《Noob Player》 Chapter 1: Heroic Yet Unfortunate Chapter 1: Heroic Yet Unfortunate The media online went into an uproar when the seven biggestpanies for VRMMORPG games closed the server of their main game and made a joint game together called Tribe Online, using the newly-created and best supeputer, Olympus. The joint project was so hyped that it became a worldwide topic in thest two weeks. Social media was filled with the game, bing the most anticipated game and event worldwide. Even the tv news kept broadcasting Tribe Online every day. Even today was not the exception. Shen was sitting on hisfy couch, watching the screen disying a woman in her prime interviewing a man in his mid-forties. The man was the Sky''s Director of China branch. The sky was the new name of the jointpany of the seven biggest gamepanies. The man became the most wanted man by the media because tomorrow morning was Tribe Online''s firstunch. It was just another boring interview, at least it was pretty boring for Shen. Even though it was boring, Shen let the tv on as he went to the kitchen. The kitchen and the living room were connected, he walked to the kitchen bar and took the te from the bar. It was just rice with chicken curry on top with a few slices of potato. A in and simple meal that fit with his taste. He sat back on the couch and put his feet on the table, getting on hisfy posture. Then he started to spoon up his first bite while listening to the interview. It was a basic interview, the female interviewer asked Director Deng the basic questions, like theunching preparation, the n for the China development, more into business questions rather than such as gamey. He soon lost interest in the show and focused more on his food. He finished the meal and went to the kitchen to put the te in the sink then he drank a ss of water before he went to the bathroom. As Shen came out of the bathroom, he had changed into sportswear with long pants. His apartment was that big but it looked decent, with a connected kitchen and living room, a bedroom with a shower room, and a bathroom outside. Shen went to his bedroom to retrieve his Orange phone and wireless earbuds. He checked the clock on the phone, it was fifteen minutes away from his usual evening jogging. He went back to hisfy couch and turned off the tv while humming his favorite song. People would be surprised that someone who lived in this small apartment had Orange. Orange was more expensive than the rent of this apartment, after all. Someone who had Orange would usually live in a decent apartment, at least, living in a better apartment than this one. But Shen could afford it despite his young age, he was twenty but an ex-runner athlete. He was the young prodigy runner that represented China in many international events. Running was basically his life until an incident where he broke one of his knees. It was a heroic yet unfortunate incident, he tried to save a drunk youngdy from being hit by the car. He saved thedy but he was a bitte to avoid the car. His right knee was hit by a car, the infuriating fact was the car did not bother to stop to help. It took him longer to reach the hospital that worsened his injury. Even after the surgery, his right foot could not be saved, and his heroic action ended his career. He was frustrated and depressed. Running was his life but that was not the reason, not because his life depended on it, but because of his mother''sst wish. On her deathbed, with tears and sickly condition, his mother told him that she wanted him to be the best runner in the world. Since that day, her mother''sst wish was his goal. He worked hard for it and managed to reach the height that he never thought he could reach before. But everything was over because of one incident. What upset him even more, the one who hit him was also a drunk man. It was ironic that two drunk people were the cause that ended his career. On top of that, the hit and run case was closed immediately because he heard the person who hit him was the official''s son. The culprit only got his driving license revoked. It was so ironic that a prodigy athlete''s career got ruined by the official''s son, but the culprit left scot-free. Of course, he gotpensation in return, ten million USD to close his mouth. He never touched the money since he earned a lot from thepetition, and he got an allowance from the government too. The first month was bleak and so depressing for him. However, his foreign friend rmended a game, Virtual Reality game. In this game, he could run like he normally did, it was just his speed was limited with something called an attribute. It was not something training could improve his running speed but constant grinding. Even though he could not be the best runner in the world, he still wanted to be the best runner even in the virtual reality game. With those thoughts in his mind, he bought thetest gaming capsule and yed Universe Online. That was the most popr game in China, mixing a genre of the game between western fantasy and eastern fantasy. He yed a Swordsman while focusing agility as his main attribute. His goal was to be the fastest in the game, after all. Remembering his past just made him upset, he yed his ylist and got up. He left his apartment, the five floors building for his usual jog. He could never run as fast as before, but he was still okay for a jog. His jogging route just followed the long river near his apartment, and he would run back. A casual jog was fine for him, but that could onlyst for ten to fifteen minutes. More than that, his knee would start to hurt. It was just like a bunch of needles pierced his knee. After ten minutes of running, he suddenly kept remembering about the ident two years ago for some reason. It pissed him off and he suddenly picked up his pace, he ran as fast as possible, and his knee immediately hurt. It was so painful that he immediately fell forward. "Urgh," he grunted in pain, it was so painful. The doctor in charge of his surgery kept telling him to not work his right foot too much or it would worsen the injury. But he just could not keep it and force himself to run. "Do you need help, young man?" A man''s voice entered his ear. Shen looked up, an uncle in his mid-forties was offering his hand to help with a kind smile stered on his face. Chapter 2: The One Time Chapter 2: The One Time Shen reached the uncle''s hand, and thetter helped him to get up. He was about to say thanks, but a painful sting hit his right knee. His right foot went weak, but fortunately, the uncle held his arm so he did not fall, "Are you okay?" The uncle asked him with a concerned look, "Do you want me to call an ambnce for you?" "I am okay, uncle," Shen shook his head, "This is my old injury, a little rest then I am okay." "Oh, good then," the uncle truly relieved, "Why don''t you rest in my stall?" He pointed at the stall on the side street that sold spicy mtang. Shen looked toward the stall, it was a branch new stall with a new wooden chair and table. This was his old route but this was his first time to see the stall, "Do you just open your stall today, uncle?" Under the middle-aged man''s help, he was brought into the stall. He saw the red steaming pot to the side and skewers with fish balls, chicken balls, mushrooms, and more on the other side. The uncle pulled the closest chair and let him sit there, "Yeah, this is my first day opening the stall," after saying that, the uncle left him. He got a ss of cold water for him, "I know this is not healthy, but it''s so satisfying to drink cold water after a sweating jog. Just this one time," the uncle smiled kindly at him while winking his right eye at him. Shen smiled as he took the ss from the uncle. It was indeed so satisfying to drink cold water to cool his head down. The uncle ran back to him with a bowl of mtang and two mixed skewers in the bowl. Lettuce, spinach, and lotus root were inside the bowl. "Free for you, my first customer ever, hope you like spicy food," the uncle ced the bowl in front of him. "I like spicy food, and also free food," Shen grinned at the uncle. Even though he had eaten his dinner, he still took the bowl. "You can call uncle Hou," the uncle introduced himself, "I am tired of working in the office, so here I am, opening a stall for living." "I am Yang Shen." Shen nodded as he put the first stick in his mouth. It was quail egg, and he scooped the spicy soup into his mouth after. Spicy and hot, but it was tasty, not too spicy, but it was the right spicy level for his taste. Uncle Hou grinned at him after noticing Shen''s surprised look, "How is it? This is my mother''s recipe." "This is good," Shen nodded as he scooped for the second slurp and put the fishball into his mouth. After that, he started to take the spinach and lettuce before it became too soft. Soon he finished the bowl of mtang with sweat flooding his face. It was spicy, but it was tasty that he could not stop eating it. If he had not eaten yet, he would get the second bowl for sure. "It''s so delicious. If I haven''t eaten, I want the second bowl, of course, I will pay," he grinned at Uncle Hou. Thetter grinned back, who did not like getting praised, especially sincere praise. "Of course, you have to pay for your next bowl, I will go bankrupt if you keep eating for free," Uncle Hou joked as he nced at the right knee, "So what happened with your knee? You seem in bad shape." When this topic was brought up, Shen let out a sigh, "It''s okay if you are ufortable to share, I am just curious," Uncle Hou busily waved his hand. "I am okay, it was an ident two years ago" For some reason, Shen was fine sharing his past with the uncle he just met. He told the truth about what happened with his right knee. Uncle Hou was quite upset as he mmed the table quite hard. He was angry for Shen and cursed the culprit who hit him. "Don''t you want to pursue this matter to the court? You are a prodigy athlete, the government should be on your side!" Uncle raised his voice. "As someone who has entered society, you should know that once you no longer have any use, you will be thrown out," Shen shook his head, "Do you think they will stick for me, a runner athlete that could not run anymore for them?" He was not that old but Shen had experienced being left out. His friends who were usually hanging out with him no longer around him when they knew he was no longer the prodigy he knew. Only his foreigner friend kept supporting him and was there for him during his hard time, the only one. He did not need to enter society to know such a thing. Even his friends in the schools were no different, they became his friends just because he has something. When he lost that something, they would just leave him. Of course, not everyone like that, he had two friends that stayed with him in his dark time. Uncle Hou made a sad yet bitter smile. He was well aware of what Shen said, "But what about the settlement? Don''t tell me that they don''t get you anything for you?" Shen forked out his Orange from the pocket and showed it to Uncle Hou, "The official seems very rich so I don''t need to worry about money for years." They chatted a little longer until a curious customer who seemed justing back from working entered the stall. Uncle Hou waved his hand at Shen as he greeted the customer with a big smile. Shen stayed five minutes longer until the pain faded away. Since the pain was gone, he could walk again. He waved his hand at Uncle Hou, saying goodbye before he went home by walking. "I will wait for your next visit," Uncle Hou waved his hand enthusiastically back at him. He knew his body condition well and because he forced himself to run fast earlier, and his old injury acted up. He was limping a little as he walked back to his apartment. The encounter with Uncle Hou calmed him down, and for some reason, talking about his past with Uncle Hou, the stranger he just met was not ufortable. It was morefortable in fact. "I hope he is not a swindler," he muttered in a low voice. Swindler would make youfortable around him and strike at the unexpected time. His paranoid thoughts could not help but think so. The thoughts disappeared at the sight of the stairs. He nced at the elevator, the one time he wanted to use the elevator it broke down. There was a sign "Under Repairment" stuck on the door. Shen let out a sigh as he took the stairs. Meanwhile, across the street, a ck sedan car stopped in front of Shen''s apartment, "Is he okay? Should I call an ambnce for him?" A concerned female voice rang as the figure inside the car looked toward Shen who tried to climb the stairs. Chapter 3: Dale Chapter 3: Dale Shen went for a shower, he went to the bathroom inside his bedroom. His breathing was ragged a little bit, climbing stairs was an easy task before but after what happened during his evening jog, it was tiring to climb his room on the fourth floor. There was a little sting on his right knee as walked out of the bathroom. He sat on the bed and retrieved the phone, "Should I make an appointment for a check-up?" Shen then looked at the Gaming Pod across him. On the side of the gaming pod, there was "Sky-tinum" written on it. It was the type of gaming pod he had since gaming pods had many types that gave you different things with different prices. Sky-tinum was the middle-upper ss pod, even so, it was costly. Fifteen million RMB for Sky-tinum, but for someone who had the beforehand gaming pod for the Universe Online, they can have a cut based on the gaming pod type. For Shen, he could get a million cut, so he only paid fourteen million RMB. Below the Sky-tinum, there were Sky-Gold, Sky-Silver, and Sky-Pod. Sky-Gold cost five million, Sky-Silver cost a million, and Sky-Pod cost five hundred thousand. Of course, there was a level higher than the one he had, Sky-Diamond. It cost forty million for this one, the one that belonged to rich people. The reason he chose Sky-tinum was the time he could y in it. With Sky-tinum, he could y up to twelve hours a day. That was the limit for tinum, while the gold was up to ten hours. That was one of the benefits of buying the expensive pod. For the diamond pod, the ying time was up to sixteen hours. Those were the types of regr pods. There are different versions of pods aside from the regr pod, it was the Pro version. The Pro versions were built for the professional yer, they could log in for days with the Pro version gaming pod. Of course, the Sky branchpany which produced the gaming pod did not miss their chance to make more money out of the pro version. There were three versions for the pro version, Pro Silver, Pro Gold, and Pro Diamond with a sky-high price. Tomorrow, eight in the morning was the Tribe Onlineunching. He did not want to miss theunch since he wanted to be the fastest in the game. That was his goal ying the game, no else. Shen had been living to fulfill his mother''sst wish, his injury did not change his goal. The difference was that he had to achieve the goal inside the virtual world While he was thinking, his phone lighted up and vibrated. He looked down on the phone, Dale was calling him. He was his foreigner friend from high school. His mother was Chinese but his father was British. He picked up the phone, "Yo Shen, have you got your gaming pod?" Dale''s Chinese ent was a little bit off, but he was used to hearing it so he understood what his friend said. "Yes, it arrived this morning. How about you?" Heid down on the bed. "Just get installed in my room. My father bought me Sky-tinum!" Dale''s excited voice could be heard, but then the excitement was longer there when he spoke the next words, "Unfortunately, we can''t y together" Dale was currently in London, he studied at Imperial College London. Maybe that was the reason why his father bought him the Sky-tinum because the only top student could enter that university. On top of that, the pod could be used for study too, more reason to buy his son a good gaming pod. In high school, Shen truly almost copied all the homework from Dale since he was focusing on his training. Little time to study because of the training so he was not that good academically. The reason why he did not enter the college. As for why Dale could not y with him, that was because Dale could only y in Europe Server while he could enter the China Server. So the two friends could not y together. "What about Ming? Does he get his gaming pod yet?" Dale''s concerned voice came out of the phone. Ming was his best friend too, the trio often hanging out together in the high school. "I don''t know, he hasn''t contacted me for a week" Shen''s voice paused as he remembered the argument between him and Ming. "I heard from him you two fight, but you should not say that to him, Shen. You should know him more than me" Dale wanted to say something but stop midway, "Anyway, you should make up with Ming before Ie back to Shanghai." Shen was about to say something until he heard a woman''s voice from the other side. The woman was speaking in English, so he could not understand what she said, "It seems you are busy, huh!?" Just typical Dale, aside from being known for his smart brain, he was actually a yboy. He dated many girls in high school. Who could me him for that, his friends were handsome, smart, and rich. "Shen! I warn you! Don''t tell my mom, okay?" Dale spoke something to the woman, maybe asking her to not speak before he talked to Shen. He also did not bother to hide it from Shen. "Depend~" Shen grinned when he heard his friend''s serious voice. Dale''s mother was the conservative type, strict, and quite fierce sometimes. "Okay, fine. I will introduce you to my beautiful sister. Deal?" Dale was speaking about his little sister. From his friend''s mouth, his little sister seemed to have a crush on him, but she was too young for him. When she was in his third year of high school, Dale''s sister was just her first year in junior. By now, she should be in her third year of junior high. "Deal, your ass. Buzz off or I will tell Auntie" he had not finished his threat as Dale immediately closed the call. Shen shook his head as he looked at his phone. Then he remembered what his friend said just now, about Ming. He searched Ming''s number, his thumb was about to press the call but stopped halfway. He let out a sigh and threw his phone to the side. He climbed up to the bed and got in his position to sleep. It was as if he had forgotten about the appointment call he had been considering for a while. *** *** *rm Ring* *rm Ring* It was seven-thirty in the morning, his phone rm woke him up from his slumber. He turned the rm off and got up from the bed. Shen looked at the clock on top of his gaming pod. It was his habit to check the clock instead of checking his phone. He woke up from the bed, scratching his belly while yawning as he headed to the bathroom. Usually, he would do a light workout before going to have his morning wash. But not this morning, after a quick shower, he went out to the kitchen for his breakfast. Shen got the leftover two pieces of white bread from the refrigerator. He smeared the peanut butter on top of both pieces of bread before he put the bread in the microwave. He set a minute timer to warm his breakfast since he did not have a toaster. He finished his breakfast slowly since he still had time until the server''sunching. He finished the warmed peanut butter bread and drank a ss of milk for his breakfast. After that, he went back to his room, standing next to his brand new gaming pod. He opened the pod and sat inside, it was the time for the game. Chapter 4: Runner Chapter 4: Runner [Wee to Virtual Pod!] As Shen closed the gaming pod, the interior lit up, and the screen appeared in front of him. He was marveled a little bit by the new pod. This was nowhere near the beforehand pod where you could just enter the game or virtual space for study or work. He realized that the pod could be used as aputer too. He could browse the forum, any site, or even connect the pod with his phone. On the left side, there was a slot to instead the Tribe Online''s card to ess the game. One card, one ount, and one person. Yes, one person is only allowed to have one ount and to get the gaming card one had to use their ID Card, and a minor needed their guardian to sign a paper or something. No smurf, no selling ounts because one needed a face scan to log in into the game. Sky was doing their best so the new yers'' gaming experience would not be ruined by the toxic people. At least that was what they emphasized during the interview. On the top right corner screen, he saw the countdown of Tribe Online. It was less than seven minutes before theunch. Shen forked out his phone and connected his phone to the gaming pod. So if someone called during the game, the call could go through. After doing the setting here and there, he noticed the dimmed "Tribe Online" on the top right corner brightened up. He touched the screen. [Do you want to operate Tribe Online?] [Yes/No?] He chose yes without hesitation. The pod instantly cked, his heartbeat jolted in a shock for a moment. This kind of feeling reminded him of the ident that cost his right knee. He lost consciousness, it was simr to this one. His vision ckened and when he opened his eyes, he wasying down on the hospital bed. It was kind of a trauma for him. Of course, when his vision came back, he was in a white room, not a hospital bed this time. He was standing in front of a two meters mirror that reflected his avatar. Yes, the virtual avatar he would use to y in Tribe Online. It was the same face, even the hairstyle was the same one in the photo of his ID Card. Sky allowed the user to tone the skin and change the hairstyle, but they did not allow you to change your appearance. [Wee to Avatar Room~] [You can make a subtle change on your avatar and also try to get used to the avatar movement. We have implemented new technology] The next words were hard to understand for Shen who just barely graduated from high school. He skipped as he looked at his face, his skin got whiter because he had stopped running but still a bit tan. His nose bridge was quite tall, and his slightly V-shaped chin made him look above average. With his ck eyes that stared at the mirror with firm confidence, he was quite desirable. Of course, the man never knew the value of his look since he had been pursuing his goal. He never strayed from his goal, and in fact, he was quite popr in his high school. He had many girl friends, but all of them were just friends, not more. Shen tried to move his neck to the right, "huh!?" He was surprised that it felt like he moved his physical body instead of a virtual avatar. He threw a few punches forward like a boxer. An uppercut, straight punch, a jab, and dodge to the side. He felt no difference, it was as if he was in his real body, "No wonder it cost millions, this far much advanced than the beforehand pod." "What about" he looked down on his right knee. He started with a walk, and then he started to increase his pace. He felt like he returned to the past before the ident, "Let''s do that." Shen took a deep breath as he squatted down. It was the stance before he started to sprint. Taking another deep breath, he dashed forward. The avatar room was boundless, he could keep running, and he would never reach the end of it. After a quick