Elf Kingdom: Game of the World Tree

Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Explosive Promo

Editor: Henyee Translations

Li Mu, male, 22 years old, average appearance, average family background, was an ordinary university student in Tianchao.

However, he had another identity—a virtual reality game streamer.

Since virtual reality games became a global sensation two years ago, his love for games and streaming had led him to join the streaming community. With his decent speaking skills and humor, he managed to earn a steady income.

But unlike many single-game streamers, he focused on reviewing various virtual reality games. In his words, although numerous virtual games were constantly emerging and becoming more exciting, none had genuinely amazed him enough to keep playing…

In the industry, he earned the nickname “The Bug King” for specifically picking out flaws in various virtual games.

In fact, this was quite normal.

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Although virtual reality networks had developed significantly in recent years and diving cabins had entered many ordinary homes, the majority of virtual engines in the market still had poor performance, constantly producing bugs that were both comical and frustrating.

Li Mu made his mark by finding these bugs and getting a laugh from his audience.

Sitting in front of the computer, he made himself a cup of instant coffee and opened his streaming dashboard.

“Time to find a target for a new episode of ‘Little Mu’s Reviews.’

Looking at the data on the dashboard, he sighed.

Recently, the quality of various newly released games was so poor that even he didn’t feel like reviewing them.

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This was because the boom in virtual reality had opened business opportunities to many, and all sorts of shady developers squeezed in to create games. Yet, limited by technology, the quality of many companies’ games was simply appalling…

Li Mu had become a somewhat famous streamer, and he looked down on those lousy games. What caught his interest were the expensive big productions!

After all, finding bugs in big productions was where the real satisfaction lay!

“Haven’t been online for a week, let’s see if there are any new works on the platform!”

Humming a little tune, Li Mu clicked into the virtual game recommendation platform.

His eyes skimmed over one advertisement after another without the slightest pause.

“Another Xianxia? This genre has been done to death, hasn’t it? Tsk, tsk, another with cheap special effects…”

“Shooter type? Hmm… not bad, but there are already plenty of good ones… and I reviewed this type in the recent episodes. I want to try something new this time…”

“Raising pretty girls? Hehehe… this one isn’t bad… not bad at all… no, no, I don’t want my account to get banned yet.”

He muttered to himself as he browsed through game advertisements.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, he paused, and his mouse hovered over an advertisement.

“‘Elf Kingdom’?”

It was a rather unremarkable ad, the cover featured a majestic world tree, and a beautiful, serene, golden-haired elf praying with closed eyes before it.

Though the elf girl on the cover was nice to look at, in the vast sea of virtual game advertisements, this cover was at most considered good.

After all, a cover is the face of a game; who can’t make a good-looking cover? And there were just too many where the cover didn’t match the actual game…

Li Mu never believed in covers, and this time what caught his attention wasn’t the cover but the click rate of this game advertisement.

“What on earth is three million clicks? Did they buy it on Taobao?”

What surprised him was that this ad, just released two days ago, already had an astonishing three million clicks!

Once curiosity sparked, it couldn’t be suppressed.

He took a sip of coffee and clicked on the advertisement.

Like many ads, this one only had a promotional video and a reservation link for the game. To Li Mu’s surprise, the comment count below had exceeded ten thousand.

This was not common on a virtual gaming platform!

He didn’t immediately play the trailer but first glanced through a couple of comments.

“Demacia: Damn! Did the developers hire a movie company for the promotion? Is there no end to their budget!”

This was the most liked comment.

Fantasy genre?

Li Mu raised an eyebrow.

This genre had long declined in Tianchao, becoming the least popular of the unpopular ones. It was quite popular in Europe and America though…

His interest diminished significantly, but since he was bored, he kept reading.

“African Emperor: The fantasy genre has long faded in Tianchao. If this game becomes popular, I’ll stream myself eating shit.”

This was the second most popular comment, and based on the likes, it seemed to be trending above the first.

“Pfft…”

Li Mu couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

These days, there were always people trying to get free meals and drinks through deceit.

He casually gave it a thumbs up and scrolled down further—

“Attack on Leg Hair: Thought acceleration technology? Sounds impressive. Does such a thing really exist?”

This was the third top comment.

Thought acceleration technology?

Li Mu blinked in confusion.

What was this? It sounded completely unfamiliar to him.

He carefully read through the comments and was amazed to find it mentioned in the game description by the developers as a new technology, supposedly allowing players’ thoughts in the virtual world to accelerate.

