“This is brutal. Having to squeeze through a crowd just to accept a quest is way too hardcore. What's it gonna be like when open beta hits...”
Nan Cheng couldn't help but complain, though the excitement on his face didn't fade in the slightest.
“Hahaha, I'm dying! Bro Cheng is getting pushed around like a punching bag!”
“Pfft, why is this so funny?”
“Haha, sorry Bro Cheng, I wouldn't laugh unless I couldn't help it!”
“To be fair, this really is a bit too hardcore. Making it too realistic has its downsides.”
“Wait, if it's this realistic, can you take a dump in the game?”
“Holy crap, Gan, are you a genius or what?!”
“Hold on! Don't laugh! I actually just came up with a great idea.”
“Oh no, the Idea King has entered the chat!”
The live stream chat was filled with laughter and banter.
Nan Cheng also caught the teasing comments floating across his chat.
His face darkened, and he quickly gave a tactical cough.
“Ahem, alright, guys, let's bring our attention back to the game itself. I've successfully accepted a quest, so let me show you what it is.”
He opened his quest log and displayed the newly accepted game quest to his stream viewers:
【Daily Quest: Chop Down Trees, Gather Timber】
【Quest Description: The repair of the temple and the construction of houses require basic materials. Industrious God-Chosen Ones, venture into the forest to gather timber!】
【Quest Reward: 50–100 EXP (Varies based on quantity and quality of wood submitted)】
【Level Requirement: None】
“A classic starter quest—resource gathering. Makes sense,” Nan Cheng said, nodding in evaluation. “Though this EXP reward range... it's pretty stingy, isn't it? Looks like I'll have to haul more logs and aim for higher quality.”
With that, he followed the quest marker and headed toward the forest.
Along the way, many players who had accepted the quest grouped up and traveled together.
The moment he stepped into the forest, Nan Cheng was awestruck once again.
Towering ancient trees blocked out most of the sunlight, leaving only dappled spots of light scattered across the leaf-covered ground.
Unfamiliar birds chirped melodiously among the leaves, while low, distant growls—whether from wild beasts or something else—echoed faintly.
The air was damp and fresh, carrying the distinct scent of earth, decaying leaves, and foliage. Taking a deep breath felt like his lungs were being purified.
He reached out to touch the tree bark and immediately pulled back from its rough, abrasive texture, nearly getting pricked by a splinter.
“Holy shit, this is way too real!”
Nan Cheng couldn't resist grabbing a handful of grass. The soft, pillowy texture felt no different from reality.
“If I didn't tell anyone, who would believe this is a game? Did I actually get transported to another world?!”
After marveling for a moment, he forcibly suppressed his awe. “Forget it, let me finish the quest first. Leveling up is top priority.”
He prepared to get to work.
Just then, a voice filled with surprise shouted near his ear:
“Bro Cheng?! Holy shit! It really is you, Bro Cheng?!”
Startled, Nan Cheng whirled around.
Standing there was a player with a prominent yellow mushroom haircut, bearing the name Bruce above his head, staring at him with glowing eyes.
“It's me! Bruce! I got into the closed beta too! I even told you in the fan group that I wanted to team up!”
Bruce eagerly leaned in, his fluffy yellow mushroom hair bobbing with every movement.
“Bruce? Oh, it's you.”
Hearing that, Nan Cheng recalled the exchange. There indeed had been such a conversation.
Meanwhile, in the live stream chat:
“Pfft, what is with that mushroom head?”
“Oh no, the guy actually found his squad!”
“Damn it, why am I not the one playing with Bro Cheng?”
“Haha, this is hilarious.”
“Bro Cheng, carry him! I want to see Mushroom Head chop trees (doge).”
“...”
Ignoring the chat's teasing, Nan Cheng asked Bruce, “Did you get the tree-chopping quest too?”
“You bet!” Bruce nodded vigorously before leaning in and lowering his voice secretively. “Bro Cheng, let me tell you, I drew an awesome skill. It's ridiculously good for chopping trees, totally kick-ass!”
“Oh?” Nan Cheng was intrigued.
Without hesitation, Bruce walked straight up to an ancient tree as thick as two men embracing.
He took a deep breath, drew the wooden longsword at his waist, struck a cool pose, and shouted:
“Cross Slash!”
As his voice echoed, the wooden sword in his hands swung rapidly in two intersecting arcs!
In an instant, two faintly glowing, X-shaped energy blades materialized in the air, flying through the atmosphere with a sharp whistle and slamming solidly into the trunk!
CRACK—!
With a heavy thud, wood splinters flew everywhere!
The massive tree shook violently, emitting a nerve-grating creak. Under the stunned gazes of Nan Cheng and the stream audience, it slowly toppled over with immense force, crashing onto the ground with a loud BOOM. The earth trembled slightly, sending countless birds fluttering into the sky.
Bruce: “...??!”
Nan Cheng: “...!”
Live Stream Chat: “...!!!”
Silence fell over the area for three full seconds.
“Holy—shit—!!!” Bruce was dumbfounded, bursting out in profanity. “This is Cross Slash?! The skill I pulled is this crazy?! I thought it would just leave a couple of small scratches!”
Nan Cheng was equally speechless. It took him a while to recover, swallowing hard. “These skill visual effects... the budget is burning!”
He had clearly seen the trajectory of the energy blades, the intricate detail of the splintering wood, the physical collision of the falling trunk, and the shower of flying leaves—it was unreal in its realism.
Meanwhile, Nan Cheng's live stream chat had plunged into equal shock, the screen overwhelmed with spammed comments:
“Holy shit?!”
“Ahhh, that was insanely cool!!”
“Outrageous! Look at those special effects! Look at that impact feel!”
“The skill FX in this game are god-tier! A ten-thousand times better than the cheap fifty-cent effects in those xianxia games!”
“Hiss?! Is the simulation really that realistic? I literally saw a few birds fly away from the falling tree while singing!”
“??? Are you sure they weren't swearing?”
“Birds: 'Who the hell did I offend?' (holding back laughter)”
“...”
Nan Cheng instantly felt a surge of motivation. With visual stimulation like this, even doing grunt labor felt like playing a Musou game!
“Awesome! Bruce, with your skill, our efficiency is going to be top-notch! Let's do this!”
“Let's go!” Bruce cheered, his blood boiling with excitement.
...
However, reality quickly crushed their high expectations.
About an hour later.
In the forest, two figures collapsed against the base of a tree, gasping for breath.
Nan Cheng wiped the sweat from his forehead. His clothes were soaked through, and his face was flushed bright red.
Bruce's mushroom hair hung limp and drooping as he leaned against the tree, groaning softly, barely able to hold his wooden sword.
Beside them lay a pitiful pile of only five or six felled trees.
“I can't... I really can't... Not a single drop left...” Bruce whimpered weakly. “This skill consumes way too much MP. Using it three times completely drains my mana. My arms are like jelly now, I can barely cut down a sapling.”
“The two of us are still way too slow,” Nan Cheng agreed wholeheartedly, struggling to his feet. “We need to recruit people and assemble a logging team.”
“Makes sense...” Bruce climbed up as well.
Griting his teeth as he stared at the pile of timber, Nan Cheng channeled his remaining sliver of mana to cast Strength Amplification on himself. He then hoisted a log onto each shoulder.
“Let's go back and turn this batch in first, and recruit people at the temple plaza while we're at it!”
Bruce followed suit, hoisting two logs onto his shoulders and stumbling after him. “OK! Bro Cheng... wait for me...”
One after the other, carrying heavy logs, they shuffled haltingly toward the temple, their departing backs practically oozing the hardship and obstinacy of beginner players.
Rate on N.U.
