Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 659 - 642: The Uniqueness of Tao Companions

Chapter 659: Chapter 642: The Uniqueness of Tao Companions

Barbaric World.

Chen Tingquan, Liang Chun, and Li Wenhao, after much effort, finally took down their first and weakest Nine Dragon hatchling.

The three of them excitedly skinned and dissected the Melt Shell Dragon hatchling, extracting all the possible materials. They were still wanting more.

"Great, the first hunt for the Tou Fangfang Cultivation Group—big success!"

Chen Tingquan was quite happy.

The combat system of the game "Reverse Heaven" was done very well. Even setting aside the leaderboards, tests, cultivation, and all that exploding from overdosing on pills, players just hunting various demon beasts in the Barbaric World would be enough to support a large game.

Just like the time when Instructor Ding fought the Night Comet Dragon showcased, the combat system in this game was actually very complex, with various moves, cultivation techniques, and magical treasures, combined with wrestling, GP, and other operational systems, offering plenty of fun.

Although Chen Tingquan and his buddies didn’t spend much money in the game, they had accumulated decent cultivation strength after such a long period of cultivation and bought some cost-effective magical treasures.

Though hunting a Nine Dragon hatchling still felt taxing, they were starting to really get the fun of this game.

Li Wenhao sighed and said, "We’ve been playing hard for over half a month and only just reached the level Instructor Ding was at when the game launched."

Back then, at the game’s launch, top whales like Instructor Ding could do whatever they wanted in Barbaric World, hunting Nine Dragon hatchlings with ease.

Meanwhile, free-to-play players have just barely managed to beat a Nine Dragon hatchling on their own.

Of course, the difficulty between team and solo hunting doesn’t differ much. In a team hunt, the monster’s health increases, but the material drops remain unaffected.

Now, Instructor Ding could probably solo an adult Night Comet Dragon. His strength was unimaginable for free-to-play players.

Although he has undergone rebirth once, given Instructor Ding’s current rate of consuming Nine Dragon Elixirs, he should soon surpass his previous cultivation.

Chen Tingquan sighed, "It seems that you can also enjoy this game casually; there’s no need to chase after the rankings endlessly.

Our content compared to Instructor Ding’s wasn’t all that different either."

Liang Chun and Li Wenhao nodded in agreement, "Indeed."

At most, the difference was "beating small lobsters with a stick" versus "using a cool, flashy, and arrogant sword to defeat a Sun Overlord Lobster."

Although the game’s numerical depth was profound, the basic combat mechanics were the same for everyone.

A hatchling Night Comet Dragon, a matured Night Comet Dragon, or even an Immortal Body-level Night Comet Dragon, their skills weren’t that different.

At most, the higher difficulty individuals would have a 3% to 5% variation in moves, which was generally negligible.

So in terms of hunting, the experience was more or less the same for everyone.

If one could understand this, and not care about the rankings at all, just go hunt in the Barbaric World every day, fight some Nine Dragon hatchlings when encountered, sell all the materials for money, and maybe have a hearty meal every few days, it could be quite enjoyable too.

The "Reverse Heaven" official trading system was quite complete, with Spirit Stones and real money adjusting dynamically based on current market transactions, and Spirit Stones earned from the auction house could be exchanged directly for money.

This was a vital reason why many free-to-play players kept playing.

"Alright, let’s head back to the Sect.

"See how the prices for these Melt Shell Dragon materials are today, and if it’s good, sell them all."

The three of them flew back to the Henggang Sect on their flying swords.

However, as they approached the Sect, they saw many people hovering outside.

These people were all floating on flying swords in mid-air, seemingly watching something.

Not only were there disciples from the Henggang Sect, but also disciples from other sects, including top whales from the Six Major Sects.

All standing on flying swords with dazzling effects, equipped with several magical treasures, making some players with lower-end computers experience lag.

"What’s going on? Is there a new event?"

Chen Tingquan curiously approached, and then saw a somewhat exasperating scene.

The players were all crowding around, and the person at the center was none other than Instructor Ding!

Compared to the time when he exploded and died, Instructor Ding had visibly bulked up, especially his two arms, which almost looked as thick as Chen Tingquan’s character’s thighs.

Amid the crowd, Instructor Ding looked like a mountain, blocking out the sky and the sun—it was hard not to notice him.

"Brother Quan!"

Instructor Ding’s gaze pierced through the crowd and saw Chen Tingquan; after all, they were friends and would get extra prompts when meeting in-game.

"What brings you, a distinguished Heavenly Pride of the Erosion Spirit Heavenly Palace, to our Henggang Sect?" Chen Tingquan asked.

