---Viktor's POV---
Lux propped her chin, looking thoughtful.
"Potatoes are just a staple food. How could they possibly be more valuable than potions? Does the outside world not have crops like potatoes?"
"Mm." I nodded slightly.
That was all they needed to understand.
During casual conversations, I always tried to subtly drop hints about the outside world to the players.
Firstly, it was to prevent players from getting too isolated in the Great Oak Forest and mistakenly thinking their game was all about primitive farming.
Secondly, once they left, the players could use the information they'd picked up to blend in better with the outside world.
Unexpectedly, Lux clapped her hands. "If staple foods are so precious, doesn't that mean the outside world is like the Middle Ages and hasn't solved food scarcity?"
"This is the ultimate cheat for transmigrators!"
Another player tilted their head in confusion. "And how does that concern us?"
"It's a huge deal!" Lux began explaining excitedly.
"Food is the foundation of survival. If we control the supply of food, we'd have leverage to recruit people."
"Since food scarcity isn't resolved, the outside world's technology and productivity are likely underdeveloped."
"Anything we adapt from online knowledge would sell like hotcakes in this world!"
"Wherever we go, we'd be greeted with open arms!"
"High-tech plus popular support—it'd be ridiculously easy to rule the world!"
"It'd be just like those overpowered transmigration novels, complete with an invincible cheat code and knowledge from a previous life!"
"A divine-level sandbox game!" Lux declared after moving a load of potatoes.
Her idea quickly gained traction with the other players.
"Why are we even looking for magical plants? Teaming up with the Lucky Stars Team and going for a tech progression is clearly the way to go!"
"This transmigrator is getting ready to leave the Great Oak Forest!"
I stood there, utterly confused. "???"
Wait a second!
How did things escalate to this point? Couldn't we deal with the goblin nest first?
Before the players could wander too far, I hurriedly opened the console and added a patch to the announcements.
---
[Notice: Only players who die during main quest participation are eligible for the special revival mechanic during the event!]
[Deaths caused by aimlessly wandering away from the Great Oak Forest or provoking powerful creatures without purpose will not be covered by the special buff!]
---
I stared at the map where four green dots heading south hesitated for a moment before slowly turning back.
Finally, I sighed in relief.
"Good thing this bug got caught early."
There would always be players with an insatiable appetite, trying to take shortcuts to ultimate success.
My impression of Lux so far was limited to "first female player" and "better weaving skills than the Lucky Stars Team."
Who knew that beneath her delicate exterior lay such wild ambitions?
She was unstoppable.
I turned to leave, muttering so quietly it was almost inaudible. "If only being a transmigrator was really that easy..."
Back when I first transmigrated, I also had those naive ideas about changing the world.
That idealism didn't last long. Over the next few centuries, I didn't even bother looking for wild potatoes anymore.
When I first arrived in Aeltia, its scientific development was at a medieval level, comparable to Earth's Middle Ages.
In the hundred of years since then, the civilization had barely advanced—and in some areas, it had even regressed.
This kind of stagnant world wouldn't automatically thrive just because they brought advanced technology or ideas from Earth.
Especially not in a world where the church had actual divine backing.
---
By evening, I still hadn't received a single player death notification.
"Strange. Did I underestimate their abilities?" I muttered.
It wasn't that I wanted the players to fail.
But the Great Oak Forest had a reputation as a deadly place where few returned alive. It wasn't exactly a scenic vacation spot.
Even in the outskirts, the magical creatures were low-level, but it seemed unlikely that the players hadn't encountered a single one all day.
"Either way, no deaths is a good thing. I'll just—"
As always, tempting fate was a bad idea. Before I could finish my sentence, a loud system warning cut me off.
[Warning! Warning! A player has died!]
I immediately pulled up the map to locate the player.
A circular map filled with green dots appeared before me.
Far from my position, a green dot blinked a few times before completely vanishing.
Two green dots near me didn't react immediately but shifted around for a while before heading back.
"Looks like it wasn't a monster encounter," I murmured before switching to observe the two nearby players' perspectives.
The two players, Hedgehog and NeverShowOff, worked together.
One had tied the dead player's hands, while the other grabbed their feet.
They had tied the corpse to a sturdy tree branch and were carrying it like a pig being taken to slaughter.
