After hearing what he said, Storyteller and Ah Zheng exchanged a dumbfounded glance.
Luo Ge, too, fell silent.
’So... this kid was deliberately playing the part of a hater on the forum just to get attention and secure a slot in the game.’
’...What a grand scheme.’
Luo Ge was a little speechless. He had truly performed a random summon; he never expected to bring this guy over.
But since it had already come to this, as long as the guy didn’t pull any stunts, Luo Ge couldn’t be bothered to deal with him.
As long as he was just another player to be reaped, who cared if he was a troll?
Luo Ge glanced at the three players’ Talents.
Supremacy and Ah Zheng’s Talents weren’t anything special. One added Power and one added Agility—both were very common Talents.
Storyteller’s Talent, [Heart of Reverence], was worth mentioning. It gave +1 Faith and reduced the cost of using Faith-related Skills.
It was the first time Luo Ge had ever seen a Faith-related Talent.
After making a mental note of it, Luo Ge turned his gaze to the three players before him and initiated the routine cutscene.
"Firelight, you who have come from afar..."
...
After the cutscene ended, the two players, Ah Zheng and Supremacy, excitedly ran out of the cave.
Some of the players outside recognized Supremacy as the forum troll, and a few of them started to tease him.
"Well, if it isn’t the forum’s resident hater? This game sucks. It’s trash. You should quit!"
Supremacy was unfazed. Instead, he declared smugly, "I hereby announce that Spirit Candle is the most realistic and fun game I have ever played!"
"If anyone dares say it sucks, they’ll have to answer to me!"
Awkward? Not a chance!
Supremacy was a flexible man. As long as he got to play the game, what did a bad reputation matter?
Hearing this, the other players couldn’t hold back their laughter. "Dude, you switched up so fast. If the people on the forum find out, aren’t they gonna put you on blast?"
Supremacy was dismissive. "Put me on blast?"
"Let them. I’m in the game now, and they’re not. All they can do is be jealous of me, heheh."
"HAHAHAHA!"
With that, he lifted his Wooden Staff and ran excitedly toward the beach, cheering and leaping for joy like Sun Wukong bursting forth from his stone egg.
Everyone who witnessed this felt their lips twitch.
’This hater is way too shameless...’
...
Luo Ge, unaware of the commotion outside, was dealing with a headache of his own.
It seemed that among the three new players, there was a problem child.
"Greetings, esteemed Candlekeeper. Do you know the origin of the Spirit Candle?"
"Why do you guard the Spirit Candle?"
"Why have we come to this world? Are there continents or other islands here?"
"..."
Storyteller was very polite, but he pelted Luo Ge with one question after another.
’Great questions! I’d love to know the answers myself!’
It was giving Luo Ge a massive headache.
But amidst his headache, an idea began to form... ’This player seems to have a strong thirst for discovery, doesn’t he?’
After a moment’s thought, he had an idea.
Luo Ge watched him with a calm expression and said, "...The many truths of this world lie buried in darkness and chaos."
"If you yearn for the truth, then go and seek it."
"Go and find the story of Fire Ignition·Lakemod. If you succeed, I will grant you a valuable clue."
With that, Luo Ge vanished into the Spirit Candle.
He didn’t officially issue a quest to Storyteller. After all, it was a simple matter, and he didn’t know if the player was genuinely passionate about uncovering secrets or if this was just a passing whim.
So he just gave him a verbal task to keep him occupied for now.
Seeing the Candlekeeper leave without any quest notification popping up, Storyteller frowned in thought.
’Is this a prerequisite quest?’
’Fire Ignition·Lakemod... I’ll start by asking the others.’
Lost in thought, he walked out of the Reef Cave.
Once he was gone, Luo Ge finally had the energy to focus on his own matters.
Inside the Spirit Candle’s inner space, Luo Ge weighed the unknown Bloodline Fruit in his hand before closing his eyes and crushing it.
The fruit didn’t burst as he’d expected. Instead, it dissolved into faint red wisps of mysterious energy that dispersed throughout the space.
It had undoubtedly merged with the Spirit Candle.
’It seems to have brought some changes... Will it affect my Candle Spirit Body?’
’Upgrading the Spirit Candle’s tier might make these changes manifest...’
Luo Ge thought to himself, feeling the feedback from the Spirit Candle.
Exhaling, Luo Ge stood up and looked at the pink Little Sea Snail resting quietly in a small bowl of seawater to one side.
