Chapter 789 - 789: This Dragon is One of Us! We Can Work Together!

As the days ticked by, the release date for "The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim" was finally here.

Major websites and live-streaming platforms buzzed with related topics, maintaining high levels of excitement.

On forums, Tieba, and video sites, dedicated players had already meticulously broken down Dragon language lore and the Dragonborn Song from promotional videos, frame by frame, with detailed explanations.

Videos that were originally less than two minutes long were transformed into programs stretching for ten to twenty hours.

Posts like "Master Dragon Language Level 8: Learn Dragon Language Hand-in-Hand" and "Skyrim Dragon Language Master Guides You to Uncover Treasures" were countless.

Clearly, the Dragon language questline in "The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim" had attracted many players, streamers, and video creators.

One reason was the substantial prize money of $300,000.

But even more importantly, being the first to crack the Dragon language quest would make someone famous.

Of course, many more players were interested but weren't willing to put in such intense effort.

At worst, they could wait for someone to figure it out, then follow their guide and play through the Dragon language side quests.

In fact, Lucas hadn't initially planned this Dragon language event at all.

He only thought of it when he saw players focusing on this aspect and noticed Atari's name.

He wanted to leave some in-game easter eggs for players to discover that wouldn't affect the main storyline.

Whether players could find these easter eggs and experience all their content was entirely up to them.

...

In the private messaging space of the Nebula World, Ben and Zack were idly chatting while waiting for the game to unlock.

"Ben, are you going to try this Dragon language puzzle quest?" Zack asked Ben.

Ben chuckled, "Not interested. My goal is to be a great dragon slayer. As a professional dragon slayer and savior of Skyrim, this kind of intellectual stuff isn't for me."

"Oh, give it a rest! You say you're not interested, just say your IQ isn't high enough to complete it, right? Whether the maximum score was 120 or 150, your English grades were always remarkably stable, never exceeding 30." Zack ruthlessly exposed him.

"Have you ever wondered why I never broke 30, Zack? Because I was always copying your test!" Ben shot back.

"Hmph, what was your score one time you didn't copy me? A 150-point test, minus the essay and reading comprehension, there were still 100 points worth of multiple-choice questions, right? You only guessed 6 correctly, you've been unlucky since childhood!" Zack dug up his past mistakes.

"Don't talk about me! Is bad luck something I can control? You used to always pick D for the listening comprehension questions!" Ben played his trump card.

"Cough... Enough said. Time's up! It's unlocked, it's unlocked! I'm going into the game, I'm not talking to you anymore!" Zack, somewhat embarrassed, glanced at the time, quickly changed the subject, and hurried towards the giant portal not far away.

Watching Zack's hasty retreat, Ben let out a snort and a smile, adding another point to his personal victory tally in his mental notebook, then calmly walked in.

Through the portal scene in the VR Nebula World, after a brief period of darkness, Ben heard the sounds of battle.

Then the picture gradually appeared, and Ben exclaimed in surprise, "It's a war start right away? Which side am I on?"

Seeing soldiers from two different factions clashing fiercely on the open field in the distance, it was clearly the game's prologue.

But before Ben could figure out what was going on, like what the warring factions were, or who he was.

A stray arrow suddenly shot out and landed precisely on his knee.

What's going on!?

How did I suddenly get shot in the knee!?

Ben, utterly bewildered, watched himself, shot, be captured by two soldiers and then pass out.

The next second, the screen went dark again.

"What is this! I'm the Dragonborn!" Ben felt a bit stunned.

They said I was the savior of Skyrim, yet I got taken down by two soldiers?

Doesn't that shame the Dragonborn way too much?

Ben grumbled in his mind, but soon the game's visuals reappeared, drawing his attention back to the game.

An ancient scroll appeared before Ben's eyes.

Under the dim candlelight, the scroll was slowly unfurled.

At the same time, a deep, ancient narration came to his ears.

'The scroll once foretold, amidst the winter, a black wing would appear.'

'When brother fights brother, and the world descends into chaos.'

'Alduin!'

'The calamity of kings, the devourer and destroyer of all.'

'The shadow of darkness and its delusion of devouring all will be set free!'

Ben knew very well that this convoluted prophecy was likely crucial information about the game's world background or main plot.

And this Alduin was definitely the boss he had to fight.

As for more details, he would naturally only get them through the official game experience.

As the scroll closed and the candlelight extinguished, the game screen appeared, starting from the highest point, Throat of the World.

Ben's perspective swept across the entire province of Skyrim.

Simultaneously, the Dragonborn Song began to be chanted.

The familiar melody, and the incomprehensible Dragon language.

The camera panned across Skyrim, finally coming to rest on a carriage starting in the forest.

A vast expanse of white mist, ancient trees covered in silver snowflakes, strangely shaped rocks lining the road, and a troop of armored cavalry.

