My Players Are So Fierce

Miriam eventually accepted the title of “Baroness of Morland” and the territory that came with it. She also received a Crimson Regent’s bat-shaped signet ring, feeling dazed as she returned to the chair beside Lady Tris.

Her mind was a complete blank at the moment, making it nearly impossible for her to think effectively.

This made her feel like she had surely been trapped by the cunning vampires using some vile mental spell. However, Lady Tris was well aware that this was simply a case of “pig brain overload” from too much intense thinking in a short period.

No big deal.

A bit of rest and a few drinks to relax would fix it.

Tonight’s ceremony had concluded in terms of procedure, but Murphy still had one final announcement to make. Amid the private whispers from the little players upstairs, Murphy rose from his chair, leaning on the Desire Demon Blade and taking a deep breath.

His gentle gaze swept across the faces of each little player. He could remember how these adorable and brave otherworld spirits had fought under his command, as well as the process of his interactions and acquaintance with every one of them.

Although he had only spent less than a month with the little players so far, the relationship between them had already become quite close.

Regrettably, Murphy could not be certain whether this intimacy stemmed from the players genuinely regarding him, an “NPC,” as a friend, or simply from their fondness for a generous main-line NPC.

He could perhaps gain the answer by employing Desire Perception to listen in on their thoughts.

But ultimately, Murphy did not do so.

He did not want to reap disappointment, and besides, now was not the time.

Pushing the question from his mind, he discreetly gripped the core bead tied to his wrist and activated the quest dispatch, with the pre-edited text and content primed and ready to go.

“My warriors! It is because of your unyielding battles over this past month that I, once a fringe member of my family, have arrived at this point. Everything I now possess was forged from your shed blood.

Thus, I must declare here and now!

I am about to make a decision that defies the countless traditions laid down by our vampiric ancestors.

This may cause me to become one reviled by my own kind, but I know I must do it!

I wish to share the midnight’s blessing and the crimson’s power with you all! Just as you have treated me with such generosity and loyalty.”

“Ding, ding, ding!”

The moment Murphy finished speaking, a quest note notification sounded from every player’s Computation Bead, indicating a massive triggering of main-line quest updates.

Meow King lowered his head to see the quest note that popped up on the player interface:

【Race Sidequest ‘Midnight’s Calling’ has been triggered!

Quest Content: Moved by your loyalty and courage, Count of Kadman Murphy has decided, along with Lady Tris, to make a difficult decision that defies vampire law and tradition in order to save the Blood Vulture Clan from the brink of extinction.

He wishes to invite you to join the Blood Vulture Clan and become a member of the midnight nobility and an Eternal Sin Descendant.

Of course, Murphy would never force his warriors to do anything, so whether to answer his call is up to you.

Quest Objective: Answer the summons of Lady Duchess Tris and Count of Kadman Murphy, undergo the Black Iron Trial, and complete the Initial Embrace and Spirit Weaving Ceremony to join the Blood Vulture Clan.

(P.S. This quest can only be completed after the version update.)

Quest Reward: A new race template and unique power system, a new reputation system and gameplay updates.

(P.S. These features will be implemented after the version update is complete.)

Note!

This is an optional quest. Rejecting it will not lower any reputation you have already gained.

Note!

The vampire race is the development team’s initial attempt at implementing new race gameplay mechanics. Rejecting this quest will not impact the experience of future new races to be introduced in later versions.

Developer Note:

While offering advantages, the transcendent vampire race also has significant drawbacks that cannot be ignored. Testers, please choose carefully.

Developer Note:

Once accepted and completed, this quest will result in permanent, irreversible gameplay changes. Testers, please choose carefully.

Developer Note:

The test server will be shut down in 20 minutes for Alpha 2.0 version updating.

Please proceed to the initial save point, the Blood Vulture Halls Midnight Chamber, to log out. This update will take 48 hours. Testers, please be patient and wait for its completion.】

“What the hell! I was about to offer my heart to Murphy, and now you’re telling me I have to wait 48 hours for an update before I can continue my allegiance?

This is such a letdown!

The sense of immersion is completely ruined!”

Invincible Tyrannosaurus Cheche immediately started howling in protest.

Ever since previously experiencing the “Vampire Trial Card,” he had been obsessed with the ability to fly. Now that the quest had finally triggered, having to wait through yet another update was almost too much to bear.

