MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

The announcement came as if lightning, shocking the players as much as a toaster bomb bath! 

[Player Lightbringer Has Completed Quest "A NEW ERA"!] 

[His Achievements Will Be Celebrated For Ages!] 

[Unlocking New Functionalities!] 

This instantly raised many murmurs: 

"What the hell is this?! New stuff?!" 

"Wait, does that mean Infinite is getting an update?!"

"Who knows. Anyway, I freaking hate that fucker!!" 

"So does the rest of D.L.! He did trash talk our leader…."

"Thrash talk or not, he's bound to have some serious skills."

But then the system chimed again, and with every new addition, they grew more excited. 

[LOCKED = Conditions Are Only Partially Met!] 

[Recording Near Safe Zones Now Available!] 

[Infinite Streaming LOCKED!] 

[Infinite Forums LOCKED!]

[Trading LOCKED!] 

[Guilds LOCKED!] 

[Arena LOCKED!] 

"That's so much stuff!" 

"Yes, but why is it all locked?!" 

"Damn, this system is such a tease!" 

"Guys! At least we can record outside of the Dungeons now!" 

So many excitedly bugged the system to start recording their surroundings. The girls were already taking selfies while the boys were playing the overenthusiastic cameraman. 

"First recording In New Leaf, woo! Isn't my avatar pretty?"

"Everyone, look at this rock. Isn't it so freaking smooth and big?!" 

"What's the point of aiming at rocks. There are so many cute bubble butts around!"

"Amateurs! Amateurs, all of you! You gotta record the feet, otherwise what's the point!" 

"You bunch of horny bastards! The holy chickens and weeds are still here. Better record them before they despawn!" 

Jack sighed slightly. They sure were having fun!

How would they react if they knew that the recording function had been there since the beginning? How surprised would they be? 

In any case, this meant that he could now use the footage he did have. He grinned, picturing the netizens' reaction as he thought of his next step. 

He had to leave the tutorial ASAP! Now that the Village Chief was part of his crew, it was only a formality. This also meant that he'd have to settle everything before going.

Jack was like the headmaster of an orphanage about to go overseas. He had to make sure that the children had food, water and that they kept the sweatshop running in his absence! 

He turned to the Village Chief and CPR dude by the side: 

"I'm logging off for a little while. I'm counting on you two to take care of D.L. We'll do most of the changes when I come back. Anyway, later." He waved before adding: 

"Oh yeah, Bubblegum, thanks for being so quick! You saved me!" He gently smiled as he disappeared in a purple flash. 

The few people left behind shared glances. 

"Every time he's here, the village trembles." 

"And yet he always leaves so damn casually!" 

"Yep, always in a flash of purple too! That's so awesome!" 

CPR dude was about to say something about Jack being an NPC, but Bubblegum stopped him. She didn't want to hear his wacky theories AGAIN! 

They patiently went to do their own business, but then this happened: 

[Ding! Official Infinite Promotional Videos releasing!] 

[Made By The Incredible and Beloved Infinite System!] 

[Releasing One Per Village: Welcome to X Village!] 

[Would you like to watch it now?!] 

"Oh? This seems entertaining. Play it!" 

"Free Infinite movie? Hell yeah! Now I just need popcorn!" 

"System-chan made it? Who knew she was that talented!" 

Many couldn't help but glance at that last guy. 

System-chan? Dafuq?! Many sneered in ridicule, but many cultured men gave the guy a big thumb up, whispering: "Follow your dreams, brother! System Waifu FTW!"

But as they began watching the video, their faces inevitably turned incredibly strange. They were playing and replaying it over and over, confirming and reconfirming. 

At this moment, many felt like their whole Infinite life had been a lie! An eloquent man expressed how they all felt in the most poetic terms: 

"Holy shit!!! What the actual fuck?!" 

They couldn't help but glance at the spot the Demon King had been a minute ago, still shaken by what they had seen…. 

━━━━━━ POV ━━━━━━━

As Bubblegum saw him disappear in a purple flash, she chuckled to herself. Geez! How was he able to even make a simple logout look cool?! 

A sense of loss accompanied his disappearance. Now that he was gone, she knew that New Leaf would be boring. After all, he had caused most of the catastrophes in the village. 

It was such a shame that he had to leave this place so soon. 

They didn't play together much nowadays, but she still enjoyed watching him summon calamities left and right. Hell, that Devil event had been so entertaining! They were the only village to have experienced it too. 

