Chapter 61: Jiang Xiaoyue's Ambitions
Translator: Noodletown Translations Editor: Noodletown Translations
"We're here, it's right there!" A cultivator like Bai Lang had a lot of friends, including Zhan Yan and Zhou Hongying who were with him last time.
Today, the three of them came, and they brought four more people with them; three men and one woman.
"Daoist Bai." A younger cultivator in white glanced towards the direction Bai Lang was pointing at and asked, "This is the civilian area, right? Plus, this shop doesn't look so good. Why would you want to come here?"
Although Fang Qi's shop had more than 50 computers, it was unlike the internet cafés he frequented before coming to this world. Those places had private rooms and booths. He current setup provided rows and rows of seats to save space, and it was nothing compared to those large-scale establishments.
"Daoist Yu is right." Confused, a middle-aged cultivator who was wearing a dark blue robe and had a bun on his head chimed in, "You've been to so many places throughout the years, so I assumed that a place you recommended would be unique and novel. But this place..." He pointed at the small shop in front of him and asked suspiciously, "Why do you like this place so much?"
Standing next to Zhan Yan was a red-faced, middle-aged cultivator with a mustache. He was usually a calm person, but when the other two voiced their concerns, he also looked at the shop in front of him suspiciously.
He didn't say anything, but he was certainly confused.
"Senior Sister Zhou!" A naïve-looking girl stood next to Zhou Hongying. "Why would you ask me to come to a place like this so early in the morning?"
Her cultivation strength wasn't as high as the others, so she took the spiritual boat this morning all the way from Yanhai City to Jiuhua City because she thought something urgent had happened.
However, her senior sister brought her to...
Origins Internet Club? What is going on?
She opened her eyes wide and observed the small shop, but she didn't spot anything special about it.
"Don't you all trust me?" Bai Lang laughed, "I promise that the things inside this shop are ones that you guys can't imagine. It's definitely new and exciting!"
The others glanced at each other and thought, Really?
The middle-aged cultivator standing next to Zhan Yan said with a stern expression on his face, "Yesterday, Zhan Yan mentioned that there are spiritual artifacts called computers in this shop. They are extremely powerful, and once we use it, we will feel like we have been reborn into another world and can live with another identity. It sounds interesting, but if that's all it does, why are you all so excited?"
"Of course that's not all it does," Zhan Yan responded as he stroked his beard. "If that's all it did, I wouldn't have recommended it to you."
After they pushed open the doors, they sensed a feeling that they have never felt before. The shop wasn't well-lit, but gentle rays of white light shone from the ceilings, intertwining with the lights that were emitted from the screens.
The shop incorporated in some basic elements of Jiuhua City such as hardwood, flowers, and grasses, but the desks, chairs and computers had a different vibe. When mixed together, they created a refreshing scene.
Upon seeing the new customers, Jiang Xiaoyue froze for a second and thought,Aren't these people the cultivators from yesterday? They brought more people today?
"Little girl, activate four more Diablo for us," Bai Lang greeted her cheerfully.
"Little... girl?" Jiang Xiaoyue blinked her eyes until she finally came back to her senses. She felt like crying, Stupid owner, people don't even address me as Princess anymore.
"It's 32 crystals for four people to activate the game, and two crystals each per person per hour to use the computers. How many hours would you like to play?"
It was obvious that Jiang Xiaoyue was slowly getting used to her new job.
"Six hours of course!" A cultivator like Bai Lang was rich. Since none of them had anything better to do today, he decided to pay for the full six hours.
The others took this opportunity to observe the internet café.
There were quite a lot of people playing here, and the shop was close to full capacity at the moment. There were players playing games no matter where they looked.
Some screens showed a man holding a weird spiritual artifact. When fire came out of this artifact, a monster would fall to the ground.
Other screens showed characters holding long swords or staffs, and their methods of combat were similar to this world
Although the newcomers hadn't yet played the game, Bai Lang and the other two explained the game to them already, and they really did feel a sense of novelty.
Jiang Xiaoyue didn't know what 'activating the game' meant.
However, as long as she took the correct amount of money and placed them into the registers, the customers would be able to play.
Humph! I'm fine as long as the amount is correct!
There was something else she didn't understand, so she asked when she took Bai Lang's money, "Don't you think the fees in the shop are expensive?"
Why aren't they mad at the high prices? They even brought more people here today...
She really didn't understand.
Zhan Yan and Zhou Hongying were teaching the newcomers how to play the game.
