Chapter 179 - 135: Niuniu: Brother, Do You Desire Power? (2)

"Look, there’s a saying, ’A horse doesn’t get fat without a midnight snack, and a man doesn’t get rich without a windfall.’ If you want to become a powerful expert, you’ve got to pay a small ’price’ for it, right?"

"So for our Fire Ignition, we can’t just pick some run-of-the-mill Fire Seed..."

The Newbie Player felt that something was getting stranger and stranger as he listened.

"So, I’ve got a test plan here. Wanna give it a shot?"

Niuniu quickly added.

"You should know, even though this game is in beta, it’s got a big market. Miaozi sold a single bead for a ton of money before."

"If you succeed, you could reach the pinnacle of your life right away! Becoming a top player will be just around the corner!"

Niuniu put an arm around his shoulder, whispering like a devil, tempting him step by step.

"Alright! Brother Niu, just tell me. I can give it a try," the Newbie Player said, gritting his teeth.

’This Niuniu guy seems unreliable, but his understanding as a Prison Player is definitely beyond my own comprehension.’

"Great! I admire your courage!" Niuniu gave him a thumbs-up, then looked left and right before leaning in to whisper a few words in his ear.

As he listened to Niuniu’s words, the Newbie Player’s determined expression gradually turned to one of shock, and then to terror.

"Brother Niu, you’re talking about..."

"That... Ba Ba Fire?!!"

The Newbie Player’s face changed instantly.

Recently, the poop monster at the Bottom of the Well on the peninsula map had been an incredibly hot topic on the forums.

One unlucky player who had been tricked even went to the forums every day at a set time to curse out the developers, a clear sign of his fury over the design of the Bottom of the Well.

Most players, naturally, kept a respectful distance from it. As for the "Ba Ba Fire" dropped by the Fecal Corpse Adhesive, no one even dared to try it.

Part of the reason was that not many players had reached this area, and most of the Prison Players had already completed their Fire Ignition. But the bigger reason was that this Ba Ba Fire was just too damn ridiculous...

In response, some players from the Hunting for the Bizarre Stream even declared contemptuously on the forums that if anyone actually used this Ba Ba Fire, they’d laugh at them for the rest of their lives...

And it was under these circumstances that Niuniu was now telling him to ignite this Ba Ba Fire?

’No wonder he was stammering earlier and wouldn’t say it outright!’

"No!" The previously duped Newbie Player suddenly regained his senses and shook his head firmly. "I’m not doing it. I’d rather die, I’d rather have my account deleted, than ignite this Ba Ba Fire!"

"Brother Niu, you should find someone else. Here’s your finger back. I don’t want it."

"Hey, hey!" Seeing the Newbie Player about to leave, Niuniu got anxious. He quickly grabbed him and pleaded earnestly, "Whoa, don’t be so hasty, brother. For the sake of all the help I’ve given you, just hear me out for a couple more sentences, okay?"

"If you still want to leave after you’ve heard what I have to say, I won’t stop you. Deal?"

Hearing this, the Newbie Player hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing, ready to hear what reason Niuniu could possibly have.

Seeing this, Niuniu didn’t launch into another long-winded speech. Instead, he held up a single finger and said seriously, "One reason: In my theory, this Ba Ba Fire has something no other Fire Seed has—the Ability to kill enemies of a higher Tier."

Hearing this, the Newbie Player paused. "The Ability to kill enemies of a higher Tier?"

"That’s right." Seeing the fish take the bait, Niuniu grinned and put an arm around him again.

"You know Brother Miao, right? Our First Player of the Server? Didn’t he say he was blown up and killed by that poop monster?"

"Think about it! The First Player of the Server! How awesome is he? He was even wielding the Frost Riding Spear, and he still wiped. I don’t need to tell you how badass that monster must be..."

"It’s ugly, sure, but its Ability is strong! I suspect its Skills have synergy with each other..."

"For the sake of Power, what’s a little bit of suffering? Trust me, if you succeed, they’ll all be singing a different tune..."

"Besides, don’t be scared. It’s not like you can’t respec. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll pay for you to respec, alright?"

Niuniu patted his chest, guaranteeing it.

