Chapter 400 - 275: This Game Is So Addictive (Part 2)

Chapter 400: Chapter 275: This Game Is So Addictive (Part 2)

Bane leaned against the counter, his head just barely peeking over the top. "So, this Path of Conquest... what’s the deal with it?"

"Oh, so you’re interested in Path of Conquest too, sir? That’s great!"

"I didn’t say I was going to play. I’m just asking about it first."

"Let me tell you, that game is a blast! And it just so happens we’re running a promotion right now. If you play Path of Conquest, you get two hours of game time free, though you can only play that specific game during those two hours."

Bane was unimpressed. "Do I look like someone who’s short on two hours’ worth of fees?"

"Silly me. Of course you aren’t. But for a wealthy man like you, this game is even more fun than it is for us. We can only tag along behind the top players, but if you played, you’d *be* one of the top players."

As the attendant spoke, he turned the monitor at the front desk toward Bane so he could see the screen.

The attendant was also playing Path of Conquest.

’It’s like this is the only game left in the entire world to play today,’ Bane thought.

The attendant pointed to a character in the center of the screen. "See? That’s the number one player on our server in terms of combat power."

Bane glanced over. The top player was certainly conspicuous. The character looked completely different from everyone else, their equipment glowing with a seven-colored light. A pair of large wings on their back spewed fire as they flapped.

Most importantly, the character had a huge title floating above their head that read: "Server’s Unrivaled."

It looked a bit tacky, but also strangely awesome.

What was even more awesome was the chat in the server-wide channel.

"That guy is so strong!"

"So mighty!"

"Pro, please carry me! I can’t beat this dungeon."

"Get in line if you want a carry, I asked first..."

"What’s this dungeon?" Bane asked the attendant.

"Oh, it’s like a stage in other games. This one is especially hard. Players like us can’t get past it, so we can only wait for the number one player to carry us," the attendant explained.

Bane stroked his beard. He was starting to get tempted. ’Everyone else is stuck, but he can clear it. The entire server is begging him for help.’

’This is the life.’

"So this number one player, is he especially skilled at the game?" Bane pressed.

"Well, how should I put it... his skill is decent, I guess, but the main thing is that he’s rich!"

"Rich?"

"Yeah, rich. A normal player could never afford the gear he’s wearing. A single piece of his equipment is better than my entire set. When he fights in a dungeon, he doesn’t have to dodge any skills. He just stands there and attacks."

"You mean, in this game, if you have money, you’re powerful?"

"Absolutely."

"What a great game!"

In his excitement, Bane yanked out several hairs from his beard. He had been waiting for a game like this for far too long.

"To be number one in this game, how much would it cost?"

The attendant scratched his head. That was a hell of a question. "You’re asking me? I’m not really sure. But I know for a fact it’s not something you can settle with just a few Gold Coins."

"A trivial matter."

With a grand wave of his hand, Bane pulled a cloth pouch from his bag.

"This should be about a Hundred Gold Coins. Go ahead and deposit it into my account."

The top-up technology back then wasn’t very convenient; you had to bring cash to a designated internet cafe to add funds.

"Right away." The attendant took the money pouch, his face blooming into a wide smile. The cafe owner got a commission on all top-ups made in the shop, and when commissions were high, the employees would get a bonus too.

After adding the funds, Bane hurried back to his station.

He couldn’t wait to get started.

’Auto chess? Never heard of it!’

He closed the auto chess game and launched Path of Conquest.

’Whoa, you can even choose your own appearance.’

Bane was pleasantly surprised. Many games he’d played before didn’t have Dwarf characters, and even when they did, they weren’t handsome enough.

He immediately chose the Dwarf race and the Warrior class.

’A true Dwarf would never deign to hide behind the battle line and cast Magic.’

He chose the stockiest body type. ’Oh, you can even choose the beard style and color. Nice.’

After a flurry of clicks from Bane, a Dwarf Warrior was created, with a waistline wider than he was tall and a beard that reached past his hips.

’A true Dwarven hunk.’

Bane sincerely admired his own excellent taste.

’It’s a shame the range of body types in this game is still a bit lacking. The thickest option didn’t quite achieve my ideal physique, but it’s still much better than other games.’

He entered the game and skipped all the cutscenes and story. He, Bane, was in a hurry to become the number one Dwarf, and watching the plot was a waste of time.

The moment he skipped, the game shocked him for a second time.

’What the heck is this auto-pathing thing?’

’Oh, by my beard!’

And auto-combat, too.

’So you barely have to control anything yourself in this game. That’s... that’s actually... pretty great.’

’Otherwise, once I become number one and have to carry people through dungeons, it would be exhausting to have to play manually every time.’

And so, Bane watched his computer play the game by itself. He would occasionally click on a pop-up prompt, randomly upgrade a Skill, and without having any idea what the game was about, he muddled his way to Level Eighteen.

Starting at Level Eighteen, the combat pressure of the main story quests suddenly skyrocketed.

Before, he had steamrolled through everything on auto-pilot. But in this quest, his supposedly invincible Dwarf Warrior was actually gored to death by a few wild boars.

’How is that possible?’

’Wait, no, being gored to death by wild boars seems pretty reasonable, actually.’

In Bane’s experience, wild boars were quite dangerous animals; even veteran hunters could sometimes get the worst of it.

Bane cracked his knuckles, ready to turn off auto-combat and take on this pack of boars with his Warrior himself.

But just then, a prompt suddenly popped up on the screen.

"Hero, don’t be discouraged! Limited-time First Purchase Pack! Original price 77 Copper Coins, now at a surprise discount for only 1 Copper Coin..."