---Third POV---
A failed suicide attempt left the girl staring blankly at everything in front of her. It was as if they weren't discussing her as the subject of disposal but rather some random stray cat or dog.
With Viktor's instructions, Alyanne was extremely careful as she picked her up. Only after bending down did she remember what was in her hand.
"Oh right, this is something that fell from that player earlier."
In fact, there had been a pile of rocks and sand as well. But since those were too nonsensical and impractical to carry, she had only brought the valuable item.
"Oh?"
Viktor took the palm-sized metallic cube, and a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.
"Well then, I take back what I said earlier. Part of their plan did succeed."
At the very least, they remembered to retrieve the item loaned to the player.
Whenever Viktor approached the three rescued girls, their bodies instinctively trembled and wavered.
To avoid causing them further harm, once Alyanne arrived, all tasks involving their return were handed over to her.
Once everything was concluded, Alyanne, who had stayed up for hours, took the chance to go back and rest before dawn.
After throwing the various creatures he had obtained into storage, he also left.
Before closing his eyes, he casually glanced at the system panel.
[Players: 31/39]
Oh, thirty-one still alive...
Wait, what??
Thirty-one!
Viktor reopened the panel.
"The night raid team was completely wiped out. Four players should've died. And with some players already on resurrection cooldown earlier, how can there still be thirty-one alive?"
He repeatedly checked all the panels he could open but couldn't reach any players inside the goblin nest.
While muttering that cheap goods have no quality—cursing the game panel's inconsistency for its low divine power cost—his mind was flooded with questions.
"Who's still alive?"
---
The answer came to Viktor after dawn.
After helping the last batch of new players finish their introductory storyline, the veteran players, desperate for labor, quickly took over guiding the newcomers, herding them like ducks and tricking them into work.
With nothing to do for the time being, he opened the forum, hoping to find information about the surviving players.
As soon as he opened it, he saw a thread posted by LootGoblin: [Why Am I Still Alive!!!]
Viktor paused scrolling through the page.
"Well, there's the answer."
He immediately clicked on the post.
The game panel could only monitor the scene when players left the goblin nest's range. He was very curious about what had happened in between.
The post began with a rant against the three players who had received the exploration mission. LootGoblin had already pieced things together in the group chat: The three had agreed to rescue him. But in the end, saving him was merely a side task; bombing the ruins was their main objective!
They even expected him—a short-legged dwarf—to handle the aftermath and carry everything away.
Under relentless pursuit, they had to take an unfamiliar route back to the novice village. At night, no less!
Even cattle and horses aren't treated this poorly!
---
[Fortunately, I was late because of some unforeseen circumstances... Pfft, what am I saying? There's nothing fortunate about this!]
[So you all just started without me, huh?]
[I can't believe I even thought you had some conscience, running back to you when enemies were closing in!]
[Only to arrive and see a bomb about to explode. I mean, seriously %@#￥&*!]
---
Judging by the wording, LootGoblin was understandably agitated.
Viktor ignored most of the emotional phrases and extracted the key points.
Things had unfolded just as Viktor suspected.
Contact with the three players had been delayed, but they did eventually rendezvous at the explosion point.
The bomb went off, with power exceeding their expectations, and all three were booted offline.
The thread's title had clearly been edited. After spending nearly a thousand words condemning his unreliable teammates, LootGoblin suddenly turned the tone, expressing disbelief at still being alive.
Now, this topic got interesting.
Both new and veteran players rushed to boost the post.
---
[No way! Survived the explosion's center? Was the bomb too weak, or are you cheating?]
[Isn't this game supposed to focus on realism? Surviving an explosion shockwave fits the realism theme?]
[Dwarf physique this strong??? Envy!]
---
Whether it was stumbling into enemy territory or surviving the explosion, everything happening to one person was too dramatic.
Cloud players found LootGoblin's story too far-fetched.
Meanwhile, beta players who knew he really was in the goblin nest started envying the dwarf's resilience. They all thought: Is this the benefit of playing a rare race?
But LootGoblin felt wronged.
He had cursed his three unreliable teammates before bed. When he woke up in the morning, he planned to check his resurrection cooldown and schedule his next login.
