Chapter Fourteen: First Encounter with Ancient Ruins, The Corpse Puppets

The six of them, led by Ye Yu, arrived at the southern outskirts of Nine Mountains Ridge. All around, figures in dirt-stained, rugged attire could be seen, each wielding a curved blade, their faces mostly concealed by canvas, leaving only a pair of chilling eyes exposed.

Now that the six were gathered, they could finally carry out the mission in full. After confirming their target, they spread out into a small circular formation to launch their attack. With their higher levels giving them an edge, progress came swiftly. Yet the bandits of Nine Mountains Ridge proved formidable, capable of rallying reinforcements, and soon every brigand in the southern outskirts bore down on them.

Ten minutes later, they had completed the main storyline’s trial, having defeated a total of six hundred bandits.

Returning to Nine Mountains Village, all six felt a wave of fatigue wash over them.

Godfall, the game, had implemented a fatigue system: prolonged combat and running would render players tired, causing a drop in all their attributes. The usual ways to recover were to meditate, rest, or light a campfire in a safe zone and cook simple food. Logging off for thirty minutes would also suffice, but for newcomers like Ye Yu and his companions, taking such a break was pointless.

“I didn’t expect this fatigue state to be so troublesome,” Huang Hong complained, unable to hide his frustration. “With my stats down, if I were to duel that master thief now, I doubt I’d stand a chance.”

Ye Yu nodded slightly, then found a clearing and began assembling a campfire and preparing food. “Let’s cook something to speed up our recovery.”

Within Godfall’s survival support skills, there was one specifically for relieving fatigue.

Gathered around the fire, each took out rations from their packs—meat looted from earlier monsters. Roasting it over the flames, the aroma wafted through the air, tantalizing their senses.

While tending the food, Ye Yu raised his right hand, and a faint glow appeared in his palm, gradually forming a map of Nine Mountains Ridge.

“Once we hand in this quest, we can start the main storyline. There aren’t many main quests, but they grow more challenging as we level up, so side quests become crucial. Also, there are monster zones here ranging from level forty to sixty—we’d be wise to avoid those for now.”

The others nodded in agreement; they trusted Ye Yu implicitly.

“By the way, I once saw a post on an old gaming forum mentioning an instance in Nine Mountains Ridge,” one of them remarked.

“Old Third, you must have been misled,” Qu Zheng scoffed with a laugh. “I’ve searched everywhere—apart from monsters and main and side quests, there’s no such thing as an instance here.”

Ye Yu’s lips curled into a faint smile. “Godfall has been around for ten years, and even veteran players haven’t uncovered all its secrets. The forum post I saw was on a nearly forgotten site, but Godfall’s design is full of hidden mechanics for players to discover—like weakening quest monsters or exploiting their vulnerabilities, even event bosses have weak points.”

Luo Wei furrowed his brow. “So you’re saying Godfall isn’t just an MMO, but also has single-player mechanics—where you unlock content through your own efforts?”

Everyone exchanged glances of sudden realization. Ye Yu nodded. “Godfall’s depth is beyond what we’ve imagined. That’s why it’s endured for so long, and why Mythic Technology developed the VR headset that integrates the virtual and real worlds. The sense of immersion is the point: most of the game’s features require personal exploration and unlocking.”

He continued, “But let’s deal with our fatigue first, turn in the quest, and then search for the hidden instance in Nine Mountains Ridge while working on the main storyline. Unlocking that could get us to level thirty quickly, and then we can return to Hero Town for the level thirty instance. If we want to hit level forty on the first day, these instances are the key.”

“Agreed!”

The food tasted wonderful, but didn’t fill their stomachs; if anything, it made them hungrier. Still, their fatigue faded rapidly, and five minutes later, all six were fully recovered. They mounted their Abyssal Nightmares and rode off to find Village Chief Duangan Hongda.

After turning in the quest, they accepted their next mission: to enter the ruins within Nine Mountains Ridge—a place that marked the origin of the map’s backstory.

Long ago, a small kingdom stood upon the ridge, but a sudden catastrophe annihilated it. Unimaginable things now lay buried beneath the mineral-rich earth. When the kingdom tried to probe deeper into the mine veins, disaster struck; most citizens perished in the cataclysm, and those who died became undead puppets, mindlessly guarding the entrance to the mines.

With the kingdom destroyed, the survivors relocated and established Nine Mountains Village.

Nowadays, monsters of varying strength inhabit the ruins—ranging from level thirty to fifty. According to the main storyline, Ye Yu’s party had to enter the ruins, collect items from these undead puppets, and bring them back for research to uncover the root of the disaster.

Riding their Abyssal Nightmares, they arrived at the only entrance to the mine veins, situated within the ruins.

At the edge, the sight that greeted them made their skin crawl—corpses strewn everywhere, with countless black shadows wandering to and fro. On closer look, the monsters were grotesque, some armored, others in rags, and even among them were puppets in the form of little girls.

“Holy crap! What the hell is that? They really are the walking dead!” Qu Zheng exclaimed, pointing at a massive ruin in the distance.

The others followed his gaze and saw, clearly, figures crawling slowly from the wreckage. A bone-chilling wail echoed across the plain, and their hollow eyes glowed with a ghostly green light—a scene so vivid it could haunt their dreams. The immersive effect of Godfall was so intense it rivaled reality.

At that moment, at the edge of the ruins stood a figure clad in ancient bronze armor, fully encased except for a pair of black eyes, sharp as sword blades. He wielded a three-foot longsword, its blade shimmering with streaks of radiant light.

He was the key to their next quest—Commander Gongyang Liangbi of the Nine Mountains Army.

“Are you the heroes recommended by Village Chief Duangan Hongda?” the commander greeted them. “I am Gongyang Liangbi, leader of the Nine Mountains Army. You’ve come to help us collect the remains of the undead puppets, I presume? Their strength is formidable—many of my men have not returned. If you lack the ability, I urge you not to risk your lives.”

The six accepted the mission without protest.

Main Storyline: Rise of the Martial World—First Contact at the Nine Mountains Ridge Ruins
Quest Level: 26
Quest Giver: Commander Gongyang Liangbi
Description: Though Village Chief Duangan Hongda knows some crucial secrets, the matter is too dangerous to meddle in without sufficient strength to protect oneself.
Objective: Collect fifty items from level thirty undead puppets
Quest Turn-in: Commander Gongyang Liangbi

The immersion was so complete that their nerves were on edge—every sensation, every chill, seeped into their minds. The oppressive, unnatural atmosphere pressed down on them, the swaying silhouettes of the undead puppets flickering in and out of the mist, sending chills up their spines.

Even Qu Zheng’s expression had turned grim—those with weaker nerves would have been terrified.

Venturing deeper, they encountered level thirty undead puppets wandering the outermost edge. Fortunately, these were not aggressive unless provoked—if they had been, the group would have been in serious trouble, given the level disparity.

Just then, a massive black shadow materialized in front of them, and all six pairs of eyes widened in shock.