After a flash of light and a sinking of consciousness, [ Howling Pothos ] emerged from a Teleportation Tree wearing a "hospital gown" typically given to new and resurrected players.
The place he chose to be resurrected was--
Valhalla Central Teleportation Tree.
"Hospital gown" is a nickname given to the beginner's outfit by players. This grayish-white patterned clothing usually only appears in two places.
However, considering that they were not prisoners, everyone unanimously chose "hospital gown" as the nickname for the newbie outfit.
As for whether they are sick or not, the players don't really care. On the contrary, many people are performing performance art here because the World of Disorder is both real (referring to the physical experience) and virtual (referring to the game). They do things that they would not dare to do in real life.
[ Howling Pothos ] had many acquaintances near the castle. As he walked along the road leading to the castle, many people stopped to watch, and some even turned back to look at his back after they had already passed by, seemingly understanding something.
Until someone asked the question that had been on everyone's mind:
" Pothos, are you dead?!"
[ Howling Pothos ] feels that the other person's problem is actually not that serious, but there is a lot of room for improvement in their wording and tone.
He nodded and said:
"Yes, I died in Fir City."
"Oh my god, this is explosive news! Where's [ Zhong Lele ]? Where did [ Zhong Lele ] go?"
"Don't bother looking for [ Zhong Lele ], she's still in Fir City."
"Where is [ the Great Wei Boxing Champion ]? Is [ the Great Wei Boxing Champion ] here?"
"He recently went to work as someone's Left and Right Arms, but they say it's kind of like a temporary job, not a secure one."
Two passing players answered the man's question, but instead of feeling frustrated, his face lit up with excitement and anticipation.
Looking around and confirming that neither the blogger who usually posts in interesting locations nor the meticulous textual critic was there, the player's expression began to grow increasingly "manic":
"Haha, [ Zhong Lele ] isn't here, and [ Great Wei Boxing Champion ] isn't here either, so I'm going to be a sensation! The world of storytelling is about to welcome its third king!"
"Why has this person suddenly gone mad?"
"I don't know, let's stay away, something seems off."
"Hurry up, hurry up!"
Most players ignored the man's madness. After all, although [ Howling Pothos ] was a pro, he didn't cheat. In this kind of game, no one can guarantee they won't die even once, so after the initial shock, everyone thought it was quite reasonable.
They didn't even intend to ask about the cause of death—in Fir City, practically every flower and blade of grass was a symbol of danger, so what was the point of asking about someone who had died?
Just when the crazed player thought he was about to gain a huge amount of traffic from interviewing [ Howling Pothos ] about his first death, he was met with a ruthless rejection:
"I'm sorry, I have something urgent to attend to right now, so I can't keep you company this time."
Having already adapted to its new body, [ Howling Pothos ] began to run.
As a top-tier player, with base attribute points primarily allocated to agility and constitution, and carrying no weight, [ Howling Pothos ] is virtually unstoppable at full speed.
Aside from those Dragonborn coachmen who pull their carriages shirtless even in the dead of winter.
Soon, [ Howling Pothos ] arrived at the foot of the castle and made an appointment to meet Ed later on the game panel.
This feature is only unlocked when the NPC and the player reach a certain level of trust. Otherwise, if Ed were to meet with players at a high intensity 24 hours a day as the number of players increases, he wouldn't have anything else to do.
The same applies to other NPCs, so as the game continues to update, the "trust level," which was initially asked by some players as to whether it could be converted into real money, has gradually become useful.
After receiving an affirmative answer, [ Howling Pothos ] quickly crossed the Inverted Staircase and arrived at the castle, where she met her long-lost guide, Son of God, and bishop in the study.
The ruler of the Second Holy See is currently swimming in a sea of documents.
There weren't actually that many government affairs he needed to handle, but all Ed wanted to do was to input some important texts into his mind for future reference.
After all, the internal storage space of this biological computer, which uses its own thoughts as the central processing unit and Little Green as the graphics processor, is almost infinite. It can even use the power of the [ Otherworldly Half ] to secretly store a large amount of information in the form of data in a corner of the Internet in another world, and quietly misappropriate the space and computing power of some giant servers.
Upon seeing the players he hadn't seen since the server launch, Ed still maintained a relaxed and confident expression. He looked up from among the numerous scrolls and greeted them warmly, asking:
"Long time no see, powerful Soul Returner. What brings you here?"
[ Howling Pothos ] sat down opposite Ed and began to recount her discoveries and actions in Fir City:
The unusually behaving yet clear-thinking Living Wood, the terms of cooperation between the two parties, Enzo's parents, currently enjoying the cold wind in the sky...
After listening to [ Howling Pothos's ] story, Ed nodded and said:
"You did the right thing. Order and justice are our principles, and you deserve to be rewarded, whether for your contribution or for your character."
Ed waved his hand gently, and a map of the area surrounding the castle unfolded before [ Howling Pothos ]:
"The areas marked in green are all optional. You can choose a piece of land of the same size as before as Enzo's family's new home. Before they arrive, professional Soul Returner will complete this part of the construction. I will also have the Pure Ones and Soul Returner help with the follow-up matters, including concealing their identities."
I see, this is a special storyline.
Ed chose to help himself and even made that promise.
This means that even if I leave later, this storyline, which originally did not exist, will still continue to run logically and consistently.
Someone will send Enzo's family to Valhalla;
Someone will build a wooden house in advance on the area he chooses;
Someone will describe to them a priest who works tirelessly in the new city and surrounding towns, until the child who had become Living Wood returns to human form and comes back to them.
[ Howling Pothos ] pondered thoughtfully. He had only intended to report this matter to Ed, but the extent to which Ed took it seriously exceeded his expectations.
However, the NPCs in this game have always been exceptionally intelligent. Some of them can even understand the unspoken meanings in the players' daily conversations, and some have even mastered real-world languages (although most of what they know are swear words).
This development was indeed unexpected, but it was also quite reasonable.
Overwhelmed with gratitude, [ Howling Pothos ] rose with a delighted expression and said to Ed:
"Thank you for your generosity. I will go and escort Enzo and his family now."