Bizarre Voyage: Summoning The Fourth Crisis

So, hoarding Wax Oil didn’t make much sense for Luo Ge right now.

He used some of his Wax Oil to construct Spirit Candle Buildings on all the anchored islands and then Promoted them to make them more convenient for the players. This would also stop the players from constantly crowding Candle Island. After all, the functions within the Spirit Candle Buildings were all interconnected.

Another point, naturally, was to recruit more new players.

More players meant faster exploration progress.

After all, not every chaotic area within the Dark Boundary held clues worth investigating. Many of them were useless.

In the players’ own words, it was for "enriching the game’s background."

Finally, and most importantly, was crafting equipment and various Special Items.

When the Spirit Candle’s Tier was still relatively low, Luo Ge couldn’t craft high-Quality equipment.

But now that the Spirit Candle’s Tier had been raised, Luo Ge could naturally craft a wider variety of gear.

’This is a great way to turn Wax Oil into more Wax Oil!’

Equipment that cost 500 Wax Oil to make could be sold for the high price of 5,000 Wax Oil just by adding some fine details, a minor effect, and making it look cool. There would always be some sucker player who liked fancy clothes and was willing to buy it.

Of course, Luo Ge would also make some more practical equipment, but the prices for those wouldn’t be low either.

With high equipment prices, Luo Ge would have more justification for working the players like beasts of burden in the future.

’Think about it. If a player struggles through a difficult quest and you reward them with a piece of equipment that only costs 50 Wax Oil in the shop, will they be happy?’

’No, they’ll just curse the Candlekeeper for being a stupid-ass NPC.’

’But if that same piece of equipment sold for 5,000 Wax Oil in the shop, it’s a different story.’

’Even if the gear is all flash and no substance, the player would just feel dejected, not angry.’

’So, you see...’

’The reason the equipment in the Candlekeeper’s shop is so expensive... is it because I want to earn Wax Oil and suck the marrow from the players’ bones?’

’Simplistic. That line of thinking is too simplistic.’

’Small-minded. The scope is too small.’

’The high prices are an affirmation of the players’ hard work! It’s a sign of their recognition!’

So, the thought of the players’ emotional faces after seeing the high-priced equipment in the Candlekeeper’s shop...

...made Luo Ge smile with satisfaction.

Besides that, there was the Special Items category.

In this area, Luo Ge had been merciful, keeping the prices as low as possible.

The reason for this was inextricably linked to the players themselves.

Since they were essentially little wax figures created by the Spirit Candle, they were lacking in Attributes and other aspects, despite their ability to resurrect indefinitely.

For instance, crafting Special Items.

[Scorching Wax Block]

[Type: Special Items]

[Effect: Upon use, prevents low-level Fires of Life from approaching for a period of time.]

[Explanation: A block made by the Candlekeeper. Aesthetically pleasing, grand, and practical.]

For items like this one.

Luo Ge’s inspiration came from Burton Mage and the [Fire-Extinguishing Core]—an item frequently used by High Tier Fire Burners while exploring the Land of Burning.

That’s right. As native inhabitants of this world, they couldn’t endlessly resurrect like the Candle Spirits, and they had to learn and comprehend Skills from their fundamental logic.

But this naturally gave the natives their own unique advantages... such as crafting items with special effects.

While the players certainly grew faster, they were like products off an assembly line. They were decent enough at crudely fighting monsters using the framework provided by the Spirit Candle Power, but it was impossible for them to make any real progress in more refined disciplines.

This included creating their own Skills and crafting Special Items.

Of course, "creating their own Skills" referred to the kind of Skills that could be written into a Spirit Candle Skill Book.

Something like Brother Mangzi’s frequently used "Great Windmill" was, at best, a crude combat technique.

To get back on topic, it was perfectly normal that the players couldn’t do these things. In any case, Luo Ge didn’t need their help with scholarly pursuits. They just needed to focus on exploration and combat—to serve as good cannon fodder.

As for Special Items, Luo Ge only needed to create a template at the beginning. The Spirit Candle could then mass-produce them, which was very convenient.

And to expand the players’ options and increase their combat effectiveness, it wouldn’t do to set the prices too high.

...

[Live update complete.]

[The Candlekeeper’s shop items have been updated and moved to the Spirit Candle. Purchases can be made at any time.]

"Oh? The candle-watching guy’s shop updated again?"

