Chapter 1118: Recipe for Savory Deviate Delight (Second Update)
In the Barrens, two Horde low-level characters were leveling up.
An Undead Mage was casting Frostbolt at a prairie lion: "This game is so fun! I should have bought the Matrix Gaming Pod earlier!"
In the distance, an Orc Warrior was swinging his battle axe, fighting a Tallstrider: "I told you to buy it ages ago, but you had to wait. If you'd started playing with me back then, you'd be max level by now. Instead, I have to level a lowbie with you now..."
The Undead Mage said in the party channel: "Speaking of which, isn't your main character max level? Take me leveling!"
The Orc Warrior shook his head hard: "My main is a Priest, how the hell am I supposed to take you... But even if I could, it wouldn't work well. The experience penalty is too harsh. At best, I can run you through some dungeons for gear, finish a few tough dungeon quests, but expecting me to power-level you is impossible."
The Undead Mage pursed his lips: "This game isn't user-friendly at all. So inconvenient. Wouldn't it be great if a high-level could just boost me straight to 60?"
The Orc Warrior said earnestly: "That's where you're wrong. World of Warcraft isn't a fast-food game. You have to experience it with your heart. You think leveling is boring now, questing is boring, running dungeons is pointless, but later on, all of this will become memories. Look, even though I've done these quests before, leveling a lowbie now still feels nostalgic. Besides, this game is absolutely fair—of course, everyone should level up the same way. If you could just buy levels with money, wouldn't it be the same as those cash-grab online games?"
The Undead Mage half-understood: "Absolutely fair?"
"Yeah." The Orc Warrior said, "I told you before, this game is purely time-based subscription. It's completely equal in-game—everything you get, like gear and gold, comes from your own effort. Gold can be traded for real money, but it barely helps you improve directly."
"Oh..."
The Undead Mage didn't fully grasp it but was impressed. He killed two more mobs and asked, "Hey? What's this?"
The Orc Warrior saw the system message and his eyes went wide: "Holy crap!! Recipe for Savory Deviate Delight!!"
The Undead Mage looked clueless: "Is this thing good? I don't really get it."
The Orc Warrior was practically beating his chest in regret, because earlier, to save trouble, he'd changed the party loot setting to Free-for-All. If it had been Group Loot, he could have rolled for it...
"Good? It's beyond good! It's amazing! This thing sells on the Auction House for at least 500 gold! That's almost enough to buy a game card!"
The Orc Warrior stared longingly at the system message about the Savory Deviate Delight recipe, drooling.
Jealousy makes me lose my cell walls; jealousy makes me undergo mitosis...
Thinking about how his main Priest still hadn't saved up 1000 gold for the epic mount, if he had this recipe, 500 gold would be in his pocket instantly...
In the VR version of World of Warcraft, a game card cost 200 yuan. Converting to gold varied by server—generally, the older the server, the more gold players had farmed, and the cheaper the gold price.
If it were some random low-level, the Orc Warrior would definitely try every trick to buy the recipe cheap, like offering 50 or 100 gold to snatch it and resell it. The lowbie wouldn't check the Auction House or know its real value and would probably sell.
But this Undead Mage was a real-life friend of the Orc Warrior. If he scammed the recipe, and the Undead Mage later found out its value on the Auction House, he might come knocking with a knife in real life...
So, what could he do? The Orc Warrior could only bleed internally and silently wish his good buddy well.
The Undead Mage pressed on: "Really? What's so great about this recipe? Isn't it just for making food?"
The Orc Warrior didn't want to say a word, but seeing the Undead Mage ask so sincerely, he forced himself to endure the pain of cellular breakdown and patiently explained:
"This Savory Deviate Delight mainly changes your appearance—turns you into a Human Ninja or a Noble. On the Horde side, a lot of Orcs, Trolls, and Tauren aren't happy with their looks, so they eat Savory Deviate Delight. Think about it—if you get this recipe, it's basically a money tree. Make a few stacks of Savory Deviate Delight, put them on the Auction House, and they'll sell out fast."
"The key is the drop rate is super low. Many people estimate it's around one in a thousand. My main Priest once spent three hours farming in the Barrens and didn't see a single one..."
The Undead Mage half-understood: "Oh."
The Orc Warrior continued: "Plus, you can list it on the Neutral Auction House and sell it to Alliance players for even higher prices! Because Alliance lowbies rarely quest in the Barrens. If a Dwarf or Gnome player wants this recipe, it's way harder for them than for the Horde."
The Undead Mage grinned: "So, now that I've got this recipe, I've got the gold for my level 40 mount, right?"
The Orc Warrior sighed: "Not just the level 40 mount—you could even buy some epic gear, like the Staff of Jordan..."
The Undead Mage hadn't thought much of it at first, but after the Orc Warrior's explanation, he felt a little bit of joy.
"Really? That's great. Huh? Another one dropped."
The Orc Warrior's eyes nearly popped out. He checked the system message—sure enough, before the Undead Mage had even finished speaking, another one had dropped...
The Undead Mage happily picked up the second recipe: "Now I've got the epic mount gold! Too bad I'm only level 16. Ugh, when will I hit 60? I can't wait... Hey? Why did you leave the party? Aren't you going to level with me?"
The Orc Warrior: "Uh... the guild called me for a raid. I'm switching to my main."
The Undead Mage checked the time: "That doesn't make sense. It's almost 4 AM. Who raids at this hour? Hey, don't go!"
The Orc Warrior was practically crying inside, wanting to slap himself hard.
Hadn't he just said this game was absolutely fair?!
Fair my ass!
Equal my ass!
His main Priest had grinded all the way to 60, farmed cloth to make bags and sell them, disenchanted materials to sell, slogged through dungeons, clung to the guild's Mage for AoE grinding to save gold—and still couldn't afford the epic mount, not even a horse's rear end.
And this guy, playing a lowbie, just casually drops two Savory Deviate Delight recipes?!
Sell them and pocket 1000 gold?!
How the hell is this game even playable?!
Trash game!!
The Orc Warrior silently changed his signature: "Endless luck for the European dogs!!"
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