Chapter 69: Beta Test (Part Four)
Four days have passed in "Erezaghe", with hundreds of players roaming around Baator City, taking on various tasks and gathering various pointers.
For instance, how to haul bricks with the least effort, how to cut corners when building houses, how to climb trees to find a Tiefling girl's cat, and even how to steal vegetables from the market without getting caught.
The impression "Erezaghe" gives players is—extremely free, extremely realistic.
You might get chased by the shop owner for stealing, legally killed by the homeowner for breaking into their house, or even detained by the Tiefling guard squad for drawing a mustache on the statue in the town square.
What surprises players even more is that real-world physical and chemical reactions also manifest in this world in magical forms—even an old civil engineer with the ID "Run with the Bucket" has managed to become the supervisor of Baator City's walls, using his refined cementing skills and ancient cement refining techniques.
In four days, most players have reached Level 1, and so has Mantou.
"Erezaghe" offers twelve basic career paths for players to choose from: Warrior, Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard.
Each profession has its strengths and weaknesses, making it hard for many to decide.
After careful consideration, Mantou chose the Warrior class; he prefers the thrill of sword fights.
However, most players were forced offline due to the game pod's 24-hour limit—except for a few hardcore grinders who modified their game pods to stay far ahead of the rest.
"Phew, time flies way too fast."
"I didn't even notice four days go by."
Mantou took off his game pod, feeling a bit of emptiness.
But there's no time to dwell on that; he has to get to work grinding to release his video quickly.
"Ah, editing again… it's driving me bald."
Mantou rubbed his thinning hair at the back of his head and turned on his computer to start editing.
In Mantou's opinion, after this beta test, "Erezaghe"'s quality will undoubtedly take off, so he has to seize this chance to ride the first wave of traffic and become a trailblazer for the gaming community.
Several hours later, the video was finally uploaded.
"Mantou's Playthrough: Erezaghe, a World That Feels Real"
Mantou is a fairly popular gaming blogger with thousands of followers on one platform, and as soon as the video was uploaded, many clicked on it.
"Long-lost update!"
"Here early."
"First!"
"With a title this hyped, did he get paid?"
"Hello, everyone, this is Mantou. Today, I'm bringing you this game—"Erezaghe"."
"I bet a lot of you haven't heard of it, but you'll soon find out. I discovered this gem of a game by chance and have been playing it continuously for over 24 hours, still feeling great. If it weren't for the time limit, I'd probably play for a year straight."
"Alright, enough chit-chat. Let's jump into the game."
"Classic talker intro."
"Why say less if you can say more?"
Even before the gameplay starts, the video already has plenty of comments, and by the character selection phase, there's already comedic gold, especially when his Charm is set at 9.
"Mantou's charisma: level 9 swag"
"Haha, sorry, I laughed out loud."
"Mantou: No divine physique? I AM divine physique!"
"This is hilarious."
"No wonder Mantou's blind dates keep failing."
And then there's "Saint Light Guy" stripping for freedom only to suffer social death and "Drifting White Stripe" returning to the spawn point three times, getting spawn-camped by NPCs, with the comedic effect through the roof.
"Hahaha, justice at last for 'Drifting Scum'!"
"Wow, are the AIs this advanced?"
"Kind of scary, honestly."
"Makes me want to dive in and play."
Mantou's experience in Baator City, hauling bricks, gaining experience, and earning gold—plus getting chased by an ogre for rude remarks, nearly costing him his first death—then becomes the focus.
"Run, keep running!"
"Ogre feasts on Mantou, classic."
"Feels like you're playing as a slave, huh?"
"That's it for today's gameplay. I'll take a short break, and tomorrow, I'll continue grinding in the world of Erezaghe. See you then."
"I'll be releasing my "Mantou's Erezaghe Adventures" series, available on both the player forums and the platform. Stay tuned."
The video quickly stirred up the immersive gaming community, hitting a million views and topping the day's gaming trending list, drawing even more attention to "Erezaghe".
...
Cassius browsed the player forum, filled with all kinds of posts.
A beginner question:
"How come I can't get any spells as a Level 1 wizard? It says I have to learn scrolls—what's that about?"
"Looking for wild sorcerer builds. What if I accidentally burned my teammates?"
Team recruitment posts:
"Hunting the Orc Rebellion. Need a barbarian to tank."
"Looking for a bard—I'm in the mood for some tunes."
"Seeking players to hunt down the Owlbear. No wizards or wild sorcerers, please."
And there was even a complaint:
"A billion players demand justice! Stop unfairly targeting elite players by spawn-camping them. I demand 1000 gold as compensation for this harassment."
But most replies were mocking, with comments like "Guess it's still a good official team," "Is 'Drifting Scum' finally humbled?" and "How about 1000 deaths for you?"
Cassius then stumbled upon a guide post.
"A Five-Minute Beginner's Guide to "Erezaghe"!"
The author's name seemed familiar—Singo, also known as S-Class, or infamously as "Dog Sin," a seasoned solo immersive gamer.
Not only was he highly skilled, but he also produced excellent guides, making him an unwavering beacon for many solo beginner players.
In this guide, he primarily outlined mission completion methods and optimal choices for beginners, emphasizing four golden rules for picking missions:
"Choose money when there's money, gear when there's none."
"Faction contribution? Not even worth a dog's attention."
Cassius narrowed his eyes, exhaling sulfur-scented heat.
"This won't do."
"If everyone just wants money, how will I profit without spending a dime? I'll need to put a stop to this trend!"
From a player's perspective, Singo's advice was indeed logical.
Unlike gold or gear, which have inherent value and universal utility, Cassius's faction contribution points are more like a credit currency issued by the faction.
Contribution points have an inherent drawback—they lack intrinsic value and only hold worth once circulated.
Players need to be able to spend them, right?
If there's nothing to buy, the contribution value plummets to zero, as players currently have no way to use these points.
Cassius, aiming to make a profit off the players, must let them believe that "faction contribution" has potential value, creating an expectation that it's worth having.
With that thought, Cassius smirked.
"Polymorph!"
Shimmering specks of magic flickered as the towering red dragon disappeared, replaced by a noble-looking young man with black hair, golden eyes, and a crimson robe.
"Time for a personal touch with the players…"
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