Anyway, now that Jack was gone, she'd take a break too. CPR dude sure didn't miss her departure. 

"Have a great day, Holy Pink One!" He playfully waved her goodbye. 

Once upon a time, he had called himself her fan. What a freaking lie! Since she was part of the family, friendly teasing had become the norm. 

Screw the goddamn cultists for giving her weird nicknames! What kind of title was Holy Pink One?!

As she disappeared, the man gave her a knowing wink. She sure left Infinite quickly whenever Jack was gone! 

As she removed her VR helmet, she couldn't help but flail around on her large fluffy bed for a few seconds. 

What did he know?! She just liked to have him around because of the events, that was all! 

She didn't care for his handsome looks, nor did she care for his nonchalant confidence, and especially not for his incredible skills! 

Goddammit! Just thinking about the term "incredible skills" had her reminisce about a particular bush. 

Fuck! This would have been so much simpler if he had left the following day as planned. Now that he was still there, he was freaking getting in her head! 

Then again, CPR dumbass was clearly to blame for that one. He kept egging her toward him simply because he loved shipping people together! 

It was so strange coming from a guy that thought his master to be an NPC! But he'd just shrug, saying that true love knew no bound. 

In any case, she wasn't sure how she felt about Jack. She found herself flailing around some more. She buried her face in the pink pillows as she searched for her feelings. 

She wanted him to stay. 

She wanted to play with him some more. 

She definitely wanted to try that bush thing again. 

But wasn't calling it "love" a bit of a stretch? Sure she often thought about him, but they were in the same faction. 

She'd always find herself thinking: "What would the freaking Demon King do in my place?" before every game decision. 

She couldn't help but scratch her head. She lacked too much data! Dammit, this was why games were simpler. It was all numbers! 

But then she took a profound inspiration. As she opened her clear green eyes, she was done sorting her feelings. 

She was curious about him. She wanted to know more about him and even meet IRL. He had already told her that he didn't have time, but it would be fine. 

She just had to get in touch with him. There was bound to be a server maintenance at some point! They'd be able to meet then. 

She now felt at peace and in a good mood. She reached for her favorite toy, a pink rabbit she had since little, hugging it gently. 

A second later, she reached for her second favorite toy, one that quickly filled the room with a comforting buzzing sound. 

But suddenly, she received a flurry of notifications. 

— Ding! — 

— Ding! — 

— Ding! — 

What the hell was this?! She fished for her phone, the latest one from Orange, as she checked her messages. 

It was an old friend, back from her pro-gaming days. She was her BFF, one of the few that still had her contact. After all, she had epically burned most bridges when she had left. 

- Bubblegum: I'm here now. What's up? Do you need a lift again or something? 

- 🍮 Evil Pudding Thief 🍮: Heyyyy! Remember that guy you told me about?! The one that is a walking calamity, the one called the Demon King, you know THE one!!! 

- Bubblegum:  You like gossip way too much! -_-

- 🍮 Evil Pudding Thief 🍮: That's not it! Check the official Infinite website and look for New Leaf Village! He's there. It's just that…. you'll see. Don't worry. I'm here for you! 

What was up with her? How suspicious! 

Bubblegum soon found what she had been looking for: 

< Welcome to New Leaf Village!>

It was a montage that showed many of the daily scenes in the village and introduced the main NPCs at the end. Was Jack about to make a cameo or something? 

He was there. He sure fucking was!

She laid on her fluffy bed, adopting the legendary salted fish position. 

Why did things have to turn this way? How fucking realistic was Infinite for her to have been utterly fooled? 

She didn't know whether to feel like a complete idiot or be freaking impressed!

As she pondered the question, her heavy sighs resounded in the vast room. 

She quickly replied to her friend, giving a self-deprecating smile as she typed. 

She suddenly felt an incredible sense of loss, but she'd be fine for sure. After all, she wasn't a wallflower that hadn't seen the world. Still, she did feel like beating up CPR dude a bit. 

She wouldn't be asking Jack to meet up IRL anymore. 

He sure looked as handsome, as casually confident, and as skilled as ever in that video. There was only one slight issue. 

<New Leaf Hidden NPC: The Demon King!>

Whatever, fuck this! The gentle buzzing resumed… 

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[A/N] Hype! Feb Mass Release Time! 🔥

Day 9: Stealing puddings is evil! (1.5/4) 🍮