I have to get lucky right away.

Chapter 256 Distortion Caused by Transformation

Even if they weren't veteran players, those present had at least read a few novels and immediately realized that they had probably encountered a hidden quest. Several players even went out of their way to bring chairs and help the old man sit down, practically wearing the words "explain in detail" on their faces.

"The history of our secluded village can be traced back thousands of years. Several immortals left their lineage here to prevent the demon dragon from breaking the seal. Over the thousands of years, whether they stumbled in by mistake, sought immortality, or even found children, the village welcomes all children who want to learn magic. But in each generation, only a few can truly achieve enlightenment. Do you know why?"

If this question hadn't been asked directly without prior context, most people would have thought things like "difficult to cultivate" or "limited aptitude." But given the preceding events, the only answer now is—

"Character?"

“That’s right, cultivation is not a simple matter. Some people think that if they learn a few spells that can fool people, they can make a name for themselves and become rich and powerful. But the more they think that way, the less likely they are to succeed.” The old man stroked his beard, looking like a wise man who had been through it all. But the players were obviously not interested in such profound truths. They were just troubled by the fact that there was no skip option at the moment.

The research fanatic listened for a long time but didn't get any useful information, so he could only give Guan'er a message.

Guan'er had already lost his persona, so being a little rude now was no big deal. As a veteran player, after receiving the research maniac's pop-up, he immediately accepted his suggestion, thinking he could just create another alt account if necessary, and directly interrupted:
“Grandpa, I understand what you’re saying. But it’s not a matter of their character. It’s that they’ve discovered that the spells they’ve learned here are unusable outside the village. We all came here to learn spells to fight the Demon King, and now that we’ve found that what we’ve learned is unusable, we naturally can’t continue learning.”

The old man's conversation was interrupted by the jar. Although he frowned, he made a nasal sound and said:

"Hmph, what do you know! With your mediocre skills, it would be a miracle if you could even use it! Without twenty years of cultivation, you think you can use magic freely outside... If it were that easy, the world would be full of immortals by now!"

"Twenty years..." one player couldn't help but exclaim. Although he knew the game couldn't actually let you train for twenty years, he still couldn't help but shout it out. However, he realized he was getting a little emotional and immediately tried to cover it up by echoing what Guan'er had said earlier:
"The demonic dragon has already revived; in twenty years, it will be too late!"

"That's why I said you've caught a good time. The power that Master Feng stole from the Demon Dragon is right here in this square. The process you're practicing now is actually using the Demon Dragon's power to cast spells. If you can become proficient and pass the four trials, you'll naturally be able to use the Demon Dragon's power to create a natal magic weapon that can be used to cast spells outside!"

"Holy crap! There's a crafting system too?" Guan'er immediately became excited upon hearing this.

"Can it be customized... I mean, can I decide what kind of magical artifact it is?"

Upon hearing this, the old man gave her a disapproving look: "You made it yourself, so of course you decide! If you can't accept it, no one will stop you from becoming a piece of shit!"

Having said that, he stood up, slung the basket over his shoulder, and started to walk back.

The research fanatic, having finally encountered a highly customizable NPC, immediately said:

"Sir, the young Taoist only said that these four rooms are four trials, but the rooms only contain cultivation methods related to the Four Elements. How exactly do we know if we pass the trials?"

"You'll understand when you get through it."

The old man waved to the group with his back to them, but when they tried to ask him anything, he had already disappeared.

"Holy crap, is this another expert?" Ba Bi stared in surprise at the disappearing old man, and Guan'er immediately flicked him on the forehead— "Are you stupid? Didn't they say that the entire village is a legacy left by ancient immortals? Everyone in the village must have practiced it! It's just that these commoner NPCs are probably cultivators with average aptitude who haven't become immortals, while the one who drew the Demon Dragon Talisman earlier should have become an immortal... well, at least a big shot with a very high realm!"

"So this thing is actually a hidden mechanism. You have to get used to it in the village before you can go out?" Nobody cared much about the interaction between Babi and Guan'er. What they really cared about was the game mechanics.

"Probably? It could also be a mechanism similar to a test server. We're currently looking for bugs in this system. If it passes, the game company will officially launch the system or something." Baolong offered his perspective from a game operations standpoint, causing everyone to exchange bewildered glances. Their initial intention to post it on the forum to prove him wrong vanished instantly.

If it really is just a pie in the sky, then every word we say now could become a boomerang in the future. If it isn't, then keeping it a secret is in everyone's best interest. Once we've mastered the skills, we'll be playing a game with a completely different style. Wouldn't that amaze everyone?

Anyway, they left of their own free will, and it has nothing to do with me!

After discussing it for a while, they returned to the square and continued their study of the four basic skills and spell editing...

……

"Master, it's done!" After the little bell finished controlling the old man to give psychological counseling, it immediately reported to Feng Xue. Feng Xue, who was studying how to return the power of will and magic to feed the vital energy, simply nodded upon hearing this.

Bigre, who was constantly experimenting with various spells, overheard their conversation and asked, somewhat puzzled:

"I don't quite understand. What's your idea in training those heroes? You already have my knowledge base, so why go through all that trouble to find those guys who cast spells based on the rules of the world? Even if my knowledge isn't enough, you can find other demon lords, like that stupid fish. She's supposedly some kind of sea god priestess. Why don't you try finding her?"

“I will look for it when the time comes, but for now, I prefer to thoroughly understand what you have first. Besides, the way a hero uses it is different from yours,” Feng Xue explained casually, but Bigeley stared wide-eyed.

What is usage?

"Otherwise what?" Feng Xue rolled her eyes, completely ignoring Bigre's emotions, and said calmly:
“You, and the other demon kings, although you have a complete knowledge system, also have the problem of a fixed mindset. Because you are already used to the rules of your original world, you will think about everything according to that habit. For example, you are used to elemental spells, so no matter what kind of spell it is, in your mind, it should be a concept like ‘element without spirit’, right?”

“Yeah, so what?” Bige didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. Just like when learning a second language, who doesn’t first use the first language to form a meaning?

"That's the problem. This kind of solidification makes the transformation very rigid, just like the blue bar... which is the spell after the rules of this world have been transformed. Your familiar magic in your world is almost equivalent to creating life, but in this world, it can only create life for a few seconds. This is the distortion caused by the transformation, and to make up for this distortion, a huge amount of repetitive trial and error is needed."

Hearing Feng Xue say this, Bige immediately recalled her previous experience of being possessed by a ghost and a god, and nodded with lingering fear.

"It's definitely better to let brave people with no fixed mindset try it than to try it yourself!"

(End of this chapter)