Chapter 12: Snatched from the Official Website

Chapter 12: Snatched from the Official Website

An hour later.

The Toddler Squad players finished their resurrection cooldown, and the once-heated chat group fell silent.

Amidst the Group Leader's furious rants of "You guys deserve to die!" the 30 players re-logged into the game, reviving at the center of Dizhong Village's plaza.

They chose once again to head to the Gloomspire Caverns for exploration.

According to the Guide, claiming a domain node was simple.

Players just needed to shatter the node crystal corrupted by Black Tide energy. Once destroyed, the Imperial Omen's power would reclaim the site, integrating it into Dizhong Village and unlocking new features.

After an hour's travel, the squad arrived at the Crystal Barrier wall of Gloomspire Caverns, only to discover a surprise—another group of players was already locked in battle with an Iron Shellworm.

Two players among them used an unfamiliar form: Bonefire Form. Their bodies blazed with Inky Inferno, hurling fireballs at the monster with every hand gesture.

Black Ball: "This Bonefire Form is amazing! Controlling flames? I'm sold. Next Stellar Vein, I'm choosing this."
Drunken Healer: "Brothers, they're struggling. Help out?"
Iron Hammer: "Shut up, we're here for revenge. Of course we'll help!"

After a quick exchange, the Toddler Squad switched to monster forms and joined the fray.

Chaos erupted instantly. The cramped space led to accidental collisions, creating hilarious scenes.

"Hey, what are you biting? That's me! I'm a player!"
"Gargoyle buddy, why are you slamming my head? Can't you see your target?"
"Who threw a fireball at me? Help me put it out—I'm taking damage!"
"Sorry, I can only light fires, not extinguish. Let me apologize... rest in peace."

Amid the chaos, many players were heavily damaged by their own team.

Several were reduced to Obsidian Mists, entering death cooldown.

The game's realism forced players to grumble again.

Most games had faction systems or safe-PK modes, allowing players to choose whether to harm others. Not this one—team attacks were unrestricted. Worse, Bonefire's Inky Inferno clung to victims, burning them until death.

Several unlucky players died not from the Iron Shellworm, but from friendly fire.

During the battle, a few Iron Shellworms were killed. Their life energy transformed into evolution points, boosting the killers' levels and physical attributes.

In Qi Sheng's system, when players killed monsters, the Challenger System absorbed 30% of their life energy as Sacrificial Power into the pool. The remaining 70% became life energy tailored to the killer, improving their body—what players called experience.

Qi Sheng observed the friendly-fire issue but had no solution.

This wasn't a game—it was a monster world wrapped in game mechanics. No factional immunity existed.

Players, however, assumed this was intentional for "realism", grumbling while praising the developers' skill.

After ten minutes of intense cave combat, the party was wiped out.

Though eager for the domain node, Qi Sheng knew current player strength couldn't claim it.

The Guide detected five underground layers beneath the cave. The players were only on the first. The deeper they went, the more Iron Shellworms lurked. The node crystal lay in the fifth layer.

Conquering this dungeon required stronger players.

He considered recruiting a second wave.

He had 100,000 Sacrificial Power left. Four captured Primordial Monsters generated 960 daily. With hunting and resource sacrifices, Dizhong Village's expansion costs were balanced.

He planned to recruit 50 more players, saving 50,000 Sacrificial Power for emergencies.

...

An hour passed. Resurrection cooldowns ended.

Two groups re-logged into the game, facing each other at Dizhong Village's central spawn point.

They learned the map was shared—once the Toddler Squad explored the Crimson Plains, the other group saw new map markers and followed coordinates to Gloomspire Caverns.

Their experience mirrored the first group's: discovering spirit mines, buying Picks, triggering Iron Shellworm swarms, and joining the chaotic battle.

Now, Iron Hammer glanced at Li Zheng, curiosity sparking.

"Hey, how did your team get Bonefire Form?"

Li Zheng explained—defeating Bonefire unlocked a second Stellar Vein slot. Two members spent 1,000 Sacrificial Power to buy and embed Bonefire's Life Soul.

Hawk-Headed Demon players in the Toddler Squad cheered.

"I knew I didn't choose wrong! Combining Hawk-Headed Demon's perception with Bonefire's ranged elemental attacks? This combo's unstoppable early-game!"
"Man, I picked Hawk-Headed Demon for team balance, and it turns out it's the meta? This is too good!"

Li Zheng chuckled. "This game's freedom means more Primordial Monster Life Souls will unlock. Bonefire's just the start. Every form has massive potential. Initial forms can even be changed for 1,000 Sacrificial Power."

Drunken Healer: "By the way, why's the Novice Village so empty?"
Black Ball: "Same here. We've only met you guys so far."
Cute Toddler: "If others left Novice Village, there should be more players. But only four Primordial Monsters exist—three initial, plus Bonefire. Has no one else killed monsters?"

Li Zheng paused, then offered. "Maybe to prevent overcrowding, Darklands uses multiple servers. We're on a fresh one—few players transferred in."

"Reasonable", Iron Hammer nodded.

"By the way, where did you get your game licenses?"

The question froze the Toddler Squad. They couldn't reveal the truth—exposing the Welfare Officer might land him in trouble.

"We got lucky", Iron Hammer grinned. "Snatched 30 licenses on Darklands' official site. You?"

The sudden counter-question stunned Emperor of Grind Clan's ten players. Li Zheng hadn't expected this.

He asked hoping to gauge their guild strength, maybe recruit them. Now, he smiled awkwardly.

"Nice, we did the same. Official website 128888 pre-order."

Both groups exchanged plausible lies, then smoothly shifted to planning a joint Gloomspire Caverns expedition.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end