Okay so like another au before I'm (probably) done posting for the night
Infinite horror au (sort of like my game au but different) where SY and XF are like system workers and they help reset things after players try to clear the instances.
SINCE THEY'RE A SYSTEM THEY DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT THE PLAYERS, THEY ONLY CARE ABOUT NPCS
anyways so about the instances,,,
SQQ's instance is a murder mystery type of setting in which SQQ tells you that you have to find who/what killed the slave boy named "Shen Jiu" and why. The instance map is a manor and the length of the game lasts for a week. During the instance the days are split in half, during the first 12 hours the players reside in the past of the manor, each of them granted a role as someone within the manor. The last 12 hours of the day the players are transported to the present/future of the manor, where they must navigate burnt ruins and look for clues within it.
The entire instance is a trick though because technically Shen Jiu is still alive, just not as Shen Jiu. Players have tried naming tons of different manor staff, the nobles owning the manor, nobody, and even Shen Qingqiu himself. The correct answer is Shen Jiu himself but they also have to figure out why. Nobody's guessing SQQ's dumbfuck answer of "Shen Jiu killed himself to survive" and that's why he has one of the highest mortality rates of all the instances
Yue Qingyuan's instance is a simple "fetch" quest that takes place in the past for about 3 days, where you must bring something to the npc "Yue QI" to help him save his treasure or simply bring Yue Qi his treasure. The instance is tricky because all of the signs point to either Xuan Su being his treasure, or the tool needed to save his treasure.
His instance is bittersweet. He himself doesn't usually kill the players (The players are often killed by other npcs throughout the instance, namely for acting suspicious around the peak and snooping) and simply expels them from the instance after they inevitably bring him the Xuan Su sword. A few players who've been bright enough to bring different things sometimes get a glimpse of the story. At the end of each instance where a player inevitably submits the sword.
One bright fellow thought he'd pieced together a story after snooping around successfully. He was able to travel down the mountain and discovered the quest item "remains of ???". Obviously after digging into YQ's past (and making assumptions about it) he inputs ??? as the elusive "Shen Jiu" of YQ's past and presents the "remains of Shen Jiu" to YQ.
There was a bit of a mix up, and the player thought that YQ's mutters of "Xiao-Jiu" were ones filled with malicious intent and betrayal (it was just grief and worry tbh) and became the only player to die to YQ's hands.
The correct answer is really hard to find because in order to do so, you must gather enough clues in the first day to go down the mountain and begin the search for Shen Jiu. While you search you'll find a "wayward contract" blowing in the wind (always finds its way into the players hands). The player must take the contract and hide it before another npc approaches and claims the contract as their own, prompting the player to return it. If the player keeps the contract they can claim Shen Jiu as their own should they go down the mountain on the second day. The process of getting SJ to follow the player takes about the rest of the day, and only on the third day can you bring SJ up the mountain and present him to YQ, triggering a "reunite ending" which drops the lore and ends the instance.
Because YQY's instance requirements are so specific and so time sensitive nobody's gotten close to acquiring Shen Jiu, much less passing the instance.
LQG's instance is a "save" quest that lasts about a week--however this is one of the rare instances where you don't need to use all of the allotted time. LQG's quest simply says the words "I can't stand injustice, you must save him in my place." Most players think it's about saving Liu Qingge so they tail him (and are consequently killed for their suspicious actions) and try to figure out who killed him and why. Of course throughout this there's a specific narrative painted, that being that Shen Qingqiu killed him/is planning on killing him. Most players gather 'proof' and accuse Shen Qingqiu before anything happens, which ends the instance on the 6th day.
When accusing Shen Qingqiu the players get a notification that says something like "Your baseless accusations will be your downfall" and the quest changes from 'saving' to 'survival'. It's basically just LQG killing off those that accused SQQ. If you didn't accuse SQQ when the other players did then the quest just reads "You have failed, I am disappointed." but nothing more happens to you.
The actual quest is about saving Shen Qingqiu, as LQG talks in first person when giving quests. (note the "I am disappointed" and "you must save him in my place" hehe) After dying in the caves and seeing how Shen Qingqiu had tried and failed to save him, Liu Qingge's quest is about saving Shen Qingqiu and making sure he doesn't take the fall for Liu Qingge's death. The true ending is to enter the caves after SQQ (preferably undetected) and witness the event. Liu Qingge will still die, however afterward watching what happens the player has the option of coming to SQQ's defense when he's inevitably accused and 'saving' him.
The happy ending is hinted at throughout the instance as MQF constantly mentions qi deviations and ways of preventing them. In order to get it you have to have the countermeasure items for a qi deviation ready before you follow SQQ into the caves, it's there that you can join forces with SQQ to save LQG who still gets injured--but avoids death and fights for the honor of both the player and SQQ.
IT'S 3 AM AND I DON'T WANNA WRITE ANYMORE RIGHT NOW BUT I WILL CONTINUE LATER EEEK
IF Y'ALL HAVE ANY INSTANCE IDEAS OR TWEAKS ABOUT THE CURRENT INSTANCES OUM PLEASE SHARE I LOVE YAPPING TO PEOPLE ABOUT MY AUS
