Four days passed in Elezerg. Hundreds of players wandered through the City of Baator, taking on municipal tasks across town and compiling all kinds of survival tips.
For instance, how to haul bricks with the least effort, how to cut corners when building houses, how to climb trees to retrieve a tiefling girl's lost cat, and even how to swipe vegetables from the market without getting caught.
The overwhelming impression Elezerg gave players was simple: boundless freedom, and absolute realism.
You could get chased and beaten by shopkeepers for stealing, lawfully put down by a homeowner for barging into their house and rifling through chests, or even arrested by the tiefling guard for drawing a mustache on the statue at the center of the plaza...
Even more astonishing to the players, real-world physics and chemistry manifested in this world under the guise of magic. One civil engineering bro with the ID "Run with the Bucket" had even worked his way up to overseer of the Baator city wall construction, thanks to his masterful concrete-pouring skills and an ancient cement-making recipe.
After four days, most players had reached Level 1, and Mantou was no exception.
Elezerg offered twelve base class branches for players to choose from: fighter, barbarian, bard, cleric, druid, monk, paladin, ranger, rogue, sorcerer, warlock, and wizard.
Each class had its strengths and weaknesses, triggering severe choice paralysis in quite a few people.
After much deliberation, Mantou chose the fighter class, preferring the thrill of swords and steel.
However, most players had been forcibly logged out due to the game pods' twenty-four-hour limit—save for a few hardcore grinders who had jailbroken their systems just to stay miles ahead of the pack.
"Phew, time flew by way too fast."
"I barely noticed it, and four whole days have already passed."
Mantou disconnected from his game pod, feeling a hollow sense of loss.
Yet he had no time to wallow in sentimentality; he had to pull an all-nighter to get his video edited and published as soon as possible.
"Ah, gotta upload again. Talk about hair loss."
Mantou rubbed the somewhat thinning hair at the back of his head, turned on his computer, and began editing.
In his eyes, given Elezerg's unprecedented quality, it was bound to become a massive viral hit once this closed beta concluded. He had to seize this first wave of traffic and establish himself as a pioneer among gaming enthusiasts.
Several hours later, the video was finally published.
...
*Mantou's Let's Play: Elezerg, It Built a Real World*
Mantou was already a moderately popular gaming content creator with tens of thousands of followers on a certain video platform. As soon as the video went live, viewers flooded in.
"The missing person returns!"
"Front row!"
"First!"
"Such an exaggerated title, did you get sponsored?"
"Hey everyone, it's Mantou. Today I'm bringing you a game called—Elezerg.
"I bet most of you haven't heard the name, but you will soon enough. I stumbled across this hidden gem purely by accident. I've been playing non-stop for a full day and night now, feeling fantastic—if not for the time limit, I think I could play for another year straight.
"Alright, cut the chatter, let's jump straight into the gameplay footage."
"Classic intro filler."
"'I'd die if I didn't ramble' series."
Even before the gameplay started, bullet comments were already flying across the screen. By the character creation screen, the comedic value was in full swing—especially when his Charisma was set to 9.
"Thunder strikes the mountain shrine, Mantou's Charisma sits at nine!"
"Hahahahaha, sorry, I burst out laughing!"
"Mantou: 'No Old God Body? I *am* an Old God myself!'"
"Too hilarious."
"Now we know why Mantou's online dating meetups always fail."
Not to mention later in the footage, when "Holy Light Bro" stripped down in pursuit of freedom only to suffer total social death, or when Langlibaitiao died three times in a row and got spawn-camped by NPCs. The entertainment value went straight through the roof.
"Hahahahaha, Lang-beast finally got what was coming to him!"
"Holy crap, the AI is that advanced?"
"That's actually kind of terrifying."
"Now I really want to jump in and play too."
The latter half focused on Mantou's misadventures hauling bricks, grinding XP, and earning coin in the City of Baator—including being chased and beaten by an ogre for running his mouth, nearly giving up his precious first blood.
"Chase him! Get him!"
"An ogre eating Mantou, lol."
"Bro, you turned this into a slave simulator!"
"That's all for today's gameplay! I need to catch some rest, and tomorrow I'll head back into the world of Elezerg to keep hauling bricks. Until next time, folks!
"Moving forward, I'll be producing a series titled *Mantou's Elezerg Adventures*, serialized simultaneously across the player forum and a certain video site. Stay tuned!"
Upon release, the video immediately caused a sensation among immersive-gaming communities. Views hit the million mark, shooting straight to the top of the gaming section's trending list that day and drawing widespread attention to Elezerg.
...
Cassius browsed through threads on the player forum, taking in an eclectic mix of topics.
Newbie questions:
"Why can't my Level 1 wizard get any spells? What does it mean by needing spell scrolls to study?"
"Looking for a Wild Magic Sorcerer build guide! What do I do if I burned my teammates to death?"
