Elf Kingdom: Game of the World Tree

Chapter 209: Chapter 203: Chosen One, Are You Ready?

“Haha! I got selected!”

Blue Star, Tianchao, Second Ring of the Imperial Capital, in an ordinary residential building.

A boy who looked about seventeen or eighteen excitedly stared at the message on his phone, his face beaming with delight.

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The boy was named Ji Dong, a recent high school graduate waiting for university admission. For now, he was staying at home.

As a reward for getting into Imperial University, his parents gifted him with the most popular immersion pod of the time after the college entrance exams.

Currently, he was hopelessly addicted to virtual games…

He hugged his smartphone, overwhelmed with joy, and rolled around on the bed.

The message on the phone was simple:

“Congratulations! You have been selected as a third-phase beta tester for ‘Elf Kingdom!’ Your invitation code is: 130-114-504.”

The third-phase beta tester for ‘Elf Kingdom!’

He couldn’t help but be thrilled.

‘Elf Kingdom’ was a groundbreaking virtual online game that had exploded in popularity over the past few months, captivating the entire Tianchao network.

This virtual MMORPG, featuring cutting-edge technology, had long left similar games far behind with its unique thought-acceleration technology, highly realistic game modeling and physics engine, anthropomorphic NPC system, painstaking settings and game details, as well as its high freedom and participation, becoming the hottest topic in the gaming world…

Some in the industry even joked that it was a game for traveling to another world, an alien conspiracy.

Ji Dong had discovered videos about this game on the video site well before the college entrance exams ended, sparking his interest in ‘Elf Kingdom.’

Unfortunately, he was too busy studying to register for the first testing phase.

But even if he had been free during the first test, it would have been tough to become a first-phase beta tester.

The reason was simple: this game, praised as a masterpiece by many streamers and professional players, had very limited testing slots.

For instance, the first test only recruited 300 players, yet nearly 800,000 people applied!

It was truly a one-in-a-million chance, and those selected were almost certainly Luck Kings.

The second test expanded the player base, recruiting a total of 900 people.

Having just finished his college entrance exams, Ji Dong immediately signed up.

However, the number of applicants for the second test was even more astonishing than before, with 3 million people signing up even though the recruitment increased to 900!

As a result, the chance of getting selected was even slimmer…

Unsurprisingly, Ji Dong was not chosen.

After some time passed, the officials finally announced the third beta test.

This time, ‘Elf Kingdom’ opened up 9,000 slots!

This thrilled many people, with netizens eagerly refreshing the ‘Elf Kingdom’ official forum as soon as they woke up, looking forward to the new test with bated breath.

Equally excited, Ji Dong signed up again!

However, when he saw the message “You are the 14,346,755th player to sign up for ‘Elf Kingdom.’ Thank you for your participation” after applying, he felt his heart sink…

The number of slots had increased, but so had the number of applicants!

Fourteen million applicants? What on earth?!

*Wasn’t that just terrifying?*

Although the invention of immersion pods and the advent of the virtual network era opened up a new realm for gaming, with the maximum online player count for virtual games surpassing ten million a year ago…

Never before had a virtual reality game reached a signup count in the tens of millions during its initial test phase!

And it must be noted, Ji Dong didn’t even sign up on the last day…

By the end of the signup period, total signups for the third phase of ‘Elf Kingdom’ had already surpassed 20 million!

It was said that a significant number of foreign netizens had even…

After watching Tianchao gamers flaunt game videos online, they figured out ways to bypass internet restrictions just to register domestically.

A great game was universally popular.

Let alone Tianchao, the first to develop immersion pods and lead the charge into the virtual era, the quality showcased in ‘Elf Kingdom’ videos crushed those of foreign virtual games!

The fantasy theme was naturally more appealing to foreign gamers, sparking their intense curiosity and fervent pursuit…

Many foreign gaming gurus even strongly requested that ‘Elf Kingdom’ open an international test server.

Unfortunately, the usually low-profile ‘Elf Kingdom’ officials never responded to such demands.

Ultimately, the signup numbers for the third phase of ‘Elf Kingdom’ reached a staggering 22 million!

Although the chance, proportionally, was better than the second phase, it was still daunting!

*Not exactly one in a million, but at least one in thousands…*

However, this time Ji Dong’s luck had finally turned around.

Just when he thought he had no hope, he unexpectedly received a congratulatory text, naming him one of the 9,000 lucky ones selected!

…

July 25, twelve noon.

Having thoroughly studied all sorts of strategy posts on the official forum, Ji Dong eagerly awaited the third beta test of ‘Elf Kingdom.’

He checked the time and couldn’t wait any longer, hopping into the game pod and booting up ‘Elf Kingdom,’ which he had long downloaded.

“Start… Elf Kingdom!”

