To ascend, I had no choice but to create games

Chapter 633: 362 Chapter New DLC (Three more)_1 Chapter 633: 362 Chapter New DLC (Three more)_1 The Goddess of Art, almost weightless upon Liuzi’s shoulder, radiated a brilliant smile that seemed to contain the entire galaxy, making it difficult for Liuzi to avert his gaze.

Only when the Goddess of Art coughed did Liuzi come back to his senses and said with a smile, “It’s been a while.”

“That’s all the reaction I get?” complained the Goddess of Art, “I thought you’d express your joy at our reunion in a more artistic way.”

“Should I draw one for you?”

“Really?”

The Goddess of Art instantly became excited and clung to Liuzi, making him feel as though she was not a goddess, but a cat that longed for its owner.

Once the Goddess of Art finally calmed down, Liuzi asked curiously, “You mentioned you had an important mission, is it here?”

“Yes. I had many tasks before, such as composing music for the different races and acting as their Holy Monarch. However, now that a new batch of rulers has awakened and the music is composed, we can partake in some leisurely activities.”

After some thought, Liuzi borrowed paper and a pen from his Scout and sketched a portrait for the current Goddess of Art.

Handing the sketch over as a gift to the excited and dancing Goddess of Art, Liuzi said, “I’m quite interested in some of the things you mentioned. However, if there’s information you can’t share, I won’t force you.”

Admiring the sketch against the sunlight, the Goddess of Art replied without turning her head, “You ask, and as long as I know and can tell you, I will.”

“What do you mean by new Holy Monarchs? And what were the previous Holy Monarchs all about?”

“Before, all NPCs were played by us gods, which forced us to learn more about the races here and compose corresponding music for each one. But dealing with players is truly exhausting. You quickly learn our tactics, though we also learn plenty from you, which I suppose makes it a win-win.”

Feeling his head in a whirl, Liuzi couldn’t help asking, “Why such a complicated method?”

“Complicated? Not at all,” said the Goddess of Art, puzzled.

“Um… never mind, you’re kind of on the dumber side in the AI circle, explaining it to you won’t do any good. Then what do you mean by new Holy Monarchs?”

The Goddess of Art gave Liuzi a disgruntled look, feeling that he was really quite impolite.

However, in consideration of the sketch he had drawn for her, she deemed him forgivable this once.

After carefully storing the sketch, she told Liuzi, “Some legendary leaders within their races have awakened. They understand their tribes much better than we gods do, are more proficient in warfare, and are better at managing their races. Of course, in some areas, they are not as good as us, but they excel in the administration and are much more dangerous and cunning than us. We might show some mercy to you, but they won’t hold back at all.”

After hearing the Goddess of Art’s words, Liuzi thought that if she wasn’t exaggerating, then the Holyn Monarchs to come would be even more challenging to defeat.

Now, among the gaming strength of players, those who could defeat a Virtue Monarch alone could be called gods of “Immortal Road”, having reached a thorough understanding of the game mechanics and resource allocation.

Those who had defeated an Emperor-level AI alone could be counted on one hand, and most of them were just lucky in a single game and couldn’t replicate the feat afterwards.

As for defeating a Holy Monarch Level alone, there was only one instance so far.

It was a test video circulated within Fang Cheng Studio, where seven Emperors teamed up but were fancily trounced by a player, turning a turn-based strategy game into something that felt like a fighting game.

Although nobody knew who that player was, others speculated they must have been in testing mode, as it seemed impossible otherwise.

In any case, the original Holy Monarchs were already formidable, and it was scary to think how it would be later on.

But that wasn’t Liuzi’s current concern; he felt that playing a bit more and catching up with the pace of the version updates was the right path.

Knowing that Liuzi had just touched the new version, the Goddess of Art immediately took on the role of instructor.

