After an intense round of grinding, Mantou finally uploaded his first video simultaneously to the forum and a certain video-sharing site.
*Elezerg Log: The Starting Point of a Dragon Knight*
"First!"
"Grabbing front-row seats and cracking melon seeds."
"The missing person returns once again."
"Heavenly King covers Earthly Tiger, Mantou's Charisma is a nine!"
Mantou's face appeared on screen, though he looked inexplicably haggard and worn out. "Hello everyone, welcome to the long-awaited first episode of the *Elezerg Log*. I'm Mantou.
"During this time, I've spent... uh, an unforgettable eighteen days in this world of swords and magic. Next, I'll take you through my experiences over these past days from my personal perspective. This includes an earth-shattering secret about the Cinder Nest faction, as well as the forgotten history of the City of Baator."
After finishing his opening remarks, Mantou looked bleary-eyed, on the verge of dozing off.
"Why does Mantou look like his body's been completely hollowed out?"
"Mantou blew up in the game recently—went off to work as a drudge alongside several pro gaming gods."
"Hahahaha, I know about that!"
"The Four Drudges, the Sweatshop Squad."
"Where did you guys all get closed beta access? I want to play too."
"All snatched up already. Wait a few months for open beta."
The video opened with three top-tier professional gods inviting Mantou into their party. All three were renowned figures in the fully immersive gaming scene—far more famous than Mantou, at least—which naturally stirred up a frenzy of bullet comments.
"Xiaye Qiuyu! My waifu!"
"Nonsense, she's clearly my waifu!"
"Brother Zhankuang's hair is as lush as ever!"
"Caught a wild Sing-dog!"
Other bullet comments focused on the Mysterious Invitation:
"Holy crap, is that damn invitation really that expensive? That's enough to kit out multiple squads with full gear."
"Why didn't I see this special item?"
"Those of you backseat gamers who haven't played might not realize what ten gold coins mean. For example, an ordinary player mining for a whole day earns thirty-five copper coins. Ten gold coins is roughly four thousand coppers, which means spending 114.514 days in the mine."
"Person above sneaking in their own memes..."
"Holy crap, for a lousy quest item? What makes it so special?"
Yet what followed shocked the players even further. The invitation summoned a fiery portal that transported the four-person party into a dark cavern.
There, the team met the mysterious, outrageously handsome draconic bloodline sorcerer, Cassius. They unlocked the Mithral Shop and Adamantine Shop, discovered the purpose of Faction Contribution, and unveiled the advanced class: Redscale Conqueror.
In his voiceover, Mantou even revealed the mysterious sorcerer's true identity—leader of the Cinder Nest, King of the Flying Flame, the red dragon Cassius!
A stormy wave instantly swept through the bullet comments. Backseat gamers, casual passersby, and active players alike were utterly stunned.
Most passersby were captivated by Cassius's breathtaking charisma, letting loose all sorts of wild comments:
"Holy crap, this NPC looks way too good!"
"I would!"
"Think carefully, everyone above! That's a dragon—how massive would it be?!"
"A dragon? Then I would even harder!"
"From now on, I am Lord Cassius's dog!"
"I really want to lick Lord Cassius's horns..."
"Cassius fan club assembling!"
Meanwhile, the Redscale Conqueror revealed at the end provoked a massive uproar among active players.
"Holy crap, is Faction Contribution that useful? I feel like I missed out on a hundred million!"
"All of that gear is god-tier!"
"Can you even afford it? Ten gold coins minimum. It's just a toy made by the devs for the mega-guilds."
"Holy shit, the faction leader's handsome looks are actually on par with mine!"
"Stop bragging, dude above."
"Damn, innate draconic bloodline, a large draconic mount, plus exclusive traits—this advanced class is completely broken!"
"Redscale Conqueror is god!"
"The sky is a man's romance! I'm going to be one!"
"Say no more, already switched to fighter. Paladin? Don't know him!"
The rest of the video documented Mantou's miserable eighteen-day ordeal: digging in mines, hauling bricks, repairing walls, pouring mortar every day, getting cursed at by ogre overseers, ordered around by hobgoblin officers, chased and beaten by phase spiders in the mine tunnels, and laughed at by crowds of spectating players...
"Feels like stepping into eighteenth-century America."
"Now I finally understand what the 'Four Drudges' means..."
"I thought he just went bankrupt, but Mantou was actually enduring humiliation to achieve greatness!"
"Merely eighteen days..."
"To become a dragon knight, I can endure that too!"
"Heh, by the time you save up enough contribution, the opportunity will have long passed."
"Done watching videos, I'm heading back to Elezerg to haul bricks!"
Mantou's first episode of the *Elezerg Log*—also known as *Mantou's Tearful Tale of Forced Labor*—saw its view count skyrocket like a missile, quickly claiming a spot on that day's trending list. Thanks to this, most closed beta players came to know Cassius as an essential NPC and faction leader of the Cinder Nest, cementing his pivotal status in their minds.
Even more widespread was the buzz surrounding his astonishing charisma, which broke past the gaming community entirely.
A search phrase even popped up on the trending topics:
*The Insanely Gorgeous NPC*
...
"Killed by my pig teammate Wild Magic Sorcerer. Heartbroken, ready to kick him."
"Video of Lang-beast getting arrested."
"Is the Mysterious Invitation out of stock? Why can't I find it on the shelf anymore?!"
Cassius browsed the forum, watching the players chatter and debate. Soon, a familiar username caught his eye—Singo.
That guy had published several guide threads in a single breath, and this was after eighteen consecutive days of hard labor. It genuinely made one wonder if he was half machine.
*Shocking! Mysterious NPC Cassius's True Identity Is Actually—*
*Astonishing! Faction Contribution Has These Crucial Uses!*
*Invincible! Detailed Analysis of the Fighter Advanced Class: Redscale Conqueror*
*Why in the Current Version Even Dogs Wouldn't Pick Wizard?*
Beneath his posts, however, the comment section had devolved into chaos. The poor players who had been led astray by his novice tutorial and possessed barely any Faction Contribution flooded the replies, berating him relentlessly with cries of "Sing-dog."
Singo himself acted as though he saw none of it.
"Sing-dog, you screwed me over so badly! I only have fifty damn contribution points in total!"
"Sing-dog, give me back my Faction Contribution!"
"How rotten can you be? Putting up posts to mislead us while you secretly ran off to farm contribution yourself, didn't you?!"
"I bet he did it on purpose. I'm gathering a party to camp Sing-dog's respawn point!"
"Count me in!"
"+1"
"+10086"
Singo replied with an utterly innocent comment: "You guys had better hurry up and take quests. If you're late, you won't get any. Even if you beat me to death, I won't drop Faction Contribution."
This stoked the players' fury even higher.
"Holy crap, this bastard truly deserves to die—"
"Die, Sing-dog!"
"I declare Sing-dog and Lang-beast the two greatest scumbags in the game!"
"Hey, person above, don't slander me! I, Langlibaitiao, have always been an upright and honorable person."
"Go die with Sing-dog! Picking a damn Arcane Trickster and spending all day in the mine tunnels stealing, stealing, stealing! Last time, it was you, you prick, who used Mage Hand to nick every single potion out of my backpack!"
"I—I took them with my own skill! How can you call that stealing?!"
Chapter 76