MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

In the New Leaf training camp, a group of players stood in a circle mumbling unrecognizable chants as they tried summoning an incredible being.

"Appear for us, oh mighty Demon King!"

"We humbly await your arrival so that you can guide us!"

"Heroes of Justice are overrated anyway. Please dispense us your wisdom!"

"Please teach me so that I too can get slaves of my own. I don't need an entire guild. A cute girl will do!"

In between every call for the Demon King, loud chuckles could be heard. This had all started with a few players deciding to wait for Jack to come back. He was bound to log in soon, right?

But waiting was so dull that one of them had whimsically and playfully started a full-blown demon summoning ritual.

Why weren't they doing something productive instead? They wanted to know more about the upcoming faction— but honestly, this was just an excuse to have some fun role-playing.

That's when one of the participants suddenly jumped up: "Guys, I know what we're missing. We need a sacrifice!"

They all looked at one another, gasping in realization. Of course, how could they have forgotten this! A group of dudes stepped forward, acting as a would-be sacrifice. After a round of "sacrificing," they were back to being bored with one adding:

"Guys, guys. Wouldn't this work better if we used beautiful girls as a sacrifice?" He declared wisely (?) and full of confidence.

The surrounding players happily played along, even rounding up fellow female players to do a mock ritual once again.

"Oh, great Demon King, I sacrifice these cute ladies to you! Please appear for us and—"

He was suddenly interrupted by a flash of purple light…

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

As Jack logged back in, he couldn't help but freeze for a second. What the hell was happening here?!

All around him, there were beauties as far as the eye could see— because they blocked his sight. They all noticed him and gasped in shock, with some of them giggling happily.

Then they gave him a bit of space, letting him notice the big player circle centered around his exact spot. As they spotted him, they began rejoicing madly.

"The Demon King is back!"

"Our summoning ritual has been a success!"

"It was all a matter of offering the proper sacrifice!"

"Isn't this timing a little too coincidental? Guys, what if we just stumbled upon some huge secret technique just now?!"

Jack couldn't help but feel at a loss. Those guys sure had a lively imagination. As if a joke ritual could truly summon him. Who the heck had this ridiculous idea in the first place? That stuff obviously only worked on NPCs.

Oh well, whatever— as long as they weren't disruptive.

"Alright, all of you. I have some stuff to do. If you'll excuse me." Jack shouted, pushing his way through a sea of breasts, asses, and laughter.

Except he suddenly realized that while they were letting him go without making a fuss, a few dozen players were now shadowing him. Was this a fan club or something else? It was really hard to tell.

Jack quickly contacted the members of the Mighty Wolves: it was time to get business done. They quickly flocked to him a few minutes later.

They were all smiles as they greeted him excitedly, many of them subtly showing off their new equipment. By now, they all had at least 1-2 armor pieces and level 5 weapons. Where had they gotten the latter? Jack wasn't even sure nor cared.

There were even five of them who had level 10 iron weapons. They sure had been busy! This display wowed the players in the back, who gasped in awe.

"Boss, how have you been? What do you need us for?" The CPR dude asked with a heated glint in his eyes.

"I'm establishing a faction, and I need to recruit people to help me run it. Anyone interested in—"

"Hell yeah!"

"Of course!"

"Is that even a question?"

They all shouted their will to participate. They weren't dumb and knew the benefits that would follow. After all, he was the one who had showed them how to hunt efficiently and how to steal resources from bosses.

"There you have it. We're all in. Anyway, what will this faction be called?"

That's when Jack froze. Right, a name could carry a faction if it inspired respect and sounded glorious. He couldn't help but ponder over the question.

"How about Demonic Legion? D.L. for short? Yep, that seems like a great name!" Jack confidently declared.

If people called him the Demon king, he should embrace an edgy faction name, right? It could become an inside joke in the future: the faction named after its creator— kind of.

"Woo!" (Excited)

The bystanders couldn't help but choke for a second. Demonic Legion?! Wasn't this name both too ominous and straightforward? It was neither grand nor speaking of their teaching mission.

But when they looked at how pleased Jack seemed, they couldn't bring themselves to say anything. Instead, they promptly praised the "amazing" name.

"Awesome!"

"Today is a day of glory!"

"The Demonic Legion is now created!"

"This sure is a great name for a great faction!"

Jack then turned toward the fans in the back:

"You guys should wander around for a bit. We have some things to discuss before I make a complete official announcement. Steven has jobs in the village if you guys want."

They nodded as they busied themselves with whatever bullshit they could come up with.

