How to Cultivate a Game

Arc II--- Beta Testers

"Hmmm… A sect without any disciples and elders... We did have something like a Sect Master, but according to his words, we should not treat him as one. What was a Game Master even? More so, a Game ID? This was so confusing…" Nee Chen mumbled to himself.

"And you, should I address you as elder or senior?" He added, asking the innocent little bunny for her opinion.

"Kyu?"

Xiang Ya and Lu Gao made weird faces at Nee Chen's actions--- Were you crazy? Why were you talking to a bunny? ---that kind of face. Then, the two realized the one who was being weird was them instead. What was so wrong with talking to a bunny? One that was as smart as Bi Yuan?

[Ping! Receiving Quest… Game ID!

Quest Description: As a member of the System Providence Sect, you were required to have a Game ID of your own! Simply, it was a moniker or a nickname that would represent you in the cultivation world! Think of an awesome nickname for it could be hardly changed after creation. This would also serve as your epithet. Be forewarned, Game IDs possessed mysterious powers and were related to reputation, world fame, and role-playing progression.

Quest Reward: Game ID, Exp Boost for the next 48 hours.]

"What was that?" Lu Gao.

"Did you hear that?" Xiang Ya.

"It sounded like a~ ping." Nee Chen.

"Kyu?"

Bi Yuan in all of her innocence did not understand what the ping meant. The only thing she knew… was that it was all a waste of time, so she rejected the quest.

Ping! Game ID was automatically set up to [Little Bunny].

"Game ID? Was this like the epithet of legendary heroes? Like the famed names among cultivators?" Nee Chen thought aloud.

The trio contemplated this.

There was the 'Wolf King' further north, a mercenary cultivator who was contracted with the government. Here in the Biron Kingdom, there would also be the royal princess known as 'Iron Witch' who was feared for her high-handedness. In many places, there were plenty of experts who possessed quite dangerous-sounding names like Bloody Hound, Saw Dragon, Poison Ghoul, and all sorts. The famous experts from different orthodox sects have no need to be mentioned. They too possessed notable experts with profound-sounding names like Void Monk, Moonlight Swordswoman, Demon-like Berseker Beauty, etc.

The trio, Nee Chen, Xiang Ya, and Lu Gao stared at each other. As if brainstorming with their eyes, they had an understanding.

Ping! Game ID was set up to Humble Blade.

Ping! Game ID was set up to Lady Luck.

Ping! Game ID was set up to Hyper Blast Super General.

Nee Chen and Xiang Ya looked weirdly at Lu Gao.

"Brother Chen, we shouldn't mind it… He was a nine-year-old after all."

"I know… but wouldn't you think it was kind of long?"

Lu Gao looked above him; his Game ID, Hyper Blast Super General, was displayed in all of its glory. He blushed in shame. Nee Chen and Xiang Ya also had their Game IDs displayed above them. It was only visible to them, and Nee Chen had checked it with the Tutorial Booklet that came together with his system.

"Lady Luck, you have a nice sounding Game ID."

"So are yours brother Humble Blade."

"Uummm… Guys, wouldn't you compliment mine?"

Bi Yuan just watched on the sidelines as her juniors made fun of themselves.

Nee Chen though was feeling a bit conflicted inside. Somehow, he felt like something wrong was going on. Now that they had monikers, Nee Chen slowly realized what was wrong. The three of them haven't performed any feats yet worthy of earning monikers, but now, they have one each for them. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around?

Deeds first, and then fame, and then moniker? Wasn't that how it should be?

What happened now was... moniker first, word-for-mouth fame, and deeds later...

"Now, enough with this. Let's talk business." Nee Chen snapped his fingers trying to get the attention of his companions. He pushed his weird thoughts deep inside the rabbit hole.

And just right on time, the resounding Ping made its appearance.

[Ping! Receiving Quest… Bus!

Quest Description: Bi Yuan's Bus was here! The newbies should better treasure this opportunity! Players must reach level 10 to be availed of a Class Advancement Quest!

Quest Reward: Exp Boost (Bi Yuan Only), Levels, and Exp points (Everyone)

Questee: Bi Yuan, Lady Luck, Hyper Blast Super General]

"Kyu!" Bi Yuan called to the other two as if telling them to follow her. Xiang Ya and Lu Gao didn't know what was this 'Bus', but somehow they could tell with their intuition the same way Bi Yuan could. Anyway, they had the Tutorial Booklet to refer to and understand difficult words.