As soon as they started, they were shocked by the life-like scenes and characters. Once they understood how to play the game and the plot, they exclaimed, "Hm... this really is interesting! Come on! Let's go kill some monsters!"
"Is it expensive?" Bai Lang glanced at Jiang Xiaoyue curiously, wondering why she asked a question like that. After a while, he replied with a question of his own, "Haven't you played Diablo?"
"No, why would I play something so expensive?" Jiang Xiaoyue sneered as she thought dejectedly, How can I play? I spent all my money on food!
Once I'm rich, I'm going to play for 12 hours a day and make the stupid owner sit here. Humph!
Jiang Xiaoyue was getting more and more curious about the game. Why are there so many customers here every day?
Wait, if the game really is good, then I will play! If it isn't, I'm not going to give the stupid owner any money!
At this thought, Jiang Xiaoyue sensed an excitement.
However, fantasies were just fantasies...
Bai Lang laughed, "Try it, and you'll understand."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiaoyue's face fell like a deflated balloon as she clenched her teeth.
I don't have money... Do I really have to cook for this stupid owner?
Bai Lang and the others were all cultivators, so they chose sorcerers and sorceress.
The scene of seven people using magic spells was spectacular.
"Frost Bolt! Frost Bolt! Cast a Frost Bolt!"
"The monster's heading your way, run away!"
"Brother Bai, help me slow the monster down!"
"The sorceress's stamina is awful! I can't run anymore! Help me kill that monster!"
"Give me a minute; I'm trying to fight off the carvers here!"
"Just fight it yourself!"
"How am I supposed to do that? Sorceresses can't take too many strikes from monsters!"
"Damn it, I died!"
"Uh... don't worry, you can start over. Let me open a portal for you..." Bai Lang took out his Town Portal Scroll.
After they slowly understood this game, the newcomers were quickly addicted. Therefore, the group embarked on a tumultuous adventure!
FAQs:
#1: Why are you guys doing TL Notes wrong?
We are doing the TL Notes like this on purpose before the chapters cost any spirit stones. The TL note section on app version sometimes glitch and doesn't show up unless you exit and revisit the chapter.
#2: What is the release schedule of BTICS
A: The normal release speed is 3 chapters per day during the weekday and 1 chapter per day during the weekend. We are lowering weekend release so we can spend more time with family (each chap takes about 2-3 hrs) and also work on our side hobby projects which are free to read for life. (We are budget readers too, so we also want to produce some free content for everyone to enjoy that will be posted on our own site: noodletowntranslated.com)
#3: What is this holy supporter-only Early access you speak of?
A: You will always be the promised number of early access chapters ahead of public release on Webnovel, and the folders are updated every day. In addition, supporters of all tiers will receive 3 chaps per day even on weekends. However, the bonus chapters from faster release on weekends will also be released to the public as month-end mass release, so people that aren't in the position to donate right now can still enjoy the bonus chapters.
Please do excuse the quality a bit, as those chapters have not gone through the final layer of edit yet. But, it has been through 2, so it should be gucci.
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Chapter 62: Do you Have the Courage to Compare Items?
Translator: Noodletown Translations Editor: Noodletown Translations
Nalan Mingxue, who had already passed Resident Evil One, was considered an old player. However, because of what happened a few days ago, she had been resting at home this entire time and didn't get to leave her place until today.
Although she was born into a prestigious family, she had always been low-key.
However, she arrived outside Fang Qi's shop today in a cart, not trying at all to hide her status at all.
Her face was still pale, and Jiang Xiaoyue was shocked to see her coming through the door!
Why would anyone come here when they're sick?
Nalan Mingxue hadn't been here in a while. Even though the outside of the shop was still the same, she noticed that its interiors were somewhat different.
For example, she saw a cute loli sitting upright at the front desk as soon as she walked into the shop, and this loli was looking at her in all seriousness.
"Hm, where's the owner?" Lan Yan looked around and finally spotted Fang Qi who was hidden amongst the players after a while.
"Ms. Nalan, here!" Lan Yan's eyes lit up as she hurried over with Nalan Mingxue.
How dare they... ignore me, a princess? Jiang Xiaoyue felt like she received 10,000 points of critical damage!
Fang Qi was killing monsters that were considered easy opponents for his current level. When he heard someone call his name, he turned around and saw two familiar faces.
He froze for a second before asking, "Are you... all better?"
