Shepherding Humanity

Chapter 118: A sudden shift in tone.

Theres a big-shot here!

Countless people spun around in surprise.

Bossman, youre officially a Mage now? Amazing! You've been training for a month?

Hurry and show your stuff. Ive heard that a Level One Mage is already very strong and can effortlessly beat up us ordinary people. You should be able to cast the super cool general spell Heavens Hammer.

I still haven't encountered any fantasy abilities yet! Show us the light, boss!

***

Everyone was super excited.

Learning Medicine calmly looked at the familiar faces around him and said: Guys, after a month of training, Ive realized a fundamental truth: Its lonely at the top. This is the truth that the developers wanted to convey to us when they made this sandbox.

Everyone was flabbergasted for a moment and uncertainty nodded. Is that so???

Alright. Learning Medicine laughed. Let me show you the power of a Level One Mage. Speaking of which, Ive also gotten the Spatial Mage hidden class.

Everyone expressed their awe once again.

Theyve talked to one another, and found that there were only 6 of them who had gotten a character with hidden class. To think that there would be a seventh

Stand aside, guys. I dont want to accidentally injure you.

The surrounding people quickly cleared an open space and eagerly looked on.

Let me show you my signature magic spell. Learning Medicine gestured, and a grain of sand slowly floated up from the ground, then vanished in an instant.

Learning Medicine: ???

The other players: !!!

After analyzing the situation for a moment, everyone was speechless.

This hidden class can only gather a single grain of sand?

As they discussed the hidden class, they concluded that it must be the worst hidden class ever, and looked at Learning Medicine with pitying eyes.

Learning Medicine was absolutely furious. This cant be all! Ill keep training.

He was quivering with rage inside. Ive trained for an entire month! Ive endured for so long, and the result is that I can only take in a single grain of sand!

???

Show yourself, you shitty Developers! Im gonna murder you!

This cant be This cant be Learning Medicine was practically sobbing. If I rage-quit like the previous players, then wont I be no different from everyone else? Im sure that there must be some deeper meaning to all this.

He knew that if he did not comfort himself like this, then hed probably go mad. This is normal. A Level One Mage is simply too weak to realize the potential of this extraordinary class. Ill become an invincible Spatial Mage at later levels, and will be able to beat up everyone else in my level range.

Bossman, stop! You wont be able to endure that! It takes dozens of times longer to become a Level Two Mage.

Right, itll take you at least a year

Everyone tried to dissuade him from this course of action, but Learning Medicine had already resolved himself.

People came and went, and another 3 months went by.

This was equivalent to 4 minutes in reality.

Yet another batch of players had entered and raised a ruckus over their appearance. Once they got that out of the way, they started meditating, but things were different this time around.

Booming sounds resounded throughout the earthen square. One after another, their spiritual power fluctuated, and they quickly broke past Level One.

WTF! I really am a genius!

What took the Emperor of Alchemy an entire month, I accomplished in only a day! God is unfair, and jealous of my talent. Had I been born in the Magic World, then a lowly Emperor of Alchemy would have been nothing before me!

Youre all half-baked! Look at me! I, The Hulk, will lead Mages into a bright new era!

***

What is this? A convention for show-offs?

Learning Medicine stood up in shock and stared at this scene with wide open eyes.

It took a long time for him to regain his composure. I see, this must be the result of the previous players hard work. Because they took turns controlling their characters, their training kept getting interrupted; but they still meditated for over 3 months, which is enough for them to reach Level One.

In the earthen square, about 300 Mages had broken past Level One and were now excitedly casting magic.

While meditation was tedious and boring, casting magic was quite fun.

And thus.

Heavens Hammer!

Heavens Hammer!

So this is magic! Amazing!

They were so excited they even started fighting one another.

Why is it that, even though theyre Level One like me, they can cast magic while I can only gather a tiny grain of sand

Learning Medicine wept bitterly. He took a deep breath and attempted to calm himself through self-hypnosis: This is a test, Im sure of that. Since an ordinary Mage is so strong at Level One, then theres no reason for my hidden class to be so weak.

About a week went by before this batch of players got bored and logged out. The following batch took over their Level One characters and immediately started casting magic after logging in.

Heavens Hammer!

For a few days, they had fun mastering the spell, then also got bored and left.

News of this soon reached the outside world.

Being a Mage feels amazing!

Heavens Hammer feels so realistic! The sensation of activating spells with your spiritual power is just so cool!

Many people were surprised and asked them what was going on. They actually enjoyed that tedious and boring meditation? Were they masochists?

It took a few moments for these people to accept the truth.

How can this be? Youre already Level One Mages who can cast spells?

Youre enjoying the fruits of your predecessors labor! This is all because Ive been single for so long, my hand is super fast! My hard work only benefited others! Why must I be punished for being an FA even in a game? (?)

No, I must login again! I trained so hard, but never got to have any fun!

The players who had logged in previously couldnt help but feel pissed off.

Others began to tease them:

Didnt you say you'd rather die than login again? Where are the guys who said they were gonna shit upside down, then eat it?

Which gluttonous pig said that? (?)

Which bastard is trying to make us eat shit? (?)

Guys, have mercy! Were constipated at the moment! (?)

Fine, Ive just eaten a big meal. Ill try my best to satisfy you! (?)

***

The scene in the forum was very weird at the moment. The first four minutes only had bad reviews, but after the six minutes mark, everyone was full of praises. After all, getting to become a Level One Mage was fun.

Under this kind of atmosphere, the brief 10 minutes trial period went by very quickly.

Warning: The trial period has ended. You will now be logged-out of the game.

When this message appeared, the players who were happily casting spells couldnt help but curse out loud.

But Ive just entered! Ive clicked like mad on the mouse outside for 10 minutes, to the point my hand feels like its gonna fall off! And now

F*ck you! Dont

Heedless of their complaints, the screen instantly went black. Theyve all been logged out.

Learning Medicine was the most miserable of them all.

He had trained for 8 months straight. He got better at it as time passed, and his meditative trances lasted much longer, with a day or two passing by in the blink of an eye. But 8 months was simply far too long, and he had an extremely difficult time.

Even after all that, I still havent reached Level Two. He was full of dissatisfaction. But, I can see the Developers intent now, and where theyre planning to take this sandbox in the future. If my guess is right, then this sandbox thats been derided as a giant failure wont lose out at all to Spore Evolution in the future!

He thought for a moment, then posted a new thread in the forum.

[A review of Spore Evolutions trial sandbox, written by a player whos acquired a hidden class and spent 8 months in the game]

He opened with this astonishing line:

In this post, I will clear the Developers good name! This semi open-world sandbox thats currently under development is not as tedious and boring as you all think! Weve misunderstood the Developers, and now, with my multi-layered analysis, I will reveal to you all their true intent.

I will even make a bold prediction, and say that it wont lose to Spore Evolution in the future! Its a truly healthy and relaxing game which could extend your life, and a good place for modern people to get some relaxing exercise after a hard days work. I cant praise it enough!