NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1206 An Impromptu Meeting (1)
Chapter 1206 An Impromptu Meeting (1)
Because of the experience and knowledge they've accumulated from playing multiple VRMMORPGs for the past couple of decades, the Five Leviathans, as well as the other organizations, formulated a plan that they used whenever they played a game for the first time.
Of course, that plan was none other than to gain as much levels as possible within a short span of time, which would give them all the strength they needed to be considered heads and shoulders above the entire player base.
Once they established their dominance as players with the reputation they had, they would then continue to maintain the gap of strength between them and the entire player base, forming a hierarchy of sorts where they stood at the very top.
Naturally, this kind of pattern did not occur in some of the games they played, considering that there were outliers and eccentric people that had the means and the might within those games to break the status quo that was formed.
Nevertheless, it was still a pattern that the Five Leviathans and the other organizations used. After all, it not only saved them a lot of time from fighting against the entire player base in certain aspects, but it also allowed them to maintain their reputation as skilled individuals.
With that, it was no surprise that these same people thought of utilizing the same tactic the moment Greater Beyond was released public, confident that the strategy they've used in all of the other games they played would remain effective in this new game.
Though it did work out for them at first, because they neglected to explore other avenues of gaining strength in exchange for maintaining leveling speed, they were also the first group of people within the game to be hit by the existence of the ceiling.
Of course, a considerable portion of the player base was also hit by the ceiling after that, seeing as most, if not all of them forged a similar path to the large organizations that came before them.
Unsurprisingly, the existence of the ceiling brought chaos to Greater Beyond for quite some time, shaking up the hierarchy that everyone had come to accept in other VRMMORPGs.
After all, with almost all of the players hit by the ceiling forced to recreate their characters from scratch, the normal players of the game were given an opportunity to have a taste of what it was like at the top.
Because of that, the landscape of Greater Beyond that Valyr was familiar with near the end of his past life was created.
All because those at the top in other games thought it was a good idea to apply the things they were doing there to Greater Beyond.
"Then again, the change was for the better," muttered Valyr to himself, briefly reminiscing over the time the incident involving the existence of the ceiling broke out.
Recalling that the event occurred around the latter half of Greater Beyond's first version, Valyr soon remembered that he was a bystander to the entire incident due to him having nowhere near the strength those at the top had at the time.
Nevertheless, even though he wasn't one of the players that took the ceiling as an opportunity to change the so-called status quo, he consistently kept himself up to date with the entire event, writing down all of the names and organizations that decided to fight against the monopoly of the Five Leviathans and the large organizations.
Then again, who wouldn't take the opportunity if they were in their shoes?
With that, the entire landscape of the VRMMORPG world changed because of the ceiling, gradually turning the once untouchable pinnacle of the Five Leviathans and the large organizations into something that was attainable with enough time and effort.
All in all, though these organizations lost out in the short term because of the ceiling, the entire gaming world won in the end thanks to the introduction of more organizations and existences that people took notice of.
Not only did the addition of these new organizations return the fiery sense of competition that the Five Leviathans and the large organizations had lost, but it also lit a spark within the entire player base, showing that it was possible for the two sides to stand on equal grounds.
Not only that, but players in Greater Beyond were able to reach heights that would have been considered unattainable if not for the existence of the ceiling, introducing yet another wave of change to the entire community that Valyr made use of to establish a name for himself later on.
"Good times… good times."
Continuing to reminisce over all of the things he went through to get to where he was near the end of his past life, the young man closed his eyes for a bit as he took in a deep breath from time to time.
"…Huh." However, Valyr was forced to open his eyes after a sudden thought popped up in his mind, his expression containing both realization and excitement as he began to think out loud.
"I guess there is a way for the Five Leviathans to avoid the existence of the ceiling."
With the gears in his mind madly turning as he tried to get a better idea of what he came up with, Valyr faintly let out a long exhale to compose himself.
"At first, I thought it wouldn't be possible to affect them since I'm just an NPC."
"Sure, I may be considered unique in terms of my strength. The way they all interact with me is also somewhat different."
"But ultimately, I'm still an NPC."
"And I feel like… that's where the opportunity lies." As these words left his mouth, Valyr took a look at the equipment and potions he had out on display in the shop, briefly comparing them to similar items he used in his past life during the early game.
Being reminded once more that his items were borderline fraudulent in comparison to those items he used, the young man let out a slight chuckle as he thought about how he'd use his items to his advantage.
Specifically, making use of the allure his items held to make sure they would at least keep his reminder in their minds.
"Aside from that, I'm the first NPC most players have encountered to have this much strength," said Valyr to himself with a slight grin.
"Surely they'd keep my words in mind if I used both to my leverage, right?"
Letting out a peal of laughter in response to those words, Valyr soon made his way to the village's inn after listing down the things he needed to keep the shop running, ending off what he thought was a considerably long day.
…
By the time he'd gotten a good night's rest after going through all of the things he did in the past couple of days, Valyr faced the new day that greeted him with quite the positive energy.
Deciding to manage the shop for some time before heading out to finish his personal tasks once more, the young man gradually made his way down the shop as he thought over the list of things he'd compiled the previous night.
Coming up with a rough plan of how he'd tackle all of the tasks he'd given himself before he even arrived at the shop, Valyr entered the shop with a faint smile on his face, only for it to change as a few notification sounds went off in his mind.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Knowing by now that he'd only receive notifications like that if someone sent him a message, Valyr began to wonder who would send him messages at such an early time, gradually narrowing the possibilities down to a couple of people he had in mind.
"Well then… I wasn't expecting Braum to be the one contacting me." Surprisingly, the person that contacted him was one of the people he had in mind, causing a bit of interest to appear on his face whilst he recalled the last time they talked.
Being reminded of the incident involving the Zeihardt clan's rebel faction back at the north defensive line, Valyr took in a few deep breaths to calm himself down before opening the messages Braum sent.
Though, by the time he was done reading through them, only a single sound escaped his mouth.
"…Huh."
…
"…I apologize for the sudden request," said Braum as he looked at Valyr with a hint of guilt on his face.
"It's fine," replied the young man as he waved his hands in slight nonchalance. "After all, you're merely the messenger."
Thinking back to the messages he received from Braum all of a sudden, a few expressions appeared on Valyr's face when the man asked him if he could meet up with him to talk about something.
Considering all of the information and help Braum gave him so far, it went without saying that the young man agreed to the request, finding no issue with it. After all, he was also curious about what happened to the man when the incident in the north defensive line was going on.
Though, just as he thought that their conversation would end then and there, Braum followed up with a response that he would meet up with him later in the day alongside another person he was bringing along.
Naturally, Valyr became curious as to who it was, going through a small list of people he had in mind that might talk to him.
In the end, Braum told him that the person accompanying him was none other than the person Valyr requested for while the incident was going on.
"So… how long do you think it'll take for him to come here?" Having already waited for an hour after Braum arrived at his shop, the question eventually left Valyr's mouth as he thought about how he could've used the time to make items to replenish his shop's stock.
Thankfully, the man the two of them were waiting for arrived around a couple of minutes later, giving off a slight air of confidence as he appeared in front of both Braum and Valyr.