Chapter 6 - COG Chapter 6
T/N: Thank you robininthelabyrinth for supporting this project! 100% did not expect it. Originally had 1 chapter planned this week, but now there’ll be 2. ?
-komorebi
Players who wanted to join in and see the bustle came to the old monk’s side and peeked at the bamboo basket under his feet, wanting to know if the monk had stuffed all the beta spirit players.
“Don’t look,” Lingzhi on the side who just completed the task spoke up. “When I was in the basket earlier, I thought I was the only one. Who knows where he took a new out from.”
When saying this, the lingzhi grew a large pair of eyes, looking like a chibi, jealously glancing at the snow lotus on the table. It was not only scary, but even cuter.
The players didn’t give up and took a look. As expected, there was nothing in the bamboo basket. But after snow lotus completed the task, the old monk would definitely come up with another spirit race player.
The human players who could not squeeze into the spirit race team gathered around Lingzhi to inquire about the news. “Your level is so high. Will you need to continue saving up and leveling like this in the future?”
“How is that possible?” Lingzhi rolled its eyes. “After reaching level 20 and getting a human form, you can probably do quests to upgrade.”
“There are so few spirit races, and there is only one old monk for quests. Is it too slow for everyone to upgrade?” A player asked. “And in here, the spirit race still needs to queue. The keyboard game is much less troublesome.”
In the keyboard era, players can only see the dialog between themselves and the NPC. As long as the server has enough capacity, players can complete a task together, without queuing at all.
Another player replied: “It’s only in public beta now, and it is of course difficult to upgrade. This game adjusts according to the level, which better matches players. If it is too easy to upgrade, players will soon lose interest. How can the game companies make money then?”
Someone asked a monk in front of the door: “Master, if there are too many people in Tanye Temple, what should you do if your temple can’t hold them?”
The monk replied according to the game program: “One flower, one world, one leaf, and one bodhi. In the eyes of the donor I only saw one altar temple, but there are altars everywhere in the world, and Dao exists beyond me.”
“What do you mean? I don’t understand. Who can translate this?” A player asked.
Mixed in with the players to secretly observe, Dugu Zhuo responded: “Three thousand worlds, how many players there are, will be how many temples there are.”
After being enlightened, a player said: “Meaning once the number of players reach a certain number, the game company will naturally upgrade to provide faster service.”
Dugu Zhuo listened carefully to everyone’s words, and quickly absorbed knowledge.
He looked at Lingzhi and the players piled around it. Who knew when Qingyuelove and Long@Aotian, he encountered in the karma forest, went over there, next to Lingzhi to inquire about their experience upgrading.
“Can you move?” A player poked the thick ganoderma lucidum cap.
“While going, do you know where you are touching? I want to report your indecent assault to GM1Game master, i.e., admins!” Lingzhi said displeased.
“Then are you male or female?” The player continued to poke with an unruly hand.
The voices of the spirit and monster races are crisp and childlike, and cannot distinguish whether its male or female.
“After level 20, you can choose your own gender.” Lingzhi moved its body hard to avoid the cheap player. It is really difficult to move.
“How did you climb up to Tanye Temple and be used as medicinal materials by the old monk?” The player was still poking at the irate mushroom.
At this time, a monk dressed in a dark yellow monk robe came to Lingzhi. One side of the robe sleeve was tied to his waist, showing strong arms and developed chest muscles. His bare hand was holding a Zen stick and the other hand was held near the heart, as he chanted. He bowed slightly, and said politely: “This benefactor, this spirit race saves countless lives. Please don’t hurt him.”
Lingzhi moved his body with difficulty and got close to the monk’s feet.
The player with cheap hands knew his actions weren’t good, but he had an attitude of seeking death. Thus, he pinched his courage to say to the monk: “So what if I touch?”
“Donor, the poor monk must offend.” The monk held the stick with both hands, swirling through the air, dancing. “Gan! Don’t enrage Jingang!”2Honestly, I had no idea how to translate this line… What he’s saying is like a spell, and Jingang is King Kong so I kept it part phonetic since was weird in English.?♂️
After the Zen stick hit, and the player was smashed so that only one piece of equipment remained, and disappeared without a trace.
“Players who are the unruly and molest spirit players, violating the game’s regulations that players are not allowed to sexually harass players, are restricted from doing tasks related to Tanye Temple for seven days. ” The monk made a full-server announcement majestically.
After finishing talking about the regulations, the monk regained his benevolent look and said, “Amitabha.”
Everyone: “…”
The monks in Tanye Temple are all double-faced!
The player with cheap hands who was beaten contacted a friend who shared back with the audience: “It’s so cruel. A Zen stick beat a person from level 12 to level 9, down three levels in a row, also dropping the best equipment on his body. It seems that the game is very strict in terms of sexual harassment, and the punishment is extremely high!”