Many headed to Steven following Jack's suggestion. After all, most of his quests involved tending to the shop. The poor NPC almost had a heart attack when a mob decisively invaded his shop.

"What are you g-guys all doing at my shop?!" He cried out.

"We're not here to cause trouble."

"Hurry up and give us a quest!"

"I'll clean the place!"

"I'll sort the inventory."

"Leave making signs to me!"

They enthusiastically got to work, but there were so many of them that just navigating the shop became difficult. What had suddenly gotten into them?! Steven watched it all happen slack-jawed.

About an hour later, Jack was finally done with all the preparations, and he had the players assemble as one. He began his speech with:

"Infinite can be daunting and even overwhelming at first, but it's a world that you all will get to love as I did. One full of beauty, adventure, challenge, mystery, and a whole goddamn lot of fun."

He spoke with emotion, one that two days of playtime didn't warrant. Yet no one felt that his speech was out of place. It was as if he had played Infinite forever. Most didn't even realize it, but they all felt it.

"From now on, the Demonic Legion will thrive! No matter what happens, we will make Infinite ours. We will carve our place in this world and prosper!" Jack heatedly shouted.

Many cheered to what they perceived as a world domination plan speech. Well, they weren't totally wrong either.

Jack then explained the various deals he had made with the NPCs:

1. Steven: Players would pay their admission via corpses that would be stored at his place in exchange for a rental fee.

2. The Butcher: He would sell special sausages to the members at a discount. (Actually, he'd just raise prices for everyone else)

3. The old alchemist: She would now sell potions in bulk for a very slight discount. Spend 1 gold and save 4 silver!…it was better than nothing, right?

4. The blacksmith: He'd allow Jack to camp in front of his place every night for a little while. Players would be able to bring their corpses there for butchering. (Small fee for members, medium fees for anyone else)

5. The training instructor: He'd set up a small private training area that could only be accessed by members with the faction emblem. The sales of the wooden token would go through the roof!

As for the free course for Newbies, it would be held in the general area of the training camp.

The people's reaction was very straightforward.

"Wow, so many benefits!"

"I'm so joining the VIP training!

"Welp, time for me to hunt foxes!"

"Butchering gives more money than directly selling?!"

But suddenly, a group of players stepped forward. They were a stark contrast to the nearby players as they seemed pretty angry.

Their leader was an elegant young woman that made even walking seem like an art. She stopped before Jack and twisted her delicate brows in contempt:

"Don't be fooled by this man. He doesn't have any interest in helping any of you. The various shop discounts? Anyone can make similar deals with enough affinity with the NPCs."

Her cronies were nodding in agreement while glaring at him with malice.

"As for the so-called training, Infinite just started. No matter how good he is, it's only been two days. Whatever he can teach will only be common knowledge in a week. Do you guys really need to pay for this?"

She was now grandly gesturing toward the crowd.

"Then there is the butchering. That part is truly ridiculous. He barely does anything yet gets a commission on every corpse brought to him. It's free money and life-skill XP. This man is simply trying to exploit you all!" She concluded

She wasn't exactly wrong, but she wasn't totally right either. Sure, players could buy a gathering tool, raise their affinity with NPCs and study the game, but how long would that take?

"Follow me in boycotting this evil organization that wants nothing but to make a profit off your back! Who's with me!" She shouted, her followers applauding her speech.

There was a long moment of silence. That's when a voice resounded, cutting through the tense atmosphere:

"I mean, he's the Demon King…What the fuck did you expect?" Just like that, all the stress was released.

"Pffttt— haha, that's so fucking true!"

"Who's that girl anyway?"

"Meh, who cares."

Then, an ecstatic guy came forward:

"Holy fuck, guys! The Demon King's Highlights are out!"

"What! Are you kidding me?! Is this true?"

"How's this even possible?! He's right here!"

"Who the fuck cares? I'm logging out to watch it."

"Same"

"Same!"

"+1"

The entire packed village suddenly turned into a ghost town. They all wanted to be the firsts to see it. Otherwise, they risked people spoiling it for them.

Left behind was a fuming yet still elegant lady stomping her foot. She turned toward Jack, spitting out: "One day, I'll expose you for the piece of trash that you are!" She then hurriedly left.

Jack was at a loss. What the fuck was that about? He couldn't remember antagonizing that girl before…maybe she was just a self-righteous entitled individual?

He also couldn't help but feel strange. How was this Pancakes guy so quick to work?

Either it had been rushed, or he had just contracted a monster....