Chapter 1: I've Become an NPC?

[Name: Xia Er]

[Level: 30]

[Class: Undead Archmage]

[Identity: Outer Territory Lord of the Western Continent]

[Time: Year 322 of the Qiyuan Era, July 15th, 2:00 PM]

Western Continent — [Undead Archmage] Territory.

Xia Er stared blankly at the data displayed on the panel, his expression completely dazed.

The night before, a massive western fantasy adventure game called "Oracle" — said to be the combined effort of thousands of game developers — had been on the verge of its official release after multiple rounds of closed beta testing.

As a hardcore gamer, he simply couldn't resist. Even after days of brutal all-nighters at work, Xia Er had pushed through his overwhelming exhaustion to wait for the game's launch, determined to be among the very first players.

But the moment he finished creating his character...

His vision went dark, and he collapsed unconscious. When he opened his eyes again, he had been forcibly stripped of his humanity and turned into a starter-zone boss inside the game.

This was not a good thing.

As a player himself, Xia Er knew all too well just how terrifying this so-called "Fourth Calamity" of players could be.

Infinite respawns, all manner of disgusting class combinations and item exploits — they'd even abuse glitches...

His stats, which looked intimidating on paper, would probably be farmed like a walking experience pinata by players who'd had time to develop.

And when that day came — his head would be taken by some mage to craft a staff, his torso claimed by some warrior for armor, his leg bones carved into daggers by some rogue...

"No way! I refuse to become crafting material for players!"

Imagining the fate that might await him, Xia Er took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He vaguely recalled that a timestamp had been displayed when the character was created — something like Year 322 of the Qiyuan Era, July 13th...

In other words, only two days had passed since the server opened.

While players did develop quickly, this was still the early-access period. There were a lot of them spread out, and as a lord, he had a substantial number of undead soldiers in his territory. If he used this window of time, he could absolutely gather up the valuables in his domain and make a run for it.

Run! He had to run!

With his thoughts sorted out, Xia Er wasted no more time. He jumped up from his chair, headed into the bedroom, and began searching for anything of value.

[Groaning Magic Phonograph]

[Broken Bat Plushie]

[Undead Girl Modification Manual]

"What is all this junk? Where's the money?"

Staring at the heap of unsightly objects in the bedroom, Xia Er's face twitched. He stuffed the manual into his pack and immediately moved to search elsewhere.

He had just pushed open the bedroom door when he found a tall, slender young woman waiting outside — he had no idea when she'd arrived.

Fair skin, delicate features...

Hm?

Xia Er looked at her, and a line of information gradually materialized before his eyes.

[Name: Avril]

[Level: 23]

[Class: Succubus]

[Identity: Deputy of the Undead Territory]

"Lord Xia Er."

Avril was the first to speak, breaking the silence: "A large wave of adventurers is invading our territory."

......

That fast?

He had been hoping for at least a little more time. He hadn't expected to underestimate the players' development speed this badly.

Xia Er asked, "Do you have an exact number?"

"Around fifty."

Xia Er: ......?

Fifty people?

Was it really necessary to send fifty people after a single starter-zone boss? What happened to going after the world dungeon?!

The faint spark of fighting spirit that had just ignited in Xia Er's heart was instantly snuffed out.

Better to just make a run for it.

Glancing at the messy bedroom and the pack slung over the lord's shoulder, Avril seemed to have guessed something: "Lord Xia Er, are you... running away?"

"Absolutely not."

Xia Er gazed out beyond the castle walls, his expression carrying a hint of longing. "I've just been cooped up in this castle lately and wanted to take a stroll."

"I heard there's a place on the Eastern Continent called 'Moon Island' — beautiful scenery, completely isolated from the world."

"Do you know any smuggling routes?"

Avril: ....

She let out a sigh, her tone carrying a note of helplessness: "Lord Xia Er, have you forgotten that you signed a contract with the Witch? If the territory falls, your soul will be annihilated along with it."

Hearing her words, Xia Er's face went blank with disbelief.

A contract?

There was a mechanic like that?

So that meant he couldn't run after all?

At that thought, Xia Er slumped back into his chair, feeling a dull ache in his head.

This was a real mess — wolves in front, tigers behind...

He stared vacantly at the empty castle hall, and suddenly noticed that within his field of vision, aside from the character panel, there was a small icon.

Four words were written on it.

[Oracle Forum]

"Is this the player forum?"

Xia Er blinked, sensing something was off.

After focusing his thoughts on it to select it, a translucent pale-blue screen materialized before him.

[Welcome to the Oracle Forum]

[This forum has been custom-built by the studio for players, integrating features such as "Trading," "Bounties," "Party Finder," and "Guides" — all accessible in-game. Welcome, players.]

As the introductory message faded, a dazzling array of forum posts appeared before Xia Er's eyes.

[Official Lore Revealed — The World Setting We Can Currently Disclose...]

[Early-Access Stat Build Recommendations, Plus My Personal Take on Each Major Class]

[Attention Aspiring Mages — Here's How to Farm the "Pure Soul" You Need for Your Job Change as Fast as Possible]

The third post on the front page quickly captured Xia Er's attention, and he clicked into it.

"After two days of early access, I'm sure many of you have already hit level ten and are on the verge of your job change."

"As a gaming content creator who was fortunate enough to be invited as a closed-beta tester, I'm here to tell you exactly where you can farm the [Magic Soul] required for the Mage job change."

"First, the [Murk Toad Nest] in the Dark Forest. Second, the ghosts in the [Mine Pit]. However, since these are starting-area locations, the drop rates there are extremely low. By comparison, the [Undead Territory] on the Western Continent is a place I highly recommend."

"Posted by — [Evil Little Mage]"

After reading through the post, Xia Er couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

Oh, wonderful.

So that's why there were so damn many players heading his way — this post alone had to be responsible for at least eighty percent of them.

"Evil Little Mage, huh. Alright. I'll remember you."

Quietly noting down the username, Xia Er read through the post again and suddenly realized something was off.

In Oracle, once a player reached level ten, they had to choose from four starting classes: [Warrior], [Mage], [Rogue], and [Medic]. Each class had its own job-change quest, which had to be completed before the class could be officially unlocked.

And the Pure Soul was precisely what the [Mage] job-change quest required.

So that meant...

These guys were all still small fry who hadn't even gotten their classes yet?

With that realization, Xia Er felt a wave of clarity wash over him.

He had initially assumed they were all fully-geared hardcore grinders, which had given him quite a scare. But now it seemed the situation wasn't quite as dire as he'd feared.

Xia Er turned to Avril and instructed, "Go call the other three deputies over as well."