“Actually, the new version isn’t much different from the previous one, just that it includes the elements of the gods, and the gods are powerful immortals. Offering tributes to the gods can increase their favor towards you, and when favor reaches a certain level, you can use various divine powers. However, you should be aware that different gods might have different relationships. Some are friendly with each other so that when you increase the favor of one, another’s favor will also increase. But if they’re hostile, increasing the favor of one will cause the other’s to decrease.”

“When the favor drops to negative numbers, the gods won’t strike you down directly, but when war breaks out, they will support your enemies. So if you’re blessed one day, don’t worry, it’s probably because some god dislikes the other side, and so they’ve given you their blessing.”

“Also…”

Listening to the Goddess of Art introducing the new gameplay, Liuzi felt that the game had ascended another rung in complexity.

If the player was playing solo with AI as their partner, Liuzi thought the game would become quite easy and enjoyable.

However, as a hardcore gamer, you have to knock the Holy Monarchs down to their knees!

You need to make those Holy Monarchs understand that I am the chosen one, I am the overlord, you all are just stars by my side, mere foils to me!

Liuzi felt that he might have grasped Fang Cheng Studio’s updating strategy, which is to make the leisure aspect of the game more relaxed while making the hardcore aspects even more hardcore.

The PvE part of the game naturally involves leading one’s race, together with the player, on the Immortal Road, in a variety of harsh environments, fitting the game’s title.

However, in the PvP aspect, the gameplay and core content underwent a revolutionary change. Although it’s the same mechanism, the inclusion and interference of AI brought about huge differences in the content and core of the game.

After realizing this, Liuzi couldn’t help but exclaim, “Worthy of Fang Cheng Studio, how did they come up with such fun game ideas?”

Honestly, he was not initially convinced by the model of “Immortal Road.”

After all, there are irreconcilable differences between individuals and collectives; forcing them to integrate usually ends in failure.

But Fang Cheng Studio actually made the relationship between individuals and collectives quite good, mutually supportive, making the game distinctive and fun to play.

They always come up with some new gimmicks each time; this must be the power of genius.

After being moved, Liuzi continued to play the game.

With the assistance of the Goddess of Art, Liuzi got the hang of the new update very quickly.

As the Goddess of Art said, the new version’s content mainly focuses on the gods. The choices of blessings and offerings added quite a bit of fun to the game.

And every god can offer different blessings. The Goddess of Art can make a player’s race more artistically talented, creating great musicians who significantly boost the happiness of their race, allowing them to provide more virtue and better yields.

Even though Liuzi felt the god of technology would suit his taste more, as soon as he showed a bit of interest in the god of technology, he noticed the Goddess of Art eyeing him with a dangerous gaze. The perilous look sent a chill down his spine, and he eventually had to drop the idea.

After steadily defeating a Virtue Monarch-level AI and then, with the help of one such AI, beating an Emperor, Liuzi felt ready to try challenging a Holy Monarch.

A challenge against a Holy Monarch typically requires the assistance of two Emperors, or there’s a high chance of getting thrashed within the first fifty turns.

Liuzi had tried challenging a Holy Monarch once before.

Back then, there were no gods involved, and that Holy Monarch was already terrifying. The formidable planning, command of resources, and overall strategy had left Liuzi running ragged, and only by a stroke of incredible luck did he manage to defeat his opponent.

Even if he had to do it all over again, Liuzi had no confidence he could replicate his previous performance.

But under the guidance of the Goddess of Art, Liuzi felt he had gained a deeper understanding of the game and believed he could challenge a Holy Monarch once again.

When the Goddess of Art learned of Liuzi’s intentions, she voiced her concern, “Liuzi, it’s not that I don’t have faith in you, but the current Holy Monarchs are really tough to deal with.”

“No matter how hard they are to deal with, I have the S/L method at my disposal. So don’t worry, I can win.”

After adjusting the game mode, Liuzi took two Emperor-level AIs and launched a challenge against the highest difficulty AI.

And soon, Liuzi would understand what true brutality is.