Chapter 395 - 274: The Darkest Day in Gaming History

Chapter 395: Chapter 274: The Darkest Day in Gaming History

After the banquet, Leon ended up getting into Mr. Scrooge’s carriage.

The War King had come along as well. He’d simply insisted on tagging along, and Scrooge hadn’t refused him. His advertising strategy involved casting a wide net.

Leon had agreed to check out the game out of sheer curiosity—it was, surprisingly, free to play.

He was cautious about sponsorships, wary of recommending a bad product to his fans.

’But for a free game, even if it’s poorly made, there’s no harm in trying it out. It shouldn’t cause any problems.’

’But why is it free?’

To date, not a single game—whether released by the Zog Group or made by other small teams—had been completely free.

Even games that were themselves free to play, like auto chess and Red Alert, required the purchase of specialized gaming hardware.

But according to Mr. Scrooge, you could play *Path of Conquest* without spending a single Copper Coin.

After a long moment of hesitation, Leon finally asked, "Mr. Scrooge, how exactly does your game make money?"

"Mr. Scrooge must have his reasons!" the War King chimed in from the side.

’In the War King’s view, anyone making a free game was bound to lose their shirt. If Leon asked a question like that, what would happen if the man came to his senses and pulled the ad deal?’

’This was the first ad deal of his video creator career. He might never get another chance. What kind of sane person would hire someone with double-digit followers for an ad?’

"Haha." Mr. Scrooge laughed outright at Leon’s question.

"Don’t you feel that games are very expensive right now? While the average price is somewhere between ten and several dozen Copper Coins, they only provide thirty to fifty hours of gameplay—a hundred at most. For the vast majority of people, that’s too expensive."

He didn’t answer Leon’s question directly, instead turning it back on him.

"I suppose so," Leon replied. He couldn’t afford many games back in the day, and now that he could, he didn’t have much time to play.

Mr. Scrooge continued, "This is especially true since the Kara Headband came out. The number of online users has multiplied, and it’s still nowhere near its limit. Many people want to try games but are reluctant to spend the money. A free game is the perfect choice for them. When a game has a large enough player base, what does it become?"

Leon shook his head.

"A miniature society," Scrooge said, throwing his arms wide with a flourish. "In society, people’s statuses are not equal. Those who command power and resources are destined to be at the top. It’s the same in *Path of Conquest*. To gain status in this game, you must spend money."

"What do you mean?" Leon still hadn’t quite grasped it.

"Take Red Alert, the game you excel at," Scrooge continued to explain. "No matter how rich someone else is—say, Miss Grace—she can’t beat you in the game, right? But what if she could spend just One Gold Coin to start the match with a Deep Prison Demon Refiner?"

"Then she could just steamroll me and I’d lose," Leon replied. With the kind of military disparity a Deep Prison Demon Refiner creates at the start, no amount of skill would matter. "But what’s the fun in a game like that?"

"Oh, it’s a lot of fun. Do you know how many expert players are power-leveling accounts for others? You must also think there’s no point in a rank you didn’t earn yourself."

Mr. Scrooge continued with another example. "Are you aware of companion gaming services? In a 4v4 Red Alert match, someone will hire three expert players. The experts are responsible for suppressing the enemy while their client builds up, then they let the client steamroll to victory."

Leon looked utterly confused.

He truly had no idea players did that in Red Alert, nor could he understand what could possibly be fun about it.

"I would do that. I know many merchants and nobles who have, and it’s incredibly satisfying. Your advantage is your talent for gaming, so you use your talent. My advantage is being rich, so I use my money. Now, I’m simply streamlining that process." Scrooge finished, having completely explained his business model.

Leon was beginning to understand. It was a game where the richer you were, the stronger you were.

’Put that way, it did seem like people would actually play it.’

"But," the War King asked, "if ordinary players can never defeat wealthy ones in this game, and it’s not like Red Alert where lower-ranked players can always play against people of the same rank, they’ll have a hard time sticking with it, even if it’s free. Right?"

’If he kept losing in a game, he definitely wouldn’t stick with it.’

"True," Mr. Scrooge said, giving the War King a surprised glance. "That’s why I’m letting ordinary players earn money."

"Earn money in the game?"

"Yes. The resources available for purchase in-game are limited, but ordinary players can also farm useful resources. These can be sold to wealthy players who need them. If they can make money from playing a game, they’ll keep playing," Scrooge answered.

Both Leon’s and the War King’s eyes went wide. They had never imagined a game could work like that.

"Everyone gets to make money off the nobles. I’m practically a great philanthropist."

Leon felt there was a flaw in Scrooge’s self-aggrandizing logic, but he didn’t know how to argue against it.

The carriage slowly came to a stop, having arrived at Scrooge’s internet cafe.

This was one of the largest internet cafes in the city, boasting six hundred machines. Apart from its size, its most distinctive feature was that it also sold eye-care health potions.

The counter was right at the entrance, and buying the eye drops even got you a discount on your internet time.

In fact, Mr. Scrooge’s previous job had been as an Alchemy Apprentice selling health products. He had done all sorts of work; to be more precise, he did whatever made money.