"I'm getting curious… What is the title of a Flame Controller? A Mage?"

"It must be a Mage; can't you see there's also a Fireball spell? This game seems to be more than just a simple survival game. It has a bit of a fantasy mixed in, being able to level up and control magic!"

"Hey, the big shot in death mode, can you teach us how you light up a flame so quickly?" someone asked.

Another person said sourly, "Don't ask, the last brother who chose death mode probably filled up the lion's stomach! I reckon that this one won't survive long either!"

"This one may not be ordinary. To light a fire so quickly, he's definitely someone impressive at survival stuff!"

"He chose to light a fire so quickly, I'm guessing he's probably in a polar cold area. Death mode players have nothing, and even if they start a fire, they can't find food… So they're more than likely going to die!"

"I bet he won't survive the night!"

Countless messages swept across the world channel.

But the smart ones were already on the move and trying to figure out how to start a fire!

A Flame Controller, or Mage, had more appeal than a Hunter and a Builder!

Ye Jun ignored the envy and jealousy coming from the other players in the channel.

At the moment he was fascinated by the message on the panel.

Player Ye Jun (death mode).

Titles obtained: Beginner Flame Controller.

Fire Energy Level: 1 (0/100)

Flame Affinity: 10 (You can absorb 10 points of Fire Energy per day.)

Skills: Fireball.

Endurance: 70, Speed: 70, Strength: 85.

Ye Jun began to analyze his current situation carefully.

Fire Energy level needed 100 points to upgrade; his current Flame Affinity was 10, and he could absorb 10 points of Fire Energy per day. This meant that it would take him ten days to upgrade to level two Fire Energy!

70 in Endurance wasn't high. Having been an ordinary office worker who sat in the office every day, Ye Jun had never had a strong endurance.

With a Speed of 70, Ye Jun guessed that it represented seven meters per second, as his previous speed while running a hundred meters was seven meters per second.

A Strength of 75 represented 75 kilograms. With a bonus of 10 points, it was 85 kilograms.

Ye Jun could indeed feel that he was stronger and his muscles had a feeling of tightness.

However, he was currently on a raft and was unable to test his speed and strength, so he didn't know if his deductions were correct.

As for Fireball…!

With a slight excitement in his heart, Ye Jun snapped his fingers. Fire Energy instantly gathered and began to glow on his palm.

Buzz!

A fireball emerged!

However…

The corners of Ye Jun's eyes twitched a little as he looked at the thumb-sized fire sphere on his palm.

This thing is a fireball spell? It's like a lighter's flame.

Can this thing hurt people?

Ye Jun blew on it, and the fire went out.

He was speechless.

It seemed that a level one Fireball was mostly for lighting a fire; it would need to be at least level two, if not higher, to produce any destructive power.

However, having the spell made the lighter useless, so it could be used for trading.

Ye Jun then posted a trade message on the world channel.

"I received a reward lighter, not useful to me, so I'm trading it now; the highest bidder gets it. Start a fire soon; not only will you have better chances of survival, but there's also hope to get system rewards. Maybe you can also be like me and become a Mage! Requested trade items include food, water, and all supplies. Those who want to buy, contact me immediately. Don't miss out."

The entire world channel was abuzz as soon as the message was sent!

"A lighter! So he has a lighter! This game is just not f*cking fair!"

"Or maybe it's the prop he was rewarded for starting a flame for the first time! Anyway, I'll take this thing. I'll give you three loaves of bread and three bottles of water! Drilling for fire is too difficult. I could make sparks from jerking off considering the hand speed I have from being single for thirty years, but I've been drilling for half a day, and I couldn't even see smoke," said a player called Wilderness d9527 Yang Xiaoyang.

"Dude is tough enough. You're trading food and water; aren't you afraid of starving to death?"

"Hehe, I found a creek here with lots of fish in it. Who eats bread when you can eat grilled fish once you have fire!"

"So envious! I'm in the desert, and there's only a piece of cactus with thorns longer than a di*k!"

"Don't blame the thorns for your short d*ck!"

…

It was human nature to become sidetracked, and chatting would be pointless if it didn't go off on a tangent.

The bored ones were getting sidetracked, but the smart ones had already started contacting Ye Jun privately.

Barely a minute had passed, and Ye Jun had received countless offers in the game channel.

Most were offering two or three loaves of bread, clearly trying to get the better end of the deal.

Ye Jun wouldn't even look at those under five pieces of bread.

Ye Jun's clients were the five-person squads.

A five-person squad would have fifteen days' worth of supplies, which was definitely abundant.

As expected, Ye Jun soon received several trade requests. The highest bids were ten loaves of bread and fifteen bottles of water; twelve pieces of bread and ten bottles of water; and another offered fifteen pieces of bread but would only offer five bottles of water, presumably because of being in a place where water was scarce.

A sudden friend request message attracted Ye Jun's attention:

Deserted island mode player HD Yang Tianxing has sent a friend request with the message: we are willing to exchange fifteen loaves of bread, enough drinking water, and nuts. Please accept the friend request to discuss this in detail.

Fifteen loaves of bread was a team's worth of food, and they were offering nuts.

That one seemed to be wealthy.

Ye Jun pondered slightly and accepted the request.

"Friend added successfully."

Soon, a message came through. "Hello, Brother Ye."

"Where did you get your nuts?" Ye Jun was a bit skeptical.

"We got lucky and found a place where squirrels stash their food." The other party seemed afraid that Ye Jun wouldn't believe him. "Please rest assured that the transaction is required to pass the game audit. It's impossible to falsify it!"

Ye Jun replied, "Let me think about it!"

As he waited for a good offer, Ye Jun wasn't worried about being unable to sell his lighter.

That which is rare is dear, and drilling wood to start a fire was easy to say, but how many could succeed?

As expected, the other party immediately replied, "Brother Ye, we can talk if there are any other needs. We can add some more food!"

It seemed that the other party was in a hurry!

Ye Jun contemplated.

It was clear that this person was a big fat sheep. Moreover, they were in a hurry; Ye Jun could get more supplies out of them if he held on.

However, such a big fat sheep was rare, and not knowing how many nuts the other side had, it would be a bad idea to drag things on. That is, in case it was more than the other side could afford.

After all, as important as a lighter was, drilling wood for fire could replace it.

At the same time, the voice of the game announcement sounded again. "Congratulations to Ice field mode player Ellen for being the second player to light a flame and gaining the title: Beginner Flame Controller. Reward: +5 Flame Affinity, +10 Strength."

Ye Jun quickly flashed a smile—Here comes the assist!