"Yes, thank you," Nalan Mingxue replied; she still sounded as cold as ever.
"Business is business." Fang Qi nodded. "You should rest at home for a little while longer."
As soon as he finished his sentence, Lan Yan rolled her eyes at him. "If you can sell us a computer and two boxes of Sprite..."
"Sick people should walk around more and enjoy the outdoors. It's good for your recovery," Fang Qi immediately changed his position and said sincerely, leaving Lan Yan speechless.
Lan Yan stomped on the floor and said, "Sir, we would like two bottles of Sprite!"
"Sure." Fang Qi wanted a bottle as well, so he turned around and waved at Jiang Xiaoyue who was staring at them intently. "Xiaoyue, get me three bottles of Sprite!"
"Your shop changed quite a lot." Nalan Mingxue looked around. Not only was this place filled with customers, but a lot of players were also playing Diablo.
Most importantly, the atmosphere was as lively as it could be.
Fang Qi looked around and said, "They're so loud; I'm going to mute them all in a second!"
Before he could say anything else, shouts came from the first row!
"She is dying!"
"Use spells! Catch up with us, forget everything else!"
"One more volcano!"
"..."
Lan Yan was surprised. "What's going on? This place is so lively."
Nalan Mingxue looked in the direction of the noise and saw two familiar figures amongst the players. Frowning, she walked towards them.
The shouts attracted the attention of quite a few players.
"What's going on?"
"I think they're killing Andariel?" Bai Lang couldn't sit still in his seat. "Come on, let's go take a look!"
"They're killing Andariel?"
"They're so far into the game!"
"Is it our kids?" Ouyang Zhen looked towards An Cheng as he said to An Huwei and Bu Lei.
"Should we go look?"
"What's going on?" Jiang Xiaoyue followed the crowd in curiousness as well.
Soon, a group of people surrounded An Cheng and the others.
"Look!"
"Two gold unique Items, two yellow rare Items and... a green item?"
"Let me see. Aren't yellow rare items better than blue magic items, and gold unique items are better than yellow rare items, right? What's a green set item?"
It was normal that they had never seen green set items since these items were scarcer than rare and unique items.
"Come on, let me try first!" Nalan Hongwu picked up the items and placed them onto his body. He laughed and said, "Let me experience these amazing items first before distributing them to you all!"
After putting on the new items, Nalan Hongwu's entire body was equipped with yellow rare and gold unique items. The lines of property descriptions left everyone dumbstruck as they all looked at him with envy and jealous.
Nalan Hongwu burst out laughing as he shook the armor on his body. "What do you think? Do you think I can pass Act II with these Items?"
"Grandpa, you're too wise and powerful!" Nalan Jie was first to respond, "We can't compare with you."
Upon seeing this, Nalan Mingxue froze.
What is going on? It's only been a few days since I came last came, but Grandpa and Older Brother are both here at Fang Qi's internet café? Moreover, Grandpa passed Act I?
Lan Yan was dumbfounded as well. "The Family Leader has many good items?"
Just then, a voice sounded at the wrong time, "Are gold unique items the best? The stupid owner has a lot of those..."
It was Jiang Xiaoyue.
When she was bored, she would watch Fang Qi play Diablo.
She watched him play for a while yesterday and noticed that all of Fang Qi's items were written in gold.
What she said immediately created a thousand ripples.
"What items? We got so many items! How can our items not be better than his?" An Cheng was the first to doubt Jiang Xiaoyue. After all, they had just passed Act I!
Therefore, he glared at Jiang Xiaoyue with disdain. "Little girl, you don't even play the game, how would you know?"
Jiang Xiaoyue thought, Just because I don't play doesn't mean I can't watch the owner play!
"How good can his items be? Are all his items gold unique items?" An Huwei didn't believe her as well.
After all, the items Nalan Hongwu had on him right now were the best that he had ever seen!
"I bet all his items are all flashy low-level items," An Cheng said with contempt, "Those aren't even as good as high-level blue magic items."
"Yeah, if you don't understand the game, you shouldn't say anything," Ouyang Cheng chimed in.
"Where's the owner?" An Cheng glanced around and immediately saw Fang Qi who was sitting in a corner.
Then, a team of players stormed towards him!
Fang Qi had just obtained rune #9 and finished his quest. He went back to the encampment, opened his storage box, and took out the grey shield that had three holes on it; it took a long time for him to collect everything.
"Eight, nine, ten..." He placed the runes in order and finally dropped his blue magic shield which he had been using for the longest time.
