BXBX NOVEL Chapter 291: Btog 291 Birthday Livestream Part 5
Chapter 291: Btog 291 Birthday Livestream Part 5
The Eastern Fields of the Starting Town were barren of people but full of monsters—if you listened closely, you could hear them everywhere.
Well, it’s not like this field has anything particularly interesting that would attract players. The slow, beginner-friendly boars are in the Northern Fields, so it’s understandable that not many players would venture East right away.
But even so… or rather, before that, I had a strange feeling ever since I got here.
“Is it just me or is this server kinda empty?”
<True that.>
<Feels like an old-school RPG with no players.>
<You noticed, huh?>
<Obvious, isn’t it?>
<Feels like the end of service is near :(>
Just by walking around the Starting Town a bit, it was clear.
There were very few people. Not just players—the number of NPCs was also unusually low.
It was as if they were scattered. The town lacked any lively NPCs walking around. Even most of the NPC shops were empty, reduced to mere menu cards for automated trading.
I remember the recent major update, where servers were split to alleviate competition over hunting grounds. According to Rin-chan, they basically replicated the world to distribute the player base.
I get that server splitting reduces the number of people per server; otherwise, there’d be no point.
But recalling when I first started, the Starting Town was super crowded.
It was so packed it felt like rush hour at a major train station—you couldn’t see 10 meters ahead. WLO is currently in a state where new servers have to be created due to an influx of new players, so the Starting Town should always be crowded.
Even accounting for other factors, this server was too empty.
“Ah, about that. It’s simple. This is a server for advanced players.”
“For advanced players?”
“To be precise, it’s for players who have reached Griffith.”
As I tilted my head, Rin-chan explained the details.
“They set up new servers to mitigate resource competition, but it would be wasteful to populate all worlds equally. Advanced players move forward and rarely go back to previous towns, and this isn’t a game where beginners can skip ahead either.”
“So, you’re saying this server is for players who’ve reached Griffith, which is why Starting Town and places like Dualis are almost empty?”
“Exactly. Up until Trillia, at least. Newbies looking to enjoy this world wouldn’t want to start in a barren town and lead a life of emptiness.”
I can’t say that the lack of NPCs affects gameplay that much since I barely talked to them when I was a beginner. But still, there are hardly any players in this server either.
And honestly, who would want to start in a fantasy world that feels like a half-abandoned ghost town? I know I wouldn’t.
“In a way, servers like these are actually convenient for beginners who don’t want to stand out or are solely focused on efficient hunting. The monsters pop up like crazy for that reason.”
“Yeah, it works for us right now. You’re gonna join a more populated server next time, right, Suu-chan?”
“Ah, yes, I will.”
Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it—we haven’t encountered any listeners breaking any manners by coming in directly, but there are definitely a few players here who’ve probably come to watch us. You can kinda tell from their gaze, you know?
If we’d joined a normal beginner-friendly server with all the attention we’re getting, we’d probably be a nuisance. So it’s good we chose a server geared towards advanced players this time around. Still, I told Suu-chan not to choose servers like this if she plays alone in the future.
“So, shall we try shooting? You go first, Suu-chan.”
“Alright, I’ll aim for that rabbit over there… Ready!”
“**Squeak**!”
Suu-chan expertly nocks an arrow and fires. The arrow beautifully pierces the head of a rabbit about 20 meters away, confirming a kill with a headshot.
She doesn’t have a perfect form or anything, but she has her own way of shooting that doesn’t look like it would miss—pretty good aim, actually.
“You’re really accurate.”
“You seem quite experienced.”
“I used a bow in a game with weapon skins for a while. Never used it in close combat, though.”
“Ah, yeah, I remember seeing people using bows when I watched a bunch of videos.”
Even in survival shooting games where bullets fly everywhere, there’s often a mix of quirky weapons. Like laser guns or frying pans. And sometimes even ‘magic’ when there are collabs. MHKS is obviously one of those gimmicky things.
And in Zero Wars VR, there actually was a ‘bow’ as a weapon. I think it was a seasonal item that appeared as an alternative to some sniper rifles.
Given that Suu-chan has been dominating all sorts of kill records in that world, it’s only natural she’d be good at using it.
