MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

In the newly established training camp, the tension was high. Players were clenching their fists as they glared at the incoming feathery monster wave.

Many couldn't help but give wry smiles. How the hell was the first Infinite large-scale conflict against chickens?!

On paper, it felt so silly, but the reality was different. The creatures' eyes glowed a menacing red, and many had their beaks stained with blood and remnants of the players' flesh. Those were goddamn chickens from Hell!!!

Just as some were feeling uncertain, a valiant voice resounded:

"Chickens?! HAHAHAHA! They chose the goddamn wrong opponents! Let's show them what wolves do with chickens!!!"

All eyes turned toward that one guy that knew CPR. He and his family were protecting the only entrance to the training camp, not cowering in the least. Then they noticed the mysterious expert who was relaxedly whistling nearby.

Jack and the CPR guy shared a glance. Their conflict could wait until after the event. Right now, the priority was to defend. Without the training camp, they would all be behind the other villages' progress.

The enemy leader, that one huge chicken, clucked loudly. It was the signal for the madness to begin…

— Cluck! Cluck! Cluck! —

This wave of chickens seemed utterly unstoppable. Many gulped, looking at the heroes at the front in order to calm themselves.

But suddenly, that one unsung hero answered the enemies' war cries with his own: "Fried chicken! Fried Chicken! Fried Chicken!"

Not a soul realized who exactly had shouted this, for others instantly joined in on the chants. Until the clucking cacophony was drowned by the fried chickens chant. This gave them courage.

What was death in front of the promise of a better life? Not Heaven: motherfucking fried chicken!

— Cluck! Cluck! Cluck! —

— Fried Chicken! Fried Chicken!—

Then they all collided. The momentum was unbelievable. Hundreds of chickens were all squeezed together at the entrance, now a funnel of death.

Blood splashed, flesh got devoured, feathers exploded all over the place, and cries of pains mixed with clucks of pain.

Many chickens tried using their special charge attack only to collide with their own brethren. They were impossibly strong but they lacked coordination so much!

The humans felt the touch of death, a cold and feathery one. Many actually died and came back rushing straight from respawn. The way things were going was slightly advantageous to them!

That is when the chicken leader seemed to realize that his troops were killing each other more than they were killing the enemies. This wouldn't do!

— CLUCK! CLUCK! —

The boss powerfully cried out. With its shout, the wave of chickens rescinded as they all fell backward.

"We should have a few minutes now, but the next wave will be even stronger. Still, this is great news. We survived the first wave. Do you all know what this means?" Jack chimed in.

"It freaking means that they can't defeat us! So what if they send more chickens?! We're basically immortals in the Newbie Village HAHAHA!" Bubblegum picked up on his cue. It wasn't time to let the morale go down.

"Everyone! If you have any friends that are logged off right now, tell them to log back in! We'll need more people!" The CPR dude shouted at the masses, who all nodded in agreement.

During the short break, many quickly accessed their phones and messaged everyone they knew. It looked like this:

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- InfiniteChickenSlayer: @Everyone, Send Dudes!!!!

- Rocks&Rolling: What's with that new username? Also, you meant send nudes, right?

- SoBakedRightNow: Dude probably misplaced his phone, and someone is trolling him.

- InfiniteChickenSlayer: Fuck no! Send Dudes! We need more manpower to fight those damn bloodthirsty chickens! Anyone who spawned at New Leaf Village log the fuck in, right the fuck now! Gotta go back, hurry up!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

- SweetDandelion: @Everyone, Anyone in New Leaf Village, log in and come help with the fight! For freedom, for revenge, for XP, and for fried chicken!!!

- NakedTurtle: @SweetDandelion, What's this about? Fried chicken?

- StandingDeskForSale: It seems like she's already back in the game... I guess I'll log in and check.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

- CanYouFeelTheHype!!: @Everyone, 🔥 Infinite! 🔥New Leaf Village!! 🔥 Battle of the Century!!!🔥 Get your asses here!!!! 🔥 Kill dem chickens!!!!!🔥

- ICanFeelTheHype!!: @Everyone, 🔥Hype train!!!!!!🔥

- BallsTinglingWithHype!!: @Everyone, 🔥Hype train!!!!!!!🔥

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

That is how even more players began logging in at an alarming rate. All the ones that had logged off after struggling to farm the chickens were coming back on!

They couldn't help but marvel at the current situation. They had thought the first day would be very dull, with players slowly grinding chickens to level up.

What the heck was this?! What kind of game launched a battle event on day 1?! How many players would miss it and complain afterward?! This didn't make any sense at all.

Then, as they made their way toward the player encampment, they couldn't help but feel at a loss. What the fuck was this?! There were hundreds of players just chanting Fried Chicken over and over?! But why?!

