In a school dormitory, specifically the girls' dorm, a sweet and innocent young girl stared at her phone after her call was abruptly cut off. She seed dazed. "I didn't even get to say how much I needed, and he just transferred it? What if he didn't send enough? Ugh, stupid brother—was that just to brush off?"
"Elena, does your brother even have money to send you?" asked a sweet-looking girl who walked over to her.
Elena Carter shook her head uncertainly. She knew her brother's salary wasn't high, and he still sent her living expenses every month. He couldn't possibly have much saved. But she had no one else to turn to.
"I swear that girl is doing this on purpose! Just because the guy she likes secretly likes you, she's picking fights! Eight grand for a broken bottle of makeup? She's out of her mind!" the sweet-looking girl fud.
"It's fine. I'll just stay away from her in the future. It was my mistake for breaking it anyway. And I checked online—apparently, it really does cost that much," Elena replied, trying to sound calm, though her eyes welled up with tears. She knew it was intentional, but what could she do? Eight thousand dollars was more than half a year of her living expenses. She felt helpless and wronged.
"Ugh, you're too nice! That personality of yours is going to get you in trouble soday. Honestly, it's partly my fault—if I hadn't spent my money on that gaming headset, I could've helped you cover it," Vivian said, her tone laced with guilt.
"Don't say that! You lent your living expenses already. I don't even know how to thank you properly. What are you going to do for the rest of the month?" Elena asked, feeling grateful yet worried for her friend. Vivian had been her closest confidant and supporter since they'd t.
"? I'll just pull my usual move: cry, throw a tantrum, and guilt-trip my dad until he coughs up more cash. He'll cave—he always does," Vivian replied casually.
Just then, Elena's phone buzzed with a text notification. She opened it to see a bank transfer of $20,000. Her hands trembled as she stared at the amount.
"Whoa! Your brother's loaded! My dad only gives $3,000 a month, and I have to fight for every penny. One call from you, and bam! Two grand! Where can I get a brother like that?" Vivian teased.
But Elena didn't join in the joke. Instead, she quickly called her brother back. When he answered, she asked anxiously, "Where did you get all that money? You're not doing anything illegal, are you?"
"What? No! I've just been making so money from a ga I've been playing," Ethan replied, his tone casual.
"A ga? You can make that much from a ga?" Elena asked, still skeptical. She rarely played gas and couldn't fathom how they could be so profitable.
Hearing this, Vivian chid in from the side, "Is he playing Oracle? If he's good, then yeah, it's totally possible! There are a few big shots in my novice village who've made thousands selling gear!"
"Really?" Elena was stunned. She knew many of her classmates played Oracle, including Vivian, but she'd never imagined it could make so much money.
"Yup. It's Oracle. I sold so equipnt and made a decent profit. Don't worry, I'm not up to anything shady. If you need more, just let know," Ethan said reassuringly.
"Thanks, but this is too much. I'll send so back. You need money too!" Elena protested, though she was relieved to hear her brother's explanation.
"Keep it. Buy yourself so nice clothes or makeup. You're a girl—you should treat yourself well. I couldn't do much for you before, but things are different now. You don't have to hold back anymore," Ethan said firmly.
"Ethan..." Elena's voice cracked with emotion.
"Alright, alright, go take care of it," Ethan said, knowing full well that Elena wouldn't have called to ask for money unless sothing serious had happened.
"Okay. I'll co visit you during sumr break!" Elena promised.
"Alright."
After hanging up, Vivian leaned in and asked, "So, what's his ga ID? He must be a total pro if he's made that much in just a couple of days. I'd love for him to carry !"
"I don't know. My brother used to play gas a lot, but I have no idea how good he is now," Elena replied. "But seriously, can people really earn that much money from gas?"
"Totally! Especially in Oracle. The top players can make tens of thousands in a single day. You know that player 'Sealed'? Just yesterday, people estimated he made over $500,000 selling gear. And that doesn't even include the gold coins he's hoarding! Gold coins are worth $10,000 each now, so he's probably earned over $100,000 in total already. And this is just the start! Imagine how much they'll be making later!" Vivian said, clearly envious.
Elena's jaw dropped. "Then... should I start playing too?"
"Of course! Your brother just sent you $20,000. Even after paying off that witch, you'll still have enough left to buy a gaming headset. Let's do it!" Vivian exclaid, already planning it out.
anwhile, Ethan had just hung up and logged back into the ga. Without wasting any ti, he headed deeper into the wilderness, arriving at Black Bear Ridge. The area was teeming with towering black bears—his next grinding targets. He cast Insight on one of the beasts:
[Black Bear]
Level: 17
Health: 23,000
Physical Attack: 350
Physical Defense: 180
Magical Defense: 100
Speed: 40
Skill:Smash – Slams the ground, dealing 140% physical damage to all targets within a 2-ter radius and reducing their movent speed by 30%. Cooldown: 20 seconds.
"Looks like these regular monsters aren't much of a threat anymore," Ethan thought. He imdiately started pulling groups of black bears. With 152 points of poison damage per second, three stacks of poison could deal a staggering 456 points per second, totaling over 27,000 damage in a minute—enough to kill a bear outright.
Ethan's hit-and-run tactics allowed him to take down group after group efficiently. By the ti he killed his 89th black bear, sothing unusual happened. As the bear collapsed, Ethan noticed a missing system notification.
"Ding! You have killed [Black Bear]. You gained 200 experience points. Bonus: 100 experience for defeating a monster 5 levels above you. Your pet [Silverfang] received 60 experience points."
"Ding! Immortal Physique activated. Maximum health increased by 1 point."
However, there was no notification about his Toxic Source talent improving. Puzzled, Ethan double-checked his status and confird that his poison damage remained capped at 240 points per second.
To test further, he killed two more black bears. Once again, he gained experience and health from Immortal Physique, but his talent remained stagnant.
"Did my talent hit its limit?" Ethan muttered, feeling a twinge of unease. He had assud that grinding endlessly would let his talent grow infinitely. Now it seed there might be a cap.
"If 240 points per second is the maximum, this talent could beco obsolete in the late ga," Ethan thought grimly. Though it was devastatingly effective now, he worried it might fall behind as player power levels rose.
Reviews
All reviews (0)