After hearing him out, the Newbie Player was swayed. He asked doubtfully, "Then... Brother Niu, why don’t you try it yourself?"

At this, Niuniu sighed. "It’s not worth it for me to try. Think about it. I’d have to respec first, then do the Fire Ignition. If it fails, I’d have to respec *again* and then do another Fire Ignition."

"But for you guys who haven’t done Fire Ignition yet, at most it’s a one-time thing. And if it succeeds... need I say more? Right?"

Niuniu said with great sincerity.

The Newbie Player thought about it and realized he had a point.

’...This probably isn’t just an excuse from Niuniu.’

After all, among the Prison Players, Niuniu’s "reputation" was well-known far and wide. His main trait was being outrageously audacious.

’He’d even licked the soles of the Lady of Tyranny’s shoes. Would he really be afraid of whether some Ba Ba Fire is disgusting or not?’

’If cost weren’t an issue, this guy probably would’ve gone for it long ago...’

’All in all, this really is a "rare" opportunity.’

Thinking of this, the Newbie Player hesitated again and again, but finally gritted his teeth and nodded. "Alright, Brother Niu! I’ll do it!"

"But if it doesn’t work, don’t worry about paying for my respec. I’ll save up for it myself. You’ve already helped me a lot."

Hearing this, Niuniu was gratified. He patted the player’s shoulder excitedly. "Good brother! You’ve got guts! I knew I wasn’t wrong about you!"

"Come on, I’ll tell you the plan. Brother Niu will guarantee your Fire Ignition is a success, okay?"

...

「As time went on.」

The number of players around Burton Mage also began to gradually decline.

After all, this group of Mages hadn’t exactly been living the high life before Burton Mage arrived. They hadn’t enjoyed many blessings but had certainly eaten their share of bitterness. Many Mage players were even pitifully saving up Wax Oil as Prison Guards in the Exile Island prison. It would be strange if they had a lot of savings.

And thanks to Luo Ge’s "Bodhisattva-like heart," the prices of the Magic sold by Burton Mage also made the players "beam with joy" and shed tears of "gratitude"...

However, Luo Ge thought nothing of it.

They were just a bunch of Xiaojuncai to begin with. He hadn’t "harvested" them before because he was afraid they wouldn’t grow properly. Now was the time to swing the scythe.

Besides, let’s just think about it: why was Luo Ge working so hard to save up Wax Oil?

Wasn’t it all to raise the Spirit Candle’s Tier and open up new maps for these Prison Players, giving them new areas to play in?

In the end, it was all for the sake of these players.

And yet, all his painstaking efforts were met with their misunderstanding. Truly, his kindness was mistaken for malice. It was disheartening. Sigh...

"Burton Mage." Taking advantage of the daytime when most players were offline, Luo Ge found Burton and got straight to the point. "Since you were able to enter this place, is there any way for you to find the Eternal Holy Altar or other important locations?"

Burton Mage was a formidable character; he had used some unknown Magic to tear through space and come directly to him.

...Although there had been a small mishap along the way, his powerful Ability was still beyond question.

After burning the corpse of his old friend, which had once again floated to this place, Burton Mage frowned slightly, pondering Luo Ge’s question.

Then, he spoke. "If I can find an item with a strong connection to the Eternal Holy Altar, I might be able to try."

"A connection?"

Hearing this, Luo Ge paused, then took out [Return to Mars] from his Spirit Candle Space and handed it to him.

"What about this? Can you find it with this?"

He didn’t have anything from the Eternal Holy Altar, but he did have something related to the Firewood Gatherers.

’If I can find the Firewood Gatherers’ location, I might be able to obtain a lot of information.’

Burton didn’t speak. He took Return to Mars directly as Warfire ignited on his body, the Arcane Mystery of Magic flowing around him.

A moment later, he shook his head with a grave expression and returned Return to Mars to Luo Ge.

"An unconscious, High Tier Power is blocking my scrying."

’An unconscious, High Tier Power?’

Luo Ge frowned slightly.

"Mr. Luo Ge," seeing the situation, Burton Mage offered another suggestion, "you might want to pay more attention to Miss Noxia. As a Witch, she may possess this kind of Ability."

’Noxia...’

Luo Ge was lost in thought.