Party recruitment:
"Tracking down the Orc Rebel Tribe, need a barbarian teammate to tank on the frontline."
"Looking for a bard, in the mood for some tunes."
"LF party for owlbear hunt quest. No wizards, and definitely no Wild Magic Sorcerers."
And someone's indignant protest:
"Petition signed in blood by a billion players! Protesting against the devs deliberately targeting top-tier players and spawn-camping to disrupt normal gameplay! Demand 1,000 gold coins in compensation for this player!"
The replies beneath were mostly jeers:
"Praise the devs!"
"Why isn't Lang-beast riding the waves anymore?"
"Here's your compensation: 1,000 more deaths."
Just then, Cassius stumbled upon a strategy guide thread.
"Beginner's Guide to Elezerg in Five Minutes!"
He was thoroughly familiar with the author's handle: Singo. In his past life, people called him Big S, or mockingly Sing-dog—a veteran immersive gamer and professional solo player.
Not only was his skill top-tier, but he also wrote fantastic guides, serving as an enduring beacon for many solo newcomers.
The core of his guide summarized novice quest progression and cost-efficiency. Crucially, he emphasized a four-phrase mantra for taking quests:
"Take gold if available; take gear if not."
"Faction Contribution? Even dogs wouldn't touch it."
Cassius narrowed his eyes, exhaling a puff of sulfur-scented heat.
"This won't do."
"If you all want coin, how am I supposed to swindle you empty-handed? This unhealthy trend must be stopped!"
From the players' perspective, Singo's guide was undeniably correct.
Compared to gold coins and equipment—tangible goods with inherent value that circulated freely anywhere—the Faction Contribution Cassius offered was more like fiat credit issued by his faction.
Faction Contribution suffered an inherent flaw: it held no intrinsic worth and only carried value if it could be circulated.
You had to be able to buy things with it, right?
If you couldn't buy anything, its value plunged straight to zero—and right now, players had no way to spend their Faction Contribution.
If Cassius wanted to run a zero-cost racket and fleece the players, he had to give them sufficient expectations for this special currency called "Faction Contribution," making them willingly believe in its worth.
At this thought, Cassius smiled faintly.
"Polymorph!"
Glimmers of arcane light sparkled, and the massive red dragon vanished. In his place stood an aristocratic youth with black hair, golden eyes, and a crimson robe.
"Looks like I'll have to interact with the players in person..."
***
**Character Sheet — Through Volume 1, Chapter 70**
**Dragon of Flying Flame — Cassius**
Name: Cassius Claudius Norixius
Template: NPC (4 years, 271 days, 5 hours until open beta)
Category: Huge Dragon, Lawful Evil
Race: Adolescent Red Dragon
AC: 24 (Natural Armor, Gilded Scales)
**Base Attributes:**
Strength — 26
Dexterity — 11
Constitution — 23
Intelligence — 14
Wisdom — 13
Charisma — 24
Skill Proficiencies: Persuasion +12, Deception +8, Dominion +8, Stealth +6, Perception +8, Hunting +4, Arcana +4, Escape +4, Knowledge (Future) +4
Damage Immunities: Fire, Lightning
Senses: Blindsight 10 ft, Darkvision 60 ft, Passive Perception 16
Languages: Common, Draconic
Abilities: Body of Storm's Echo, Maximized Flame Breath, Targeted Flame Breath, Gilded Carapace, Bloodline Boon
Feats & Traits: Gilded Scales, Maximize Breath, Target Breath, Combat Casting, Leader's Aura, Fugitive, Silver Tongue, Draconic Spells
Equipment: Eye of the Storm Sovereign, Amulet of Spell Immunity, Necklace of Dimension Door, Ring of Nimble Wizard Movement, Staff of the Scorcher, Amulet of Speak with Dead, Lava Spitter, Ring of Blade Warding, Amulet of Silent Steps...
**Equipment Spells:**
Charged Cast: Storm of Vengeance
1/week: Control Weather
1/day: Barrier of Spell Immunity, Dimension Door, Speak with Dead, Burning Hands, Scorching Ray, Blade Ward, Expeditious Retreat
Class Level: True Dragon Sorcerer 7
Caster Level: 10
**Spells:**
4th Circle: Through Fire and Water, Polymorph
3rd Circle: Energy Scales, Blink, Protection from Energy
2nd Circle: Egg of Refuge, Enhance Ability, Misty Step, Phantasmal Force, Invisibility
1st Circle: Fog Cloud, Charm Person, Magic Missile, Shield, Thunderwave
Cantrips: Trembling Dread, Mage Hand, Minor Illusion, True Strike, Prestidigitation, Message, Scratch
**Spell-like Abilities:**
1/day: Suggestion
Challenge Rating: 15 (13,000 XP)
Evaluation: When fire streaks across the sky, beware his arrival.
Chapter 69