“That’s for sure.” Qingyuelove, who followed Dugu Zhuo, entered the crowd at some point. “The game is very well-made, with many handsome men and beautiful women. What if someone is really a pervert? If you spend a lot of money to upgrade in a holographic online game, it will be miserable if taken advantage of because of said bad behavior.”
Another “female” player said: ” Yes. Behavior below the neck is not allowed. If you want to change clothes, you can only choose one-click to change.”3Re: this guy probably wanted to see his character/avatar naked.
As a keyboard game, the characters in Nine Heavens were much more exposed with thin clothes. After upgrading to a holographic online game, both men’s clothing and women’s clothing are covered tightly.
Even so, it is better to directly interact with handsome men and beautiful women than to see characters through a screen. Players will spend a lot of money to buy game helmets to experience holographic games.
Qingyuelove sighed: “I originally rushed to the handsome little brother Xianxia in the promotional video. Who knows that after spending so much money on a game helmet, what I saw was a group of crooked melons and cracked dates. Not as good as ordinary NPCs, there are so many handsome monks in Tanye Temple!”
There are a few sisters standing beside the Zen stick monk. The monk with sword eyebrows and stars closed his eyes and said: “Desire is emptiness, emptiness is desire.” There is a layer of white light around him, preventing players from drawing close.
This means that they can’t molest NPCs either.
The game company’s intention is obvious: we are a healthy, green, and environmentally friendly game!
At this time, someone was surprised: “A unique temperament suddenly appeared in the NPCs queuing for treatment. Isn’t it a hidden mission?”
Qingyuelove is a face-con. She came to play this game to get close to 3D paper people. As soon as she heard that his temperament was good, she immediately shifted her eyes from the monk to the free clinic booth, and saw the lone lonely standing among a group of gray NPCs.
“That’s not an NPC, that’s a player!” Qingyuelove explained.
Unfortunately, no one listened to her, and the players rushed to the free clinic booth.
If it is a keyboard, you can click on the dialogue with the mouse, but this is a hologram, so they are not allowed to molest the NPC. Players can only talk to Dugu Zhuo.
There are not many NPCs in front of the free clinic booth, and the number has been maintained at 5. After one person is cured, new NPCs will be lined up at the end.
Dugu Zhuo stood at the end of the team and became the sixth, but there was no NPC to stop him.
As if he hadn’t heard the words of the players, he waited intently for his turn.
Dugu Zhuo had a panoramic view of what happened in Tanye Temple, and the players’ actions made him discover a few rules.
First, it is difficult for the player to distinguish whether the other party is an NPC or player, but NPCs know;
Second, disrupting an NPC task, such as deliberately turning in the wrong item, will result in punishment (such as the black cat);
Third, the attack by the monk at Tanye Temple – he can avoid it.
The monk made two moves, and Dugu Zhuo could see clearly that the power of the monk’s moves was not fixed, and is adjusted according to a player’s level and the severity of the violation.
The player poking Lingzhi and the black cat are of different levels, and the monks have completely different reactions.
Dugu Zhuo secretly estimated that the monk’s attack power and speed should be more than 50% of the player’s maximum level. With his sword skills and footwork, he is 70% certain he can avoid it.
For Dugu Zhuo, 70% is enough to take a risk.
The column of his identity is still “to be unlocked”. Ye Zhou regards him as a player, and his identity has not been unlocked. Qingyue and Aotian regard him as a boss, and his identity has not been unlocked. the people around him regard him as an NPC, and his identity has not yet been unlocked.
Dugu Zhuo wants to know who he was. Since it seems impossible to unlock from player’s guessing, it’s better to try with an NPC.
The old monk is in the role of an NPC free clinic. Dugu Zhuo is seriously injured and meets the conditions of the free clinic booth. If he is an NPC, he will be treated.
Dugu Zhuo observed the old monk’s movements, imagined several attack directions, and simulated escape routes in his mind. He was slightly nervous in his heart, but appeared calm on the surface.
Players can be resurrected after death, he might not.
This attempt was very risky, but Dugu Zhuo didn’t want to back down.
He felt that since he had set foot on the avenue of cultivation, he was competing with the heavens.
In the Qingtian Sword Sect, he has always been trained as the future Xuan Jian master. Only Ye Zhou persuaded him to break away from his fate and never touch the Xuan Jian.
Ye Zhou saw the fate that Dugu Zhuo was about to bear, and kept pushing Dugu Zhuo away from the abyss of fate. But he could knot stop Dugu Zhuo from taking the sword by killing his father in the end.
When his biological father Dugu Yue died in front of him, Dugu Zhuo realized that all of his life was arranged. He was like a chess piece. The love of his parents, friends, teachers and even Ye Zhou was all doomed from the moment he was born.