“Damn it! This developer is not loyal at all! I suggest we drag them out and give them a bomb launcher greeting!”

Onboard Joy Stick was also gritting his teeth beside them.

This brother was not particularly invested in the vampire race storyline, but was purely captivated by the transcendent beauty embodied in that race.

Moreover, Joy Stick’s mind kept flashing back to the cutscene animation he had just seen of the vampire’s Initial Embrace. He wondered, if NPC vampires could perform the Initial Embrace on others, could player-controlled vampires do the same?

Not that he had any lewd intentions.

After all, it wasn’t easy to find an exquisite blood descendant like Lady Adele who combined power and the ability to be a decorative vase. His main interest was in the absolute control vampire elders wielded over their progeny.

This ultra-loyal relationship was simply the gospel for someone like Joy Stick, who was innately lacking in a sense of security.

The other players were also complaining about the untimely version update, but it was necessary!

Murphy had to give them time for careful consideration.

After all, this was not just a game, there was no way to respec or delete and restart.

Once they turned into vampires, if they regretted it later, even if they flooded the forum feedback section until the server exploded, Murphy would have no way to actually roll back for the little players.

More importantly, Lady Tris’s spirit weaving experiment still needed two days to yield its final results. Murphy planned to carefully reconsider the current situation while the little players rested, straightening out anything that needed to be straightened, tidying up the existing game environment, and creating a new main-line quest to welcome the arrival of the “new version.”

At this moment, the server shutdown countdown had begun ticking on the player interface, prompting these fellows to mutter and grumble as they made their way in groups of three or two from the Descendant Hall back to the Midnight Chamber save point.

However, Meow King and the leading pigeon, who were among the first 16 to enter the game for testing, deliberately lingered behind. After the others had left, these sly fellows circled back around.

The 16 of them exchanged glances, patiently waiting at the entrance to the Descendant Hall.

Apart from triggering the《Midnight’s Calling》branch storyline earlier, these 16 “veteran players” also had an additional hidden quest:《Gratitude from an Old Friend》.

They had confirmed that the second and third batches of players who entered the game did not have this quest.

What was this about?

This was clearly Murphy giving his 16 earliest-following warriors some “special treatment”!

Murphy had not forgotten his original brothers-in-arms. He was trying to secure benefits for his homies. Heh, you had to admit, the NPC design in this game really had a human touch.

Previously, Murphy was a fringe noob, and he shared good and bad times with everyone equally.

Now that Murphy had found success, he naturally could not forget the old buddies he had struggled alongside from the beginning.

Murphy did not keep his 16 earliest little player followers waiting too long. Soon, using the Wolfsbane staff sword seized from Joban Marci Gongreau as a walking stick, he appeared before the little players.

It was evident he was still a bit weak, but upon seeing the 16 familiar faces who had accompanied him the longest, the vampire lord’s expression softened into the gentle smile they were all familiar with.

“We have been through many challenges together, my warriors… no, my friends. I only want you to know that although I am a vampire born from the midnight, I also understand gratitude.”

He did not give a long-winded speech.

Surrounded by the 16 little players, he opened his spirit bag and took out one by one the crimson, mysteriously glowing, yet unnamed Blood Vulture Clan signet rings, passing them to the warriors beside him.

He said softly:

“If you decide to walk this midnight path, then these signets that prove your identity and belonging are my gifts to you. But you need not feel pressured by this, I can understand that not everyone is willing to be embraced by the eternal night.

The caress and embrace of the sunlight still remind me in my midnight dreams of the human identity I have lost. I do not have the right to demand that you do what you are unwilling to do in this world, according to my will.

However, you can still keep these precious rings and seek out alchemists or enchanters to fashion them into items suited to your profession’s traits, or simply as mementos. Such pure bloodstones are not easily found on the continent. Therefore, even without the prestigious name of the Blood Vulture Clan signet, these trinkets can be regarded as precious objects worth more than gold.

This represents my personal gratitude for the warmth of your companionship bestowed upon me.”

Murphy smiled and said gently to the 16 “veteran” little players:

“Given your special circumstances, even if you join the Blood Vulture Clan, you may not be able to truly uphold the laws of the night as we do. But I have already submitted an application to Lady Tris. If you are willing, after you join the clan, I will become your nominal elder.

I will lead, teach, and protect you.

You can view this as a privilege distinct from the other warriors, it may indeed seem unfair to them.

But I think this is a reward you deserve!”

“What the hell!”

