Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 632 - 615 Training Plan

Chapter 632: Chapter 615 Training Plan

Chen Tingquan asked, "Dare I ask, Senior Brother, how many Spirit Stones do these cost in total?"

Li Qiang quickly did some mental calculations: "Altogether, it only requires 5000 lower-grade Spirit Stones per month."

Chen Tingquan was stunned: "How much?"

5000!

The currency system in this game is pretty simple, there are only two kinds: Copper Coin and Spirit Stone.

Copper Coins are the currency needed for purchasing various sundries, like when Chen Tingquan previously hunted and traded beast meat, all transactions were done using Copper Coins.

Of course, Copper Coins can also be exchanged for silver ingots or gold ingots, but gold and silver exist as special items and are generally not used for direct transactions.

Spirit Stones, on the other hand, are the hard currency within the cultivation circle; nearly all resources related to cultivation can be purchased with Spirit Stones.

In this game, Spirit Stones are divided into upper, middle, and lower grades. One upper-grade Spirit Stone equals 100 middle-grade Spirit Stones, which equals 10,000 lower-grade Spirit Stones.

It’s somewhat analogous to the exchange rate between copper coins, silver coins, and Gold Coins in Shadow World, all have a 100:1 ratio.

But even the most basic lower-grade Spirit Stone has a rather outrageous exchange rate compared to Copper Coins.

One lower-grade Spirit Stone is equivalent to 10,000 Copper Coins.

Previously, Chen Tingquan was toiling away in a coal mine, mining for so long, and after the black market’s fifty-fifty cut, he only managed to save a dozen or so lower-grade Spirit Stones.

Besides this, the game’s top-up rate can also be used to roughly determine the value of the Spirit Stones.

According to the game’s top-up instructions, 1 real-world dollar can be exchanged for 1 middle-grade Spirit Stone, which is 100 lower-grade Spirit Stones.

Li Qiang’s so-called "cost-effective" body-strengthening package, costing 5000 lower-grade Spirit Stones per month, equates to 50 real-world dollars.

But there’s one point that needs special attention: what Li Qiang refers to as "a month" is not a real-world month but a month in the game.

If it were in the real world, spending 50 dollars a month is barely acceptable, given that even a monthly card costs 30 dollars.

But in the game Reverse Heaven, whether it’s taking medicine, cultivating, or gathering resources, all the time used is based on in-game time.

The ratio of game time to real time is 7:1.

That is, 1 day of real-world time equals 7 days of game time; a month in the game equals 4 days in the real world.

Calculating it this way, if one wants to use this basic Nine Dragon Training Method for body strengthening, they have to spend over 350 dollars every month.

That’s just unacceptable!

Keep in mind, many expensive large monthly cards in games are around 198 or so, and even adding a monthly card is still cheaper than this basic body-strengthening package in Reverse Heaven.

The key is that in other games, the monthly card plus large monthly card is already the best value recharge option, but in Reverse Heaven? Chen Tingquan couldn’t be sure if this so-called body-strengthening package is the best value.

What if this thing isn’t cost-effective, wouldn’t the money be spent in vain?

There are indeed quite a few pitfalls in Li Qiang’s scenario.

It’s just that Chen Tingquan is shrewd and calculating; if it were someone else, they might actually fall for it.

Not to mention other things, just the calculation method of "5000 lower-grade Spirit Stones per month" makes it very easy for people to mistakenly think this is a real-world month.

At this point, three dialogue options appear:

"I have a lot of family wealth. Could you give me a more comprehensive training plan?"

"I’ll take this set!"

"Senior Brother, 5000 lower-grade Spirit Stones per month is still a bit too much to bear... Do you have any cheaper options?"

Chen Tingquan thought for a moment and chose the last option.

Li Qiang was a bit impatient: "Can’t even handle a mere 5000 lower-grade Spirit Stones per month? Junior Brother, it’s not that I look down on you, but with such a half-hearted commitment to the path, how will you cultivate?

"Junior Brother, listen to a word of advice from your Senior Brother. In cultivation, 30% relies on effort, 70% on talent, and the remaining 90% entirely on Elixir Pills. Without Elixir Pills, even those who are prodigies of a Great Sect will soon become ordinary people.

"You toil hard every day in cultivation, but your efficiency is not even as good as those who lie down and sleep after taking Elixir Pills; how can that be possible?

"You might have just come down from the mountain and think that 5000 lower-grade Spirit Stones is equal to fifty million Copper Coins, an inconceivable fortune. But as cultivators, although our expenses are high, there are also many ways to earn money.

"Once you truly become an Immortal, with the ability to move mountains and fill seas, you can easily hunt a few demon beasts or dig up some medicinal herbs and Spirit Ores to sell for a good price.

"Recently, a prodigy from a Great Sect collected a thousand-year-old snow lotus flower while adventuring, sold it for a sky-high price of 100,000 upper-grade Spirit Stones, not only paying off all his previous loans in one go but also easily having enough Elixir Pills for his next decade of cultivation.

"Even if your current strength is insufficient to compete with those powerful demon beasts, you can first check out the various loans available.

"Our Sect itself offers preferential loans for various disciples, and other Great Sects all have their special loan programs.

