Dragon Slayer Studio.
Lately, everyone was getting a bit bored, probably because the game, since its launch, had been continuously raising the players’ thresholds, and some even joined specifically for the challenge of high difficulty levels. As a result, the Dragon Slayer Studio had almost no bugs or challenges to deal with anymore.
Furthermore, the holographic world had become self-sufficient, with hardly any need for their services.
Recently, in the office, besides those counting money, the rest were just watching and gossiping.
Someone was scrolling through the newly established game forum when they suddenly noticed a post hovering at the top of the forum. As they clicked on it, they unconsciously read aloud.
“Today, I encountered a fool who spent twenty thousand bucks to craft a low-level purple item!!!”
A group of idle individuals heard this and gathered around to click on the post, curious to see just how foolish this person was.
The post had already accumulated numerous comments.
The original poster didn’t beat around the bush; they got straight to the point in the first post, describing how they passed by the blacksmith’s shop today and encountered someone who had crafted a purple item.
Original Poster: [At first, everyone thought this guy must be a perseverance king, considering that even with low-level crafting, there’s a slim chance of crafting a purple item. But the probability is tiny. Most of us thought, “This guy can’t possibly have been practicing crafting like crazy since the server opened.”]
Original Poster: [However, to our surprise, when we asked him, he revealed that he had spent twenty thousand to purchase the “Lucky Fruit” and crafted it with that!]
Many subsequent commenters confirmed they were present at the time, indirectly confirming the OP’s account.
So, the discussion quickly shifted to two main topics: #Where can we find players with too much money to spend?# and #Is the Lucky Fruit really worth it?#
Because the product description for the Lucky Fruit had only one line: “Randomly increases temporary luck.”
With just a glance at the description, it was clear this item was a rip-off. It was random and temporary, meaning it expired after use. Another one-time consumable item!
However, someone suggested that maybe, since players’ levels are still low, they don’t yet understand the value of luck. Perhaps there will be future quests related to luck?
A game designer chuckled when they saw this: “Haha, this player has some insight; they might be right.”
Indeed, the person who designed the Lucky Fruit had already planned where it would be most effective – in certain late-game instances related to luck.
Furthermore, increasing luck would be essential when crafting high-level artifacts.
However, later on, as players explored enough maps, this Lucky Fruit might actually drop in a secret realm.
Considering the fruit’s low drop rate and the difficulty of secret realms, they worried that the excessive difficulty might frustrate players. Harsh criticism was one thing, but sometimes, excessively challenging content could drive players away.
Of course, at that time, the Dragon Slayer Studio had no idea that their server would become –
‘A server known for its extreme difficulty.’
So, the person who designed the Lucky Fruit, unwilling to see their creation cut or nerfed, had a sudden revelation. With a wave of their hand, they added it to the in-game store.
Priced at: Twenty thousand star coins.
Facing everyone’s incredulous gazes and comments like “Are you crazy?”
The Lucky Fruit’s designer confidently replied, “Well, this way, an item worth twenty thousand, with a slightly lower drop rate in secret realms, won’t players enjoy being challenged a bit more when they are being pushed to their limits?”
“After all, their efforts are worth twenty thousand (dog’s head emoji).”
Others couldn’t find any immediate counterarguments and said, “Well… it does seem that way.”
…and that’s the story behind the twenty-thousand-star-coin Lucky Fruit appearing in the store.
Even the designer hadn’t expected it to sell so well. They believed that it would take some time before impatient players, tired of grinding in secret realms, would consider buying it.
At this point, Xiao Fang from the Data Department, who had joined the discussion, looked puzzled. “But I checked the store transaction records earlier, and I even took a look at this outrageous Lucky Fruit. No one has bought it, right?”
Not far away, the only busy person in the office, the “world rules” System designer, suddenly looked up and added, “From a probability perspective, the Lucky Fruit might still have made its way into players’ hands. After all, in this independent world, lucky NPCs might enter secret realms and find the Lucky Fruit. Even the creatures in secret realms have a chance of carrying it out.”
As he spoke, another employee responsible for map displays on his Light Brain exclaimed, “Oh! That’s true! Look at this secret realm. The final boss isn’t there, and there are fresh marks on the Lucky Fruit tree…”
Noticing the gaze of the “World Rules” System expert, the employee blushed and whispered, “It feels a bit eerie. Don’t you all find it strange? Not only this dungeon, but many other bosses in different dungeons also seem to be missing…”
They observed the barely noticeable fresh marks on the Lucky Fruit tree, hidden among the dense leaves and fruits on the towering tree.
Others exchanged glances and thought, “This is more disturbing than the dungeon anomalies. How can someone be so slow in reacting but so observant at the same time?”
However, no one dared to voice their concerns openly under the intimidating gaze of the “World Rules” System expert.
He also didn’t pay too much attention to the employee’s surprise; after all, he often focused on oddities and anomalies.
Before dungeons were launched, the bosses within them behaved just like real creatures or individuals, and this aspect had been rigorously simulated countless times during pre-testing on the computer. No issues had ever arisen.
Although after the official launch, the life trajectories of these future bosses deviated to some extent from their originally designed paths, it was all still within manageable limits.
