In the real world, somewhere, someone is enthusiastically browsing the recently updated "World of Disorder Encyclopedia," immersing themselves in it while muttering to themselves:
"After the boss, the Lord of the Gloomy Sanctuary, enters its final phase, it unlocks its third form, which adds extra fire damage to friendly attacks..."
"Wow, that's so cool... Are there any other angles...?"
Wow, these experimental subjects look pretty good, but they seem a bit malnourished. I wonder if the models will be modified later...
"Hmm, this garrison captain... he's just average. Although he looks alright, he's not my type."
"Wow, is that a dragon girl? That's great! I love it! Transform for me already..."
"Ring ring ring!"
The phone alarm rang, and a hand quickly and skillfully turned it off.
"Is it time already...?"
The person browsing the encyclopedia muttered to themselves as they closed the official website, put on the immersive headset from beside their bed, and, recalling their friend's instructions, began to operate it:
"Let me see, um, enter nickname, log in, invitation code, paste..."
"Add friend, search ID, Pond Fish and Old Abyss..."
"It's approved so quickly?!"
[ Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ]: "Hey, can you see this?"
[Pond Fish and Old Abyss]: "Sure, what kind of weird ID is that?"
Don't you think it's cute?
"Hmm... so-so."
"Anyway, it's better than your chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)."
"If you say that again, I won't take you with me anymore."
"Wait, teach me how to add points first."
In the game, [ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] manipulates three vines to whip around monsters while simultaneously controlling the cursor to type by moving his eyes.
On the other side of the chat window was her real-life friend, the one who was drawn in by the [ Zhong Lele ] video and became a fan of good-looking people.
At this moment, this newbie has already entered the character creation, character customization, and stat allocation stage under the step-by-step guidance of [Pond Fish and Old Abyss].
[Pond Fish and Old Abyss]: "What are your requirements for your role?"
[ Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ]: "I wish my defense was higher... Oh no, I have no defense?"
"In this game, attack and defense are separated and determined by multiple attributes."
"I feel like I don't know any tricks up my sleeve. Is there any way to increase the margin for error? Or something that's equivalent to increased defense...?"
"Then you should increase your Constitution; that increases your health bar's thickness."
Okay, are there any other things to note?
"Judgment is quite important in this game. If you want more room for error, it's best to add more willpower."
"Understood. I'm logging on now. Remember to pick me up."
"Okay, I'm near the castle, I'll be there soon."
That's what they say, but [ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] isn't in a hurry to return to the castle at all.
She knew her real-life friend's personality very well.
Even a fool could guess that this [ Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ] would dawdle for a while, pinch his cheeks, mentally prepare himself, enter the game, and frantically take pictures next to Ed before finally opening the chat to ask himself why he hadn't arrived yet.
There's still at least half an hour left!
[Pond Fish and Old Abyss] made this judgment.
So she looked around and gave the monsters a kind smile.
Half an hour later, [ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ], who had returned with a full load of fish, received a message from a friend:
[ Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ]: "I'm online now, in the castle lobby. Where are you?"
[Pond Fish and Old Abyss]: "Wait for me at the door, one minute."
After throwing a large chunk of monster flesh into the newly grown recycling plants below the castle, and looking at the increased balance in his account, [ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] arrived in the hall amidst a dizzying sensation.
A female character was already waiting there. The two exchanged a glance, and [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] exclaimed in surprise:
"How could you... look exactly like the real person?!"
[ Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ] said with a smile:
"I found the character customization a bit difficult, so I didn't spend too much time on it."
"It's impossible to get the same face twice by random selection, right?"
"Of course not, but I saw an option to scan real-world faces, so I clicked it."
"This..."
[ The Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] fell silent for a moment:
"You don't seem to care at all about the potential problems in this area..."
"What's there to care about?"
[ Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ] He said nonchalantly, his eyes darting around as if he were manipulating something. After a few seconds, he suddenly asked:
"What's going on? Why can't I take a selfie?"
[Pond Fish and Old Abyss] covered his face with his hand:
"The game's screen recording and photo capture are all within your field of view, so this feature... doesn't actually exist yet."
"Okay, I'll fill out the feedback form after I log off today. Could you take a picture for me first? The background doesn't matter. Remember to send it to me after you log off."
"Do what?"
[ The Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] was puzzled, but his friend explained with a smile:
Only in this way can I convince my brother that I really have the qualification for the closed beta test.
"You still haven't let him go after all..."
[Pond Fish and Old Abyss] lamented that his friend's thought process was different from his own, and then asked another question:
Let me see your attribute panel.
"Good."
[ Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ] performed some actions and displayed his panel to his friend: [22881000].
Looking at the extremely unbalanced panel in front of her, [ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] felt she had a lot to say but didn't know where to begin.
Having 8 points in physical fitness and 8 points in willpower is certainly good, but having 2 points in strength and agility makes you practically disabled.
Characters with extremely low attack power but a relatively high health bar are usually quickly discovered and used as practice targets for combo practice and DPS testing if they are not players.
After a long silence, [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] said:
"I was going to ask you what playstyle you were planning to go for, but it's pretty obvious now, you're probably a pure casual player."
[ Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ] Immediately nodded in agreement:
"Yes, yes, I came here to relax. I just want to enjoy the scenery, take some pictures of the cute NPCs, and it would be great if I could plant some flowers too."
"Plant flowers?"
[ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] frowned:
"Planting flowers in this setting... seems a bit difficult."
"So it still doesn't work?"
The [ Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ] showed a disappointed expression.
Seeing that his friend seemed a bit down, [Pond Fish and Old Abyss] explained:
"No, that's not it. This game has such a high degree of freedom that planting flowers isn't difficult at all; it's just that the format might not be what you're thinking."
[ The Cilantro Ice Cream Scoop ] immediately looked over excitedly:
What is it like?
[ Pond Fish and Old Abyss ] took out a piece of Deadwood Vine from his pocket, pointed the sharp end at his forearm, and plunged it in.
After absorbing enough blood, the Deadwood Vine plumped up again, then waved to the pale-faced [ Vanilla Ice Cream Scoop ] in front of it like a real hand.
"Like this..."