The screams from the Crying Caves were music to Fang's ears.
[Ding!]
[Player 'TankTop' died to Cave Stalker Goblin.]
[+15 Coins.]
[Ding!]
[Player 'DarkElf_Waifu' used 'Minor Healing Potion' (Looted).]
[Item Consumed. Scarcity Increased.]
Fang sat at his terminal, watching the data stream. The players were struggling, fighting for every inch of ground in the dark tunnels he had built. They were hooked on the challenge. But a game couldn't just be a dungeon. It needed an economy. It needed a place for players to dump their hard-earned gold back into Fang's pocket.
"They have loot," Fang muttered, checking TankTop's inventory. "But they have nowhere to sell it. Nowhere to repair."
He looked at the empty space on his floating island, between the Spawn Point and the cave entrance.
"Time to build civilization."
He opened the [Architecture & Town Management] tab.
[Select Template:]
[1. Happy Village (Bright, Colorful)]
[2. Cyberpunk Slums (Neon, Grimy)]
[3. Gothic Hamlet (Dark, Brooding)]
Fang selected [Gothic Hamlet].
[Cost: 1,000 Creation Coins.]
"Purchase."
[Ding!]
[Construction Initiated...]
The ground rumbled. Cobblestones paved themselves over the grey dirt. Twisted iron lampposts sprouted from the earth, flickering with ghostly blue fire. Dark, timber-framed houses rose up, their windows glowing with a warm but eerie yellow light.
A small town square formed around the Spawn Point altar.
"Now, the inhabitants," Fang said. "Manual Mode engaged."
He didn't want generic NPCs who said, "Nice day for fishing!" He wanted NPCs who felt real.
[Create NPC: Blacksmith.]
[Name: Gorn.]
[Personality: Rude, Greedy, Perfectionist.]
[Dialogue Tree: Manual Entry.]
Fang typed rapidly. He set Gorn's default greeting to: "What do you want, weakling? Don't waste my time unless you have gold."
He set the repair costs to be 10% higher than the global average.
[Create NPC: Potion Brewer.]
[Name: Madame Zola.]
[Personality: Cryptic, Unsettling.]
[Shop Inventory: Minor Health Potion (50 Gold), Mana Potion (50 Gold), Antidote (100 Gold).]
Fang smiled. The goblins in the cave used poison. The players needed Antidotes. He priced them at 100 Gold. They would have to grind for hours just to survive the poison.
"Perfect loop," Fang whispered.
He added a few "flavor" elements to make the world feel alive. He placed a well in the center of the town.
[Easter Egg Added: The Whispering Well.]
[Interaction: If a player drops 1 Gold Coin in, the Well whispers a random insult.]
It was useless. It gave no buffs. But Fang knew players. They would throw thousands of coins in just to hear every unique line of dialogue.
[Town 'Shadow's Rest' is open for business.]
Now for the big update. The current players were a Warrior and an Archer. The game lacked magic.
"System, unlock [New Class: Wizard]."
[Cost: 1,500 Coins.]
Fang's balance dipped, but he didn't flinch. Mages were the most popular class in any MMO. They were flashy. They attracted the "chunibyo" players the ones who wanted to shout spell names and destroy the world.
But in Manual Mode, Fang had to design the spells himself.
He opened the [Skill Editor].
[Class: Wizard (Acolyte of the Void)]
[Level 1 Spell: Ember Bolt.]
Damage: Moderate.
Mana Cost: High.
Visual: A small, pathetic spark.
Description: "A sad little flame. Try not to burn yourself."
[Level 3 Spell: Arcane Shield.]
Effect: Blocks one attack.
Cooldown: 60 Seconds.
Fang grinned. A 60-second cooldown in a fast-paced game was brutal.
[Level 5 Spell: Fireball.]
Damage: High.
Area of Effect: Small.
Visual: A roaring ball of orange flame.
Sound Effect: A loud, bass-boosted explosion.
[Level 10 Ultimate: Void Nova.]
Fang spent extra time here.
Damage: Massive.
Effect: Implodes gravity in a 10-meter radius, crushing all enemies.
Visual: The screen turns black and white for a split second, then purple lightning erupts.
Mana Cost: 100% of Mana Bar.
"High risk, high reward." Fang said, saving the data.
He finalized the update.
[Ding!]
[Patch 1.1 Deployed: The Age of Magic.]
