Chapter 32: Player Forum
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 32: Player Forum
【December 20 · Wheel of Fate】
【Official · Trailer "Beginning of Fate" Premiering Soon!】
【Shares: 2.34m】【Comments: 3.02m】【Likes: 9.99m】
After clicking into the Player Forum, Xie Bai found only this single post.
It was an official teaser article, and the content was a preview for an upcoming trailer.
"Nesting dolls, much?"
Grumbling aside, Xie Bai clicked in to check the details.
【Dear Players:
The first trailer for Wheel of Fate, "Beginning of Fate," will officially premiere on December 27 (Saturday) at 13:00.
"Beginning of Fate" will be broadcast simultaneously across all platforms.
Following the trailer, a link to apply for closed beta slots will be opened. We expect to grant 1,000 closed beta slots. Please stay tuned.
We wish all players the best of luck. We look forward to exploring this magnificent and legendary continent with you!
*Special Invitees who have already obtained closed beta slots, please check your email for your registration codes.】
【All Comments:】
【Wow~ Beta slots! I’m sitting up and paying attention for this one.】
【Releasing an animation before the game? Is Qiuqiu Games actually an animation studio?】
【I heard this new game is free-to-register and free-to-play, with zero pay-to-win elements.】
【Holy crap, say no more, fam. I hereby declare Wheel of Fate the best new game of the year. An epoch-making masterpiece!】
【No time to talk, I need to play Qiuqiu Games' new masterpiece Wheel of Fate right now!】
【How did you guys know I’m a Special Invitee?】
【Who asked?】
【What about the streamers? Did the ones I follow get special invites, or did they get snubbed again?】
【I heard the map and the lore are ridiculously massive. The realism is so high it’s basically a real world.】
【Dammit, it’s just a trailer? You little Haji-Qiu.】
【I bet the new game will have the traditional nine classes again. Anyway, I’m gonna keep playing my Druid. We Druid players have the best mechanics!】
【Buff the Prisoner Warrior.】
【Ask again and we’ll nerf your stats.】
【We are not considering deletions at this time.】
【Stop arguing, the Traveler class is the one true god!】
【Beat it, why is a casual class trying to join the hype?】
【Global release, next-gen masterpiece, realistic world, and free-to-play... Wheel of Fate is going so big, I just hope they don't rip out my logout button halfway through.】
【Realistic world? Can I even customize that?】
【Watch it, kid. Don't get the game banned before I can play it.】
【...】
This short post provided Xie Bai with a wealth of information.
First, the game world she was currently in was called Wheel of Fate.
Furthermore, it was a highly anticipated, "epoch-making" new game.
Second, in seven days, the game officials would release the first trailer and open the lottery for closed beta slots.
If nothing went wrong, the content of that animation would be Carlos Lilanka’s war of resistance against the Insects.
Without Xie Bai’s interference, that event would have been a cataclysmic disaster that threatened the world's survival according to the original plot.
Of course, with Xie Bai here, things were a bit different.
At the very least, the key factor influencing this event—the Void Insect Race—was currently under her control.
In other words, Xie Bai now had the power to direct this opening act.
If she wanted to, the game’s trailer could play out exactly as she intended.
Aside from the Player Forum, there was another piece of information worth Xie Bai’s attention.
The bond effect of the Child of Fate.
【Beginning of Fate (3/3): Luck +2. Your Weight has been slightly increased. The main storyline will be more easily influenced by you, and the Malice of the World toward you is reduced.】
The bond unlocked by the Child of Fate explicitly stated that Xie Bai had the ability to influence the main plot.
Beyond that, the bond effect revealed two even more critical pieces of information.
Weight and Malice of the World.
Neither was difficult to understand.
The key was the latter.
"Malice of the World..."
Strictly speaking, Xie Bai was an intruder to this world.
Even though she possessed the characteristics of both an NPC and a player and had inherited certain settings, she was still an existence that shouldn't have appeared in the story.
