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Chapter 60 - The First Draft of the Official Novel
Chapter 60 - The First Draft of the Official Novel
Chapter 60: The First Draft of the Official Novel
Translator: Noodletown Translations Editor: Noodletown Translations
Fang Qi wasn’t playing his game today. Instead, he held a delicate book in his hands.
On the first page was elegant handwriting that said, “Diablo: Volume One.”
He looked up and saw a beautiful face in front of him.
Shen Qingqing placed her hands behind her back and got close to him, saying with anticipation, “Take a look!”
Fang Qi nodded as he flipped open the first page. He could tell that the writer had put her heart into it; it was only the first draft, but the writing was neat and easy to read.
Xu Zixin was right about Shen Qingqing being a talented girl who was skilled in both literature and martial arts. Since Fang Qi chose paladin, Shen Qingqing chose it as well. Therefore, she made the paladin the main character in this first volume.
When Diablo II first came out in Fang Qi’s world, both the plot and the game were all considered spectacular.
That was why after online literature became popular, many authors decided to write and publish books that were related to Diablo.
Therefore, Fang Qi felt a little emotional when he received Shen Qingqing’s first draft of the official novel.
At this moment, the internet café was filled with customers. Nalan Hongwu, An Cheng, Song Qingfeng, and the others were all trying to get to Andariel’s hiding spot.
Along the way, they encountered all sorts of monsters, so they fought them with all their might. The ice blast and inferno of the sorceress and the molten boulder and volcano of the druid were all spectacular scenes to witness!
“Be careful, little brats, I can’t help you if you get sneak-attacked!” Nalan Hongwu and Elder Fu each held a shield before them.
The closer they got to Andariel’s nest, the stronger the monsters became!
Moreover, they were currently underground, and a lot of places didn’t have light. Therefore, they constantly barged into herds of monsters by accident!
With their current levels, there was no way they could survive if they accidentally got to Andariel right now.
They advanced in a formation, but Nalan Hongwu suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He listened intently and seemed to hear a soft but weird sound coming from the darkness in front of them.
It sounded like a sleeping beast.
Soon, they saw a herd of horned monsters charge towards them!
“Tainted!”
“Retreat! There are probably more coming!” Their expressions darkened.
These monsters always appeared in groups. Not only were they strong, they could even spit out orbs of lightning. The players didn’t even have to engage in close-range combat to die from them!
Suddenly, streaks of lightning lit up the darkness!
Nalan Hongwu and Elder Fu quickly reacted. They rolled over and avoided the large amounts of lightning orbs, subsequently hiding into a room. They lifted their shields up and yelled, “Block the door, block the door!”
Upon seeing the two of them retreat, Bu Che casted Molten Boulder towards the entrance!
Druids who specialized in elemental skills were extremely powerful during the earlier stages of the game.
“Ice blast!”
“Brother Bu, used volcano!”
“Two tainted barged in!”
“Let me! Fu, use Holy Fire! Kill them!” Nalan Hongwu shouted as he used Blessed Hammer and aimed at the tainted in front of him!
...
Unlike their fierce battle, the other end of the internet café was as quiet as it could be.
Fang Qi sipped on his Sprite and casually read through Shen Qingqing’s Diablo: Volume One.
“The Wanderer... Yes, it was... the Wanderer...”
“My days at the Rogue Citadel seemed so long ago...”
“...”
Fang Qi was happy to see these words; Marius said them during the opening animation of the game, and they were his memories about the Dark Wanderer.
Shen Qingqing’s writing wasn’t exaggerated because she respected the original plot of the game. Fang Qi read on and felt like the structure of the plot was diligent and well managed. She didn’t add unnecessary materials to the official novel, unlike the movie and TV remakes of the game.
Her description of the scenes and characters were more meticulous than Fang Qi thought; he could perfectly immerse himself in the atmosphere of the novel.
Rogue Citadel, once prosperous and magnificent, was now nothing more than an encampment. Countless adventures braved the icy rain and walked on the dark and dingy streets in the encampment.
The overall writing style of the novel was dark. As a reader, Fang Qi was sure that this was indeed Diablo.
“Are girls more diligent than guys?” Fang Qi held the novel and kept reading.
Xu Zixin and Shen Qingqing were from prestigious families, and they just sat there quietly without speaking as they waited for Fang Qi to finish.
...
“We’re on the fourth level of the Catacombs!”
When Nalan Hongwu, An Cheng, and the others arrived, they could clearly feel an oppressive evil energy paving towards them!
“Be careful!” Nalan Hongwu’s instincts told him that Andariel, the most powerful demon in this area, resided in the depth of this level!
At this thought, he could barely contain his excitement.
“According to the plot, this should be the last battlefield of Act I,” An Cheng twirled his staff in his hand and laughed, “I’m going to save the world!”
“In the future, we can tell others that we once saved the world,” Bu Che laughed as well, “Doesn’t that sound cool?”
