Chapter 10: A New Beginning, A New Body, and a Perplexing Quest

“Finally, Nina would like to inform all players that due to significant data loss from the original ‘Fantasy Forest’ game, this is a 3D HD Remake of ‘Fantasy Forest.’ There will be numerous differences from the original game, so please bear with us~”

Before disappearing, Nina left this final remark, making the entire game much more intricate and perplexing.

“Hm? Wh-what’s going on? Where am I…?”

Wang Tianming drowsily opened his eyes, only to find himself lying on a small bed, surrounded by what seemed to be plush, pink objects.

“Ah—!”

“Ah——————”

In that very instant, Wang Tianming ceased his screaming, as this transformation didn’t seem entirely unacceptable to him.

He discovered he had become a girl, a girl with normal proportions, not a chibi-style two-head body proportion.

However, his voice remained his original one, meaning any utterance would betray his true gender.

Wang Tianming surveyed his surroundings, realizing he was in a large, predominantly pink house.

Evidently, this was his in-game home.

The original ‘Fantasy Forest’ had no such system, so this was clearly one of the distinctions of the so-called HD Remake.

He, or rather, since he was now a girl, let us tentatively refer to her as ‘she,’ eagerly got out of bed and walked to a full-length mirror, meticulously examining her appearance.

It was almost identical to the character she had designed, like a real-life version of a chibi character.

She was now a petite loli with short white hair, clad in grey novice gear, prompting a pang of regret within her.

“Ugh, if I had known I’d turn into a real person, and experience it myself, I should have designed a busty girl back then!

What a golden opportunity, utterly squandered!”

Wang Tianming, no, let us now call her Xue Hu (TL Note: ‘Xue Hu’ is Chinese for ‘Snow Fox.’),

Xue Hu shook her adorable little head, sighing as she spoke, “Why didn’t my voice change along with everything else?

The sense of incongruity is so strong!

Then again, there wasn’t a voice option during character customization; I thought it was fixed, but it turns out it uses the player’s original voice!

I hope my other teammates don’t look at me strangely.”

“Welcome, Player Xue Hu, to the game.

Your main quest for this round is to successfully capture the Azure Dragon.

Your side quests are: none.”

Nina’s voice rang out once more.

Xue Hu was unsure if this was audible to everyone or only to her.

“Your special quest is to assist others in capturing the Azure Dragon.

Your confidential quest is: do not let others discover your true gender.”

“Wh-what does that mean?

Are there side quests?

Why don’t I have any side quests?”

Xue Hu was bewildered by this series of directives from Nina, and she immediately inquired, “What does the special quest mean?

Didn’t it say there’s only one Azure Dragon?

If I help someone else capture the Azure Dragon, wouldn’t I fail my main quest?

I understand the confidential quest, but what would be the repercussions if my secret were discovered?”

“The main quest is the ultimate goal all players must achieve upon entering the game world.

Side quests are bonus objectives that grant additional reward points upon completion,” Nina explained to Xue Hu, item by item.

“Main quests and side quests do not conflict.

Completing the main quest without completing side quests incurs no penalty, nor does completing side quests affect the progression of the main quest.”

“A special quest is a particular mission for certain players; it replaces their main quest and seizes the fruits of other players’ victories,” Nina continued to explain.

“A confidential quest is a secret a player must keep; completing it offers no reward, but upon failure, a penalty in reward points will be incurred.”

“I see.

The special quest is essentially like ‘cutting someone off,’ isn’t it (TL Note: ‘Jiéhú’ is a Chinese mahjong term meaning to intercept a winning tile, often used colloquially to mean ‘to snatch victory from someone’s grasp’ or ‘to cut someone off just before they succeed’.)?

If I help someone else obtain the Azure Dragon, they won’t achieve game victory; instead, the spoils of victory would fall to me!

And I also cannot clear the game by capturing the Azure Dragon myself.”

Xue Hu nodded, continuing her analysis, “Why do I not have any side quests that offer extra rewards, but only a confidential mission that incurs a penalty upon failure?

How many reward points are usually granted, and how many would I lose if I failed?”

“Generally, main quests and side quests appear simultaneously, as do special quests and confidential quests.

Due to the covert nature of special quests, they tend to have a higher success rate, so we need confidential quests to balance this out,” Nina explained again.

“The increase or decrease in reward points is determined by the specific mission and circumstances; it varies for each player.

If your confidential quest fails, 1000 reward points will be deducted.”

“1000 reward points?!

That’s insane!

Even if I fought tooth and nail through an entire game, I’d only get 1000 basic reward points; if I fail this, it would all be deducted?!”

Xue Hu exclaimed in astonishment, but quickly clapped a hand over her mouth, asking in a hushed voice, “So, I’d like to ask, if someone ultimately completes the main quest or a special quest, what happens to the others?”

“Only one person can achieve final victory in this game; therefore, all others, save for the victor, will be erased from existence by the system,” Nina’s sweet, syrupy voice uttered terrifying words.

“So, players, please take this seriously and do not be careless.

Furthermore, please be informed that because this game world is a remake, the rules differ from the original game.

Players cannot respawn after death, so please take note!

This game round also lasts for seven days; if no player clears the game after seven days, the system will perform a mass erasure.”

“Holy crap (TL Note: ‘Wòcáo’ is a common Chinese internet slang exclamation, similar to ‘holy crap’ or ‘damn it’.), there really is a time limit!

I knew it; this game world doesn’t even require eating.

If everyone didn’t bother to level up and just lived in this game world, wouldn’t they be able to play until they died?”

Nina vanished after speaking, leaving Xue Hu alone to ponder.

‘I need to find a way to prevent them from discovering my true gender, which means I can’t speak, right?

If I can’t communicate with them, that might be a very troublesome situation.’

Xue Hu mused in her room, searching for ways to conceal her voice while still communicating with others.

****

Outside her door, in the large plaza, the area had already begun to buzz with activity!

Five people stood in the plaza—three men and two women—all chattering incessantly among themselves.

“Hello, everyone.

From what the system said, we’re all teammates, so there shouldn’t be any problems, right?

We should be able to trust each other for now, shouldn’t we?”

A bearded, black-haired middle-aged man stepped forward, greeting the crowd.

“Then I’ll introduce myself first!

My name is Hank, and I’m from East…”

“Alright, alright, nobody wants to know where you live; why don’t everyone just state their names and then their respective missions, to put others at ease!”

A full-figured yujie (TL Note: ‘Yujie’ is a Chinese term referring to a mature, attractive, and often assertive woman) with a golden ponytail interrupted Hank.

“My name is Chen Lili; you can call me Sister Chen.

My side quest is to be the first female player to reach Level 150!”

From her doorway, Xue Hu, who was standing right there, witnessed this scene.

Was this Chen Lili simply too naive, or was she merely feigning ignorance?

What a bewildering start to the game!