He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but had the pink Little Sea Snail gotten a little bigger?
...
「The days passed.」
A constant stream of activity kept the Spirit Candle Forum buzzing.
All-Conquering Self, the former hater, was indeed put on blast on the forum. But just as he’d predicted, the players who couldn’t get in could only watch with envy and jealousy.
"Damn it, how did that troll get access? Are the devs idiots?"
Some smartasses, seeing an opportunity, began to imitate him, flaming in the replies of various threads: "DUMBASS GAME, GOD-AWFUL MANAGEMENT, F*CKING DESIGNER, SHADY DEVS, EVEN A DOG WOULDN’T PLAY THIS PIECE OF CRAP..."
And whenever such a post appeared, Supremacy was usually the first to arrive on the scene.
"Hah. You trying to get access to the game too, kid?"
"Don’t bother with such a cheap, old trick. Instead of wasting your energy typing all that, you could just call me Big Bro. Getting a referral slot would be a piece of cake then, wouldn’t it?"
It seemed that getting into the game had allowed him to unleash his true nature.
His replies, often delivered with an extremely disdainful attitude and filled with cringey, chuuni-like phrases, managed to be both embarrassing and amusing at the same time.
This had some players roaring with laughter, and they even gave him the nickname "Brother Aotian"...
While the new players were still getting used to combat, the veteran players were already finishing up their exploration of the new dungeon, the Near-Sea Cave.
At the constant urging and pleading of other players, top-tier players like Li Miao and Faraway even published guides for the Near-Sea Cave.
[Near-Sea Cave: Monster Guide]
[Overall, the Near-Sea Cave is a relatively small dungeon with few monster types. They are mainly Living Bones and Sea Anemones, plus the boss in the final chamber...]
The guide analyzed the monsters’ traits and attack patterns, and even meticulously detailed their drops and the amount of Wax Oil they yielded. They had even managed to compile a full list of drops for the boss, Fire Ignition·Lakemod.
Keep in mind, its Resurrection time is much longer than that of a normal monster, and it’s incredibly powerful. Compiling a complete list of its drops would have undoubtedly taken a massive amount of time.
And its drops were truly drool-worthy.
Battle Bliss: "Knight Charge! Sounds like an awesome Skill, but why hasn’t it dropped for me after so many kills! (furious)"
Before the Wooden Staff was introduced, many players played melee classes, and even more subscribed to the logic of "an inch longer, an inch stronger," choosing the Long Spear.
Needless to say, the Skill was a perfect fit for the Long Spear.
As a result, the area around the Near-Sea Cave was now completely swamped with players...
My hamster’s name is Guagua: "The experts are amazing! I’m still stuck on the boss. The cave is so dark and scary, I’ve died a bunch of times already (sobbing)"
Storyteller: "Thanks for the item info, expert! It helped a ton!"
Crafty Frog: "@Storyteller The heavens are unfair! UNFAIR! Why did you get in and not me!"
All-Conquering Self: "Fortune favors the persistent. As the saying goes, three thousand Yue soldiers can conquer Wu. Seeing your Devotion, I shall point you toward a brighter path. If you strive to earn this one’s approval, a precious game slot will be within your grasp!"
Iced Lemon Tea: "You talk as if you can get one... Anyway, buying a referral slot for a high price. PM me with offers!"
"..."
Besides the popular posts by the two experts, Li Miao and Faraway, another thread also gained a lot of likes and replies from players.
Time to Eat Mushrooms: [No Blood Bottles? Here’s a Solution!]
[As we all know, Spirit Candle currently lacks the standard health and mana potions found in other games. This means that after getting injured, we have to run all the way back to recover. It also means we only get one shot when fighting powerful monsters, leaving very little room for error.]
[But I’m here to tell you that there is a substitute for health and mana potions... and that’s fishing!]
[...]
What Mushroom was referring to were the fish you could process after catching them.
When processed at the Spirit Candle, your catch turns into edible consumables with a variety of effects, including, of course, restoring Physical Strength and Spirit.
Moreover, the rarer the processed fish, the more potent the effect.
Before the Near-Sea Cave appeared, players hadn’t felt a strong need for healing items, so they hadn’t paid much attention to their fishing hauls.
But now, that demand was clear.
The effects of the fish-based consumables weren’t exactly ideal... but something was better than nothing!
Mushroom had also thoughtfully compiled and listed the effects of various processed fish.
As a result, Mushroom’s post quickly garnered a large number of likes and replies from the player base.
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