Chapter 92 - 86: Tier 2 Spirit Fire Port, Spirit Fire Ship

As the days went by, the number of players continued to increase.

With detailed guides available on the forums, many new players started farming Wax Oil from the White-gifted Prisoners to level up. After reaching a certain Level, they would start gathering equipment and then successfully defeat the Law Knight.

After going through this process, they would basically be familiar with the game’s various systems and join the ranks of "veteran players."

And now, this group of veteran players had set their sights on the coastal areas. The two open-world bosses, the Flower of Drowning and the Iron-faced Warlock, were also gradually becoming famous.

Then, the artistically-inclined players on the forums flexed their skills again, drawing corresponding fan art.

Normally, content from a game in testing isn’t allowed to be leaked. Even if it is, it’s strictly controlled.

But Luo Ge was different. He was naturally happy to see it, since he wasn’t really making a game, after all.

Of course, to make the game seem more authentic, he still put on a show and issued some announcements stating that monster designs could not be used for commercial purposes, and so on...

This naturally led to another wave of support and emotional reactions from the players. ’This game, Spirit Candle... he really... I’m literally crying.’

[The Agile Mage who is a blend of cold-blooded solemnity and elegance—the Iron-faced Warlock (Images included) (Pics of various related items)]

Iced Lemon Tea: "Whoa, you can’t even see his face, but why do I get the feeling he’s so handsome...?"

Little Treasure zzz: "The OP’s art is so vivid! Especially the one where he’s raising his hand to use the Executioner’s Hand Blade!"

Teacher Luo, Don’t Be Like That: "I take back what I said in the previous thread. Spirit Candle is not a game without aesthetic sense. The Iron-faced Warlock, both in terms of design and presence, has a lot of style!"

My hamster’s name is Guagua: "I’ve already been killed by him several times, but his fighting style is so cool!"

A Passing Handsome Boy: "Elegant. Just too elegant!"

Storyteller: "New material has arrived."

I love telling the truth: "Elegant my ass! This boss is just a total poser. He kills me and then has the nerve to taunt me with ’This is the fate of a Lawbreaker.’ All he knows how to do is call for his little Soldier minions and launch annoying sneak attacks. The game designer must have a miserable life to make the difficulty this high! The people who play this game are all fucking masochists! Garbage game!"

The Original Suppresses All Foes: "Idiot."

The Old Monk Suppresses All Foes: "Brother Aotian’s single word, yet it contains the ultimate truth of humanity."

Tieba Twisted Fate: "Buddy, if you suck, then practice more! Why do you think this thing is an open-world boss? If you don’t have friends, go make some. There are tons of people grouping up on the coast. If you’re not going to use your eyes, donate them to someone who needs them. A VR helmet isn’t a pot lid; it can’t cook that thick skull of yours. For that, you’d need a pressure cooker, get it?"

Nannan: "A pot lid, hahaha, I’m dying! That dude’s Attack Power is maxed out."

Crafty Frog: "...A fellow forum-goer is playing the game too (shocked)."

Sheng Xiaochuan: "Isn’t this the same guy from a couple days ago who was looking down his nose at newbies? What, couldn’t find a pro you deemed worthy enough to team up with?"

Since the Iron-faced Warlock didn’t fight alone, but was accompanied by a Defender Captain and a group of Gulard Soldiers, it was extremely difficult for solo players to defeat him.

So, players began to form teams on the coast of Exile Island to tackle the boss.

Most players were able to reduce the difficulty by successfully forming teams.

But there were always a few odd exceptions, like the guy who made the post and got flamed.

Of course, there were also genuinely antisocial players who didn’t want to interact with others and preferred to suffer in silence.

Next were the discussions about the Sin Furnace, which were also generating a lot of buzz.

Turtle Bro: "It costs 50 Wax Oil just to activate the furnace? Why don’t they just rob us? Can’t they have some sympathy for us players? (crying)"

My Son Failed, But I’m On Shore: "Seriously, dude? Sympathy? Haven’t the forum guides practically spoon-fed you everything? It’s not like they’re making you pay real money. Just go be a ’Prison Guard’ and make a withdrawal."

As players discussed it more, their terminology for various things in the game was constantly evolving. For example, the act of "making a withdrawal" from the White-gifted Prisoners was jokingly called "going to be a Prison Guard" by veteran players.

On Shore’s comment immediately sparked a response from a bunch of players.

"Gotta say, even though some of the monsters in this game are bullshit and some of the design choices are sadistic, it’s honestly a fair game. If this were made by a certain other company, forget activating a furnace—you’d have to pay three bucks just to walk two steps in a game this realistic, you know?"

"The guy above me is bold! Pizza Hut warning, yo!"

Aside from all this miscellaneous chatter, there were, of course, discussions about Weapon Enhancement.

Eating Relics Under the Bodhi Tree: "I can’t handle this Enhancement method. You really just take an Enhancement Stone and smack it on the Weapon!"

Banana Road Rao Debiao: "The Defense Greatsword +2 is really solid. It’s cheap, tough, and durable. It’s almost as good as an Excellent Quality Weapon, and you can even cheese the game to get it."

Battle Bliss: "Guys, I highly recommend the Bloodstained Great Axe +2. It increases your Power Attribute, and it seems like the weight increases too. If you add Warfire Charging on top of that, the damage is insane. One swing can slice through a Defender Captain like he’s made of play-doh!"

Bron Really Not Deaf: "Thank god Shields are also considered Weapons..."

It’s hard to grow roses in the Northwest: "The repair function feels a little useless. My weapons have basically never broken."

Failed Man: "You’ll change your tune once a Law Knight with a Burning Shield shows up."

Ai Nihao hahaha: "By the way, getting to +2 requires five corresponding Reinforced Wax Stones, and it has an 80% success rate. Has anyone failed?"

Time to eat Mushrooms: "...I failed three times in a row. I’m speechless! (crying)"

Brother Miao Won’t Fail the Exam: "Speaking of which, where’s the Candlekeeper been lately? He won’t respond no matter how many times I call him. I was hoping to see if his shop had restocked."