Just then, he noticed a bunch of people behind him.
Confused, he asked, "Why are you all here?"
"Owner, that little girl said that you have good items." Nalan Hongwu glared at him. "Let's compare!"
Although he knew Fang Qi was already level 18, the map of this remake version was significantly bigger than the original, and it had more monsters on it than ever.
Therefore, after passing Act I, Nalan Hongwu had reached level 16, and he was about to catch up to Fang Qi.
Right now, he borrowed the groups gold unique items, and he couldn't believe it when Jiang Xiaoyue said that Fang Qi's items were still better.
Unconvinced, Nalan Hongwu asked, "Do you have the courage to compare items?"
"You want to see my items?" Confused, Fang Qi glanced at him and opened his items bar.
Helm: Nadir Helm (Runeword armor, unique item)
Armor: Stealth Chain Armor (Runeword)
Weapon: Malice Crystal Sword (Runeword)
Shield: Ancient's Pledge Shield (Runeword)
...
Upon seeing all the gold unique items and the rows and rows of powerful properties, Nalan Hongwu was immediately petrified!
"What kind of items are these?"
"At least half of them are gold unique items!"
"Where did you get them, Sir?"
Shocked by what they saw, the other players attacked him with questions!
"Sir, you passed Act II already?"
Chapter 63: You Can Sell Virtual Items as Well?
Translator: Noodletown Translations Editor: Noodletown Translations
"These are called runewords?"
"These things exist?"
Runewords were empowerments to items. In most cases, it required white normal items that had the exact number of sockets that matched the number of runes needed. Then, the players could place the runes into the sockets in the correct order and give the item exceptional properties.
With runewords, even the most common white normal items could be comparable to gold unique items.
Fang Qi was now standing before Deckard Cain.
After passing Act I, Deckard Cain would teach the player some basic runeword knowledge.
There weren't official Diablo sites that displayed runewords, so this responsibility landed on this old scholar.
"Why does this seem more powerful than the different array formations on spiritual artifacts?" As a professional artifact forger, he felt like he could better understand runewords when comparing them with the array formations on the artifacts in the real world.
"Placing different runewords in order can create powerful properties?" An Cheng suddenly asked, "Do they have to be white normal items? What about white normal items that already have some properties? Will the original properties be kept?"
He remembered that he got a two-hole grey staff before.
Grey items were white normal items with sockets on them, and sometimes they came with unique properties.
The staff he picked up allowed him to cast level 2 Fire Bolt and level 2 Frozen Armor!
If he could keep those properties, he would obtain more properties with a normal runeword!
"They will be kept."
Based on the selection of basic items, the item, in the end, may vary drastically. This was a hot topic of discussion amongst Diablo fans!
"Who has a rune #8?" After An Cheng received a positive answer from Fang Qi, his eyes lit up with desire!
Since his staff had two sockets, it was perfect for a basic runeword.
If the four level increases in skills were kept, his weapon might be even more powerful that Fang Qi's weapon!
Even though runes weren't hard to obtain later on in the game, it wasn't so easy to obtain in Act I. They were rarer than set items at the moment!
After completing his runeword, Fang Qi had none left.
No one responded to An Cheng for a while.
Suddenly, Song Qingfeng and the others shut in excitement!
"We killed her!"
"We passed!"
"One gold unique item and three yellow rare items!"
"There's a rune?"
"So many high-quality items!" An Cheng and the others' expressions changed. "Are they fighting Andariel too?"
As soon as An Cheng heard the word 'rune', he immediately hurried over to Song Qingfeng and the others who had just defeated Andariel.
When Song Qingfeng and his friends turned around, they saw a group of players huddled behind them. There were at least 20 people!
"What's going on?"
"You defeated Andariel too?" An Cheng was surprised. Song Qingfeng and his friends' progress were significantly slower than his before.
Then, An Cheng saw some gold words flash before Song Qingfeng's screen that said, "Rune, Ral."
"Let's exchange, or you can sell it to me!" An Cheng's breathing became rapid.It's rune #8!
He reached out a hand. "I'll give you five crystals!"
As soon as An Cheng said that, the people behind him gasped, dumbstruck by what they just heard!
But at the same time, they all wanted to see the runes being used in action. They were curious as to the possible power of runewords.
Song Qingfeng and his friends looked at An Cheng, confused and bewildered. "You want to buy something from the game?"
