I Became the Blacksmith NPC

Lonely as a Song had been living pretty comfortably lately. Acting as a human storage unit for both Big Dumb Duck and Night's Gentle Chill had been decent money — the only downside was that after a few days, quite a few players had started mistaking him for an NPC standing at the dungeon entrance. But that job was wrapping up today. Both Big Dumb Duck and Night's Gentle Chill had successfully obtained their Guild Establishment Permits, so he could finally log off and rest. That said, just before he logged out, an old man suddenly approached him.

"Little one, I've been watching you for several days now. Everyone else is out there grinding hard — why are you just handing out stuff over here?"

Since Night's Gentle Chill and Big Dumb Duck had paid him upfront, from an outsider's perspective he looked like someone giving away equipment and potions for free at the dungeon entrance. But there was no need to explain all that to a stranger.

"Well, my friends are in there pioneering new content, so I'm just helping out with support work. Logistics matter too, you know," Lonely as a Song replied with a smile.

"Oh?" The old man studied Lonely as a Song carefully after hearing that. "It's rare to find someone willing to do all this without complaint. Young man, don't you want to become stronger?"

Stronger — of course Lonely as a Song wanted that. But he'd already combed through every corner of the Starter Village. Aside from Liu the Blacksmith's place, he hadn't found a single hidden quest. His own skills were average, and he didn't have money like Night's Gentle Chill and the others. After a while, he'd made peace with it — better to earn more real money so life outside the game could be a little more comfortable.

But since the old man had asked, Lonely as a Song put on a thoughtful expression and answered, "Of course I do. But I think you can't rush these things — it's all about steady, step-by-step progress. And someone has to do the unglamorous work. If I can't be the bright flower, being a green leaf isn't so bad either."

That wasn't what Lonely as a Song truly felt, but based on the past few days of observation, this old man's way of speaking was clearly different from other players.

Sure enough, the moment he said that, the old man smiled with satisfaction.

"Not bad, not bad. That kind of temperament is truly rare. Young man, would you be interested in learning some rudimentary techniques from I, an old fellow?"

It's finally here!

Lonely as a Song's heart leapt with excitement, and at the same moment a system notification popped up before his eyes.

[Fist Demon Chen Sanpiao wishes to take you as a disciple! Note: Your current class is Warrior. If accepted, your class will change to Fist Master.]

Lonely as a Song's whole body trembled. He'd thought it would just be a hidden quest — he never expected it to be a hidden class! Wasn't this just like Sunny Sky? He hadn't witnessed it himself, but he'd heard that Night's Gentle Chill had spent over nine hundred thousand yuan on Sunny Sky. That alone showed just how coveted a hidden class was. After all, he'd been standing at the dungeon entrance as a "little storage manager," and Night's Gentle Chill and Big Dumb Duck had each only paid him ten thousand yuan — though that wasn't a small sum either…

He confirmed immediately. The next second, the scene before him shifted, and he found himself inside a Secret Realm.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the other side, Liu Kongkong — who had just obtained the Guild Establishment Permit — slipped on his ring the instant he exited the dungeon, took one step forward, and returned to the Starter Village.

"Alright, that wraps things up here for now." Liu Kongkong stretched lazily. He'd expected it to be a simple dungeon run, but instead he'd been told all sorts of strange things.

As for what the Void Lord had said before he left, Liu Kongkong showed no outward reaction — but he'd quietly filed it away in his mind.

He also realized something: his current strength was still far from enough.

Before he'd left, the Void Lord had said that inside the dungeon, Liu Kongkong was no match for him — which meant that outside the dungeon, or on the Xingye Continent, he might not be so lucky. The Scorpion-Tailed Lion had mentioned something similar before.

"Looks like I'm still pretty weak. The outside world might be genuinely dangerous. The most pressing thing right now is to keep getting stronger."

He glanced at the time — it was about time to log off and rest. He exited the game.

Climbing out of the Game Pod, he found the room unchanged.

"Looks like taking off the ring inside the game doesn't affect reality. That's a relief." He reached into the box and pulled out five packs of instant noodles. He was starving after logging off — felt like he could eat a whole cow.