"For instance, the ’Time Wheel Zen Sect’ uniquely launched the ’Time Loan,’ which can shorten cultivation time, greatly boost cultivation efficiency, and provide you with a large amount of Spirit Stones. The cost involved is merely time overdraft after doubling.

"As long as you become an Immortal, a strong adventurer in the primordial wilderness, you can easily clear any loans. By then, looking back on today, worrying over a mere few thousand lower-grade Spirit Stones would seem quite laughable, wouldn’t it?"

Chen Tingquan listened in awe, feeling as if he had stumbled into a pyramid scheme.

It seemed as if "Sleep on the floor today, be the boss tomorrow" inspirational mantras were echoing in his ears.

Although his inner rationality was constantly reminding him that this was surely a scam, deep down, a slight sense of hope emerged.

Maybe this scheme could actually work?

Chen Tingquan also knew that what Li Qiang said about hunting demon beasts in the future or selling a thousand-year-old snow lotus for 100,000 upper-grade Spirit Stones were rare events; ordinary players might play for months without encountering such a good thing even once.

But players could repay the Cultivation Loan through earning money in the game, which is likely true.

It’s just that the efficiency might not be that high.

Of course, exactly how to make money and when this can be profitable needs further exploration later on.

Chen Tingquan continued choosing the dialogue option: "Senior Brother is right, but I am indeed from a poor family. Please provide a cheaper plan with just the most basic effect. Once I find a way to earn money, I’ll come to you for the advanced plan."

Li Qiang sighed: "Alright, alright, Senior Brother understands your predicament.

"Given the situation, I will arrange a simple, most basic plan for you to try first, Junior Brother.

"Senior Brother believes that once you truly use the Nine Dragon Training Method, you will understand Senior Brother’s good intentions.

"I am not trying to scam you into buying Elixir Pills, but can’t bear to see you go astray on this long road of cultivation."

Li Qiang said, and offered a new list.

"You just buy a small amount of Elixir Pills for trial first.

"I’ll give you 10 Sacrificial Shell Dragon, 5 Steel-Backed Dragon, 1 Corrupt Claw Dragon, and 1 Spring-Welling Dragon.

"The first three are essential Elixir Pills for body strengthening, while the Spring-Welling Dragon can increase your mana. Although the body-strengthening route doesn’t require much mana value, some basic mana value is needed to use simple Spells and Magic Artifacts.

"Remember to dissolve the Steel-Backed Dragon pill into water for a medicinal bath and apply the Corrupt Claw Dragon directly on both arms.

"Since these are trial packs, I’ll give you a discount price of just 888 lower-grade Spirit Stones."

Chen Tingquan did a quick calculation, and the price seemed reasonable.

According to the previous plan, 5000 lower-grade Spirit Stones could buy 30 Sacrificial Shell Dragon, 30 Steel-Backed Dragon, 4 Corrupt Claw Dragon, 2 Treading-Wave Jiao, and Spring-Welling Dragon.

Now it’s 10 Sacrificial Shell Dragon, 5 Steel-Backed Dragon, 1 Corrupt Claw Dragon, and 1 Spring-Welling Dragon, priced at 888 lower-grade Spirit Stones, indeed offering a bit of a discount.

The main thing is that the total price isn’t high; Chen Tingquan can afford it directly since he had already signed up for a Cultivation Loan.

This Cultivation Loan was quite interesting, the Spirit Stones are not given in a lump sum but distributed on schedule.

Chen Tingquan now had 3000 lower-grade Spirit Stones.

"I’ll buy it!"

In the end, Chen Tingquan decided to buy the 888 discounted package.

Of course, players can choose not to buy it and just use those most basic legitimate Elixir Pills from the Double-Door Master for cultivation.

However, Chen Tingquan felt that since the plot had already spent so much time introducing the Nine Dragon Training Method, it must be significant.

When cultivating, by comparing the conventional cultivation speed with the speed after taking the Nine Dragon Elixir Pills, it would naturally become clear which one was better.

Leaving Li Qiang’s abode, Chen Tingquan once again returned to the Sect.

According to the game guide, the upcoming tasks could be simply divided into three steps:

Step one, complete today’s cultivation tasks to enhance capabilities.

Step two, engage in daily combat sparring to complete practical training.

Step three, head to the specified area on the large map to explore, complete Sect tasks, and earn resources, make money.

This could also be considered the daily basic game content in Reverse Heaven, with a routine nature.

Of course, this game also has various other gameplay options, only they haven’t been unlocked yet.

Players still need to master these most basic functions first.

"Alright, let’s start cultivating!

"Finally on the right track, there can be a significant improvement. I wonder when I can catch up with those whales."

These three steps don’t have a strict order, if players are very confident, they can complete the daily combat sparring and large map exploration first, and then proceed with cultivation.

Chen Tingquan knows his strength well, so naturally, he has to cultivate first.

He looked at the resources at hand:

From the Double-Door Master, there are legal Elixir Pills: 30 Muscle Building Pills, 60 Strengthening Pills, 30 Qi Gathering Pills, 10 Sleep Aid Pills, and 40 Pain-Free Pills.

And the Nine Dragon Elixir Pills just bought from Li Qiang: 10 Sacrificial Shell Dragon, 5 Steel-Backed Dragon, 1 Corrupt Claw Dragon, and 1 Spring-Welling Dragon.

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