Sure, they could buy spiritual artifacts and materials in real life, but they had never seen anyone spend money on a virtual item in the games!
Moreover, it was just a rune that needed to be placed into a socket and wasn't even an item that could be used right away!
It was understandable to spend money to play games. After all, the games in this internet café helped with cultivation, and the magic spells and combat techniques were worth studying.
However, what could they do with virtual items? Why would someone buy them with crystals?
The only thing a virtual item was capable of doing was to help the player to level up faster and play smoother.
They were happy to obtain rare items in the game, but they found it hard to believe that someone wanted to spend money to buy it in real life.
To them, it was equivalent to spending money on a counterfeit. Even a rich young master like An Cheng wouldn't spend money like so!
An Cheng froze for a second. Was I too impulsive just now?
After all, they just started playing this game, so they had never even tried to buy a virtual item with money!
After some thought, he decided to keep his offer since five crystals were just a small amount of money to him.
Therefore, he waved his hand and said, "Are you going to sell or not? I want to try it out, that's all."
He really wanted to see what the runeword and the staff that offered him four additional skill levels could create! Moreover, he didn't lack money; even his meals cost more than five crystals!
Song Qingfeng was confused. "You're willing to spend this much money on a rune? Do runes have other powers?"
An Cheng told him about runewords. They heard Fang Qi mentioning it, so there was no point in trying to keep it a secret.
"What? You're serious?" Song Qingfeng and the others were left in shock.Different runes can give exceptional properties to items?
They glanced at each other and asked each other, "What do you think?"
Lin Shao said, "If he wants it, just give it to him. None of us are sorcerers or sorceresses, and we don't need rune #8 at the moment."
Xu Luo chimed in, "Plus, we can take a look at the abilities of a runeword and see if it is really that powerful!"
They didn't even have to ask for Wang Tai's permission since the latter was a necromancer and would never use a rune like this.
"Sure." Song Qingfeng nodded. "I'll add you to our room."
They were surprised that they could make money out of playing this game. Although five crystals wasn't a lot to Song Qingfeng and his friends, it was certainly a pleasant surprise.
Soon, An Cheng joined Song Qingfeng's team, and the latter handed the rune to An Cheng who gave him five crystals in exchange.
"First #3 and then #8, right?" An Cheng reconfirmed the sequence before taking out his staff with two sockets on it.
"#3... #8..." An Cheng muttered to himself as he placed the runes onto his weapon.
The people around him all stared at the staff in An Cheng's hand, waiting for something magical to happen.
As soon as the runes were in, something magical really happened!
An Cheng looked at the newly-updated properties of the staff in his hand:
[Leaf 'TirRal'
+3 To Fire Skills
+15 To Damage
+ 5-30 Fire Damage
+3 To Fire Mastery
+3 Fire Enchanted
+3 To Fire Bolt
+3 To Inferno
+3 To Warmth]
...
"It really transformed?" Everyone felt like they had just seen the doors to a new era open!
The rows and rows of properties, in addition to the level 4 skills that the staff already had, left all the players in awe!
Then, everyone exclaimed in shock!
"It's awesome!"
"This item is so powerful!"
"The sorceress if going to be unbeatable with this staff!"
"Go try out its powers!"
All the players looked at An Cheng with jealousy and envy!
"Haha, I'll show you all!" An Cheng laughed hysterically after he switched to this high-level staff, leaving Song Qingfeng a little dumbfounded.
He looked at Lin Shao and the others before slapping his leg. "I feel like we sold it for too little!"
The people who were excited that they had sold a virtual item for five crystals were all regretting their decision now after seeing the actual effects.43
Chapter 64: Watch the Owner Play
Translator: Noodletown Translations Editor: Noodletown Translations
'Raise the cup and toast to the moon, my shadow, the moon, and I count as three people."
Drinking alone under the moonlight was indeed elegant. Ji Wuyou, in a golden robe, sat in the courtyard as he poured himself a cup of delicious wine. The clear, transparent wine shone brightly under the moonlight.
He picked up his cup and slowly tasted the wine inside, his actions elegant and fitting to his royal status.
Even though there was no one around him, his actions and attitude remained unchanged as if his elegance and nonchalance were habits that had been carved into his bones.
Just then, a shadow appeared in this courtyard like a ghost, landing in front of his table. The shadow proceeded to get down on one knee respectively.
"What information did you get?" Ji Wuyou asked casually, and the black shadow approached him and whispered into his ear.