He is the master of Xuan Jian selected by Heaven. He must bear all the sins in the world and cut off all feelings with his own hands before he can bear this sword.
But why? Why can the gods in the heavenly palace control his life so indifferently, just to make him a scabbard of a sword?
Dugu Zhuo never obeyed fate. The same is true when he enters a whole new world.
It is true that he is very likely to be just an NPC designed in the game. In the words of players, NPCs runs in accordance with the program in the server, exactly like him in Tianjian Sect.
He will not admit this fate.
He was finally reached the head of the line. Dugu Zhuo sat in front of the free clinic booth, stretched out his wrist, and let the old monk signal his pulse.
Qingyuelove went to Dugu Zhuo’s side, and sent him whisper: “Come down. If the old monk finds that you are joined in for fun, you will be killed off like those two who caused trouble!”
This is a private message. Sound is secretly transmitted with true qi, and delivered to the ear of the other party without leakage.
Dugu Zhuo could do this trick tool, so he sent a private chat to Qingyuelove: “I’m hurt. Just testing the rules of the game.”
“Wow, you are so smart!” Qingyuelove did not chat privately this time, but said publicly. “First hurt yourself, and then queue up in front of the free clinic booth. Maybe this can be a place for players to heal!”
“Is it?” The snow lotus on the stall was also a great tonic. “Does this mean that our spirit race can be used as healing and assistance in the future, and can also revive teammates?”
“It is possible!” A group of players agreed.
Everyone focused on Dugu Zhuo. Some believed he was a special NPC, and some believed he was a player.
The old monk slowly stretched out his hand and placed it on Dugu Zhuo’s pulse.
“Donor, you…” The old monk’s kind eyes sharpened instantly. He grabbed Dugu Zhuo’s veins, tapped the table with the other hand, and the overwhelming true qi enveloped Dugu Zhuo.
This is…
Dugu Zhuo perceives what the old monk is going to do based on the attributes of the true qi. He obviously could get rid of the opponent and flee, but he just endured it, letting the old monk’s essence trap him inside.
The noisy surrounding sounds instantly calmed down, and the players were all stuck. Only Dugu Zhuo and the old monk were able to move in the entire space.
Wuxiangjie, this is the highest and deepest realm of Buddha cultivation. It can open up a small world of its own with true essence. The small world is independent of the world, and the time and space outside will not pass away.
This is just a game, how could there be no time or space suddenly?
While Dugu Zhuo was in doubt, he heard the old monk say: “Mr. Dugu, your wounds, this poor monk can’t cure.”
“What are you talking about?” Dugu Zhuo calmly said. “Aren’t you an NPC?”
“What ‘NPC’?” The old monk folded his palms together. “Poor monk is named Tan Ji.”
Master Tan Ji?
Dugu Zhuo remembered that Master Tan Ji was the most respected monk in the realm of cultivation. He could have long since ascended, but he kept reincarnating, crossing worlds, and cultivating the merits in life.
How could such a master appear in this online game?
“Mr. Dugu used himself as a guide, with the help of the Divine Sword of Creation, to destroy the foundation of the three heavens, and was injured only by the two Xuan, Su swords and the backlash of the realm. The divine punishment on your body, this monk cannot crack.” Master Tan Ji said. “But Mr. Dugu gave countless creatures a glimmer of vitality for three days. Blessed merits are added to one’s body, your meridians are slowly being healed, and one day you will be healed.“
“How can I have merit?” Dugu Zhuo asked.
“What Mr. Dugu has done, sin is in the skies, merit is in the ages.” The old monk said.
What else did Dugu Zhuo want to ask? At this time, the people around started moving. Master Tanji, who had a clever eye, turned into a dull old monk. He said to Dugu Zhuo: “This player, please don’t affect people’s treatment. Players can go to the medicine hall in the next town for diagnosis and treatment. Players below level 20 will not consume spirit stones.”
After Dugu Zhuo was asked to leave the free clinic booth by the old monk, Qingyuelove ran over and said: “You are still good, and will ask where to heal injuries. You’re a pro player, right?”
He ignored Qingyuelove, instead using his spiritual sense to search for personal information in the jade slip, only to see that the identity column had been unlocked-
Name: Dugu Zhuo
Identity: Bug
Still debating whether to keep translating this, or keep it as a teaser. It takes more effort to do the weird sayings, skills, and user names. Will wait a couple more chapters/end of the month before making a decision.
Consider supporting this translation (COG), get faster updates, and letting me know whether to keep this project by buying a ko-fi~ Thank you!
Visit my ko-fi page to see how close we are to an add’l release.1Game master, i.e., admins2Honestly, I had no idea how to translate this line… What he’s saying is like a spell, and Jingang is King Kong so I kept it part phonetic since was weird in English.?♂️3Re: this guy probably wanted to see his character/avatar naked.