In the concurrence of the entire battle, the Magus Academy Online official website forum on Earth never died down in liveness and had been growing increasingly busy as time went on.

  The players who had fallen in the battle, along with the recordings they and others shared, sparked waves of excitement among both testers and non-testers alike. Although the battle was not as bloody compared to the previous invasion, the people watching were more excited than ever. That was because the enemies this time around were not mindless mobs but characters within the game. Not only did this open up new angles on potential gameplay, but it also paved the path for the future course that the game might take.

  Another aspect that heightened players’ excitement was the ability to loot the corpses of defeated enemies and claim all their possessions.

  “Hahaha! Just look at them, shamelessly groping the bandits for loot. Have they no shame?”

  “This reminds me of those AAA+ games where you loot corpses somewhat ‘realistically.’ But only getting, like, a few silver coins and some scraps. So much for realism.”

  “Wait, looting these corpses is one thing since they are all male. But what if you’re looting a female bandit or something? Would that make this game R18+? Not that it hasn’t been with the gore and the ultra-realism.”

  “Seriously? We’re going there again? Unless you’re intentionally doing indecent things, there should be no problem. Otherwise, if you cross the line, the GM’s gonna revoke your access.”

  “I agree. We players have a sense of decorum since those who didn’t wouldn’t qualify for the game anyway. For example, we leave these bandits’ undergarments alone. Well, mostly.”

  “‘Mostly’? What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Uh… Well, it turns out that one of the bandits actually had female undergarments on. So, we decided to take it off and burn it with fire. You know, to prevent any… further misuse.”

  “Wow, just… wow.”

  “No matter the reality or the game world, some people do have their own kinks. (?° ?? ?°)”

  “Go away!”

  “Ahem, how come our discussion always wanders away? Is this really the Magus Academy Online’s official website forum?”

  Although the discussion continued to digress, as the players who were escorting the captured bandits returned to the academy and logged out one after another, it regained momentum as veteran players joined in. Unlike the arachnid invasion, this situation felt completely different, and players were not as anxious for information as they were in the past.

  What they cared about the most right now was the gains of the battle as well as what the future updates might lead to. Due to the announcement that the game’s storyline would evolve based on players’ decisions, everyone was more than eager to know whether their efforts would lead to a good or bad ending.

  After all, despite the victory, the fact remained that the village was raided. The players were left to ponder if they could have prevented the raid on the village altogether. While the attack was obviously not the players’ fault, if they had set up a preemptive defense strategy or had cooperated with the villagers in advance, perhaps the whole incident could have been avoided.

  In the end, their victory brought justice to the villagers, but was this the best course of action they could have taken? Could there have been a more effective solution?

  This question sparked a lively debate among the players, becoming a focal point of their discussions. However, that was not the only topic that was hot in the forum.

  MikeIsHandsome1000x: “What’s up, peeps! I decided to take a short break from waiting at the spot where the headmaster NPC had disappeared. But man, hours passed, but no signs of him. Makes me wonder where he has gone to.”

  Castlefrost: “It’s possible that he’s gone to a new location that’s currently unavailable to us. Most games would have locations where players don’t have access until the corresponding updates roll out.”

  GiveMeTheNuclearCode: “Or maybe he’s out there hitting on chicks in a place we don’t know. Maybe we’ll get to see the headmistress soon enough.”

  Squadzell: “LMAO! Why do I feel like it’s actually possible for that to happen?”

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  GladiusZone: “Shush. Non-testing players shouldn’t intrude on our conversation.”

  Squadzell: “Damn you! I’ve registered since the game was in its earliest version—way in its infancy! Why didn’t they give me a qualification? I’m more than capable of building mud walls and moving bricks like the other people are. ?”

  Stickman_Just_Passing: “There, there. Maybe the devs have noticed you and are planning to give you a qualification in the next update.”

  CookieMons: “Just hang in there.”

  MikeIsHandsome1000x: “I could feel the pain, bro.”

  Squadzell: “Thanks, guys. Just here, building my dream castle in the air, waiting for my turn to play.”

  MikeIsHandsome1000x: “Jokes aside, got any updates on your side @Locktekei?”

  Locktekei: “Actually, yeah. Since there’s nothing to do on our journey back to the academy, me and several others decided to ‘interrogate’ some of the captives using role-play as a joke. You know, playing the whole good cop, bad cop kind of way—but nothing weird, I promise! What surprised us was that these bandits actually answered our questions as if fearing for their lives. Truly a high-level AI on play here.”

