Closed Beta That Only I Played Chapter 20
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Quickly reading his mind, top external affairs manager Shu Lan said, "Well, a little less than 400,000 people."
"400,000 people… Increase them to 500,000 by the end of this year. And 600,000 next year! It does not matter how much money you spend. Even if they don't have the traits, recruit them if they are somewhat competent, and support and grow them!"
Although the Shanghai Clique was outmuscled by the Crown Prince Party and their leader President Xi, in particular, there was a time when they once controlled the Chinese Communist Party by overpowering the Crown Prince Party and the Communist Youth League.
Of course, they accumulated a tremendous amount of wealth at that time.
Moreover, Jiang Chianglin, the real power of the Shanghai Clique, could lay his hands on it.
"Yes, sir!"
"I will carry out your order!"
Jiang's men responded right away.
But Shu Lan cautiously raised her hand to say something.
"Go ahead!"
Since her competence had already been verified, Jiang immediately pointed to her.
She said, "Why can't we do the same thing as the US government did?"
Jiang and other top executives opened their eyes wide at her words.
Confirming their surprise, she immediately continued, "Don't we have a good place to scout talent? It's right next to China."
All of them knew the good place that she mentioned, which was very close to China.
"Good. Do it immediately."
"Yes, Chairman!"
When the chairman okayed it, everyone responded with a loud voice.
"And finally, we shall strengthen the monopoly of the boss monsters we have secured and the workshops we currently manage. We should not lose any one of them. I can't even follow President Xi's order as far as that is concerned!"
"Got it! I will make sure they carry out your direction.."
The meeting led by the top executives of Yanghwa Group led by Chairman Jiang ended finally.
***
"Ice Ball! Ice Bolt!"
Puk! Puk!
Two stone golems' knees were smashed and pierced through by my Ice Ball and Ice Bolt.
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Bang! Bang!
Since one knee supporting the body was smashed, the stone golems inevitably fell.
Of course they were not dead. In other words, I needed another attack to kill them.
"Ice Ball! Ice Bolt!"
However, I used them to target other guys rather than the fallen golems.
Puk! Puk!
I moved to the first two stone golems that fell first, while my skills targeted the other stone golems.
Then I jumped after using an Ice Weapon on a long sword that I obtained while hunting a stone golem.
Soon, my long sword was stabbing the stone golem's back. But I didn't watch to the end because Ice Ball and Ice Bolt were on cooldown.
So, I immediately used my skills for another guy. And as soon as I used it, I pulled out a long sword with an Ice Weapon and hit the stone golem again.
Puk! Puk!
It sounded like digging mud, not stone.
At first, the long sword without an Ice Weapon did not penetrate the stone golem like this, even though it cut its body slightly. But the Ice Weapon was more powerful than I thought.
It not only stabbed the stone golem's body, but penetrated it. Obviously, it was the effect of the 'Iceman' trait.
Of course, at first, I didn't intend to hunt like this, and I had never done it like this before.
However, after I allowed the stone golems to attack me as a test, I knew that I could still survive after being bashed by these guys several times.
So, I changed my hunting style slightly.
Namely, as soon as the cooldown was over, I used the Ice Ball and Ice Bolt immediately while I mounted a close-range attack by using the Ice Weapon that the stone golem dropped, dying.
This kind of hunt was unthinkable in the first, second, and third closed betas.
I didn't even think about it even after choosing the wizard class not only in the third closed beta of Forgotten Legend three times but also in other games.
Of course, it would be better to set Intellectual Power, Power, and Agility as Mutual Growth, but there was only one reason I chose to fight this way.
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Namely, it was my confidence that even if I'm attacked several times, I would be fine.
I didn't regret setting them as Mutual Growth because I mounted this type of attack confidently.
"Ice Ball! Ice Bolt!"
Puk! Puk!
My main power was still magic, and I was wrapped into hunting like that, forgetting the time.
***
"Check the access time."
-7 hours and 47 minutes have passed since you accessed the current game.
"Oh, that's why…"
I felt like peeing a bit. And I was hungry.
Of course, the VR adaptor itself had a built-in program that indirectly affected one's physical activity such as urinating, bowel movements, or digestion, but it was not universal.
