Arknights: I became an NPC in the online game

Huang Tian Houtu stepped out of the memory crystal with a pale face, greeted by teammates who looked just as drained.

"…How are we supposed to win this? Isn't the Black Knight way too strong?"

"There's no chance in close combat. She's the triple crown champion of Kazimierz."

"It's insane. One strike and our three tanks were vaporized. She didn't even use Originium Arts—just pure, refined martial skill."

The team was filled with frustration and disbelief, voices overlapping as they complained about how utterly broken the Black Knight seemed. In melee, they hadn't even seen how they died.

Dandao Dantart's legs trembled slightly. He recalled how he used to spar with the Black Knight daily in-game. He had always known she was holding back—but now he realized: she wasn't just letting him win, she was letting the entire world win. Who could possibly endure a serious Black Knight?

Magic ZX, on the other hand, looked exhilarated. After just two dungeon runs, he had gathered so much valuable information that he couldn't wait to dive in for a third.

"What now, Captain?" someone asked.

Huang Tian Houtu paused in thought. As a seasoned pro, he had faced countless bosses—no matter how brutal—and would never be daunted by difficulty alone. In fact, for veteran players like him, overcoming such challenges was part of the joy.

Raising his head, he looked at his shaken teammates. After a slight cough, he made a decisive call: "Let's go with the Pioneer and Black Knight factions first. The Assassin route is a bit too much for now—it's clearly not the main path."

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. Seeing this, Huang Tian Houtu continued, "Take ten minutes to rest. After that, we'll re-enter and focus on exploring the mechanics first."

"Even though there's no daily limit on dungeon attempts," he added, "we still need to schedule our runs. These exploratory attempts don't give us EXP or LMD, and equipment repairs cost money…" He opened his personal interface. "Let's set dungeon exploration hours from 7 to 9 every night. Does that work for everyone?"

It was currently a holiday, and even the few who were office workers didn't have any major commitments. In fact, for most of them, "working" meant livestreaming, flipping gear for profit, or—like the pros—competing full-time.

Some players, such as Magic ZX and Yang Yan XF, made content related to the game itself.

After the break, Huang Tian Houtu initiated the next dungeon run. One by one, they vanished again into white light.

Once the memory crystal for the Pioneer route was discovered, the player base sprang into action. It didn't take long for them to secure it, and the forums were soon ablaze with a new wave of Pioneer hype.

What really fueled the excitement was the Black Knight's presence in this new memory crystal. Seeing a Kazimierz champion join the Pioneer team naturally piqued players' curiosity. Combined with the viral video released by the Magic ZX, players began launching frantic deep-dives and theorycrafting as soon as the crystal dropped.

But their enthusiasm was short-lived.

The brutal difficulty of the dungeon soon hit even the most dedicated Pioneers like a sledgehammer.

"This is way too hard. The dungeon's only listed as level 25 difficulty, but it feels like content from a future version!"

"I stood up, and then bam—an assassin one-shot me with a single arrow. What else is there to say? Anyone who survives the first wave of arrows won't survive the second. It's impossible for squishy medics and support roles to live through this."

"I thought the Assassin faction would be a walk in the park, but I was so wrong. A bunch of our melee fighters got instantly wiped out. Our ranged attacks? Completely dodged by the Black Knight. She's way above our level, but she doesn't tank anything—she just dodges everything. That's not fair at all."

As complaints flooded the forums, players were simultaneously stunned by the sheer power gap. The Black Knight was overwhelmingly strong—undoubtedly worthy of her title as the three-time champion of the Kazimierz Arena.

Still, players weren't the type to back down. Undeterred, they quickly launched a new wave of strategy discussions and testing.

Sarkaz players were thrilled with their regional advantage, while players from other factions were metaphorically on their knees, desperately begging for the Pioneer to appear and rescue them. Without him, they were suffering.

"Dad! Please come to Yan! I'm on my knees! If you come, I'll even kidnap a hundred lolis and Senomi little girls to keep you company!"

"Mr. Pioneer, please come! When are you coming to our Laterano?"

"Waaah! Iberia is so close to Laterano, and even so, you're not coming here. Is it because our faith isn't sincere enough?"

