Trapped Inside the Beta Test World for 1000 Years

A level 14 swordsman player couldn't possibly reach Sennia's level, but players have the advantage of an immeasurable ceiling.

Take Xia Ya, for example.

In his first week, he could barely handle monsters of the same level, but with continuous practice and the experience accumulated from countless deaths, by his 177th week, he could beat Synlos to a sliver of health and then revive him, eventually even controlling him like a pet.

That's growth.

Firstly, he was too skilled; secondly, he knew his opponent too well.

Combat isn't something with much to say about it; in the end, it's like playing cards. Whatever your opponent plays, you counter it; whatever you play, they counter it. Whoever can't counter has to take the hit, and eventually, they get hit to death.

But players are a kind of monster that can't be killed by hits.

As long as they're sane, they only get stronger the more they take.

And now, they were still monster fledglings, filled with awe for the formidable Sennia.

"This NPC is amazing..."

"Mom, can I be as strong as her? (Midoriya Izuku face)"

"Silly deer, probably not. You're a militia, and she's a swordsman..."

...

Among the group of players, only Apulu Pie's body trembled slightly.

The female rogue anxiously twisted her legs, staring intently at the broad sword that concealed Xia Ya and Sennia.

"What are they doing back there?"

The more she couldn't get an answer, the more her imagination ran wild.

In reality, Apulu Pie was a typical good girl, quiet and gentle, with excellent grades. She had never even uttered a curse word in her life, a model student in the eyes of her parents and teachers, with no flaws except for being flat-chested.

But beneath this calm exterior, she was an extremely repressed pervert.

In every sense.

She craved excitement more than anyone else.

And the feeling of being chased by the Corrupted Boar had already etched itself deeply into her mind, the adrenaline and suffocating thrill lingering.

People often associate an unforgettable feeling with something, and for her, this intense thrill was linked to Xia Ya.

Suddenly, the broad sword was pulled away by Sennia, and the lightly armored female swordsman charged into the remaining monsters like a tiger among sheep, dispatching them effortlessly in a matter of moments, leaving behind a field of blood and gore.

Xia Ya stood in the cleared area, waving to the group of players.

"You can come down now!"

Apulu Pie was the first to rush down, using her rogue speed boost to reach Xia Ya, her eyes blazing.

"Boss, what were you two doing just now?"

Xia Ya was momentarily stunned, then smiled mysteriously.

"Kids shouldn't ask."

"I'm an adult."

Apulu Pie puffed out her chest.

"I just turned adult a month ago."

"Mental adulthood and physical adulthood are two different things."

Xia Ya ruffled her hair and turned to walk towards Sennia.

"Hmph..."

Apulu Pie wrinkled her nose.

...

A hundred or so Corrupted Boars helped seven people complete their task, but there were nine people present, not counting Xia Ya.

"Either none of us complete the task, or two people step aside to let others complete it."

Xia Ya said, "We might not be able to gather 30 monsters later."

Everyone looked at each other, and after a few seconds of silence, a level 2 militia named Moonlight Ripple stepped forward.

"I think it's better to have two people step aside, just in case someone needs to log off or something."

"Who will step aside? Will you?" someone asked.

Moonlight twirled his sword elegantly, giving the person a cold look, and they immediately fell silent.

"I think my combat ability isn't low. If any of you step aside, I can help later," he said.

No one spoke, and Xia Ya raised an eyebrow, about to say that maybe they should just forget it, when Apulu Pie suddenly raised her hand.

"Then I'll do it~ I'm just here to have fun anyway." She turned to Xia Ya, "Boss, boss, I'm so obedient, you'll carry me, right?"

"Count me in too." Air Conditioner stood up, smiling nonchalantly. "No big deal."

Xia Ya nodded, crossing out Air Conditioner and Apulu Pie's names, allowing the other seven to complete the task first and receive their rewards.

The light of leveling up flashed over the seven, with plenty of experience left over.

In terms of money, this was probably the most currency they'd received in one go since entering the game, with each person getting three silver coins.

Getting three silver coins from a single task was rare before leaving the village.

Many looked at Xia Ya with eager eyes, but Xia Ya just shrugged.

"Sorry, everyone, the task ends here. The remaining tasks I'll complete with these two."

The previously lively atmosphere froze for a moment, quickly becoming awkward.

"That's not right, boss."

Moonlight frowned, stepping forward.

"You didn't say there'd be such a benefit to stepping aside. If you had, I'd have jumped at the chance! Reverse fishing isn't right, is it?"

"It seems both of them are your friends. Isn't this deliberately setting us up..." someone muttered.

"Yeah, yeah, more people, more power. What's something we can't do together?"

There were those who were unfriendly, those who were neutral, and those who spoke nicely.

At this moment, those speaking were undoubtedly seasoned players, well-versed in the eternal truth of "a bastard who doesn't take advantage and splitting benefits equally."

Though some felt this was enough and didn't want to be greedy, they couldn't resist being influenced by others.

—I'll just tag along, definitely won't take the lead.

The so-called silent majority, guilty of inaction, mostly remained silent accomplices.

Xia Ya, though he hadn't interacted with players, was used to this kind of thing.

In the United Holy Nation where Paladin Lorenth was, there was no shortage of such talents. Compared to them, players seemed adorably naive.

Thinking about how self-righteous players would eventually stumble at the hands of the United Holy Nation's paladins and then turn the tables, Xia Ya felt a bit excited.

Finally, there would be some big entertainment to watch.

