Chapter 3

With a racing heart and trembling hands, Cole reached out toward the golden button—and slammed it down.

[Please enter the amount you wish to recharge: __]

Cole didn't hesitate for a second.

Max it out.

He had to max it out.

Right now, his account held the 200 million from selling his shares, plus another five million from mortgaging his expensive villa. Add in his existing savings, that made 220 million total.

The exchange rate was one to one. That meant, in the end, he would have 220 million gold coins in hand.

If anyone found out he was dumping all that money into a game, they'd call him insane without a second thought.

But Cole knew this was a sure thing. A no-brainer. A gift from heaven.

Because in three days, when Doomsday launched its open beta and merged with reality, the value of gold would skyrocket.

The exchange rate would jump to ten-to-one.

And that "one" referred to gold.

Once the recharge went through, his 220 million gold would be worth 2.2 billion in real currency.

And that still wouldn't reflect its true value.

Since the cash shop was only open for ten minutes during the closed beta, almost no one had done any top-up. A few had added small amounts, but that was it.

By the time open beta launched, players would have very limited gold.

Sure, you could buy some with real money.

But something on the scale of millions? Impossible.

Especially as time went on, players would only grow to understand gold's true importance. They might sell a little to cover real-world expenses.

But no one would be stupid enough to sell all their gold.

By then, it would be a market with high demand, but no supply.

And most importantly, this massive sum would serve as his starting capital in the early game.

After entering the number, Cole couldn't help but feel nervous.

Logically, a transaction of this size would definitely draw attention from the authorities. They'd never allow such a huge sum to flood into a single game.

But Doomsday defied logic.

Still, he had no idea if this would actually work.

A moment later—

[Congratulations! Top-up successful!]

"YES!"

Cole pumped his fist as he stared at the astronomical number on his status panel.

A certain famous billionaire once said: Splurging feels so amazing.

Right now, Cole was experiencing that happiness firsthand.

With such a massive head start, combined with his knowledge of Doomsday, Cole had absolute confidence that he could reach the highest peak on his own—and crush beneath his feet the strongest warriors that entire nations would raise.

Suddenly, a crisp mechanical chime rang out.

[Congratulations, Darkcole.]

[As the first player to recharge, and for exceeding 100,000,000 gold in a single transaction, you have unlocked a unique hidden class reward.]

[Hidden class detected. Automatically integrating...]

[You now possess a second class: God of Wealth.]

[Current classes: Beastmaster, God of Wealth.]

"What the hell? You can unlock hidden classes just by spending money?"

Cole froze for a moment, then broke into a grin.

In Doomsday, beyond the standard starting classes and later advanced classes, there were also special ones.

These could only be unlocked after meeting certain conditions.

They were called hidden classes.

There was a saying in Doomsday: Hidden classes aren't always strong—but the strongest are always hidden classes.

Their stats and talents were on a completely different level from ordinary classes.

That was why any information about hidden classes could drive countless players crazy.

And Cole had just unlocked a second class.

That meant his original class remained completely untouched. He was both a Beastmaster and the God of Wealth.

Cole immediately pulled up his second class status panel.

[Class: God of Wealth]

[Innate Talent – Rolling in It (Lv.1): The most basic ability of the God of Wealth is to generate wealth. Gold coins in your possession increase by 1% each day.]

[Innate Talent – Tight as a Drum (Lv.1): As the God of Wealth, you refuse all loss. Upon death, gold and items in your possession will not drop.]

[Innate Talent – Fortune Favors the Fat Wallet (Lv.1): They say money is the best nourishment. You possess vast wealth and exceptional luck. Luck +50.]

[Innate Talent – Cash is Charisma (Lv.1): No matter how ugly a person is, if they spend generously, they suddenly become handsome. You radiate charm. Charisma +50.]

[Innate Talent – Power of the God of Wealth (Lv.1): The God of Wealth is still a god. You possess divine power. For every 100,000 gold spent, gain +1 random stat point. Daily cap: 100.]

HOLY. CRAP.

After he read the panel, Cole's brain short-circuited.

He'd imagined that the hidden class God of Wealth would be strong.

But he never imagined it would be this strong.

Any single one of these talents would be game-breaking on its own.

But combined like this? The sheer power of it left even Cole—with all his past-life experience—completely dumbfounded.

He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

Leaving everything else aside, just Rolling in It alone—with his current 220 million in assets—would generate 2.2 million gold coins for him every single day.

Pair that with Power of the God of Wealth, and he could literally throw money away for fun while still farming 22 stat points daily.

Twenty-two stat points. Every day.

It was insanely terrifying.

Spend money. Get stronger.

YES!!!

As for Tight as a Drum—that was also a god-tier skill.

In Doomsday, death penalties were brutally harsh.

If a player got killed, not only would all their stats permanently drop by twenty percent, but they'd also drop every piece of equipment, item, and gold coin they were carrying.

That was why most players didn't carry much gold on them. They stored it in NPC-run banks.

But here was the kicker—unlike in real life, banks in Doomsday didn't pay interest. Instead, they charged players exorbitant storage fees.

The more you stored, the higher the fee.

Take Cole, for example. If he deposited his 220 million gold in a bank, he'd have to pay 2.2 million every three months.

Over a full year, that was 8.8 million. Just for storing his own money. And on top of that, he'd have to worry about some greedy NPC banker running off with it.

Infuriating. But those were the rules. Everyone had to play by them.

Gold storage had always been a headache for players. But now, with Tight as a Drum, Cole didn't have to worry about any of that.

He could safely keep all his money on him and enjoy the full benefit of Rolling in It.

Not to mention—items wouldn't drop either.

And then...

Cole's eyes lit up.

'Once I build a reputation and have enough standing, I could totally open my own private bank. Just charge a little less for storage fees.

'That way, I'd be using other people's money to fuel Rolling in It. It's a guaranteed profit.'

Use other people's money to grow your own power... and have them thank you for it.

Now that was the true meaning of the God of Wealth.