The NPCs in other virtual reality games just stand there like wooden posts, only able to offer fixed dialogue options or give some simple AI responses—most of the time, they're basically artificial idiots.

But what about the NPCs in this game?

William Carter looked up for a moment and was immediately dragged out and executed.

Not only that, every subtle expression and movement of William Carter would be scrutinized by the NPCs as if under a magnifying glass, and even the slightest anomaly would instantly arouse their suspicion.

These NPCs could pass the Turing test with flying colors, right?

As expected, this game company must have a powerful background—not only do they have this 100% realistic virtual reality technology, but also such mind-blowing artificial intelligence.

Unbeatable!

Thinking about it this way, acting skills are indeed crucial in this game.

Because every action a player takes must completely fit the role they're playing—there can't be any "breaking character" at all.

When filming a movie, if an actor's performance is bad, at most it just pulls the audience out of the story, earns a few curses, and maybe affects the box office a bit.

But in this game, all the NPCs are the audience. If the player's acting isn't good and causes the NPCs to break immersion, then it's a dead end!

If your acting isn't up to par, you can't even get close to the emperor, let alone talk about assassinating him and clearing the level.

"This is just ridiculous. I admit it now—this game really is 100% realistic, not the slightest bit watered down.

"Ordinary players really can't handle it.

"Do I really have to go apprentice myself to an acting teacher just to play a game?

"Forget it, I'll try a few more times. If it doesn't work, I'll just quit for now and study the other three beginner dungeons.

"Maybe professions like soldier or ranger don't require such high-level acting skills. The assassin class really is a bit too demanding."

William Carter calmed himself down and started the game again.

Actually, if this were a regular, ordinary virtual reality game, this level of difficulty would definitely scare off the vast majority of players.

But the technology in this game is just too advanced!

Whether it's the 100% realism or the super-intelligent NPCs, it's one of a kind right now. Compared to it, those other virtual reality games on the market with about 50% realism are just child's play and have no appeal at all.

So, after adjusting his mindset, William Carter was instead fired up by the challenge and dove back in to try and clear the level.

……

At this moment, Henry Clark was discussing with Little Emily, watching the players' performances from a god's-eye view.

The players only knew that the chance of getting a spot in this closed beta was extremely low, but they had no concrete idea just how low.

But Henry Clark was perfectly clear on the numbers.

As of now, the number of people worldwide who had signed up for the ""Dark Sands"" closed beta had already surpassed 100 million, but only a mere ten thousand could actually get in.

Truly one in ten thousand!

The sign-up numbers breaking 100 million was within Henry Clark's expectations. After all, the game's exposure was sky-high, with top news and social media sites giving it super recommendations. Plus, pre-registration was free and had no barriers, so many players signed up with a "might as well give it a shot" attitude.

As for why there were only ten thousand closed beta spots, there was a reason for that.

""Dark Sands"" isn't just a game—it doesn't have server capacity limits, but it's built using the power of the Orderbringer.

All those UI elements and game-like designs inside are just packaging to make players more convinced they're playing a game.

The only ones Henry Clark could truly bring into the historical slice to complete the mission with him were a select few, because the more people there were, the more his power would be diluted.

So, choosing two or three players with strengths in various areas to enter the historical slice is the best option.

And the reason for holding a closed beta now is mainly to use this method to select the most talented players.

Although creating a trial illusion for each player doesn't consume too much power, even so, ten thousand is already close to the limit. To increase the number further, he'd have to find a way to draw power from the historical slice and further enhance the Orderbringer's abilities.

As for the selection and lottery rules, they're mainly based on the players' previous performance in other virtual reality games and their real-life professions.

Players who have earned a lot of platinum trophies in action or puzzle VR games—true hardcore gamers—have a better chance of getting in.

In addition, people whose real-life professions are actors, history enthusiasts, athletes, martial artists, and so on, also have a higher chance of getting a closed beta spot.

Actually, people in professions like police, military, or firefighting would also be very suitable, but their jobs are too important. Henry Clark definitely doesn't want this game to interfere with their daily work—otherwise, before the monsters from the historical slice invade, the real world would already be in chaos.

The entire selection process is, of course, completed using the Orderbringer's power. Although there might be some deviation, it's generally reliable.

The goal of this standard is to select the people most suited to enter the historical slice and help Henry Clark fulfill the Orderbringer's mission.

It's just that, judging from the players' performance in the trial illusions... it's a little bit different from what Henry Clark expected.

So far, William Carter has performed the best—after all, he even managed to kill two Red Armored Guards.