Chapter 636: Huddling Together for Warmth (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

Song Ren, filled with beautiful aspirations, explored the lands of Azeroth.

Along the way, he passed by the Eastern Valley Lumber Camp. There were significantly more players here than at Crystal Lake before.

He wasn't sure if it was due to instance sharding or if more players had simply arrived here.

However, Song Ren once again encountered a group of creatures that made his heart pound: Murlocs.

And the Murlocs here were even denser than those at Crystal Lake, which was truly hair-raising.

But thankfully, there were also many players here, so Song Ren didn't experience being ganged up and killed by several Murlocs as he had before.

Moreover, the players here were quite friendly. For instance, Paladins would actively grant Holy Light to Warriors who were low health.

And Mages were also quite amiable; if anyone needed food and drink, they would usually stop and conjure some.

Some Mages even proactively offered food and drink, asking if others needed any.

Song Ren encountered one such Mage.

“Hey bro, want some bread and water? You Warriors must work hard fighting monsters, right? It’s free.”

Just as Song Ren was about to leave and continue his search for the princess he yearned for, a Mage approached him, speaking through voice chat and sending a cute text emoji.

“Uh… thank you, but no need to trouble you.” Song Ren accepted the thanks but indicated he didn't require it.

Of course, it wasn't that he was embarrassed; he just genuinely felt he didn't really need it.

The main reason was that, at this stage, health and mana regeneration after combat wasn't very slow. At least before level ten, he felt he wouldn't need such food and drink.

Furthermore, the food and water Mages conjured couldn't be consumed during combat, and while it slightly increased efficiency, at his current level, that small amount of time wasn't critical.

However, the Mage in front of him clearly didn't think so and was incredibly enthusiastic, mainly because they had just learned the Conjure Food spell not long ago.

Also, the feeling of helping others truly felt good.

“Don’t be shy, bro, just take it! It’s not easy for you Warriors to level up!”

“You can only fight one monster at a time, and if two come, you have to run back from your corpse. How can you afford food and drink when you have to learn skills and repair equipment?”

“Unlike us Mages, we’re self-sufficient, and our monster-killing efficiency is pretty high. Plus, with good kiting, it’s quite safe.”

The Mage bro in front of him spoke like a radio announcer, his voice full of emotion and sympathy for the tragic plight of Warriors.

Standing rooted, Song Ren unconsciously accepted the bread and water handed to him by the Mage bro.

Heartbreaking… utterly heartbreaking.

Why did he feel this Mage wasn’t here to offer warmth, but merely to poke at his Warrior heart, shattering his confidence into withered fragments?

He didn’t know about others, but at least from this Mage bro’s narration, the Savior of Azeroth, the Alliance’s Top Warrior, the Strongest Warrior in History…

This series of titles that once existed in Song Ren’s mind seemed to slowly drift far away, gradually vanishing.

This Warrior’s situation was too miserable!

Song Ren’s lips moved, but no words came out.

Although he hadn't even reached level ten, his hour-plus of gaming experience told him that being a Warrior was indeed a bit miserable.

In between, he had also studied Warrior skills and Mage skills.

He found that Warriors didn’t seem to fare well against Mages. While Warriors later had limiting skills like Charge and Hamstring,

Mages also had counter-skills like Frost Nova, Blink, Polymorph, and Ice Block!

Adding to that, Mages were long-range, and Frost Mages even had a slowing DEBUFF. As a frequent gamer, Song Ren's mind already envisioned the tragic scene of a Warrior, despite possessing great skills, being unable to touch the Mage and being kited to death.

Watching the Mage leave, another Warrior bro, who had also received bread and water, walked up to Song Ren. Even though they were strangers in the game,

just being the Warrior class brought them considerably closer.

“Sigh, Warriors are indeed tough! If this server hadn’t stopped registrations, I would have already thought about changing classes. Leveling up as a Warrior early on is too hard; I wonder if it’ll get better later.”

Some Warriors passing by, hearing these words, were deeply moved as they recalled their own hour-plus of leveling experience.

“Yeah, I haven’t even learned all my skills yet!”

“That’s right, don’t even mention the repair costs, they’re exorbitant, and skill fees are so expensive. Learning a skill drains all my savings. How am I supposed to protect Stormwind, protect Azeroth, like this? I even sold my underwear just to learn skills!” A Warrior bro passing by vented his grievances.