An hour in the game world would be only a quarter of an hour in reality!

In other words, it would allow players more sensory game time!

That cool? Wasn’t that just boasting? Was it from some industry giant? Tencent or NetEase?

Li Mu smirked, feeling quite skeptical, then glanced at the developer’s name.

“World Tree Black Technology Co., Ltd….”

His expression turned a bit puzzled.

What kind of company was this? He had never heard of it…

“Could it be another small company boosting its own reputation?”

Li Mu frowned slightly, feeling a bit resentful.

These internet companies nowadays, always wanting to stir up big news without considering their actual capabilities…

Li Mu shook his head, almost concluding that it was likely another hyped-up gimmick to attract attention.

However, considering the staggering three million clicks, he decided to watch the promotional video.

“Let’s watch the trailer! The reviews for the trailer seem pretty good.”

He gently clicked and the screen transitioned to the promotional video interface…

As it played, the computer screen suddenly darkened.

Li Mu took a sip of coffee and started to watch absentmindedly.

Accompanied by ethereal singing, the scene gradually brightened.

The first thing in sight was a majestic world tree…

The camera panned away from the world tree, revealing magnificent cities, where elegant and beautiful elves strolled amidst green vibrancy, chatting joyfully, depicting a true picture of elven civilization…

Initially, Li Mu appeared indifferent but quickly became captivated by the ever-changing scenes.

The enchanting and pleasant scenery, the majestic and unique cities, the elegant and noble elves, accompanied by the joyful yet soothing background music, made him feel as if he was truly there.

A melodious female voice began narrating the story of the world tree and the Elf Clan on the Segis Continent…

“Interesting, quite realistic, the scenery is great, the character models are detailed, and the movements are very smooth. And what’s the BGM? It’s lovely, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before…”

Li Mu couldn’t help but admire.

Regardless of how the game was, the opening animation was indeed meticulously detailed and realistic!

Gradually, Li Mu started to focus more intently.

The story continued…

The elves’ powerful strength gifted them a brilliant civilization, but it also led to arrogance and pride.

Abundance and prosperity finally drew greed.

The power of conspiracy relentlessly gathered, ultimately leading to a crisis.

Suddenly, the scene changed, with golden light illuminating the sky. Along with sacred chants and roars, colossal indistinct figures appeared.

The war began.

Soon, lava rained from the heavens, earth trembled, sacred angels of faith clashed with massive Oak Guardians, and serene landscapes transformed into grand battlefields…

Brutal combat, dazzling magic, spilled blood, magnificent divine miracles…

Clip after clip alternated, the tragic and breathtaking scenes, set against ethereal yet powerful and solemn background music, made Li Mu widen his eyes, blood surging, unable to help but exclaim, “Wow.”

He marveled at the extraordinary special effects, yet deep inside felt a twinge of worry and sympathy for the Elf Clan.

Li Mu became even more engrossed.

The war culminated in disputes among gods, and under countless divine arts’ attacks, the lush world tree stood at its end, withering to demise…

Amid wails of lamentation, the elven civilization faded into history…

With the ethereal, sorrowful singing, the screen fell into darkness.

The poignant, moving music began to echo.

Fully immersed, Li Mu inadvertently let out a long sigh, mysteriously resonating with it:

“Thriving in adversity, dying in complacency… This is the rise and fall of civilization…”

A moment later, the screen shifted again.

An elegant elf girl appeared on screen.

She wore a magnificent priestess gown, kneeling in the broken Natural Temple, tearfully praying to the idol…

As the girl’s prayer continued, the ethereal singing gradually reached a climax. Finally, with the last note, a thunderous bell tolled!

The idol flickered slightly…

The screen darkened once again, all sounds ceased alongside it.

Seconds later, lines of powerful yet indescribably artistic text appeared on screen:

“Magical thought acceleration technology lets you enjoy the game world!”

“AI intelligence provides an unprecedented gaming experience!”

“Create the most realistic, immersive, epic fantasy with the highest degree of freedom ever!”

“On June 1st, the virtual reality online game ‘Elf Kingdom’ kicks off its uncut beta! You’re welcome to sign up!”

“Elf Kingdom—waiting for your rescue!”

The promotional video concluded.

Li Mu sat there dumbfounded, seemingly not yet recovered from the shocking scenes of divine warfare.

A moment later, he pinched his thigh:

“Damn! How much did they spend scripting and creating those effects?!”