Time quickly arrived at the next day.
"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous, just treat it like playing a scripted roleplay game."
Leon patted his own face, trying to make his expression appear more natural.
In his past life, he had never been good at socializing, let alone now having to act as an NPC and interact with players. This made him extremely nervous, afraid that the players would see through his act.
"Creation Points are starting to be spent, it seems someone is already creating their character."
Creation Points were also part of Leon's cheat ability. They had many functions, one of which was creating the players' bodies.
The mission panel only projected the consciousness of players from BlueStar, it did not provide physical bodies.
Creating the players' bodies required spending Creation Points. Leon would receive a certain amount of Creation Points every day. The larger his territory and the more prosperous it became, the more Creation Points he would gain.
Conversely, if his territory was damaged or occupied, the Creation Points he received daily would decrease. If his territory was completely taken over, he would stop receiving Creation Points entirely.
Right now, Leon's territory had not been occupied by others, but it had suffered significant damage, so the amount of Creation Points he received daily was limited. This was also why he restricted the number of beta testers.
"Young master, the reception room has been cleaned up, and the servants have all been sent away. You may summon those guests from the divine realm now."
Walter said respectfully as he requested instructions.
Earlier this morning, when Leon told him that he needed two large rooms to summon guests from the divine realm, Walter thought Leon had hit his head too hard when he fell into the water.
But when Leon conjured a bag of food out of thin air, Walter began to half believe him.
According to Leon, while drowning, he had received divine revelation. The Creator God had granted him the power to summon guests from the divine realm. These guests were immortal and had come to help them develop the territory.
Though Walter was skeptical, he couldn't explain how the bag of food had appeared. So for now, he followed Leon's orders and prepared the reception room.
"This matter absolutely cannot be known by a third person. If it reaches the ears of those fanatics from the Temple of the Sea God, there will definitely be trouble." Leon warned again.
He had considered using the miracle of summoning players to boost morale, but the entire Kingdom of Nord worshipped the Sea God Lugia.
His territory had previously had a church of the Sea God, but it was destroyed by the beast tide, and the bishop had died in battle.
However, a new bishop would soon arrive to rebuild the church. If they found out Leon could summon guests from the divine realm, they would definitely "invite" him to the Temple of the Sea God for a thorough investigation.
"Understood. I swear upon my honor and life that I will not leak even a single word." Walter said solemnly.
"No need to be so serious. Of course I trust you. I'll head to the reception room now. Please guard the castle entrance for me."
"As you command!"
Meanwhile, Ethan Carter had already put on his helmet early and was waiting for the countdown to end.
Yesterday, after Dylan returned home, he also clicked on the reservation link, and a helmet was delivered to his doorstep.
But he didn't see who delivered the package either. The security camera footage had frozen at that exact moment.
Ethan didn't believe it was a coincidence. It didn't freeze earlier or later, but precisely when the package was being delivered.
This made him even more convinced about the game. If they could do something this incredible, developing a full virtual reality game didn't seem impossible.
"...3, 2, 1, 0."
As the countdown ended, Ethan began to feel drowsy, and his vision faded into darkness.
Suddenly, a beam of light pierced through the darkness, forcing him to open his eyes.
"Holy shit! Why the hell am I in the sky?!"
Ethan looked around in panic. He was floating mid air, with a dense forest beneath him.
"Hey, hey, wait! Why am I moving on my own?!"
Before he could react, his body uncontrollably plummeted downward.
"I'm scared of heights, goddammit! Aaaaaah!"
Just as he was about to crash into the ground, his body suddenly stopped and began gliding through the forest.
"I can actually phase through these trees. So I'm still in soul form? Is this the opening cutscene?"
Ethan slowly realized he didn't have a physical body yet. If that was the case, then what was there to be afraid of? He began observing his surroundings with interest.
"The lighting! The texture of the trees! Even the ripples in the water! It all looks so real! Holy shit, this game is insane!"
Even though he couldn't touch anything yet, the visuals alone were enough to blow his mind.
"Are these strange creatures the Pokémon the game mentioned?"
"Damn, that caterpillar is huge! That beetle is massive too! And are those two birds fighting? Their wings look small, but the wind they're kicking up is insane!"
Before Ethan could get a closer look, he flew out of the forest and arrived at a town.
"This town has a medieval Western architecture vibe. Is this still a feudal society? There are a lot of NPCs, and they all look different. The game's attention to detail is amazing! What company even has this kind of capability?"
While he was thinking, Ethan had already flown above the town's castle. Then, text appeared before his eyes.
[Welcome to the world of Pokémon. Before you begin your adventure, please create your character.]
[What is your name?]
"SilentTongue"
[Character name confirmed.]
[Please design your body and appearance.]
A figure appeared in front of Ethan, looking exactly like him. He could freely adjust details like body type and facial features.
"Alright, time for the annoying character customization. Manually adjusting every detail is such a pain. Just randomize changes by 10%."
"Too bad I can't change genders. Would've been fun to try a female character."
[Character creation complete. Begin your adventure in the world of Pokémon. We wish you a pleasant journey.]
"Then put me down already! Wait—don't tell me you're gonna—oh goddammit!"
Before Ethan could finish speaking, his body plummeted again, and his consciousness faded into darkness.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on the ground, his back feeling cold.
"Cold?! Aren't I in a game? Unless..."
Ethan abruptly sat up, first touching the ground, then taking a deep breath.
"Holy shit! The touch! The smell! It's exactly like real life! This really is a virtual reality game!"
The fact that it felt completely real made it feel unreal to him. Had technology advanced this far already? Why hadn't there been any news about it before?
The two other players who woke up with him were equally shocked.
"No way! It's actually a full immersion game with all five senses! I've only read about this in web novels, never thought I'd get to play one!"
"Am I dreaming?! Ouch—it even hurts!" One player pinched his own arm hard, then kept rubbing it in pain.
"Dylan?" Ethan looked at the player rubbing his arm.
"Ethan? Why do you look different?"
"Did you not customize your face? You look exactly like in real life."
"Why would I? I'm already perfect. Changing even a single detail would ruin it!"
Ethan stared at Dylan's proud expression, his lips twitching.
"Man, this game is insane. It's way too realistic. If your name wasn't floating above your head, I'd think you were an NPC."
"Seriously, I can't believe a game can be this advanced." The other player chimed in. "Hey, nice to meet you. My in game name is [LeafKnowsFall]. You can just call me Leaf."
Seeing that Ethan and Dylan seemed to know each other, Leaf introduced himself first.
"LeafKnowsFall? Sounds like a pro gamer's name. I'm [LastNightwind], just call me Wind."
"I'm [SilentTongue], you can call me—"
Before Ethan could finish, the reception room's door opened.
A man in a black suit walked in, holding a purple creature in his arms.
The three players all looked at him curiously, about to speak, but the man cut them off.
"Welcome, guests from the divine realm. I know you must have many questions, but before I explain, please put some clothes on!"
Leon looked at the three completely naked men in front of him, feeling deeply exasperated. He had prepared clothes and even waited outside for a while. How did he still walk in to see three dangling... objects?
"Don't look, child. You'll get an eye infection."
Leon quickly covered Bounsweet's eyes.
"Boun?"
(End of Chapter)