So, to logout, I turned toward the safety zone which was the starting point of the Golem Habitat.
Of course, I fired Ice Ball and Ice Bolt at the stone golems I met along the way.
When I soon entered the safety zone, I moved to a remote place.
And I just opened my mouth in a low voice.
"Check status."
Before logging out, I was curious about the status.
[Name: lumen
Level: 50
Kills: 0, Deaths: 0
Title: The only closed beta max level achiever, Scarecrow Destroyer.
Health: 605000/605000 Mana: 540000/540000
Strength: 715 Agility: 711 Stamina: 2010
Willpower: 1360 Intellectual Power: 2020
Remaining stat points: 400
Remaining skill points: 1
Trait: Iceman, Mutual Growth, God of Enhancement.]
I came here exactly at Level 10. And in less than 8 hours, I had reached Level 50.
It was a whopping 40 level increase.
Of course, the EXP required for leveling up would increase steeply over time.
And my leveling up would also be slower.
When I hunted a group of 5 stone golems, my level went up by seven, namely one or more levels per one stone golem. But when I passed Level 20 and Level 30, my leveling up was noticeably slower.
Of course, I wasn't really worried because I could say with certainty that even the current speed of my leveling up was also faster than that of anybody else's, and sooner or later, I planned to move to a place with more powerful monsters.
"Then what about investing all these?"
I invested all of the remaining 400 stat points in Intellectual Power without hesitation.
Then, Intellectual Power now showed a figure of 2420. Of course, Physical Strength also increased to 2410. The difference of 10 came from the items I currently wore.
The increase due to the item did not apply to Mutual Growth.
Anyway, after confirming that Willpower had changed to 1560 after increasing by 200 right after Stamina, I logged out smilingly.
Then I went to the bathroom and enjoyed my late lunch with various side dishes delivered from my home, thinking of getting back to the game.
Five days later, I woke up exactly at 7:30 in the morning.
Then I washed, had cereal for breakfast, and went straight to the game.
After playing the game until 1:00 PM, I logged out. I had lunch, and took a nap for about 30 minutes to an hour for a break.
Then I continued to play the game in the afternoon. I logged out exactly at 6:00 PM.
Then I did an hour of exercise or jogging before I ate dinner and surfed the Revival Legend homepage once again, and accessed the game again. And I played it until 1:00 AM the next day. Then I logged out and went to bed immediately.
Of course, I vowed that I would become a game addict, so much so that I would no longer look back at games in my life after that.
That's why I just blindly played the game until 5 or 6 AM on the first, second, and third day.
Then I fell asleep after confirming that the sun was rising.
I thought that was the right attitude as a game addict who had to play the game properly.
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Millennial Mage (A Slice of Life, Progression Fantasy)
The world is wild, untamed. Humanity thrives, but only in isolated, well defended cities, ever shrinking as the wilds slowly reclaim all that was taken. The most capable magic users are raised up as Mages to serve mankind, further their cause, and defend them over the course of millennia. Tala is freshly graduated from the magic academy and determined to make her own way in the world. She hopes to pay off her massive debts, quickly, but still plans on living each and every day to the fullest. Too bad the Academy left some glaring holes in her practical education. Loath to let that slow her down, and with no patience for a standard, low-paid apprenticeship (intended to fill many of those knowledge gaps), Tala strives to learn and improve as rapidly as she can on her own. Her unorthodox methods for preserving her own life allow her to take greater risks in search of profit and advancement, much to the surprise of those around her. I do hope you enjoy this tale, but let me know what you think either way! Critique, both positive and negative, is welcome. Release schedule is weekly: M-W-F Thank you for your time and for giving this story a try. AUTHOR'S NOTE: If this is found on a site other than Royal Road, or the linked Patreon, it was not posted by the author. Please find this tale, here: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/47826/millennial-mage
8 454Hail the King
When the common folk hear of the Hell King, they think of many different things"It is the king of monsters!" "A calamity unfolded that knows nothing but destruction" "The true pinnacle of hatred and wrath." "A savage demon that eats children" "It's no doubt the king of despair as well as every child's bed monster." However, when you ask those scholars of ages long past, they will answer "It is one of the many riddles of life, one that no man has yet solved." "It is a great question, one so great that you shouldn't ask." "I honestly don't know." "Truly child? Since youth have I dreamed of meeting it, and you expect me to fullfill such a task in my lifetime?" "Nobody truly has any evidence it is evil, yet at the mere mention of the name I tremble in fear." One thing is for sure. Nobody truly knows who said Hell King really is. Not the greatest of cultivators, the grandest of swordsmen nor the wisest of sages. Nobody even knows where the stories of the Hell King come from, and yet everybody knows them. This is a story about a broken man, a man cursed by the heavens, an enigma to the whole world, a ruler of a dead kingdom and a monster born out of despair. "I wish not for women, I wish not for gold nor do I wish for happiness. All I wish for is to be granted eternal rest."