"Moved to the Spirit Candle? Good. Saves me from having to queue up every time I want to see my wife, Noxia. It hurts me so much I can’t breathe, seeing a bunch of burly guys leave my wife’s side looking all satisfied..."

"Uh, dude?"

"Heard you can buy all sorts of useful Special Items this time?"

"Sigh, what’s so great about this crappy shop? The stuff inside is just ordinary, barely usable. If you want good gear, you still have to go kill monsters."

"You can’t say that. The stuff the Candlekeeper’s shop sells might be average, but man is it expensive!"

"Huh? Didn’t the Candlekeeper’s shop have a requirement? I thought you needed high affinity with that candle-watching NPC?"

"Dude, you’re way behind. That was the last patch."

"Someone grinded out the qualifications before and started reselling stuff from the Candlekeeper’s shop. Then, after a live update, the requirements were lowered. But anyone who got access before that received compensation."

"Damn, I get the feeling this candle-watching guy can’t stand to see players get even the slightest advantage."

"! Bro! You can’t say that! You have to respectfully call him the Candlekeeper in-game! Otherwise, your drop rates and gacha rates will go down!"

"Tch, you’re playing a game and you’re getting into superstitions? I’m not scared of that stuff."

As the players discussed this, they began to gather in twos and threes at the Spirit Candle to check out its various functions.

The Spirit Candle’s functions had now become more numerous and enriched.

[Restore Status][Replenish Wax Blocks][Ignite Warfire][Reshaped Body][Reset World][Enter Dungeon][Teleportation][Shop]

The function the players used most right now was Teleportation.

After clicking on the shop option, two categories appeared before the players.

[Weapons and Equipment]

[Special Items]

One player was the first to click the Weapons and Equipment option.

Their eyes went wide, and reactions varied.

"Holy crap, that’s so fucking cool!"

"Fuck, that’s so damn expensive!"

That’s right. The weapons and equipment in the Candlekeeper’s shop were mainly characterized by two things: looking cool and being expensive.

For example, the most eye-catching item...

[Blazing Pioneer Armor (Treasure Collection)]

[Type: Chest Armor]

[Effect: Provides a moderate amount of Defense and inflicts a minor burn effect on the enemy when hit.]

[Explanation: Armor that burns with the same fervor as the spirit of exploration. This is the symbol of a pioneer.]

Luo Ge had racked his brain to come up with these equipment names.

They had absolutely nothing to do with the name suggestion thread on the forums, of course.

Needless to say, the appearance was top-notch. Luo Ge had spent ages surfing the web for inspiration and even had Burton Mage provide guidance during its creation.

Even these picky players couldn’t find any fault with it.

"This armor even has a faint, flowing glow..."

"Yeah, and it’s not all flashy and rainbow-colored like in some other games. This is genuinely cool..."

Some players clicked their tongues, their eyes filled with envy.

However, one look at the price below instantly extinguished most of their desire to buy it.

[Price: 8,500 Wax Oil]

[Quantity Remaining: 1]

’Eighty-five hundred?’

’And it’s limited stock?’

’How much Wax Oil does it cost for one of us little wax people to resurrect? How many of us is this armor worth?’

’Holy shit, you actually dare to sell it at that price!’

’Even if we had the Wax Oil, that price is ridiculous! This shop must be insane.’

’We couldn’t afford this even if we sold ourselves...’

"Even a dog wouldn’t buy it," someone said sourly.

It was a classic case of sour grapes.

Then, right before their eyes, the "1" in the quantity remaining switched to a "0".

"Whoa, this armor is pretty cool."

Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Black Mountain Little Demon, who had just logged on, equipped the Blazing Pioneer Armor.

After taking a couple of steps, he found that the weight was slowing him down. He couldn’t help but shake his head and put it back in his inventory.

"Too heavy. Can’t use it."

Black Mountain Little Demon smacked his lips and started browsing the other equipment.

"..."

The atmosphere was silent for a moment.

’That’s a piece of Knight equipment!’

’Of course you can’t fucking wear it!’

"Doesn’t this game have a cash shop?" someone couldn’t hold it in any longer.

"The game doesn’t have a cash shop, but people do," a player said resentfully.

"Fuck! Shill!"

"He’s gotta be a shill!"

"I’ll fight you, you damn rich people!"

Some of the players’ eyes turned red.