Ashen Dragon

Suddenly, Cassius spoke, shattering Mantou's fantasy of diving with a wyvern.

"It's getting late, everyone please head back. I hope that the next time we meet, you will be fully prepared."

Then, he gently waved his hand, and a portal burning with intense flames appeared before them. Before the four could react, a powerful magical field forced them inside, leaving no room for struggle or resistance.

Everyone saw a flash of white light and found themselves back in the small cabin.

The words on the invitation had already dimmed, indicating there was no second chance for use.

Summer Night Autumn Rain, recalling their recent experiences, couldn't help but say, "That shop is so cool, no wait, I mean that NPC is really important."

Xin Dog, a bit regretful for having written that strategy guide too early, said, "I really didn't expect faction contribution to be this crucial. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

"That warrior's advanced occupation, Red Scale Conqueror, is definitely the strongest in the early stages, bar none."

Natural War Maniac rubbed his bald head, "I also want to play with the Dragon Bloodline, it feels really powerful."

Xin Dog agreed, "Yeah, just having natural armor can set you apart from regular players, not to mention the attribute boosts and spell abilities."

Mantou said quietly, "Shouldn't we keep this news to ourselves and not let others know?"

Summer Night Autumn Rain and Natural War Maniac nodded in agreement at his suggestion.

Thinking like professional gamers, it was normal to monopolize information to gain an edge over others.

But Xin Dog objected, "No, we must make this information public."

Mantou didn't understand, "What if someone else grabs the Red Scale Conqueror?"

His mind was set on becoming a Wyvern Knight, leaving no room for other thoughts—being a knight was a man's ultimate dream!

Xin Dog cast a disdainful glance at him before saying, "Of course, we don't announce it right away, but rather wait for the right moment."

"What moment?"

"Watch the big guilds' movements, wait until they start grabbing faction contribution tasks."

Summer Night Autumn Rain quickly understood and explained, "In the early stages, gold coins are scarce. Those big guilds might focus more on gear and not spend money on quest items. But once they develop, they will definitely try to buy quest items like the Mysterious Invitation."

"Once they realize the importance of faction contribution, they will definitely monopolize the information and start grabbing those faction contribution tasks they initially didn't care about. At that point, we need to make the information public, encouraging more scattered individuals to compete with the guilds and slow down their progress."

Natural War Maniac added, "And during that time before the information goes public, we'll be able to pull ahead in faction contribution."

Mantou finally understood and exclaimed, "You top-tier professional gamers are so devious."

Xin Dog said, "What devious? This is game strategy. If you're weak, practice more. When the time comes, you'll make videos, and I'll write guides. We'll drive the traffic up."

"Alright."

Natural War Maniac looked at the invitation on the table that seemed no different from ordinary paper, "Should we buy another invitation? That thing probably isn't in unlimited supply. We can't let those guild ruffians, especially Royalty, snatch it up."

"Do you have a grudge against them?" asked Mantou curiously.

Natural War Maniac grinned and rubbed his bald head, "Not really. Just that in the previous game, Star-Travel Domain, I chopped their guild's mothership with my Battleship Cleaver. I'm worried they'll target me this time."

Mantou broke into a cold sweat, thinking this guy was seriously hardcore, not someone to mess with easily.

Summer Night Autumn Rain asked, "Where will we get enough gold coins? We already pawned everything to get these ten gold coins."

Xin Dog laughed confidently, "Did you know Barto City's exchange recently started a new gold coin loan service? You only need to pledge items worth one-tenth of the loan amount."

Mantou noticed that Xin Dog was eyeing him-not to be exact, his gear. His face darkened immediately.

"This gear is what I worked hard for. Don't even think about it!"

"Mantou, don't you want to be a cool Dragon Knight?"

Xin Dog approached with a sinister grin, his words whispering like a devil's temptation.

"Ah–"

"Don't strip my gear–"

"At least leave me with my underwear, Xin Dog..."

Summer Night Autumn Rain blushed and covered her eyes, but peeked through her fingers, cheeks growing redder.
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Natural War Maniac scratched his bald head awkwardly and said, "That's just how Xin Dog is, don't mind him."

When Xin Dog turned around, a despondent Mantou had returned to his newbie state, wearing simple cloth clothes and exuding a cute newbie aura.

Xin Dog also led by example, stripping off all his gear.

With a refined smile, Xin Dog said, "Do I need to say more to you two?"

Summer Night Autumn Rain, peeking through her fingers at Mantou's sorry state, instinctively hugged herself tighter, her cheeks flushing.

She quickly said, "Don't come over, I'll do it myself."

Fearing Xin Dog might change into some kind of tentacle monster and misbehave.

Natural War Maniac simply shrugged off his beast hide armor, "Barbarians don't need much gear anyway, just need to go into a frenzy."

"Clap!"

Xin Dog clapped his hands with a smile.

"No objections, then let's get grinding! We'll pull ahead from the other players, starting now!"

"I'll take the gear to the exchange for a loan. Once I get the gold coins, I'll grab the Mysterious Invitation. War Maniac, Autumn Rain, and Mantou, you three go to the plaza to get quests, as many faction contributions as possible. Also, look into the Tiefling investigation quests, do them simultaneously."

Mantou, wearing simple cloth clothes, collapsed on the ground with hollow eyes.

"Is this the world of professional gamers?"

"I have an objection..."

But Xin Dog seemed not to hear, quickly leaving with the gear Mantou had worked so hard for.

Natural War Maniac patted Mantou's shoulder with his big hand, "Don't take it to heart, Mantou. Xin Dog's just like that, we often get mentally strained, too. You'll get used to it."

Summer Night Autumn Rain stood by, sympathizing, and softly consoled him.

But Mantou could only cry without tears, "Who's taking Xin Dog's words to heart? I'm thinking about the gear I worked so hard for ten days to earn–"

...

Several days later, the story of the "Black Slave Team" spread through the city.

These were four famous professional gamers, oddly wearing only the most basic newbie cloth clothes. Some players suspected they had been robbed and were heavily in debt.

These "gods" accepted any task, from bricklaying, dusting, wall patching, mail delivery, to mining. Even faction contribution quests others avoided, they enthusiastically took on.

In just a few days, they had amassed nearly five thousand faction contribution points, shocking the forums and earning the nickname "Black Slave Team."

"Achoo!"

In a dark mine, Mantou wiped his sweat, sneezing for some unknown reason.

"Black Slave Team..."

"I will become a Dragon Knight!"

He thought determinedly, his resolute gaze shining in the darkness. However, the scolding of the Earth Goblin Supervisor and the sound of a whip cracking jerked him back.

"What are you doing? Daydreaming? Get to work!"

"Oh, alright."

Mantou swung his pickaxe again, with increasingly skilled movements.