sprint, Shen stopped running. He knew this was just a virtual reality, but he could not help but enjoy it after what happened yesterday. He felt refreshed after a quick run. "Ah, this is not a running simtion, let''s enter the game and maybe gain a few levels before lunch," He came back to his original spot, "So, how do I enter the game?" Shen scratched his hair for a moment as he tried to recall the guide he read a week ago. He forgot to re-read the guide after setting his pod. "Hello!?" [Hello~ Wee to Tribe Online''s Avatar Room, User Yan Sheng~ How may I help you?] A pleasant female voice responded to his call. "I want to enter the game!" Shen replied quickly. Now he remembered the advanced AI Sky installed in the pod. He could log in to the game through the AI. [You have to set your user name for the game before you can enter the game. Or do you want to use your registered name?] There was a screen box that appeared in front of him with a keyboard below it. There was a rectangle box with his name on it. Of course, Shen would not use his real name in the game. No one used their real name for the game. Just as he was about to delete the name, his finger stopped midair. The game did not allow him to change his appearance. He was basically entering the game with his real face, might as well use his registered name too? "Nah," Shen shook his head. He deleted his name and typed a new name, Runner. It was the same name he used in the Universe Online. He was about to tap the confirm button, but his finger stopped midair once again. "Or should I get a new one? They would recognize me if I use the same name," Shen did not want to be recognized as he had fame back then in the Universe Online. "Nah, screw it!" He tapped the confirm button. [Do you want to use Runner as your in-game name? Yes/No?] He tapped the yes button. The word "Runner" shone in blue before it disappeared. It appeared again above his head, he could see that through the mirror. [Please set your pain tolerance level!] [Based on your medical report we received from the hospital through user agreement, you are allowed to set the pain tolerance to the maximum (Level 10)!] [We rmend setting the pain tolerance between Level 2 and Level 4!] [If you are new to the game or you don''t have any experiences ying a virtual game, we rmend setting the pain tolerance in Level 1 or deactivating the pain tolerance!] "Let''s set it at Level 3 Or Level 2?" Shen was hesitating to set the pain tolerance at Level 3 since the game was so real that he almost could not tell the difference, "Let''s set it on Level 2. I can change it againter." [Wee to Tribe Online!] [No Quest but Conquest! Let''s start your conquest!] Chapter 5: Tainted Name Chapter 5: Tainted Name After the short wee, the surrounding changed again. This time, it was a bustling and crowded ce instead of a white room. He appeared amidst the crowd that was excited about the game, they were talking about the game, and what they wanted to doter. Shen looked around and found he was in a big square of a city. The paved floor, the tall buildings to the side, and the sky-high wall to the south were giving off the vibe of medieval European countries. At least, that was what it looked like in a book he had seen before. He remembered that the starter spawn was a big city of an NPC Kingdom. Just like the name of the game, the main feature of the game was to start your tribe with your friends as an individual or guilds could work together, creating a robust alliance to build a tribe. Yes, even with the tribe feature, Sky did not erase the guilds system. Of course, a tribe was just a small start. The yers could transform the tribe into a city, and then they could make their kingdom or even empire. That was why the motto was "No Quest, but Conquest!" Again, Sky was not forcing the yers to build a tribe, the yer could still y however they wanted to. They could be an adventurer just like in the fantasy story. They could open shops to sell anything, making a restaurant, or whatever the yer desired to be. And Shen never nned to build a tribe or something. He just wanted to be a free soul, an adventurer by joining Adventure Guild. He wanted to y alone since his purpose of ying the game waspletely different from the others. He would just ruin their gaming experiences if he yed with the others. So he was better off ying alone for that reason. He did not want to even y with his friends, Dale and Ming. He did not want to bring them down with him. "Alright, alright, what should I do first?" Shen was looking around excitedly, "What is it again, the requirement to be an adventurer?" He read on the official site, there he read the requirement of joining the Adventurer Guild. "If I am not wrong, I should be at least level 20? And have a ss?" There was a long list, but he remembered two main requirements, reaching level 20 and a ss, "And I have to pass the test too." It was not easy as it looked to join the Adventurer Guild. Especially this early stage of the game. "Nah, I will think about itter. There''s no way I can grind my level to meet the requirements before my lunch. I can check againter," Shen shook his head, "So hunting is my priority for now." He opened his inventory, the inventory was limited to twenty grids for the start. It was not the unlimited inventory but the yer could expand their inventory if they wanted to. Two grids filled with an item, a sword, and two healing potions. He tapped on the sword and the information appeared. [Rusty Sword] Grade: Inferior Attack: 1-3 Durability: 100% [Healing Potion] Grade: Inferior Healing: 10-30 HP "As expected of something free," Shen then opened his status window. Name: Runner Race: Human ss: - Affiliation: - Level: 1 Experience: 0/100 Health Point: 100 Stamina Point: 100 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 10 Agility: 10 Vitality: 10 Endurance: 10 Dexterity: 10 Status Point: 0 Skill: - Race was included in the status window even though they were not given a choice to change their race. Sky announced that the yers could not change their race at the start, but the yers could change their race in the gameter. As for how to change the race, it was a game secret of course. Sky would not tell them anything about that. But if one looked carefully, there was no intelligence or wisdom attribute in the window status, no mana as well. Meaning there was no magic in this game. Yes, no mage ss in this game. Sky erased the magic in the game and caused the public to rage at them. The official site was bombarded by the yer who loved to y mage as their ss. Even the pro e-sport yers voiced their protest through their media social ounts. Sky''s response to this was simple, "We are doing for the sake of a new yer that will enter the game. We want them to adapt to the new world without magic or mage!" One of Sky''s ambitions, creating a second world. But the response only fueled the protest as it became fiercer. But Sky did not relent with their decision and responded with, "If you don''t like the game then don''t y!" The response caused many to be speechless. Because Tribe Online was the only MMORPG game as the otherpanies closed their server and joined Sky to create Tribe Online. It was a fun sh between Sky and the yers, Shen enjoyed the drama quite a bit, and he was one of the pros of Sky''s decision to erase mage ss. Magic was the main thing that hindered him to be the fastest in the game. He was easily stopped by the mage, so he was quite joyful when Sky decided to not use the mage. However, countless theories came upter on. Magic still existed in the game, but the yers needed to explore the world to learn about the magic. The reason was that Sky never denied the possibility of magic in the future. Shen could hear a lot of people still discussing the mage ss. Most of them wereining about the nonexistent magic that made the game not fun to them. He ignored the people around him as he made his way toward the massive wall. Grinding was his main priority, so he did not want to mingle with the others or made a friend. He just wanted to go straight hunting the mob outside. As he made his way toward the gate, he heard a voice called, "Yo! Isn''t this the infamous Runner!?" Shen halted his steps and turned toward the voice. A man that looked in his early twenties waved his hand toward him. He furrowed his brows, the voice was unfamiliar and he did not recognize the face too. He tried to look around, just in case, there was someone with the same IGN as his with an extra number or something. But he was the only one around with the name. "Yes, you! Do you think someone will use that tainted name?" The man grinned as he came toward him with his group, two males and three females. Chapter 6: God Burial Chapter 6: God Burial "I don''t know you!" Shen was aware that there was nothing good to stay longer around this man. He turned around, but a hand tried to hold him back. Bzzzt! The hand was electrocuted and the man screamed, "Arghhh!" [Harasser detected! Stay away from him!] Shen turned around to see the man was shaking his hand with a big red alert on top of him. It was the Harassment System that Sky set. The yer could not just touch the other yers without consent. As for the warning, it used to embarrass the harasser and a warning. If he kept touching the yer, he would get electrocuted with level 5 Pain Tolerance. Just like what he did experience just now. "Damn! I forgot this game has a shitty Harassment System!" The man cursed out, the pain was so real just like the game. Soon the surroundings were attracted by the static system voice that reached a hundred meters radius. Everyone looked toward the man with the red text above his head. Everyone subconsciously took two steps backward, avoiding the man like he was a gue. Isting the group of six from the crowd. "What do you see? Go away!" The man was so embarrassed that led to his anger. He shouted at the crowd, but he was scorned and given a disgusted look by the crowd. Shen took this chance to escape. It was never good to stick around with this kind of troublesome person. It was better to get off this ce soon before they barked back at him. He sneaked out of the crowd, leaving the group to be embarrassed by themselves. It was not his fault in the first ce, it was them who started it. He was not feeling guilty for them. Following the paved street, he was heading toward the massive wall. He believed that was the direction toward the outside of the city. Just like the motto, the game did not have quests, like an NPC quest, nothing like that. After five minutes of walking, he finally got to see the massive gate. He looked up in awe, it was so massive, "Around twenty meters tall, maybe?" He muttered in a low voice. Shen shook his head and walked toward the door below the gate. A smaller door was opened with the armored guard watching the door. He could see a stream of yers were in a line trying to get out too. He did not waste his time as he immediately ran behind the line. There were five lines, and all of them were long lines. He was not sure how many starter cities for his region, but he could see a stream of yers around him. There should be thousands of yers in this city alone. The line quickly shortened to his turn. The guards did not check him or do something to the yers. They were there just to make sure they were in order. He quickly came out of the city and found he was on a big main road. The road was paved while the two sides of the road were grass fields. He quickly noticed there were no mob monsters around. The stream of the yers was kept following the main road. The hunting zone was not here, he had to walk further the main road. "I think this is a bad idea to hunt the low-level mobs, but if I don''t grind right now, I will be left behind quickly," Shen muttered while following the main road. He was unsure how big the hunting ground was. Could the hunting spot be big enough to amodate all these yers? Or would they have enough monsters to hunt? Quickly he would find out about that soon. After like two hundred meters of following the main roads, he saw a stone bridge that connected thend that got divided by a huge river. As he reached the stone bridge, Shen followed everyone''s gazes. They were looking to the left side, wondering what they were looking at, and he also turned to the left. A hundred meters followed the stream, the river was heading toward a big crevice. He remembered the name of the crevice because it was one of the famous spots in the world of Tribe Online. The crevice was named God Burial because no man coulde out once they entered the crevice. Soon he was aware of where he was, City of Eternal Wind. The city was located near God Burial, so he quickly found out about it. The tales behind the God Burial were recorded in a book in the Royal Library of Eternal Wind. It said ten masters that were divided into three groups entered the God Burial to find out what was inside the endless-looking crevice. The three groups entered the crevice at different times. Since Shen was interested in the story, he read the whole thing on the official site. The first group entered like seven hundred years ago, he forgot the exact time. Two Masters inbat and one Master Cook. Yes, a cook was following the two masters into the dangerous expedition. Kinda stupid but that was the story. None of them came back from the God Burial after years. The second group entered the God Burial fifty yearster. In the sameposition, a warrior, a famous assassin, and a Potion Master entered the crevice. Twobat Masters and one support, but again, the history repeated. None of them came back from the God Burial. The third group entered the God Burial a hundred years after the second group. Thest group was more prepared than the first two groups. One Hunter Master excelled inbat, identifying traps, and also good at hunting monsters. Poison Master, his work was to detect if their path was poisonous or not. Master Builder, the one who created the path to go down. And thest one was cksmith Grandmaster, he was assisting the Master Builder and the Hunter. That was a betterbination than the first two groups. However, the tragedy repeated, they were never seen again after they entered the crevice. That was why the crevice was named God Burial. No man coulde out of the crevice because a God rested in the crevice. That was a good story, Shen, who was not a fan of reading easily hooked by the story, "I wonder what is inside the crevice?" He muttered in a low voice. It was a lie if he was not curious, but it stayed as a curiosity. There was a saying "Curiosity killed the cat", he did not want to be a cat, get killed by his curiosity. While his thought was somewhere else, he did not realize that he was on the other side of the bridge. It was until he heard an unpleasant screech. He snapped out of his thoughts and looked toward the voice. Shen saw many yers were hunting the mob monsters. It was to be expected the generic mob monster, a giant rabbit around seventy centimeters with red eyes. The screech came from the rabbit. Its long ears stood up and screeched at the yer. Apparently, it was a skill that made the yers enter a dizzy state. He could see many people were swaying around after hearing the screech. "This will be a tough grinding," he muttered in a low voice. Even the weakest monster had a skill, it would be hard to kill them. He walked further to find a grinding spot for himself. Shen was not a troublemaker who would kill-steal the other yer''s target. He liked more peaceful grinding. As he walked three hundred meters following the main road, he found a less crowded area. "I guess I will hunt here," he was about to take his Rusty Sword out from his inventory until he heard a familiar voice. "Hahaha, found you!" Chapter 7: Justice Chapter 7: Justice Runner was the same in-game name Shen used in Universe Online. As for why he chose Runner, the reason was simple. He wanted to be the fastest runner in the game. He was ying the game to reach his goal that he could not achieve because of his injury. His mother''sst wish, kinda silly for doing this in a fake world called virtual reality. But Yang Shen was just that desperate since his life was around his goal. So he was desperate that he brought his goal into the game. He was hoping that he could fulfill his mother''sst wish even it was in the game. Hence Runner was born in Universe Online, the most popr game in China. Shen read the guide of them and soon he came up with a built. Agility affected his running speed in the game, so if he wanted to be the fastest runner he had to focus his status on Agility. Hence he came up with his own built, a warrior with swordsman as an advanced specialty with full Agility. A swordsman with full agility, it was unheard built. He ran fast, but he was a swordsman. He was supposed to deal damage, a damage dealer. But because of his allocation status, he did not do damage and he could not rank the monster too. He was a fast paper people called him. Thanks to that, he griefed the party he joined in a raid boss or dungeon run. He griefed the people who yed with him as he became a burden to them. As he yed the game longer, he soon became famous in the game. Of course, he was famous in a bad way. Many peopleined about him, the forum was mocking him, and he became theughing stock of the whole China server of the Universe Online. By then, he became a gue of Universe Online of the China server. People avoided him, they mocked him when they met, and he was basically ying alone. *** *** It was the man who tried to grab him but electrocuted instead because of the Harassment System implemented by Sky. The man was waving his spear while his two female friends showed their bow. The remaining three also showed their swords, waving them at him. He was sure these people would do something bad to him. He had to run from them, but the way back was blocked by them. A level 1 yer couldn''t overrun another level yer 1, they got the same status. Shen did not dare running further toward the hunting ground. He was level 1, going further forward was a higher level hunting ground. He was not a pro yer with an insane mechanic, he could not beat the monster with a higher level than him. Not with this starter equipment too. Shen looked closely at the man''s face. Sky did not allow them to change their looks, so the man should be having his original look. He tried to recall the man''s face, but he could not just remember them, not a single one. They approached him as the other yers avoided the group. No one was going to fight against a group, especially they just started the game. Even though the group was about to bully the loner, no one was going to stand up for him, a stranger that was not rted to them. Shen was not going to me them for not helping. He was thinking about how to get away from the situation. Logging out was a good option. As long as they did not camp his logging out spot because when he came back, he would spawn on the spot where he logged out. He then noticed there was a camera symbol next to the man''s name. The man''s in-game name was Volt, then he remembered what the camera was. It was a sign that the man was live streaming. "Yo guys~ look who I meet on the first day!" The man was pointing at Shen, especially his name above his head, "It''s the famous Runner!" Shen was quickly realized that the group was targeting him because of his past even though he had not done anything yet in this game. "What do you want to do?" He questioned the group as they got closer toward him. He did not try to fight back by not taking out his sword. "What do we want to do?" Volt was smiling at him, "We are going to bring justice to the other yers, so they are not going to fall into your trash trap!" Shen furrowed his brows, "I haven''t done anything yet, and I n to y solo. So leave me alone," he tried to be polite, hoping the group would not bother him. But Shen was too naive to think that would work. His existence was basically content, especially for a streamer like Volt. "That''s why I am here! I am going to prevent you from ruining the new yer''s gaming experiences by recording you and keep a check on you, making sure you stay in level 1!" Volt pointed at the camera next to his name, "I will be the generous man who wastes my time for grinding to just watch you, the noob!" After saying that, Volt talked to his chat again. He was narrating what Runner had done in the Universe Online and how notorious Runner was. The streamer was exaggerating the story, of course. He could not see the chat. However, he could see Volt was smiling to the point almostughing. It seemed the chat was supporting him for what he did. He tried to sneak away while Volt was talking to the chat, but the female with a bow shot him in the leg. -5 The damage in red text popped out above his head. He was taking 5 damage for an arrow in the leg. It was low since he has 100 HP, but he would die if he received neen more arrows. He would die faster if they trigger a critical strike too. Shen without hesitation dash forward. He tried to break the group by tanking some damages. The three people with swords came forward and shed the sword to his body. -3 -3 -4 He took 10 damages from the three strikes, but another arrow hit him in the stomach. At the same time, Volt looked aside from the chat and thrust his spear to his chest. -6 -7 It was fortunate that he set the pain tolerance lower. The pain so real, it was a sting to his chest and leg. He was pushed down by the spear as his chest bleeding. The blood was to make the game so realistic. [You suffered bleeding! You will lose 1 Hp/five seconds!] Shen ignored the notification as he immediately stood up again. He tried to run circled the group, but it was futile. The group of six was hell-bent not sparing his life. It next minute, they ganged up on him and he died very soon. With arrows filled his body, Shen slowly floated up from his avatar. He saw his bloody body that was filled with arrows. The world lost its color as everything turned grey. Shen was relieved that the death penalty was not reinforced on him. The death penalty would force you to log out from the game for five minutes for your first death of the day. ''Maybe it''s because I am still level 1,'' Shen thought remorsefully. There was a button "Respawn" in front of him. He tapped that and then, he was teleported back to the original za where he spawned early. "Please don''t drop anything" Shen begged as he checked the inventory. If his Inferior Grade sword was dropped, he was doomed for sure. Fortunately, he did not drop anything. "Hah Sky anticipated such an issue," he was relieved. Then he subconsciously checked his status window too. "Huh!?" He was shocked by what he saw. Name: Runner Race: Human ss: - Affiliation: - Level: 0 Health Point: 100 Stamina Point: 100 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 10 Agility: 10 Vitality: 10 Endurance: 10 Dexterity: 10 Status Point: 0 Skill: - Chapter 8: A Bug Chapter 8: A Bug Shen blinked his eyes a few times to make sure he was not seeing things. He was pretty sure that the starting level was level 1, not level 0, but he was level 0 now. "A bug?" He muttered by himself while rubbing his eyes. "There''s no way this is a bug, right?" Sky