Ashen Dragon

Meanwhile, Cassius also watched the videos on the forum, the smell of sulfur smoke swirling around his lips.

"Yes, they are all real-world footage."

"What's shown are mostly major events affecting the situation in Anzeta."

Cassius suddenly felt that a pair of eyes was watching silently from the void, recording everything, and even though his power had almost reached the peak of mortality, he still couldn't glimpse the presence behind it.

He continued browsing the forum and discovered a new post by Singo.

"Opening Strategy: Erezer Beginner's Guide"

"There are twelve initial starting points to choose from, spread across Anzeta, including Stratholme Fortress, Valtz City, Yarlan Castle... But I recommend only one and a half starting points—Northwind Castle is one, and Barto City barely counts as half. Moreover, there's only one recommended faction—the Ashen Kingdom."

"From the perspective of occupational choices, the Ashen Kingdom has stand-out occupations like the Red Scale Conqueror and the Dragon Sanctuary Holy Knight, which give a head start over other occupations right from the beginning. Among the faction subclasses in the Northern Countries, only the Lionheart Holy Knight of the Boske Duchy shows some strength, but that's a private military force for the nobles. Its advancement requirements are extremely harsh, and its strength doesn't compare."

"Factions-wise, it's even more distinctive. The entire beta version is practically the development history of the Ashen Kingdom, with almost all mainline plots related to the kingdom. It boasts crushing-level technology and has King of Ashen, Cassius, such a ceiling-level faction leader backing it up."

"Let's put it this way—even if you lose on the battlefield, you still get to watch Red Dragons annihilate the other side in cutscenes. I even suspect this is the 'main protagonist faction' endorsed by the official developers."

"For players who want to develop quickly, starting in Northwind Castle is best—tons of opportunities there. Whether it's working in factories to earn money or taking office jobs, you can quickly amass startup funds. For the adventurously inclined who want to level up fast, Barto City is recommended. The hostile monsters in Stormy Ridge will help you quickly accumulate experience..."

Meanwhile, Mantou also posted his "strategy guide."

But unlike a strategy guide, it was full of a sense of superiority, radiating with an air of Versailles-style humility.

"The strength of the Red Scale Conqueror is average at best. It just has nice scenery, allowing you to ride wyverns everywhere." Your next read awaits at My Virtual Library Empire

"Huh? The welfare of Sheriffs? Isn't it just a few hundred faction contributions daily? It doesn't help you get much—maybe a Dragon Blood Elixir at most."

Aside from these strategy posts, there were plot analysis threads, half of which mentioned the "King of Ashen" and analyzed him as either the final boss or the protagonist dictated by the official storyline.

Cassius browsed these posts, nodding slightly.

"Good, it's achieved the intended effect."

"Next, it's all about the public beta."

For nearly the past decade, Cassius had a clear goal—step by step, subduing the Tieflings, seizing Northwind Castle, and establishing the Ashen Kingdom. All of this was to monopolize the main storyline of the beta version, Northwind Castle Foothold, making his faction the primary faction in players' minds and preparing to integrate more power in the future.

Players didn't just represent thousands of "Immortals"; they also brought talent reserves and technology systems from another world. In the mid to late game, many real-world national authorities even infiltrated, becoming the shadows behind the Noble Guilds.

Take, for example, the Mechanical God Cult in later stages, featuring numerous top scientists from various countries. They built enormous floating fortresses, reducing even their leader, Steel Torrent, to a mere figurehead.

Now, Cassius's goal was clearly achieved, as even the mysterious "system" set him up as a key figure in the background.

"Time to make some preparations."

Thinking of this, Cassius opened the Magic Mirror, summoning Ramp in Northwind Castle.

The Ogre Mage's ugly face appeared once again on the mirror.

"Master, what are your orders?"

"Starfallen is about to descend. Order all departments to prepare."

"Yes, Master."

Ramp responded without hesitation, then paused before continuing, "Master, we have the preliminary design for the item you requested."

Designing this piece of magic equipment had driven Ramp to his limits, knowing it was personally supervised by Cassius. Any mistake was a heavy responsibility, and the design drafts had been iterated over thirty versions.

Moreover, what gave Ramp more headaches was that the specifics of this equipment were classified as top-secret information in the kingdom, not to be shared even with the Magic Department mages. He had to complete the entirety of the design alone.

The final design was a luxurious golden crown that perfectly fit Cassius's head, crafted from mithril and embedded with various precious gemstones.

Supreme Dragon Crown

"Not bad."

Cassius glanced at it, unable to understand the three pages of complex magic circuits, but he nodded slightly, indicating his approval.

"At least it looks good."

...

Weeks passed.

"Yes!"

"Got it! The public beta slot!"

In a room occupied by the gaming pod, Ji Ming raised his fists and cheered.

He had been following Erezer through Mantou's videos, eagerly awaiting this day for a year. Finally, with the hand speed honed through thirteen years of single life, he snagged a slot for the public beta.

Those 50,000 slots were snapped up in an instant once released.

Nearly a million people anxiously waited, now left wailing and cursing the developers on the forum for not adding more slots.

Impatiently, Ji Ming unpacked the magic-filled, rune-engraved Erezer gaming pod and set it up in his room.

He took a photo to brag on the forum, attracting envious, jealous comments from countless forum members before lying comfortably inside.

Having watched Mantou's videos, he was already familiar with the game's process.

[Please enter your nickname.]

After thinking for a moment, Ji Ming chose his most-used game nickname, "Lonely as Snow," which gave a masterly vibe.

After watching the videos, he knew Erezer was a game that used facial recognition, so he had to be cautious. The fall of Holy Light Bro, who had completely lost his sense of shame, served as a reminder.

[Connecting to the neural interface...]

[Scanning your body data...]

[Constructing your character...]

[Character construction complete.]

Lonely as Snow

Note: Standard human attribute value is 10

Strength—11

Agility—10

Constitution—11

Intelligence—10

Perception—10

Charisma—12

"Tsk tsk, a full-level human, much better than Ancient God Mantou's charisma of 9."

Ji Ming thought gleefully to himself.