Instead, he found no countdown at all. The game spent a few minutes loading and then booted him out again.
It felt exactly like being unconscious and unable to log in.
Only then did he realize he wasn't dead.
He vividly remembered the terrifying heat he'd felt right before being booted offline. He had been certain he wouldn't survive.
Because he had no idea what had happened, he turned to the forums for help.
But players didn't believe him.
---
[We demand dwarves be nerfed! Rebuild human glory; our mission is sacred!]
[Exactly, two innate abilities are already overpowered, and now they're buffed? Do we humans even stand a chance?]
[By the way, fire magic needs a buff. Its growth potential is trash!]
[Light magic, too! Water magic can both attack and heal. Are pure healers destined to be useless?]
[Ahem, light magic can actually attack.]
---
As the game designer, Viktor remained expressionless as he scrolled down.
Although wind magic, with its speed boost and temporary invisibility, was currently considered the meta by players, light magic had the most complete growth system due to Luminaris mimicking the God of Light's divine framework.
Still, he was puzzled as to why no player had managed to use light magic, especially the Holy Light, offensively—it was all being used for healing.
Is it that players haven't adjusted their mindset? Viktor speculated internally.
The effects of a spell depended heavily on the caster's intent. For example, fireball spells could range from summoning a rain of fireballs to forming a massive singular fireball.
If Holy Light lacked attack capabilities, the problem had to lie with the players themselves.
"These issues can wait until the goblin nest is cleared."
Viktor put the matter aside for now and replied to the forum thread using his admin account: [Dear player, the dwarf race does not have physical advantages~ ^_^]
This successfully redirected the chaotic discussion.
Beta players, who had been crying for buffs and nerfs, started focusing on the real question.
[Then how is he still alive?]
The answer to that question would have to come from the person involved.
And LootGoblin wasn't alone—there were two other players at the scene, weren't there?
---
The two other players finally came online.
[CowardlySurvivor]: I was planning to loaf around with the game's double-time feature, but the respawn cooldown booted me to the forum
[CowardlySurvivor]: What's going on? LootGoblin wasn't blown up by a bomb?
[LootGoblin]: You've got some nerve to talk!
[Netizen 1]: Here they come! Here they come!
[Netizen 2]: The forum admins just announced there's no "dwarf race bug." So, what actually happened?
[Netizen 3]: Selling front-row seats with popcorn and cola!
[FastingMidLane]: I'm curious, what do you all do for a living? How are you online 24/7?
---
Once the three involved parties gathered, they shared their perspectives on the events. Finally, Viktor pieced together what had happened.
At the time, less than 30 seconds remained before the bomb exploded.
The elite goblin was about to grab the bomb.
Despite internally cursing his three teammates countless times, LootGoblin's first reaction was to rush forward and wrest the bomb away.
The elite goblin, sensing the rapidly accumulating energy in the coconut melon bomb, knew it was extremely dangerous.
At the last moment, it went berserk, broke free from its restraints, and raised its hand to attack LootGoblin, the "traitor" in its eyes.
CowardlySurvivor noticed the dire situation and bit the goblin's leg. In response, the goblin violently shook him off, sending him crashing into Lux.
Lux's long-prepared ultimate attack was thrown off target and accidentally hit the fleeing LootGoblin.
Then, the bomb exploded, instantly kicking all three players offline.
It all happened so suddenly.
---
[FastingMidLane]: Haha, luckily, Holy Light has very different effects on allies and enemies. Otherwise, with the goblin so close to the bomb, it would have definitely seized it. The outcome might've been completely different
[CowardlySurvivor]: Wait, so you cast a spell at the end? Hold on, where did you get the mana??
[FastingMidLane]: Mana is like water in a sponge. If you squeeze, there's always some left
[CowardlySurvivor]: Why can't I squeeze anything out, then?
[FastingMidLane]: Who knows? Maybe because fire magic is just trash-tier?
[CowardlySurvivor]: ...
LootGoblin]: ... So my current miserable state is thanks to your healing magic?
[FastingMidLane]: There's no other explanation
---
"Was it the effect of Holy Light?" Viktor stroked his jaw thoughtfully, then shook his head.