boasted that the game was hosted by four advanced Super Computers to manage the game and all the servers in the world. Olympus was the main brain, the newest and the most advanced one. Lucifer, Zeus, and Poseidon to help Olympus maintain the game and the server. Of course, Sky still had their people to keep on the watch just in case trouble happened. The only way to find out was to log out and report the bug if it was a bug. He could not report the bug while he was inside the game. At least, that was what he knew. "Or maybe it is the game''s mechanic?" Shen was not sure about that. From his experiences in his previous game, he would lose fifty percent of his experiences if he died, not a level. "But even if it''s the game''s mechanic, it should not lower my level to level 0," Shen was at loss with his current predicament. "Nah, let''s just y it," he gave up thinking about it and looked toward the massive wall. If he wanted to continue grinding, he should go to the same ce, but, "They are not waiting for me, right?" He was talking about the group who hunted and killed him just now. If they were waiting for him, he could not grind his level. Not with a bunch of people hunting him down. He was not that good in the game to fight them all alone. However, it was not like he had other choices but to try it again. He walked toward the gate, for some reason the guard cast a confused gaze on him as he walked out to the gate. It ticked, he felt the guard recognized him since he went outside earlier. The guard did not stop him as he came out of the city smoothly. Shen did not see the group outside the wall. He followed the road and he passed the bridge again. Since he did not see the group outside the gate, he lowered his guard down. "Haha, you still dare to return?" Volt suddenly appeared before him again. He was still streaming based on the icon next to his name above his head, "We will do the dirty work for the others! This is justice for the others too, we will bring justice for them by killing them!" Shen wanted to scream how it was justice for ganging up against one person. If it was one vs one, he could ept that, but six against one? Justice your head! He wanted to say it aloud to their face. However, he made a wise decision to not waste his breath on them. He turned around and ran as fast as he could even though he knew that his speed was limited by agility. The group was caught off guard, but the two female archers reacted quickly. His legs were shot by the arrows. Shen was not expecting the degree of the game''s realistess. In the previous game, even though his legs were shot by arrows, he could still run normally. It was not the case of Tribe Online. As the sting hit his calf, he fell to the ground. He was about to stand up and run again but the six people quickly caught him. Volt stabbed his spear into his calf, pierced through his leg, and nailed the spear to the ground. Thanks to that, Shen was stuck. "You can never beat justice, Trash! Hahaha" Volt wasughing with his friends, but they did not torture him the other three with swords finished him off. Shen was sent back to the spawn spot. He let out a sigh of regret. That group ruined his first day, at this point, it was hard for him to catch up, ''Should I log out?'' He wanted to call it a day and contact his doctor for an appointment to check his right knee instead now. He hoped by the time he returned to the game those a**holes would be gone. "Nope, that is what they wanted. They wanted me to give up and I will do the opposite instead. Even if I am left behind, it will be the same for them! They are six people while I am alone, they lose more than I do!" He believed so. Shen was about to head out of the city, but he remembered something. It was his level, he was zeroed before so he wanted to check it now, ''I hope my character is not bugged.'' Name: Runner Race: Human ss: - Affiliation: - Level: -1 Health Point: 100 Stamina Point: 100 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 10 Agility: 10 Vitality: 10 Endurance: 10 Dexterity: 10 Status Point: 0 Skill: - "What the" he almost cursed out but managed to hold back. "This is a bug. I am pretty sure this is a bug, but why the Super Computer does not detect the bug? Is it really the game mechanic?" Shen was bbergasted by his current predicament. He checked his status to make sure it did not drop. His status was still the same, not a single drop. ''Wait a minute, if this is a bug, I can exploit the bug,'' his eyes shone as he looked at his status. He got five status points by leveling, what happened if his level was minus one? That meant he needed the same amount of EXP to level up to level 0, and level 1, and level 2. However, he got three times the number of status points, so he was basically stronger than a normal level 2 yer. "That''s it, it''s too early to give up, Shen!" He encouraged himself and headed out of the city. This time he was more careful so the group would not find him. Chapter 9: A Noob Tries to Exploit the Bug Chapter 9: A Noob Tries to Exploit the Bug It became a game of hide and seek for Shen and Volt''s group. He was hiding, but thanks to the game design where there was only one bridge to cross to the hunting spot. Shen could not hide from the group even though he tried to bore them for not crossing the bridge for half an hour. The six of them were just waiting across the bridge. They seem to know that there was only one bridge to cross the river. Name: Runner Race: Human ss: - Affiliation: - Level: -9 Health Point: 100 Stamina Point: 100 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 10 Agility: 10 Vitality: 10 Endurance: 10 Dexterity: 10 Status Point: 0 Skill: - The bug was still there or maybe the Super Computer Olympus did not take it as a bug. The frustration of getting killed ten times at the start of the game and the bug irked him off. ''I just want to achieve my goal and exploit the bug for my advantage. That group starts to get on my nerves!'' It was a lie that if Shen was not annoyed that these six people kept bullying. He thought they would stop after killing him like four to five times. But they just did not stop. It had been an hour, they did not go hunting but they were camping across the bridge just for him. "Should I log off instead?" He wanted to give up, this was more than enough. However, he was eager to use the bug to his advantage. This was his chance to be the fastest. No magic and more status points to add into Agility. "Let''s try this for thest time," Shen decided to go for thest attempt. He went out to the city, the same road, the same gate, the same guards. He became the attention of the guards, but after five to six times, the guards stopped paying him attention. His shoulder dropped a level lower as he walked toward the death bridge. He was killed seven times on the bridge hence he names this Death Bridge. After a few times, the bystanders tried to help him out, but after a few words, they left him be. "Here I am, return to my Death Bridge where I will most likely die again," he stepped onto the bridge again. Halfway he could see Volt and his friends were waiting for him. Volt was talking by himself, most likely he talked to the stream chat. Shen could see a big smile and happiness in Volt''s eyes. Most likely people donated to the stream for killing him many times. The other fives were also chatting with each other, smiling andughing by themselves. The group was standing on the right side of the bridge. Shen walked to the left side. He spotted a group of three heading in the same direction too. The group of three were friends ying together as they looked so close. He followed the group and hid behind them. He kept looking toward Volt and his friends. They did not notice him, ''This is it. I can pass them this time.'' He was about to step onto the other side of the bridge until he heard Volt''s voice. He could instantly recognize the voice because he had been hearing the voice for an hour. Shen did not look toward the voice. He turned to the left and ran as fast as he could, ''They are not that good, they just win the number. The archer is not that urate, serpentine move!'' He wiggled to the left and right as he ran. An arrow passed from the right and pierced the ground ahead of him. More and more arrows passed him, he dodged all the shots. Shen ran followed the river. He looked back to see whether the group was chasing him or not. Unfortunate for him, the group had an unrelenting spirit. They did not give up even though the distance was not getting shortened. ''Damn! Don''t you guys have anything else to do? Just y the game so I can y the game too!'' He screamed inside. He tried to reason with these people, but it was useless. It was as if he was talking to pigs. They were just yoinking some nonsense back at him, something like justice. He was not a criminal, justice their asses! Shen kept running with the hope Volt and his friends would give up. Running, and running. He could see his stamina bar was dropping down, he was slowing down so did Volt and his friends. He did not give up, he would not let these random people ruin his chance to achieve his dream. Running and running, that was what was on his mind until despair came for him. God Burial stopped him from running. A big crevice that he could not see on the other side was right in front of him. The bottomless gorge unfolded before his eyes, the stream fell into the God Burial. He was about to turn to the right, but an arrow hit his right thigh. He crashed to the ground, but he did not give up. s, the bullies were caught up. They immediately surrounded him so he could not run away. "Where are you going, Noob?" Volt wasughing hard, "Do you think you can escape from justice? You should never y this game, noob! You are ruining our game, just quit already!" He yelled at him. Shen stared at the man and his friends too. For the first time that he harbored a grudge against someone over a game. He was trying to imprint these faces, and he was making sure to pay them backter, by two or even three folds. ''I am not going to let them enjoy killing me,'' with those thoughts, he turned around and jumped into the bottomless gorge. He was free-falling into the God Burial. The thrill of falling into the gorge was fantastic, but he did not want to feel dying from falling within such height. While his body was still falling, Shen logged out. In a sh, he returned to the gaming pod. He was about to turn off the gaming pod out of frustration, but his hand stopped midway. "Let''s see how famous this Volt dude is," he opened the browser and typed "Volt". A search appeared on a streaming site. He opened the stream and found Volt''s channel. The guy was still streaming with 5189 views, "Did you look at the noob just now? He just gives up and jumps into the cliff. That coward does not deserve to y this game" Volt kept talking shit about him, and they nned to camp the bridge for him again. "Wait for me, yes, wait there. I will nevere back untilter, you pieces of sh*t!" He cursed them as he checked Volt''s channel. The guy had 78k followers with less than 1k average views. Thanks to him, his view for today''s stream spiked up to 5k views. Shen closed the stream and made a call to his doctor for an appointment instead. The call connected and his Doctor immediately picked up the call. A male voice came from the other side. Why are you calling? Your check-up schedule is next week There was a short pause there. Don''t tell me you overwork your right knee again? Shen told his doctor what happened yesterday. Hah I am tired of scolding you The male voice sighed out after hearing what happened. Fortunate for you, Tribe Online just went online today so many of my patients canceled their appointment for that game. Come to the hospital at three. Chapter 10: Be the Good Guy Chapter 10: Be the Good Guy Shen had yed the game for an hour in-game time, meaning it was just half an hour passed in real-time. He had to wait six hours for his appointment. He slumped his back on thefy seat of his gaming pod, thinking what he should do for the six hours. ''Ah, there''s a bug about the game, should I report it? Maybe Sky will reward me for reporting the bug,'' he was thinking of reporting the bug since he could not exploit it because of some assholes. ''Yeah, let''s report it rather than letting the others exploit the bug,'' Shen opened Tribe Online''s official site and found the email. He typed the greeting and immediately went for the main topic. He typed the bug he encountered in the game, ''Oh, I should attach the screenshot of my status window or they may not believe me.'' Sky boasted for the Olympus that the yers would never encounter a bug in the game. Now he found it, they should offer him a reward to close his mouth, "...Right?" Shen could not help but smile that a worldwidepany like Sky would bother him. But if it happened, it would be a fun moment in his life. Of course, the reward was not in his mind, since it was a bug, it bound to be found sooner orter. He might as well be the good guy and reported to Sky. "Oh, I have to open my character status window," he logged in to the official site and took a screenshot of his window status. After that, he attached the screenshot to the email and sent it. "What should I do now?" If not for his right knee, he might go working out. He did not want to risk it after yesterday. He limped now, and he would have to use a stick if he forced himself. "Man, this is boring" he noticed there was a reply from Sky. It was quite fast and he opened the email, "Tsk, it''s a bot reply." Shen turned off the gaming pod and got out. *** *** Sky Headquarter, Chengdu, China A male employee of the Customer Service of Sky received the email. It was not an inquiry, but a bug report. There was a distinct color when it was a bug report and a normal inquiry email. Customer Service was one of the busiest departments in Sky for their first day ofunching. They received a lot of emails and calls, asking them a lot of things. From the basic things until theplicated things. However, the email they received was mostly a threat email, telling Sky to make a big update to add Mage ss or Magic into the game. It had been a tiring morning for Po Mian. The inquiry email was yellow and green in color, depending on the topic. And it was red for the bug report. Po Mian for the first time received the bug report. "A bug report, are you kidding me? Are you trying to scam a hugepany such as Sky?" Po Mian could not help ridicule before he opened the email while shaking his head. He thought the content would be threatening them that the sender had found a bug and asked them for something if they did not want Sky''s name ruined or something because of the bug. Po Mian read the email, there was no threat inside. It was a genuine bug report, "Minus Level?" He frowned as he uttered in disbelief, "Huh, there is a screenshot attached," Po Mian opened the attached file. It was Shen''s screenshot, Runner character''s status window. He quickly scrolled down and found out that the character was Level -10. Po Mian rubbed his eyes, "Is this real? Or is this edited?" Po Mian could not tell if the screenshot was edited or not. However, he could easily find the truth. Sky could easily check if the character existed and whether it was real or fake. "Oh my god, if this is real, we will get f*cked up for sure," Sky was now the center of attention of the world. If this bug came to the public, Sky would beughing stock. Sky''s stock that kept rising would drop for sure. Po Mian immediately forwarded the email to the development team. He did not want to take the risk of dying this issue. *** *** Development Team Chang Yun was one of the core members of the development team of the Sky Branch. He was watching one of the famous pro-yer ying the game until he received an email. "A bug? No way!" Chang Yun did not believe it. He was someone that was so close to Olympus. He knew how advanced Olympus was, even if there was a bug, Olympus should be able to patch by itself. Unless Olympus took the "bug" as not a bug. Chang Yun opened the mail and quickly read everything. He had the same reaction as Po Mian, "Level goes minus?" Chang Yun made a weird expression. He opened the screenshot, he observed the screenshot closely. "It''s not forged" he muttered in a low voice as his heartbeat spiked up. This bug report made him nervous. Chang Yun used his ess to ess the yer database. He quickly searched for "Runner" from the database and quickly found the data. Runner character existed in Tribe Online. He clicked and opened it. Quickly he found Runner''s status window. His eyes followed down to the level part he discovered it was level -10. He could not believe what he saw. He closed the data and opened it again, making sure he was not seeing things. It was still the same. Chang Yun did not want to believe the game had a bug. He closed the ess and searched "Runner" again. He kept checking the email and the data, making sure he was not wrongly opening another character status window. It was still the same. Chang Yun kept repeating, and he even tried to use anotherputer. After fifteen minutes of silly reactions, he slumped back on his seat weakly. He epted that there was a bug in Tribe Online. He forked out his orange and called his superior, Director Guan. "Sir, we found a bug" Chapter 11: When He Has Nothing to Do Chapter 11: When He Has Nothing to Do Sky''s China Branch was rmed by the bug report. After Chang Yun''s report to Director Guan, a meeting was held. There were seven people in the meeting room, Chang Yun from the core development team was there with Director Guan. Direction Guan was a man in his mid-forties with short grayed hair and wore sses. He looked toward Chang Yun, "Have you confirmed it is a bug or a hidden mechanic?" The game was programmed by many people, and many ideas became a world. Olympus was used to help them tounch the game they have programmed, so as long as it was not considered a bug, Olympus would not patch it or warn them there was a bug because the Super Computer did not detect it as a bug. "I have inspected the picture, it''s not edited," Chang Yun reported his discovery. Duan Mu Sheng rolled his eyes at the youngest member of the team, "Why bother to inspect the screenshot? We can easily find it out by looking into the id," he waved his hand at Chang Yun and looked toward another person. "The bug report is true, there is a user called Runner and he is indeed level -10," a man in his early forties, Yuan Ren reported. "How is that possible? Have you found out why it happened?" It was a simple thing, but Tribe Online failed to see it. "It''s our team''s negligence, Director Guan. The death penalty" Yeah, it was the death penalty program that screwed them up. Upon dying, the yer would lose one level. It was a harsh penalty but they used it in Tribe Online. Director Guan was relieved when he heard that, "So it was the program, not Olympus'' fault?" Yuan Ren nodded his head. It was a faulty program so Olympus failed to detect it as a bug. "I have also found this" Yun Rou, a woman in her mid-thirties showed a recording. It started with a clip, a clip where a yer called Runner was killed by Volt and his friend. Everyone in the room furrowed their brows at the bullying action. No one was expecting that people started to pk on the first day of the game. Especially when they were still level 1. Yun Rou showed another ten clips. Thest clip was that the yer called Runner jumped off to the God Burial. "What? He jumped off of the cliff?" Guan Mu Sheng blurted in shock as he stood up from the seat. The shock then soon turned into a smile. But in the clip, he noticed Runner was logging out midway of falling. Everyone looked toward the Director, wondering why the Director was surprised. "Yes, I guess he is frustrated by the bullies and jumps off to the God Burial," Yun Rou nodded her head, "What''s wrong, Director Guan? Should we warn the bullies?" "No! Don''t. We are game creators, we don''t dictate to them how they will y," Director Guan shook his head, "So, can Olympus fix the bug? Or should we do big maintenance instead to check everything once again?" "We can''t do that, Director. The pro-yers haveined about the mage ss. We received tons of angry emails from them and their fans, if we do big maintenance now, we will be flooded, the investors also may not be happy with this," Yun Rou tried to prevent big maintenance from happening. This was clearly too early for that. "Who cares about those pro-yers. If they don''t y the game, they are not pro-yer anymore," Guan Mu Shen rolled his eyes at Yun Rou, "We have to be responsible for our negligence, it''s not something bad. The inventors should not have a problem with this, and shouldn''t we work harder so something simr will not happen again?" *** *** It was eleven, Shen turned the tv on and he went to the kitchen to prepare his lunch. He was idle, with nothing to do. When he had nothing to do, he spent his time cooking and eating. Tapping the counter, he was thinking about what he should eat for lunch. He opened the fridge, there was a fresh cucumber and carrot two days ago. In his eyes, the cucumber and the carrot were still fresh. "Let''s have ramen," Shen took out the cucumber, carrot, and chili oil from the fridge. He put them aside and took out the instant ramen from the drawer, "Oh, I still have that too." He opened the fridge and took that little ham left. He got the knife and cut the leftover ham into four slices. His hand moved quickly to take the frying pan and toasted the four slices of ham on it. While waiting to get the color he wanted from the ham, he took a small cup. He opened the chili oil and spooned it from the bottom. Three spoons of chili oil into the cup, then he added rice vinegar, and He was looking for honey, but he found out the bottle was empty, "Tsk, no honey then," while grumpily throwing the empty bottle into the trash can, he flipped the ham. The ham aroma started to fill the kitchen. After that, he took the ramen package seasoning and put it into the cup. He then mixed them. After he was done with the seasoning, the ham was done too. He picked up the ham and filled the frying pan with the water. He did not want to lose the meat vor and cooked the ramen in the same pan. While waiting for the ramen, he moved to the next step. Cutting the cucumber and the carrot. He got the knife and ced the cucumber on the cutting board. He sliced the cucumber into two before he cut the cucumber like a matchstick. He did the same for the carrot, of course, he did not forget to stir the ramen while he was at it. His knife skill might not be the best out there, but he was skilled enough to cut everything quickly. He had been living alone since he was in his first year of junior high school. He had learned to cook his own food since then. By the time he finished cutting the cucumber and the carrot, the ramen was cooked. He drained the water, and he was ready for thest step. He got a big bowl, he put the cucumber and the carrot at the bottom before he added the ramen. After that, he put the concentrated sauce into the noodles and started to mix it up. As Shen mixed his bowl, the cucumbers pulled out the water and coated the noodles, cucumber, and