[Ding—]

[Game connection successful…]

[New version detected, ‘Elf Kingdom’ 1.3]

[Version updating…]

[Ding—Update successful]

[Update Log V1: Optimized game resurrection function. Removed ‘perfect resurrection count,’ replaced with resurrection coin system. Perfect resurrection consumes resurrection coins, which can be redeemed in the contribution mall. The higher the player’s level, the more resurrection coins consumed for perfect resurrection.]

[Update Log V2: Optimized exchange and reclass system. Set the ‘World Tree’ as the new exchange point. Players could directly pray to the World Tree in Chosen City to enter the exchange mall and reclass interface, no longer needing to visit Natural Temple to find the Goddess statue.]

[Update Log V3: Optimized red-name punishment mechanism. The extent of red-name punishment correlated with the player’s level. The higher the level, the more severe the red-name punishment.]

[Update Log V4: Optimized face-sculpting mechanism. In character creation, the appearance of the created character would be scored. The system’s base character score was 60; below 50 would not allow character creation.]

…

Resurrection coins? Exchange system? Red-name mechanism? Face-sculpting?

Ji Dong was momentarily paused.

Because he had done some homework in advance, these terms sounded somewhat familiar to him.

But as a newcomer, they also seemed strange…

*However, he wasn’t too concerned.*

Accompanied by soothing music, Ji Dong’s vision went dark, then brightened.

He felt a sudden sense of haziness in his consciousness and a change in gravity, bringing him to the character creation interface.

“I’m in!”

Ji Dong’s heart leaped with joy.

‘Elf Kingdom’ only allowed players to choose the Elf race, but the appearance could be customized.

Yet, Ji Dong didn’t understand why face sculpting required scoring, and why low scores would prevent character creation…

*”Could it be to stop people from making their characters too ugly? Is the official team that obsessive? Ugly is ugly; what’s the big deal…”*

Ji Dong muttered.

Of course, he would take his time to sculpt a good face for himself.

After all, who wouldn’t want their character to look handsome in a game? It’s like raising a daughter or son.

Except for some eccentric players.

After spending half an hour creating a handsome face that he was very satisfied with, and getting a score of 65 from the system, Ji Dong confirmed his selection.

His in-game nickname was—”Transforming Ji Gang!”

The screen went dark, and Ji Dong officially entered the game!

His consciousness shook, and a sense of indescribable weightlessness surged through him. His vision began to play the cutscene of ‘Elf Kingdom.’

Ji Dong had watched this cutscene countless times on video sites, so he intended to skip it.

But at the last second, he decided to suppress his eagerness and watch it again…

With familiar and melodious music, breathtaking scenes appeared before Ji Dong.

The majestic World Tree, the beautiful Elf City, the glorious Silver Civilization, and… the tragic War of the Gods.

Having watched this storyline countless times, Ji Dong knew it by heart.

However, Ji Dong observed that this storyline seemed to have been edited and shortened compared to the online version.

“Did they cut the cutscene?”

Ji Dong was curious.

Yet, just as the War of the Gods ended, the World Tree wilted, and he thought the opening story was about to finish…

The style of the entire cutscene suddenly shifted!

The story hadn’t ended.

The background music grew more intense and heroic, introducing unprecedented scenes in the cutscene—

The Holy Daughter’s prayer, flashing lights on the formidable World Tree!

In an instant, three hundred Chosen Ones descended!

They journeyed through the forest, battled Demon Beasts; they explored ruins and fought Goblins; they defeated the incarnations of Divine and restored the Holy City of Feilengcui; they built their Chosen City brick by brick!

Then… nine hundred Chosen Ones descended again!

They defeated the Half-Beast hunting teams and saved the returning Elf Clan; they fought alongside and tamed the Black Dragon, engaging in a final battle against the Half-Beasts…

The Elf Forest was restored, the avatar of the Goddess descended, the World Tree revived, and all things worshipped…

The Chosen Ones began to venture beyond the forest!

They explored Rivendell, conquered the Earth Cave Spider Empress…

They delved into the Underworld, befriending the shadowy Dwarves…

As he watched the series of vibrant scenes and storyline, listening to the exhilarating background music, Ji Dong widened his mouth in awe.

As an avid fan often browsing ‘Elf Kingdom’ videos, Ji Dong knew that these clips… these animations…

were the in-game stories experienced by the first and second phase beta players!

The ‘Elf Kingdom’ officials had converted the players’ game clips into the cutscene for the third phase beta test!

Furthermore, the edited clips seamlessly fit in with the earlier cutscene, perfectly connecting as if it were an epic legendary story!

One could even call it a fantasy film crafted and starred by the players!

*All at once, Ji Dong felt a profound sense of epic and involvement wash over him…*

At the cutscene’s conclusion, his vision suddenly blackened.

Golden letters appeared before his eyes:

“Chosen One, are you ready?”

In that instant, Ji Dong felt his blood boiling.