The player lying limp on the branch, foaming at the mouth, was someone I was quite familiar with—MemeKnight, the same guy who had recently discovered potatoes.
"How did those three end up together?" I wondered.
The first player death was a notable event. If it turned out to be another glitch unrelated to the Goblin Nest quest, I'd have to make an example of it.
I unmuted the surveillance feed to hear their conversation.
---
Hedgehog, who was walking behind, kept glancing over his shoulder.
"Do we really have to bring his corpse back? Feels kind of unsafe."
"Relax. Plenty of players have walked this path. Nothing will happen," NeverShowOff reassured, shifting the weight on his shoulder.
"Player corpses can be used to exchange for resurrection materials. It's a perk of the special buff period—might as well take advantage!"
"When the faction wars begin, getting an intact corpse like this won't be so easy!"
Hedgehog thought about it and agreed. "True. And I doubt there'll be another fool who poisons himself to death."
As they chatted, I pieced together the cause of MemeKnight's demise.
The morning's potato discovery had been too lucrative, and the players couldn't stop searching for more.
But luck like that wasn't something you could count on twice.
Unable to find more similar plants, he likely came up with another plan: tasting random plants to identify their properties.
His strategy was essentially gambling on blind luck to uncover extraordinary flora. And, unbelievably, he actually found something.
He discovered an herb with potent healing properties.
After eating one, he saved three more.
By this point, I was beyond exasperated.
"Can luck really vary this much between people?"
Because he hadn't saved his progress before dying, the three herbs were now in NeverShowOff's possession.
I peeked into the player's inventory and immediately recognized the so-called herb—it was a type used for healing potions.
Though low-tier, it was still a genuine magical herb!
I had wandered the area for years and never stumbled upon anything close to a healing herb.
But MemeKnight? He found not just one cluster—he found two.
As for his cause of death, it was due to consuming two conflicting healing herbs.
The clashing attributes caused magical energy imbalance and exhaustion, leading to his demise.
"Why don't I have that kind of luck?"
If I could pick up good stuff every time I went out, would I still be worrying about supplies?
The Goddess of Fortune had been dead for 600 years, and she was still cursing me?
I casually jotted down notes on how players had died on a piece of paper.
The characteristics of magical herbs were far more dangerous and complex compared to herbal medicines.
Even mixing two mild and harmless healing herbs could result in a high probability of death.
The trial-and-error approach of scientist simply didn't work in Aeltia! Unless you have a lot of lives to spare...
I added this as a reminder to the update section of today's data.
If someone still died this way after the reminder was added, I would revoke the resurrection compensation mechanism for those players.
---Third POV---
Outdoor exploration was exhausting.
Players were logging off earlier than usual.
Before the sun had even set, players who had gone out began to return one after another.
Some headed straight to the church to prepare to log off.
Experienced veterans, however, would first stop by Alyanne's place to buy two sweetfruits for dinner.
Otherwise, when they woke up the next day, they would immediately be afflicted with negative debuffs like Sluggish or Muscle Weakness.
The shop updates were quickly noticed by returning players.
"There's a new staple food?"
"I saw a post on the forum saying someone found potatoes. Turns out it wasn't a hoax!"
"Ugh, there are so many bait posts on the forum."
"Who cares! Finally, we can cook something other than worm meat. I'll take one!"
"Me too!"
Players set up a two-tiered campfire with six wooden logs, tossed the potatoes into the fire, and covered them with leaves and dry grass.
Once the wood burned red-hot and turned black, smoldering out, the rich aroma of the potatoes became overwhelmingly tempting.
At that point, they could retrieve the potatoes and start eating.
Peeling off the charred skin revealed golden, soft, and fragrant potatoes inside.
The shop only sold coarse salt as a seasoning.
Even so, for players who had been eating sweetfruits for 10 to 20 days straight, it was a feast.
"Waaah! Finally, this game is expanding its culinary options!"
"The flavor's still a bit bland. Tomorrow, I'll look for onion or garlic."
"Don't forget peppercorns! I can't live without them!"
Players chatted excitedly around the fire.
More and more people gathered, eventually turning the scene into a large player meetup.
They discussed their loot and discoveries from the day, game strategies, and even their frustrations in real life.
Some players were already discussing how to enslave goblins once they successfully conquered the goblin lair.
