The Boss Behind The Game

After the previous undercover infiltration, both the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King felt that they had perhaps discovered a massive hidden secret.

For a few days after that incident, they simply ignored the players, no matter how much they irked and annoyed them. They finally found out how jaw-droppingly terrifying and formidable their power was. Besides that, when they realized that the King of Beiqi might still be alive, they shuddered violently in fear and trepidation.

Meanwhile, in the inner chamber of the Mansion of the Dead, Bei Li was holding a minuscule shred of Hiderigami's flesh and examining it thoroughly with an intent look on her face.

After Hu He had gone offline, she covertly pilfered this little shred of his flesh through her personal channel. She wanted to slice it up and study it in great detail.

However, Bei Li merely acquired a microscopic morsel of flesh from Hiderigami's inner organs. Hence, its disappearance would be too insignificant and unnoticeable to raise any suspicions from Hu He.

According to Bei Li's theory, the skill that Hiderigami used to enhance and strengthen his physical body would be greatly helpful to the current players who were of the warrior class. If she could research it and construct some skill set paths, she could then create a new class advancement template for the warrior class.

After all, the warriors could currently only advance into Rune Masters. As a Rune Master relied on unarmed combat and did not actually wield any sharp weapons, many players who wanted to fight aggressively with swords and daggers were quite disappointed and displeased playing as a warrior.

The warriors wanted to advance and be stronger, but they also wanted to battle with sharp weapons. However, if they chose to advance into a Rune Master, it would simply be a miserable and permanent farewell to weapon-wielding combat. This had made many players feel greatly disgruntled. Hence, they fervently discussed it in the forums and suggested to the officials to improve the class or create another new warrior character for them to advance into.

Needless to say, Lu Wu had heard their pleas and swiftly took action. The possibility of the birth of a new character class this time would completely depend on that little morsel of Hiderigami's flesh.

After Bei Li carefully studied it for an hour, a globule of blood-red light emerged before her eyes. As she raised her head to look at it, a contented smile peered from her face.

"Wu, it's done!"

As she uttered that phrase excitedly, she naturally placed her hand on her waist and beamed with a proud expression, seemingly asking for someone to shower her with compliments.

As someone that possessed an artifact, Lu Wu was unfortunately very unskilled. When he heard of Bei Li's stupendous achievement, he instantly yelled a verbal representation of a thumbs-up gesture, to commend and cheer for her.

…...

The events from the new year were still ongoing, so the players were still diligently farming in the Land of Beiqi to gather the hidden red envelopes and outfit fragments.

Suddenly, two game messages popped up on the screen for everyone:

[Server Announcement: A new character class, Drought Zombie, for warrior class advancement is revealed.]

[Server Announcement: A new character class, Wood Spiritmaster, for mage class advancement is revealed.]

When they saw the new class advancement notification in the top left corner on the screen, many players instantly opened it.

When they entered the new class demonstration scene, they saw a new warrior character standing menacingly in the middle, with a proud expression and his arms crossed in front of his chest. His skin was completely crimson red, and he was extremely burly.

Then, a menu suddenly appeared:

[Class Introduction]

[Drought Zombie]: The Drought Zombie had abandoned his divine soul and proceeded to combine his spirit and body. It was because he wanted to train and enhance his physical body to prove his Sacred Cause and gain an immortal body. When he succeeded in the end, no attacks or powers could harm him at all.

[Class Specialty]: Possesses a durable and sturdy body. Players can develop the class by learning the blood cultivation skill branches. In the end, players can manipulate blood after completing class development.

Weapons Compatibility: All warrior class weapons can be wielded.

Class Advancement Requirements: Reach Level 30 in the warrior character class.

After the menu disappeared, three berserkers emerged specifically to demonstrate the character's skills to the players.

In the blink of an eye, they lunged at the Drought Zombie for a vicious attack.

"Blood Qi Shield!"

The Dought Zombie, who was standing in the center, set his legs apart. With a swift movement, a mist of Blood Qi surged from every pore of his body, gradually staining his menacing eyes in a deep hue of crimson red.

