From their words just now, Lilith already understood the players' intentions.
She pondered for a moment. Since the God-Chosen Ones wanted to go, they might as well go together, and she could travel with them.
Besides, Windhaven Town was indeed free of any danger, and it was also protected by a defensive barrier.
With this in mind, she nodded gently and granted the God-Chosen Ones' request.
“Yay! Long live Miss Lilith!”
“I knew Miss Lilith was beautiful and kind-hearted!”
“I love her so much! If you ever need any help in the future, Miss Lilith, just say the word! I'll go through fire and water for you!”
The players instantly burst into cheers, their mouths sweet as honey as they frantically showered her with flattery.
Standing to the side, Nan Cheng couldn't help but chuckle at the scene, the corners of his mouth curving upward unconsciously.
He actually felt a little smug inside:
I'm still the one with the most face. While others are busy brown-nosing, I only had to ask casually and Lilith agreed. This special treatment, tsk tsk.
If the surrounding players could hear his thoughts, they would definitely complain in unison:
Brother Cheng! Have some shame!
You're the only one in the entire server who hangs out in the temple every single day to farm favorability! You're the ultimate NPC bootlicker, alright? How do you have the nerve to mock us!
Bruce didn't think that much. He just sighed with emotion in his heart: It's still best to follow Brother Cheng. Although Miss Lilith doesn't think much of me, she likes Brother Cheng! I'm basically basking in his reflected glory.
Soon, the teleportation array was packed with players wanting to go to Windhaven Town, each of them beaming with excitement.
Nan Cheng swept his gaze over the crowd and quickly spotted several familiar figures.
“Hao Bai?” He raised an eyebrow.
Not far away, Hao Bai also saw Nan Cheng and gave him a slight nod.
Standing beside Hao Bai were the other members of his party.
Little Star and Momozi were both there, and the party had also gained two new faces: a cute, well-behaved girl dressed as a Priest, and a cold, aloof Mage player.
Right now, Little Star and Momozi were chatting with the Priest girl, gesturing excitedly as they spoke.
Bruce also noticed Hao Bai's party and was instantly delighted. He squeezed his way over familiarly, calling out from afar:
“Yo! Big Boss Hao Bai! Long time no see!”
“And the purple afro and the white-haired kid!”
He couldn't help but tease.
But teasing aside, Bruce was actually quite surprised. He hadn't expected Hao Bai's party to recruit a Priest girl; it didn't really fit Hao Bai's personality.
What kind of party was Hao Bai's?
They were a top-tier party, the absolute ceiling of the server. Every single member was an extreme grinder with peak mechanics, and their mob-farming efficiency crushed everyone else.
Moreover, as the first party on the server to trigger a main quest, their levels were in the server's top tier. They shouldn't have recruited a deadweight.
It wasn't that he discriminated against female players; it was simply that he knew the farming pace of Hao Bai's party.
Everyone in their party was a hard-core grinder with maximum playtime!
Sometimes, when he logged off, he would still see Momozi online. A female player might not be able to adapt to the party's intense pace.
As for why Bruce had Momozi on his friend list, they had naturally added each other after the first main quest. Having gone through a life-and-death experience together, Bruce was very familiar with Momozi and the others.
Hearing that punchable voice and the nickname "purple afro," Momozi's mouth twitched on the spot.
He looked toward the source of the voice and immediately spotted that signature yellow mushroom head. He said grumpily, “Bruce? Why are you here too?”
Though he sounded annoyed, he wasn't actually surprised.
News that Windhaven Town had an ocean and allegedly mermaids had already spread like wildfire. As an old-school player from the first beta, this guy was bound to join in on the fun.
What's more, Bruce was the vice guild leader of Dawn Covenant, and their guild leader, Nan Cheng, was a frequent visitor to the temple and a favorite of Lilith's. Their information was more up-to-date than anyone else's, so it was completely normal for them to camp out at the teleportation array early.
Sweeping his gaze backward, Momozi indeed spotted Nan Cheng in the crowd, and even caught a glimpse of Lilith standing at the very front, as well as Bing Lin, Energetic Foxfox, and other familiar faces.
Bruce squeezed in front of the two of them and grinned. “Are you guys going to Windhaven Town to see the ocean too? Let me tell you some insider info—there really are mermaids in the sea! It's a sure thing!”
Momozi nodded first.
Their party was indeed here for the new seaside map. However, seeing the ocean was just a side benefit; their real purpose was to explore the uncharted territory and see what wild monsters were there.
