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.