Black Myth NPC Throws Shade at Players for Using a Certain Spell

Players of Black Myth: Wukong have noticed that they're getting derided by one of the game's characters for using a certain spell. The Black Myth: Wukong NPC, the Headless Monk, is encountered in the in-game Yellow Wind Ridge area.

Black Myth: Wukong has made waves by briefly becoming one of the best-selling games in the world shortly after its debut on August 20, 2024. Thanks to its sheer popularity, Black Myth: Wukong broke records on Steam and drew attention to the size of the underserved Chinese-language audience. Players all over the world are also paying closer attention to Chinese game development, as they explore the game and discover more of its secrets and encounters.

All Side Quests in Black Myth: Wukong

Black Myth: Wukong features a plethora of side quests that are extremely easy to miss, and players can find all of them here.

One such encounter appears to even belittle the player for using the powerful A Pluck of Many spell. In a post on the Black Myth: Wukong Reddit community, player k0ks3nw4i highlighted an exchange they had with the Headless Monk describing the spell as a "wee trick," indirectly insulting a player that might enjoy the spell. The spell itself uses strands of The Destined One's hair to summon clones to gang up on a target, potentially inflicting massive damage on an enemy or boss.

Black Myth: Wukong Player Insulted By NPC for Using A Pluck of Many Spell

The post showed the Headless Monk in Black Myth: Wukong Chapter Two speaking about A Pluck of Many in his characteristic poetic verse. He said it is "deemed as mighty," but later claimed that "shortcuttin," presumably by using it, "makes nothing great." The comment lead k0ks3nw4i to wonder why the Monk would say such things, given that he's the one that gives the player the spell in the first place.

Other players responded, saying that the issue could be related to the English-language text drifting from the meaning of the original Chinese lyrics, which are more nuanced. According to one commenter, the Monk's lines in Chinese are framed differently, considering A Pluck of Many to be popular, but unorthodox, and even "overrated" compared to its more niche usage. The English-language framing, in attempting to retain the poetic style of the Monk's speech, reframed the lyrics as a judgment of those who use A Pluck of Many rather than an observation of its reputation.

The discussion over what would otherwise be an innocuous line in Black Myth: Wukong highlights the challenges its localization team likely faced. Wukong uses a stylized language that even modern native Chinese speakers can find difficult to parse. Not to mention that at launch, the game's localization was hardly spotless, with Black Myth: Wukong reviews highlighting bugs and rough edges related to the game's language display.