Chapter 4

But as good as the idea sounded, pulling it off was another story.

In Cole's past life, plenty of people had tried—some even charging zero storage fees—and every single one of them had failed.

The biggest attempt came when a nation led the charge, backed by twelve god-tier players who put their reputations on the line.

Not long after, one of those god-tier players fell to an "Aberration". Dead. And all the gold on him dropped with him.

In Doomsday, even the god-tier couldn't guarantee their own safety.

But Cole still had confidence. After all, a talent like Tight as a Drum was an advantage no one else could claim. And that wasn't all. Cash is Charisma and Fortune Favors the Fat Wallet were equally broken.

Fifty points of charisma and fifty points of luck. Didn't sound like much on paper.

But here was the thing—these special stats were completely different from the basic four attributes. You couldn't get them from leveling up. They were rare. And incredibly powerful.

Take luck first. Setting aside all the vague, mystical stuff, one thing alone made it the most cost-effective stat in all of Doomsday:

It directly affected enhancement success rates.

As long as the base success rate wasn't zero, every single point of luck added one percent to your odds when upgrading gear.

That meant with Cole's 50 luck, even if he was enhancing something with only a 1% base success rate, his actual chance would be a staggering 51%.

As for charisma? That stat was just as important. It affected NPC base favorability and unlocked hidden quests.

With 50 charisma, there was only one way to describe it: Universal appeal.

In his past life, Cole hadn't reached god-tier because he'd poured every resource into Sera.

But he'd still been one of Nyxon's top players.

Even then, his charisma had only been 15 points.

Now, at level 1, he already had 50 charisma—a starting point most players would never touch in their entire lives.

'No wonder it's a unique hidden class... This is completely broken. One big step early leads to big steps all the way.'

Cole couldn't help but marvel. In his past life, he'd recharged a fair amount—10,000 gold. That had given him a huge early advantage. It was also why he'd been able to push Sera to god-tier in the first place.

How could he help anyone if he couldn't even take care of himself?

But compared to this life? That advantage was pocket change.

"Alright. Time to speedrun my development."

Cole suppressed his excitement and forced himself to calm down. Then he pulled up his base status panel.

[Player: Darkcole]

[Class: God of Wealth (Unique) / Beastmaster]

[Level: 1 (0.00%)]

[Base Stats: HP: 100 / MP: 100 / Hunger: 100]

[Attributes: STR: 10 / VIT: 10 / INT: 10 / AGI: 10]

[Special Stats: Luck: 50 / Charisma: 50]

[Talents: Rolling in It (Lv1), Tight as a Drum (Lv1), Fortune Favors the Fat Wallet (Lv1), Cash is Charisma (Lv1), Power of the God of Wealth (Lv1)]

[Equipment: None]

[Skills: None]

[Items: None]

[Gold: 220,000,000]

[Location: Beginner Village #9527, Verdant Plains | Server Time: 10:15]

Aside from the God of Wealth's bonuses, everything else was unremarkable.

He didn't even have a single skill.

And that was exactly why Beastmaster was known as both the highest-ceiling class and the most useless one.

Other combat classes had some kind of fighting ability. Warriors had sword skills. Knights had shield techniques. Priests had heals.

Even Summoners—another summoning class—started with a dog.

But Beastmaster?

Naked. Literally just a pair of shorts.

Want a beast companion?

Sure!

Either go catch one in the wild or buy one from a shop.

Expecting to get one for free? Not a chance.

That one hurdle alone stopped countless players in their tracks.

And even if you did get a beast companion, its stats were usually so pathetic it couldn't even beat a slime.

The truth was, Beastmaster's early game was ten times harder than any other class.

Whoosh!

Just as he was thinking, a sudden gust of wind cut through the air. Cole frowned, stepped sideways on instinct, and quickly backed away.

A massive spiked club swung past his face.

A dark green, tusked goblin carrying that club had appeared out of nowhere.

Cole focused.

[Goblin Warrior | Lv.5 | Elite]

'Spawned straight into hell, huh?'

Cole narrowed his eyes but didn't panic.

In Doomsday, players spawned randomly. A small percentage ended up directly in the wilderness.

With starter stats, running into this kind of situation meant dying and respawning back in the beginner village's plaza nine times out of ten.

He'd only dodged that swing because his combat instincts were top-tier and his experience ran deep.

Any other player would have been eating dirt.

But even so, against a level 5 elite mob, Cole had zero interest in fighting head-on.

He turned and ran.

