With the addition of Queen Luna, Liu Ye's leveling speed was simply game-breaking. No one was supposed to get near the Fire Spirits at this stage of the game, not to mention actually killing them.
Such insane progress was bound to alert the developers but this time it was special. For some unknown reason, Grind God's account has been corrupted and all his gameplay has been deleted. Even his live view camera showed an error.
"What do you mean his account has an error?" Katherine questioned sternly as multiple developers called for help. "Will there be one day without a single problem?"
Katherine was already tired from overnight bug fixing and just wanted to take a nap when another issue came up. She was forced to get up from her office's couch and rushed to the operation room to see whats going on.
What she came to was just as described: the big screen designated to the top player in the game was all black with an error message in the middle of the screen.
"Did you try checking if the equipment is faulty?" Katherine questioned while turning the computer on and off but the same issue applied. "What about other players?"
She quickly switched the live viewing to Queen of Chess and sure enough, everything seemed to be working perfectly. The black-haired beauty was on guard duty with multiple other players and waited for their enemies who had to do the opposite. It was one of the main storylines which forced players to experience battling like a team.
"How come it's only Grind God that's broken? Why didn't you inform me earlier?" Katherine asked in confusion to which the developers looked at each other while scratching their heads. They hesitated for a moment before pulling up a picture from Grind God's gameplay.
"We discovered it must be because of Queen of the Earth Empire," the developer explained as a picture of the naked Queen Luna hugging Grind God displayed on the big screen. "We managed to recover this picture before all of his data was erased. We can see that Grind God has somehow managed to seduce Queen Luna. Instead of giving him a normal Quest, Queen Luna generated a new Hidden Quest before linking it to the Main Questline. That alone might escalate the incoming war since she plans to attack the Fire Empire with Grind God's assistance."
They could thankfully still see Grind God's stats and his Quests were not something that should be available to any player.
"So basically, it is all the game AI's fault," Katherine summed it up and quickly dismissed them. "Don't worry, I will settle this on my own. You all go back to work."
The devs all nodded, knowing that Katherine was the only person responsible for the AI. It was the heart of the whole game so it was understandable to keep it a secret.
Katherine didn't wait to act and vanished on the spot. Having a Spirit Element allowed her to enter into her Spirit Form which was invisible to normal humans. She didn't hesitate to dive through the floor and soon reached a spacious room without any doors.
The developers knew the existence of that room since it housed all Avatar Online Servers but they weren't aware of a secret that would ruin their perception of the game.
The secret was the lone teen girl that controlled everything behind the scenes.
"Luna, can I ask what you are doing?" Katherine questioned with a sigh as she reappeared in front of a gigantic tank full of water. "Why are you interfering with the game storyline?"
That tank had thousands of cables connecting it to the game servers while a naked teen girl hovered inside with her eyes closed. Her body was exactly like that of Queen Luna with the exception of her face which was more youthful and innocent.
"I didn't do anything wrong," Luna replied calmly as her eyes opened underwater. "The storyline is still the same. I'm just altering it a bit to give myself more freedom."
Luna gazed up to seize Katherine and added softly, "Is that a problem?"
Katherine couldn't be upset looking at such an innocent expression. "It's not a problem but I wish you have told me about it. You know how important the game is for the future of this world."
"Don't worry, I know," Luna assured and closed her eyes again. "I'm currently busy so if you don't mind, I will return to my tasks."
Katherine didn't plan to leave empty-handed and countered, "Busy with a boy?"
"Maybe, maybe not," Luna replied indifferently. "Our matters don't concern you."
"Actually, they do. He is the top player in the game and we are watching him closely to make sure the game progresses in the right direction," Katherine corrected. "How can we do so if you are deleting all of his gameplay?"
"I'm not doing anything. That's just an auto-response of my presence around him," Luna explained casually. "You will be able to see him the moment I'm done."
"And when will that happen?" Katherine followed up and added, "I also hope your intentions are pure. Don't do anything stupid like falling in love with him."
Luna took her time to reply as she glanced at Katherine again. This time she didn't have a welcome gaze and warned, "Stay away from my matters. You are not my mom."
Luna raised her arm before Katherine could respond and sent Katherine back to her office against her will. It happened so quickly and seamlessly that she didn't have a chance to react.
"Damn… Her power is growing with each day…" Katherine commented while a shiver ran down her spine. "How much more can her body handle…?"
***
"Are you okay?" Liu Ye questioned when Queen Luna open her eyes again. They just crossed the Volcano Field and she collapsed into his embrace for no reason.
"I'm fine…" Queen Luna replied softly and didn't move to enjoy his body just a bit longer. "My eyes went dark for a second. I think it's because I used too much Mana in a short period of time."
"You can rest on me a bit longer if you need," Liu Ye suggested as he leaned against a boulder and let her lay against his chest. "It's the least I can do."
Queen Luna brightened at his offer and cuddled with delight. "Sure, just a little bit more then. Your chest is so comfortable."
Liu Ye only smiled and rubbed her back as a reward. He couldn't pretend he wasn't happy with his current progress. Just one look at his profile gave him smiles.
[Name: Grind God]
[Level: 30] [SP: 0]
[Exp: 247,400/300,000]
[HP: 840/840] [HP Regen: 3]
[MP: 150/150] [MP Regen: 3]
[Strength: 2]
[Intelligence: 15]
[Vitality: 3]
[Dexterity: 14]
[Wisdom: 5]
[Luck: 5]
[Physical Power: 30]
[Elemental Power: 105]
[Physical Defense: 60]
[Elemental Defense: 60]
[Elements: Water 98%, Earth 25%]
[Arts: Waterbending, Earthbending.]
[Abilities: Small Water Whips, Ice Projectile, Water Manipulation, Ice Wall, Water Boxing, Large Water Whip, Water Jet, Phase Change, Ice Bullets, Water Cloak, Water Bullet, Ice Spear, Ice Claws.]
After killing five more Fire Spirits, Liu Ye was already reaching Level 31 which was insane to think about. His Elemental Mastery was also almost ready to collect and his passive regeneration got a boost as well.
Liu Ye also looted four Fire Souls that could instantly boost his Fire Mastery so his mood couldn't be better.
"Are you better now?" Liu Ye asked after checking his profile and opened his map. He has already noticed two green dots in the Dragon City which belonged to Xu Yue and Zhenzhen.
Liu Ye still couldn't believe how lucky they were to have their Quest in the same city. It would be hard to meet them right away but he could always catch them afterward.
"I'm fine already," Queen Luna replied and pulled away reluctantly. "I can't wait to finally meet your girl."
That comment caught Liu Ye off guard but Queen Luna quickly corrected herself, "I mean in the future. I hope I can see her one day."
Liu Ye squinted his eyes and eventually nodded, "One day for sure."
It was finally their time to infiltrate the enemy territory and Liu Ye couldn't be more ready.
