Chapter 198 - 145: Players: Eyes Open, Time to Grind (2)

Besides, he also planned on enhancing his Spirit Candle Abilities.

After upgrading his Talent, Li Miao turned his attention to the [Enhanced Ability] function.

Compared to the previous function, the Enhanced Ability feature was even more of a "Krypton Gold" sink.

So far, players could unlock a total of five abilities: Dodge, Recovery Wax Block, Block, Lethal Strike, and Candle Bone Whistle.

Each of the five abilities could be enhanced.

Moreover, the cost would increase after every successful enhancement...

Li Miao’s savings clearly weren’t enough for him to go on a spending spree and upgrade all his abilities.

So, after a moment’s thought, he decided to start with [Dodge].

[Do you want to consume 30 Wax Oil to enhance the Dodge ability?]

’So the base Dodge skill doesn’t even have a tier...’ Li Miao muttered to himself.

He finally understood why the forums were so polarized, with one group of players cursing out the developers while another disagreed.

Many players had previously thought it was ridiculous that a combat game had a basic mechanic like "Dodge" with only a 50% success rate.

’So this was their plan all along.’

’Forcing us to grind, huh?’

’Even an ability like this needs to be enhanced step-by-step with Wax Oil... Is this to prevent top-tier players from becoming god-slayers right off the bat?’

The thought almost made Li Miao laugh.

However, he wasn’t as bothered by it as other players. On the contrary, he actually found this kind of character progression quite interesting.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Li Miao quickly began the upgrade process.

[30 Wax Oil consumed. Enhancing Dodge ability...]

[Enhancement successful! Ability Effect has been updated!]

[Dodge: A Blessing from the Spirit Candle. When you roll, jump, or crawl, you have a 60% chance to be immune to the next instance of damage you receive.]

The probability increased by a whole ten percent!

Li Miao stroked his chin. ’As far as he was concerned, there wasn’t much difference between 50% and 1%. It either works or it doesn’t. With bad luck, you’re still getting hit.’

’Oh well, whatever. At least I got stronger.’

With that thought, Li Miao tried to enhance it two more times.

And they both failed.

His expression soured, and he suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the players cursing out the developers...

...

The forums weren’t very active during the day.

When night fell and everyone logged on, the Spirit Candle forums came alive, with the main topic of discussion naturally being the latest update.

SnakeRoosterOxTiger: "I’m gonna puke. They’re selling basic character abilities separately just to force a grind? It’s unbearable. If the closed beta is like this, I can’t even imagine what a Krypton Gold-fest the open beta will be!"

This Venerable One Suppresses All Foes: "Here we go again... a classic case of someone complaining before they’re even in the game. I just love seeing you trolls who can’t get in, getting all flustered and blindly hating on everything. (lol)"

Paris Sewage: "LMAO. You think us actual Prison Players in the game give a damn about this? I got used to fighting with good positioning ages ago. Let’s just say, I could throw this Dodge ability in the trash and still play just fine."

Er Mihu: "Actually, I think the OP is a Mage player."

Baka Cat: "Son of a bitch, is he a troll in disguise?"

Geology Monkey: "This guy’s a Lao Ba player!"

Forest Lake: "Gotta say, the devs are pretty wild. I’m talking about the success rates."

Washing Red Beans in a Bucket: "Huh? Are the devs really that wild? I don’t think so. After all, it only took me 80 Wax Oil to get my Violent Stab ability to the Molten Slag Ash Tier. Sigh, I guess the ability is just okay. Everyone says it’s amazing, but I’m a really low-key person and I don’t like to make a big deal about my good luck."

Dragonfly Captain: "To the poster above: you just wait. I’m going to go cut some fruit for you."

Zodiac Guardian Kidney: "Humblebragging, huh? Very good. I’m furious right now. You, get over here and squat..."

As everyone knows.

There’s only one reason most people hate gacha mechanics in games:

They’re not the ones who win.

A friend of Luo Ge’s, who also developed games, had told him this. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have pulled this kind of stunt to milk the player base.

As for the other content in this update, the Demon-Harboring Cottage received almost no attention, save for a few cheers from the farming-style players.

They focused most of their energy on the Candlefire Spirit Steed and the new abilities.