Although there were plenty of magical beasts in Starfall Forest—enough to go around even with the influx of new players from the second beta—the map was simply too large. For one, the magical beasts rarely gathered in groups, and even when they did, their levels weren't high. Farming them was not only inefficient, but the experience points they provided were also meager, which was no longer enough to satisfy this group of top-tier grinders.
Since they heard there was an ocean to the east of Windhaven Town, following standard MMORPG conventions, aquatic magical beasts would generally be higher level and offer fatter experience points. Naturally, they had to come and try their luck.
Yeah, just like in a certain Soul Land, if they could encounter a "hundred-thousand-year soul beast" in the sea, they'd hit the jackpot. As for whether they could beat it, they'd only know after fighting.
Even if they couldn't, worst-case scenario they'd just run away. Their main philosophy was to be bold and daring.
As for a "million-year soul beast"... well, if they met one, they'd just die right then and there to show them.
But then Momozi noticed the second half of Bruce's sentence and raised an eyebrow. “Mermaids? How are you so sure there are mermaids in the sea?”
He couldn't help but ask in surprise, “Did Brother Cheng tell you?”
“No, no, no!” Bruce tilted his head back with pride, looking smug. “This is insider info I dug up from Miss Lilith herself!”
“For real?!” Little Star's eyes instantly lit up, and he yanked on Momozi's arm. “See, see! I told you there would be!”
Momozi's mouth twitched, wearing a face that said "yeah, keep dreaming":
“Cut it out. Others might not know, but do you think I don't? Just how good could your relationship with Miss Lilith possibly be?”
Although he rarely interacted with NPCs, he had still heard some rumors about Bruce.
The player circle was only so big. When they chatted around the plaza bonfires at night, what gossip wouldn't spread?
The legendary scene of Bruce failing to hit on Lilith had already been told as a joke eight hundred times.
The smug smile on Bruce's face instantly froze, and he immediately became displeased, retorting:
“Nonsense! My relationship with Miss Lilith is great! It's just that I'm a sincere person and don't like to deliberately farm favorability! Although Miss Lilith didn't say it outright, based on my deduction, there's a hundred percent chance of mermaids by the sea!”
“Yes, yes, yes, your deduction is brilliant.” Momozi rolled his eyes, clearly not buying it.
Bruce was choked with anger but couldn't refute it, so he could only pout resentfully.
He stopped dwelling on it and turned to look at the Priest girl standing beside Momozi and Little Star.
The Priest girl was also sizing Bruce up with curiosity.
Bruce's interest was instantly piqued.
He nudged Momozi with his elbow, winking and grinning mischievously. “Not bad, your party. When did you secretly recruit a girl? That's not very cool of you.”
Momozi pushed his arm away with a look of disgust:
“What are you thinking? This is our party leader's biological younger sister. She just joined the second beta.”
Little Star reacted quickly. Stepping forward, he shielded the Priest girl behind him and glared at Bruce warily:
“I'm warning you, Bruce, don't even think about poaching her! Your forum post about recruiting girls to your guild has already been thoroughly roasted. Keep your hands off our party!”
He had seen Bruce's post on the forum about "recruiting female players to the guild."
The title was incredibly flashy—Dawn Covenant Guild Sincerely Recruiting All Kinds of Ladies! Food and Lodging Provided, Guaranteed Carries!
It looked sketchy at first glance!
Bruce: “...”
He opened his mouth, momentarily unsure how to explain that he was just asking out of curiosity. He then gave a sheepish laugh. “How could I? I was just showing some concern for you guys.”
Little Star: “If I didn't misread your expression just now, you clearly wanted to poach her.”
“I did not!”
“You did!”
“I really didn't!”
“Every time you laugh like that, you're one hundred percent plotting something.”
Bruce touched his face. “...When did I laugh like that?”
“You just did!”
Momozi standing nearby with his arms crossed, had a relaxed "watching a drama" look on his face.
Hao Bai, on the other hand, gave Bruce a flat glance. His gaze was ordinary, but it carried an inherent pressure.
“...Alright, alright, I'm done messing with you guys.” Sensing the mood, Bruce took a step back and shrugged. “Am I really that kind of person? We're a respectable guild!”
Momozi: “The question you just asked was highly unrespectable.”
“That's called curiosity! Curiosity, do you get it!”
“Oh, curiosity.” Momozi dragged out the word "curiosity" before turning to the Priest girl behind him. “Be careful of this guy. Every time he gets 'curious,' something bad happens.”
The Priest girl blinked, looking at Momozi and then at Bruce, and nodded as if she half-understood.
Bruce: “...”
Since when has my reputation been this bad? I'm clearly very reliable, okay!
Rate on N.U.