When the three berserkers approached him, they unsheathed their large swords and slashed at the Drought Zombie's body.

Even though his body was endlessly assaulted by the sharp blades, not even a hint of a scar had appeared on the Drought Zombie's body. Instead, the Blood Qi surrounding him swelled with each attack, as a red number that indicated health loss appeared on each berserker's head.

A skill description menu suddenly popped up again:

[Blood Qi Shield]: Manipulate the blood in the body to form a protective barrier. Each attack will cause damage to the attacker instead. The skill lasts for one minute, while the cooldown time is ten minutes.

After the menu disappeared again, the Drought Zombie bared his bloody fangs and struck at the enemies with a swift swipe of his arm. Instantly, a huge Blood Qi claw formed in the air and powerfully slashed at the three berserkers, causing them to fumble backward.

Then the Drought Zombie waved his arms consecutively, unleashing an onslaught of bloody claws that materialized in mid-air at the three berserkers, destroying them into clouds of black mist.

[Blood Assasination]: Attach the power of Blood Qi onto the arm to unleash attacks imbued with Blood Qi (both ranged and close-combat). Each attack will consume 2% of the total blood volume (the higher the total blood volume, the stronger the attacks are.)

After the three berserkers perished, a vague silhouette promptly appeared near the Drought Zombie. It was none other than a mage character who was wielding a wooden staff.

"Poisonous Mist!"

"Yin Corrosion!"

The mage unleashed two attacks at the Drought Zombie. However, the Drought Zombie did not release the Blood Qi in his arms to retaliate. Instead, he stood unmovingly in the Poisonous Mist and Yin Corrosion fog without taking any damage.

[Zombie Body (Passive)]: The ability allows the body to be highly resistant to Negative States such as poison or zombie energies. (Passive ability may develop and become stronger as the level increases.)

…...

After the Drought Zombie demonstration had ended, the scene did not disappear. Instead, another new figure emerged onto the screen.

The figure was clad in pale, emerald green robes, as gorgeous butterflies and bees mesmerizingly fluttered around him. The scene was so vivid and invigorating, the players could almost sniff the gentle aroma wafting in the air through the computer monitor.

[Wood Spiritmaster]: A caster that has entered the path of wood spirits, thus unlocking the ability to communicate with mother nature.

Class Specialty: A support type and manipulator character that specializes in healing and wood-type abilities.

Weapons Compatibility: Magic staff.

Class Advancement Requirements: Reach Level 30 in the mage character class.

[Basic Skills]: Gift of Nature, Light of Wood Spirits, Summon Forest Demon, Vine Jail, Gift of Life

[Gift of Nature Level 1 (Passive)]: Every Wood Spiritmaster is a messenger of mother nature and receives a gift of nature by recovering four health points each second.

[Light of Wood Spirits Level 1]: Gather the power of wood spirits to heal one target. The amount of healing depends on the skill level.

[Summon Forest Demon]: Temporarily imbue spirits into plants (flowers, grass, or tree-type plants), to summon a forest demon into battle. The power of the skill depends on the levels of the plants used (it would be harder to imbue spirits into stronger plants.) It can also be used to increase the growth rate of plants.

[Vine Jail]: Mark a targeted opponent as an enemy of nature and cause the surrounding plants to automatically wrap around it (can be used to immobilize enemies in plantless zones by first sowing some seeds and instantly growing them into plants.)

[Gift of Life]: Unleash all the power of the wood spirits in one explosive skill. This will cause the user to lose 10% of his health every second, while releasing a huge amount of healing in a wide area (the skill will automatically deactivate when the user's health is below 10%.)

...

The sudden reveal of two new character classes simultaneously caused the players in the forum to be completely thunderstruck.

The starry-eyed players stared intently as each scene of the skill demonstration was unveiled.

Peppa_Boar: "Finally a destructive tank is here. This Drought Zombie seems like it's stronger than the Rune Master. Not only is it great at both defensive and offensive skills, it even has abilities that inflict Negative States. I feel that the character class will be great at single combat, especially against mages."

