New Dungeon Opens

After returning to Candlewood Island, Rogue replied to the puzzled players.

Spirit Candle Official: "The Candle Keeper is an extremely important story character in this game. Everything he does can be traced, and it is closely tied to the progression of the game's story. You can keep an eye on him, but it's best not to disturb him, because the Candle Keeper is also very busy. @Time to Eat Mushrooms"

Time to Eat Mushrooms: "Holy shit, the official account replied to me? Awesome!"

My Son Failed, I Went Ashore: "What's going on? What happened?"

Battle Thrill: "Why can't I use the wooden staff?! Ahhh! (angry)"

Poetry and the Distance: "Related to story progression... Does that mean a new map is opening?"

This Venerable One Suppresses All Enemies: "Trash. Anything I haven't gotten to play is trash. Just a PPT game that knows how to keep people hanging."

Tear Open Wound: "The person above believes the Earth is flat and buys health supplements. Case closed."

Iced Lemon Tea: "Hahaha, case solved. What a detective!"

"..."

Rogue did not look into the forum situation in detail. Instead, after editing for a while, he released a new announcement. This time, he had made it somewhat more detailed.

Spirit Candle Official: [Spirit Candle 0.2 Update Announcement]

[Dear Candle Spirit Warriors, the game will undergo maintenance at 11 PM tonight for the launch of Version 0.2. The maintenance will last until 11:30 PM. Please manage your online time accordingly.]

[The update contents are as follows:]

[1. More game slots will be released, with an expected total of 50 slots available. (Friendship slots are not included.)]

[2. The new dungeon, "Nearshore Cave," has been added. Through the Candle Keeper's unremitting efforts, a dangerous and challenging area has been mapped out for players. More powerful monsters and bosses will appear in this dungeon, awaiting the arrival of Candle Spirits. (Location below; a Spirit Fire Raft is required to reach it.)]

[3. Story character status updates.]

[4. Fishing probabilities have been adjusted, and potential technical issues related to combat have been fixed...]

[...]

Looking at the barely passable update announcement, Rogue nodded.

Although he had never worked in game design or anything like that, he had written web novels for a while.

They had flopped miserably, but he had learned how to pad word count and write meaningless filler. Who would have thought it would come in handy now...

While the game is down, I can also study the connection between the Candle Spirit Physique and Warfire...

Rogue thought to himself.

If it were not for this, he could not even be bothered with a maintenance update. After all, every minute the players were offline cost him candle oil.

Still, researching the Candle Spirit Physique and Warfire was definitely necessary. He could accept this small loss.

Not long after the update announcement was released, the players who had put on their helmets and were about to sleep saw it.

Since the update time was close at hand, they did not choose to enter the game.

Some players went to play other games to pass the time, while others chose to loiter around the Spirit Candle Forum.

Poetry and the Distance: "A new dungeon really did open."

Fisherman Who Never Misses a Catch: "The fishing probability was finally adjusted?! I knew the old rates were off!"

Ding Er Xiang Ding Dang: "Brother Yu... Is there a possibility that..."

Brother Miao Won't Fail: "I'm seriously gonna puke. Why can't I attack after condensing a magic orb? Its attack range is only one or two meters. I'd be better off just swinging a wooden staff!"

My Son Failed, I Went Ashore: "Haha, you idiot Candle Spirit, you think you can be a mage? Just use your sword honestly. @Brother Miao Won't Fail"

Brother Miao Won't Fail: "You're pretty damn cocky, kid. I'll chop you to death the moment I log in. (Hua Qiang pressing-head jpg)"

I Do Push-Ups with Niuniu: "What's going on here? Isn't this a forum? How did you guys turn it into a group chat? Why not go play other games? (smirk)"

Time to Eat Mushrooms: "When are we getting a health potion feature? Running around the map every time is exhausting! @Spirit Candle Official"

Bees Don't Like Flying: "+1. Also, please give us lewd pictures. Thanks!"

Scheming Frog: "This game seems to have a unique backstory? Feels like there's a lot to dig into... Please give me a game slot, ahhh!"

The homeless little players could only huddle in the forum and chatter away.

Meanwhile, Rogue conducted experiment after experiment in Reef Cave.

Whether he used the conventional method of strengthening with candle oil or the unorthodox method of touching the Fire-Igniter's corpse in Nearshore Cave, there was no reaction at all.

He even tried it on his own body, but still got nothing.

The descriptions in the sailing diary were simply too vague and general.

"I can only wait for the Spirit Candle to rise in rank first."

Rogue let out a breath. Though he had not achieved his goal, he had at least learned two important things.

Since that was the case, his only goals at this stage were to continue increasing the player count and raise the Spirit Candle's rank.

After tidying everything up, Rogue waited until the time limit expired before allowing the players to enter once more.

"Ah, my beautiful Candlewood Island. One day apart feels like three autumns~"

Upon entering the game again, the flamboyant Niuniu spread his arms and sighed sentimentally.

"Idiot, it's only been half an hour." Mushroom rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's check out the new dungeon."

"Battle! Battle!" Brother Mangzi was thrilled. The new dungeon was great news to him. After roaring twice, he dragged Not Deaf out to sea with him.

Brother Yu stared with his dead fish eyes, clearly lacking interest in the new dungeon. "You guys go check it out first. If there are any monsters that drop special bait, just let me know."

With that, Brother Yu carried his Fishing Rod and swayed toward the shore.

At the same time, the other players gradually logged in as well, all rushing excitedly toward Spirit Fire Port.

Of course, Nearshore Cave was surrounded by Seawater, and only veteran players with Spirit Fire Rafts could reach it.

Thus, some new players who had not yet saved up enough candle oil could only watch eagerly as the veterans set sail while miserably grinding monsters to earn candle oil.

Because of his own special circumstances, Landfall, the esteemed mage, had become a "connected insider" in Li Miao and Yuanfang's team, following the two of them to Nearshore Cave.

After the players had explored for some time, the distribution of monsters in the nearshore waters had mostly been mapped out. Combined with the release of the Niuniu Map, the group quickly arrived at their destination.

"Holy shit, that's a huge whirlpool. Our Spirit Fire Raft won't get sucked in, will it?"

Li Miao worriedly brought the Spirit Fire Raft to a stop.

At the same time, they received a game prompt.

[Attention: You have approached the entrance to the "Nearshore Cave" area. This dungeon is a solo dungeon and cannot be explored by multiple players simultaneously. Please make the appropriate preparations before entering.]

[Jumping into the whirlpool will enter the dungeon. You may return after clearing it. If you choose to exit midway, 5 points of candle oil will be consumed.]

"A solo dungeon?"

The three of them could not help but stare in surprise.

After Li Miao and Yuanfang exchanged looks for a moment, they turned their gazes toward Landfall.

"How about... I take you back to the island first?"

As Li Miao spoke, he could not help laughing, because he had already roughly guessed his dear son's next response.

As the saying went, no one knew a son better than his father. Sure enough, before he had even finished speaking, Landfall was already retorting.

"Go back?"

"Fuck, who are you looking down on?"

"See what I'm holding? What is this? A staff!"

"Would a great mage like me be afraid of this stuff? What a joke!"

"It's just a game dungeon. Just watch me clear it!"

Landfall shouted with disdain, his neck stiffly craned.

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