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“Come, come! The official event is here!”

“I heard there’s a chance to get god-tier gear!”

“Is it that good?”

“I’m in! I’ve saved up a ton of gold now that the server’s about to shut down, time to get some great gear!”

“Count me in too!”

The news of “Cassius’s Secret Treasure” spread rapidly throughout the city, and soon over a thousand beta players gathered here, forming a thick crowd around the shop.

Meanwhile, far away in the palace, Cassius lay in his lair, watching the players’ reactions through a magical mirror, a sinister smile playing on his lips.

“The allure of a lottery lies in its simplicity and uncertainty. Buying a treasure chest, waiting for the moment of revelation, hoping against hope that one’s fate changes overnight.”

“Tsk, tsk, this method of milking people, which has lasted for centuries, really never fails.”

“Anyway, I’m not losing anything here.”

“Rawr?”

Tinea tilted her head, letting out a confused growl. She didn’t understand, and she thought all these humans were fools.

The total value of the items Cassius placed in the boxes was roughly three thousand gold coins, mostly junk picked from Lackman Duchy’s stores and some spoils left behind by poor adventurers. He placed them in twelve hundred boxes priced at five gold coins each, securing an absolute profit.

Over a thousand pairs of eager eyes focused on those ornate metal boxes, engraved with the dignified crest of the Red Dragon, preventing any magical attempts to peek inside.

“Night Chronicle” stared at the boxes in the crowd, as if seeing piles and piles of gold. He licked his lips, thinking, “If I could steal a god-tier item, I’d be rich!”

But when he looked up at the wyverns patrolling the sky and the heavily armed tiefling city guards, his thoughts of theft were quickly extinguished.

“What a shame.”

Relying on his instincts as a thief, Night Chronicle subconsciously reached into the pocket of the player beside him. He had forgotten, however, that this was the central area of Northwind Fortress, where theft was strictly forbidden.

“Boom!”

“What the hell! Who just blew something up?!”

“Isn’t that my purse? Nice blast!”

“It’s Black Scum, hahaha, he thought he was outside the city, what an idiot!”

The serpent lady with a beautiful figure clapped her hands, and a bright smile spread across her face as the long bell rang out.

“It’s starting. Please line up and buy in an orderly manner.”

“I’ll take one!”

“I’m first! Single draw for miracles!”

“Don’t push! I got here first!”

Players swarmed, crowding the shop, leaving no room to move.

Born Battle Maniac muscled his way to the front with his strong physique, fishing out five gold coins.

“Swish—”

Green light leaked from the seam of the box.

“He got something! He got something!”

Players shouted in excitement.

With a crisp clink, a rough pair of boots appeared before them.

【Boots of Running and Jumping】

Rarity: Uncommon

Item Description: Crafted from pegasus hide, wearing these boots will increase your running speed by fifteen percent, and allow you to jump triple the normal distance.

“Listen up, kid, big jumps are a man’s romance!” — Galaga, Club-Wielding Chieftain of the Orc Tribe.

“Whoa—”

“That’s good stuff!”

“Is the official drop rate this good? The very first one already yielded something decent, very generous.”

“I want one too, let me try!”

The onlookers couldn’t help but envy, itching to try it out themselves. Though the boots were only green-tier, for melee classes, they were comparable to some blue-tier gear. Besides, even as green gear, their value far exceeded five gold coins.

“Sir, would you like another one?”

“No, no, I’m good.”

Born Battle Maniac rubbed his shiny, well-polished bald head, chuckling.

As a barbarian, his equipment needs weren’t that high. Besides, he had gotten something that matched him well; he’d already profited.

Players started enthusiastically buying boxes, and as each item appeared, magical glowing sounds of “whirr” rang out.

Cassius had deliberately set this up, inspired by gaming companies from his past life, to give players an exhilarating experience when they scored something. This was meant to get them addicted to opening boxes.

These boxes could even be reused, meaning costs were minimized to the extreme.

In just ten minutes, players had already bought over a hundred boxes. Everyone used different methods—some washed their faces on the spot, some prayed, and others engaged in esoteric rituals.

“Another one!”

“It’s my turn, time for a draw!”

“Amen, Buddha bless, whatever god you are, let me pull something good! The power of faith is burning within me!”

“I’m willing to exchange my brother’s ten years of singlehood for a good pull!”

“I’m willing to sacrifice ten years of Black Scum’s lifespan!”

Yet this batch of players didn’t seem to have much luck. Most of what they pulled was junk of common rarity; even uncommon green-tier items were few and far between, let alone the rare items.

Complaints and curses filled the air, while a few players who got lucky showed off, mocking the rest.

“Damn the devs! I worked hard to save up gold, and I got a crude iron dagger?!”

“You have it good! I got an adventurer’s underpants!”

“Refund!”

“I sold all my gear just to open these boxes, and ended up getting a duplicate helmet. Who can understand my pain?”

“What kind of crappy drop rate is this?!”

“Sigh, all I got was an uncommon staff. Rare items are just too hard to come by.”

“I’ll stab this lucky jerk! Still flaunting your pull here? We’re all losing our minds, and you want to show off?!”

With so few players actually getting anything good, others in the crowd hesitated, debating whether or not to gamble away their savings earned from months of grinding.

Cassius watched silently from his palace, feeling uneasy:

“These guys are really unlucky. I swear I didn’t rig anything; if these don’t sell out, I’ll be losing a fortune! Should I maybe rig the results?”

“Wait, the next box seems to contain a rare item. Might as well wait and watch the show.”

“Oh? Is it actually him?”

The ID of the next player to approach caught Cassius’s eye—it was “Charlotte.”

The guild master of Magic Coin and head of the Magic Affairs Bureau, also a well-known whale, commonly nicknamed “Charlotte Raise.” Whenever he made a purchase, the market would shift, with sellers raising their prices accordingly—a legend who once caused the average market price to rise by thirty percent in a single day.

“I’ll take ten boxes!”

Charlotte made a bold move, buying ten boxes at once, leaving the poorer players astonished.

“Damn, as expected of Charlotte Raise, such a big spender.”

“This is my first time seeing a ten-pull.”

“I can understand. After all, it might be the first time in a month he’s been able to buy something at market price.”

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