"By recklessly changing the plot and causing the narrative trajectory to shift, I’ve caused the world to harbor malice toward me."
"If that’s the case, then all those frustrating things that happened before make sense."
"I was being targeted, plain and simple."
Xie Bai reconsidered the "Weight" mentioned earlier.
"It seems to represent the importance of a character within the game."
"If my Weight is high enough, I can probably cause trouble without being penalized. I might even gain support."
"And currently, the only way to increase a character's Weight, besides this bond effect, is likely through this Player Forum."
According to general game logic, the higher a character's popularity among the player base, the more presence they would have within the game.
If a character violated this logic—if a powerful character appeared who wasn't a mainstream favorite, or even stole the spotlight from the main characters—that character would be easily targeted. In severe cases, they might even be killed off by a "plot-mandated death."
Right now, Xie Bai was only operating in the shadows, influencing the development of a few "protagonists," yet she could already feel the Malice of the World.
If she made an even bigger scene later, she might just make the world lose its temper entirely.
"It’s obvious. Under normal circumstances, the mainstream characters the game wants to promote are those nine Children of Fate, who correspond to the nine classes players can choose."
"Those nine Children of Fate serve to promote their respective classes. They’re the game’s official mascots, used to boost a class's popularity."
"As a complete outsider, if I want to trigger that underlying logic, I’d have to start a whole new class faction myself."
"Otherwise, I can only work through my performance in the plot."
As things stood, working through the game's plot was the easiest path for Xie Bai.
With control over the Void Insect Race, she could easily manipulate the narrative's development.
However, that wasn't a long-term solution.
Not all players cared about the story.
But "meta-strength" was something no player could ignore.
If Xie Bai could provide a "broken" class for players to choose, while also having an incredibly powerful presence in the story...
Then Xie Bai could guarantee that even if she actively sought death, the world would get on its knees and beg her to stay alive.
Thinking of this, Xie Bai turned to Thanatos.
"Thanatos, do you know how to create a new class faction?"
As an ancient being from thirty million years ago, Thanatos was well-versed in the settings involving the world's fundamental operations.
After a moment of reflection, Thanatos replied.
"If you are referring to creating a personal, exclusive class, as long as the class logic is sound and the creator has achieved significant accomplishments, it can be established legitimately."
"If this custom class is replicable and can be learned by others, then a new class branch can be created as well."
"But if you mean a mainstream class faction that spreads across the entire continent, that is a bit more difficult. After all, that would influence the development of the entire world's structure."
Xie Bai looked at Thanatos with a hint of confusion.
"So, based on what you're saying, what do I need to do?"
Thanatos paused, then explained, "To influence the world's structure and establish a new mainstream class faction, one needs at least the status of a True God."
"And you, My Master, already possess the status of a Demigod despite the world's restrictions. You only need to bypass those restrictions, just as others do when ascending to Demigod status, to grow directly into the status of a True God."
So, she had to reach Level 100 first?
Following Thanatos's explanation, Xie Bai suddenly remembered a line written in the Reaper class's promotion entry:
【When you reach Level 100, the Reaper will undergo a more profound change.】
Could this "profound change" refer to ascending into a full class faction?
If that was the case, Xie Bai had a clear goal.
First, she would push the plot from behind the scenes to develop in the direction she desired.
Then, at a critical moment, she would show her face to the key characters.
By intervening at the climax of the story, she would create a massive sense of contrast and shock.
She would leave behind the image of a mysterious and unfathomable powerhouse.
Xie Bai believed that players would discuss such a performance incessantly.
This would allow her to accumulate a certain amount of popularity through the plot, reducing the impact she would face when breaking the world's restrictions in the future.
Then, she would strike while the iron was hot and establish a new class faction.
She would make herself an indispensable existence in the eyes of the players.
By then, even the world wouldn't dare to lay a finger on her.
The plan was perfect!
At that thought, Xie Bai’s interest was instantly piqued.
She looked up at Thanatos.
"Thanatos, what do you think about us... intervening in this war?"