The 16 little players were instantly floored.

In typical role-playing games, players tend to portray peripheral or symbolic roles within large organizations.

But given Murphy’s current position of being second to none within the Blood Vulture Clan, allowing players to directly become his nominal progeny was an almost “cheat-like” starting advantage that clearly did not conform to the norms of role-playing games.

The only explanation was that these “promises” Murphy had just spoken were probably the real “closed beta tester rewards” left by the development team for the first batch of closed beta testers.

“What should I do? I’m a bit tempted.”

Meow King, who had already become an Oak Apprentice, was temporarily at a loss.

The temptation of this “new identity start” even sparked the urge in him to “delete and restart.” The other players looked at him with a pitying gaze.

As if!

When faced with something like this, the immediate reaction should obviously be to loudly mock him, right?

“My warrior Meow, you have been watched over by the Avalon deity. I do not have the audacity to snatch a follower from the God of Nature.”

Murphy shook his head and patted the dejected Meow King’s shoulder, saying:

“But even without a clan connection, I believe there is still a bond between us. As I just said, I will not interfere with your decision, but I will be elated if you choose to step into the eternal night.”

“Ding”

The soft sound from the player interface at that moment caused all 16 of them to look down simultaneously.

【Hidden Reputation Achievement “Murphy’s Approval” has been unlocked!

Note!

Hidden Title “Murphy’s Friend” acquisition progress 1/2. After obtaining the “Blood Vulture’s Friend” reputation achievement in a future version, this hidden title can be acquired.

Note!

This hidden achievement cannot be obtained after the Alpha 2.0 version update.】

“Woohoo, limited edition achievement get! Veteran player benefits acquired, yay!”

Leading Pigeon and his dorm mates immediately cheered, while the others also looked delighted.

Players just love these limited edition things. Even if it was a turd, a limited edition turd would still be considered a good thing!

“I shall offer you my heart, my lord!”

“And I as well!”

“Me too!”

Invincible Tyrannosaurus Cheche, Ah Yuen, and Spicy Gugu Chicken immediately knelt on one knee, imitating Maxim’s pose during the Initial Embrace as they pledged allegiance to Murphy.

But Murphy shook his head and said in a drawn-out tone:

“I appreciate your loyalty, my dear Cheche, Ah Yuen, and Gugu Chicken. However, you still need to undergo the trial of strength. But do not worry, for warriors like you, it is no longer an unattainable challenge.

Ah, a mysterious force tells me that you may need to return to your world now.

Perhaps this portends some changes to our world as well.

Whether for good or ill, I cannot say.

Come, let me see you off.

Let me send off my most trusted warriors back to their homeland.”

Murphy raised his hand forward, and surrounded by the 16 players, he walked deeper into the Blood Vulture Halls, almost racing against time as he went, occasionally chatting with his original warriors about the future prospects of Transia.

At the last minute, he saw the 16 players enter the Midnight Chamber, then temporarily deactivated the projection resonance function of the test admin system.

He stepped into the silent chamber.

His 60 warriors were currently lying about in various postures amidst the darkness, but this “version update” did not count as being kicked offline, so their bodies remained physical.

Murphy raised his hand, casting a group-wide Death’s Grasp around them, allowing the invisible midnight noose to gently lift the little players into the air and arrange them in a sleeping posture on the stone dais ahead, thoughtfully placing their weapons beside them as well.

As if, in the next instant, these warriors would open their eyes once more and draw their weapons to fight for Murphy.

“You have been fighting continuously for so long, you deserve a good rest. After all, unlike me, you have your own lives in another world. You wouldn’t want to end up labeled as internet addicted youths.”

Murphy leaned on his staff, stretching his body in the darkness.

At this moment, he finally did not need to play the role of a forever wise, forever energetic NPC.

It was like taking off an invisible mask.

The vampire lord tilted his head, reached out to remove the finger that the sleeping Invincible Tyrannosaurus Cheche had been biting, and placed it on his chest. He also straightened Leading Pigeon’s equipment collar.

Turning in the darkness to walk towards the chamber’s entrance, he waved his hand lightly and said softly:

“Consider this a two-day break. Gather your strength, and then we’ll complete our grand plan together. Good night, my warriors.

Good night, my friends in this otherworld.

What comes next will be a less arduous stretch of game time. Treat it as leisure, as for the dangerous Black Disaster…hmm, we might as well make it into an expansion pack.”