Invincible_Loneliness: "It uses blood cultivation, right? It seems to have some similarities to my character class. Nice, nice!"

Xueli_The_Strongest: "Finally, we have a tank and cleric now. Why does the Wood Spiritmaster look like the little ladies from the Wood Spirit Clan? But, it seems to be much stronger."

Assassin_Creed: "The Wood Spiritmaster must be a character class that is geared to assist its teammates. Especially its healing abilities, it's a must-have in team battles. Just look at the little dog from the Myth Guild, their teamwork is impeccable."

Dancing_Battleaxe: "I really want to advance into a Drought Zombie, but I'm a little scared that the class advancement requirements are too terrifying. (scared emoji)"

Broke_Trash: "Great, I kept delaying my class advancement into a Five Elements Warlock because I'm too bad at aiming and I'm afraid of missing my skills in battles. Now that they have been released, I can now convert into a Wood Spiritmaster. Yummy!"

Crayon_Shinchan: "The officials finally give players with terrible aim like us some candy. Both of the character classes don't need to aim much, with one resisting damage and one with healing abilities. Both are brainless characters. (laughing emoji) I know the players who are going to advance into these two classes are gonna insult me now. Come, I'm waiting! (laughing emoji)"

Roaring_Thunder: "Can anyone expose Crayon_Shinchan's address? I'm going to send a crate of bombs as a gift. (laughing emoji)"

Murder_In_The_Wind: "Why don't the assassins like us have a second class advancement? Are the officials trying to make us mad? (slamming table emoji)"

Expired_Cracker: "Right, what about us? I'll give the officials a day to contemplate it, can they please think about the assassins' feelings, too? By hook or by crook, you have to introduce a second class advancement for us tomorrow! (slamming table emoji)"

Assassins_Alliance: "Come, everybody. Let's create a top post to protest for the assassin players! Let the officials see our loud voices and show that we are not afraid of the useless officials' intimidation and discrimination! (slamming table emoji)"

Ye_Xueer_is_the_Cutest: "Even though I've already advanced into a Cursed Apostle, why can't assassin players like us have a second class advancement? I'm so mad! (bomb emoji)"

…...

Lu Wu felt very displeased and helpless when he saw the players' ardent discussion in the forum.

After all, this was not really a game, and everything in it was based on reality.

One of the character classes was based on the warrior template created by researching Hiderigami's physical state, while the other was formulated by studying the talent ability of the Wood Spirit Clan. After Bei Li had improved and tweaked them, both of them would have permanent and linearly-growing character templates.

As for the assassin class, Lu Wu still did not possess a complete development system to create a second class advancement template.

Hence, he sincerely wished to create it, but he did not have the means.

Thus, he accidentally deleted the top forum post of the assassin players' passionate protest.

…...

In the Arctic Abyss in Beiqi.

A piercingly cold winter gale was billowing ferociously across the land, as heavy snow was falling gracefully yet menacingly from the dark, gloomy sky.

Murphy and Little Pomelo who had arrived there felt as though they had entered another realm in the Land of Beiqi, since the surrounding landscape and atmosphere had undergone a massive transformation.

The temperature there was so freezingly cold, they could feel the glacial numbness in their bones, even after lowering their physical senses.

The two of them heeded Tong Gua's instructions and spent an entire day to travel from the Mansion of the Dead to that ice land, without the help of a transport array. Luckily, they had purchased some winter outfits from the shop. Otherwise, the subzero temperature would inflict a myriad of Negative States and gradually reduce their health, preventing them from venturing too deep into that desolate area.

The chance of survival in this bleak landscape was almost nil, they did not see any hint of a living being or even a plant on their treacherous journey there.

When they remembered that Tong Gua claimed that some leftover members of a defeated group that had lost their power were hiding in the Arctic Abyss, they increasingly felt doubtful about that possibility.

However, they continued on, venturing deeper into the area as they trekked carefully on the thick, winter snow. A single misstep would send one falling into a bottomless pit.