"Alright, if you want to follow, then follow."

Xia Ya nodded, his expression unchanged.

He had ten thousand ways to traverse the Corrupted Forest, some involving blood sacrifices.

"Xiao Liang, Xiao Bai, you two head back."

Air Conditioner gave a look to his two underlings, who immediately understood.

Xia Ya's aura as a boss was too deep for the two, and they didn't want to go against him, so they nodded and took their leave.

As for the remaining five, they each wore a victor's smile, while Moonlight Ripple carried a hint of disdain for Xia Ya.

He believed he saw clearly that Xia Ya was likely an insider who had gotten some information, hence the tasks and NPCs, leading the way on the first day of the game's launch. And with Illusory Realm claiming a thousand years of closed beta, just one accusation of "data leak" would ensure he couldn't clear his name.

Currently, conspiracy theories ruled the discourse, and the old saying "a favor of a grain of rice, a grudge of a bushel" was long forgotten.

How to stand on the moral high ground and direct the masses, how to mobilize the power of the majority... as someone in media, he was all too familiar with it.

To read the uncut version, go to [p𝘢wread.com].

—So what if he's a big shot? Doesn't he still have to obediently take us on tasks?

Unknowingly, Xia Ya had been labeled as easy to talk to, and over time, this gradually slid into "easy to bully."

...

The group set off again, with Sennia silently leading the way, scaring off any lone monsters with her presence.

The reason the hundred or so Corrupted Boars dared to charge together earlier was entirely because Apulu Pie was the one leading the train, causing them to lose their minds.

Having not encountered any monsters for a while, Moonlight Ripple grew bored and looked up to see Sennia beside Xia Ya.

The shape of the married woman's hips was accentuated by her fitted light armor, making her rear view quite suggestive.

His thoughts began to stir again.

"This guy seems to have mastered the technique of gaining favor with NPCs... Although this game is for all ages, who wouldn't want to get close to an eye-catching NPC?"

He thought, moving closer.

"Boss, boss, how do you gain favor?" he squeezed past Air Conditioner, shamelessly asking.

"Oh, just cater to their preferences."

Xia Ya smiled, not hiding anything.

"Treat NPCs like people. Do what they like, and make what they dislike disappear."

—Isn't this obvious? Do you really need to teach this?

Moonlight rolled his eyes internally, continuing to ask curiously, "Then... what about the one beside you?"

"Her... she's afraid of the dark. You can do something about that now." Xia Ya pointed to the glowing ferns on the nearby trees.

"Make a light stick with those, keep the brightness of the entire team above a certain level, and Sennia's favorability will increase for everyone. Once it exceeds friendly, you can buy the swordsman's 'Power Strike.' Here, ask Air Conditioner."

"Really?"

Moonlight looked over skeptically, and Air Conditioner brought up the skill attribute window for him to see.

"Power Strike Lv1": A basic swordsman skill, delivering a medium-strength slash.

Lv1 Power Strike is AD*1.75, these numbers aren't displayed, leaving it for players to discover. But for Xia Ya, it's memorized like multiplication tables.

"How do you know all this?"

"Just wander around and observe, and you'll know, hehe."

—What a show-off.

Moonlight snorted internally, wearing a grateful smile as he went to rub his sword against the glowing ferns by the roadside.

Others followed suit, and soon five people were walking through the dark Corrupted Forest with glowing sticks, dispelling much of the gloom.

Xia Ya coughed, and Sennia gave him a disapproving glare, but under Xia Ya's pleading gaze, she turned around, giving the group a polite smile.

"Ahhh! The married woman smiled at me!"

"It really works! It really works!"

—There's really something to this...

Moonlight thought.

He was already considering writing a post to use public opinion to make Xia Ya spill something.

And how much traffic could a title like "Closed Beta is a Joke, How Many Lies Has Illusory Workshop Told?" generate? Digging deeper would be all gain and no loss...

Moonlight Ripple's thoughts began to expand, already drifting away from the game itself.

Suddenly, his wild thoughts were interrupted by the sound of flapping wings.

He looked up, warily searching for the source of the sound, but saw nothing.

At that moment, the four people ahead suddenly sped up!

"What's going on, why are you running?"

Moonlight tried to speed up to catch up but collided head-on with something unknown.

The flapping sound grew louder, and as he got up from the ground, using the glow from his sword, he saw what was in front of him, and shivered uncontrollably!

It was a headless corpse, its body swollen from soaking, with muscles overgrown with inverted ferns and vines...

A spiked fleshy tendril extended from its neck cavity, like a hand, reaching defiantly towards the sky.

"What... what kind of monster is this??"

Moonlight's sanity plummeted as he hurriedly got up to flee.

But as he turned, he saw an even more terrifying scene!

The players around him had already been pinned to the ground by headless corpses that had arrived unnoticed.

And the reason they hadn't made a sound was because a head with wings growing from its ears was clamped onto their faces...

The sound of flapping wings grew louder, and in the blink of an eye, Moonlight was engulfed and devoured by the swarm of winged heads.

...

"Boss, why did we run? What will happen to that chatterbox militia?" Apulu Pie asked curiously, her face flushed, still catching her breath after the run.

"I told you, as players, you have to be prepared to be cannon fodder..."

Xia Ya stopped, leaning against Sennia to catch his breath.

"Besides, the way to please an NPC is to make what she dislikes disappear, right, Miss Sennia?"

Sennia gave him an alluring sidelong glance.