[Structure: Soul Anchor (Respawn Point)]
[Tier: 1]
[Cost: 500 Creation Coins]
[Effect: Allows Players to revive instantly with a 10% XP penalty instead of suffering True Death.]
It was a massive investment. It cost almost everything Fang had earned from the initial slaughter.
But Fang knew the golden rule of business: Retention is King.
If players died and got kicked out of the server forever, his customer base would vanish. But if they could respawn? They became an infinite resource.
TankTop materialized at the Soul Anchor, his face twisted in frustration.
"AGAIN!" TankTop screamed, gripping his Rusty Mace.
"I mistimed the roll! I know his pattern now!"
"Hurry up!" DarkElf_Waifu yelled from the battlefield, thirty meters away. She was kiting three Zombie Wolves, firing arrows desperately. "I can't hold aggro forever!"
"I'm coming!"
TankTop didn't hesitate. He didn't rest to recover stamina. He charged straight back into the fray, screaming a war cry.
Fang watched from his high cliff, his arms crossed.
A blue screen hovered next to his face, scrolling rapidly.
[Ding!]
[Player 'TankTop' died.]
[Despair Harvest: +50 Coins.]
[Ding!]
[Player 'TankTop' respawned.]
[Respawn Fee (Deducted from Player): 1 Silver Coin.]
[Developer Cut: +10 Coins.]
Fang's lips curled into a sinister smile.
"They are dying on purpose now," Fang noted. "The fear of death is gone. Replaced by the obsession with victory."
The Zombie Wolves were fast, inflicted 'Bleed', and hunted in packs. For Level 2 players with trash gear, it was a nightmare. But the Respawn Point changed everything. It turned the game from a horror survival into a meat grinder.
TankTop threw himself at the Alpha Wolf. The wolf swiped. TankTop blocked. The impact knocked him back five meters.
"He does a double swipe!" TankTop shouted in voice chat. "Duck the second one!"
He ducked. The claw whistled over his head.
"NOW! HIT HIM!"
DarkElf_Waifu unleashed a 'Power Shot'. The arrow glowed and struck the wolf in the eye.
[Critical Hit!]
[-150 HP!]
The wolf howled, staggering back.
This dance went on for an hour.
Die. Respawn. Charge. Die. Respawn. Charge.
Fang's coin counter was spinning like a slot machine.
[Current Funds: 1,200... 1,500... 1,850...]
Finally, the Alpha Wolf's HP bar turned red. It was at 5%.
"FINISH IT!" TankTop roared. He ignored his stamina bar. He ignored his health. He jumped, bringing the mace down with a desperate, heavy smash.
The Alpha Wolf's skull caved in. The beast collapsed, dissolving into black smoke.
[Ding!]
[Boss Defeated: Rotting Alpha Wolf.]
[Global Notification: The First Boss has been slain!]
A massive explosion of loot burst from the corpse. Coins, a shiny leather vest, and a jagged wolf-tooth dagger.
"YES!" TankTop fell to his knees, panting. "YES! WE DID IT!"
DarkElf_Waifu dropped her bow, laughing hysterically. "That was impossible! That was insane! Look at the XP!"
[Ding!]
[Player 'TankTop' has leveled up! Lvl 2 -> Lvl 4!]
[Player 'DarkElf_Waifu' has leveled up! Lvl 2 -> Lvl 4!]
The dopamine hit was palpable. Even from the cliff, Fang could feel their rush. They had overcome the impossible wall he built. And for that privilege, they had made him rich.
[Ding!]
[Boss Kill Revenue Bonus: +500 Creation Coins.]
[Level Up Taxes: +400 Creation Coins.]
[Total Funds: 3,250 Creation Coins.]
Fang closed the revenue window. He was satisfied. The tutorial zone was a success. He had cash. He had addicted players. But then, the atmosphere on his floating island shifted.
The sky turned a darker shade of purple. The System terminal in front of him started to glitch, emitting a low, distorted frequency.
[Ding!]
[Tutorial Phase Complete.]
[Assessment: Host #893021 has exceeded expected revenue margins by 400%.]
[Rank Update: Novice Developer -> Apprentice Developer.]
Fang nodded. "Good. Open the Level 2 Zone unlock."