The Goblin Warrior wasn't about to let its prey escape. It chased after him, swinging its spiked club relentlessly.

But Cole knew the Goblin Warrior's attack patterns too well. He weaved and dodged, and not once did that club touch him.

He made it all the way back to the beginner village's plaza.

"Guess I really need to start grinding levels. This Beastmaster class is something else..."

Cole watched the Goblin Warrior howling and swinging its club in frustration outside the city gates. He let out a sigh.

Welp, talk about a lion brought down by a house cat.

Not that it mattered, but if he'd been any other class, he could have worn that Goblin Warrior down and killed it.

Beastmaster, though? Yeah. That wasn't happening.

Once he reached the beginner village's plaza, Cole didn't buy a beast companion.

If he was going with this class, he wasn't aiming for ordinary companions.

His target was the divine dragon egg—located in a hidden dungeon near Beginner Village #9527 called Dragon's Nest.

Inside it lay a god-tier beast egg.

Of course, going in there with his current strength would be suicide. He needed to prepare first.

Soon, Cole arrived before a magnificent, gleaming hall.

The Supreme Sanctum.

This was one of the most powerful factions in Doomsday, home to god-tier NPCs.

After reaching level 100 and completing the final class advancement, players received a letter of introduction to the Supreme Sanctum. That letter granted access to hire powerful NPCs.

But Cole knew something else.

There was a way to hire Supreme Sanctum NPCs early in the game.

The conditions, however, were brutally steep.

"Young man, this is not a place for you. Go train. Once you obtain a letter of introduction from Lord Babasato, the gates of the Supreme Sanctum will open for you."

Sure enough, the moment Cole entered the hall, an old man in a water-blue robe and a magic hat approached him. White beard hanging to his chest. Expression utterly indifferent.

[Level 80 Archmage]

Cole glanced at the title floating above the old man's head and couldn't help but feel impressed.

Only the Supreme Sanctum would have an Archmage as a doorman.

Cole smiled slightly. "Honorable Archmage, I don't have a letter of introduction."

"Then leave. The Supreme Sanctum is an honor to the Empire. Not a place for a greenhorn like you." The Archmage stroked his beard, his face full of arrogance.

He could tell at a glance that this young man wasn't even level 10.

And someone like that dared step inside the Supreme Sanctum?

Cole's voice remained calm. "I don't have a letter, but Honorable Archmage, I heard you lost something a few days ago. I've come to return it."

"Lost something? Ridiculous! With my level of power, even a single hair falling from my head would not escape my notice. How could I have possibly lost anything?"

The Archmage's face twisted with disdain. "Young man, I don't know what trick you're trying to pull. But the Supreme Sanctum is a holy place. Not a shelter for riffraff.

"Now. Leave at once. Or don't blame me for personally sending you to the graveyard."

A powerful aura surged.

A powerful aura surged around him. Behind the Archmage, a pale blue sphere of water coalesced.

[Level 60 Mage Skill: Oscillating Water Sphere.]

He looked down at Cole, ready to strike down this blasphemer the moment he tried anything funny.

Cole didn't flinch. "Why don't you see for yourself whether you lost something or not?"

With a wave of his hand—

Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink.

Countless golden coins poured forth like a waterfall of treasure. In seconds, they piled into a small mountain in front of him.

The dazzling brilliance nearly blinded even Cole himself.

The Archmage's expression shifted.

One second later, his eyes went wide with confusion.

Two seconds later, his confusion turned to delighted surprise.

Three seconds later, his gaze turned unmistakably greedy—his eyes practically turning into dollar signs, his heart clearly won over.

"Ahem..."

The Archmage waved his hand. The water sphere vanished without a trace. He cleared his throat twice and said in a deep voice, "I suddenly recall. A few days ago, I did indeed lose a considerable amount of gold. It's quite fortunate that you went through the trouble of returning it to me.

"I have a good friend in the Executive Hall on the second floor. He also accompanied me that day. Perhaps he lost something as well. You should go up and take a look."

Cole smiled.

More gold poured out. A never-ending wave of wealth flooded the entire hall, shimmering brilliantly, casting everything in a golden glow.

The Archmage's jaw dropped. He stumbled backward, eyes bulging in utter shock, completely overwhelmed by the sight before him.

There was a moment of silence.

Then he sprang into the air, spun around, threw his head back, and roared with unbridled excitement, "TOP FLOOR! WAR GOD HALL, PRIVATE SUITE! ONE ULTRA-VIP GUEST—COMING THROUGH!"