"Nalan Hongwu? He goes to this small shop every day?" Ji Wuyou placed his cup down in bewilderment. "First Nalan Mingxue, then Nalan Jie, and now even Nalan Hongwu..."
His expression was a mixture of confusion and solemnness. "Nalan Hongwu has always been liberal when it comes to the younger generation, so why did he gather Nalan Mingxue and Nalan Jie? Did he realize something?"
He continued muttering to himself, "The Nalan Family's powers will be extremely advantageous to us. I've been secretly helping Nalan Jie to get the family leader position, we are about to succeed... Nothing can go wrong!"
"What about that shop? Did you get any information?" Ji Wuyou suddenly asked.
"I haven't gotten any information," the black shadow replied. "It's an incredibly mysterious shop, and no one knows where it came from. Apparently, not even the Nalan Family knows."
Ji Wuyou squinted his eyes, and his expression turned icy. "What is it about this shop that gathered Nalan Hongwu, Nalan Jie, and Nalan Mingxue? What are they trying to do!"
...
Compared to all kinds of small incidents, the most attention-grabbing news of the day was An Cheng buying runes with crystals.
As an old player of Resident Evil One, Liang Shi passed the game a long time ago. However, he continued playing, just so that he could be the first player to pass the game with just a dagger.
Using a dagger to pass the entire game tested the players' patience and skills. Usually, Liang Shi and his friends talked about the techniques and strategies. But today, their topic was different.
"I heard that Song Qingfeng and his friends obtain a rune while playing Diablo today, and someone bought it for five crystals!" Blackie asked in bewilderment, "I wasn't there. Did it really happen?"
"It did." Liang Shi replied, "I was right there at the time and saw An Cheng give them five crystals."
"Really?"
Yunshan Tavern had become a gathering spot for game discussions. Frequent visitors of this tavern were also frequenters of Origins Internet Club.
"If that's the case, it makes sense for Diablo to be so expensive!" someone added.
Activating Act I of Diablo II cost eight crystals, which was significantly more expensive than Resident Evil One. However, people slowly began coming to terms with how pricey the game was.
"If we play and find some of these items, can we make some money as well?"
Liang Shi laughed as he shook his head, "Don't overestimate your luck. Plus, you would have to come across a rich boy like An Cheng. Even if anyone can obtain these items, who's going to buy them?"
"Anyways, it's surprising for someone to buy something that's in a game!" Blackie chuckled.
"Someone sold something in a game for five crystals?" Everyone at Liang Shi's table was customers of Fang Qi's internet café. But upon hearing this discussion, other customers were also engaged. "What is it?"
In fact, other than Yunshan Tavern, even people at Lingyun Academy and Wind and Moon Pavilion were discussing what happened as well.
"The son of the Castellan spent five crystals to buy a virtual item in a game called Diablo?"
"The Castellan was there too. Not only did he not stop his son, he even wanted to buy that same item for 20 crystals!?"
"How's that possible? What is it? Why would someone buy an intangible item for five crystals!"
Everyone was bewildered upon hearing what happened!
An Cheng, the person who started it all, organized a party on the third floor of Wind and Moon Pavilion. He invited five people, all young masters with great power who lived in or around Jiuhua City.
As they chatted and toasted each other, a young master wearing a red robe and jade pendant asked, "I heard that Brother An spent five crystals on a toy today, and now you're treating us at Wind and Moon Pavilion. Did something that good happen?"
"A toy?" An Cheng laughed aloud, "If that's the case, consider this a celebration!"
"Oh?" The red-robed young master continued asking, "You're in a great mood today, Brother An. Why is that?"
An Cheng was in a great mood!
After he put the runeword into his staff, even his dad and Nalan Hongwu wanted to buy it off of him.
Too bad that Nalan Hongwu's team needed An Cheng's powerful sorcerer character and Nalan Hongwu was a paladin. Therefore, An Cheng got to keep his staff, and Nalan Hongwu kicked An Huwei away.
After seeing the other players looking at him in admiration and the explosive damage he felt in the game, An Cheng felt like the five crystals was money well spent!
"It's nothing." An Cheng laughed, "You're all old friends of Bu Che, Ouyang Cheng, and I. Whenever something good happens, you always tell us. I would therefore never forget about you guys when we find someplace good!"
The young master in red laughed, "Brother An, what is this place you speak of?"
Then, An Cheng, Ouyang Cheng, and Bu Che explained the game in Fang Qi's shop to them.
