Chapter 635: The Princess in the Pumpkin Patch (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

Goldshire, in this area, still utilized the instance sharding technology.

Basically, for peaceful early-game zones, Chen Xu and his team employed instance sharding, primarily to allow players a smoother experience in the newbie village.

Song Ren, for his part, was actually considered a player with very fast progress. Many other players didn't even bother leveling up; they would just wander around to uncover the map, only to end up as a pile of white bones in some forgotten wilderness of the game.

For his first stop, Song Ren headed to the Lion's Pride Inn to bind his Hearthstone. He had already researched these things beforehand, and there were some basic in-game guides. As long as a player didn't skip dialogues, they generally had a basic understanding of the game's systems.

Compared to Northshire Abbey, Goldshire had quite a few more quests. After chatting with Marshal Dughan and accepting a quest to investigate the mine, Song Ren didn't rush back to Goldshire to turn it in. Instead, he took on a few quests at Stonefield Farm, located to the right of the mine exit.

“These kobolds are truly miserable; I have to take their candles again,” Song Ren sighed. Thinking of the kobold's line, 'Don't take my candle!', he felt a strange, subtle pang of sympathy.

The quests in Goldshire weren't particularly difficult, and he cleared most of them after spending a little time. Moreover, compared to Northshire Abbey, the map area around Goldshire was larger and more extensive. Thanks to the instance sharding system, this area didn't experience the previous situation of 'more people than monsters'.

At least he could smoothly complete some quests. After leveling up to six, Song Ren arrived at Stonefield Farm to complete a delivery quest. However, from the NPC called Mama Stonefield, Song Ren received a quest that piqued his curiosity.

[Princess Must Die!]

There's a princess in Blackwill Pumpkin Patch who gives me an unbearable headache. She's ruined all the vegetables on my farm. Before the princess ruins my farm again, she must be slain! Bring back the princess's collar as proof you've killed her, and I will reward you!

Princess?

The moment he saw this quest, the image of Princess Peach flashed in Song Ren's mind. But shouldn't it usually be an evil dragon kidnapping a princess, and he, as a brave warrior, goes to rescue her?

Why kill the princess? Could there be another story? Was he not meant to kill a real princess, but a disguised one? But that didn't seem right either; this was just a level six quest, with meager rewards, and how could a small town and a farm be related to a princess anyway?

Song Ren scratched his head, confused. After clearing the surrounding quests, he used his Hearthstone to return to the inn, planning to investigate later. This was considered a unique quest in World of Warcraft.

Why unique? Because it was the first time players would witness the Murloc's alluring figure in World of Warcraft. And later, players would encounter various distinctive princesses in all sorts of quests and dungeons.

This is why Chen Xu deliberately blurred the background and identity of the princess here, to give players a better experience. The beautiful fantasy in their minds on the way to complete the quest, colliding violently with the reality they encountered, would surely bring a truly shocking feeling.

“I’ll do this quest, then I’ll go take a look at what this princess really is.” In the inn, after receiving a quest to collect seaweed from William Pestle, Song Ren planned to finish this one and then go see the princess. He was incredibly curious about what this princess looked like. Was she beautiful, or ugly?

Carrying his curiosity, Song Ren headed towards Crystal Lake, where he was to collect seaweed.

“Huh… why are there people dead here? So bad!”

Crystal Lake occupied a considerably large area in the game. Coupled with instance sharding, when Song Ren arrived, there were no other players in his vicinity.

However, what surprised Song Ren was that there were several white corpses on the ground nearby, indicating that players had died here. He wondered what class they were.

But Murlocs, could they really kill someone? Did they come here with low health? Or were they AFK?

Looking at the Murlocs patrolling in front of him, Song Ren curled his lips in disdain, completely convinced that these weak Murlocs posed no threat to him.

He charged in, weapon flashing, cutting them down. On the surface, he was playing World of Warcraft, but this hunt felt just like playing Monster Hunter: World, Song Ren thought to himself.

Murlocs' attack and defense were quite average; only their speed was a bit fast. But judging by how quickly their health dropped, they posed no threat at all. Just as Song Ren was about to finish off the Murloc in front of him, something startling happened.

The Murloc in the game let out a strange cry of 'Mgrglglglgl, Mgrglglglgl...', then began to flee wildly. Then, in Song Ren's bewildered vision, two more Murlocs, brandishing their weapons and emitting 'Mgrglglglgl' cries, charged towards him.

This was the Murloc's special trait: Murlocs were gregarious monsters, and like humanoid monsters, they would flee at low health, often attracting unforeseen enemies. Like now.

“Holy cow, what the heck is this!” Seeing the Murlocs in front of him, Song Ren was completely dumbfounded. How was he supposed to survive under the attack of so many Murlocs?

Murlocs, arguably, were indispensable friends in every World of Warcraft player's journey. A World of Warcraft career wasn't complete without being killed by a Murloc.

And as players leveled up and moved through maps, the Murlocs they encountered would also level up with them. Their formations were incredibly well-matched, complete with healers, potion-drinkers, net-throwers, and chargers.

Listening to the Murlocs' hypnotic 'Mgrglglglgl' cries in his ears, Song Ren quietly lay down. Since there was no way to resist, it was better to just silently enjoy it.

'Ah!' Accompanied by the character's scream, Song Ren's warrior died for the first time, falling at the hands of Murlocs.

Releasing his spirit, Song Ren's screen turned gray, and his character, as a spirit, resurrected in the nearby graveyard. Before him was a very beautiful Spirit Healer, and beside her were many other spirits like him.

Some chose to resurrect on the spot, while others opted for a corpse run. Song Ren chose to do a corpse run as a spirit, since he hadn't finished his quest yet.

After returning to his corpse and confirming it was safe, Song Ren resurrected again. He then quickly put distance between himself and Crystal Lake, slowly waiting for his health and mana to regenerate, fearing he might provoke that Murloc squad again.

Song Ren no longer wanted to do the seaweed collection quest. He didn't want to deal with those peculiar little creatures anymore.

“I can't mess with them, but I can run, can't I? I’m going to find my Pumpkin Patch Princess.” Song Ren snorted, looking at the Murlocs patrolling in the distance, then turned and quietly departed.

What would the princess of the pumpkin patch look like?

(End of Chapter) <> ```

```json {