Instructor Ding ignored the sarcasm in his tone and proudly declared, "Look, Brother Quan, Tao Companion!"

Chen Tingquan was taken aback, "Tao Companion? Have you reached Nascent Soul?"

Instructor Ding shook his head, "Not yet, but my Tao Companion is the only one in the entire server! Isn’t that awesome!"

Chen Tingquan looked beside Instructor Ding, and immediately understood why there were so many onlookers.

Although everyone had been playing "Reverse Heaven" for so long and had seen many unbelievable things,

this was indeed unprecedented!

This fairy with fluttering robes was undoubtedly the best-looking NPC Chen Tingquan had ever seen in this game, no, even considering all the best character customizations from players, she was still the most beautiful.

Nitiandang had always excelled in capturing the players’ preferences.

Whether it was "Heartbeat Dream" or "Endless Fantasy Legend 2," both had memorable characters.

This server’s only stunning Tao Companion epitomized such design skill.

Moreover, she had many custom accessories that were clearly beyond the in-game character creation system.

At this moment, a female player protested.

"Why is the server’s only stunning Tao Companion a female? Tao Companions can be male too!"

Instructor Ding coughed twice and explained, "You can choose a male one too, and he’s pretty handsome.

"But I’m not Gay, so I didn’t select that."

Chen Tingquan was shocked, "So where does this come from?"

Instructor Ding proudly announced, "This is an exclusive privilege of being a Level A Dealer for Nine Dragon Elixir! Pretty cool, huh? I’m now a Level A Dealer for Nine Dragon Elixir. In the future, if you guys want to buy it, just come to me, and I’ll give you a 30% discount off the market price!"

Liang Chun curiously asked, "So what can she do specifically?"

Hearing this, Instructor Ding got even more enthusiastic, and began to explain.

"She has unique voice lines and storylines, can accompany you to the Cave Mansion, and will be with you whether you’re doing alchemy or cultivating, with many unique interaction options.

"When hunting in the Barbaric World, she can join as a teammate.

"Her AI is incredibly smart, assisting you in timely healing, removing abnormal statuses, and providing specific voice hints such as alerting you to pick up important materials or capture monster info.

"Most importantly, her cultivation is completely linked to yours!

"If you are Foundation Establishment, so is she; if you’re Nascent Soul, so is she.

"Her combat strength is about 70% to 80% of my character’s.

"Together with her, hunting in the Barbaric World is like slicing through butter!

"Isn’t this way better than a real Tao Companion?"

At this point, a player with the ID "Dealer" whom Chen Tingquan had seen before added, "I think the most incredible thing is that her body size doesn’t change with cultivation."

Instructor Ding nodded, "Exactly, that’s quite important."

Everyone was stunned, unable to believe what they were hearing.

From what Instructor Ding described, this server’s only stunning Tao Companion was practically a unique system.

Like a combination of pet, butler, and combat NPC.

Her cultivation was completely linked with the player’s, and the stronger the player, the stronger she got, which meant the player’s fighting power was essentially doubled.

This would truly allow a player to dominate the Barbaric World.

With Instructor Ding’s strength, he could probably take on an Immortal Body-level Night Comet Dragon.

Of course, the Tao Companion feature was already in the game, though no player had reached Nascent Soul cultivation yet, it should be soon.

Top whales like Instructor Ding, if they were willing to get some Time Loans, would have reached Nascent Soul long ago.

However, top whales were typically aiming for the Heavenly Pride title, which had an age limit, so they remained around the late Core Formation or Great Perfection of Core Formation stages.

In another week or two, the first batch of whales should start breaking into the Nascent Soul stage. In a couple of months, mid-spending and free-to-play players would get there too.

By then, everyone could have a Tao Companion.

Finding a real player as a Tao Companion wouldn’t be better than this AI character?

Ah, but there was one significant disadvantage of real players compared to this AI character.

That was body size!

In this game, anyone who consumed Nine Dragon Elixir for cultivation, with slightly higher cultivation, ended up with a refrigerator-like physique, female cultivators included.

If one wished to maintain a good figure, they’d either have to suppress their cultivation or refrain from taking Nine Dragon Elixir and rely solely on Natural Body Refining.

But doing so, they wouldn’t reach the Nascent Soul threshold.

Meaning, for a long time, even if they found a female player to become their Tao Companion, her character would have a mountainous physique.

Instructor Ding’s server-exclusive stunning Tao Companion, not only had a unique face and model but also a perfect figure, curvy in the right places, slender where needed.

Entirely in line with conventional aesthetics.

Even the server-exclusive male Tao Companion was crafted to a flower boy’s standard and wouldn’t turn into a muscular brute like player characters.