the carrot with the sauces. He had eaten the same recipe many times, but he never grew tired of this because the noodles were his mother''s recipe. They made a lot of noodles together while he was still a kid. Making the noodles together with his mother was one of the best memories he had with his mother. A tear started to gather up in his eyes as he remembered his mother, but he shook his head. He managed to hold back from tearing up and brought the bowl to the living room. As soon as he sat on hisfy couch, his phone was ringing. He forked out thetest Orange model from his pocket and looked at the screen. Ming, his best friend, was calling him. Chapter 12: Friends Talk, Ming Chapter 12: Friends Talk, Ming "Are you okay?" That was what Shen heard from the phone as soon as he picked the call. He could tell his friend was concerned about him. ''Does he know that?'' He was thinking of yesterday jogging, ''Nah, I don''t tell anyone but my doctor, there''s no way Ming knows about my knee. But why?'' "I am fine, what''s wrong?" Shen was at a loss, kinda confused. There was a brief silence between the two, "I have seen what Volt did to you. Don''t tell me you haven''t seen the video? It goes viral in the official forum!" Soon Shen realized why Ming suddenly asked whether he was fine or not. He was killed eleven times in the game, that was why Ming was concerned about him. "Oh, them," Shen shook his head, "Nah, I am fine. It''s just a pity that I can''t y because of those *ssholes, but I am fine really." "Nope, that is not fine. I am going to kill those *ssholes. What city do you spawn in?" Ming''s angry voice came from the phone, "Justice? Justice their ass! They are PKing at the start of the game, six against one, that''s just straight-up bullying! Let this Daddy Ming face them!" "Nah, they are not worth the trouble. You should go grinding your level instead. I heard leveling up is not that easy in this game," Shen shook his head as he used his chopstick to pick the cucumber and ate it. The crunchy sound was heard by the other side of the caller. "What are you doing? Are you having lunch? How can you be so calm after all of that!?" Ming''s upset voice traveled, "We can''t tolerate the bullying, you have to fight back!" "I tried, but it is hard to fight against six," Shen slurped the noodles while responding casually. He was upset for sure, but he did not want that incident to ruin his day, "Moreover, I may never meet them again from today onwards. They should move on unless they want to be left behind like me." "Let''s not talk about those unpleasant people. You asked me where I spawn, have you bought the gaming pod?" Shen changed the topic. There was another short silence before Ming responded. "Yeah, my big sister pays 400k and I use my 100k savings to buy a Sky-Pod. I have to pay her back in six months or she would confiscate the pod," Ming lowered his voice as he said that. Shen yed Tribe Online for his dream, not exactly his dream. It was just thest straw to fulfill his mother''sst wish he had been keeping up for years. But Ming was different, he yed the game to make money. Of course, ying games was his hobby and he wanted to make money from ying games. If it was years ago, people wouldugh at Ming. But it was different now, the Virtual Reality era changed it now. ying games to make money was a profession now, people acknowledge that. Either streaming the game, bing a professional yer for an E-sport scene or selling the in-game items. The six months time limit might be given by his big sister. If Ming could not earn in thest six months maybe he was asked to get another job or continue his college. Ming''s family was not that rich, typically a middle-lower ss family. His parents could not afford to buy him the gaming pod. It was an investment they could not afford unless Ming could earn from early. But it was hard to earn in the early game. Ming had to save up the equipment and items he farmed for himself because this was still too early to sell the item for money. "More reasons for you not to mess up with that sh*tty streamer. If you mess up with him, he may ask his viewers to hunt you down in the game. Remember, the death penalty in this game is massive!" He warned Ming sternly, "Also, I don''t even know what city I spawn in, let''s not waste your time against them." "Tsk, typically Shen I know," Ming clicked his tongue from the other side, "Okay, I won''t do anything to them for now, but I will remember them. I will note their names, I and Cale will do somethingter. They say revenge is better served cold." "Yeah, whatever," Shen chewed the noodles and the cucumber as he responded. The freshness from the cucumber, the rich vor from the sauce, and the texture of the noodles created a perfectbination in his mouth. "Alright, I just want to confirm that you are okay. I have to go for myst week''s part-time job before fully diving into the game." Ming was about to end the call. "Huh!? You don''t have the Sky-Pod yet?" Shen furrowed his brows in confusion. He thought his friend already had the gaming pod. "Nope, just ordered the Sky-Pod yesterday," he could hear his friendughing quietly on the other side, "The gaming pod is sold out, I have to wait until next week." Shen rolled his eyes, this guy boasted that he wanted to avenge him yet he did not have the pod yet, "Then all my words were useless just now," He could hear his friend''sughter, then there was another brief silence, "Shen?" "Yes?" "I am sorry for the other day. I was overreacting," Ming said that in a low voice, but it was clear to his ear. "Nah, it was my fault too, you don''t have to apologize for that," Shen grinned. It was a simple argument, about his best friend''s principle. Ming was a stubborn, prideful but hard-working guy type. When Sky started to pre-sale the gaming pod, he wanted to buy Ming Silver-Pod. He knew Ming''s family''s condition, aware his friend could not afford one. However, he worded his words wrongly causing a misunderstanding between them. "But thanks, I know you meant well for me, but this is mymitment. I want to start everything by myself. If I truly need your help, I will ask you," Ming spoke his mind earnestly. "Okie, I will do my best to help when the timees, but I hope it will never happen," Shen was casual with his words, but Ming knew his friend was serious with his words. "Ok, I have to go now. We should hang outter," "Alright, just call me when you have the free time," Shen was about to close the call, but Ming was not over yet. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Don''t open the official forum, it''s filled with toxic people!" After thosest words, Ming closed the call. However, those words had the opposite effect on Shen. It just made him curious and wanted to open the official forum. Shen did not open the official forum and put his phone aside, "I will check the forumter. Since I am going to the hospital, I am going to visit Eunha too and y with her a little more before my appointment." Shen finished the bowl of noodles slowly as he watched the boring news. But suddenly the screen changed, which caused him to look at the screen seriously. Breaking News! Three hours after release, Tribe Online goes to one-hour big patching!!! Chapter 13: Press Conference Chapter 13: Press Conference "Director Guan, you imed that there will be no bugs in the game? Then what is with the new update?" A male reporter threw his question to the Director of Sky''s China branch. "It''s part of our development team''s negligence. We are focusing on the details of the game that make us careless about the basics of the game," Guan Mu Sheng pulled the mic closer to his mouth and replied with a smile, "Next!" He then pointed to another male reporter. "Sky imed that Olympus, the new and most advanced Super Computer is capable of patching unforeseen bugs by itself and operating the game smoothly without needing human''s help. Then why Sky is doing manual patching? Is there an issue with Olympus?" Another question was thrown at Director Guan. "There''s no issue with Olympus. It still works perfectly and smoothly. We have to do manual patching because there is a fault in the program. As you should have known, a game is a program created by the development teams and Olympus is the one who operates the program we make. Olympus failed to detect the bug because of the fault of our program. Also, we do an hour patching because we want to re-check all the programs to make sure the same incident will not be repeated! The actual bug patch should have been done by now," Guan Mu Sheng responded smoothly as he pointed at the next reporter. "Can you tell us what kind of bug it is? Also, can you disclose who discovers the bug?" Question after another. "The level, it''s about the level, but I can''t tell you the details. As for who discovered the bug, I can''t disclose the information unless the involved party agrees to it," Guan Mu Sheng replied without a pause, "Oh, we also reward the yer who reported the bug to us. Thanks to this yer for reporting the bug early or if many people exploit the bug, it will disrupt the bnce of the game." "Will Sky take the responsibility for the disruption? You sell the pod much more expensive than any other gaming pod before, but you fail to deliver the service you promised!" The next question was quite sharp. Guan Mu Sheng knew that these reporters wanted to have a big sensation for them to use. They were hoping for him to make a blunder for their benefit. "We will take the responsibility, aren''t we patching the bug right now?" The middle-aged man smiled at the young reporter, "We deeply apologize for the disruption we have caused for the yer. We will do our best to give our customers the best gaming experiences. As for the fair price we have set up, I think the yers are the one who decides whether it is worth their bucks or not, not a reporter who never actually tried to dive in." The next one to raise their hands was a female reporter. She wore rounded frame sses and tied her hair into a ponytail. A reporter from a famous gaming entertainment that covered everything about games. From magazines, in-game news streaming, tv shows about the game, until the in-game business, Souls. "I am sorry Director Guan, my question is not rted to the current patch of the game, is it okay?" She was polite with her speech even though she knew it was just a formality. She was aware that Director Guan would not turn down her question. Sure enough, the representative of Sky''s China branch nodded his head. "It''s rted to a recent video that gets viral, about a streamer and his friends who bullied a yer. They keep killing the same yer eleven times until finally the yer is forced to log out from the game. The video clip now has received worldwide attention. It has over nine million views as we talk now, What about your view on such gamey? Isn''t this bad for the bullying victim as it may affect his mental health? Will Sky set a regtion to prevent a simr case in the future?" The questions were totally not rted to the issue as to why Sky held a press conference. ''Are they talking about me?'' Shen thought to himself as he watched the live broadcast from his phone. He currently was in a taxi online, on the way to the hospital for a check-up. He had to go early to visit someone so he watched the press from the phone. The camera viewed Director Guan. The middle-aged man was about to answer until he heard the driver''s voice, "We have arrived, young man." Shen closed the broadcast and opened the scanner on his phone to pay. He scanned the code and a pop-out notification appeared, asking for confirmation about the payment he was about to do. He checked the fee to make sure he was not getting scammed. The fee was reasonable, he then tapped yes and scanned his fingerprint to confirm the payment. After that, he went out of the car and entered the hospital. As the best and biggest hospital in Shanghai, it had a massive lobby that would cause someone who visited the hospital for the first time at loss. Shen visited the hospital once a week at least, so he was familiar with the hospital. He went straight to a long hallway that would leave him to another building behind the main building. There was a big park that separated the main building and the building he intended to visit. Well-groomed trees and flowers decorated the park beautifully. He walked on the paved path to the smaller building. This building was for the patients that needed a long treatment. The patients with serious cases stayed in this building. They were not allowed to leave the hospital as the doctor had to keep watching them. Shen once stayed in this building for three and half months after his surgery. The devastating months for him. But there was a patient that helped him to pass that difficult time. He was about to visit her. He entered the building, it was less crowded than the main building, clean and serene atmosphere. He turned left and waited for the elevator. "Shen! Is that you?" While waiting for the elevator toe down, he heard a familiar voice. He turned around and saw a woman in a nurse''s uniform. She was the head nurse in this building. "Youe~" the head nurse greeted with a p on his back. "Hello, Sister Zheng~" he greeted her with a smile. Zheng Ning, a marrieddy with two kids. She was more like his aunt as she was thirty-nine years old but insisted to be called sister by him. "Are you going to visit, Eunha?" The head nurse asked with a smile as she eyed the cartoon bag in his right hand. "Yes, and there''s nothing for you inside. But I ordered Tiramisu for you. It wille in seven minutes," he checked the order on his phone and said. "Kuhuhu, Eunha so lucky to have you," Zheng Ning pinched his cheeks, at the same time, the elevator door opened. He was saved thanks to this, "Don''t forget to share it with the others or you will gain weight," Shen grinned at the head nurse who had a stunned look on her face as the door closed. He went to the third floor, where Eunha''s ward was. He directly went toward the ward and opened the sliding door. The room was not big but it was clean andfortable. Shen felt a breeze blow his face as he entered the room. His eyes immediately fell to the little girl who sat in front of the window while looking at the park. Chapter 14: Visiting Little Friend Chapter 14: Visiting Little Friend Eunha was the little girl Shen met in the hospital. While he was recuperating after the surgery for his right knee, he met her. She apanied him while he was on the bed. She read many storybooks for him while he could not walk. Her circumstance caused him to always smile for her despite how hard it was for him. Since then, she always visited his ward and they yed together every day. A man with a broken leg and dream and a lonely little girl. That was how he passed his hard time until his friend introduced him to the virtual world where he could run normally again. *** *** The little girl turned around, her bright brown eyes widened in surprise. She threw the pink bunny doll in her hand to the bed before she rushed down from the chair. Shen did not allow the little girl to run, he rushed toward her before she could rush toward him, "Oops, you are not allowed to run, do you forget your promise?" He picked her up and rebuked the little girl. But the twin-tailed little girl did not care about the rebuke. She had her short and tiny hands around his neck and hugged him tightly, "Oppa~!" Her cheerful voice rang in the room. Yes, Eunha was Korean, her family moved to Shanghai because of her father''s work. Even so, she was fluent with her Chinese, quite smart for someone her age. Shen sat on the bed and put her on hisp. The little girl looked toward the table calendar on the table next to the bed, five dates circled in red, "Youe early," and she realized that today was not the day he was supposed to visit her. "Yes, I am going to check up early because I fell yesterday," when Shen mentioned he fell, the little girl hopped down from thep to the bed. She looked at his right knee concernedly, "Does it still hurt, Oppa?" "Calm down, Eunha. Calm down, don''t get too excited," Shen was more worried for her. Eunha was too active for someone who had a weak heart. Yeah, the reason Eunha was admitted to the hospital was that she was born with a weak heart. She could not have too much activity, especially running or jumping around. Even one of the times, she could not walk too long or she would have a hard time breathing. That was why she was put in this building, and this was her third year already. It was not that her condition was not improving. She was discharged seven months ago, but she was forced to return to the hospital a monthter. The reason was that her parents were too busy to watch her, she almost suffered heart failure because she yed too much in her home. This was why Shen made sure that he visited the little girl at least once a week. She basically had no friends. A Korean that came here since she was a little, so she had no one but her family. However, her family did not have time for her. They were the same but also different at the same time. He never saw or even remembered what his father looked like. But he had a loving mother who spent her time with him despite working very hard so he was well fed. Until his mother fell sick because of overworking and left him forever. Eunha had her parents, but they did not have time for her. Her situation was worse than him as it made a little difference whether they were alive or not. Shen never nned to rece her parents'' position either, he just wanted her not to be lonely. He knew how hard it was to be alone, he had been there, after all. "It''s not hurt anymore," he rubbed her ck hair while shaking his head. Shen then brought the paper bag up, "Here, I have brought your favorites," Eunha loved candies, he brought a lot of them from her favorite shop. Of course, not it was not all candies. He brought her his favorite snacks and also a few storybooks for her to read. Also grapes, her favorite fruit. "Yay~!" Eunha cheered up as she took over the bag. She rummaged through the paper bag to see what was inside. She took out three storybooks. There was a book with a bunny as the cover, she handed that to him, "Can you read this for me, Oppa?" Shen was about toply, but he noticed the untouched tray of food on the table. She checked the clock, it was one in the afternoon, "Okay, but I have one condition." "What is it? I willply as long as you read the story for me, Oppa~," Eunha nodded her head. One of the moments she enjoyed the most with Shen was reading a storybook together. "You have to eat your lunch while I read this for you, deal?" He offered her his pinky. The little girl without hesitation took the pinky promise with her pinky too, "Okay~" One and a half hourster Time passed quickly when they spent it together even though they just stayed in the ward. Both were like a brother and a sister, spending their time together. They finished a book together, and thest page was a colored image of a bear and bunny. The bear was sitting on the ground, leaning its back against a big tree. The bunny was sitting on its shoulder, having its meal. Eunha looked at the picture before she gazed outside the window, the park between the main building and this building. After a moment, she looked back at Shen with puppy eyes. "Oppa~ can I y in the park?" Shen was expecting this. The little was longing for ying outside, but her condition did not allow her to. He looked at the picture before looking at the little girl back. It was not that she was not allowed to y outside too, but she could not get tired or move too much. It would be bad for her health. "Okay, but you have to make a promise to me?" Shen agreed after some thought, "Ten minutes of walk, promise?" Even though it was ten minutes, Eunha nodded her head vigorously. She was longing to go outside, it was not every day she could go outside. "Okay, I will call the doctor first. We need his permission, and we only go outside if the doctor allows us to, okay?" Of course, Shen was not that careless to bring her outside without her doctor''s consent. "Okay, Oppa~" Eunha smiled happily. "Alright, wait here for a moment. I will call the doctor first," Shen got up and took his phone out. He had Eunha''s doctor number saved in his phone. While Shen called the doctor, Eunha was sensible to tidy up her bed. She put the gift and the storybooks into the paper bag and ced them on the table. She then got the pink bunny doll and hugged the doll. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she was waiting for Shen while swaying her little feet excitedly. Two minutester, Shen came back to the girl with a smile, "Alright, the doctor allows us to go to the park, but you can''t run around, okay?" The smile on Eunha''s face widened as she kept nodding her head. Chapter 15: Appointment Chapter 15: Appointment Bringing the brown monkey doll on her embrace, Eunha was walking together with Shen. Shen held her hand to make sure that she did not run off from him. They walked around for ten minutes until he noticed beads of sweat on her forehead. They rested in the hut in the park. There were a few huts in the park, they went to the closest one. While sitting on the bench, Eunha''s eyes never stopped scanning around. It was so clear that on her face the little girl was so excited to go outside, even though it was just a park in the hospital. He could not imagine what if she was staying in her house alone without her parents. The incident that caused her to be sent back was because of her parent''s negligence. She has no one to talk with, so of course, she would do something hyper that she never had the chance to before. ''Wait a minute, maybe, she can y the game too? But she had a weak heart, can she y the game?'' It was a good idea, but it had a hidden danger for her, ''But wait, what I am thinking about! She can''t y the game yet as she has to be at least 13 or older to y Tribe Online. Sky will not allow her to y the game.'' Shen found the idea was not feasible for the little girl. However, Virtual Reality might be her chance to y around freely. After resting on the bench for a while, Eunha started to pull him again to walk around the park. It was no surprise if people thought that the two were actual siblings. They were truly like a brother and a sister. Half an hour was quickly spent, it was time for Tang Shaoyang for his appointment, "I have to go, Eunha. I have an appointment with Doctor Lu to check my knee." The little girl''s expression fell, not only the time she spent outside was over, but she had to part with Yang Shen too, "I wish you were my brother" she muttered in Korean. Shen heard that, but he did not understand what she was talking about. "What? Do you want something for me to bring in the next visit?" He assumed Eunha wanted something for the next visit. The little girl shook her head, "No I am okay." They walked together toward the building. Shen thought that Eunha looked down because the time to y outside was over, "It''s okay, I will ask your doctor so we can y outside again on the next visit," he tried to console the Eunha. They had known each other for over two years, but he still did not understand the kid enough to realize what caused Eunha down like this. She was the only kid he was close with, after all. When they reached the entrance to the building, Eunha stopped her steps, "What''s wrong, Eunha? Do you want to y more?" He thought the little girl did not want to return to her limited space of ward after ying outside for half an hour. Eunha shook her head, "No, but can I" she stopped halfway, ''Will he take me as a nuisance if I say I want to follow him to the appointment? I don''t want that to happen, but I don''t want to part with him too,'' the little girl had such a thought despite her age. She was afraid that Shen was not going to y with her anymore, she had insecurity despite how young she was. "We can y moreter, okay?" Shen rubbed his chin, his schedule for a check-up was Monday, and it was Friday now. He could skip the check-up on Monday since he did a check-up today, "I wille on Monday too, so we can still y moreter." He noticed the girl''s eyes brightened up, she nodded her head but then she shook her head again. This only got him even more confused. "Can I follow you to your appointment before you send me back" the tone she used to speak was almost to the point of pleading. Eunha then noticed the change on Shen''s face, she misunderstood that as she immediately followed with a somewhat panicky voice, "It''s okay if Oppa doesn''t want me to follow you, it''s already time for me to take a nap too." Shen was surprised, and Eunha misunderstood his surprised expression. The little girl tried to pull him into the building, but he pulled her back and squatted in front of her, "Do you want to go with me to meet Doctor Lu?" Eunha nodded her head, "Alright, then but with one condition, I have to carry you, okay?" He might be overcautious, but it was better safe than sorry. The little girl nodded her head excitedly as she raised her hand. Shen picked her up, and they went to his doctor. *** *** Lu Weiyan, 32, the doctor who was in charge of Yang Shen''s surgery. He was quite a famous doctor in the hospital, young, handsome, and rich. Typical men where women would flock to, s, Lu Weiyan was taken. He had married, she was a beauty that even a girl would feel that the two were a heaven-made couple. Now, Shen was sitting across from the Doctor, holding a portrait of his knee''s x-ray. He and Eunha were quite nervous, just like a high-schooler waiting for the test result. "Mnnn, it''s still fine. Maybe you can try to run faster if you want to be hospitalized again," Doctor Lu put the portrait back to the envelope and handed it toward Shen. Shen was aware that Doctor Lu was being sarcastic, he smiled sheepishly as he received the envelope. Eunha was relieved as she rubbed her chest. She was relieved that Shen was fine. Doctor Lu raised his sses and rubbed the space between his eyebrows, "It''s fine, but I do hope you do not do the heavy activity for one week. If you are working up daily, better stop it temporarily, and no more jog for sure!" Lu Weiyan reminded Shen sternly. "Tsk, tell me, Eunha. What should I do to your naughty Oppa who keeps going against his doctor? Should we punish him?" The stern expression on Doctor Lu''s face disappeared as he smiled at the little girl. "No!" Eunha hugged Shen tightly while ring at Doctor Lu, "You can''t punish Oppa Shen!" Lu Weiyan was stunned by her reaction, causing Shen to giggle and followed by the little girl''s giggle. "You are bullying me. Alright, that''s it, you can leave. I can''t bear this bullying anymore by you brother and sister," Doctor Lu shooed the two away from his room while Shen and Eunha were giggling. Shen spent another half an hour, apanying Eunha in her ward before he left the hospital with a taxi online. He had the money to buy a car, but he did not buy it since he rarely went outside. He went straight back to his apartment, taking a bath, and he was ready for another try of the game, "I will be ying all night for sure, let''s have dinner first!" Chapter 16: Little Witch Lin Lin Chapter 16: Little Witch Lin Lin Shen checked out the fridge, but there was nothing left he could use to make a dish, "Should I order food instead?" He forked out his Orange and was about to open the app, but he remembered the newly-opened Mtang stall. The uncle who helped him yesterday, and the stall was not that far from his apartment. It was a couple of minutes walking. He went out, maybe it was a new stall so people did not know yet there was a new stall opened. He entered the stall, Uncle Hou was sitting behind the counter with a girl around 4 on hisp. Shen assumed that because the girl had a smaller build than Eunha. "Evening, Uncle Hou~" Shen greeted Uncle Hou brightly as he approached the counter. There were too many things that he was confused to choose, "Give me a bowl of hotspot style, Uncle Hou. And I want these two skewers too!" He pointed at two skewers of quails eggs mixed with vegetables. He did not order the meat skewer because he knew that he would get some meat from the set he ordered. "Right away, Little Yang" Uncle Hou paused for a moment, wondering if he was acting too friendly, "It''s okay right for me to call you" "It''s fine," Shen shook his head while taking a seat closest to the counter. Uncle Hou put his daughter on the seat while he prepared the order. The little girl was looking at him with her bright eyes, she curiously stared at him. Shen smiled back at the little girl while waving his hand at her. He thought her reaction would be the shy girl one. To his surprise, she came down from the chair and walked toward him. It was a surprise that the girl was not shy in front of the stranger. She sat across from him. "Brother, you look handsome," Shen was bbergasted as soon as he heard that delicate voice say those words. She looked younger than Eunha, but that was not something that shoulde from this little girl. "Don''t tease the customer, Lin Lin!" Her father yelled from behind the counter. Lin Lin shook her head, "I am not teasing him, Daddy. I am just stating a fact, he is handsome and I do believe that he will get beauty for his wife in the future." The little girl was like a fortune-teller that read his future. His delicate angelic voice almost made him believe her. It took him some time to gain hisposure before he giggled. He was not offended as it was morepliment for him, "Thank you, little girl." "I am not a little girl, I have a name too, handsome brother," Lin Lin cast a serious gaze at Tang Shaoyang, "My name is Hou Lin, but I allow the handsome brother to call me Lin Lin." The girl had long ck hair draped to her back and a pony coveted her forehead. Her radiant and round ck eyes added cuteness to her features. "My name is not handsome brother either, I am Yang Shen. But you can call me Brother Yang or Brother Shen, but Handsome Brother actually is not bad too," He smiled back at Lin Lin. "Nope, I am not going to call you that in public, it''s awkward and embarrassing," Lin Lin shook her head, there was a little expression on her face since they started the conversation, he felt that he was talking to an adult than a kid because kids usually expressive, "How do you know my Daddy opened a food stall here, Brother Shen?" Shen smiled as he told her yesterday''s incident where he forced himself to run. The little girl nodded her head with her expressionless face. Even though she did not say anything, he could feel that she was saying, ''I see'' "I am sorry if my daughter is bothering you, here you are," Uncle Hou came with a steaming bowl and put it in front of Tang Shaoyang. He saw the red broth, tofu ball, soft tofu, little noodles, meat, lotus root, lettuce, and Chinese cabbage on top. The vegetable gave a freshness to the thick and a little oily broth. He identified at least two different meats in the bowl: pork or beef and chicken. The steaming bowl was so appetizing in Shen''s eyes. "I put extra meat for you, Little Yang. Enjoy your meal~" Uncle smiled at Shen. For the first time, Shen noticed a change of expression on Lin Lin''s face. She frowned at her father before looking at his bowl. "Let''s go, don''t disturb Brother Yang," Uncle Hou was about to bring Lin Lin with him, but he noticed the girl was reluctant to leave the table. She seemed to have something that she had not achieved bying to his table. ''Huh, you are quite easy to read, Lin Lin,'' the little girl rarely had an expression on her face, so he quickly noticed the subtle change in her expression. It waspletely different from Eunha who was expressive about her feelings. "It''s okay, Uncle Hou. I would like to havepany while eating. I am fine with her with me here," Sure enough, he noticed the girl''s eyes brightened up. She was making a face of, "See, Brother Yang says it''s fine," to her father. Uncle Hou shook his head helplessly as he went back to his chair while Lin Lin stayed on the table. Shen proceeded with his food. He cut the soft tofu with his chopstick and scooped it with the red broth. The soft texture and the spicy broth invaded his taste bud. "Is it good?" The little girl asked him. He nodded his head in response as he took a bite of his lotus root. "Brother Yang, do you have friends?" All of sudden, Lin Lin asked him while he was enjoying the bowl of delicacy. The question was out of context. "I have friends," Shen nodded his head, Ming, Dale, the nurses in the hospital? He had only a handful of friends, he just realized that. "Will you bring your friends to eat here?" By this question, Shen realized what the girl was trying to achieve. She was trying to rope in more customers for her father. Shenughed upon realizing her purpose foring to him and praising him by calling him, handsome brother. The girl approached him with a hidden goal, "I don''t have a lot of friends, but yeah, I will bring them here when I have the time." For the first time that Lin Lin was smiling like someone at her age. At this point, it was too obvious for Shen to not notice it, ''What adorable little girl. Maybe she can be a good friend to Eunha.'' Shen rubbed Lin Lin''s hair, "You are very smart." It was quite a nice dinner for someone who always ate alone. When he arrived at his apartment, he went to the fridge and got an apple. He washed the apple and directly ate it without peeling it. He quickly finished the apple and he went to his room. "Director Guan of Sky''s China branch said he rewarded me for reporting the bug, I wonder what kind of reward it is," Shen was logging in with a high expectation. However, the expectation burst out in a bubble as soon as he entered the game. He remembered that he logged out in mid-air of falling into the God Burial. He thought he would be regarded as dead and resurrected into the spawn spot. But it was not the case, he was still falling. "ARGHHHHH!!!" Shen screamed out of his lungs. Chapter 17: Where Am I? Chapter 17: Where Am I? Sky''s China Branch Headquarter Guan Mu Sheng''s office, there was a pod next to the working table. Guan Mu Shen was currently inside the gaming pod, not ying the game, of course. He was watching the recording of the bullying case that got viral recently. He was watching thest clip where Shen jumped off to the God Burial, "Hahaha He really jumps to the cliff. I wonder if this is a fortune or misfortune," the middle-aged manughed. *** *** "ARGHHHHH!!!" Shen was freefalling into the God Burial. He was not expecting this to happen. He thought he would respawn in the city, not in the midair like this. The strong gust of wind hit his face as he kept falling. He screamed non-stop, and soon he realized that he was not getting to the bottom soon enough. Slowly, Shen opened his eyes, he was still free-falling but his vision was blocked by the thick fog. He could not see anything but fog. The thrill was there, but he slowly got his courage to not scream anymore. Before he could proceed with the situation, the fog suddenly turned green. At the same time, he heard a notification in his head. [You have been poisoned!] [You died!] Two quick notifications rang in his head. The poison must be lethal as it killed him instantly. Or it was because he was too low-leveled, that might be the factor since he was minus level. "Nah, I don''t care. It is much better than turning into a meat past" Shen said as he spawned. He did not finish his words as he was surprised to find he was not supposed to be the spawn spot. The original spawn spot was in the city, and he was not in the city. He was in a cottage made of wood. The exquisite unknown wood gave out a calming mood. He looked around and realized that the but was in the middle of a small pond decorated with aquatic flowers. The atmosphere was serene and refreshing. This was one of the best spots to relieve stress. It was so calming and refreshing. Despite the beautiful environment, Shen quickly snapped out of his thought, "Where am I?" That was a good question. As he spat that question out, a notification came in. Ding! [Thank you for reporting the bug as soon as you find it out. We appreciate your honesty and contribution to the game. We are also thankful for not spreading bad rumors about us and directly reported the bug to us. We have given a reward for your contribution. Please check your inventory, good luck on your adventure, and we hope you enjoy the game.] A screen with a long text popped out in front of his face. He now remembered that the Director of Sky''s China Branch mentioned that he would reward him for reporting the bug in the press conference. "Wow, they keep their promise," Shen was surprised to see the message. He thought it might be just sugar-coating words for theirpany image. He immediately opened the inventory and found an additional weapon, it was a spear. If he had to ask which weapon he preferred, the sword would be his answer. Easy to bring around, did not hindrance his movement, and he was not a fan of the spear. Shen tapped the spear to see the information of the weapon. [Gifted Spear] Grade: Rare Attack: 20-30 Damage Requirement: Level 3 Durability: 140% Shen was not expecting to receive a Rare Grade Weapon for his reward, especially at this early stage of the game. The spear could be game-changing to catch the level. "But why [Gifted Spear]? Can they give a cool name to the spear? I know it''s a reward, but really?" He shook his head in disappointment, "On top of that, I can''t use the spear. What''s wrong with the level requirement?" "Talking about the level, have they fixed the bug?" He opened his status, "Hah" a sigh escaped his lips as he found out that he was level 1 now. The bug was fixed, his level was not minus anymore. It was quite sad for failing to exploit the bug to his advantage. "Nah, at least, I got a quite nice spear though I can''t use it yet," he was disappointed but it was worth it. It would be easier to grind his level up when he reached level 3. "Now more importantly, where am I?" He walked toward the short wooden bridge that connected the hut to thend. There was a path made of t stone. Green grass covered thend, it was quite giving off a clean country-side feeling to Shen. The environment remembered his hometown. To his right, there were five wooden houses and five more wooden houses to his left. If he kept walking forward, the path would lead him to an exit. He saw a closed wooden gate and wall ahead. If he had to picture where he was, he was more likely in a vige. "Does Sky want to help by changing my spawn spot in this vige?" Shen thought this was another reward from Sky for him to avoid Volt and his friends. Because he saw no one here, yes, the vige was empty from the yer. "I don''t know this is a good thing or a bad thing," he let out a sigh. There was a saying that a human could not live alone, ''I wonder if that''s true or not I guess it''s true'' Shen had experienced itself. If he was alone back then in the hospital, he might end his life. The thought of he could not run anymore was the drive that might push him into the abyss. However, there was a bright little angel who saved him from loneliness and depression. And also friends who opened a new path for him. "I should invite Ming to Uncle Hou''s stallter" he muttered randomly as he walked to the house. The external wooden house looked different, but there was one thing that differentiated one house from another. At the entrance, there was a que made of wood with a symbol engraved on it. The first house on the right had a tube with a skull symbol on it. It was a tubemonly used by scientists for experiments. "Scientist?" He blurted out before he shook his head. He looked toward the house on the left. The house on the left had a dagger that pointed upward. Shen did not quite understand the meaning behind the symbol. He could check inside, but he wanted to check the surroundings first. He walked forward and checked the second house on the right. The que second house on the right had a hammer that tilted to the right around 45. "Hammer? Is this cksmith house?" He quickly connected to the cksmith upon seeing the symbol before he looked to the left. The second house on the left had a shield and sword as the symbol. The shield covered the sword, so he could only see the tip and the handle of the sword. The sword was pointing downward this time. "Wait a minute, sword and shield for a Knight. The tube for Alchemist? Dagger for an assassin? And a hammer for a cksmith?" He quickly found out that the symbol was rted to a ss, "What kind of vige is this?" Shen muttered in a low voice. Chapter 18: Shens Supernatural Encounter Chapter 18: Shen''s Supernatural Encounter Shen found the connection between the symbol and the house''s meaning. The symbol indicated the ss, and maybe the house was a person''s house with that ss? He was still confused, but he decided to check everything. The third house on the right had a symbol of a spoon, fork, and knife on the que, "Cook? Chef?" "But it''s still weird," Shen muttered in a low voice, "People usually use either spoon and fork or fork and knife as a symbol. I never see anyone use all three at once." He turned to the third house on the left. The symbol on the que was a bow and a dagger pointed downward, "Archer?" Shen muttered as he kept walking forward. The fourth house on the left had two spears crossed with each other as a symbol, "Dual Spears wielding?" He then checked the fourth house on the right, "It''s another tube, but with "+" symbol instead of a skull. Another alchemist?" At this point, Shen was getting even more confused with the symbol. It did not tell him the right information. He continued walking, at this step, he reached thest house from both sides, the fifth house. Thest house on the left had a hammer and anvil as the symbol, "This is without a doubt a cksmith House. Then what about the other one?" There was a house with a hammer that was slightly nted as a symbol. He thought that was the cksmith''s house, and it seemed he was wrong again. Shaking his head, Shen looked at thest house on the left side. The que on the fifth house on the left had a word engraved on it. Yes, instead of a picture, it was a word. He did not know the original word or the originalnguage of the game, but the word was written in Chinese, "Sword". "Let''s check inside," he was more intrigued to enter this house. First, this house had a different symbol than the others. Second, his ss in the Universe Online was Swordsman. He was familiar with the sword, familiarizing himself with a new weapon brought harm instead of an advantage. He stepped on the wooden stairs, there was no cranky sound made. It indicated that despite the wooden house looking old, it was sturdy and well maintained!? Thest part confused Shen since he saw no one around. He stopped in his first step, ''What if the house belongs to an NPC Expert? I will be killed for sure,'' with those thoughts in his head, he took back his first step. Messing up with a yer was one thing, but once you messed up with the NPC, you would have a hard time ying. Even though the game''s motto was No Quests, but Conquest, the NPC still gave out a quest. The ss quest, one needed toplete the quest to get the ss. Gaining a noble title also needed a quest if one decided to y in the existing kingdom. Or if someone wanted to join an organization made by NPC, they would give a quest before one could join. Quest still existed, pissing off NPC would trouble him for sure. "Hello, I am Lost person? Anyone inside?" Fortunately, Sky did not give the yers a hard time learning a newnguage inside the game to talk with the NPC. The NPCs would talk thenguage based on the game''s setting. Shen waited for an answer as the breeze slowly brushed his cheeks. He was surprised because the breeze came from the house, "Is it my imagination?" He furrowed his brows, looking through the doorless entrance. He found out that the inside was too dark for him to see, swallowing mouthful saliva, he spoke again, "Hello, anyone inside? Can I enter your house?" There was no answer, but a stronger breeze hit his cheeks. Shen subconsciously took two steps back as his nape hair stood. The feeling was too real and he felt a chill on his back, "Man, one bad luck after another. I encountered a sh*tty streamer, now I respawned in a ghost vige" his voice faded as he realized something. "Don''t tell me the vige is not empty, but it''s just me who can''t see the viger?" Shen''s head moved around, to see around him. The vige was too bright for a ghost vige, the warm evening sunlight prated to the vige, giving off warmth to the empty vige. The thought of ghosts would appear at night crossed his mind. At that thought, he had a spur to log out. He was brave and he would not be afraid of thugs even if they came for him. He could run if the thugs had a weapon, and he could fight if he could win. However, ghosts were another thing. It could run faster than him, and he could not hit it. One thing for sure, most ghosts looked very scary. Once, Ming and Dale asked him to watch an old series of horror movies. It was a Japanese horror movie that was very hard to get at this time, it was a fifty years old movie. The Grudge 1, 2, and 3, was the first and thest time he watched horror movies. Even after weeks, the image of the ghosts still lingered in his head. He learned his lesson; he had never touched horror genre movies since then. "Then at least, I have to check out inside the house before the nightes. Maybe there is a treasure or something inside," Shen did not run, "I will log out if I encountered a ghost" Taking a deep breath, Shen took the wooden stairs, "Sorry for disturbing your rest, I am sorry. I am just a lost person who needs shelter, I am sorry for disturbing your rest," he spouted random nonsense as he stepped onto the porch. At the same time, he felt a gentle breeze. He ignored the breeze. Shen carefully walked toward the dark entrance, his heartbeat spiked as he got closer to the entrance. Then he arrived at the entrance, where a que with "Sword" written on it was hung. He still could not see what was inside even though he was right in front of the entrance. This piqued Shen''s interest. Sky said that there was no mage or magic in the early stage of the game. Here he encountered something simr to magic. "I just hope there''s no jump scare inside," with that thought in his mind, he entered the house. To his surprise, inside the house