Ocean Planet is one of the more advanced and significant dungeons in the game "Galaxy Wars." The final boss in this dungeon is the Serpent King, which drops rare materials, equipment, and honor titles that are highly valuable to players.
Correspondingly, the Serpent King is quite challenging to defeat, requiring top-notch equipment, high attributes, and exceptional skill to overcome.
When it comes to skill, John is not worried at all. His current level of gaming prowess is top-tier.
"The Serpent King is tough to beat. Send me your character's attribute sheet, and I'll take a look."
After a while, the customer sent over the attribute sheet. John glanced at it and subconsciously frowned.
The attributes were not high enough—insufficient physical resistance, agility, and poison resistance...
John initially thought to respond that it was impossible, but after a moment of consideration, he deleted the typed response.
While the attributes were not high, even skilled players would struggle to clear the Serpent King dungeon with them. However, the gap didn't seem too vast. If he handled it himself, there might be a chance.
It needed careful calculation.
Recalling the details, John quickly brought to mind all the monsters in the Serpent King dungeon, including every small monster, their health, skills, resistances, attack power, and the terrain environment, allied health, resistances, skills, and so on.
A model began to form in John's mind, with these data points becoming parameters inputted into the model, starting the simulation and calculations.
At that moment, due to the sudden increase in computational demand, the four computers and robots experienced a slight lag in their operations.
Fortunately, the model wasn't overly complex. After a few minutes, John concluded his calculations and made his decision.
Theoretically, with this character's attributes, it was possible to clear the Serpent King dungeon. However, it required extremely high-level operation skills, necessitating flawless execution throughout and optimal performance at every step. He would have to precisely manage the character's stamina and health, run accurately, time every skill cooldown and release, and calculate each skill's damage output.
This task would be nearly impossible for most gamers, but John was confident enough to take on the challenge.
He didn't immediately agree but replied, "It's quite difficult to beat. It would be better to change one piece of equipment first to increase the chances."
In Ironwood City, in a regular residential neighborhood, David Miller looked at the response from the "Revival Game Studio" customer service and smiled wryly.
If he could afford better equipment, he wouldn't need a booster and would have tackled the challenge himself.
He had already spent all his savings on this set of equipment, initially thinking it would be enough, but after a whole day of trying, he still couldn't clear it.
Yet, he urgently needed the honor title from the Serpent King dungeon to proceed with his next plans, craft top-tier equipment, and sell it for enough money to pay this month's mortgage and keep his finances in order.
In addition to his regular job, the money he earned from the game was crucial for supporting his family.
Unexpectedly, the equipment he thought could defeat the Serpent King was insufficient, disrupting all his plans.
David had to find a game booster, a skilled player to help. But after asking more than a dozen shops, all said it couldn't be done. The Serpent King dungeon was a solo instance, so he couldn't find someone to carry him, and now he was nearly desperate.
Initially, David didn't have high hopes for this so-called Revival Game Studio, but seeing the customer service seemingly more flexible, a glimmer of hope resurfaced. "I can't afford better equipment. This is all I've got. If you can help me clear it, I'll pay double."
The Serpent King dungeon typically took an hour and a half, and the standard price was around 100 bucks, so doubling it would be 200, which was still manageable.
David continued typing, "I rely on the game to earn some extra cash to support my family. I've invested everything into this gear, and if I can't clear it, I'm done for. I'll lose my house. Please, help me. I have a game group, mostly guys like me. If you can help me, I'll promote your shop for free."
A poor soul indeed...
John sighed and replied, "Alright, I'll help you. But you don't need to pay 200 bucks. I'll charge you 150. Just refer more customers to me."
Providing the same level of service at a lower price was John's business strategy.
At his computer, David was overjoyed. "Thank you, you're a good person. I'll pay right away."
Quickly making the payment and handing over the account, David was filled with anticipation.
A notification pinged on David's chat software. Opening it, he saw someone tagging him in the game group.
"David, how's the Serpent King coming along? Found someone to help yet?"
"I told you before, David, your gear isn't good enough. You didn't listen. I say you need at least three more pieces."
"Better figure it out soon, David. If you delay, the equipment won't get crafted in time."
"With those attributes, even a skilled player would struggle."
The game group was buzzing with chatter.
Trying to calm himself, David replied, "I found a shop willing to take the job. They're on my account now."
"How much?"
"150 bucks."
The group exploded: "150 bucks to beat the Serpent King? Even those with the 'Ultimate Set' are paying 100 bucks and that doesn't guarantee success. With your stats, 150 bucks? Are you kidding?"
"A scam?"
"It's on an e-commerce platform, can't be a scam."
"Something's fishy. Are they scamming you with your account?"
"I gave them safe mode login, they can't scam me."
"Still, something's not right. Think about it, 150 bucks to beat the Serpent King, does that make sense?"
Initially confident, David started feeling uneasy under the barrage of his group members' doubts. Several times he wanted to check the progress.
As David fretted, in the market district of Grand City, within a small courtyard, John was already logged into David's account through his robot.
After making the necessary preparations, the character flew to Ocean Planet and approached the Serpent King dungeon entrance.
Clicking to start, the eerie, bluish dungeon scene appeared before the robot's camera.
The robot moved the mouse precisely 3.6 centimeters, accurately controlling the game character to begin advancing.