“Forget it, at most we saved a city.” Ouyang Cheng couldn’t help but snicker. “We’re towards the end of Act I, but I have no idea where all these demons came from.”
“I think someone should write a novel about our glorious adventure!” An Cheng laughed, “I heard we’re going to go to the east in Act II.”
“It’s open! Let’s go in!” Nalan Hongwu slowly opened the heavy, rotten door that sat in the middle of the fourth level!
An ominous feeling crept up their spines as excitement rose along with horror. All the players were entrenched in these completely different emotions.
Ouyang Cheng, who was walking at the end of the group, suddenly asked, “What kind of item will we get once we kill this final boss in Act I?”
“Now is not the time to talk about items!” An Cheng kicked Ouyang Cheng’s butt as he scolded with a smile on his face, “Can’t you have some moral integrity?”
“Why don’t I trade you my moral integrity for a yellow item?”
“Screw you!”
The others burst into laughter upon hearing their exchange.
A deep, hoarse roar suddenly echoed from deep within the darkness.
At the bottom was the evillest demon of them all, Andariel, and she woke up!
“Charge!” Elder Fu tightened his grip around the broadsword on his hand and shouted.
“Yes!”
“Let’s kill it!”
“Use Blessed Aim!”
“Position! Watch your position!”
“Kill the small monsters first!”
“Poison nova! Use the wolves! The rest of you, retreat and drink your potions!”
“Stop it from attacking for the sorceress!”
...
“It’s not bad.” Fang Qi stood up from his seat and glanced over at An Cheng at the others who were trying to kill Andariel and shouted as if no one was around. Suddenly, he felt nostalgic.
That was how he and his friends were probably like when they first started playing games together.
It had been such a long time, but it felt like yesterday.
He took in a deep breath and pointed at An Cheng and the others. “It would be better if you add some of this kind of heartfelt emotions into the novel.”
Fang Qi closed the novel and handed it back to Shen Qingqing. As a reader who read through countless web novels, he didn’t provide any crazy suggestions to the novel since he respected the originality of the game.
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Chapter 61: Jiang Xiaoyue’s Ambitions
Translator: Noodletown Translations Editor: Noodletown Translations
“We’re here, it’s right there!” A cultivator like Bai Lang had a lot of friends, including Zhan Yan and Zhou Hongying who were with him last time.
Today, the three of them came, and they brought four more people with them; three men and one woman.
“Daoist Bai.” A younger cultivator in white glanced towards the direction Bai Lang was pointing at and asked, “This is the civilian area, right? Plus, this shop doesn’t look so good. Why would you want to come here?”
Although Fang Qi’s shop had more than 50 computers, it was unlike the internet cafés he frequented before coming to this world. Those places had private rooms and booths. He current setup provided rows and rows of seats to save space, and it was nothing compared to those large-scale establishments.
“Daoist Yu is right.” Confused, a middle-aged cultivator who was wearing a dark blue robe and had a bun on his head chimed in, “You’ve been to so many places throughout the years, so I assumed that a place you recommended would be unique and novel. But this place...” He pointed at the small shop in front of him and asked suspiciously, “Why do you like this place so much?”
Standing next to Zhan Yan was a red-faced, middle-aged cultivator with a mustache. He was usually a calm person, but when the other two voiced their concerns, he also looked at the shop in front of him suspiciously.
He didn’t say anything, but he was certainly confused.
“Senior Sister Zhou!” A naïve-looking girl stood next to Zhou Hongying. “Why would you ask me to come to a place like this so early in the morning?”
Her cultivation strength wasn’t as high as the others, so she took the spiritual boat this morning all the way from Yanhai City to Jiuhua City because she thought something urgent had happened.
However, her senior sister brought her to...
Origins Internet Club? What is going on?
She opened her eyes wide and observed the small shop, but she didn’t spot anything special about it.
“Don’t you all trust me?” Bai Lang laughed, “I promise that the things inside this shop are ones that you guys can’t imagine. It’s definitely new and exciting!”
The others glanced at each other and thought, Really?
The middle-aged cultivator standing next to Zhan Yan said with a stern expression on his face, “Yesterday, Zhan Yan mentioned that there are spiritual artifacts called computers in this shop. They are extremely powerful, and once we use it, we will feel like we have been reborn into another world and can live with another identity. It sounds interesting, but if that’s all it does, why are you all so excited?”
“Of course that’s not all it does,” Zhan Yan responded as he stroked his beard. “If that’s all it did, I wouldn’t have recommended it to you.”
After they pushed open the doors, they sensed a feeling that they have never felt before. The shop wasn’t well-lit, but gentle rays of white light shone from the ceilings, intertwining with the lights that were emitted from the screens.
The shop incorporated in some basic elements of Jiuhua City such as hardwood, flowers, and grasses, but the desks, chairs and computers had a different vibe. When mixed together, they created a refreshing scene.