Song Ren glanced at him.

This bro wasn’t lying; he truly wasn’t wearing underwear, only the basic boxers his character came with.

He had clearly been just a few copper coins short of learning a skill, forced to tearfully throw his equipment into the shop to sell.

“Have you guys talked to Randall Hunter at the entrance of the Eastern Valley Lumber Camp? Seen the mounts he sells? A small horse is 100 gold coins, basic riding skill is 10 gold coins, and then a large horse is 1000 gold coins, advanced riding skill is 100 gold coins. When will we ever get a mount?” A Warrior sighed deeply.

“Don’t even think about it for now. That’s not for our current level. Gold acquisition should be more abundant later on.” One Warrior bro held a hopeful vision for the future; having a mount would make traversing the map much easier.

While they were talking, some Paladin bros walked over and joined the group venting their grievances.

“Warrior bros, stop complaining! We Paladins aren’t much better!”

“We can only basic attack monsters, and it’s barely scratching the surface.”

The joining Paladins also let out bitter sentiments.

The world knows the suffering of you Warriors, but who knows the suffering of them Paladins?

Unlike the early versions in his previous life, where the designers deliberately made Paladins as weak as chickens, Chen Xu and his team had made some balance adjustments and fine-tuning.

This made the Paladin players' experience very rich.

From previously being able to watch a TV episode while attacking with a single seal, it now only took half an episode. Additionally, as a melee class, while possessing the visceral impact of a Warrior's every strike, they also had magnificent Holy Light special effects.

“Don’t say that, at least you guys are handsome! You’re the face of our Alliance. We Warriors are purely cannon fodder!”

“What’s the use of being handsome? We still barely scratch the surface when fighting monsters! And you Warriors are pretty good too, haven’t you seen in the Warcraft story that heroes like Hellscream and Cairne Bloodhoof are Warriors? Your future is bright!”

“Damn it, don’t use Horde heroes as examples, talk about ours in the Alliance!”

“Knights and Warriors, we’re all family, don’t be disheartened, cheer up! Though we are weak now, our future prospects are vast.”

“People must have dreams! We’re weak in the early stages, but we’ll definitely be stronger later!”

“Exactly! When we rise up, we’ll kill them all!”

“There are no invincible classes, only invincible players. Even a Warrior, if played well, can wreak havoc!”

A group of Paladins and Warriors gathered in a small corner of the nearby farm, engaging in a mutual praise session.

Song Ren's confidence seemed to return.

“Is anyone heading the same way for a quest? I’m about to go save the Princess at the Pumpkin Patch. Anyone coming?” Song Ren asked.

“Is that the Princess Must Die quest? Let’s go together.”

“Together, together. This quest seems shareable. Anyone who hasn’t accepted it, join my group and I’ll share it.”

After their exchange, Song Ren and a group of Knight and Warrior bros teamed up and headed towards the Pumpkin Patch.

Having just mutually soothed each other's feelings, they were all in good spirits, and at the same time, they had some expectations for the princess.

However, upon arriving at the Pumpkin Patch, everyone fell into a bewildered state.

“Princess… what the heck, it’s a pig?”

Looking at the large wild boar wandering in the Pumpkin Patch with three piglets, and the word 'Princess' written above its head.

Song Ren and the accompanying Warrior and Knight bros, who had been full of anticipation, had their beautiful dream instantly shattered.

“So? The princess is a big wild boar?” There weren’t many players near the Pumpkin Patch, fewer than twenty, including Song Ren’s group of Knights and Warriors.

But looking at the grunting pigs ahead, making sounds like farts, everyone fell silent.

Whose wild boar is named Princess?!

“Perhaps, like the monsters in The Witcher: Wild Hunt, this princess is cursed, and we need to kill it for it to return to its original form?” one Warrior bro suggested a bold hypothesis.

However, as soon as he finished speaking, a small team in the Pumpkin Patch had already taken action.

The large wild boar, with its three minions, looked fierce but was actually a weakling. Two rounds of attacks, and it fell to the ground with a pathetic 'oink oink'.

But the wild boar was still just a wild boar.

“Maybe someone needs to kiss it. After all, that’s how it is in fairy tales. Bro, I’ll leave this task to you!” a Paladin nearby said faintly.

Of course, it was just a joke. Everyone now understood.

This so-called princess was clearly just the quest designer's wicked sense of humor.

(End of Chapter) <>