8 177The Undeniable Labyrinth
New Chapter every day! The Legion Consortia Galacium was the greatest civilization that ever existed. It stretched across the galaxy, made up of more than ten thousand distinct human cultures with over two hundred thousand inhabited worlds. Millenia in age it was connected through a system of extra-spacial conduits called The Mirror Maze. It was said that one could walk from one side of the galaxy to the other in less than a hundred steps. It was a marvel of technology, art and peace. Until The Macros came, and in a blink of an eye it was destroyed. The Macros are beings of pure motivated Trinary code. They broke out of The Mirror Maze nearly instantaneously across the Consortia, inhabiting and taking control of the technologies from the most advanced worlds to the least. With no defenses capable of stopping them, they spread throughout the galaxy, destroying interstellar culture after culture. Far from the center of galactic civilization, The Palmyr Century was isolated enough to get advanced word of The Macro invasion. The Palmyr was able to close it’s Mirror Maze gateways to the rest of the Consortia and walled off i’s populated worlds from the threat of The Macros. For more than two hundred and fifty years this protection stood, until it was breached by Althea Ram. Althea Ram, born on the planet Emerald in Palmyr Century was Trinary coding prodigy. This skill lead her to be recruited by a group, the ZAT, an organization engaged in illegal research into Macro code. When found out, the ZAT was eliminated on orders of The First Centurion. Althea escaped with her newly created AI, Dorian. A fugitive, she found herself betrayed time and time again. Ultimately she joined a group organized by the Rian telepath Shirae Valerian. Shirae made a deal with Althea for her own reasons and provided her with a Mirror Port which would allow her to reach the Lost Worlds outside The Palmyr. While she is driven to discover the secrets of The Macros, Althea is still drawn back to The Palmyr by the unfinished business that has defined her. The Promethead is her story. And inside the Undeniable Labyrinth is where the journey begins.
8 203The Man Who Walked in the Dark
Just because it can be found, doesn't mean it should. All things found, all things fixed. Jude Demarco was the best private detective Nicodemia Station had ever ignored. Detective, handyman, medic. He was a bulldog who tracked down every lead and wouldn't let go until the bloody truth died dripping in his jaws. Even if someone got hurt. Even if someone got killed. You lost it? He can find it. When a collector arrives in a private cruiser from Earth looking for a stolen painting, Demarco has to decide if a few dimes are worth dealing with the worst of the worst in Nicodemia Station. It'll pit him against crime lords, government bureaucrats, and, even worse, the Catholic Church. If there's anything folks get too passionate about, it's art and religion. No sane person would take a job that mixed the two. Then again, sometimes a person just gets desperate.
8 123The dragon witch
Sasha will destroy the King and free her sister. Her life goal is as simple as that. Or it would be, if the King hadn’t sent one of his knights, Elias. Sasha is in for the surprise of her life. Finished Story
8 210The Two Stories of Frontier Online: A Tale of A Boy and A Beast (Dropped)
Two brothers have anticipated the arrival of a new VMMORPG called Frontier online, a game Where the players create the game, from all the towns, kingdoms, NPCs, even the monsters that spawn in certain places and what loot they drop. Having missed out on Beta testing the game, the two brothers dive into the game, and when entering given the choice: Do you want to be a race of the [Kingdom], or do you want to be [Beast of the Wild]. (Leaving the original tag off, and the fan fiction tag on, due to unknown if someone else is doing something like this. Warning: If my grammer is bad, or my wording is wrong, its because this is my first time writing and do not understand customs that well.)
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