"Something like this exists?" Xu Hongchen, the young master in red, exclaimed in shock. A man of his status had seen many things, but he had never heard of such a game.
The other young masters in the room all stood up and said, "I trust Brother An's taste; when can you take us to this interesting place?"
...
The first batch of players of the day reached their playtime limits a long time ago.
However, the internet café was still as popular as ever, especially the area behind Fang Qi's seat.
At this very moment, the corner where Fang Qi sat was the most crowded place in the entire internet café!
A while ago, Bai Lang watched An Cheng's sorcerer character for a very long time and enjoyed the power of that great staff which was empowered by a runeword.
Nalan Hongwu was An Cheng's teammate, and he was having a good time just attracting the monsters and letting An Cheng kill them easily with fire spells! He had never had such an easy time before!
However, although An Cheng and the others' playtime was up, the rest of the players still wanted to see more!
Suddenly, someone wondered how the owner, whose character was completely equipped with items powered by runewords, was doing.
"Should we go watch the owner play?" As soon as someone said this, they all swarmed up to Fang Qi, including Bai Lang and Nalan Hongwu.
Confused, Fang Qi looked at them, causing Nalan Hongwu to glare at him anxiously and shout, "Why are you looking at us? Play the game!"
Chapter 65: It's Addicting to Watch Others Play as Well?
Translator: Noodletown Translations Editor: Noodletown Translations
Upon hearing what Nalan Hongwu said, Fang Qi laughed; he had seen addicted players before, but seeing addicted viewers was a first for him.
"Sir, there's a monster charging towards you!" A group of scarab demons ran towards Fang Qi's character while his back was against the screen!
The scarab demons were chasing an honest-looking middle-aged mercenary as he ran towards Fang Qi.
Fang Qi looked at them and noticed that aside from the ordinary scarab demons which looked stronger and more powerful than humans, there was also an elite scarab demon that emitted lightning!
"Hey, Master! There's a lot of bugs here!"
The name 'Mizan' appeared on this mercenary's head as he quickly hid behind Fang Qi, and the latter's face twitched unpleasantly. Why did I hire you back then...
Before the scarab demons arrived before them, Fang Qi quickly backed off two steps.
He used his Concentration Aura and threw the blessed hammer toward the monsters! Once the scarab demons were attacking, they would spit out large amounts of charged bolts!
Therefore, when they were sucked into the whirlwind created by the blessed hammer, charged bolts began exploding on Fang Qi's screen.
Fang Qi's expression darkened as he spat out blood and immediately ran away!
"That's it?" The audience looked at the screen in shock. All the scarab demons were knocked onto the ground!
"Oh, I think I became stronger!" Just then, Mizan who had obviously leveled up slowly ran up to Fang Qi and attacked the monsters on the group, including the mini-boss!
"Sir, this mercenary is really strong; where did you hire him?"
"His attacks are so powerful!"
"He can fight a mini-boss on his own?"
Another gasp sounded behind Fang Qi, causing the latter's expression to darken.
"Look for Greiz in Act II and ask for Mizan."
"The mercenaries in Act II are so strong!" Nalan Mingxue and Lan Yan were watching as well, and they couldn't help but exclaim, "Let's hire him in Act II as well!"
The mercenaries in Act I were all archers who quickly ran out of HP and died as soon as they were attacked.
Therefore, after reviving them a few times, the players would stop using mercenaries.
But, the mercenaries in Act II are so powerful! a lot of people thought.
"He's good!" Lin Shao's eyes lit up. "Let's hire this mercenary when we start tomorrow!"
"Yeah, let's try!" Song Qingfeng was more than ready to play.
Nalan Mingxue smiled mysteriously. "Let's see when we get there."
The good news was that this was only an interlude, and Mizan was actually really helpful, allowing Fang Qi to successfully get to Arcane Sanctuary from Claw Viper Temple!
"The owner's damage is so high!"
"He can kill all the monsters in his way!"
The viewers noticed that no matter where Fang Qi went, as soon as he waved his blessed hammer at his enemies, they all fell like harvested crops!
Even if he encountered a boss, the latter would quickly die under the attacks of Fang Qi's blessed hammer and crystal sword and his mercenary's swift strikes!
When An Cheng, Ouyang Cheng, and Bu Che arrived at the internet café with their friends, they rushed to Fang Qi upon seeing so many people huddled around him.
They were flabbergasted by what they saw on his screen. "Sir, how do you kill so many monsters?"