[Request Denied.]
Fang froze. "Denied?"
[System Message: The 'Auto-Assist' feature is only available for the Tutorial Phase. You have been relying on pre-generated templates (e.g., 'Basic Skeleton', 'Standard Wolf').]
[System Update: Hard Mode Activated.]
[From this point forward, the Developer must MANUALLY design all assets.]
[This includes: Monster Stats, AI Behavior Logic, Drop Rates, NPC Dialogue Trees, Skill Scaling, and Environmental Physics.]
Fang stared at the screen.
In most games, you just clicked "Spawn Dragon" and the game engine handled the math. The System was telling him that he now had to be the Game Engine.
"You want me to code the universe?" Fang asked, his voice low.
[Correction: You must design the universe. If your math is wrong, the monsters will be broken. If your logic is flawed, the game will crash. If the balance is bad, players will leave.]
[Good luck, Developer.]
The screen flashed, and the simple 'Shop Interface' vanished.
It was replaced by a complex, grid-like dashboard filled with empty values.
[Create New Entity]
[Strength: ?]
[Agility: ?]
[Intelligence: ?]
[Aggro Radius (meters): ?]
[Attack Speed (sec): ?]
[Drop Table variance: ?]
"Auto-generated monsters are boring anyway," he whispered, cracking his knuckles. "They are predictable. TankTop figured out the wolf's pattern in forty minutes."
He stepped up to the terminal. "If I design them manually... I can make them truly nightmare-inducing."
He had 3,000 coins. He needed to build the Level 2 Area. "Zone Setting," Fang muttered, tapping the console. "The wasteland is boring. We need verticality. Claustrophobia."
[Environment Selected: The Crying Caves.]
[Cost: 1,000 Coins.]
The edge of the island rumbled. A massive stone entrance rose from the ground, leading downwards into the belly of the floating island. It was dark, damp, and echoed with the sound of dripping water.
"Now for the monsters," Fang said.
"Base Model: Goblin," Fang selected.
A generic green goblin appeared in the hologram.
"Too weak," Fang sneered. "Modify."
He began to tweak the sliders.
[Strength: Low]
[Defense: Very Low]
[Agility: High]
"Give them 'Pack Tactics'," Fang muttered, typing into the AI Logic box.
'If Player is facing away -> +50% Crit Chance. If Player is healing -> Aggro Priority Max.'
"Weapon," Fang tapped the item slot. "Give them poisoned blowpipes and jagged shanks."
[Warning: High Agility + Poison creates a high difficulty spike for Level 4 players. Refund rate may increase.]
"Ignore warning," Fang said. "But... lower their HP to 10 points."
[10 HP?] The System seemed confused.
"Glass cannons," Fang explained. "If the players hit them, they die instantly. This gives the players hope. 'I just need one hit!' they will say."
"But with High Agility and Pack Tactics, they will never get that hit unless they play perfectly."
It was the ultimate dopamine trap. The enemies were made of paper, but they hit like trucks. The players would feel powerful and powerless at the same time.
[Cave Stalker Goblin.]
[Cost per Unit: 15 Coins.]
"Spawn 50 of them," Fang ordered. "Hide them on the cavern ceilings. Make them drop from above."
[Processing...]
[Construction Complete.]
[Remaining Funds: 1,250 Coins.]
Fang looked down at the island. TankTop and DarkElf_Waifu were done celebrating. They were looking around, hungry for more.
"Where next?" TankTop shouted. "I need more loot! I need Level 5!"
Fang leaned into the microphone.
"The tutorial is over, heroes," his voice boomed, deep and resonant. "The Crying Caves await. If you dare."
The stone gate to the caves groaned open. A cold, foul wind blew out, extinguishing the torches nearby.
TankTop grinned, hefting his new mace. "Caves? Easy. Just like the skeletons. Smash and grab."
"Wait," DarkElf_Waifu said, checking her stats. "My 'Sense Danger' skill is tingling. It feels... different."
"Don't be a wuss!" TankTop charged toward the cave entrance.
Fang watched them go. He watched them step into the darkness where fifty of his manually-tuned, high-agility, ceiling-crawling nightmares were waiting.
"Let's see how you handle an enemy that thinks." Fang whispered.