was not dark. It was about the size of his living room and kitchen together, but the light shone in all directions. He looked to the side where the source of light came from. There was a bed with a white sheet and a table with amp? The game setting was medieval time, "Didmps get invented during that time? Nah, this is a world where magic exists Wait, Magic is not supposed to exist this early" He was about to reach themp until he heard a cracking sound. Shen halted his steps and looked toward the noise. At the end of the room, he saw a man statue made of stone. The cracking sound wasing from the statue where the stone started to crack. "GHOST!!!" Chapter 19: Old Ghost Chapter 19: Old Ghost "Damn, you brat! I am not a ghost! Show some respect to the elders!" Shen was two steps away to get away from the house until he heard a curse from the back. He halted his steps and slowly turned his head. From the back, an old man with a ck robe walked out from the shade and revealed his wrinkly face. "You are not a ghost?" Shen had a terrified expression all over his face. He scanned the old man, from the long white hair and the feet with no footwear. "Duh, should you ask the obvious question?" The old man rolled his eyes and sat on the floor. He looked carefully at the interior with a satisfied smile on his face, "That old b*stard''s handiwork is truly amazing, even after years without care, nothing changed within the house." "But" Shen''s hand was trembling as he pointed to the debris stone behind the old man. The stone was foolproof that the old man was the stone statue that came into life. "Stop with your gibberish and sit!" The old man pointed at the empty spot across him, indicating Shen to sit there. However, Shen remained on his spot while shaking his head. He knew this ghost might be an opportunity for him, but he was still scared. He needed some time to calm down first, "Let me calm down first, you are scaring me Gho Old Sir." The old man''s mouth twitched. He heard that for sure. The young man was still thinking he was a ghost. The old man shook his head, "How can you be a coward like this? Nah, whatever, what year now?" When he heard the bizarre question, Shen paused slightly. He was not thinking what year now, but he was thinking why would a ghost ask that question. He shook his head absentmindedly and blurted out, "I don''t know!" He barely remembered the name of the city where he spawned, there was no way he would remember the year of the game. Since there was no main story where the age or story would advance, he did not bother with the date. It was not hard to look through, but why bother? Shen noticed that the Old Ghost furrowed his brows, looking dissatisfied with his answer. He moved his foot close to the exit so he could run away if the ghost tried to catch him. He was quite confident with his reaction. "Then let me change the question, where do youe from? How can you end up in this vige?" The old Ghost did not pursue the year anymore. "Eternal Wind City and I fell into God Burial, and for some reason, I end up here," he was honest with his answer. That was what happened, he did not even need to sum it up for the old ghost to understand as it was what happened. "Eternal Wind City!?" The Old Ghost raised his voice as his eyes widened in fury while looking at him. But it was for two seconds before the fury reced with a calm demeanor. "God Burial? What''s that?" The old man changed his question. "It''s the giant crevice near the city," Shen was wondering if he should go. The Old Ghost was not an NPC who would give him a treasure or quest since the old man had been asking something rted to him rather than sharing a story that would lead to a quest. "Hah, Ridiculous, why would" The Old Ghost stopped midway, "I guess they are right about that part. This ce is fit to be called God Burial." Shen noticed a smug smirk on the Old Ghost''s face. He did not know what this Old Ghost was thinking about. The Old Ghost was angry right after he mentioned Eternal Wind City. Then the old man calmed down, and now smirking smugly. "If youe from the Eternal Wind City, you should know me right?" The Old Ghost pointed at himself with his thumb. He looked so narcissistic in Shen''s eyes. Shen shook his head, "I don''t know you" he observed the old man''s features closely. He truly did not know the old ghost, ''Maybe he was a famous NPC?'' No matter how famous the old man was, Shen was truly clueless. He was typically someone to y while getting to know the game slowly. He would not bother to read the history of the Eternal Wind City, getting to know everything and ying efficiently. He was not that type of yer. "Are you kidding me? How could you not know Yosu The Void Sword?" The Old Ghost raised his voice with his eyes widened in shock. Shen responded with a shake, this was his first day in the game, he knew nothing of the city, let alone the figures in the city. "What about the Vyphrian Family? Do they still rule the Eternal Wind City?" The Old Man changed his question, but his voice was getting fiercer as he mentioned the Vyphrian Family. "I don''t know! This is my first day in Eternal Wind City then I fall into this ce. I know nothing about the city," Shen shook his head and tried to exin the things to the Old Ghost. The two exchanged nces for a little longer. The Old Ghost looked into Shen''s eyes, and he found out that the young man sounded genuine with his words, ''Does hee from the tribe in the forest and fall into this ce? But shouldn''t he die?'' "Are you willing to listen to this Old Man''s story, young''un?" There was no longer fury in his voice but calmness and sadness? Shen felt pretty weird, the Old Ghost''s emotion changed very quickly. From shock to anger to being calm and now a little sad. At this point, he was less scared of the old man after their exchange. Clearly, the old man did not try to harm or even scare him. Shen came over and sat across the old man. The old man started his story while Shen listened to the story patiently. Yosu the Void Sword was the strongest swordsman in the Eternal Wind City. He was famous for his quick strike. Even the strongest knight of the city lost in a few strikes against him. The strike was not necessarily powerful but it was just too fast. The Old Man had a proud expression when he told his tale. Since the old man had introduced himself as the Void Sword, Shen was aware the old man was telling his own story. "s, Good things rarelyst," The old man shook his head. "What happened?" Shen was curious that the energetic old man became dispirited so suddenly. He said that he was undefeated in the Eternal Wind City. He thought the old man would go outside, looking for a worthy opponent. "I n to leave the city to hone my sword skill, but the head of the Vyphrian Family learned that and came to me. He asked me to stay" the old man''s voice trailed off. Shen was now hooked with the story. He attentively listened to the old man and waited for the next. He thought the old man would fight the whole city if the Lord tried to prevent him to leave. Chapter 20: Yosu Legatee Chapter 20: Yosu Legatee The head of the Vyphrian Family who was also the lord of Eternal Wind City forced Yosu to stay despite his unwillingness. "He threatened me with my family! That bastard said that he will kill all my family!" The Old Man vented his anger on the wooden floor. He mmed the wooden floor hard. "But why? Why would the Lord antagonize you instead of roping you to join his force?" Shen could not understand with the sudden twist. Should not the Lord persuade Yosu to stay instead of forcing him to stay, let alone threaten the strongest swordsman in the city? "Right? He should entice or persuade me to work under him, but he did not! That old bastard is not sane," The Old Man was annoyed too, it could be seen from his expression, "That old fart was afraid that I will join the other family of the other city, that was why he did not want me to leave the city." The Old Man vented out his frustration. Yosu then followed Lord''s order to not leave the city. But because of their estranged rtionship, the Lord was afraid that Yosu would turn against him. This was what outraged the old man the most. He was forced to enter the giant crevice. At that time, the Giant Crevice did not have a name yet. Shen remembered only after the third group entered the portal that the giant crevice was named God Burial. It was the same threat, his family''s lives at stake. However, Yosu did not retaliate or against anything with the Lord. He agreed with the Lord to enter a giant crevice. He would rather explore the dangerous crevice than being restrained in the city. "If it''s your choice" Shen did not finish his words as the old man interrupted him, "Why would I angry with the Vyphrian Family? That''s because they forced me to make this choice! Why would I enter the dangerous crevice if I can go through a safe path to go to another city?" Shen could not deny that. Even though Yosu entered the crevice willingly, it was indeed a forced voice. "I entered the crevice with the strongest Zephyr Knight who was defeated by me and also an excellent cook who refused to be Royal Cook. Those two are in the same circumstance as me," the old man shook his head. "I see" Shen nodded his head. So the story was false. This surprised Shen because he knew the story from the official site. Ten Wonders, that was the name of the story, and Ten Wonders were the same giant crevice in a simr size in the game. ''Does this mean the old man will issue me a quest? Does he want me to avenge him against the Vyphrian Family?'' Shen guessed that he would receive a quest from the old man, a vengeance quest. "Young Man, what do you think about swordsmen?" The old man suddenly asked him. It was so random, not rted to the story, but he knew that he would receive the quest soon. "I" he wanted topose a sophisticated paragraph as his response to impress the old man, but he decided to be honest, "I don''t know much about swordsmen, but I like swords more than other weapons." Yosu let out a chuckle, "You are quite honest, I like you. Then if you can be a swordsman, what kind of swordsman do you want to be?" "Speed! I want to focus on my speed and be the fastest in the world, not the fastest swordsman, but the fastest in the world that no one can rival me in the term speed!" Shen answered without hesitation. He did not lie, that was what he tried to achieve in the game. Yosu was surprised upon hearing the answer, he was not expecting such an answer. Usually, people would answer with "I want to be the strongest swordsman!" Or "To protect his family, kingdom, or something precious." However, the young man in front of him wanted to be the fastest in the world. It was for sure a unique answer. A few momentster, Yosuughed aloud, "Hahahaha" It took some time before the old man stoppedughing, "Young man, I don''t know how you can arrive here, but it seems fate led you to me, do you want to ept this old man''s legacy?" It was a straightforward offer, Yosu did not bother with a boring chit-chat. At the same time, Shen received a notification. Ding! [Yosu the Void Sword has offered his legacy, ept/Decline?] [The Unknown Swordsmeister''s Legacy] ss: Yosu Legatee Potential: Legendary ss Shen''s eyes widened when he saw the potential. The ss had the potential to be Legendary ss. It was the highest grade ss in the game, at least that was what Sky told the yers in the official. The ss was differentiated into four grades, Common ss, Unique ss, Epic ss, and Legendary ss. yers could learn Common ss from the instructor in the city or a unique guild such as Assassin Guild founded by the NPC. In fact, Common ss had unlimited potential. It depended on the yers how to grow the ss which the information was still unknown since one had to be level twenty to get a ss. ''Wait a minute, I am level one, how can I get the ss? Is this a bug too?'' Shen came to a realization that he was just level one. He was supposed to not be able to get a ss. It indeed had the potential of Legendary ss, but he did not immediately ept it. The old man did not say anything about what he should do in exchange for the legacy. From the story, the old man would ask him to destroy the Vyphrian Family or even the Eternal Wind City. If that was the case, he would never be able to finish the quest. Shen nned to be a lone wolf, he did not want the same thing repeated when he yed the Universe Online. He did not want to grieve the other yers by ying with him, again. A lone man against a big force of a city, it was almost impossible to finish the quest. If he could not finish the quest, he would not be able to receive theplete legacy. This ss might be a trap for him. He had to be careful. Chapter 21: Void Sword Technique Chapter 21: Void Sword Technique Shen did not want to fall into such a lucrative trap. He had to be careful to not ruin his build because of this hidden ss. A certain ss needed a certain build of the stat. "In exchange for your legacy, what do I need to do for you?" Shen asked the old man with a serious look on his face. There was no free food unless Yosu had a surprised look upon hearing that from Shen''s mouth. But then he realized why the young man asked that. He just told the young man his story, why he ended up in this remote vige. It was not weird for the young man to assume that he wanted vengeance. The old man shook his head, "I don''t want you to do anything special for me. I just want the world to remember the name of Yosu. I want my sword technique to get buried in this ce." "That''s it?" Shen could not believe that he could obtain a hidden ss with the highest potential for free, "Why don''t you do it by yourself?" If it was another yer, they would dly ept the ss without questioning the NPC. A ss with Legendary potential, why would they be wishy-washy? However, Shen did not regard NPC as an AI, he talked to them as they were real people. He did the same in the previous game. Since the others did not want to y with him, he relied on NPC. Thanks to the NPC that he could keep leveling up, taking quests even when he was alone. "I am too old for worldly struggles, and I don''t have much time left either. I stoned myself to prolong my life so I can find the fated one to inherit my legacy. Since fate brings you here and with your belief, I want you to inherit my legacy, and please bring out my legacy to the world. I want the world to know that a genius named Yosu is one of the best swordsman and also a Legend!" Yosu said that with a passion and longing on his face. "Just that?" Shen was surprised as he was not expecting this. He thought the old man would give him some sort of impossible mission to get the legacy but he was not. The old man was basically asked to get stronger and be famous to spread the old man''s name. "Mnnn, I don''t care about the Vyphrian Family or the Eternal Wind City. I just want my sword technique to be known by the world so my effort is not wasted," Yosu had a gentle smile as he told his thoughts to Shen. ''This is very doable. If I truly be the fastest yer that no one can touch or catch me, I will be famous too,'' Shen had no reason to refuse the legacy. No, he had to use this to his advantage since he was left behind in progress because of Volt. ''But wait a minute, is this a bug too?'' He needed to be Level 20 before he could get a ss. That was the requirement to get the ss. He did not read a lot about the mechanical parts, but he was pretty sure to check the basics. ''Nah, I will know whether it is a bug or not by epting the Legacy,'' Shen was determined to ept the legacy. If the NPC kept his word which most likely he would, Shen could determine whether it was a bug or not. Olympus would detect the bug and fix it immediately. That was what Sky imed. "I ept your legacy! I promise that I will do my best, I will let the world know that there is a genius swordsman called Yosu!" Shen epted the legacy. Yosu smiled and ced her two fingers on his forehead. Shen was quite nervous [You have epted The Unknown Swordsman''s Legacy!] [Congrattions! You have inherited the Legendary ss, Yosu Legatee!] [Congrattions! You have learned Void Sword Technique!] Name: Runner Race: Human ss: Yosu Legatee Affiliation: - Level: 1 Experience: 0/400 Health Point: 100 Stamina Point: 100 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 10 Agility: 30 Vitality: 10 Endurance: 10 Dexterity: 45 Status Point: 0 Skill: Void Sword Technique: Void Draw (Level 1) Void Step (Level 1) Void Critical (Level 1/Passive) The base status changed, a big change and Shen was pleasantly surprised with the change. His Agility rose from 10 to 30, and his Dexterity also rose from 10 to 45. However, soon Shen furrowed his brow, he was sure that the old man was a Swordsman, ''But why Dexterity?'' If a change was about to happen, he was sure that Strength and Agility was the main attribute for a swordsman, not Dexterity. He was about to tap the skill to get more information out of the skill. Yosu coughed lightly and he immediately raised his head. "I know you are excited to try out my sword technique, but before that, can I ask you two questions?" Yosu was more polite and casual. The tense and frustrated old man was gone. "Ask away, Elder," Shen also became more respectful. "What''s your name, young''un? I want to know the name who has inherited my legacy," Shen immediately pped his forehead. Because of the fright earlier that he forgot to introduce himself. "My name is Runner," He almost said his real name, Yang Shen. However, soon he realized that he was in the game, and his name in the game was Runner. "Quite a unique name," Yosu made a strange facial expression upon hearing the name, "My second question is, why did you take me as a ghost before? Do I look like a ghost to you?" "I mean, you were just a statue before, now you have turned into a human. It looks like a ghost to me, of course," Shen exined his perspective. "Don''t you know about the stoned technique? It''s a famous technique to prolong one life," Yosu exined to Shen with a confused expression, "The reason I did not ask you to avenge me is that there were a bunch of stone statues of their ancestors" the old man shook his head. Bunch of stone statues, that meant the ancestors of the Vyphrian Family were still alive. Yosu indicated that he alone could not win against the Vyphrian Family. "Alright, that''s it. Now your job is to find the exit of this remote vige. Good luck with your adventure, Runner," Yosu tapped Shen''s shoulder a few times before the old man slowly walked to the statue''s original position. Shen then witnessed the old man''s feet turned into stone. The stone spread toward the stomach, toward the neck, then toward his head. Yosu turned back into a stone statue. Chapter 22: Start of The Noobs Misery Chapter 22: Start of The Noob''s Misery Sky''s China Branch Headquarter "Director Guan, someone has discovered the Legendary Tribe!" A man in his mid-thirties barged into Guan Mu Sheng''s office. "I know!" Director Guan was sitting behind his working table. His eyes were on a big monitor, watching a yer. The man soon noticed that Director Guan was monitoring the same yer. The man came closer and looked at the screen, "What should we do? A Legendary ss will go waste," the man somehow panicked. "What do you mean by going wasted?" Director Guan turned around and looked toward the man. Wei Jing, one of the development team members in China. "First, this is too early for a yer to enter that area. Even if he gets the ss, he won''t be able to level up properly. Second, don''t you know him? He is the famous noob from the Universe Online, the Legendary ss we design will be aughing stock," Wei Jing voiced out his concern. Legendary Tribe and the Legendary ss were the hidden attraction of the game. Wei Jing was concerned that one of their hidden attractions would go waste in the hand of the noob. Guan Mu Sheng furrowed his brows as he looked toward his subordinate, "So what should we do to not waste our design?" "We can offer himpensation as such a set of armor and respawn him back to the other city," Wei Jing voiced out his idea. Guan Mu Shen nodded, but his frown was still there, "Then what about if another "noob" finds the Legendary Tribe? Will you do the same too?" Wei Jing was about to say something in response, but Guan Mu Sheng waved his hand, "Hah Have you forgotten the contract you signed before the gameunch?" When Wei Jing heard his superior''s reminder, he came to a realization, "Once the gameunches, unless it''s a bug or an update, we are not allowed to intervene with the game directly!" He rebuked Wei Jing. "But we are already intervening by giving him the reward for reporting the bug?!?" Wei Jing could not help but respond. He felt that he was doing this for Sky, for thepany he worked in. "The reward is given to him not just because he reported the bug. But his action to not spread malice about Sky or try to sell the bug for money. The boards and the other six Directors from the other branches have also agreed to reward Runner!" "Wei Jing! We are not just a normal gamepany, the country is watching us too. If you do something that breaches the contract, I am not going to be responsible for you. You should know the consequence of breaching the contract the moment you signed your name on it!" Guan Mu Shen then looked back to the monitor. "Moreover, how do you know the young man will waste the Legendary ss? We have anticipated that people will find the Legendary Tribe this early, so we have made preparation for that! You can leave now!" He waved his hand at Wei Jing, telling him to leave the office. Guan Mu Shen had been watching Shen the moment the video of his being bullied went viral. He already knew that Shen was going to find the Legendary Tribe when he saw thest clip where Shen fell into God Burial. "Who would expect that a bullying victim would be rewarded with a big gift," Director Guan was smiling by himself. *** *** Magic should not exist, but Shen witnessed something that only magic could do, ''Another bug? No, I got the ss. This should not be a bug.'' He looked at Yosu''s statue for a little longer before he headed out, "Another magic?" There was no door, but he could not see through the doorless entrance. "Spawning in a random remote vige, and now a bizarre encounter," he muttered as he sat on the stairs, "Nah, whatever, I reap a big benefit with this Legendary ss." He opened the status window again and began checking his new skill. [Void Draw: Drawing your sword out and shed the sword at an extremely quick speed. Damage: 100% of base damage Cooldown: 30 seconds Cost: 10 Stamina Point] [Void Step: Giving yourself a burst of movement speed by 50%! Duration: 10 seconds Cooldown: 60 seconds Cost: 10 Stamina Point] [Void Critical: Giving a chance to deal critical damage on each attack. Critical Chance: 4.5% Critical Damage: 103%] Shen''s eyes shone in brilliant light as he looked at the skills'' description. The thing he liked the most was the passive skill. Even though it was just a 4.5% chance to trigger the critical strike, the skill did not consume his stamina point. "I have to be careful to use the skill, especially this early stage" he had only 100 Stamina Points. He could only use his skill five times