Spirit Candle Rank-Up

The Storyteller was highly efficient. After learning about casting methods from Rogue, he quickly sought out the veteran players to exchange information with them, then posted the news on the forum.

The players, meanwhile, soon found Bloodstone Devilfish in the nearshore waters.

After a round of slaughter, a player quickly looted a Spell Battle Ash called [Bloodstone Burst] from a Bloodstone Devilfish.

Moreover, after it was tested by the big shot Poetry and the Distance, they discovered this spell's most powerful effect—area-of-effect damage!

The few mage players immediately became excited.

My Son Failed, I Went Ashore: "Heavens above, earth below, I finally have an AoE skill to use! This great mage no longer has to be bullied by those skeletons!"

Landfall was moved to tears. If he'd had this spell sooner, would he still have been chased around and hacked at by those Living Bones?

Brother Miao Won't Fail: "I think you're celebrating a little too early. Bloodstone Devilfish aren't that easy to deal with. (picks nose)"

My Son Failed, I Went Ashore: "Heh, you dare look down on your old man? I'll grind all night and get this Spell Battle Ash!"

Brother Miao Won't Fail: "Oh, ambitious. Fine, I was going to give you a hand, but it seems I won't have to."

My Son Failed, I Went Ashore: "Don't! Godfather! My rebellious bones took over just now—I didn't mean it! Help me out, help me out!"

"..."

Their Schrödinger's father-son relationship had the watching players laughing uncontrollably.

Yuanfang, meanwhile, went to find the Storyteller. During their conversation, he learned that this information had actually been traded from the Candle Keepers.

"Hmm... useful information can also be exchanged with the Candle Keepers... another entirely new hidden mechanic..." Yuanfang mused.

Just as the players were celebrating excitedly,

a new announcement suddenly appeared on the Spirit Candle Forum.

At the same time, the players in-game received a notification.

[Game Maintenance Announcement]

[Dear Candle Spirit Warriors, due to certain technical issues, the game will undergo maintenance starting at 9 PM tonight and lasting until 8 AM tomorrow. Please manage your online time accordingly.]

[During the maintenance period, we will continue posting relevant announcements. Please stay tuned!]

"Huh?"

"Major technical issues? Maintenance?! What happened?"

"A bug? I haven't even found one. How is that possible?"

"Damn, are you kidding me? I just logged in and was ready to grind monsters. I've already taken my pants off, and this is what you show me?"

"Could the game company be having financial trouble and getting ready to run off? If that's really the case, open a crowdfunding channel! I can't live without Spirit Candle!"

"No! How am I supposed to get through tonight without Spirit Candle..."

"I don't want to play that shitty Jianghu Legend..."

The sudden announcement left the players wailing in despair. One after another, they wilted like eggplants struck by frost.

Rogue, the instigator behind it all, turned a blind eye.

This so-called maintenance did not mean he needed to maintain anything or fix some technical issue.

It was because he was about to raise the Spirit Candle's rank!

...If he knew what new functions or effects would be unlocked after the Spirit Candle ranked up, he could have sent the players an [Update Announcement].

But the problem was that Rogue didn't know what new tricks the Spirit Candle would gain after ranking up either... He couldn't exactly pretend to be a prophet, could he?

Furthermore, Rogue wasn't sure how long the rank-up would take, so he simply extended it for an entire night.

As for the players having no game to play... Rogue could only let them suffer a little.

It was a test game, after all. A few technical issues were perfectly reasonable...

[Spirit Candle]

[Rank: Cinder (required to upgrade: 1000 wax oil)]

[Remaining wax oil: 1227]

[Spirit Candle Building: Spirit Fire Port (Rank 1)]

[Anchored Island: Candlewood Island (small isolated island)]

[Summoned Candle Spirits: 90]

Thanks to the little chives' tireless efforts day and night, Rogue's wax oil accumulation rate had continued to rise.

By now, he had finally saved nearly enough wax oil for the Spirit Candle's rank-up.

It was time to raise the Spirit Candle's rank!

Half a day later, the maintenance time stated in the announcement finally arrived.

After Rogue ruthlessly kicked several reluctant little players offline and recalled their Candle Spirit Physiques, the preparations were finally complete.

Come on.

After silently murmuring to himself, Rogue closed his eyes and connected with the Spirit Candle's power...

[Wax oil required to raise rank: 1000. Consume 1000 wax oil to raise the Spirit Candle's rank?]

[Spirit Candle rank-up in progress...]

As message after message appeared, the Spirit Candle within Rogue's perception began to change.

Though its flame did not burn any brighter,

Rogue could clearly feel that the power contained within it had undergone some indescribable enhancement...

Candlewood Island seemed to become a little brighter.

Whether inside the caves, outside them, upon the sea, or within the drawn-in Nearshore Cave, the Milestone Spirit Candles seemed to have received a summons. Their flames tilted in the same direction, like steadfast followers...

Bzzzz—

The entire space occupied by Candlewood Island and the nearshore waters seemed to tremble for a moment.

However, if the spatial tremor caused by the Traction Fire before had felt like a "collision," then this tremor felt more like... stabilization!

The ranked-up Spirit Candle seemed to have made all of Candlewood Island more stable.

And that wasn't all!

Rumble—

As Rogue opened his eyes, the portion of Candlewood Island submerged beneath the sea... began to rise!

A new coastline emerged. Thunderous booms echoed out, the island's monsters grew restless, and Candlewood Island's area rapidly expanded by nearly half!

Spirit Fire Port also seemed to come alive, automatically moving to a suitable location under the pull of the Spirit Candle's power...

Of course, that was not the main function. It was merely Rogue taking the opportunity to expand Candlewood Island after the Spirit Candle stabilized it. After all, the island had been rather small.

[Spirit Candle rank-up complete.]

[Spirit Candle Building unlocked: Sin Furnace]

[Candle Spirit ability unlocked: Replenish Wax Blocks]

[Candle Spirit temperature limit increased!]

[Spirit Candle]

[Rank: Ember (required to upgrade: 10000 wax oil)]

[Remaining wax oil: 228]

[Spirit Candle Buildings: Spirit Fire Port (Rank 1), Sin Furnace (not constructed; requires 1000 wax oil)]

[Anchored Island: Candlewood Island (small isolated island)]

[Summoned Candle Spirits: 90]

After roughly taking in all the information, Rogue let out a soft breath.

The upgrades and changes brought about by this Spirit Candle rank-up were indeed massive, fully worth the 1,000 wax oil.

First was the new Spirit Candle Building unlocked after the rank increase—the Sin Furnace.

Through the Spirit Candle, Rogue gained a rough understanding that it was likely a building related to equipment.

Besides that, the Spirit Candle's rank-up brought more than merely raising the required wax oil to ten thousand. It also came with other, even more important functions.

First was information related to Candle Spirits and "Warfire."

That was right. After the Spirit Candle ranked up, Rogue gained a method to ignite Warfire within the Candle Spirit Physique!

The new book is setting sail! Please bookmark, vote, and send monthly tickets!