Elf Kingdom: Game of the World Tree

Chapter 11: Chapter 11: The Player Arrives (Please Vote for Recommendations!)

Editor: Henyee Translations

University City.

Li Mu dragged his flip-flops while wearing baggy shorts and carried freshly bought fried dough sticks and soy milk as he walked toward his rental apartment.

The rental was specifically for his live streaming and also served as his dormitory.

Suddenly, a pleasant ringtone rang from his pocket.

He paused briefly, wiped his greasy hands on his white tank top, and nonchalantly pulled out his phone.

On the screen was a text message,

...

“Congratulations! You have been selected as one of the first beta testers for ‘Elf Kingdom!’ Your invitation code is: 233-123-124.”

“On June 1st, ‘Elf Kingdom’ welcomes your arrival!”

Li Mu was momentarily stunned, as if he hadn’t fully processed it.

After confirming the message once more, he slapped his thigh and grinned,

“Hey! I knew it!”

“My luck has always been great!”

……

At this moment, the major gaming chat groups exploded into chaos.

“Ahhhhh! I got selected! I got selected!”

“What’s going on? So excited?”

“‘Elf Kingdom’! I got selected as a beta tester!”

“Holy crap! That’s awesome! I heard the sign-ups for that game’s beta test have already surpassed a million!”

“Totally! Haha, I’ll send you screenshots when the time comes!”

“Jealous! I watched the trailer. It’s amazing! If it’s really as the officials say, and the trailer’s quality is the actual game graphics, then it’s a masterpiece! Some enthusiasts claim the developers specifically designed languages and music! That’s so wild!”

“It’s out of control! The beta tester groups over there have already started selling their slots!”

“Damn, that extreme? How much is it?”

“Apparently, it’s been speculated to over seven thousand… Everyone wants to try the so-called thought acceleration! Moreover, the officials will introduce a brand-new 100% adjustable realism sensory system. You know, the perception systems in those virtual games on the market are all poor right now.”

“Scary.”

“Us regular folks can’t understand the thoughts of rich people.”

“It’s useless, it’s useless, the officials said the account is bound to identity. When logging into the game, identity verification is required. It’s impossible to get online if you’re not the person…”

“Ah… We can only wait for the open beta.”

“Honestly, I think the officials are bragging… It’s too fake. Thought acceleration and real perception, if that technology really existed, who would develop games!”

“I doubt it too… The debate online is intense. But let’s wait and see, there should be live streams from big names when the time comes…”

“Live streams? Didn’t they say thought acceleration? If true, can you really live stream in that situation?”

While Li Mu peeked at the screen and nibbled on his fried dough sticks, he slightly curled his lips.

After some thought, he typed a line,

“Got the slot, on June 1st at 12 noon, I’ll start live streaming ‘Elf Kingdom,’ welcome everyone to watch.”

The gaming group exploded once again.

“Holy crap! It’s Mu!”

“Mu got the slot?”

“Mu is going to live stream?!”

“Front row with popcorn! This game has been all the rage online, I can’t wait to see what it’s really like!”

“Mu! Mu! I’m ‘Demacia,’ I got the slot too. Let’s add each other as friends in advance! Please guide me in the game!”

“…”

With messages popping up continuously, Li Mu felt his mood uplifted.

…

Time passed swiftly, and the beta test time for ‘Elf Kingdom’ finally arrived.

June 1st at exactly 12 noon.

Having finished lunch early, Li Mu climbed into the gaming pod and activated the streaming function.

‘Elf Kingdom’ had long been downloaded. He effortlessly found the start button and launched the game…

It loaded normally, and the first thing that appeared was the character creation screen.

The only race available for selection was Elf, along with a face-customization feature.

To be honest, Li Mu seriously doubted if this feature was even necessary.

Because even looking at the system’s random face, he already felt like it was strikingly handsome.

The live streaming chat lit up with comments,

“The character models are amazing!”

“Is this a preset face from the system? Did the developers directly use the faces of male celebrities?”

“So handsome!”

“Well, they are elves!”

“Mu! Mu! I’m ‘Demacia,’ add me as a friend! Please guide me later!”

“Why didn’t Mu choose a female character? What’s the point of staring at a man’s buttocks while gaming?”

Glancing at the chat, Li Mu explained,

“Can’t do it, this game’s gender is bound to your identity.”

After explaining, he set his hair and pupil color to black, adjusted the hairstyle to long, and made his physique slightly slender and his appearance somewhat androgynous.

“Ha… Mu, you cross-dressing fan, are you cosplaying Tongzi?”

“Tongzi +1”

“Tongzi +2”

“…”

Ignoring the teasing from the chat, Li Mu set his character name as “Li Mu.”

That’s right, just that hardcore!

Then, he entered the game.

His consciousness suddenly shifted, an indescribable weightlessness flooded his mind, and his brain went blank in an instant…

It felt like he had traversed countless epochs, or perhaps spanned eternity.

When his consciousness became clear again, Li Mu found himself in a vast and magnificent world.

Accompanied by melodic classical music, grand and spectacular scenes unfolded in his view.

The towering World Tree, the majestic Elf City, the dazzling Silver Civilization, and the grand, tragic wars…

Li Mu, as an onlooker, observed everything from a single perspective.

“Cinematic scene! It’s a cinematic scene!”

“These effects are so realistic!”

“Hey, haven’t you seen the trailer before?”

“The background music is so moving… Ah… I feel like my emotions are being affected.”

In the live stream, the audience expressed their admiration.

Indeed, it was a cinematic scene.

This was crafted based on Eve Yggdrasil’s heritage imagery through the World Tree, aiming to introduce players entering the game to Elven history while instilling the central theme of the “game”—

Assist the great ancient goddess Eve Yggdrasil in revitalizing the civilization!

The quality of the cinematic scene was excellent. Li Mu did not choose to skip it and instead watched it together with the live streaming audience.

Two minutes later, the animation finally concluded…

Leaving him wanting more.

Accompanied by sacred singing, the world in front of Li Mu changed again.

This time, he found himself in a white, boundless space while regaining control over himself.

Li Mu felt a surge of energy, then extended his own hands.

No longer familiar greasy big hands, they became slender and fair, yet with an indescribable sense of power.

He touched his own body, and the real touch made him feel as if he had truly traversed…

At this moment, all previous doubts vanished into thin air.

A delightful surprise of discovering a treasure overwhelmed him, and he couldn’t help but exclaim,

“It really is a masterpiece! The character modeling is extremely realistic! And it truly replicates perception! The sense of gravity is just like the real world!”

He pinched his own face hard, feeling a slight pain.

“Ouch— the sense of pain is so real! If I didn’t know this was a game, I’d even doubt I’d time-traveled! But this seems adjustable, with pain perception tunable down to 0%.”

He then pulled out his character card.

[Name: Li Mu]

[Race: Elf]

[Class: None]

[Level: 1 (Apprentice)]

[Experience: 0/100]

[Health: 50/50]

[Magic Power: 50/50]

[Attributes: Constitution (5), Strength (5), Agility (5), Magic Power (5)]

…

While Li Mu curiously explored, an ethereal and distant voice caught his attention,

“Welcome, Chosen One of another world.”

The voice was pleasant, ethereal, intimate yet distant, and also carried an indescribable sense of sanctity, instigating an urge to revere instinctively.

As the voice reached his ears, Li Mu felt as if his entire mind had been cleansed, becoming exceedingly tranquil.

He instinctively raised his head, then widened his mouth in slight astonishment…