While cooking the instant noodles, he checked his account balance. His biggest earnings today had come from those 2,000 sets of Parting Armor. Even at 50 silver per piece, with five pieces per set, that came out to 5,000 gold. By Liu Kongkong's original calculations, selling 5,000 gold should have netted him over four million yuan — but when he went to the trading exchange to sell, he discovered the exchange rate had already dropped to 5 yuan per silver coin…

For a newly launched game, it was perfectly normal for the in-game currency exchange rate to be inflated in the first few days. But the speed of this devaluation was clearly impossible to explain by player count growth alone.

"Could it be that outside the Starter Village, in-game currency is really easy to earn?"

As of today, at least dozens to hundreds of Starter Villages had already opened teleportation arrays to the Xingye Continent. With nearly ten thousand players per Starter Village, that meant close to a million players were already out there. If the rewards outside were multiplied many times over, that would explain things.

He finished cooking the instant noodles, picked up the bowl, and opened the official Hunt Heaven forums, hoping to find some information about the Xingye Continent. But the search results were almost useless — most people who'd gone out there just marveled at how vast the game map was and how bustling the cities were, with few actual replies. Meanwhile, the hottest topic on the forums was still the "Little Trumpets" — except now there was more than one.

The first and most prominent was still Little Trumpet Long Wind. Liu Kongkong glanced at his recent posts.

[Who Will Claim the First Clear of Starter Village No. 0113? Night's Gentle Chill's Team Brings in the Strongest Outside Help — Will a Hidden Class Decide the Final Winner?]

[Unexpected Discovery! The Person Big Dumb Duck Likes Most Is Actually Me? Your Humble Correspondent Finds Himself in a Bit of a Bind.]

And the last post, published this noon:

[I Hereby Formally Apologize to Both Big Dumb Duck and Night's Gentle Chill's Teams!!]

Clearly, once both sides had finished with the dungeon, they hadn't gone easy on him.

He closed Long Wind's profile and another "Little Trumpet" popped up.

[Divine Twilight Guild Leader Left-Hand Blade Announces He Will Formally Declare War on Dawn Verdict on Behalf of the Entire Guild!]

Oh? Something interesting to watch?

Liu Kongkong slurped a mouthful of instant noodles and clicked on the post — and nearly choked when he saw the poster's ID.

"Little Trumpet No. 0094 (Honored Master Long Wind) — this guy is actually taking disciples now!"

He skimmed the post. The gist was that Left-Hand Blade was furious about Big Dumb Duck snatching the first guild spot, and was putting out an all-network call for information on Dawn Verdict's location, along with a breakdown of Divine Twilight's current scale.

"…Divine Twilight has currently assembled over 5,500 players. Guild average level is 21. Members include several hidden class players (the guild leader won't let me say how many). If you have any information about the Dawn Verdict guild, please contact Guild Leader Left-Hand Blade — he will offer a cash reward. Note: Make sure you contact him, not me. I have no money."

Looks like Divine Twilight is dead set on picking a fight with Big Dumb Duck. Though that guild has a lot of people. Liu Kongkong thought back — Big Dumb Duck's entire crew probably only numbered a little over a thousand.

He closed the post and kept scrolling.

"How many disciples has this guy taken?"

Staring at another ID — Little Trumpet No. 1011 (Honored Master Long Wind) — Liu Kongkong was momentarily stunned.

[All Members of the Star Expedition Corps Have Assembled Two Kilometers Outside Hezi Town and Will Attempt to Launch an Attack on Hezi Town Tonight!]

Star Expedition Corps? That guild that kills NPCs? They just got out of the Starter Village and they're already going to war against an NPC town?!

He clicked it open.

"…Your humble correspondent had the honor of interviewing Star Expedition Corps Guild Leader Pure Love Invincible. The following are the Guild Leader's exact words (he insisted they be written down verbatim):

[Recently I've seen many players on the forums criticizing our guild. But I want to say — there are many ways to play a game. The fact that Hunt Heaven allows us to kill NPCs means it's a valid playstyle. In the future, the Star Expedition Corps will continue to conquer NPC villages and towns, and even cities. As long as the system permits it, we will keep seizing more territory. To those who think what we're doing is wrong, I can only say: friend, don't let a game make a fool of you. Additionally, the Star Expedition Corps is still recruiting — all like-minded players are welcome to join. Bleeding hearts need not apply; I'd rather not have you making me sick.]

"Note: The above statements have nothing to do with me personally, and I offer no opinion on them. — Little Trumpet No. 1011."

A bit arrogant. Liu Kongkong glanced at the comments — some people were cursing them out, others were cheering them on, and eventually both sides had devolved into a full-blown flame war.

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