How to Cultivate a Game

Ping! Player Died! Ping! Player Died!

I... Fucking unbelievable! These brats had no respect for me! I was busy reading old Fu Shi's journal and this just had to happen. I was doing a clean-up of my Cave Abode with hopes of making my place more human when I found the Journal. It had interesting information that was also inside old Fu Shi's memories which was another method to verify the information in my head.

While I was reading and sweeping the floor, that was when pings for dead players appeared. Though master cultivators have a penchant for hidden mysterious caves, I preferred a semblance of civility. That was why I was renovating my cave and cleaning it up.

"Lu Gao!" I called to the brat. "I swore this was getting too out of hand."

Lurker was beside Lu Gao. The crocodilian now human appeared confused. Because Lurker was not suicidal yet, he didn't know the tendency of his fellow players.

"Game Master... Could I go?"

"What happened?"

"Someone with the name 'Humble Bade' killed me..."

"..."

I didn't know about math, but there had to be a median for me to break even. I guess it was time I posted the patch update. To be frank, I had a lot of plans. I needed to replenish the monsters of Butterberry Forest as they would become the monster hunting grounds for the newbies. I also had to send the Mindless Monk out to recruit and set him on auto-pilot.

Why was it that life had become harder when I had Godlike powers, unlike before when I was just a mortal working on codes and meetings?

It was a mystery.

You know, guys, I said that I would resurrect you guys no matter what. I even expressly mentioned it in the tutorial book... I wanted to appeal to Lu Gao like this but I could not bring myself to. But that would be detrimental to them as a player. I already told and preached to them once. If I insisted otherwise that dying was wrong, then the player mentality they currently had might be lost.

They might ask... "What do you want us to do? Die? Live?" I resurrected them because I wanted them to live. I told them that they would not need despair in death because I could resurrect them. I always had known that turning the world into a game would be anarchy. 

In this special kind of world, I wanted to carve out a paradise that the old Fu Shi would look upon kindly. I was not just the insane Game Developer from before. In some sense, I had to embrace the identity of Fu Shi at some point. I wouldn't know if my character was a fabrication, but I would like to think myself to be sincere at the very least.

My scheming mind finally realized a solution to solve the too-bloodthirsty, suicidal addicts, and thrill junkies in check. I realized I had been a pushover. Oh, this patch update was going to be brutal!

~~~

The Fourth Calamity known as players had to be kept in check, and that was what patch updates were for. I had thought of this sooner, but I was not really to blame. This was not just a game, but life. Yes, I did claim that Life was a Game, but there was something more to add to it.

If Life was a Game, then it must be played responsibly.

I sent off Lu Gao and Lurker with a word of warning. "Live." The message got across since Lu Gao continued to bob his head up and down until he was lost in my eyes from the cave's entrance. I wanted them to live properly as players. Though trends had shown many would also like playing the villain, there was a reason why games always had started with the players being protagonists!

I had to admit. I was kind of a pushover, allowing them to resurrect willy-nilly. I was only following the template that games had infinite respawns for characters. I thought of reduced Exp as a penalty like other more hardcore games, but that wouldn't work since it was only a one-sided punishment. There had to be an incentive since real people were involved!

I wanted a game where the players would act kindly on NPCs. Yep, this was the ultimate game. This game was called 'life' where consequences mattered, and rewards were pursued.

I sat on a comfortable chair with a table in front of me. I created a ballpoint pen with my quintessence and a few metal sticks. Sigh. I thought that using one quintessence was wasteful, but it was too convenient compared to a paintbrush. I wrote a draft for the patch update.

My players' deaths were putting a strain on my finances. I hoped the patch update I prepared would be able to limit them but still promote their growth. On top of this, I could now also add my first expansion pack. I would call this the Beta Expansion Pack which could serve as a part of the Beta Test.

I had been watching my players as much as possible and was studying them as they were quite the Beta Testers. If Bi Yuan was the Alpha Tester, then Nee Chen, Lu Gao, and Xiang Ya were the Beta Testers. I could also add Lurker among the Beta Testers.

Upgrading the system was still too far for me. I felt that it was possible to expand my player limit with more quintessence, but I preferred the holistic development brought by an upgrade to the system like the last time which also improved my system functions. Even my superpowers gained something out of the upgrade as the capacity of my mental power had increased severalfold. It was amazing. 

I could also use more players to improve my daily quintessence. It was too bad I could not recruit beasts that lacked the spark of wisdom. Apparently, Bi Yuan's transition to a player was a fluke, which spoke of how lucky she truly was.

The more players I have, the better!

However, I still have player empty slots that needed filling.

I just have too few players, but it was not so bad, considering that my current 'game' was still in the beta phase. I released the announcement deciding that I was satisfied with what I wrote.

