Game’s Dogma

Zepyhrwolf, Danting, Idyllic Poet, Windstrider, and Sasaki all settled down in the Third City.

It was quite a beneficial move for Drako Yau as the five of them now worked in shifts to keep at least one person online at any moment, just in case sudden incidents like the Empyreal Spire assassination attempt occurred. The person online could also relay his instructions if he needed them for anything later.

That was how a systematic group should function, though they weren’t like other studios which focused on making money. Rather, they weren’t even sure why Drako Yau hired them in the first place. Not only did he not benefit from their employment economically, but he also had to pay them a monthly salary.

For that reason, they would give their all whenever Drako Yau gave them orders. He, as the boss, also didn’t mind investing a ‘small amount’ of money as the first instalment.

Because he knew his time to make big money would come when the shop system in major cities was implemented. He was simply preparing for it by gathering people under his banner and letting them build up chemistry.

Drako Yau was taking a stroll around Yoda.

He didn’t put on his iconic mask and switched out his equipment. He even left the torso slot empty by wearing just the ‘divine armour’, God-Slaying Demon Extermination Armour. With his ordinary face and poorly equipped outfit, he was no more than a mere passerby; no one could possibly associate him with the almighty Mask.

The stroll wasn’t a pointless one. He had many tasks to handle, though he failed at one already.

One of his tasks was to search for a suitable set of Level 25 equipment. The Skeleton King set had pretty decent stats, and plenty of players wore it until Level 30 because its set effects increased Health, Defence, and Attack. The effects were simple but useful enough, and more importantly, the set’s price was very affordable. Based on its price, there were hardly any contenders for a better set at that level range.

There weren’t any special Level 25 rare sets, and the next set didn’t appear until Level 30. Given that he was currently Level 27, he wasn’t too far away from Level 30. It wasn’t necessary to waste money on a set which would be phased out soon; deep down, he was still a frugal person.

As levels became harder to obtain, players were no longer frenzied about levelling up. On the contrary, after witnessing Drako Yau’s hundred-win feat in the Arena as Mask, players now placed more emphasis on combat techniques.

Even the dumbest of people could tell that he hadn’t used a single skill—and that only made it all the more stunning.

In the past, players focused only on how powerful their skills were. Whoever’s skills were stronger and had better equipment would naturally turn out to be the victor. However, Mask’s hundred-win streak reminded them that skills weren’t everything.

The Arena became a popular hangout all of a sudden.

Apart from the Arena, the once-ignored subclass system was also gaining popularity rapidly. Drako Yau naturally wasn’t going to keep himself out of the loop.

He went up to the alchemist, who responded with a gentle smile and a nod, opening up the alchemist panel. He then clicked ‘Learn Subclass Skills’.

Many options showed up. For example, ‘Brewer’ produced all sorts of potions. Not just ordinary healing potions; after levelling up the subclass, brewers could also produce temporary buff potions.

There was also ‘Poison Master’, another brewing subclass whose focus was on damaging potions, a relatively dark and evil subclass. Players who picked this subclass were mostly assassins because it granted the passive skill Poisoned Weapon, allowing them to apply different poisons onto their daggers.

Those weren’t the subclasses he wanted. He decisively clicked onto the panel.

‘Are you sure you want to learn “Scrollcraft”? It’s a sophisticated form of craftsmanship.’ The alchemist looked into Drako Yau’s eyes with a serious look.

Drako Yau wasn’t swayed. This fella just likes to put up such a dubious front whenever someone tries to learn a subclass. He ignored the alchemist’s caution and learnt it regardless.

‘Level 1 Scrollcraft.’

‘Scrollcrafters produce various scrolls through alchemy. When they gain profound knowledge about scrollcraft, they can even imbue powerful attacks into scrolls.’

When players near him heard what the alchemist said, they all looked at Drako Yau with mocking smiles.

Scrollcraft was also known as ‘Squandercraft’ among players.

Subclasses had so much variety that there were at least over a dozen of them available. Among them all, basically everyone stayed away from the infamous Scrollcrafter subclass.

The first player to pick up the Scrollcrafter subclass had a simple thought in mind: he would make loads of money by selling Return-to-City Scrolls. Such a scroll cost thirty gold coins each on average, peaking at around fifty gold coins. Even the cheapest ones cost over ten gold coins. There was also no shortage of willing buyers, just a shortage of scroll supply—because there were way too many filthy rich players in the game.

What? Running all the way back from the Highlands of John? You’re crazy…

Such spendthrifts wouldn’t run if they could walk, wouldn’t walk if they could stand, and wouldn’t stand if they could sit. A mere 500 dollars was nothing. A meal… no, a glass of wine probably cost even more than that.

As such, the ambitious player became a scrollcrafter and even obtained the rare title, First Scrollcraft Scholar. It only further flamed his pride as he thought he got a head start over others.

When he actually started learning scrollcraft, it was the start of a nightmare. The reason was money.

To level up a subclass, the only logical way was to produce the related items. For brewers, they had to brew potions. For smiths, they had to craft armour and weapons. The item of interest for scrollcrafters was none other than scrolls.

However, contrary to the First Scrollcraft Scholar’s expectations, a Level 1 scrollcrafter could only craft the most basic scrolls, such as Breeze Scroll and Bright Scroll.

Breeze Scroll: Summon a breeze to dissipate the heat.

Bright Scroll: Release a bright aura to lighten up the surroundings for five seconds.

Who on earth would buy such useless scrolls?

This wasn’t even the worst part. Items necessary for crafting scrolls were the killing blow.

‘Brush: A must-have for scrollcrafters when crafting scrolls. Cost: 1000 gold coins.’

‘Level 1 blank scroll: a base item for crafting a Level 1 scroll. Cost: 1 gold coin.’

Level 2 blank scrolls cost two gold coins, Level 3 ones cost three gold coins, and so on…

Before you could even learn scrollcraft, you had to pay 10,000 real-life dollars to buy a damned brush!

Thankfully, the First Scrollcraft Scholar was a patient one. He knew initial hardships and setbacks were necessary to achieve great accomplishment.

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