593 Different People, Different Choices

The next day, every player woke up with new information inside their heads: a few sets of rankings they could draw up in their mind's eyes whenever they wanted.

The players found out that, excluding the unluckiest ones, most of them had managed to survive their first day and earned ten points for it. Since it was still early in the game, there was not much to compare in terms of cumulative scores.

Aside from the total cumulative scores ranking, which would eventually show the victor of this entire game, there were also three other rankings. The first one was the power rankings, where the players' current prowess was ranked and symbolized with a single icon behind their names. For example, the Caveman with his comfort lamb had a "wolf" emoji on the list, denoting that he was as strong as the animal.

However, he was not the one on the top spot. Instead, the current top runner was the evil scheming Lich, with an emoji of a bear behind his name. Further down the list, various emojis appeared: eagles, dogs, geese, and whatnot. Occupying the tail end was none other than Little Mia, depicted to be as strong as a kitten.

In conclusion, this was the ranking that could accurately reflect everyone's growth.

Next was a ranking called "Luxury Index," which rated how comfortable and luxurious the players were in at the moment. Riding above the crowd was the Charlatan; surprising, considering how he was always more style than substance. Right now, attached to his name was the emoji of a chicken wing.

Coming close to him, meanwhile, was even more shocking — it was Saintess Laeticia herself, with a bread icon behind her name. Finally, the third place was the Caveman and the emoji of smoked meat. Everyone else had only images of wild berries and fish bones behind their names.

The last ranking was a little bit spiteful; it was the "Death Rank." It faithfully recorded the number of a player's death, and if other players were morbidly curious, they could tap on a name in the list and viewed the cause of their death. Since only a day had passed, any players who died had only died once, with the majority of it being mundane accidents such as falling off a cliff or being eaten by wild animals. Surprisingly, the Hitman, renowned for his physical prowess and sheer ferocity in combat, had died on his first day by a ridiculous reason. Apparently, he snuck into a local's house, was promptly found out, and then lynched to death by their primitive sticks.

It was almost a guarantee that "Death Rank" was going to become "Rank of Shame" very soon.

The silver lining of the Hitman's comically tragic death was that it informed the rest of all clueless players that there were locals in this simulation. Perhaps knowing how to interact with these people was the key to winning.

"Heh, heh! Now that is good news," The Lich, the current numero uno in the power ranking, croaked with a sinister grin curling on his face. His simulated appearance had restored him to his youth when he was just an apprentice in necromancy. He still looked like a skeleton plastered by a thin layer of skin, with his sharp, protruding widow's peaks accentuating the haggardness of his face.

A hunting dog, assembled purely from skeletons, followed him obediently. Its existence was proof that the Lich had somehow reclaimed his proficiency in necromancy in this world!

Unlike the Engineer and the Archmage, the Lich had been very careful about his desire. After inspecting his new vitals and status, he quickly deduced Baiyi's intention in starting this "game," and had thus shrewdly chosen to possess "an apprentice level of Undead Energy." After absorbing that surge of power, the Lich had skipped a few steps ahead in a typical necromancer's training and achieved the level of an apprentice straight away.

Granted, his Undead Energy was so weak that at this moment, the Lich could only command an undead hound. What set him apart from a typical apprentice, however, was that the Lich was an expert with knowledge far eclipsing even the more advanced practitioners. Thus, he knew exactly the potential of his measly power and how to maximize it, causing him to be far more superior than an actual newbie. His keen insight on Baiyi's goal of beginning this simulation game had placed the Lich in a position far ahead of his peers.

The other current champion of the Luxury Index, The Charlatan, rose to first place because he used his brain too. After a fortunate spawning point next to a rustic though well-traveled road as well as a few thoughts, the man decided to ask for the most high-end fashion article this world could offer as his starter-gift. His wish was answered, and a refined, suave noble's garment outfitted his body.

Through its fabric, design, and embroidery styles, the Charlatan was able to reason the cultural implications of this simulated world. Despite lacking in advances, this world appeared to hold a similar culture as Isythre's.

It was all that he needed to formulate his plan. He waited patiently by the roadside. A carriage passed by soon after, offering him a lift back to the rider's village. There, he used his guiles in mendacity and deceit to fool the entire settlement into believing he was a high-born on the run. As a result, the locals welcomed him with open arms.

These two Walkers managed to set themselves for a good start because they understood Baiyi's intentions. Yet, the Fifth Walker's beloved daughter herself seemed to have no clue why Mr.Hope started this game. Right now, the Warrior had just analyzed the rankings after an early rise. She lifted her head from the information and found Mia and Noirciel still cuddling one another in slumber.

"Rise and shine," She called out gently, pinching the girl's cheeks.

"Awww~" Mia groggily squeezed herself close to the woman's chest and rubbed herself on the latter like a kitten.

