NOVEL SIMPLE 21: The Second Batch
Unfortunately they didn't have any more Beast Cores strong enough to make unassigned vessels, so CoDestiny had to go hunting boars.
This time was much more successful though, as he'd reached the seventh stage which made him two stages ahead of the boars, enough to make up for the number difference.
The boars did eventualy retreat, but by that point CoDestiny had already killed five of them, which is enough for their purposes.
PCliver and JadeBea helped with bringing the corpses back, and by the time they were done, they'd all reached the seventh stage.
Master Stone helped them remove the Beast Cores, but he didn't give them any Sect Points. It seems previously was just a part of a quest reward.
They can trade the Beast Core between each other for SP so long as they're within the sect, so it'll probably be part of an economy they need to set up where Beast Cores are sold to refiners who use them to make unassigned vessels for SP.
For now though they're all just working together, so with JadeBea now learning the Unassigned Vessel Refining Technique, she manages to help the others get their second success and does the same herself.
Now they decide to pass the time with idle tasks while waiting for when the new players will be able to log in.
Sophie is so excited.
She's going to be able to walk again. To go outside, though technically only in a game.
She really wanted to end the day early so she could play, but Rachel informed her that the VR headset should only be used during regular sleeping hours.
But now it's finally time.
"I've got the VR headset." Her sister brings it to her, still wearing those earpieces.
It's strange to know that despite being with her this entire time, her sister has also been playing the game at the same time. None of her actions seem slow or badly coordinated.
"Thank you." Sophie tries to take the VR headset herself, but struggles to put it on, so her sister helps.
Once she's done choosing her name in that strange void, Sophie (now SaphBea) wakes up in a plain looking room.
The previous players talked about how the game feels so different it could be mistaken for real life, but for her that isn't the case.
She can breath!
Not like she did before, but proper deep breaths.
And her body feels so light. Did she loose weight?
That's unlikely considering how skinny she is. In fact her muscles seem bigger than before. Like they were before her illness developed.
She stands up from the bed.
Without any help. Not from a contraption, not thanks to her sister. She stands up using her own strength.
As she takes her first steps forwards, she starts to tear up. She can actually walk.
Eventualy she spots a mirror and when looking at it she sees her avatar.
"JadeBea." She says, because that's what she looks like. Exactly like her sister's avatar other than the fact her eyes are sapphire blue instead of a jade green.
This makes her smile. Despite being twins they are fraternal, meaning they look surprisingly different. But now people will look at them and say 'look, it's the twins'.
She opens the door to leave the room, and finds eight people waiting for her.
"Look sis!" SaphBea waves to her sister. "I can walk!"
JadeBea stands there for a moment, then rushes forwards and hugs her, tears in her eyes.
"Sis! You're embarrassing me in front of everyone!" SaphBea complains, but embraces her sister all the same.
"I... I just... I'm so happy to see you like this." JadeBea sniffles.
"Ehem!" PCliver interrupts. "I really don't want to interrupt this, but we really should get to the introduction."
"Sorry..." JadeBea apologises and goes back to her position besides PCliver.
"Now then. Welcome to Other World Cultivation, the game that truly embodies the idea of another world." PCliver says. "This game offers a great amount of freedom, but that also means the possibility of people ruining the fun for the rest of us. So as to prevent that, I have created a list of rules we should all follow to the best of our abilities. If you are willing to accept these rules then you will be granted a starting pack to make the early game less dangerous."
He gestures behind himself, where spears and shields made of the Barkeater Beetle horn and shell can be found, along with some spare vessels.
PCliver hands out some pieces of paper. "These are the current rules. They may be updated in the future, but the core idea of them will not change, and if you ever feel they are too restrictive then please explain how you think they can be improved. Now how about you introduce yourselves?"
"TaunTan, invited by CoDestiny." A man says. "I'm happy to follow the rules."
"I'm GrowGirl, randomly invited." A woman says. "I just want to do some farming, so if nothing interferes with that then I'll agree."
"DaRule, invited by PCliver." A man says. "So obviously I accept."
"My name's FancyShorts. Random invite." Another man says. "My situation's similar to GrowGirl, but I want to focus on tailoring. I can also do some dismantling."
"Hi everyone, the name's SaphBea. It's great to be here with all of you. As you can probably tell, I was invited by my sister JadeBea." SaphBea says. "I don't have any particular talents, but if my sister thinks I should follow the rules then I trust her."
"My name is CarpArc. Randomly invited, though I suspect it wasn't so random." The last woman says. "I'm technically an architect by trade, but consider myself more of a carpenter, specialising in all forms of wood crafting. My goal is to make the best buildings this world has ever seen."
"Very good." PCliver smiles. "Now to start with, I highly recommend you all set yourselves the task of getting to stage three by the end of the your eight hours and buying the Parallel Consciousness Technique, as that will allow you to continue experiencing the game without having to wait for night time. First you will need to learn the Basic Cultivation Technique, which costs 100 SP, then cultivate using it and the Cleansing Impurity Technique to reach the third stage and buy the Parallel Consciousness Technique for 300 SP."
"From what I've seen it's impossible to earn 400 SP in only eight hours." FancyShorts comments. "Especially since about half of that will have to be spent using the Basic Cultivation Technique."
"That is true." PCliver admits. "In the future we will be setting up a loan system, where experienced players buy the technique for you in return for you paying back with interest later. Unfortunately our SP situation is currently very tight, so you will instead have to convince one of us to sponsor you. For example, CarpArc, the sect is currently in desperate need of more buildings. I am willing to sponsor you on the condition that you help build a certain building for me first."
"Deal!" CarpArc immediately agrees. "That's exactly what I was hoping for.
Unfortunately not everyone is able to get a sponsorship. TaunTan, SaphBea and DaRule get one because of their connection to one of the original players, but GrowGirl and FancyShorts are unfortunately left out.
They don't seem to mind too much though, as they don't see any reason to rush things.
AN: What do you think the spare vessels look like. I noticed I never actually gave a description, so I want to know so I don't end up going against people's current mental image.