  Locktekei: “But that aside, it turns out that these ‘bandits’ aren’t really what we initially thought…”

  He went on to explain the origin of these so-called “bandits.” According to him, they were actually mercenaries hired from cities around the forest, primarily Brightmoon City, lured by the promise of easy money. They didn’t know much about the identities of their employers, except that they were a bunch of magicians.

  MikeIsHandsome1000x: “What?! So, there’s someone backing them! To think they’d do such horrible things without even being genuine bandits.”

  Indeed.

  It was one thing for bandits to engage in their nefarious activities by choice; after all, raiding was their bread and butter. But mercenaries should have a different outlook on such deeds, especially where no wars were going on. At least, that’s how the majority of the players felt. Although, this made them realize that this game world was truly not black and white.

  Locktekei: “But I must say, I feel pretty great that we managed to win the war against the bandits. There may not have been that many of them at the final confrontation, but we succeeded in showing them the consequences of their actions.”

  MariaC: “That I agree!”

  MikeIsHandsome1000x: “My thoughts exactly. I just hope that the captured bandits are given appropriate punishment for their doings. Anyway, gotta go back into the game. Smell ya later!”

  I_Am_Not_A_Godzilla: “Pfft, you’re labeling this a war? How does it qualify as a war when you can’t even muster up two hundred fighters? Just two days back, our university undergrads staged a huge protest that even led to a clash with the police, drawing in a crowd of at least 7,000! Had it not been for the potential to set off national alarm bells, this would have definitely made headlines everywhere.”

  GladiusZone: “Wait, were those extra zeros for dramatic effect, or did you accidentally hit the keypad with your forehead?”

  Locktekei: “Lol. Probably got those numbers while daydreaming in detention for doodling protest signs on his math test.”

  ShadowBladeX: “Can’t decide what’s funnier, the protest or his counting skills.”

  Gigglebelly Grumblefart: “?? ?? ??”

  This troll never knew when it was time to quit. Perhaps he was just trying to garner attention to himself like a child performing increasingly outlandish stunts in the playground, desperate for the eyes of peers to affirm his existence.

  Other than the ongoing discussions on the general forum, there was another thing to be noted. The popular game reviewer, KuroUsagi, made a new post titled “Five Shocking Discoveries Inside the Game. Number Five Will Leave You Speechless!”

  KuroUsagi: “Yo, yo, my fellow acolytes! After experiencing the game for about roughly ten days or so, I, KuroUsagi, have hopped from shadow to shadow to bring you the shocking secrets concealed within this breathtaking game…”

  The content of his post this time actually deviated quite significantly from his usual reviews, focusing instead on the shocking secrets lurking within the game. Most of the discoveries revolved around game mechanics and rumors circulating within the academy, such as hidden exploits that could be used to easily gain more merit points, the chances of a secret society existing in the game, the creepy sleepwalking habit that the players’ avatars did when they logged out, and even a rumor about the headmaster’s potential love interest, among other things.

  With regard to the hidden exploits to gain more merit points, it was actually something that KuroUsagi discovered after observing Auralise’s modus operandi. Since she never wanted to do manual labor, the only source of merit points she could gain was to either get someone else to buy what she needed or do material-gathering missions. After all, there were no rules that limited how the mission was done, and someone could do the dirty work for her, whereafter she would turn in the mission to get the reward.

  As for the rest, it was all information that KuroUsagi pieced together through the narrative and storyline that the game provided so far. Though some were obviously baseless assumptions, such as the headmaster’s potential love interest, which was completely made up by the players.

  But, staying true to his word, the fifth topic KuroUsagi discussed was indeed the most shocking of all.

  KuroUsagi: “The last one I uncovered occurred either earlier today or perhaps last night, depending on the time difference between reality and the game world. One thing is certain: within this game, it is, in fact, possible to consume human meat. While I suspect the taste is almost definitely deviating significantly from reality, I strongly advise against attempting this within the game. The level of realism intended by the game developers is uncertain, and such actions could have unforeseen ethical consequences.”

  KuroUsagi: “However, this revelation is not without its silver lining. A player—whose username I won’t reveal—happened to gain a rare bloodline when she joined the game. It turns out she can enhance her powers by consuming the flesh of formidable humans and magical beasts alike. We still don’t know what path the game’s gonna take, but it definitely won’t be disappointing. So, stay tuned for more news!”