Nee Chen the sanest of the three of them inquired to the system what a Bus was...

[Bus- A vehicle with four wheels used to transport a lot of passengers averaging 200 to 400 hundred in each trip. In gaming terms, Bus referred to the act of helping lower-level players to gain levels.]

"???"

The first sentence was too weird. "200 to 400? That must be one big carriage..." Nee Chen decided to ignore the first half in its entirety. Nee Chen was thinking of following Bi Yuan's party, but he already had a different mission he must pay attention to.

Nee Chen was facing a different quest.

[Ping! Receiving Quest… Class Advancement!

Quest Description: Choose your class! Become stronger! Warrior? Rogue? Mage? Cleric?

Quest Reward: Any of the four starter classes.

Questee: Humble Blade]

Nee Chen watched his companions led by the little bunny go somewhere else as he contemplated the meaning of his quest.

~~~

Deep inside my cave, I was fidgeting a lot because of either guilt or shame. What I was doing was basically manipulation. I rationalized to myself that it was simply guidance.

But not that far from the future… I could imagine this guidance becoming an issue of control which I preferred not to happen, I wouldn't want to be a control freak! They say Absolute Power would corrupt! I must be very careful not to be tainted by malice.

I should do something.

Seeing Nee Chen, Xiang Ya, and Lu Gao blindly following the quests I set up, I thought that it would be detrimental to my player empire's growth. While it was good that I had faithful players at my every command, I would prefer someone who could think for themselves at any time of the day.

Like Bi Yuan… No, I would not know about Bi Yuan… The Game ID quest was literally a freebie... she should have at least come to me to explain the rationale for her rejecting the quest, but she wasn't really a talker.

That aside.

I decided to tinker with my questing system. I should divide it into NPC-generated quests and self-generated quests.

The former would be something that came from me or other people who I labeled as NPCs. Meanwhile, the latter would be something that comes from the player's adjusting situation at hand. NPC-generated quests can be denied, and have a reputation system. Meanwhile, the self-generated quests were entirely 'situational' and only happened by chance, a totally random quest that came from the players themselves.

The self-generated quests needed more polishing, but the idea was similar to Daily Quests, Event Quests, and Hidden Quests in games.

[Name: Fu Shi

Quintessence: 1

Players: 4/10]

I didn't have enough quintessence though, so that had to wait for another time.

~~~

Nee Chen had an inkling of what were quests for. One, it was a way for the Game Master to send his intentions. And two, it could be a way to reward the Sect's members.

In a way, it was an intricate work and reward structure.

Reading the description of his quest, Nee Chen took his sweet time to think of what class he should pick.

"Xiang Ya and Lu Gao must've received a different quest since they were not at the 1st stage yet."

Nee Chen felt for his limbs, sensing the qi within flowing through his veins. A cultivator would achieve the most optimized state of their flesh at the Martial Tempering realm.

It was not yet at the level of superhuman, but it was definitely at the peak of mortal abilities. Though not superhuman, they could achieve something of a similar state by tapping on the power of their raw qi, allowing them a momentarily burst of strength.

"I have decided. I want to become a warrior."

Ping!

[You have chosen Warrior!

Swung the sword a thousand times 0/1000

Rewards: Warrior Class. Warrior Arts. Increased Maximum Level Cap.]

Nee Chen without any complaint drew his sword and swung it. He had to repeat this a thousand times. He thought that it would be hard at first, but slowly he was getting used to it. An hour had passed and he was already sweating.

Immersed in swinging his sword, he didn't even take notice of the time.

Ping!

Nee Chen's thoughts were interrupted by the pinging sound.

Swing the sword a thousand times 1000/1000

Dusk was already upon them. The little bunny with her party hadn't returned yet.

A warm sensation had spread into his body. His Dantian which was as rigid as a rock swirled, further expanding. His prime meridians opened as the qi-filled blood flowed into his veins.

[Name: Nee Chen (Humble Blade) | Class: Warrior | Level 11 (1st stage—Martial Tempering)]

His cultivation base didn't change, but he felt getting stronger. He thought that he would be receiving a martial scroll after the quest or be directly thought of by the Game Master himself.

But what he received went beyond his expectations. Knowledge gushed into his mind in a gentle manner, and skills such as 'Equip' and 'Boost' made themselves known in his consciousness.

This was the Game Master's and the system's guidance.

Alfir Changed Healer to Cleric