"No, a basic spell shouldn't have such a powerful effect."
While a Grand Mage casting Holy Light might make it appear as a mid- or high-tier spell due to their abundant mana, it still wouldn't be enough to withstand a close-range explosion.
Given the power of the bomb and LootGoblin's position, the chance of surviving using Holy Light alone was minuscule. The heat and shockwave from the blast couldn't be healed by Holy Light's slow-acting effect.
Holy Light? More like firelight enveloping you completely.
Unless... the player triggered Overlimit Magic!
Overlimit Magic occurred when a highly gifted mage, faced with depleted mana, life-threatening danger, intense stimulation, or a shift in mindset, unleashed their full potential to cast magic far beyond their current level.
The cost of Overlimit Magic was immense—ranging from severe injuries and permanent loss of mana or life force to inner sanctum or even death. It was essentially a one-time spell.
"There's no other explanation besides Overlimit Magic," Viktor muttered to himself.
What other surprises did these players hold that he wasn't aware of?
A mere Mage Apprentice performing Overlimit Magic? If the Mage Guild's old geezers heard about this, they'd probably lament for days. A top-tier prodigy, wasted at the very starting point of magical exploration—how tragic!
Having figured out why LootGoblin survived, he tossed the forum post aside and pulled up the player's profile.
"FastingMidLane? Is she the one who got lured in by a casual minigame?"
Viktor stared at the profile, lost in thought.
Like other players granted the Divine Avatar talent, her innate abilities seemed far superior.
To figure out why and see if he could help all players gain the ability to cast Overlimit Magic at critical moments, he stepped into the Flesh Rebirth Array room.
The array glowed with white light, indicating it was active.
"I set a save point here; her data should be recorded, too, right?"
Since new bodies could be crafted based on saved data, everything about the original body was obviously documented.
He stared at the 10,000 divine power required to use the elemental affinity detection function. It was far too expensive.
After much tinkering, he finally managed to use 400 points to single out Lux's Light Element Affinity.
[Light Element Affinity: 70/100]
"Only seventy?"
Viktor clicked on the panel in surprise, forgetting the sting of the cost just to see this information.
"Are you sure there's no mistake?"
A 100 affinity was something only a divine entity could possess. Generally, anything over 80 was considered top-tier, and over 60 indicates exceptional talent.
Most ordinary people didn't even break single digits.
While 70 was impressive, it shouldn't allow a Mage Apprentice to use Overlimit Magic.
The panel jittered slightly as if protesting. Viktor had no choice but to accept it.
"Fine, you're not wrong."
If it wasn't her affinity, then where did her talent come from?
"Was it pure luck and desperation?" While possible, Viktor didn't think it was that simple.
As thoughts churned, his hands subconsciously pulled up Lux's detailed records, including her original application form.
The form was densely filled, every box completed.
Then, inspiration struck him.
"It's... her mindset!"
Viktor had some impression of this female player he recruited.
In the early stages of Honeyvale Town's rebuilding, most tasks involved heavy labor, so he primarily chose male candidates for cost-effectiveness.
He only let her in because she spent an entire day and night completing the minigame on a terrible website. Clearly, she had plenty of free time—perfect for a Watcher.
More importantly, despite the reward being a mere discount voucher, she meticulously filled out the application form with utmost seriousness, leaving no room for fraud.
Her qualifications and attitude matched, so she was prioritized.
"Could her respect for the game have shaped her mindset and bestowed her talent?"
Magic, being inherently idealistic, often reflects its wielder's thoughts. Talent influenced by mindset wasn't unusual.
For instance, the player best at wind magic, Garble, also focused on immersion and role-playing.
When someone respected magic, it reciprocated equally.
"Does the best way to help players improve lie in boosting their immersion and sense of belonging?"
Even after figuring out how to enhance player abilities, Viktor felt no joy. He stared at the floating virtual panel in silence for a long time.
The reason he packaged the world of Aeltia as a game was to prevent players from taking it too seriously.
Players with attachments—wouldn't they get lost in the immersion?
---
---
50 advance chapters!
[email protected]/Malphegor