NOVEL NEXT Chapter 176
The island is a land of opportunity open to everyone. Venture into your own land, gather like-minded people, create a tribe, and conquer other tribe members to expand your territory! You can do anything on the island!
Oh!
What’s up with the graphics?
Island Entry, whoa!
The world is huge again!
Game company never takes a break!
The update is awesome!
It feels like a home shopping advertisement is playing in the background.
I was drawn to this ad-like video because of the Molbu who mentioned a major content opening.
The game in the video was one I already knew well—even better than well, as I had spent quite a bit of time playing it. It was only natural.
This was the game that gave me the laughably unearned nickname of the goddess of the world. World 23.
This game had previously held a massive event for streamers at launch, and now it was rolling out new content through a fresh update.
This time it wasn’t an event with a prize or anything. It was more of a promotional content coinciding with the game update, and it mentioned providing exclusive servers to streamers in partnership with Switch.
You could say it was a kind of beta tester role. This time, players would get a chance to try out the ‘island’ before general players and could report any bugs or issues they encountered to the admins. Simple!
The streamer server was set up so that anyone who had been streaming on Switch for three months could participate, and they could get an entry ticket from the relevant representatives.
Participation was voluntary. Unlike last time with prizes, people wouldn’t be joining with fire in their eyes.
Still, it wasn’t a bad content opportunity for the streamers. It was a large-scale event accessible to almost all streamers on Switch, which could be seen as a large collaboration.
It allowed streamers who normally wouldn’t interact to have some points of contact, creating chemistry between them and mixing their viewer bases in a virtuous cycle.
And because they would be streaming a game that hadn’t granted play rights to the viewers yet, if something unusual happened, it might draw attention from those interested in the game!
Is the Bangjang going into the island too?
No one is not playing on the island right now!
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Ryuah is playing, Daesik is playing, and even the Flare folks are playing!
Mollru, the tribe leader, I’m already looking forward to it!
You’re casually calling her the tribe leader.
I can’t even picture Mollru as a tribe member…
Isn’t she just ruining the tribe?
I didn’t take long to join that ranks.
*
World is known for its vast maps. Open world, superb graphics—these are the words that come to mind when talking about World 23.
This island update showcased the strengths of World quite well.
Look at the swaying sea!
Check out the graphics!
Feels a bit eerie, doesn’t it?
Night sea romance… oh wow!
Are we just going to enjoy the scenery like last time?
Let’s go relaxing near the water, haha!
The endless sea stretched before me, with vast islands above. There was a reason it took them so long to release the update.
We are the abandoned descendants of the land. But one day, we shall return to the land again.
With a solemn voice from a voice actor, a short cutscene began as the game started. Unlike last time, this one seemed to have an actual story. In the early stages, it was just a traveler roaming the continent with no real plot.
Was this time a setting where people exiled from the continent ended up on the island?
??? : There are demons living on that island.
Islanders shunned by those from the continent…
Once you’re drawn to the island, you can never return…
From now on, your name will be Chunsik.
I found myself needing to create a new character for this update. Unfortunately, I couldn’t use the pretty female character I had worked hard to create last time. It felt like starting a fresh character.
But this time, even if I wanted to invest effort into character creation, I couldn’t. There were restrictions, especially on clothing.
This time looks a bit primitive, huh? Last time I had a stylish modern vibe.
With shabby clothing, dark skin, and subtle muscle tone, a character embodying the survivalist islander vibe was born.
Unlike before, the healthy-looking Mollru 2.0 woke up in the center of the island.
Welcome to the island! Here, you can do anything freely!
As expected, the primitive concept hit right on, as my initial gear consisted of nothing but ragged scraps. It looked like animal skins draped from shoulder to knee.
The male character barely covers himself…
Why does the female character… that’s disappointing… oh well…
Isn’t it customary for the male character to bare his chest if the female character does?
Whoa!
There’s no such courtesy in the country of courtesy!
Did people actually roam like this even in the old days when resources were scarce?
The historical accuracy is lacking… ㅇㅇ
Are we really discussing historical accuracy in a game? LOL!
While bizarre comments from the viewers floated behind me, I moved freely and explored the island.
Perhaps because the background had changed, unlike during my last play on the continent, there were no specific goals or challenges presented.
There were no quests, and no NPCs like before—just nature all around me. Occasionally, wild animals would run past me, startled.
Is the whole mode just different? The atmosphere feels totally changed too.
As I wandered around, my character complained of hunger, so I gathered and consumed fallen fruit under a palm tree. I walked some more.
Maybe they designed it for folks to enjoy exploring the map together. In addition to gathering and consuming fruits, I could also collect wood to build houses and craft weapons.
This crafting and building feature had originally existed in World, but this update seemed to emphasize it even more.
Were they aiming for a relaxing game experience? Something to let players take it easy? The graphics and this aspect surely have some appeal. Even I, who used to rush for challenges, preferred relaxing and enjoying the scenery during those peak challenge trend times.
The game felt like one where people connect and explore nature, enjoying a primitive lifestyle.
This island update for World could be defined as such.
But my thoughts were broken in an instant.
Phew-!
I heard something flying! Reacting quickly, I jumped, but I couldn’t dodge all the incoming projectiles.
An arrow?
The arrows stuck into me, causing my HP bar to rapidly deplete and the screen turned red, indicating I was nearly dead.
At that moment, the bushes in front of me rustled, and someone appeared.
“Hello… do you happen to have anything on you?”
Approaching me cautiously was a woman, proving her role as an archer, sporting a wooden bow slung over her back.
Also, armed with a dagger hanging from her waist and a rather rudimentary wooden shield, it was clear she was a raider.
No, maybe calling her a raider was a bit off. This was just how it was.
A primitive person living on the island. Naturally, society operated on the law of survival of the fittest.
The weak are plundered, and the strong seize—it’s simply the savage world governed by the logic of power.
“Um, hello? Are you there?”
As I reconciled this in my mind, the raider drew closer.
“…Are you gone? Oh, you’re dead. I’ll just take your items…”
While the unexpectedly polite raider took my items, I didn’t say a word. It was just a handful of palm fruits I had sought after anyway.
Is this person really dead?
Teacher, are you angry?
Oh right, this is a streamer server!
Should we launch a Molster Call?
Which tribe are you from?
As I silently awaited respawn, my character came back to life in the center of the island.
“I got caught off guard.”
Ah, right. The relaxing game? It was a far cry from that. With so many streamers around, engaging in combat was unavoidable.
I hadn’t even been playing long. I was at a complete disadvantage.
But thinking about it like this, it also meant I had nothing to lose.
And the most dangerous people are those who have nothing to lose.