Chapter 14: Great Ideas
The lady stood still. The target she was going towards was gone, and the woodland is now deadly silent. As a soul in Second Reality, she couldn't chase Xia Shishu if he wasn't within the game anymore.
Xia Shishu stood up from his bed and wiped the sweat on his head. His real body perspiration since he was scared in Second Reality. He muttered, "How long do I have to wait until a monster wanders away?"
Logging off is a godly skill, but he had to find a way to escape the monster's aggro range if he wants to be safe. Mu Litong must have bad fortune to be chased by the lady.
Xia Shishu wasn't sure if the lady will stay there until he logs back in or if she will wander once she lost her target.
His parents and sister was in their room silently. The house is quiet because they were probably on their phones, studying, or sleeping. What could he do right now?
He was sure that going online after such a short period of time is a bad idea. Unless he gets somebody to check the area he was in, he will have to wait a few hours. He doesn't know Ji Anyi's contact number so he couldn't get her to check the place or him. She might not be on at this moment anyways.
Xia Shishu brainstormed a bunch of ideas about how to make sure the lady is gone before he logs back in. Call Li Xieye? Say, "Hey are you in Silver Lake Village? Can you go check the southern woodlands for me?" Nope. That's out of the question.
Since he couldn't ask anybody he knows for help, there is only one other option!
He turned his desktop on again and got on Second Reality's web page. His plan would be better if he has more than one account, but accounts can't be created that easily. They needs to have a Second Reality account. Meaning that they need to register for the account when they get their equipment, so there will only be one account per person. One can get rigged accounts from other players, but that costs money.
He navigated through the webpage and got to Silver Lake Village's section. The posts on there are mostly about quest accusations, mod locations, and other informations players found.
Xia Shishu is going to get the help of others! He knows that asking nicely doesn't work really well. Think about it. How many players will be willing to help If he asked, "can someone go outside the south gate and help me see if there is a scary lady there?" True kind hearted fellows are few!
He doesn't know the information about the lady, but he assumed she must be a boss monster if she is that strong and scary. He had killed Mu Litong in seconds!
With a click of a button, he began to write on Silver Lake Village's page.
{ATTENTION! 5 minutes ago, a boss monster was sighted at the southern woodlands! For those who has been there before, find the NPC kids playing area! The boss monster is a lady in a black attire! COME QUICK! If you don't come, others will get the kill, loot, and EXP!} - Xiao Wugui }
His post might be considered a lie, but it also contains some truths in it. He knows… A good lie must contain 7 part truths and 3 part lies. If they want to find fault, they will have to first doubt themselves because you're also telling them something true!
It didn't take long for Silver Lake Village players to see the post. A moderator saw it and pinned it to the top. He knows that there is going to be a lot of commotion about it.
The Second Reality webpage has moderators of course. They still need minor control of the things posted online. As for posts about information, they will show importance to it. Despite the fact that they can't verify if it's true or not, they still pinned it to the top!
"Look! The first post about a boss appearing! So close to the village too!"
"What! Can someone justify Little Turtle's claim?!"
"He's Lying! He's Lying! Everything he says is a lie!" A user named ironwall commented. He was a troll that goes around the web page posting on everything he sees.
You don't know what a troll is? They're ugly giants or dwarf that lives under bridges!
Just kidding… That's another type of troll. Trolls are net users that usually play pranks on other net users. They enjoy the chaos and hysteria.
"Don't listen to that freaking ironwall! Xiao Wugui is telling the truth! I saw NPCs evacuating a bunch of kids today from the south gate!"
"I can vouch for that!"
"Me too!"
The Second Reality players that are on the webpage right is now were in a complete uproar, and countless arguments could be seen. However, a user commented something which quieted the mass down a bit.
"Everyone! Stop arguing and just go look! I saw it with my own eyes!" That commenter was Mu Litong. He had logged out after reviving. Second Reality wasn't just a Roleplaying game! It's a damn horror game! If what he experienced is considered role-playing, then he is playing the freaking victim!
"Alright, everybody! Who wants to party up and go check it out?"
Players after players replied. They've yet to see a boss monster! They want to see Second Reality's boss monsters!
Casual players took some time to decide to go to the woodlands. Players that are paid to be Intel gatherers had already gone to inform their high-ups. By the time some of the players got ready to go, the more serious players would have already been out the gates!
Xia Shishu decided to wait for a little longer before logging back into Second Reality. As he had nothing to do, he looked around his room.
He saw his paintbrush, paints, and inkstone by the side of his desk. He had tried to paint before, but his paintings were crooked, and his final products never turned out well. He tried for a month or so, but he stopped soon after since it seems he doesn't have talent in painting.
While looking at the paintbrush and inkstone, he remembered that he has a calligraphy skill. Though killing mobs and completing quests gives out way more EXP, he can still gain some in reality with his calligraphy skill.
And… He had only written condensed notes for EXP… That's not true calligraphy. Calligraphy is the art of producing decorative handwriting or lettering with a pen or brush.
He reflected on what he did at school. Maybe writing condensed notes is just for opening the door, practicing the art is what he should do! He didn't hesitate. He wanted to try and see if he'll gain more EXP for practicing the real calligraphy.
He grabbed the brush and inkstone. He has paper lying around so he just casually grabbed one. As for the water… He used to hibernate like a bear when he read his novels, thus he always have water bottles stashed in his room.
Xia Shishu prepared the materials and got on his desktop. He doesn't know a single thing about the art of calligraphy.
What do you do when you don't know anything? Search online!
What do you do when you want to learn something new at home? Search online!
The net has many things. There is enough content there if you want to learn new languages or almost any other thing.
Xia Shishu quickly read a few introductions and watched a few videos about calligraphy. Since he was just beginning, he decided to write the character beauty (Mei form MeiMei).
[50 EXP gained.]
When he completed it, he gained EXP! His assumption was correct. He would still get EXP for writing condensed notes, but he will get more if he practices true calligraphy! Although his final product of the word beauty is a little crude looking, he still got 50 EXP!
He tried mass producing the word, but he doesn't gain any EXP. That means that he needs to produce a certain quality if he wants to gain EXP from practicing calligraphy.
He only practiced for about fifteen or so minutes. He understood a little bit more about calligraphy though.
To make it look good, he still needs to improve in a lot of places. If he applied too much or too little force, the character size will change. He also couldn't waver too.
But there will be more time to indulge himself in calligraphy later… Right now, he needs to log back in and get out of the woodlands!
He quickly cleaned up the mess he made and dumped all his calligraphy things into his inventory since it's more convenient that way. He won't need to search for them every time he needs to write calligraphy.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone