The Fourth Calamity: Starting with Dungeon Slimes

After gathering all the loot together, the players began to take inventory.

"The Dark Elves' weapons seem pretty impressive; they're quite lethal."

The amateur welder picked up a bow and arrow and began to study it.

"Brothers, this should be a relatively low-level magical item. Take a look and see how it differs from the equipment we've crafted."

Upon hearing this, many players picked up the weapon carefully and examined it, but after looking at it for a long time, they still couldn't figure it out.

Currently, apart from Amateur Welder and Sky Dome, who are responsible for weapon manufacturing and have in-depth knowledge of different weapons, the other players are basically laymen.

"It doesn't seem to make much difference, but if I had to say, I'd say this weapon is much less powerful than the one we made."

During this period, the amateur welders also built many portable turrets and mortars, which are inexpensive and powerful weapons.

So when a player tried using this weapon, they immediately noticed the difference between the two.

Upon hearing this, the amateur welder nodded.

"That's pretty much the situation. The advantage of traditional magical items is that they have a certain ability to absorb magic."

"You can think of this magical absorption ability as similar to a solar panel, which absorbs its own energy."

"One absorbs solar energy, while these magical items absorb magical elements that are floating in the world."

"So normally, the magic consumed by using these magical items comes first from their own stored energy, and second from the user's own magical power."

This group of amateur welders is going to give players a proper lesson on the differences between the two weapons.

Of course, he had his own reasons for doing this.

The reason is actually not complicated.

In the current state of the game, players' demand for weapons will increase, especially after the game progresses to the ground.

The most outrageous thing about this game is that you can wear the equipment you loot from monsters, which is the most ridiculous part.

This has led to many players not needing to go through the same trouble as welders.

Crafting any weapons would be completely unnecessary.

You can just use it as is; if everyone does that, then it's obvious that the welder's business will go out of business.

Compared to manufacturing weapons of war, it is clear that manufacturing various weapons is a more sustainable form of development in the long term.

Therefore, the welder decided to first explain the equipment details to everyone so that they would know how to choose the right equipment.

"At this point, everyone should be well aware of the drawbacks of magical equipment. First, it takes time to absorb magic, and second, without a reserve of magic, it requires the user's own magic power to be consumed."

"And some of you have tried it just now, and you may have noticed that this kind of equipment generally has relatively low power."

"As for the reason, based on what I just said, you should be able to guess some of it."

As the amateur welder finished speaking, a player stepped forward.

"Welder, I think I understand what you're saying. To put it simply, the nature of the magical equipment makes the overall structure quite complex, making it extremely difficult to increase its power."

"To put it bluntly, the goal is to create equipment that uses very little magic but can unleash tremendous power. The difficulty and craftsmanship involved are beyond the capabilities of ordinary blacksmiths."

Upon hearing this, the amateur welder nodded.

That's pretty much the situation.

"But our weapons are different. We use contaminated magic crystals, which are inherently extremely violent."

"But if we want to utilize this power, there is a big problem: the magic circle's release capability is extremely high. Simply put, our weapons must be inscribed with high-energy-consuming and powerful magic circles."

No sooner had the amateur welder finished speaking than a player stepped forward.

The wind is howling.

"Welder, I think I understand what you're saying. I've also ordered portable cannons from you. I just used them, and I've discovered a problem: the weapons wear out very quickly."

"Durability drops terribly."

Upon hearing this, the amateur welder nodded.

"That's the biggest problem with our weapon."

"This kind of powerful weapon, which uses contaminated magic crystals, will cause a lot of damage to the weapon itself and the various magic circles engraved on it."

"We trade weapon lifespan and energy consumption for higher DPS; that's the situation with our weapons."

After hearing what the amateur welder said, everyone roughly understood the principle behind it.

"That's understandable."

"It can only be said that each has its own advantages. Traditional magical equipment has a longer lifespan, and most importantly, it has higher durability."

One player offered a summary.

The amateur welder nodded repeatedly in agreement with what the player said.

"However, these traditional magical items are not suitable for us, because our own output is not high."

"Using such a magical item at this time will not allow him to exert much of his combat power."

"The equipment we manufacture has two main advantages: first, it is powerful; second, it can be mass-produced, minimizing costs. This is our biggest advantage."

"The cost of a traditional set of equipment could buy several sets of our equipment."

"Although some people might feel that even if you buy so many sets, what's the point? The overall usage time is still not as long as traditional magic equipment."

"But the problem is, what we want in games is higher DPS, right? What we want is to be able to take down powerful monsters as quickly as possible, right? Speedrunning is the key, and our gear is definitely best suited for speedrunning."

As he spoke, the amateur welder began to explain other things to everyone.

Of course, amateur welders go to such lengths and put in so much effort because they have their own reasons.

During this period, although no weapons of war were sold, the amateur welder had already made a lot of money just by selling mortars and various weapons and armor.

The money here refers to real money, and that's the most crucial part.

He and several of his friends have been playing the game for a short time, and their earnings have already reached 20,000 to 30,000 yuan.

To be honest, the amateur welder was quite surprised.

Compared to younger people, the biggest problem for these older single men, especially amateur welders, is their consistently conservative attitude towards money.

For example, if he spends 30 to 50 yuan on a game, he will feel it's not worth it at all.

When it comes to the consumption philosophy of virtual products, we can't compare with young people; there will always be a barrier between us.

At first, they just wanted to create things in the game that they couldn't do in real life. But once they created these things, they not only satisfied themselves, but more importantly, they could sell a lot of in-game currency.

After purchasing some raw materials, they sold all the remaining game currency.

This seemed to open the door to a new world for the amateur welders.

They didn't expect so many people to be willing to buy their game currency, and the prices they offered were not low. In such a short time, the total amount of money they earned had already exceeded 100,000, and each person received 20,000 to 30,000.

Keep in mind that they've only been playing this game for a little over a month.

This average income is outrageous. Even though they know some young people are willing to spend money on games, they were still shocked by this income.

So that's the crux of the problem.

After making money, they naturally became even more motivated. Perhaps they couldn't compare to the younger generation in terms of gaming skills, but they had at least worked their way up from the bottom.

Therefore, in terms of experience, they can guarantee that they are no worse than anyone else in the game. If they want to make more money, it's very simple: just open up their own business empire.

In fact, they had also seen players who specifically went to various monsters to farm gold coins. It is said that those people are called "farmers" or "gold farmers".

Amateur welders have the least respect for those who earn money through manual labor.

In the real world, it's understandable to make money by doing manual labor, since there are many jobs available. But if you're still doing manual labor in a game, how much do you really want to do it?

Therefore, an amateur welder would naturally not use such a clumsy method, and the method he chose was very simple and clear: to monopolize through special technology.

The first step is naturally to make others more accepting of the equipment they create. In the past, they used the equipment they created because they had no other choice, but now it's different.

Because the game's storyline has already arranged for contact with other races, it means that players will be able to obtain a large amount of magical equipment through these races in the future, giving them a choice.

The key is to stand out from the crowd.

The amateur welder admitted that, in terms of durability and design precision, these magical items were indeed superior to his own designs. However, his biggest advantage was their low price and high damage.

This is the source of amateur welders' confidence to challenge other magical equipment.

In gaming, everyone looks at their own DPS. Even amateur welders have thought about asking Feng Xiaoxiao to help them figure out how to create a DPS system.

The plan is already underway, but it is currently in the trial phase. Once the DPS system goes live, amateur welders believe it will be very popular.

The weapons that players choose at that time will be self-evident.

......

Jiang Chen was naturally aware of the ulterior motives of amateur welders.

After all, Jiang Chen isn't idle every day.

As a good lord, Jiang Chen naturally kept a close eye on his subordinates at all times.

Jiang Chen was naturally happy to see this so-called DPS system come to fruition.

The reason is simple: no matter how much you evolve, in the end, Pata will always be Pata.

Jiang Chen wasn't sure how long it would take to raise his basic attributes to the same level as races like dragons.

Take the dragon for example. There's one right next to me, and its base stats at level 65 are way better than mine.

Moreover, this is only because I am a special individual with the support of various special things.

Aside from myself and my entire group, no one else has a powerful artifact that boosts their basic attributes. It's impossible for every player to have a powerful artifact; that's simply unrealistic.

However, without the blessing of a divine artifact, I'm afraid my basic attributes at this stage won't be good enough.

If he were to fight the enemy using traditional methods that are universally accepted, Jiang Chen was certain that he would lose no matter how he fought.

However, amateur welders have a different approach.

At the same level, the other person's DPS is around 1000, while ours is going up to several thousand.

Isn't that the difference? It's just that weapons become unusable faster, right? Jiang Chen is still happy to accept this loss.

"Once they've figured it out, I'll have to make arrangements for them and completely solidify the players' weapon concepts."

This time, Jiang Chen was prepared to add fuel to the fire.

"Jiang Chen, what are you thinking about?" Just then, Lilith nudged him from the side.

"I'm thinking about our future development path. Now that our fortress is built, I estimate it won't be a short time, so right now we should get something in place to ensure our safety. That's the most crucial thing."

Upon hearing what Jiang Chen said, Lilith rolled her eyes.

"I'm telling you, you idiot, you still have the mind to think about these nonsense things? Don't you know you're in big danger?"

Upon hearing what Lilith said, Jiang Chen looked at her with a strange expression.

"With your brain, what do you know? And you say we're in danger?"

As he spoke, Jiang Chen continued to add to the story.

"Fine, I'll give you one chance. Since you've put it that way, let me hear what you've come up with in your head this time."

Upon hearing what Jiang Chen said, Lilith glared at him irritably.

"You don't actually think I'm an idiot, do you?"

"Otherwise what?" Jiang Chen retorted.

"Ugh, I'm so angry! You naughty little pappa!"

"He's about to die and doesn't even realize it. He's stupid and can't figure out why, yet he calls me an idiot."

"You're about to die, how come I didn't realize it?"

Taking a deep breath, Lilith suppressed her anger, knowing that her life was now inextricably linked to these Pata.

"Didn't you see that the Dark Elf Squad and the Nightmare Squad have already arrived at this level? This means that they have cleared all the previous levels."

Do you know what this means?

"That means the armies of these two races could easily march in and reach this place. What will you do then?"

Seeing the way Jiang Chen was looking at her, Lilith felt a little smug.

"Let me tell you today, our top priority right now is not to think about anything else, but to break out immediately."

"Their squad suffered a setback here. Before this, I estimated that their defenses at each level were not very strong. If we rush out now, they definitely won't have time to organize their forces, and we will have a real chance to slip out."

"Once we slip out of the underground city, they won't have the chance to send troops to surround and annihilate us. We just need to find a secluded place to hide and develop in secret."

Jiang Chen was speechless after hearing what Lilith said.

"Your analysis is very good; don't do it again next time."

Upon hearing Jiang Chen's words, Lilith immediately became displeased.

"Jiang Chen, what do you mean? Did I say something wrong? Now is clearly the best time for us to break out of their encirclement. As long as we take advantage of the fact that they haven't made any systematic adjustments, we have a real chance to break through."

To be honest, Jiang Chen was quite surprised by Lilith's talk of a systematic adjustment.

It's clear that he's been influenced by players a lot lately, as he can even come up with these little words.

He sighed.

"It's obvious, little Lilith, that you still don't understand anything."

"But I can't blame you for this. After all, if you knew everything, you wouldn't have ended up here."

"Actually, I can somewhat understand why your adoptive father neglected you, his so-called real daughter, to such an extent when you were with the succubus clan."

"If your cheap father had dared to give you an important position, let me put it this way, that succubus would have been finished long ago."

Jiang Chen's words infuriated Lilith.

At that moment, she glared fiercely at Jiang Chen.

"Damn it, what do you mean? You're just looking down on me."

"Haven't I made myself clear enough?"