"Bros, I just reset the Exile Island instance and specifically focused on staggering the Law Knight so I could hit it with an execution. Finally got my revenge for what happened when I first started the game! HAHAHAHA, so satisfying!"

"Nice. You’re even pettier than a Candlekeeper."

"Ugh, it’s so hard to cause a stagger as a Mage. I want to do Magic executions, too..."

"Go find Teacher Burton. I learned the Mithros Giant Stone Skill and it staggers things incredibly fast. But the damn thing actually deals physical damage... a bit too realistic for my taste..."

"AAAAAAH! BROS, THIS CANDLEFIRE SPIRIT STEED IS SO COOL! MY LITTLE HORSEY, MY LITTLE HORSEY, *MWAH MWAH MWAH*! WHY CAN’T WE RIDE ON CANDLE ISLAND? I REALLY WANT TO HOP ON AND GALLOP AROUND!"

"You can ride in the Seaside Town and Casa Peninsula instances."

"Holy shit, what do I do? Brother Lang killed my horse!"

"Resurrect it at a Spirit Candle."

"Hahaha, that’s what you get for messing around. You rode it into a basement? Well, there goes your horse, right?"

"Press 1 to resurrect your horse."

"Ahhhh~ I absolutely love this new Lethal Strike ability! The backstabs feel so good!"

"..."

After discovering two maps where they could ride, groups of players gleefully began all sorts of shenanigans.

There were those who rode their Candlefire Spirit Steeds into the ocean, attempting to turn them into seahorses.

Then there were the "geniuses" who rode into basements to go horseback riding inside a room.

Even worse, some absolute animals started using various weapons on their Candlefire Spirit Steeds to test their durability...

Watching this series of actions, Luo Ge frowned and shook his head... ’Good thing the Candlefire Spirit Steeds aren’t actually sentient,’ he thought, ’or this would be tragic.’

Still, plenty of players put the Candlefire Spirit Steed to its intended use.

For instance... becoming true Knights.

After all, the image of a Knight is inseparable from their steed.

When players rode the Candlefire Spirit Steed, they received a tangible speed boost, enabling them to use novel combat styles.

For example, charging with a Frost Riding Spear packed a serious punch.

The only thing to be aware of was that the Candlefire Spirit Steed had very low Blood Volume. It would vanish after taking just a bit of damage in combat and had to be resurrected at a Spirit Candle.

This couldn’t be helped.

Luo Ge could have given the Candlefire Spirit Steed its original Blood Volume, but doing so would mean its resurrection would consume far more Wax Oil. The logic was the same as players needing to remake their Candle Spirit Body after it was taken.

’All about saving on costs.’

...

After the update, the players’ lives gradually fell onto the rails of an endless grind.

The demand for Wax Oil in Spirit Candle was now immense.

Unlocking and upgrading Spirit Candle Buildings, advancing and enhancing character abilities, weapons and equipment, Battle Ash Magic... almost nothing was free.

They worked during the day, and at night, they’d close their eyes only to open them in-game to the endless grind. The mere sight of an Exiled Prisoner was becoming nauseating...

As a result, players on the forums created countless memes, such as one depicting the developers whipping the players, or another showing the absurd character models of players and Rotting Prisoners clipping into each other...

The game’s popularity, far from waning, actually grew, and Luo Ge’s supply of "leek seedlings"—future players—was swelling.

Meanwhile, the players on Candle Island had recently discovered something amusing.

"No joke, bros, I’m dying of laughter. If you get a chance, come to Candle Island and see this. There’s a newbie fighting a Fishman Coach bare-handed, no weapon at all... (crying-laughing emoji)"

"Huh? Is it his first time trying to box on Candle Island?"

"I remember there was a newbie who tried to put a ’Seven-Day Lock of Unbreakable Love’ on the Fishman Coach once, hahaha. The new players just keep getting more entertaining."

A group of players in World Chat were getting a good laugh out of it.

But just as the conversation was heating up, another player chimed in.

"Bros, you might be laughing a little too soon..."

"I’ve been watching for a while now. It looks like the newbie is deliberately keeping the fishman at critical health without killing it, using it to practice his reaction time!"

"He’s also down to a sliver of health, and it was on purpose."

"And... he’s completely unequipped, not using any Abilities."

"And... it’s not just one fishman. It’s a whole group of them..."