After all, that’s why the “World Rules” System existed.
Once the dungeons opened, all events programmed into the necessary sequences would occur in some way. If there were discrepancies, the “World Rules” System was there to correct these deviations.
Most importantly, up to this point, all the issues that had arisen in the game were minor variations in difficulty levels for certain quest stages or inconveniences like NPCs withholding items. These issues didn’t have a significant impact and couldn’t even be considered bugs since free growth and adaptation were inherent features of the game.
From the player feedback, these changes were even viewed positively.
It could be said that as long as these issues didn’t affect the gaming experience or lead to the world collapsing, there was no need for the developers to intervene.
Perhaps it was due to the overwhelmingly positive response from players that led everyone to become overly confident, to the point where, apart from one slow-witted junior employee who felt something was amiss by intuition, no one realized the severity of the problem.
However, by the time they did realize it, it was already too late.
–
Blacksmith Shop.
After a moment of staring at each other with widened and narrowed eyes, Jing Nian and Huo Yi withdrew their somewhat guilty glances. Jing Nian thought to himself, ‘Even though I accidentally wore it in front of this guy, I only had it on for a second, and this person’s gaze didn’t move up to my head, right?’
Even if he saw it for an instant, he probably didn’t see it clearly, right?
“I saw it clearly~”
An unexpected response came from the Dragon Soul Space to Jing Nian.
Jing Nian, who was trying to brainwash himself: “…”
He couldn’t understand why the little dragon was so fond of this man. Moreover, from the emotions he accidentally shared with the little dragon, Jing Nian was subtly influenced.
For instance, his lack of defenses towards this man just now, and now, he inexplicably felt that even if this man saw his title and status clearly, he wouldn’t reveal it. As long as he didn’t bring it up, the other party wouldn’t care.
So Jing Nian looked into the man’s eyes again.
Sure enough, those cold eyes showed no surprise, no doubt, and nothing at all, just very plain.
As if the title he had just displayed was something completely normal, like “Apprentice Blacksmith.”
Realizing this, and after confirming it once more, Jing Nian found that his mood had taken a strange turn.
Before, he had hoped the man wouldn’t pay it any mind, but now that he realized the man truly didn’t care, he felt…
At least it’s a golden one! A divine-level title!
Aren’t you surprised at all!?
Jing Nian suppressed his peculiar thoughts, tightened his small cloak, walked over, picked up the knee guard, and handed it to the warrior who had been silently watching nearby.
The warrior looked at the knee guard in Jing Nian’s hand with astonishment and politely refused, “You saved my life, and I owe you one. How can I accept such a valuable gift now?”
He waved his hands in refusal.
After a brief interaction, Jing Nian had a rough understanding of the warrior’s personality. He decided to go along with his words and said, “You said I saved your life, and you’re willing to serve me? Really?”
The warrior didn’t hesitate and replied, “Of course!”
Jing Nian continued, “Alright then, accept this and serve me. This is an order!”
[Congratulations to player Jin Nian for obtaining 100 loyalty from the NPC Warrior of the Small Fishing Village!]
As soon as Jing Nian finished speaking, a message popped up on the system panel.
The warrior, looking devoted and with an air of readiness to sacrifice, took the knee guard with both hands and gazed at Jing Nian with reverence, waiting for his command.
Jing Nian cleared his throat and handed the pearl token from the Little Mermaid to the warrior, saying, “First, put on the knee guard, and then take this pearl.”
The warrior’s eyes sparkled, and he nodded vigorously, saying, “Okay, okay.”
“Then…” Jing Nian’s gaze met the black-clad man’s, and he shuddered internally. Oh no, did this man appear too naturally? Why did he forget his presence again?
Jing Nian’s eyes shifted, and he waved at the warrior, motioning for him to come closer and speak in a low voice.
The warrior obediently bent over, presenting his ear to Jing Nian.
Jing Nian cast a wary glance at the man nearby, then led the warrior a few steps aside and whispered, “Take this pearl to the riverside. When you encounter people you don’t know, ask them if they want to sell pufferfish.”
The warrior, who had been struggling between morality and loyalty, heard Jing Nian’s instructions with a mischievous expression and asked, “Huh?”
Seeing the puzzled look on the warrior’s face, Jing Nian decided not to explain further. He took out two bags of silver coins from his inventory ring and told the warrior, “If someone offers you a pufferfish that makes the pearl glow, be sure to buy it. If it doesn’t make the pearl glow, don’t bother. This is a very important matter…”
Although the warrior became increasingly confused as he listened, he assured Jing Nian that he would complete the task.
After bidding farewell to the warrior, Jing Nian walked toward the next task location. However, as soon as he left the blacksmith’s shop, he hesitated and turned to look at the black-clad man who had been naturally following him, his expression growing more and more peculiar.
Jing Nian couldn’t recall when they had suddenly seemed to be bound together in some way.
Seeing that the little guy had suddenly stopped in his tracks, Huo Yi realized that he couldn’t continue to hide. He finally remembered a function and tried to open the friend system, which he had initially planned to completely sever from the game’s database. He sent a friend request.
[Player [Huo Yi] requests to become your friend.]
[Accept/Reject?]