Jiang Chen sighed helplessly at this.

"Let me put it this way: they may not be very well-prepared on any level right now, but I can assure you that they will have a lot of defenses and troops stationed on level 50."

"Based on the intelligence we have now, they explored the area up to the 50th floor in great detail."

"There are quite a few outposts on each floor, and quite a few people left behind, which in itself constitutes a force that cannot be ignored."

"It's just that in order to speed up the progress of the next few floors, they might not take any precautions."

"Even if we fight our way down now, yes, we can fight our way out after floor 50. But once we get to floor 50 and they slow us down, do you think we can still leave?"

"Even if we take a step back and actually get out, you have to understand that this underground city is their territory. If we get out, as long as they're not stupid, it would be very easy for them to surround us."

"You don't actually think that when we really reached the 50th floor, the elders or clan leaders outside just didn't prepare anything during the time they delayed us, and then just watched us fight inside, and then ran away after we were done?"

You're overthinking it.

"When entering the dungeon, they have to consider the cost of teleportation and all sorts of other factors, but outside they don't need to consider anything; they just need to send people to surround it."

As he spoke, Jiang Chen glanced at Lilith and couldn't help but sigh.

"So you understand now, you little strategist? With this arrangement, you're leading your entire race to their deaths, and there's no way out."

Hearing what Jiang Chen said, Lilith was also taken aback, as it seemed that what he said actually made sense.

Seeing Lilith deeply mired in doubt, Jiang Chen shook his head.

"Lilith, take my advice. From now on, just be a pretty face. We have a deal, after all, and I'll definitely help you complete it. You just need to accept the rewards."

Hearing Jiang Chen belittle her so much, Lilith was naturally very unhappy.

"Hmph! You're being rude. I was just thinking of you guys and wanted to help you out," Lilith muttered.

"Lilith, you have to understand, sometimes a bad person's brilliant idea is no match for a fool's, no matter how hard they rack their brains. Clearly, you are the latter."

After saying that, Jiang Chen ignored Lilith and ran over to the players, starting to count the loot with them.

Jiang Chen certainly wouldn't keep all the spoils for himself.

After all, this is a large-scale battle. If the return on investment is not high, then players will probably not participate in such large-scale battles in the future.

This is very detrimental to the later development of the game.

So Jiang Chen came here mainly to see if there was anything he needed, and then spend money to buy it from the players.

And what's needed is, of course, the materials to advance to the next stage.

Thanks to the battle just now, plus the experience provided by the guardian, Jiang Chen's level has reached 60.

Simply put, Jiang Chen has embarked on the next stage of evolution.

However, compared to the previous evolutions, this one took several times longer, which made Jiang Chen realize just how exaggeratedly high the experience requirement increased after reaching level 50.

Fortunately, thanks to the players' usual accumulation of experience and feedback, along with this latest experience feedback, Jiang Chen was finally able to reach this level.

He was naturally there to collect the materials needed to advance to the next stage.

However, what's giving Jiang Chen a headache right now isn't the materials needed to upgrade to the next stage.

"So right now, my biggest problem lies in this so-called core."

"And materials dropped by high-level monsters."

Materials from high-level monsters are indeed everywhere, and in principle they shouldn't be included. However, the problem is that Jiang Chen might leave the dungeon soon. While these materials are plentiful in the dungeon, what about outside?

These materials might be extremely difficult to gather. In other words, by then, even the basic materials would be enough to give Jiang Chen a headache, let alone the special core materials.

I obtained the Undead Core myself before.

The problem is solved, and the rank has been improved, but now where should I go to get the core?

This is what Jiang Chen is most troubled about right now.

"Forget it, let's not think about that too much now. Let's focus on gathering the high-level materials first. As for the core materials, we have a backup plan and know where they are. Whether we use them or not depends on the situation."

Jiang Chen wanted to see if the Nightmare Clan and the Dark Elf Clan had anything he needed, but he estimated that they probably did, since the Succubus Clan had it, and there was no reason why these two races wouldn't have it.

The biggest problem now is how to retrieve this thing.