Many slowly drifted toward the players' ranks. They looked as confused as they did their first day of school ever. Others were reminded of their first day as an intern at work. They didn't know what the fuck was happening!

Some were welcomed by their friends.

"Oh! You're here, awesome! We gotta defend this place: our battle motto is fried chicken! Time to show those damn chickens that we ain't no chicken!"

"Bro, I don't have a weapon, and I literally just spawned. There is no way that I can help…."

"Hahaha! Look around. We're all level 0 and naked! Well, maybe some are level 1, I'm not sure. Either way, welcome to the resistance! Hahaha!"

The confused newcomers could only join the others, slowly being overcome by what looked like mass hysteria. But, so what if they were all insane? This was a goddamn game!

Then one man at the front screamed loudly: "Guys! Guys! The second wave is coming! Let's pluck them all!!!"

"Hell yeah!"

"Well said, CPR dude!"

"CPR? What's this about?"

"It's a long story! Just be ready to fight!"

— Cluck! Cluck! Cluck! —

— Fried Chicken! Fried Chicken!—

The second wave was even more violent than the first one. The chickens had been briefed by their leader, and they were ready to cause mayhem!

The newcomers couldn't help but tremble in fright as they saw the massive army coming their way. Were those things chickens? Why did they look like they came straight from a nightmare?!

But then they saw the other braves near them and heard their spirited shouts. Instantly their pride saved them from the fear. Would they be the only ones cowering while the others fought valiantly? Hell no!

This time, the chickens didn't use their special attacks. This actually made things difficult as this stopped the friendly fire in the chicken army. Yet, the humans remained steady and didn't give an inch.

As soon as one died, the gap was instantly closed by other enthusiastic players. They were rushing from respawn to their death without any issue. As they ran back, many couldn't help but glance with admiration toward the front.

Many recognized the now well-renowned Mighty Wolves and their leader Dom. He was standing at the very front of his men and fought relentlessly. Whenever he died, he would rush back without missing a beat.

Many watched this and seriously considered joining his family. He appeared a little tyrannic, but such an ally was always great to have!

But there was someone else that attracted their gaze even more. Right next to the right wall, a man was standing and fighting. No, he didn't seem to be fighting: he was playing!

He was using chickens to deal with other chickens. He would slap them away right into the others' attack trajectory. Everywhere else, players were trading their very lives to defend the line: not him!

Just seeing him, many knew that he was the one that would die the least in this fight! But many didn't seem to realize how true this was. At this moment, he was probably the only player in New Leaf Village who had never died!

Every time the players looked at these seemingly unbeatable allies, they felt their blood boil and their courage surge. Feeling oneself die in a VR game was usually an awful feeling (even with the pain at the lowest setting), yet they did not care one bit.

That is how they all managed to repel the second wave!

— CLUCK! CLUCK! —

As soon as the enemy troops fell back, the players cheered like crazy.

— Fried Chicken! Fried Chicken!—

When was the last time that they had felt so happy? They hadn't even earned anything concrete yet. They were still level 0 and in rags! Then again, perhaps this was what made this event so enjoyable.

As they had nothing to lose, they could give their all without any fear of a loss. Any other time, such a ridiculous event would have provoked outrage. But at this moment, they didn't give a fuck about dying over and over!

This would always remain a story they could forever tell their friends. Oh, you've defeated X dragon? You've fought Y deity? You've conquered Z world? Sure, that's great and all…but did you participate in the OG chicken war?! No? Sucks to be you, haha!

Even the ones that were goal-oriented couldn't be angry. They were unlocking the training ground. They were eager to complete the mission so they could potentially get a Class!

The ones that didn't love fighting participated too. They were cheering the loudest! The feeling of unity as they all fought for the greater good was addictive!

Then there were the trolls. In the midsts of the army were now plenty of self-proclaimed members of the Hype Squad who couldn't be happier about shouting Fried Chicken like madmen.

The ambiance was just phenomenal!

Amidst them all, there was one pink-haired girl that couldn't help but stare at the man next to her. She couldn't take her eyes off this mysterious Jack.

He was brightly smiling, and yet it was such a nostalgic smile, one filled with longing. It was as if he had just found something very precious that he had lost ages ago. That's when he turned her way.

"It's about to begin once more. This will be the last wave," He murmured, nodding at her.

"Yes, Teacher!" She excitedly replied with expectation.

She was so eager to see what he had planned next….

Creator's Thought

I was like a fish out of water. All this time I had been struggling to survive. I had to claw my way up both in-game and IRL. There I was, facing the chicken army and it felt so natural. I could just live and be happy...