~~~

Patch Update! Beta Expansion Pack!

Appearing in the players' system interface was the Game Master's announcement. Lu Gao was practicing his magic spells combining the applications of his Force and Bind spell. Meanwhile, Xiang Ya was dismembering a wild chicken and was testing the limits of her Heal spell. Nee Chen was confusedly sitting on a rock by the lake feeling weirded by his killing a certain naked man. Lurker was running back to his creek hoping to complain to the person who just killed him. That was when the message popped up in his system interface.

[PATCH UPDATE! A Respawn Altar had been made. If a player died, they would be presented with a text animation of GAME OVER and would be scored depending on their levels, equipment, karma value, and reputation. They would be presented with two choices-- (1) Resurrection, and (2) Reincarnation.

(1) Ressurection- The players would be charged 1,000,000 Game Coins for a Ressurection Token. The players would be resurrected with no penalties applied. Footnote: Please value your lives from now on.

(2) Reincarnation- The players would need to create a new character with a 10% difference from their prior appearance. This was free of charge. The reincarnated players would lose half of their levels, but their Skill Points distribution would be reset allowing them to create a new build. Footnote: Please read the Reincarnation Booklet to learn the effects and how to use the Character Creation Panel.

[BETA EXPANSION PACK! The Goblins of Butterberry Forest— Get out there, and kill some! Be forewarned! They were monsters from a different dimension. They were green, mean, and ugly. Be careful of their numbers. Do not kill too much, or you might summon a Goblin King who could summon more Goblins and was the peak of Goblin monsterdom.

To summon a Goblin King, kill ten thousand Goblins. Progress: 0/10,000

All Goblins were males, and they loved females of other species. Their seeds were full of vitality and could impregnate any mammal of other species. The Goblin King could inseminate other creatures and sire mutated Goblins with special powers, so please do remember to exterminate any Goblin King you see.

Go for it, players, show the damn fugly goblins who was the boss.

REWARDS AND DROP RATES.

Goblin Slayer's Helm Level 30 Masterpiece Armor Set. 5% Drop Rate.

Goblin Slayer's Chest Piece Level 25 Masterpiece Armor Set. 5% Drop Rate.

Goblin Slayer's Trousers Level 25 Masterpiece Armor Set. 5% Drop Rate.

Goblin Slayer's Gauntlets Level 25 Masterpiece Armor Set. 5% Drop Rate.

Goblin Slayer's Boots Level 25 Masterpiece Armor Set. 5% Drop Rate.

Goblin Eye of Greed. Consumable. 30% Drop Rate.

Goblin Grass. Ingredients. 25% Drop Rate

Goblin Ears. Ingredients. 100% Drop Rate.

Goblin King Drop Items: Royal Goblin Armor. Belt of Greater Strength. Goblin King Weapon Series. Goblin Eye of Greater Greed. Ring of Greed. Necklace of Clarity. Goblin Pet. Mount Token. Skill Book.

...

..

.

"The Goblins would spawn randomly, so be careful of ambushes. If the density of goblins reached a certain threshold, they would build a fortress. Please be careful! Goblins were not even 1st stage, but they were quite sly, and a few dangerously possessed unique abilities."

Sincerely, the Game Master]