“Of course, the bow in WLO and Zero Wars are completely different. The WLO bow only has an effective range of about 30 meters, whereas the Zero Wars bow works up to about 200 meters.”
“Bows are straightforward, so as long as you don’t mess up the hand movements, they’re unlikely to miss. However, the avatar’s control precision isn’t great, and the direct range is shorter than I thought. The arrows don’t fly as expected.”
“Bows are usually shot in an arc to extend their range, so that’s just how it is with direct shots.”
“I see. Well, it’s easier to gauge distances compared to melee weapons, which is nice.”
<You make it seem like it’s no big deal, huh?>
<Reminds me of Sukuna>
<Pretty tough without assists, huh?>
<Her intuition is spot-on>
“If the range is short, then make it work with short range. If it’s hard to move, then adjust accordingly.”
After getting a feel for it, Suu-chan effortlessly snipes through the monsters that catch her eye. It’s not like her form is exceptionally beautiful or anything, but her shots hit the mark. It’s all about having a good sense of distance.
It was the same back in Zero Wars; her shooting form wasn’t anything special either. Once she mastered the basics needed to hit her target, she adapted it into a form that was comfortable for her.
As we were smoothly hunting monsters, Suu-chan misfired a shot aiming for the fourth rabbit. A miscalculation at a 20-meter distance caused the arrow to miss by several centimeters. But just as I was thinking that such a misfire was bound to happen, the arrow twisted in mid-air and stabbed into the rabbit’s body.
“…Huh?”
“…Um?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events, Suu-chan and I freeze for a moment.
“Why are both of you freezing? That was a system assist.”
“Ah, right! I mean, I knew about it, but I’ve never actually seen it work before.”
“It really curves a lot… I could do some trick shots with this.”
The bow’s popularity as a weapon largely comes from this system assist for accuracy. Not everyone is good at close combat, and bows aren’t exactly easy to handle either. So in this game, the bow uses SP to correct minor aiming errors, essentially forcing your shots to hit.
This feature has been well-received, especially by players who aren’t used to combat. It costs a bit more in terms of replenishing arrows, but it makes casual combat more enjoyable.
“Ah, I leveled up!”
“Nice! …So, what stats should an archer focus on?”
“Hmm…”
<Strength directly affects your damage.>
<You’ll need agility for kiting.>
<Just go for strength for now.>
<Considering the beastmen’s bonuses, agility can wait.>
<Strength all the way!>
<Due to the small difference in arrow damage, strength and weapon attack power directly correlate to your damage.>
“Thanks, everyone! Looks like most people are recommending strength. I’ll also check the wiki just to be sure.”
“Yeah, I’m curious about the skill tree too.”
“I wonder if I can shoot magic arrows if I upgrade my magic stats.”
“Isn’t that already included as arrow magic in each elemental magic type?”
“That’s true. Melty was using it.”
<That’s elementary school-level deisgnz!>
<Well, there are magic arrows as items.>
<What’s the difference between elemental arrows and elemental magic arrows?>
<Elemental arrows add attributes to physical attacks, so they’re judged by physical defense. Elemental magic arrows are judged by magical defense.>
<Because you can prepare arrows, most bows focus on boosting attack power.>
<There are also skills to enhance system assist, so you should try those.>
“Why do I have listeners who are so knowledgeable when I ask about bows but know nothing when it comes to melee weapons?!”
<It’s because you’re already an expert.>
<There’s nothing left to teach you.>
<Actually, you’re the one teaching us.>
<No one cares about leveling up in a masochistic skill that doesn’t have elemental attacks.>
<Suu-chan is worth teaching, you’re not.>
“I’m absorbing all this useful info for myself…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, just talking about how useless my listeners are.”
<We express our regrets.>
<The problem is with Sukuna, who’s running her own unique route and build.>
<Your throwing skills are so good, we can’t even test them.>
<Weapon Destruction Artist>
<Sledgehammer Oni-girl>
<Flat-chested>
“Hey, cut it out!”
Even though it’s supposedly a birthday stream, this is the kind of response I get. With a wry smile, I give the last commenter a 3-minute mute ban using my streamer rights.