Chapter 4: Players Are Online

Time quickly moved to the next day.

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous, just think of it as playing a role-playing game."

Ryan patted his own face, trying to make his expression more natural.

In his previous life, he wasn't great at interacting with people, and now, having to play an NPC and interact with players made him incredibly nervous. He feared the players might notice something off.

"The Creation Points are being consumed, looks like someone is creating their character."

Creation Points were one of Ryan's special powers, offering a range of abilities, one of which was the creation of players' bodies.

The task panel only projected the consciousness of players from Earth, but did not provide physical bodies. Creating the players' bodies required the expenditure of Creation Points. Ryan received some Creation Points each day. The larger and more prosperous his territory became, the more Creation Points he would gain.

On the contrary, if his territory was damaged or occupied by others, his daily Creation Points would decrease. If his territory were completely conquered, he would stop receiving Creation Points altogether.

Although Ryan's territory hadn't been taken over, it had suffered significant damage, so his daily Creation Points were limited. This was the reason why he restricted the number of players during the beta test.

"Master, the reception room has been cleaned, and I've sent the servants away. You can now summon those divine visitors," White respectfully reported.

Earlier that morning, when Ryan told White he needed two large rooms to summon divine visitors, White thought Ryan might have injured his head from the fall into the water.

But after Ryan miraculously produced a bag of food from thin air, White began to have doubts.

According to Ryan, he had received divine enlightenment during the fall, and the Creator God had granted him the power to summon visitors from the divine realm. These divine visitors were immortal and had come to help them rebuild the territory.

White was still puzzled, but he couldn't explain how the food had appeared, so he decided to follow Ryan's instructions and prepared the reception room.

"This must not be known to a third person. If those fanatics from the Temple of the Sea catch wind of this, we'll have a huge problem," Ryan warned once more.

Ryan had thought about using the miracle of summoning players to boost morale, but the entire Arad Kingdom worshiped the Sea God Lugia.

Even his own territory had once had a temple dedicated to the Sea God, though it had been destroyed by the beast tide, and the bishop had perished in the attack.

However, it wouldn't be long before a new bishop arrived to rebuild the temple. If they found out Ryan could summon divine visitors, they'd definitely invite him to the temple as a "guest" to figure out how he did it.

"I understand. I swear on my honor and life that I won't let a word slip," White solemnly vowed.

"You don't need to be so serious. How could I not trust you? I'll head to the reception room now, and I'll leave guarding the castle gate to you," Ryan said with a smile.

"Understood!"

---

Meanwhile, Vrix had already donned his helmet early in the morning, waiting for the countdown to finish.

Yesterday, Bryan had clicked on the pre-registration link after returning home, and he, too, had received a helmet at his doorstep.

However, neither of them saw who delivered the package. The camera footage had glitched right at the moment the package arrived.

Vrix didn't believe it was a coincidence—too convenient to be anything else. The fact that this happened made him trust the game even more. After all, if they could pull off something so magical, developing a virtual reality game didn't seem impossible.

"3, 2, 1, 0..."

As the countdown hit zero, Vrix felt a wave of drowsiness, and his vision was engulfed by darkness.

Suddenly, a beam of light pierced through the darkness, causing him to open his eyes.

"What the... Why am I in the sky?!"

Vrix looked around in terror, realizing he was floating in mid-air, with a lush forest below him.

"Wait, wait! Why am I moving on my own?!"

Before he could react, his body started plummeting uncontrollably toward the ground.

"I'm afraid of heights! Aaaahhh!"

Just as he was about to crash, his body came to a sudden stop, then began soaring through the forest.

"I can pass through trees? I must still be in spirit form. Is this the opening cinematic?"

Vrix started to calm down, realizing that he didn't yet have a physical body, so there was nothing to fear. He began observing his surroundings with great interest.

"The light! The texture of the trees! The ripples in the water! It all looks so real! Damn, this game is amazing!"

Even though he couldn't touch anything yet, the visuals alone had already blown his mind.

"Are these the Pokémon the game mentioned?"

"Damn, that caterpillar is huge! And that beetle! Are those two birds fighting? Their wings are small, but the wind they generate is strong!"

Before Vrix could get a better look, he flew out of the forest and arrived at a small town.

"This town has a medieval vibe. Is the game set in a feudal society? The NPCs look different from each other too. The attention to detail is incredible! What company could have such a strong development team?"

While lost in thought, Vrix found himself floating above the town's castle. Suddenly, a message appeared before his eyes:

[Welcome to the world of Pokémon. Before enjoying your adventure, please create your character.]

[What is your name?]

"Silent Walker."

[Character named successfully.]

[Please design your body and appearance.]

A figure that looked just like him appeared in front of Vrix. He could adjust the body's shape and features as he wished.

"Ugh, I hate customizing characters. I'll just randomize everything by 10 percent."

"Too bad I can't change my gender. I would've liked to try a female character."

[Character creation complete. Enjoy your adventure in the world of Pokémon. Have a great journey!]

"Now, let me down already... Wait! Don't tell me, not agai—"

Before Vrix could finish his sentence, his body began to fall again, and his vision faded to black.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on the ground, his back feeling rather cold.

"Cold?! Wait, isn't this the game? Don't tell me..."

Vrix sat up abruptly, touched the ground, and took a deep breath.

"Damn! The sensation! The smell! It's exactly like real life! Is this really a virtual reality game?!"

The realism of the game made him feel more like he was dreaming. How had technology advanced this far without anyone knowing?

The two others who woke up with him were equally stunned.

"Wow! A fully immersive game with all five senses! I only ever read about this in web novels, but now I get to play it!"

"Am I dreaming?! Ouch! It even hurts!" said one player, pinching his arm, then rubbing it after feeling the pain.

"Are you Bryan?" Vrix asked the player who was rubbing his arm.

"Vrix? Why do you look the same?"

"Didn't you customize your character? You look just like you do in real life."

"Why should I? I'm perfect the way I am! Changing anything would be ruining perfection!"

Vrix twitched as he listened to Bryan's proud declaration.

"This game is seriously amazing. If it weren't for your name floating above your head, I'd think you were an NPC."

"Yeah, I can't believe how realistic this is," another player chimed in. "Hey, I'm Autumn Leaf in the game. You can call me Leaf."

Leaf noticed that Vrix and Bryan seemed to know each other and introduced himself.

"Autumn Leaf? Sounds like a pro player's name. I'm Shadow of the West Wind. Just call me Shadow."

"And I'm Silent Walke—"

Before Vrix could finish introducing himself, the door to the reception room opened.

A man dressed in a black suit walked in, holding a small, purple creature in his arms.

All three players looked at him curiously, but before they could speak, the man interrupted them.

"Welcome, visitors from the divine realm. I know you must have many questions, but before I explain everything, please put on some clothes!"

Ryan was utterly exasperated as he stared at the three naked players. He had prepared clothes for them and even waited a while before coming in, yet somehow, the first thing he saw was three bodies swaying around indecently.

"Kids shouldn't see this—cover your eyes, Bounsweet."

Ryan quickly covered Bounsweet's eyes.

"Boun?"