at max. If his stamina depleted, he would not be able to move. Running out of stamina was the same as dead. He had to use the skill carefully. This was why he liked the third skill the most where it did not require mana to trigger. "But why Dexterity? Does that mean I have to focus my Status Point to Dexterity too?" For not repeating the same mistake from the previous game, he had learned about the swordsman. Themon build for the swordsman was Strength and Agility. While some people had some unusual builds, like focusing on Vitality and Strength to get tankier. Or focusing on Agility and Strength. Strength was essential for the swordsman because the damage came from the Strength. However, Yosu Legatee''s main attributes were Agility and Dexterity, which was weird in his eyes. Shen also created his own swordsman''s build to y in Tribe Online. But now he had to think carefully about how to distribute the status point. Aside from the weird main attribute, he noticed that he needed four times of exp to level up. It was supposed to be 100 exp for him to level up to level 2, but now he needed 400 exp. It quadrupled but Shen was not discouraged because he received a big advantage. He had skills where people started with no skill at all, "I will use my advantage to catch up, it should not be hard," Shen muttered as he stood up. The sun was about to go down, the night was about to arrive, "I should quickly go outside and get some levels. I don''t know what will happen to the monster when the night arrives." Shen equipped himself with [Gifted Spear] and went out of the vige. A swordsman who equipped himself with a spear. He did not realize that it would cause him to not be able to use [Void Draw] skill. Twenty seconds passed quickly, and suddenly a brilliant light gathered in the respawn hut, slowly forming the shape of a human body. Soon, Shen was resurrected with his eyes opened wide, still shocked at what happened to him just now. Chapter 23: Chicken Chapter 23: Chicken Shen immediately checked his inventory and was relieved to see the spear did not drop, "Ah, it does not matter even my item dropped, I can retrieve it back since no one around." He then realized that he was the only person in this area. No NPC and no other yers, he was alone in this remote vige. "But how is that possible" he muttered in a low voice, "Is it another bug?" Since he experienced the bug from the start of the game, he could not but think so each time he encountered a bizarre encounter, "There''s no way, one bug is understandable, but more than one?" Shen shook his head. This was Sky he was talking about, billions worth corporation. They would not tolerate such a thing to happen to their main product. "Let''s try it again then, maybe it''s a boss?" He mumbled as he made his way toward the exit. Shen exited the vige, in the same fashion as before. He ran out of the gate, thinking the beforehand encounter was not normal. Twenty seconds passed, and he was resurrected again. He died again right after stepping out of the vige. His eyes widened wide as his eyeballs almost popped out. He just could not believe that he died again. While dozing off, he walked out of the vige once again. He learned his lesson, he walked slowly and cautiously. The vige he was in was located in the middle of the forest. It was surrounded by tall trees, grassynd, bushes, and more. Shen went in the same direction, going straight ahead. He walked stealthily so as not to alert the monster that killed him before. His ears perked up in alert, trying to listen to the steps. After a short walk, he heard steps ahead of him. He approached the tree ahead of him and peeked out. He found the monster that had been killing him twice. He was killed in two strikes. Yes, this was what shocked him, he died in two attacks. The one that killed him was the chicken but not just a normal chicken. It was 1.5 meters tall, it had fifty centimeter long arms, and its beak shone like a de. The chicken was pecking the ground, tearing apart the grassynd with its beak. From his spot, Shen peeked out. The ck-feathered chicken had not noticed his arrival yet. He frowned, it turned out the chicken was not only big but strong too. He thought it was just the size that was abnormal. However, he found out that the chicken was not just a normal mob. He died from two pecks of the beak right into his chest. That was right, two pecks and he died. That was why he was resurrected with a shocked expression, could not believe what he went through. "This is the start of the game, the monster should not be that strong" Shen muttered as heined. He then gazed at the top of the chicken. There was a red bar there. It was the chicken''s health point. But that was it, he could not get any information about the chicken unless hended an attack on it. "Let''s try again, I was too careless before" Shen muttered in a low voice. He believed that early mobsters should not be that strong. He stepped out of his hiding spot. It was just one step and the chicken was fifteen meters away from him, but it immediately turned its head toward him. "I haven''t used my spear and my skill before, this time I will kill you!!!" With the [Gift Spear] in his hand, Shen activated [Void Step]. The chicken did not care about what he said as it charged toward him as soon as it spotted him. Shen also ran toward the chicken, but he miscalcted something. The skill, he was not used with the sudden fifty percent boost of speed. "Oh, f*ck!" He cursed out as he lost control of his speed. He soon crashed against the chicken''s chest. The chicken was surprised too, it took momentarily a step back. Unfortunate for Shen, his reaction was toote. The chicken''s hand-like talent grabbed his head. Swoosh! Swoosh! With two lightning pecks, his head was burst out open. Shen resurrected back to the vige, he was smiling wryly. He did not expect that the burst movement would work like that, "Dang, this game is too real" A skill that should be his advantage killed him. But he found out one thing, he had a chance against the chicken. He walked out of the respawn spot while checking his stamina. Since he was resurrected, his stamina went back full. "Let''s get used to the skill first" he activated the [Void Step] and ran around the vige. He then discovered that [Void Step] only increased his speed at the initial burst. It did not increase his speed consistently. His speed would be slowing down to normal if he kept running. However, Shen found the trick he could use to increase his speed consistently. He just needed to stop right before the duration [Void Step] and run again. By doing this, he got two times the burst movement. "It''s a bit tricky, I need to stop at the right moment" he muttered in a low voice. He was currently resting to recover his Stamina. It took him nine tries to get used to the skill. Heid down in front of Yosu''s house, facing the sky. The sky had turned dark yellow, the night was about toe. He checked his stamina, 5/100. Shen was aware that went out in his condition was the same as suicide. He had died many times already. Dying because he ran out of stamina was silly. He rested for five minutes, his stamina returned to 45. He did not want to go out with just 45 stamina. So he intended to wait until he fully recovered. Shen got up, he looked toward the house next to Yosu''s house. The house with spears crossed each other''s symbols, "Does someone like Yosu stay inside?" He was curious and headed toward the house. Just as he was about to enter the house, he heard a voice in his head, "Don''t be greedy, Young''un! You have inherited Yosu''s Legacy, why do you still want to get mine too?" There was a cold female voice that entered his ears. Shen was shocked and immediately turned around. He scanned the surroundings, but he saw no one. He felt that the voice wasing from behind, he was sure about that. Soon he felt a chill on his spine, and he immediately backed down from the house. The owner seemed not to wee him even though he did not eye anything inside. He was just curious what was inside, wondering whether there was another stone statue. "No, the voice should be real, and it might be a simr stone statue" Soon he realized something. Each house presented a ss, and only the ssless or someone who had inherited the legacy could enter the house. Trying to prove his conjecture, he went to Yosu''s house. There was no voice or anything that tried to prevent him. He then moved to another house, the house across from Yosu''s house. It was the house with a hammer and an anvil as the symbol. This time, he heard a man''s voice, rough and old. It was about the same, he was not allowed to enter the house. "I see" He finally realized that he was in a hidden vige where Legendary sses gathered, "What if I sell this information to the rich dudes? I can get rich by selling the information" Chapter 24: Hope Chapter 24: Hope Shen immediately shook his head at the idea of selling the information. First of all, he did not know how to reach this ce. He could not tell the buyer to jump into the God Burial as he was not sure jumping into God Burial would bring them here. If he shared the wrong information, he would be deemed a scammer for sure. When that happened, his not-so-good reputation would take another hit. "Money is good, but it''s not worth the risk," Shen did not want to y around with the rich. The riches had a connection here and there, he did not want to get screwed, especially his already screwed real life. "Nah, it''s not like I desperately need money," Shen threw his thoughts of selling the information for money. While waiting for the stamina to recover, the sun disappeared from the sky. The night arrived, Shen was hesitating to leave the vige now. "Should I log out ande backter?" It was general knowledge that scarier monsters would be active at night. The chicken was already terrifying, another scarier monster would be a nightmare for him. "Nah, let''s try it again. I have nothing to lose anyway," Shen shook his head and made his way to the exit. He was still Level 1, even if he died again, he would not lose his experience or even the level. With those thoughts, he walked out of the vige. He went in the same direction where he discovered the chicken. The forest had be increasingly dark. If not for the bright moon that hung in the sky, he might not be able to see anything. Following the same path, he ended at the same tree again. Shen hid behind the tree and peeked out. A frown formed on his forehead as he could not find the ck-feathered chicken, "Where did it go?" He looked around, but the big chicken was nowhere to be seen, "Does it go back to the nest at night?" Since he could not find the chicken, Shen came out of his hiding spot. However, as soon as he came out of his hiding spot, his vision blurred. The scenery suddenly changed, then he quickly realized that he was returned to the respawn spot. He was back in the vige. He died, and he did not know how he died. He also did not know who killed him. He did not even feel any pain. That meant he instantly died. "Oh my, what kind of monster was that?" Shen shook his head. He guessed right, the monster at night was scarier. "I can''t give up, at least I have to find out what kind of monster is that," he walked out of the vige. A few secondster, he respawned back in the vige again. Once again, he died without knowing what kind of thing killed him. Shen did not give up, he nned to seek out what kind of creatures killed him instantly. After ten minutes of persistent effort, Shen finally caught the gist of the monster that kept killing him. He came out of the vige again, this time, he sneakily went back to the spot where he died. After countless times of trying, he finally knew something. The attack came from above, meaning the monster was on the tree. The lush tree blocked his sight, but he cautiously looked around. He was pretty sure the monster attacked him from above. He walked from one to another tree while looking around at the tree. The limited light made it harder to find what he was looking for. Shen did not give up, finding out what kind of the monster while still Level 1 was for his future. Even though he kept dying, he had nothing to lose since he was still Level 1. He needed to figure out what kind of monster was active at night since he would be living in this vige from today onwards. Shussh! Shussh! He then heard the sound of leaves brushing, he looked toward the voice and saw a ck figure lunging toward him from the tree above him. He was about to draw his sword out but his reaction was so slow. Before he could do anything, his vision blurred. Shen respawned back to the vige. He finally managed to find out what monster killed him. It was the same ck-feathered chicken. He was sure that his head exploded just now. The moment he turned around, he met with the yellow beak. He finally found what caused him to die instantly. It was the same chicken, it was just the chicken that came from above. The ck feather caused him a hard time detecting the monster in the night. "Now I find out the thing that killed me, so what should I do now? Is there even a chance for me to kill it?" Shen felt it was impossible to kill the chicken with his current level. "Nah, since it''s the same monster, I will try to fight it to find more information about the chicken," the information of the monster would appear only when a yernded damage. He should try tond damage first. "Yes, let''s take this slowly. There''s no way the developer will create an impossible situation to force the yers to re-start their character," with those thoughts in his mind, Shen went out of the vige to hunt the chicken. Not hunting precisely but tried to find more information about the chicken. He came back to the same area, but he walked slowly so as not to alert the chicken. As he got closer to the area, he scanned the trees to find the chicken. The moonlight did not help much to find the chicken, "The chicken should be around here," he looked at the spot where he died just now. He was pretty sure the chicken came from right above him, which meant the chicken rested on that tree. Despite the information, he could not find the chicken through the distance. Taking a deep breath, he came closer to the tree. He made sure to not make any noise. Carefully and slowly, he stood three meters away from the tree. He was in the open as he tried to lure the chicken out of the tree. Since he could not find the chicken, he would lure it out. He had his n, he believed it would work this time. Shen stood there for half a minute, but the chicken did not attack him. He frowned, ''Should I make a little noise?'' He was traumatized from the continuous dying. It was quite an unpleasant experience for sure. He also believed that he held the record for the yer with the most deaths in the Tribe Online. ''Nah, screw it. I have been this far, and I have a Legendary ss. I don''t want to restart the character!'' With those thoughts, he raised his right foot and stomped to the ground. Dump! As soon as the stomp resounded, the sound of leaves brushing was heard as well. Shen was ready this time as he immediately activated his skill, [Void Step]. Swoosh! Soon he saw a ck shadow descended from the tree. The big figure lunged toward him. Shen quickly reacted and ran forward. Even though he had gotten used to the skill, he still could not avoid his body ramming against the three in front of him. Dukh! He mmed to the tree, but thanks to the tree he managed to stop his rapid movement. He turned around and saw the chicken was still half a meter in the air. "This is my chance!" Shen''s eyes shone. [Void Step] was still active, he could use his quick movement to reach the chicken. He did not waste this golden chance and rushed toward the chicken. When the chickennded on the ground, he was right behind it. ''It''s not impossible to defeat this overpowered chicken,'' Shen grinned as he cast the second skill, [Draw Sword]. Swoosh! The sword shed through the chicken''s back and the damage appeared above the chicken. The red number indicated the damage he inflicted on the chicken. -3.6 Chapter 25: #IamonMyGoddessSide Chapter 25: #IamonMyGoddessSide Shen''s attack was so fast that even he could not believe he could be that fast. He quickly looked up to see how much damage he inflicted on the Chicken. -3.6 ''What a weird number'' he thought to himself as he immediately retreated. He backed out as soon as he inflicted the damage as he had achieved his goal. Sure enough, new information appeared in front of him in the form of a screen. [???] Tribe: - Level: 30 Skill:??? "What!?" Shen screamed out of his lungs when he saw the level of the chicken. He was shocked that he stopped moving. Level 30 monster, 29 levels gap. The gap was too big for a starter monster. Shen then looked at the HP bar, he noticed that he inflicted almost no damage. The bar barely reduced, like a strand of hair or even less. It was barely visible, he had to look at the HP bar carefully to notice that. Swoosh! In his shocked state, the chicken shortened the distance. It cruised toward him with its beak pointed at him. Back to the vige, Shen was still in a daze. The chicken was level 30, very fast, and it was very tough as well. 3.6 damage barely reduced the hp, meaning the chicken was very tanky for someone like him. "Hah, how am I supposed to kill the chicken?" Shen was frustrated. He had his skill, but his skill was weak. It did not deal a fixed amount of damage but the percentage of his base damage. It was quite weak in the beginning and would get strongerter on. But it was very weak in the beginning, it would not help him kill the chicken. He had the Gifted Spear to increase his damage, but he could not use the skill if he equipped the spear. Void Draw could be used only with a sword. Spear did not work with his skill. "Nah, I can''t give up now," Shen shook the thought of giving up and walked out of the vige with his chest high up. Two hourster, after countless deaths, Shen sat in front of the respawn spot. He faces the reality that he could not win against the chicken. "I guess this is for today," he had been ying for four hours. If not for the impossible obstacle, he would continue ying. But this was his limit, "Man, the game is supposed to be entertaining, not frustrating like this." Shen logged out and his vision back to the gaming pod. He let out a long sigh, "It seems I have used all my luck during my teenage days" A group of people and a streamer hunting him down for the content. He decided to jump off the cliff but the n for sure backfired. He has now ended up in an unknown ce with absurdly powerful monsters. "Wait, maybe the chicken is a bug as well. Then the ss too, I am still level 1 but I can receive the ss. That might be a bug as well," Shen''s eyes brightened up. He opened the email and began to send another report for a bug. He opened the recorded y and screenshot the necessary picture. Yes, the gaming pod would record the gamey automatically. So the yer could ess or even analyze the gamey. It could be used for the content creator''s purpose. After that, he looked at the right top right corner, it was still eight-thirty. It was too early for him to sleep. "Ah, I haven''t finished the Sky''s conference," he opened the official site. Sure enough, Sky posted the conference video on their official site. He opened the video and fast-forwarded to thest time he watched it. Thest time he watched was a female reporter asking for a bullying case that had gone viral on the forum. "That should be me right, she was talking about?" Shen muttered in a low voice as he started the video. [It''s rted to a recent video that gets viral, about a streamer and his friends who bullied a yer. They keep killing the same yer eleven times until finally the yer is forced to log out from the game. The video clip now has received worldwide attention. It has over nine million views as we talk now, What about your view on such gamey? Isn''t this bad for the bullying victim as it may affect his mental health? Will Sky set a regtion to prevent a simr case in the future?] Director Guan Mu Sheng maintained his professional smile. This was the first time in the conference that the Director did not give his direct answer. "Let me answer thest question first. I think we will not set any regtions for the issue. Sky will not interfere with what happened in the game as long as the yers don''t break our policy. We are giving yers the freedom to y the game. It is a simr case with the Red yers. For yers who focused on PK, we can''t ask them to stop killing yers since that''s how they y the game. Although it''s indeed regretful that happened on the first day." "Oh, please don''t twist my words. I also don''t support the red yers and bullying in-game," Director Guan made a joking smile, "And yes, bullying will cause a bad influence to the victim, especially their mental health. Sky Hopes the yers could regrly consult their psychiatrist. Or the yers can contact Sky health, we offer a free service if you are a Gaming Pod''s owner." "Lastly, my view on such gamey. I don''t encourage yers to kill each other" Director Guan suddenly stopped midway, "Oh, by the way, this is my personal opinion, not Sky''s. I don''t encourage yers to kill each other, especially at this early stage of the game. There are so many things you need to learn and explore. This is not the traditional RPG game, we have implemented new mechanics and more for yers to explore. Rather than wasting your time on mindless PK, it''s better to explore the game itself." Director Guan ended his long answer with a gentle smile. The conference continued for another fifteen minutes before it was over. Shen looked down on thement section, thousands ofments were posted. The topment received tons of likes and also dislikes at the same time. It was quite a controversialment as he saw thement received thousands of replies as well. RotRat: Whatever man! I agree with what Volt did to that trash noob. He does not deserve to y the game! Thement received 1.2 million likes, but the dislike was much more than the likes. It had 2.7 million dislikes. He would rather not read the replies as it could be hurtful. This was online, people used the anonymous identity to say whatever they wanted. Even though Shen had not watched what actually happened on the forum, he was sure they were talking about him. He scrolled down thement and he found something weird. As he kept scrolling thements, there was a hashtag in almost allments. #IamonMyGoddessSide Chapter 26: Goddess Defends A Noob Chapter 26: Goddess Defends A Noob Shen was curious about the hashtag of IamOnGoddessSide. Thement with that hashtag was condemning Volt and took his side. Curious, he typed the hashtag and searched it. He quickly found out where the source of this hashtag wasing from. It was a video that came up on the top search. He opened the video which led him to China''s Sky Forum. It was an ount called Yue who posted the video, less than four minutes video. The character was written in bright gold. Meaning it was a verified ount. Meaning this Yue was an influential figure in the game for sure. Shen yed the video and was surprised to see beauty in a white shirt. Milky white skin, bright obsidian eyes, and her