[New Town: Shadow's Rest.]
[New Class: Wizard.]
[New Shops Available.]
Down in the game, TankTop and DarkElf_Waifu emerged from the caves, battered and bruised, their inventories full of goblin teeth.
"Whoa..." TankTop gasped, looking at the gloomy, atmospheric town that had replaced the wasteland. "When did this happen?"
"Look!" DarkElf_Waifu pointed to the Potion Shop. "Potions! Finally!"
They ran to the shop. "100 Gold for an Antidote?!" TankTop screamed. "This NPC is a scammer! I only have 80 Gold!"
"I told you to pick up the copper coins!" DarkElf_Waifu scolded him.
Fang watched them argue, then pool their money to buy one bottle. He watched TankTop talk to the Blacksmith and get insulted.
"This is awesome," TankTop laughed. "The NPCs actually hate us. It's so immersive."
Fang looked at his remaining funds. The income from the cave grinding had pushed him back up to 800 Coins.
"Marketing Round 2," Fang said. "Open the [Ad Manager]." This time, he wouldn't use a text pop-up. He needed visuals.
[Create Video Ad (Short Form)]
[Cost: 500 Coins.]
Fang accessed the "Replay Camera" feature. He pulled footage of TankTop's desperate fight against the Alpha Wolf. He edited it quickly.
Clip 1: TankTop getting smashed by the wolf.
Clip 2: The newly created 'Void Nova' spell decimating a group of goblins.
Clip 3: The cryptic, dark town of Shadow's Rest.
He overlayed text in bold, blood-red font:
NO HAND HOLDING.
NO PAY-TO-WIN.
ONLY SUFFERING.
CAN YOU SURVIVE LEVEL 1?
[Ding!]
[Target Audience: Hardcore Gamers, Souls-like Fans, Masochists.]
Fang leaned back. Now, he waited.
He opened the [Global Chat]. It was usually filled with other developers bragging or crying.
[FairyQueen_09 (Farming Sim)]: "Guys! I just unlocked the Strawberry Festival! My players are so happy! <3 We have 500 concurrent users!"
[Mecha_Builder (Sci-Fi)]: "My robot AI keeps walking into walls. This manual coding is impossible. I'm losing players fast."
[Gacha_Lord (Casino Sim)]: "Just introduced a 0.001% drop rate SSR card. Made 10,000 coins in one hour. Ez money."
Fang typed a message.
[Fang (Dark Fantasy)]: "Question. Does the System charge extra for cleaning up mass player corpses? My spawn point is getting cluttered."
The chat paused.
[FairyQueen_09]: "..."
[Mecha_Builder]: " corpses? Bro, what kind of game are you making?"
[Killer_Instinct (Battle Royale)]: "Respect. Death count?"
[Fang]: "High. But they keep coming back."
As if on cue, a notification bomb exploded in his vision.
[Ding!]
[New Player Connected!]
[New Player Connected!]
[New Player Connected!]
The marketing had worked. The promise of "Only Suffering" was like catnip to a specific breed of gamer.
A beam of light struck the Spawn Point in Shadow's Rest. Then another. Then ten more.
Twenty new players materialized in the town square.
"Is this the game?"
"Whoa, look at the lighting."
"I heard the first boss is impossible."
"I'm picking Wizard! I wanna blow stuff up!"
One player, named 'GlassCannon', immediately selected the Wizard class. His clothes changed from rags to a dark, tattered robe. He held a wooden staff.
"Ember Bolt!" GlassCannon shouted, targeting a nearby chicken.
A tiny spark hit the chicken. The chicken clucked aggressively and pecked him for 1 HP.
"Weak!" GlassCannon laughed. "I love it! I have to grind to get good!"
Fang watched the town square fill up. 22 Players online. The Blacksmith was shouting insults. The Potion Seller was taking their gold. The Whispering Well was insulting someone who dropped a coin in. And in the distance, the Crying Caves were waiting to chew them up.
[System Alert!]
[Concurrent Players: 25]
[Economy Status: Stable.]
[Despair Harvester Efficiency: Rising.]
Fang's eyes drifted to the edge of the map, past the caves, into the fog where the Level 10 zone would be.
"Enjoy the town while you can," Fang whispered. "Because the next update won't be so generous."
[Ding!]
[Income Generated: +500 Coins (New Player Starter Packs).]