Not even An Cheng's new staff could kill monsters so efficiently and effectively!
After a while, An Cheng noticed how awesome it was to watch Fang Qi play with such ease!
"How's this possible?" No wonder Fang Qi's level was much higher than the rest of them.
"How did you distribute your skill points?" Nalan Mingxue asked as she saw Fang Qi wave his blessed hammer in the air, knocking the Summoner right down.
Now all that was left in Act II was the boss, Duriel, who guarded the tomb of Tal Rasha!
Nalan Mingxue slowly analyzed the scene in front of her; she remembered that the blessed hammer only dealt magic damage, but all of Fang Qi's items enhanced casting speed and didn't increase magic damage.
Moreover, none of his items had properties that increased skill level, unlike An Cheng's staff.
Therefore, he should only be good at defense theoretically.
"Skills?" The others were confused and glanced in Nalan Mingxue's direction.
When Fang Qi opened his skill tree, Nalan Mingxue quickly looked at Fang Qi's most-used skills, which were level 3 Blessed Hammer, level 3 Concentration.
Then, she saw the properties of Concentration.
[Level 3 Concentration: Reduces the chance that your attacks will be interrupted.
Chance of uninterrupted hit: 20%
Increased Damage: +90%]
Everyone gasped upon seeing this!
As soon as this aura was used, all his enemies would sustain 90% more damage!
It basically doubled the collective damage!
"No wonder the owner's mercenary is so powerful!"
"The skills of every class become stronger the more we play!"
"Does this aura work on magic spells as well?" Elder Fu quickly asked.
Fang Qi's blessed hammer deals so much damage. Will the concentration aura increase the damage of magic spells as well? he thought.
The people in his team were all sorcerers, and necromancers' curses only increased the physical damage received, which didn't help the sorcerers! Therefore, necromancers weren't much help to his teammates.
But if the concentration aura was effective on spells... Once they reached level 18 and learned the aura, An Cheng would be able to kill monsters in the blink of an eye!
To their disappointment, Fang Qi shook his head and said, "The concentration aura only increases the damage of the blessed hammer. Holy bolt, for example, wouldn't be empowered."
"It only works on the blessed hammer?"
"It is that strict!"
The viewers were once again left in awe upon hearing what Fang Qi said.
"So, you have the concertation aura, blessed hammer, and a close-range mercenary who also knows how to use blessed hammer? It is like killing two birds with one stone!"
"Wow... this combination is amazing!" The more the viewers thought about it, the more surprised they became!
"So the owner decided to not learn the ultimate combat skill, Fist of the Heavens, which requires level 30 and instead he leveled up his blessed hammer..."
The interesting thing about Diablo came from its different skills and items, allowing each player to create different styles even if they were of the same class!
For example, Fang Qi's paladin character was supposed to be a close-range combat warrior.
However, Fang Qi's transformed it into someone like a sorcerer with a suit of armor, who was skilled in both close-range combat and kiting enemies.
When there were a lot of monsters, he could cast spells at them. When he was fighting a strong boss, he could use both physical damage and magic damage! He completely overthrew the definition of a warrior!
Most importantly, his damage was really high!
"There are so much to the skill tree!"
"Watching the owner play is more useful than me thinking about it for a couple nights in a row!" Nalan Hongwu was in deep thoughts upon seeing Fang Qi's skill arrangement.
Song Qingfeng, on the other hand, patted Lin Shao and Li Ping, the paladins on his team.
"Watch and learn, if you keep adding skill points randomly, you should just let Mizan lead the fight, and you guys can be his supporters!"
Lin Shao and Li Ping looked down and nodded as if they had just learned a lot.
Beside them, even Bai Lang and his friends realized that if the skills were learned in proper sequences, they could still be very powerful even if they had ordinary items!
Of course, good items would be even better.
At that moment, Fang Qi suddenly opened a portal, went back to the town, and exited the game.
"Sir, why aren't you playing anymore? Go on!" The crowd froze. Not only were Fang Qi's battles exciting, the viewers could also learn a lot from him! They didn't have enough!
How could Fang Qi exit the game all of a sudden?
Fang Qi, on the other hand, glanced at the time and said, "It's midnight; why aren't you leaving?"
"It's midnight already?" An Cheng was shocked; he thought he just walked in through the doors.
"What? Already?"
"I didn't even notice!"
"Damn it! I have to go back to Yanhai City! It's already midnight?"
...