The world of "The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim" was revealed to Ben for the first time.

At this moment, Ben saw a character named Ralof speak to him, "Hey, you're finally awake. You were about to cross the provincial border, right? But you didn't expect to stumble into an Imperial ambush, just like us, and so did this little thief beside you."

Beside him, a scrawny thief named Lokir, filled with anger, exclaimed, "You damn Stormcloaks! Skyrim was peaceful before you lot. The Emperor's far away, isn't that good? If they hadn't kept hunting rebels, I would have stolen a horse and gone to Hammerfell ages ago!"

In the carriage, Ben's attention was drawn to the conversation between the people next to him.

"Ulfric, the Jarl of Windhelm, the leader of the Stormcloaks."

"This is bad! Am I going to be beheaded right at the start!?"

Looking at Lokir's panicked expression and Ralof's grimly resigned look, Ben lowered his gaze and looked at the ropes binding his hands, feeling a pang of frustration.

Good heavens!

I'm a prisoner right from the start, and one who's about to be executed!

From the conversations of the people in the prison cart, Ben got a rough idea of the protagonist's predicament and the relevant background.

Clearly, the Stormcloaks were like various rebellious armies, rising up due to dissatisfaction with the Empire or other reasons.

And the Empire was the original ruling nation.

So the two factions were clearly enemies, fighting tooth and nail.

And the character he was playing, through the dialogue and the brief introductory cutscene, was probably an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire, just like the thief.

"So, based on typical game progression, Stormcloaks should come and raid the execution site to rescue their leader."

Ben speculated.

As for factions, Ben felt that most likely he would be able to choose.

Join the Stormcloaks, or join the Empire.

It would be like in "The Witcher: Wild Hunt," where he could help the Emperor, or help the Bald Man or Dijkstra.

The prison cart slowly drove towards Helgen Keep.

Players had no control during this phase and could only move the camera to observe their surroundings.

Along the way, Ben watched the scenery, while Ralof in the cart talked to himself.

He also talked about the customs and traditions of the Nords, and their related practices.

Upon arriving at Helgen Keep, soldiers brought the prisoners down from the cart, one by one, calling out their names.

"This is a hit list for beheading and execution!"

Ben clicked his tongue as he watched each person being called out and led forward.

However, he didn't feel any particular anxiety, as he knew it was just a game.

But what surprised Ben were the actions of the other NPCs.

They weren't just standing around as background elements.

The villagers watching from a distance all had corresponding reactions.

Some watched with curiosity.

Others escorted their children back inside their homes.

Of course, there was also the horse thief who was called out by name up close.

'No... I'm not a rebel, you can't do this!'

The thief whose name was called trembled all over, then suddenly broke free from the guards beside him, trying to escape.

'Archers!'

With the archers in the keep firing their arrows, the thief, who hadn't run more than a few steps, died.

"You should have dodged when you ran, why run in a straight line like an idiot? Don't you know about weaving movements?"

Watching the thief riddled with arrows in the distance, Ben couldn't help but chide.

As the execution list continued to be called and soldiers asked questions, the screen transitioned to the character creation phase.

Body, head, face, eyes, eyebrows, mouth, hair – these were the main categories.

Then, within each option, there were various sub-options.

It was extremely detailed.

In addition, each race had different talents and advantages, which completely dazzled Ben.

In the end, Ben chose the Nord race. As for appearance, except for changing the gender to female, everything else was set to default.

With his character creation skills, it was better to use the default, at least he wouldn't end up with the face of an ancient god.

After finishing the face creation, he spoke with a soldier. Despite being an innocent person, the female soldier captain decided to have him executed along with the others.

"Damn it! You'd rather kill an innocent than let them go, is that it? What's with you, you're so annoying?"

"Little brother! No, it should be little sister, don't let me get a chance, or I'll stab you to death!"

Looking at the cold female captain's decision, Ben gritted his teeth.

Hateful, so hateful!

After a bit of story progression, Ben walked onto the scaffold.

But just as he lay down.

Suddenly, a dragon's roar echoed from the sky, and a giant black dragon flew in from the distant horizon, landing on a watchtower.

One dragon roar changed the winds and clouds. The once clear blue sky became enveloped in dark clouds.

Simultaneously, lightning and fireballs rained down from the sky, as if it were the end of the world.

"This dragon is here to save me!?"

Looking at the giant black dragon perched on the watchtower, Ben's eyes widened.

Didn't the Dragonborn have an adversarial relationship with dragons in the promotional videos? Why was this dragon saving him?

Maybe I misunderstood?

Yes, there are bad dragons, so there must be good dragons!

Dragonborn, Dragonborn, this refers to the blood descendant of dragons.

So, this makes sense!

This dragon is one of us! We can work together!

In an instant, Ben had concocted his own version of the truth.

(End of this chapter)