Since they were both assassins, they used Shadow Step to walk on the thick layer of snow. Even though they could not hide their tracks perfectly, they could at least prevent themselves from falling in.

"Murphy, I think that we will freeze to death if we continue forward. If there really is a defeated group here, I honestly feel that they would've frozen to death ages ago," Little Pomelo's cheeks were flushed red from the biting cold, while her lips were purplish and trembling violently.

"Keep at it. If we really died, we can just recover and come back again," nagged Murphy, as he felt the bone-numbing coldness of Little Pomelo infecting him.

"Okay!"

Hence, the two of them began trudging ahead, again.

The Arctic Abyss was truly an abyss. After only taking a few steps, red numbers that indicated a loss of health appeared on their foreheads, despite the protective gear they were wearing.

Both of them felt greatly dejected, as they knew that their health would not last long enough for them to venture deeper, before they would have to turn back and return home.

As they were preparing to turn around and leave the area, a sudden burst of screaming noises echoed from afar.

The sounds seemed distant and were distorted by the blowing gale. Thus, both of them could not clearly discern it.

After stopping and listening closely, they were certain that a sound was indeed echoing from that direction. Hence, they exchanged a quick glance with each other, and swiftly marched with hurried footsteps toward the source of the noise.

As the sound became increasingly clear, they gradually slowed their pace as they carefully approached the location of the noise.

When they could visibly identify the source of the noise, they were both momentarily dumbfounded by what the scene that unfolded upon their eyes.

A group of young boys that was about 7 or 8 years old, with sapphire blue hair and crystal-like eyes, were fighting amongst themselves on the snowy ground.

It was an intense clash, with everyone fiercely punching and kicking one another violently, while wearing a vicious expression on their faces.

Something else also piqued their curiosity. The place was absolutely freezing, but the group of young boys seemed to be unbothered by the biting cold. They were only dressed in thin clothes as they moved around on the thick layer of snow bare-footed.

After a moment of consideration, both of them activated the explanation mode as they stared at the group of young boys:

[Name: Ice Blue]

[Background: Ice Snow Clan (Descendants of the Divine Clan)]: They are the descendants of the Divine Clan from the ancient times of Beiqi, and possess the ability to manipulate ice.

Ability Analysis: Ghost Commander Level.

When they saw the analysis menu, a look of utter disbelief appeared on Murphy and Little Pomelo's faces.

Then, they promptly diverted their gaze toward the children before them.

The menu revealed that all of them were, in fact, powerful beings of the Ghost Commander level. One of them was larger than the rest, and was clearly half-way toward becoming a Ghost General.

"They're so strong! We can't defeat any of them at all!" Little Pomelo exclaimed in a quiet whisper.

"We must not attract their attention, we mustn't," Murphy replied as he furiously nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the children on the snowy ground stopped fighting each other. In the blink of an eye, all of them vanished, and reappeared right behind Murphy and Little Pomelo!

Both of them instantly broke into a cold sweat, shuddering violently in unspeakable fear.

"Who are you?" the larger child asked them as he inquisitively stared at them.

"We are… we are the descendants of Beiqi," Little Pomelo uttered meekly.

"Descendants of Beiqi? Are we from the same clan? But, why do you two look so different?" the boy asked again.

When they heard his question, both of them could not help but think about the analysis menu, which explained that the Ice Snow Clan was the descendant of Beiqi's Divine Clan.

"Then, why are you all fighting?" Little Pomelo plucked up the courage and asked them in return.

"Do we need a reason to fight? We just feel like fighting," the larger boy said, before thrusting his arm and ruthlessly slapping another boy, flinging him a distance away.

The boy who was slapped instantly disappeared when he landed on the ground, before immediately reappearing beside the larger boy and forcefully punching his face.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a violent fight broke out again. The atmosphere was thrown into utter chaos, as the group of children began ferociously attacking each other.

Both Little Pomelo and Murphy were rendered speechless by the events that unfolded.