---Viktor's POV---
I internally sighed. …Can we not celebrate halfway through the battle?
Although the only food was potatoes, the players were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
The lively ones acted as if they were drunk.
Even Alyanne, who was in charge of selling potatoes, was dragged into the crowd and handed a baked potato to eat.
I watched from the side, doubting whether they could even communicate, given the language barrier.
Soon enough, a player set their sights on me.
"Lord Viktor, come join us for some potatoes!"
"No, thanks. Undead don't need to eat," I replied, tapping my skeletal ribcage with a hollow sound. "Food would just fall right through me anyway. Last time I tried eating, I watched the food pass through my rib bones and hit the floor. Talk about a waste of good carbs, eh? Besides, my jaw's been a bit loose lately—might lose it mid-bite."
"Ok... So, you don't want to eat?"
"..."
"What about Luminaris?"
"…Luminaris doesn't have a mouth."
Politely declining the invitation, I left the lively gathering.
I walked away for quite some time before glancing back at the glow of the fire.
This feels like a proper adventure game…
Courage, challenge, wisdom, and camaraderie.
It was the perfect setup for a classic adventure story.
Perhaps I had just figured out the focus for the next promotional video.
---
Despite their energy, the players were tired after a full day's work.
The bonfire party ended early, and those who needed to log off did so.
The town suddenly felt much quieter.
During this time, two players who stayed outside the safe zone after dark died after stepping into traps.
Fortunately, they had enough magicoins to avoid taking out a loan with a steep interest rate in the game.
Twelve hours in Earth time later, they would be back as lively as ever.
I lay outside the church, reviewing the day's progress.
Even with most of the veteran players dispatched, we still hadn't pinpointed the location of the goblin lair.
However, one player had managed to capture a regular goblin hostage.
The goblin was thrown into the holding area to keep the earlier captured hobgoblin company.
Given that goblins primarily ate meat and Honeyvale Town was severely lacking in meat supplies, the goblin had stubbornly refused to eat the sweetfruits I had prepared and was already visibly thinner.
The new goblin would likely follow suit.
I remained indifferent.
"Just keep them alive for now. Goblins can eat sweetfruits. If they really starve, so be it."
"They're useless for the time being anyway."
Keeping them alive was purely a matter of humanitarian concern for sentient beings.
Once I thought of a better way to utilize the goblins, I'd figure out how to solve their food issues.
Aside from that...
MemeKnight had identified several medicinal herbs, all of which turned out to be healing herbs. Again, how lucky could one be?
Minor player injuries could be healed by those who knew a bit of Holy Light magic, while severe injuries were just a matter of respawning.
No one was interested in buying the herbs.
As a result, NeverShowOff sold them to the system for a modest profit.
I packaged them in containers that extended their shelf life, raised their price by 50%, and put them up in the game store to diversify the inventory.
With more players joining the game, someone was bound to be willing to splurge.
Meanwhile, the progress on ProGamer_Daddy's gunpowder production was encouraging.
He had scouted the lava pool and confirmed it was unoccupied by other monsters and still a source of lava.
During the exploration, he successfully discovered pale yellow solid sulfur of remarkably high purity, eliminating the need for additional refining.
Once the charcoal was ready, they could produce gunpowder.
I praised him as usual, expanded on the vision of the factory, and sent him back.
As a side note, right after ProGamer_Daddy left, NeverShowOff came by regarding the same matter.
The reason?
The lava pool wasn't a real volcano, and the sulfur found there was insufficient for large-scale use in a faction war.
He wanted to locate additional sulfur sources and hoped I could provide some leads.
I chuckled.
"The factory isn't even built yet, and you're already planning to supply everyone's weapons?"
And he wanted such valuable information for just 20 magicoins?
NeverShowOff rubbed his nose, utterly shameless.
"It's all for the faster rise of The Watchers, to ensure we have ample firepower. Haha, all for the organization!"
It wasn't that I didn't want to help.
With sufficient gunpowder reserves, it would be much easier to launch a raid on the goblins and rescue the captives.
Unfortunately, the last time I visited the Great Oak Forest was hundreds of years ago... no, it was when I had rescued Alyanne, and I hadn't stayed long.
I had no idea about the nearby mineral deposits.
So, I expressed my inability to assist but promised to keep an eye out in the future.