Ember Dragon

Chapter 77: The Forum's Turmoil

After a burst of intense effort, Mantou finally released the first episode of his video simultaneously on the forum and a certain site.

"Erezaghe Journal: The Starting Point of the Dragon Rider"

"First!"

"Front row with snacks!"

"The missing person returns repeatedly."

"King covers the tiger, Mantou's charisma is 9!"

Mantou's face appeared in the video, but at this moment, he seemed inexplicably dejected: "Hello everyone, welcome to the long-awaited first episode of 'Erezaghe Journal'. I'm Mantou."

"During this time, I spent an... unforgettable eighteen days in this world of swords and magic. Next, I will bring you my experiences from a personal perspective, including the shocking secrets of the Ember Nest faction and the bygone stories of Baator City."

After finishing the opening remarks, Mantou looked sleepy, as if he was about to fall asleep.

"Why does it feel like Mantou's body has been emptied?"

"Mantou has been popular in the game recently; he went to be a slave laborer with a few professional masters."

"Hahaha, I know."

"'Slave Quartet', the Blood and Sweat Squad."

"Where did you all get the beta access? I want to play too."

"They're all taken; wait for the public beta in a few months."

The beginning was the scene where three top professional masters invited Mantou to join the team. These three were famous in the full-immersion gaming circle, much more so than Mantou, naturally causing a barrage frenzy.

"Summer Night Autumn Rain! My wife!"

"Nonsense, she's clearly my wife!"

"My Battle Maniac bro's hair is still so lush."

"Caught a wild Singo!"

But there were also player comments discussing the [Mysterious Invitation]:

"Damn, is this damn invitation so expensive? Enough to equip several squads."

"Why didn't I see this special item?"

"You cloud players who haven't played the game might not understand what ten gold coins mean. For example, a regular player mining all day can earn 35 copper coins, and ten gold coins are equivalent to 4,000 copper coins, needing to stay in the mine for 114.514 days."

"The previous one slipped in a private joke..."

"Damn, a broken quest item, for what?"

However, the next plot shocked a bunch of game players: that invitation summoned a flaming portal, leading the four into a dark cave.

And the four-man team met the incredibly handsome [Mysterious Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer - Cassius] there, unlocking the [Mithril Shop] and [Adamantine Shop], and discovering the use of faction contribution, as well as the advanced class [Crimson Scaled Conqueror].

Mantou even added in the narration the identity of this mysterious Sorcerer—the leader of the Ember Nest, King of Flying Flame, Red Dragon Cassius!

Immediately, the barrage was in an uproar; whether cloud players, casual fans, or game enthusiasts, they were all shocked.

Most casual fans were shocked by Cassius's amazing charm and made various outrageous comments:

"Damn, this NPC is made way too good-looking!"

"I'm in!"

"Think carefully, the one before—this is a dragon; how big must it be—"

"A dragon? Then I'm even more in!"

"From now on, I am Lord Cassius's dog!"

"Really want to lick Lord Cassius's horns..."

"Cassius Support Group, join the group 697838040."

And the game enthusiasts were discussing the impact of this information on the game, especially the final appearance of the [Crimson Scaled Conqueror], which had stirred up a huge storm among the players.

"Damn, is faction contribution so useful? Feels like I've lost a billion!"

"These equipments are all divine gear!"

"Can you afford it? Starting at ten gold coins, just toys for the big guilds from the damn official."

"Damn, the faction leader's handsomeness is on par with mine!"

"Stop boasting, the one before."

"Wow, comes with dragon bloodline, large draconic creature mount, plus exclusive traits—this advanced class is going to soar!"

"Crimson Scaled Conqueror is God!"

"The sky is a man's romance; I want to be one!"

"Enough said, I've already switched to Warrior. Paladin? Don't know him!"

The latter part of the video records Mantou's miserable experiences over eighteen days: mining every day, moving bricks, repairing walls, smearing plaster, being scolded by Ogre overseers, commanded by Hobgoblin officers, chased by phase spiders in the mine, and mocked by players watching...

"Feels like being in 18th-century America."

"I finally understand what 'Slave Quartet' means..."

"I thought he just went bankrupt; didn't expect Mantou was enduring humiliation to achieve his aim!"

"A mere eighteen days..."

"To become a Dragon Knight, I can do it too!"

"Heh, by the time you save up the contribution, it'll be too late."

"Not watching the video anymore; I'm going back to Erezaghe to move bricks!"

Mantou's first episode of "Erezaghe Journal"—also known as Mantou's Slave Labor Tears—had its views rocket up, quickly becoming a hot topic of the day. This allowed most beta players to learn about Cassius, the important NPC and faction leader of the Ember Nest; he now holds a crucial position in the players' minds.

But what spread even wider was his amazing charm; the popularity has broken out of the circle.

On the trending searches, there even appeared such entries—

#NPC with Astonishing Looks

"Got killed by a Wild Sorcerer pig teammate, tired, want to kick him out."

"Langchu arrested [Video]"

"Is the Mysterious Invitation out of stock? Why can't I find it on the shelf!"

Cassius browsed the forum, watching players chatting and discussing various things, but soon he saw a familiar name—Singo.

This guy posted several strategy posts in one go, even after being a laborer for eighteen consecutive days, making people wonder if he has someone else playing for him.

"Shocking! The true identity of the mysterious NPC Cassius is actually—"

"Amazing! Faction contribution actually has these uses!"

"Invincible! Analysis of the Warrior Advanced Class [Crimson Scaled Conqueror]"

"Why do not even dogs choose Mages in the current version?"

However, under his posts, it was already a mess. Those poor players who had been misled by his novice guides and still didn't have much faction contribution flooded into the comment section, calling him 'Singo the Dog' and venting their anger.

And he himself pretended not to see it.

"Singo, you screwed me so badly; I only have fifty contribution now!"

"Singo, give me back my faction contribution!"

"What a black heart, deliberately posting to mislead us, and went to earn contribution yourself!"

"I think he did it on purpose; I'm pulling people to block Singo's respawn point!"

"Count me in!"

"+1"

"+10086"

Singo innocently commented: "You'd better hurry to do the quests; if you go late, you won't get them. Even if you kill me, I won't drop faction contribution."

This instead further fueled the players' immense anger.

"Damn, this guy really deserves to die—"

"Singo, prepare to die!"

"I declare that Singo and Langchu are the two great jerks!"

"Don't slander me, the one above. I, Langli Baitiao, have always been an upright good person."

"You and Singo can die together, picking a damn Arcane Trickster, sneaking around in the mines stealing all day. Last time, it was you who used Mage Hand to steal all the potions from my backpack."

"I—I took it with my own skills; can this be called stealing?"

---------------------------------

A big thank you to [King] and [Ralph] for joining my Patreon! Your support means a lot to me.