Upon seeing the new customers, Jiang Xiaoyue froze for a second and thought, Aren’t these people the cultivators from yesterday? Did they bring more people today?
“Little girl, activate four more Diablos for us,” Bai Lang greeted her cheerfully.
“Little... girl?” Jiang Xiaoyue blinked her eyes until she finally came back to her senses. She felt like crying, Stupid owner, people don’t even address me as Princess anymore.
“It’s 32 crystals for four people to activate the game, and two crystals each per person per hour to use the computers. How many hours would you like to play?”
It was obvious that Jiang Xiaoyue was slowly getting used to her new job.
“Six hours of course!” A cultivator like Bai Lang was rich. Since none of them had anything better to do today, he decided to pay for the full six hours.
The others took this opportunity to observe the internet café.
There were quite a lot of people playing here, and the shop was close to full capacity at the moment. There were players playing games no matter where they looked.
Some screens showed a man holding a weird spiritual artifact. When fire came out of this artifact, a monster would fall to the ground.
Other screens showed characters holding long swords or staffs, and their methods of combat were similar to this world
Although the newcomers hadn’t yet played the game, Bai Lang and the other two explained the game to them already, and they really did feel a sense of novelty.
Jiang Xiaoyue didn’t know what ‘activating the game’ meant.
However, as long as she took the correct amount of money and placed them into the registers, the customers would be able to play.
Humph! I’m fine as long as the amount is correct!
There was something else she didn’t understand, so she asked when she took Bai Lang’s money, “Don’t you think the fees in the shop are expensive?”
Why aren’t they mad at the high prices? They even brought more people here today...
She really didn’t understand.
Zhan Yan and Zhou Hongying were teaching the newcomers how to play the game.
As soon as they started, they were shocked by the life-like scenes and characters. Once they understood how to play the game and the plot, they exclaimed, “Hm... this really is interesting! Come on! Let’s go kill some monsters!”
“Is it expensive?” Bai Lang glanced at Jiang Xiaoyue curiously, wondering why she asked a question like that. After a while, he replied with a question of his own, “Haven’t you played Diablo?”
“No, why would I play something so expensive?” Jiang Xiaoyue sneered as she thought dejectedly, How can I play? I spent all my money on food!
Once I’m rich, I’m going to play for 12 hours a day and make the stupid owner sit here. Humph!
Jiang Xiaoyue was getting more and more curious about the game. Why are there so many customers here every day?
Wait, if the game really is good, then I will play! If it isn’t, I’m not going to give the stupid owner any money!
At this thought, Jiang Xiaoyue sensed an excitement.
However, fantasies were just fantasies...
Bai Lang laughed, “Try it, and you’ll understand.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiaoyue’s face fell like a deflated balloon as she clenched her teeth.
I don’t have money... Do I really have to cook for this stupid owner?
Bai Lang and the others were all cultivators, so they chose sorcerers and sorceress.
The scene of seven people using magic spells was spectacular.
“Frost Bolt! Frost Bolt! Cast a Frost Bolt!”
“The monster’s heading your way, run away!”
“Brother Bai, help me slow the monster down!”
“The sorceress’s stamina is awful! I can’t run anymore! Help me kill that monster!”
“Give me a minute; I’m trying to fight off the carvers here!”
“Just fight it yourself!”
“How am I supposed to do that? Sorceresses can’t take too many strikes from monsters!”
“Damn it, I died!”
“Uh... don’t worry, you can start over. Let me open a portal for you...” Bai Lang took out his Town Portal Scroll.
After they slowly understood this game, the newcomers were quickly addicted. Therefore, the group embarked on a tumultuous adventure!
FAQs:
#1: Why are you guys doing TL Notes wrong?
We are doing the TL Notes like this on purpose before the chapters cost any spirit stones. The TL note section on app version sometimes glitch and doesn’t show up unless you exit and revisit the chapter.
#2: What is the release schedule of BTICS
A: The normal release speed is 3 chapters per day during the weekday and 1 chapter per day during the weekend. We are lowering weekend release so we can spend more time with family (each chap takes about 2-3 hrs) and also work on our side hobby projects which are free to read for life. (We are budget readers too, so we also want to produce some free content for everyone to enjoy that will be posted on our own site: noodletowntranslated.com)
#3: What is this holy patron-only Early access you speak of?
A: You will always be the promised number of early access chapters ahead of public release on , and the folders are updated every day. In addition, patrons of all tiers will receive 3 chaps per day even on weekends. However, the bonus chapters from faster release on weekends will also be released to the public as month-end mass release, so people that aren’t in the position to donate right now can still enjoy the bonus chapters.
Please do excuse the quality a bit, as those chapters have not gone through the final layer of edit yet. But, it has been through 2, so it should be gucci.
Check TL’s thought section for a long ass list of the patrons we want to thank!