Ailtia, Sweetwater Town.
After Leaf Zhi’s explanation, Edegar had a general understanding of the Player’s chaotic neutral nature.
He was now holding a stack of notes Leaf Zhi had written, memorizing them by heart.
Leaf Zhi patrolled the newly refurbished—well, perhaps not exactly new—Sweetwater Town.
Calling it a patrol might be an exaggeration, as the entire town wasn’t that big.
There were originally fewer than a hundred houses, and only two streets could be called main roads—you could see the end of them at a glance.
To prepare for the arrival of fragile Players, Edegar had dragged out and dealt with the scattered monsters in town.
He also set up a temporary Magic Array within a one-kilometer radius.
It could both block new monsters from entering and conceal their presence, reducing the chances of being discovered.
The outskirts of the Giant Oak Forest.
For some high-level Magicians, the danger was manageable—making it a decent training ground.
At the same time, it was also a potential threat that Leaf Zhi and his group might face in the future.
Additionally, considering that Players needed to build their own houses and find food during the early stages, Edegar even left the Giant Oak Forest to borrow some tools from the neighboring Nari Town.
Leaf Zhi glanced at the sky; the Players would be arriving soon.
He called out to the one person and one Guangqiu at the church entrance to come inside with him.
***
“Remember everything?”
Leaf Zhi looked at Edegar.
Edegar nodded.
“It’s fine, except for some sentences I can’t understand, memorizing the rest was simple.”
“No problem. Just answer in the designated language. If you don’t understand, act like you didn’t hear it. You’ll understand it naturally later.”
Leaf Zhi had already anticipated this.
There was no way for him to directly explain Network Abstract Words to the Justice of Dawn Knight.
The other party could only figure it out themselves in time…
He tested Edegar with a few questions, and the other answered flawlessly.
Leaf Zhi was very satisfied.
The number of Players in would only increase in the future.
As a severely ill patient, it was impossible for him to personally guide every Player.
Edegar was the next successor he trained, or rather, the Guide for Newcomer Village.
***
Inside the Church.
Old tables, chairs, and candlesticks had long been cleared out, leaving only a solitary God Statue.
In front of the statue was a Magic Array almost identical to the Bloodflesh Altar.
It spanned several dozen meters!
This was indeed a byproduct of a failed Necromantic Resurrection spell.
A Forbidden Magic capable of transforming monster corpses into human bodies!
However, such bodies couldn’t contain a complete human soul and did not meet Leaf Zhi’s requirements.
After being created by Leaf Zhi, it had never been used.
But now, things were different.
The Players coming from Blue Star could only bring a faint consciousness projection, which happened to match the usage conditions of these bodies.
Leaf Zhi rummaged through his belongings and pulled out a long black Magic Staff.
The surrounding calm magic began to surge, gathering within the Magic Array.
The Magic Array suddenly lit up!
“Forbidden Magic: Necromantic Resurrection II: Flesh Rebirth!”
The monster corpses Edegar had piled at the center of the array began to dissolve, merging into the Magic Array.
A moment later, a crimson-tinged black mist surged forth.
The already damaged marble floor completely disintegrated, exposing the earth beneath.
Guangqiu let out a low scream.
“My Church!”
In its eyes, the Church with its God Statue was its own possession.
Seeing a giant hole appear in the floor for no reason, it felt so distressed it nearly fainted.
Not daring to offend Leaf Zhi, it could only grumble softly.
If it interrupted the Undead Mage’s magic ritual, the entire Church might not survive!
***
After a while.
Three pale human male bodies lay side by side on the ground.
Leaf Zhi nodded in satisfaction.
“Excellent, the magic worked perfectly!”
The next step was to wait for the game helmets containing his magic to reach the three closed-beta Players.
Through several days of research, Leaf Zhi discovered his magic acted like a Virus on the internet, specializing in slipping through Network loopholes.
With that in mind, he decided to do what a Virus does.
For example, transferring the money used by three Players to purchase closed-beta access into a black account.
Then, using that money to obtain an official account.
He then bought three motorcycle helmets at a low price with the same funds.
After several handovers, he found some craftsmen and had them install a networking device inside.
Leaf Zhi then sealed his magic into the helmets via the network device.
This way, when the Players received their game helmets, Leaf Zhi could use the magic he had implanted in advance to acquire the coordinates of their brains.
Successfully pulling over their consciousness projections!
Everything was perfect, just waiting for the Players to arrive!
***
Edegar stepped forward and dressed the three “corpses.”
Currently fugitives and penniless, the clothes had also been scrounged from a neighboring town.
So they didn’t fit well.
Some were so short they choked at the neck, others so long they dragged on the floor.
“Not bad, subpar newbie outfits should motivate Players to buy new skins!”
Leaf Zhi commented.
There was no other choice—circumstances were harsh, so the first batch of Players had to endure some hardship.
There was still some time before the “closed beta server opening.”
With nothing to do, Leaf Zhi decided to review the settings again.
“Let’s rehearse our roles again. When the Players arrive, make sure you don’t slip up!”
Edegar nodded in understanding.
As soon as Leaf Zhi finished speaking, Edegar began reciting.
“The Watcher Chief, Leaf, and… Player, are humans who left Ailtia before the Era of Gods.”
“The arrogance and recklessness of the gods led Ailtia to ruin. Now, you return to your homeland with the mission of saving the world…”
No matter what was said, it sounded three times more convincing from Edegar’s mouth.
Leaf Zhi listened with growing satisfaction.
His judgment had been correct!
Edegar was the perfect fit for the newbie guide job of spouting grand tales!
“That’s right, that’s the feeling! If anyone asks you about the settings, answer according to these points!”
“Don’t reveal too much at once. Only mention a little each time—you have to keep the Players curious!”
Plot-driven Players love to piece together the whole picture from fragmented information.
These settings were enough for them to theorize for a whole mini-version!
Edegar replied solemnly, indicating he understood.
New helpers—no, Players—were a fickle, chaotic group.
If he wanted to keep them around, he’d have to faithfully carry out the recruitment tactics Leaf Zhi had taught him!
***
Guangqiu muttered from the side:
“Even a brainless red-skinned earthworm wouldn’t believe such a nonsensical story… Ah!”
Guangqiu yelped and clutched its numb head, sulkily falling silent.
Leaf Zhi withdrew his Magic Staff and glanced at it sideways.
“Focused so much on checking Edegar, I nearly forgot about you.”
“Come on, recite your part of the settings!”