At the same time, a preliminary consensus formed about the Black Knight's connection to the Pioneer. Based on the in-game lore of their respective factions, it seemed the Pioneer had helped the Black Knight on her way to the arena. That single act of assistance may have forged a friendship between two characters who otherwise had no ties.

Players in Kazdel were grinning ear to ear, while those from other nations continued to wail in vain, calling on their gods to no avail.

Felix laughed as he posted on the forum. Some players even speculated that there might be something "special" between him and Degenbrecher. But when it came to Felix, there wasn't much to say. The speculation was pure fantasy. The truth? Their relationship was simple—employer and bodyguard, comrades-in-arms. No romance, no drama. Much to some fans' disappointment.

Seeing the playerbase's intense interest in the memory crystal, Felix realized it would be unrealistic for him to remain in one place much longer.

Early-game players didn't yet have the means to travel freely across the world map. Vehicles capable of crossing the no-man's land were out of reach. Some lucky players—like Dandao Dantart—managed to hitch rides and munch on bread while traveling in a dusty, road-weary state. Less fortunate ones got stuck in the wilderness, forced to respawn at their last save point and restart their journey from scratch. It was a painful grind.

And at this stage of the game, there hadn't been any major events compelling players to sell everything and rush across the world for a mission... with one exception: the Pioneers. But even the Pioneers' whereabouts were unpredictable. What if someone spent months chasing them, only to return empty-handed?

Therefore, Felix had to keep moving. He couldn't remain within a single faction for too long, as doing so would hinder both player development and his own growth. Just as the forum posts jokingly suggested—players in Yan Country were already prepared to commit a crime just to kidnap a loli for Senomi. That kind of madness wasn't far off.

To ensure balanced and orderly development across all players, Felix knew he had to act fairly. Kazdel was just a temporary stop. Of course, he would return eventually—but not now.

As he mapped out his next route in his mind, he felt fortunate that Yan Country was very close to Kazdel. Yan shared a border with Higashi and sat across the no-man's land from Ursus.

Speaking of Lungmen, one couldn't help but think of its iconic NPCs. Unfortunately, at this point in time, Penguin Logistics had yet to be established. Its employees, Cellinia was probably still operating in Siracusa. Exusiai was likely busy bombing schools, Croissant was wandering who-knows-where, and Sora hadn't made her debut yet. Then, the Popular officer Ch'en from the Guard Department was still attending military school in Victoria… and was likely about to graduate. Hoshiguma might still be working as a bouncer in some underground city. As for Swire? Who knows—she could be a noble lady in Victoria or already in Longmen.

It was unclear whether the Lee's Detective Agency even existed at this point. If it hadn't been formed yet, then naturally, its members wouldn't be in Lungmen either.

In the end, there weren't any NPCs in Yan Country that players were familiar with yet, and diving deep into Great Yan would just be a waste of time.

Forget it—better to visit the novice towns along the borders of Yan Country, Ursus, and Higashi. The same applied to Victoria.

"Oh, the latest issue of Terra Daily is out."

Spotting a new livestream post, Felix clicked on it right away. The screen opened with a CG animation and player screenshots set to the show's theme music. In the bottom left corner, the viewer count surged past six digits within seconds. As the intro music wrapped up, the camera zoomed in, and the three hosts appeared onscreen, greeting the audience.

"Hello everyone! I'm Xiaolang, bringing you the hottest news and latest updates. Welcome to a brand-new issue of Terra Daily!"

"I'm Yang Yan XF."

"And I'm Moonlight."

Yang Yan XF added, "It's been nearly a month and a half since our last episode of Terra Daily. During that time, we've collected loads of interesting stories and strange occurrences waiting for all of you to dive into."

Xiaolang's wolf ears twitched slightly. He glanced over at Yang Yan XF's outfit and commented, "Whoa… that gear looks amazing. Is it Pioneer-exclusive equipment?"

Yang Yan XF chuckled, "Didn't you see what everyone's been saying on the forums? The Pioneers showed up in Kazdel a while ago. I'm Sarkaz—it only makes sense that I'd buy gear from the Pioneers, right?"

Moonlight rested her chin on both hands, eyes full of envy. "That's so nice… I'm too far from Kazdel. I wonder when the Pioneers will finally reach Sargon."

