Chapter 402

Happy times always seem to pass by rather quickly.

Before they knew it, the players were dancing and celebrating until midnight in the central square of Chosen City, their laughter echoing throughout the night.

What finally brought their revelry to a stop wasn't fatigue or boredom, but rather a sudden forced logout announcement from the system, which abruptly ended the festivities.

The new version update is finally being rolled out!

To maintain the cleanliness of the city and avoid displeasing the local NPCs, the players hurriedly cleaned up the mess they had left behind from their celebrations and then promptly returned to their usual logout spots just before the scheduled update maintenance.

Most of the top veteran players with luxurious villas in the Chosen City returned to their homes, while the longtime laid-back casual players who had accumulated enough contribution points from their extended playtime were able to afford modest yet still expensive private courtyards.

As for the newcomers from the fourth beta, most of them either still lived in taverns or in those communal 'morgues,' with only the most dedicated grinders and wealthy whales amongst them having been able to secure private places for themselves.

It is in moments like these that the wealth disparity within the game becomes glaringly evident.

Nevertheless, despite the differences in their financial status, there is surprisingly little resentment among the players.

Part of this was mainly due to the players' inherent understanding of the game, which made them less sensitive to wealth gaps within Elven Kingdom.

In addition, ElvKing wasn't purely a pay-to-win oriented game.

While the rich whales could use their real-life money to gain contribution points and become stronger within the game, the path to reaching the top is not restricted to this method alone.

There are many other opportunities available to everyone, and just as long as you are willing to work hard, have some luck, and stay sharp, being a top player is not just a distant dream.

Take Meng Zhihan, for example.

As an ordinary player from the third-beta, she diligently completed a lot of daily tasks and had just the right amount of luck to get where she currently is.

Then, after the requirements for jobclass advancement were announced, she intensely farmed mobs nonstop.

As a result, not only did she reach level 40 before the scheduled update, but she also secured a spot for the jobclass advancement promotion.

After bidding farewell to Li Mu and her other guild members, she and her best friend, Yuanjuan, returned to her home in Chosen City.

It was a private courtyard built by Moe Moe Committee's real estate development team during the third-beta.

Although it wasn't as large as the mansions built during the first two betas, it was still well-equipped with all the facilities she needed despite its relatively small size.

However, make no mistake: despite its smaller scale, it still cost her a hefty 20,000 contribution points when she bought it.

Of course, after the fourth-beta players joined, her house's property value skyrocketed several times over.

In a sense, with her property included, she was now considered quite a wealthy player within the game.

Still, despite this, she never considered selling her current house in Chosen City to buy a new one.

The reason was simple: it was situated in a great location, surrounded by top players as her neighbors.

Even if it wasn't as grand as some of the newly built houses on the outskirts, it was a symbol of status in its own right.

Not to mention, it was just a ten-minute walk to the teleportation array which is connected to various maps, or even quicker if she rode her little unicorn that she had recently 'acquired' from the forest.

Meng Zhihan returned home and locked the door.

After feeding her magical familiar some fruits and shooing away a vain battle mage who wanted to sleep with her in the guest room, she took off her gear and lay down upon her bed.

After such a hectic day within the game, nightfall had gently descended upon the land of Seigües.

Chosen City was no different in this regard, with its surroundings slowly slipping into silence as each players logged off one by one.

This bustling metropolis, which had nearly become a city that never slept since the arrival of the fourth-beta players, began to drift into a deep, peaceful slumber.

Meng Zhihan gazed out the wooden window at the sky while lying in bed under the silky soft quilt woven from crypt spider silk, which had become quite popular among the players recently.

Unlike back on Earth wherein light and air pollution often obscured the skies to the point of hiding every single star, the night sky here was stunningly clear.

The vast array of stars sparkled like a celestial tapestry, far more breathtaking and magical than the Milky Way she had glimpsed online.

As Meng Zhihan gazed at the stunning starry sky through her window, whilst listening to the faint chirping of insects outside and savoring the fresh, earthy scent of her elven abode, her heart, which had been restless from a day of intense grinding, gradually calm down.

"Master once said that every star in the skies represents a different realm. I wonder... could there be another world like Seigües up there?"

As Meng Zhihan gazed at the twinkling stars, she couldn't help but recall the various legends she'd heard from her mentor, Carlos, the elven blacksmith.

Even though she knew it was just a game, her mind still couldn't help but fantasized about it.

"I really hope that one day I can explore every corner of this game world and experience the unique cultures and customs of each race out there..." she thought wistfully.

After attending the meetup event, Meng Zhihan felt an even more deeper fondness for this game.

She truly loved this world and its lifelike NPCs, as well as the countless players she met along the way.

This place was, in essence, their dream paradise.

As she gazed at the shimmering sea of stars on the horizon, a soft smile gracefully touched her lips.

"See you later, Elven Kingdom..."

She softly whispered before clicking the "Log Out" button on the system menu as her avatar gradually fell into slumber.

Meanwhile, back in reality—

Unlike in Elven Kingdom, where it was still deep into the night, Earth was bathed in bright daylight.

Meng Zhihan slowly climbed out of her VR pod and promptly checked the time, finding that it was already past ten o'clock in the morning.

No matter how many times she experienced it, witnessing the difference in the flow of time between the two worlds always felt surreal to her.

Whilst yawning lazily, she dragged her much heavier and slower real-world body to freshen up before stepping out of her hotel room.

By this point, many players had already risen, and Meng Zhihan decided to first wake her best friend next door so that they could head to the dining hall together to eat.

Taking the players' varied schedules into consideration, the lunch provided by Tianchen Hotel is still served in a buffet style, with the dishes being excellent and mouthwatering.

Alas, Meng Zhihan and many of the other players seemed too preoccupied and didn't pay much attention to the food as around eighty or ninety players hurriedly finished their meals and, after resting briefly in the hotel lobby, rushed back to their respective rooms just before noon.

These were the players who had secured a spot for the jobclass advancement promotion.

Compared to other players, they were far more excited about the new update of Elven Kingdom to care about anything else and Meng Zhihan was among them.

After using the restroom and making sure everything was ready, she quickly climbed back into her VR pod as soon the time reached exactly 12:00 p.m on October 1st.

"I'm back."

Meng Zhihan silently muttered to herself.

While putting on the helmet, she swiftly pressed the icon of Elven Kingdom in the virtual interface.

"Start the game — Elven Kingdom!"

[❗ ]

[Connection Status: Success ]

[New Version Detected: Elven Kingdom ver 1.70]

[Updating version...01%..02%...]

[99%...100%—Update successful!]

[Logging in...]

[Username: Meng Zhihan]

[O' Chosen One, welcome back to Elven Kingdom!]

— 402 —

[ VERSION UPDATE ]

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