Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The second way would be killing a Wicked.
Since most of the players had yet to kill a Wicked, the only way the players found out about it was from the NPCs. The NPCs claimed that killing a Wicked could temper one’s soul and grant one a certain amount of Lifespan.
Since Fang Yue had tested the theory out before, it was completely viable.
However, the Wickeds were strong, hence most of the players were not capable of killing one yet.
Fortunately, Dragon Play was a gathering hub for professional and skilled players. The players came up with traps and tactics and even thought of finding a scapegoat to distract the Wicked before jumping on the terrifying monster.
The players were working hard towards this particular method to achieve their first kill.
The third way would be via missions which were widely acknowledged as the most reasonable and reliable method of earning Lifespan.
All villages and towns with a central core would provide missions to players, and in order to live in these villages and towns, the players would have to pay a certain number of Lifespan to the officer, similar to the concept of paying tax.
The officers would then use the Lifespan to create missions for players.
The missions that they provided would, in turn, reward players with more Lifespan.
Unfortunately, the missions with Lifespan as a reward were extremely difficult and dangerous, such as patrolling the village at night or becoming bait to lure out the Wicked.
If the player died on the mission and ended up in the Wicked’s stomach, the player’s remaining Lifespan would be given to the closest of kin.
There were a variety of missions available, but the missions that most of the players preferred were the technical support missions.
Technical support missions included tasks such as crafting pills, gathering herbs, mining, weapon maintenance, forging weapons, and so on.
Such missions had no strength requirement; they only required the players to have related life skills and relevant levels. After learning a life skill from an NPC, the player could start accepting missions.
Since the level of danger was much lower compared to the previous mission, there were a lot fewer rewards.
Most of the players would work towards learning a life skill in exchange for Lifespan.
There was a group of players that questioned the game’s system. They believed that whenever a player entered the game, other than the special starting bonus or rare opportunities to earn Lifespan from the start, all players would only have a day of Lifespan.
In other words, the player must learn a life skill, accept a mission, and complete it within a day.
The time given was extremely short, and there might be only a handful of players who could progress smoothly. It was extremely difficult despite it not being dangerous, and at the same time, the amount of Lifespan rewarded was currently unknown. It was as dangerous as gambling with one’s life.
However, the question was raised by a small group of players, so it was swiftly drowned by the plethora of other questions, barely attracting any attention.
After all, the aforementioned way was probably the best way to earn Lifespan at the moment.
Of course, there was also some out-of-the-box reasoning from bold players—one could wait until the Lifespan reached zero and then choose to fight the Underworld Guards.
It would be a bold attempt to seize one’s fate from the game, and he or she would be the one to decide how to progress in the game, instead of the system.
Unfortunately, no one thought highly of these bold ideas. The game was at an early stage and new players barely had any powerful weapons or gears. If a barehanded player could fight the Underworld Guards and decide his own fate, the Lifespan attribute would be a joke.
Other than the aforementioned methods of earning Lifespan, there were a lot more outrageous thoughts shared in the forum.
Someone even theorized that if one’s martial state increased, one’s Lifespan would also increase, but they lacked the evidence to support the theory.
Someone also suggested killing an NPC and reaping the NPC’s remaining Lifespan.
Players in the game would usually work on the suggested method once the idea popped up, but most of them did not have any follow-up. It was safe to assume that the players failed.
As for increased Lifespan as a result of a higher martial state, Fang Yue could clear the rumors with his experience.
After some thought, Fang Yue created a new thread in the forum titled “Presented by NightDawn: The newest and most complete guide on Lifespan.”
He gathered all the scattered information in the forum and compiled it in his thread with his own thoughts.
Then, he added a little personal experience and some tips, such as gaining Lifespan directly from the game and killing a Wicked for Lifespan.
When it came to Lifespan, there might be a lot of discussion in the forum, but they were quite scattered. Some even kept the information behind a paywall. No one had ever come up with a compilation thread before.
Fang Yue was actually taking other people’s work, compiling it, and modifying it according to his own experience.
Considering the price of his previous thread, which had gone viral, and the money he spent to gather the information about Lifespan, Fang Yue set the price of his new thread as 100 yuan.
He had to at least earn back the money he had spent!
After posting it on the forum, Fang Yue quickly refreshed the page, hoping for it to become another viral thread. Unfortunately, after refreshing the page a few times, he still did not see any changes to his thread.
He went to the main page and noticed that his thread was pushed down by the other newer threads, soon becoming lost in the sea of information.
Fang Yue was stunned for a second before he realized what had gone wrong.
The price he set was too high. Even if others saw his thread, people would hesitate, and during that window of hesitation, newer threads or popular threads would push his thread down.
No one would search for a particular new thread, so it was natural for his thread to sink into the sea of information.
Once the thread sank, it would not have replies or views to boost its visibility, then it would never have the chance to expand its reach given its dead popularity.
After Fang Yue realized what happened, he quickly lowered the price and hoped to sell more to cover the cost.
Price: 0.5 yuan!
“It’s not as high as 100, but it’s 5 times more than my previous thread. I guess it’s kind of an improvement!” Fang Yue consoled himself.
He voted his own thread up before refreshing the page.
Finally, after lowering the price, people started to buy access to the thread.
He continuously refreshed the page for a while. His thread would appear and disappear from the sea of information, but it finally got the attention he was looking for.
He sighed a breath of relief, and with that in mind, he posted a second thread titled “I only realized the world is huge after becoming a Postcelestial martial artist!”
The content of his second thread was about the martial artist state and how reaching a new state increased his HP.
Fang Yue set his second thread as free-to-view, but he linked both his paid threads at the bottom, hoping that people would access his paid content after viewing his free one. It would divert some traffic and money to his previous thread.
After posting two threads continuously, he finally finished his cup noodles.
Fang Yue rubbed his temples to ease the tension before he continued surfing the forum.
Then, he noticed a new thread was gaining popularity quickly and was pinned to the top.
“Blue Ocean: a charming game destined to fail. Brothers, I’m out!”
The title of the thread made it look like a joke, but the original poster was a verified account. The name of the thread starter was ColdWater, a veteran player in the professional gamer circle.
Fang Yue looked at the price and realized that it was set as free to view.
Surprised, he clicked on it.
The first part of the thread praised how beautiful Blue Ocean was and how the settings attracted people’s attention.
However, in the second part, the thread switched to a different tone and criticized the difficulty of the game, saying that it was not suitable for normal gamers.
“As a game that has caught the world by storm, it should have been a game that is suitable for all ages, not this kind of difficult and ridiculous game.”
“This game doesn’t even have a newbie guide and the leveling method is vague. There are no auto navigation or mobs for leveling, and in order to survive in the game, one must complete missions to earn Lifespan. It’s like your life is hanging on a thread, and you’ve got to struggle hard for it!
“This game attracts players with its hyperrealism and beautiful exterior, but inside, it won’t last.
“After the initial hype and enthusiasm, the game will go cold. Winter is coming.
“Brothers, we professional players play to make a living. If a game isn’t friendly to the common player and will lose its hype soon enough, will our investment and time even be worth it?
“The answer is no. This game is destined to fail!
“I can say this with utmost certainty: this game will shut down in less than a month!
“We rely on games to earn a living, and this game isn’t suitable for making a living. It’s only suitable for hardcore players. I’m reluctant to admit it, but Tensent played the wrong move this time!
“So, I’m quitting the game. This free thread serves as a warning for those who are looking to join the game.”