He had been hoping the chives... the players would come to him!

With nothing else to do, Adrian kept browsing the forum.

"Everyone, look! I found another treasure by the sea!" This post was from someone who had gone beachcombing after entering the game.