The Dark Archmage walked alone on the path south of the ancient castle.
Calling it a road isn't entirely accurate, because the castle is surrounded by open fields where people have long been able to go wherever they want. At this moment, she was simply choosing to take a straight line to shorten the time it would take to reach the dense forest.
As the surrounding crowd gradually disappeared, her initial nervousness slowly eased.
As an abstract socially awkward person, [ Dark Archmage ] enjoys playing games and has good skills, but always adheres to the principle of not using her microphone if possible. This has led many of her gaming friends to believe that she is a tough and taciturn older brother.
However, Ed added a mandatory question about gender to the closed beta questionnaire for " World of Disorder," and by limiting the options to only two, he eliminated those who wanted to play as a male character playing a female character or vice versa.
For a ghost that can freely roam the internet, this is not difficult to do.
Ed did this for two reasons: first, the questionnaire already included a prompt to "fill in truthfully," and second, for a fully immersive game, this method of assigning usernames might cause unnecessary trouble.
At this moment, the [ Dark Archmage ] was still faced with the beginner quest prompt box, but she had not accepted any quests.
Her idea was simple: the land reclamation task recommended the physique attribute, and her base four dimensions were "4484", with physique being the highest tier. However, she had no interest in hoeing the earth.
Aside from the reclamation task that she would never choose, the remaining two tasks are essentially the same to her abstract panel, since both Strength and Agility are 4 points each.
As for the "Recommended Attributes" tips following the three tasks, the [ Dark Archmage ] paid them no heed.
This is just a suggestion, so why can't I just ignore it?
At this moment, she already had a plan in mind. If the gathering was relatively easy, she would prioritize gathering it; if she encountered Vine Sheep first, she would kill the monsters first. In short, she planned to confirm which task she could complete quickly before accepting it.
After all, shooting the arrow first and then drawing the target is the true secret to guaranteeing a bullseye.
Soon, the [ Dark Archmage ] spotted a fruit on a branch of a tree ahead. The fruit's color scheme resembled that of an apple in the real world, but the bumps on its surface seemed irregular, giving one an instinctive sense of unease.
The fruit reflected the sunlight, and for a moment, it even made her feel a surge of appetite.
"Gurgle."
The Dark Archmage swallowed hard, unconsciously taking a step forward. She was ready to pick the fruit, pick this one, then the next, and the next, and so on...
[Willpower assessment passed; you have been exempted from this negative effect.]
The light green text, representing safety, suddenly appeared in the [ Dark Archmage's ] field of vision. Her eyes instantly fell on the text, and at the same time, she felt the clarity that followed her initial confusion.
Having considerable gaming experience, the [ Dark Archmage ] already understood what she had encountered. If everything were normal, she would never have been so eager for that fruit, especially since her stamina bar in the upper left corner of her vision was still over 90%, and she didn't actually feel any hunger.
She glanced at her panel and realized that even with only 4 points of Willpower, she was immune to this influence, so it seemed that the plant's influence wasn't strong enough.
I wonder if other players know about this monster...
[ Dark Archmage ] initially intended to inform the other players, but then instantly changed his mind.
The thought of communicating with others triggers an instinctive resistance in her.
However, a good alternative soon emerged: [ Dark Archmage ] decided to check the encyclopedia for a corresponding entry after finishing today's content.
Although I'm not very good at communicating with people, editing text isn't difficult for me.
With that in mind, [ Dark Archmage ] decided to film the monster for later uploading.
But just then, a sheep's bleat came from beside her:
"Meow~"
The Dark Archmage turned his head and saw a strange-looking sheep not far away.
Although they were very similar to sheep in real life, she still keenly noticed the differences between them.
Some emerald green vines peeked out from beneath the gray wool, occasionally stretching and curling in random directions before retracting back into the sheep's body.
Hmm~
The Dark Archmage's face showed a troubled expression. No wonder this game forces adults to play; this monster in the beginner village alone is enough to deter and scare a large number of children.
Just as she was about to attack the Vine Sheep, the sheep-like monster bleated twice more, then looked up at the brightly colored fruit on the branch above.
Then, the monster walked step by step toward the big tree.
Although this is [ Dark Archmage's ] first time playing " World of Disorder," it's not the first time he's played this type of game.
She quickly turned on the recording function, no longer disturbing the Vine Sheep's food gathering, and chose to be a quiet observer.
The Vine Sheep clearly exhibits some characteristics of goats, and one of the main characteristics of goats is their ability to climb.
Tempted by the fruit on the branches, the seemingly docile sheep nimbly leaped onto the sloping tree trunk and began climbing higher and higher.
As the tree grows taller, its trunk becomes thinner and its angle of inclination increases.
Just when the [ Dark Archmage ] thought the Vine Sheep was about to slip and fall, its vines instantly extended out, helping it grab two other thin branches to stabilize itself, and then it continued upwards, getting closer and closer to the delicious fruit.
Holy crap, there's a cheater!
The Dark Archmage exclaimed inwardly, but this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, it was better to die for a friend than for herself; she could at least see what the fruit actually did.
Soon, the Vine Sheep reached the exceptionally thick and long horizontal branch, stretched its neck with all its might, and finally bit the fruit into its mouth.
Having seemingly tasted some exquisite ingredient, the monster, using the vines to stabilize itself, began to bite at the second, then the third...
"Bang!"
As it bit into the fifth fruit, the vines that were holding it steady suddenly slackened, and the sheep plummeted from the height, crashing heavily to the ground without bleating or struggling.
Blood flowed from the monster's mouth and nose; it was unclear whether it was due to poisoning or internal injuries from the fall.
The Dark Archmage drew a short spear from her waist and cautiously approached with light steps. The sheep-like monster looked at her, its mouth opening as if it wanted to taste her.
Looking at the still-breathing monster, the [ Dark Archmage ] silently accepted quest three from the quest log, and then--
I'll poke!
[New player quest - Integrate into the World) has been completed]
Your courage and strength have impressed the entire world. I believe you now have a certain understanding of this world. Welcome to the World of Disorder, Soul Returner. We will forever fight for the new order.
Please go to Guide Ed to collect your beginner quest rewards.
Note: The guide NPC will collect monster drops for a fee.
Looking at the quest completion screen in front of him, the [ Dark Archmage ] subconsciously pointed to himself.
Courage and strength?
Me?