Suddenly, the Warrior felt that she could take down everything in her path, no matter how difficult having Mia around may be!

The all-women team set out again. After the Hitman's valuable information on the existence of locals, the Warrior decided that they could seek help from them. With that in mind, she activated People-finder.

However, instead of any native, she found Lady Assassin instead. How lucky they must be to have their spawning points in such proximity!

The Warrior instantly led the girls to the Assassin. They found the unladylike young dame sitting on a tree branch, her legs spreading wide open as she tried to steal a bird's eggs furtively. Since she was wearing a very short pleated skirt, her position effectively left her legs and underwear completely free for all to see. Luckily, there was no man around to break their necks for the "scenery".

"Wow, you actually found me!" Lady Assassin greeted enthusiastically after purloining two of the eggs. She slid down from the tree branch.

After briefing each other on what they knew, the excitable Walker remarked with optimism, "You really are the brain among us, Middle Sis! Once we found First Sis, the whole family would be reunited! Besides, her skill should come in handy for hunting." As she talked, she patted Little Mia's head with a loving expression.

Big Sis obviously alluded to the Fairy. Hence, Middle Sis was the Warrior, and she saw herself as the Little Sis.

The Warrior shut her eyes and activated People-finder once more, only opening her eyes to say, "Didn't see Big Sis, but Man Stealer is around."

Lady Assassin's giddy demeanor turned to annoyance. "Urgh! I hate that woman the most! But… I guess we don't have much choice other than recruiting more people with us right now…"

"Agree. We should meet up with her," The Warrior said, nodding. "By the way, what did you choose as a gift?"

"The talent and skill to bake delicious cakes, of course! I mean, it is my lifelong dream!" Lady Assasin beamed, waving her ill-gotten eggs happily, utterly unaware of how dumb her choice was.

Soon, the Warrior found the little she-dragon in the wild, looking confused as to what to do. Out of the principles of humanitarianism, they took Aya into the team.

Frankly, Aya had nothing nice to say about Baiyi's side-chicks who constantly bullied her and stood between herself and the man she loved. But since this was the first time the she-dragon had ever played a video game, and she had chosen "skills of a good housewife" as her starter-gift, Aya was not doing well alone, neither. Had the Warrior not spotted her, she might have died out of hunger soon.

Aya was not the only one the Warrior found. En route, she met Laeticia and Jeanne "Dark Laeticia" by happenstance. It seemed that Baiyi had decided to split the girl's dual personalities into two separate beings spawned at the same point in this simulation. Maybe he was hoping that this experience would allow Laeticia to reconcile her two sides.

Regardless, unlike most other players who had to live in the wilderness, Laeticia and Jeanne were living much more comfortably.

At first, Jeanne fell back to her propensity to act vitriolically to everyone. She kept mocking Laeticia as a country bumpkin, yet Jeanne never once showed any sign of leaving the hapless girl to fend for herself alone. Instead, with an irritated frown, she loudly proclaimed, "You're the most obtuse and inept loser I've ever met in my life! You're so incompetent; there's no way you'll live to see tomorrow if you're on your own. Just this once, I'll let your tag along like a puppy out of my better angel."

Laeticia could only respond with an awkward smile. Holding Jeanne's hand in hers, she suggested, "Hey, maybe we should focus on what to have as our starter-gifts, hmm?"

After that, Laeticia asked Baiyi for a large and complete farm complex. A flash of light later, a farmhouse suddenly appeared on the otherwise remote and unpopulated hill. There were rustic cottages, barns, a large swath of wheatfield, a windmill, a ranch, a granary, and more. Baiyi had not missed out any of the essential facilities.

The catch, however, was that there were no crops nor farm animals. This was when Jeanne, grinning darkly, came in. She asked for supplies and resources the farmhouse was missing as her starter-gift.

Just like that, the duo now owned a sustainable farmhouse. Their fields were filled with crops, the granary full of wheat and seeds for other plants, and even fire matches could be found in the warehouse.

One would quickly notice that Baiyi was being a little too generous and thus be reasonably suspicious that the gamemaster may be playing favorite by giving his wives and daughters a comfortable, warm place to stay throughout the game. Right now, his less-fortunate women were gouging on Laeticia's freshly-baked bread after suffering in the wild for a day.

Meanwhile, the other person who probably needed his protégé's secret hand the most was lying under a tree with his big black tome hugged against his chest.

The Archmage looked positively moribund. His eyes were glassy. His hand propped upward against the ground weakly. The old geezer's penchant to recklessly rush into a decision had earned him a useless gift, and now coupling with a typical noble's non-existent survival skills, he was dying.

He had been lucky enough to survive the first day of the game, but it seemed that he was not going to make it this time.