Felix didn't expect to be mentioned so soon after the show began. The barrage of comments from the audience exploded with interaction—most of them filled with envy.

This episode of Terra Daily focused on the topic of singularities—what other games might call the exploration of secret zones. There were still countless areas across the land of Terra that had yet to be explored or touched by humans.

This, of course, was tied to the progression of the players themselves. After settling near Novice Towns, players naturally began completing the town's quests, which included pioneering missions to expand the territory. Most players had already taken up the secondary profession of Pioneer. After all, the valuable items unearthed during these missions could be sold to NPCs for a profit.

But the real point of interest wasn't the process—it was the results of these expeditions.

"According to reports, the Evil Geniuses team from the United States unearthed an ancient magic sword during a pioneering mission," Moonlight said. "This sword is a relic from ancient times and possesses extremely powerful attributes, but it also comes with high stat requirements for wielding."

Yang Yan XF nodded in agreement. "This land hides too many secrets. There are countless hidden realms just waiting for players to explore. Right now, the Evil Geniuses team is undergoing intense training, hoping to meet the conditions to wield this magic sword as soon as possible. If they succeed, it will pose a major challenge for the professional leagues in the Chinese region."

Xiaolang added, "But don't be discouraged. Based on the analysis of the magic sword's stats, we've concluded that it can only be equipped at the end of Version 2.0. So, for now, we don't need to worry about equipment disparities in the Version 1.0 pro competitions. By the time Version 2.0 arrives, our professional players in China should also be capable of equipping a wide range of mysterious ancient gear."

Hearing this, Felix recalled that a similar incident had indeed made waves in his previous life. The Evil Geniuses team from the U.S. discovered a magic sword while exploring ruins, sparking a massive sensation across the internet. The sword's attributes were excellent, prompting another American team—the Cloud Team—to offer one million dollars to buy it from Evil Geniuses, only to be turned down.

This event ignited a gold rush among players. Everyone threw themselves into pioneering missions, scouring ruins in hopes of discovering treasure—either for personal use or for profit.

At the same time, the incident set a new precedent: high-value in-game equipment being traded for real-world currency. Spending a million dollars on an item wasn't that outrageous, especially considering that cosmetic skins in CS2 can easily fetch hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.

The difference, of course, was that CS2 skins don't provide +10 damage. In MMORPGs, equipment differences can be game-breaking.

Evil Geniuses was a professional team, after all. They had likely already designated a player to start training as a Guard-class tactician the moment they secured the weapon. There was no way they'd sell such a strategic asset to their long-time rivals in the same league, the Cloud Team.

Felix felt a twinge of regret. In his previous life, he hadn't taken part in the singularity explorations or the gold rush. While other players were scouring the land for ancient ruins, he was busy forging iron. While others were digging deep into the earth, he was hammering away. While others braved deadly traps in the ruins, he was still sharpening steel.

If he had participated in the gold rush in his previous life, at the very least, he would have known the locations of several ruins by now—and could've begun excavating them in advance. What a shame. Felix felt as though he had missed out on hundreds of millions of LMD.

Still, he knew what was coming next in the storyline. The team led by Andoain would accidentally stumble upon a ruin, and it was there that Mostima would shoot Andoain.

The weapon hidden in that relic was one that could stop time. Unfortunately, it didn't seem compatible with Felix's fighting style.

"Are there any auxiliary weapons? Even production tools would be fine," Felix sighed. That kind of loot would be incredible. But with his E-rank luck, the chances of encountering ruins were about the same as finishing the entire game and then traveling back in time.

And in an MMORPG, there's no such thing as clearing the game. Which meant his chances of discovering a ruin were practically zero.

"Speaking of pioneering," Yang Yan XF continued, shifting the topic to anecdotes, "the players in Kazdel have really been living it up recently. As we all know from the forums, the Kazdel civil war has been going on for an entire year in Terra time, with no signs of stopping. Players in Kazdel, myself included, have been stuck in endless PvP battles aboard the Ark."

"And that's when he arrived!"

Suddenly, the upright figure of the Pioneer appeared on screen. Standing behind him were the Black Knight—already well-known among players—and a beautiful girl with pink hair and golden eyes, dressed in a mercenary uniform.

"He rescued us from the eternal PvP nightmare. Now... we officially begin Minecraft."