perfectly chiseled jaw fit perfectly on her oval face. She tied her long ck hair into a ponytail and her beauty looked unreal for him. He did not expect to see someone that looked like a doll. The most attractive was that despite looking like a doll, the girl was giving off a mature charm. This was what made Shen attracted to the girl. He suddenly smiled and muttered in a low voice, "Is this what everyone called love at first sight?" The girl cleared her throat and Shen immediately paused the video, "But wait a minute, she does not use a filter, doesn''t she?" He looked carefully at the girl''s face. The girl had light make-up on her face, but the picture could not be trusted for sure. VR Technology had advanced to this extent, it should be easy for a filter to be perfected to perfection. Shen had read a lot of articles about men whoined about this filter. They were being deceived by filter technology. They met a beauty online then when they met the person in real life, it was apletely different face than the one in the picture. Of course, men were not only the victim. There were a lot of men who used the same filter and deceived women as well. In the end, dating apps were no longer popr nowadays. People would rather attend the blind date set by their parents. The beauty in the video was unreal so Shen would not get deceived easily. He immediately shook his head, "I can''t be deceived easily, but again, the face looks familiar," he rubbed his chin. He felt that he had seen the girl in the video somewhere. However, he did not remember where and when, "Nah, whatever. Even though this streaking beauty does not use a filter, I still have no chance." Shen was a realistic guy. He might look above average, and he received a lot of love letters during high school. But that was the past. He did not finish high school, and he was unemployed. Rich? Yes, he might be rich if hepared himself to the poor, but there were a lot of people richer than him, by miles. Junior high school''s graduate, vague future, and not a dashing man. A lot of men looked more dashing and handsome than him. His chance was less than a percent. An unrealistic target for someone like him. ''The only thing I do is y the game, and I suck at that too. I have no chance, stop dreaming, Shen! Focus on your target!'' After the wake-up call, Shen yed the video. "Hello, good evening~" the girl started the video with a melodious voice of hers. ''Oh my, this girl is just too perfect that I feel unreal,'' he could not help but think so. "Recently, there''s a clip and incident that went viral. I am going to talk about my view regarding that as my first debut on the forum." ''Huh!? Is she talking about me?'' The only recent incident that got viral was him getting bullied by a streamer, Volt. The girl then smiled, not only her voice was pleasing to the ear, but her smile was stunning as well. He dozed off for a moment because of the smile, then he shook his head. ''Damn, what are you? A reincarnation of a fox spirit?'' Then suddenly the smile disappeared as she turned solemn, "First, I condemn what Volt did to the yer called Runner! No matter what the reason is, it does not justify what he did to Runner." "I have researched about Runner. Indeed, this yer has griefed many other yers in the previous game. He is aplete noob, but that''s not the right reason to bully him. You can simply ignore him if you don''t want to y with him. You can do a good deed by guiding him on how to y the game and tell him the right to build for the ss. There are many other ways instead of bullying him. What Volt did to Runner is worse than what Runner did to the other yers in the previous game." "Second, I also condemn Volt for farming content from bullying a person. This is not healthy content and has a bad influence on the viewers. If we let Volt continue his bullying, the other streamers, and content creators will follow the trend. This is bad for the Tribe Onlinemunity!" "Third Before I continue, I want to say that this is my personal opinion. I don''t represent anyone, but my personal view about the incident. Third, I want the streaming tform to consider what Volt has done. What he did is not different from a Red yer! A fair warning should be given to him from what he has done!" There was one and a specific condition to stream on an official tform. A yer was not a Red yer, an uncontroble PK. There was an incident in the past where many Red yers were allowed to stream officially. Sure, it had many viewers and the tform benefited a lot from that. However, the game was totally ruined after that. The yer chose a shortcut, setting up PK like a trap and ambush. That one game was then famous for its toxic yers, not newbie friendly anymore. The rich would pay Red yer to zero their rival and the yers they did not like. Since the game was not friendly for the new yer. People stopped purchasing the game and a lot of people stopped ying because of its toxicmunity and yer. A few monthster the Game Developer closed the server. Since then, the other Game Developers learned from this mistake and made an agreement with streaming tforms. Red yers were not allowed to stream, or else the Game Developer would not agree to let the tform stream their game. Fortunately, all the Game Developers were united so the streaming tform was forced to agree with the condition. Since then, it had be a tradition where a Red yer was banned from streaming. Zeroing a yer and kept killing one person to the point of forcing the yer to log out or even quitting the game was one of the Red yer''s behaviors. It was a punishable act. Shen was stunned when he heard the third point. He finally got the gist of where #IamOnGoddessSideing from. It was from her fans. Chapter 27: Noobs Doing A Research Chapter 27: Noob''s Doing A Research She was so pretty, had a good voice, and also kind. Yue was clearly helping him out from the bullies. This would stop Volt from bullying which was actually unnecessary because Volt could never find him anymore. Shen was grateful though, at least, someone was defending him. Of course, despite her beauty and her kindness, there were always people who did not agree with her or to be more exact, the haters. Someone with a huge fan base would automatically have many haters too. The growth of fans and haters was relevant, the more fans one had, the more haters one would have as well. While he could see her fans supporting her view in this matter, many people disagreed with her. Shen could see the hatements in thement section. People started to call her a hypocrite, fake, to the point of calling her attention whore. Of course, such ament would immediately be flooded by fierce resistance from her fans. "Let''s give a like to the video," Shen could not do anything to support but to press the "like" for the video. He was not in the position that could help her in that regard. "Tsk, which lucky bastard will marry her?" Shen muttered in a low voice before he closed the forum. "Now, let''s ignore this stupid incident. I have to think of a way to get out of my current predicament," he was not in the position to think about other matters as he was in a dire situation. If he could not find a way to kill the chicken or get away from that absurdly dangerous area, he would be stuck in level 1 forever. He had to restart his character to solve the issue. That was thest solution for him since he had a Legendary ss. He was about to type "How to hunt the monster with a big gap level?" Maybe there was a pro in the forum that could help him with that. The screen shed as a name appeared on his screen. It was a ringing phone symbol and a familiar name, Dale. Dale was calling him which was a rare asion. He checked the time, eight-thirty evening, meaning it was still noon in the UK. Shen answered the call and he immediately heard the loud and excited voice of his friend. "Damn, Shen! You are quite lucky, huh!? My Goddess even defends you from the bullies!" Shen scrunched his forehead as Dale''s voice was too loud, "You call me just to say that?" He replied tly,cking excitement that the opposite of his friend. "Just to say that!? Damn, Shen! We are talking about Yue, Goddess Yue. How can you not be that excited? Are you a eunuch? Especially after she defended you from those bastards!" Shen certainly knew that his friend was talking about the perfect beauty Yue he just saw. He was grateful, but he was not that excited. "I am going to close the call if you keep spouting nonsense!" He was in a dire situation, he did not have time to listen to his friend''s nonsense. Maybe, if he met with the person directly, it might make him excited a little and worthy of talking. Now what he desired the most was to get out of his shitty situation without restarting the character. He did not want to lose his Legendary ss, especially since the ss was a swordsman and also agility-focused attribute. This was a heaven-made ss for him. "Hah I forget that I am talking to you, Shen. You never get a celebrity crush, damn, you don''t even know the name of the actors who y in your favorite movie. It''s so wrong to talk about this to you" Toot! Toot! Toot! After saying that, Dale hung up. He said that as if not knowing his goddess was the most regretful thing in the world. Shen shook his head, he was about to continue his search, but his friend called him again. He was about to ignore the call but decided to answer it. "What''s now?" He answered with a rather annoyed tone. "Shen, seriously, are you okay? Does Volt still harass you?" Dale was joking around earlier, but now he was being serious all of sudden. This guy was still his friend, after all, "I am okay, that Volt could never find me anymore now," Shen replied as what he experienced was nothing serious. That was the truth as he did not even know where he was now. "What? Are you restarting your character? Where are you right now? Damn, that shitty streamer! Just wait for me toe back, I am going to shit on him. Ah, I can always open his stream, I am going to raid that guy!" Dale was bursting out as he mixed up his British ent in Chinese. Shen barely understood what his friend was saying. "I thought you were not allowed to y too much by your father? And I also heard that changing a server is quite troublesome, you don''t have to" Before Shen could finish his words, Dale cut him off midway, "Do you think that troublesome things would prevent me from changing the server? Just wait, I wille back in a few months." "Alright then, I am waiting. Oh, I actually did not restart my character and I have a secret for you as well" ''Should I tell him about the Legendary ss and the vige I am in?'' Dale was one out of two friends, the closest one, ''Nah, let''s wait until he trulyes back. We will try to figure out together how to reach the vige.'' "What is it? Why do you stop?" Dale''s voice turned into suspicion as he questioned Shen, "Have you found yourself a girlfriend? What''s her name? Can you send me her picture?" "I will tell you when youe backter," Shen replied mysteriously. "Tch, you are lucky that I have an appointment with my professor, if not I will nag you to the death," after saying that, the two exchanged a few words before they closed the call. Shen shook his head after closing the call. He then looked at the screen and now at a loss, "What am I looking for?" He did not remember what he wanted to search for. A secret mechanic? A quick way to level up? "This is because of Dale," Shen sighed as he could not remember and opened the forum once again. After something, he decided to search for a mysterious vige. He typed "Mysterious Vige" and tried to search it. He hoped that the vige he was in was not the only mysterious vige. s, he could not find the result, there was no single post mentioning a mysterious vige. Shen was trying to find out whether this mysterious vige was a special case where a high-level monster spawned around. But he did not find any post that could help him. "Ah!" Shen then recalled what he was looking for. He immediately typed it in the search. [How to hunt a big level gap monster?] When he searched for this, a lot of threads appeared on his screen. There were a lot of guides in the forum. "This will be a long night for me," muttering in a low voice, Shen opened the first thread. He was not going to give up. Chapter 28: Noobs Morning Routine Chapter 28: Noob''s Morning Routine Shen sat on the bed, stretching his arm as he yawned widely. He stayedte, looking for solutions to his current predicament. Unfortunately, Shen could not find any solutions for hunting a level 30 monster while still level 1. There was no such a thread on the forum. If he wanted to hunt a level 30 monster, he had to form a party. An excellent party had a chance to defeat the boss-level monster. He read various kinds of formation and partyposition for a raid. There were a lot of threads discussing such a thing. However, Shen could never realize that. First of all, no one would want to party with him after his dark past was revealed by Volt. Even though many people took his side, that did not mean they were willing to party or help him in the game. Second, he was in an unknown vige with no NPC let alone a yer. He could never have a party with him alone. "Hah" Shen shook his head and got up from the bed. He reached for his phone and checked the time. It was eight in the morning. It was quitete for him, who always woke at six-thirty. He threw the phone to the bed and headed toward the bathroom. He brushed his teeth and washed his face before he changed into sportswear, "Ah, I am not allowed to jog for a while" Shen looked at his right knee and let out another sigh. It was still early in the morning, but he had sighed two times since he woke up. "This is a bad omen for my day," he muttered as he went out of his room. He went to the kitchen to fill his ss with water. A ss of water in the morning and then he grabbed a mattress. He put the mattress in the living room. Working out in the morning before he started his activity. This was his morning routine. He stretched out first for like five to ten minutes. Then he started with twenty squats, twenty push-ups, and twenty sit-ups. It was a set of working out in the morning he made for himself. After he finished the first set, he would take a break for one to three minutes before starting the second set. It was better than nothing. Shen could actually go to the gym, but he would rather save the money for food since he could do the workout by himself at home. Even though he was a noob, he could still sell the gear to the newbie in the game. There would always be new yers in the game. He could sell some stuff to them, not a big buck but that was enough to not spend his savings for his food, rent, and bills. However, it was different now, he started a new game. He might not be able to sell anything until he could hunt the chicken or get out of the vige. Almost an hour passed, and he finished his six sets. He usually only did like three to four sets, but he finished six sets this morning. Reaching his towel, Shen wiped out the sweat. Then he went back to the kitchen and drank another ss of water. While drinking, he tried to move his right knee. Working out was still doable for him. "Working out is over, it''s time to get some breakfast," He went out of his apartment and came down. Fortunately, the elevator was fixed. There was a bun shop not far from his apartment. It was "Wen Bun". Quite famous locally, the people would stop by to get some buns before they got to work. Shen was regr to the shop as he at least would eat breakfast here five days a week. "It''s almost nine, there should be not many people there," Shen was humming as he went to "Wen Bun". The shop was just five blocks away from the apartment. Sure enough, there were only a few people in the shop, "Yo, Shen! I thought you were eating at home," Uncle Wen, the Boss of the shop, waved his hand at him. "Good morning, Uncle Wen. I woke upte," Shen looked toward the storefront, there was no bun left, "No more buns?" "Your Auntie Jun is making more in the kitchen. Do you want to wait? The hot one is yummy, you know," Uncle Wen winked his eyes at Shen before looking toward the clock, "It should be cooked in five minutes, do you want to wait or you want me to deliver the buns to your room?" "Nah, I will wait," Shen waved his hand as he stepped into the shop. He looked for an empty table and sat. As soon as he sat, a white cup was ced in front of him. Uncle Wen gave him the cup and sat across him. "A free soymilk Thanks, Uncle Wen," Shen took a sip of the soymilk. Uncle Wen rolled his eyes at Shen, "It''s just 1 Yuan, and you still want it for free. You are young yet so heartless." Shen grinned at Uncle Wen, both were so close that they could joke around. He then noticed a poster on the wall, it was a promotion poster of Tribe Online. Not only that, he noticed a familiar figure on the poster. He ced the cup and came closer, "No wonder she''s familiar. She''s Sky''s brand ambassador." He was talking about Yue. He felt familiar with her because he often saw her on the poster. Yue was a brand ambassador for Sky, "She is actually a big shot" "Are you interested in ying?" Uncle Wen asked as he noticed Shen was interested in the poster. Shen shrugged his shoulders, "I already bought the gaming pod. Do you also y Tribe Online, Uncle Wen?" "You can buy a 500 thousand gaming pod, and here you are asking for 1 Yuan soymilk for free," Uncle Wen rolled his eyes at Shen again, "I don''t y it, but Shuren is begging me to buy him one." Shuren was Uncle Wan''s eldest son. He was a few years younger than Shen and should have entered the university this year. "I heard that you can earn a lot ying that game, is that right?" Uncle Wen got closer and asked in a whisper. "It''s actually the same with normal work, Uncle Wen. If you are doing good at work, you will get promoted and a raise, but if you are doing bad, you will get fired. The game has the same essential, some yers earn a lot because they are good, but many also don''t earn enough even to cover their bills. Unless you have been ying the game for a long time, you can earn enough to cover the bills and to not starve." Shen was sharing his experiences. He knew that Uncle Wen was asking his opinion whether to buy Shuren a gaming pod or not. He did not want to meddle in someone else''s family affairs. Shen shared his experiences and let Uncle Wen decide by himself if he wanted to buy his son a gaming pod or not. "By the way, do you know there''s a new mtang stall there, Uncle Wen?" He quickly changed the topic. "Mtang stall?" "Hmm, it''s actually quite good" Shen told Uncle Wen the location of Uncle Hou''s mtang stall. He had promised Little Witch Lin Lin to bring more people to her father''s stall, after all. Chapter 29: The Noob Has His Circumstances Chapter 29: The Noob Has His Circumstances "Let''s go togetherter if it''s delicious like you said," Uncle Wen smiled at Shen, "I need a friend to drink anyway." Shen was about to say he did not drink, but an angrydy voice resounded, "What did you say? Drink?" Uncle Wen''s smile stiffened when he heard his wife''s voice, "I am talking about the herbal drink, right Shen? I am telling him that herbal drinks are good for the body." Uncle Wen replied whileughing, also winking his right eye to Shen. "Heng! You think you can trick me, Old Wen!? Don''t ever invite Shen to drink alcohol, he does not drink!" Ady in her mid-forties came out from the kitchen, bringing the aromatic basket in her hand. She was Auntie Jun, Uncle Wen''s wife. Auntie Jun ced the basket on the counter. She then started to take three buns out and ced them on the te, "As usual, right?" Auntie Jun ced the te with three buns on it in front of Shen, "I want one more cabbage bun, please. I am quite hungry," Shen smiled at Auntie Jun. Wen Bun sold buns with three different fillings, pork, chive, and cabbage. Shen would usually eat each one, but his favorite was the cabbage filling. Auntie Jun nodded and took one more bun from the basket and put it on the te, "Here you are! Don''t get persuaded by your Uncle Wen, Shen. Alcohol is bad for the body." Shen nodded in response while Uncle Wen received a chilling gaze from his wife. He let out a small cough and stood up, "Ahem, it seems I drink too much water" Uncle Wen then walked toward the toilet, when he passed Shen. He sent a whisper, "Let''s go together to the mtang stallter," he winked at Shen and ran to the toilet. Auntie Jun did not hear her husband whisper as she spoke to Shen, "Careful Shen if you don''t want to scald your tongue, it''s still hot." Shen nodded and split the bun into two so it cooled down faster. He savored the bun quickly as he wanted to log into the game. He finished the four buns in five minutes. "Why are you in such a hurry?" Auntie Jun asked as he received a 10 Yuan bill from Shen. Another reason why Wen Bun was famous, it was quite cheap for a bun in Shanghai. "I have something to do," Shen smiled as he gulped the second cup of soymilk. "Do you want to join dinner with us? I will cook a lot since Meimei ising home," Auntie Jun invited Shen for dinner. Shen had been living in the neighborhood since he was twelve. He moved to Shanghai when he was twelve. So he was growing so close to Auntie Jun''s family who had lived longer here. They had been knowing each other for ten years by now. Auntie Jun also knew his circumstance and took pity on the boy. She often invited the boy over for dinner or lunch. Though most of the time Shen declined the invitation. "Meimei ising home?" Shen was surprised for a moment, "Alright then, I wille over for dinner." Meimei was akin to a big sister to Shen. She was three years older and now she was working in the city. In a while, she would return to visit her parents. "Good! If you don''te over by six-thirty, I wille over and bring you here!" Auntie Jun grinned at him. Shen returned with a smile as he waved his hand before he went back to his apartment. Shen was not Shanghai''s native. He came from a small ind south of Shanghai, Daishan Ind. He received a sponsor from the government because of his talent. The government paid for his lodging and school, he was also given an allowance since he did not have parents. The government wanted to put Shen in the orphanage but he refused as he wanted to live alone. He was used to taking care of himself since he had been taking his mother who fell sick when he was ten before finally, his mother died due to sickness two years. The reason he wanted to be a runner was that he heard he could earn money through the price. He wanted to make money through the prize of thepetition for his mother''s medical bills. s, his mother left him before he could earn the money. The biggest regret in his life as he could not do anything but watch his mother slowly leave him. "Hah" Auntie Jun let out a sigh as she watched Shen''s back, "What a pitiful child." Shen had told everything about his past to Auntie Jun. She even knew her mother''sst wish a week before his Mother took the final breathing. "I want you to be the fastest in the world~!" Auntie Jun knew that Shen''s mother made a wish like that as she was hoping for her child to continue to live with a dream. Bing a drive for his life rather than living lonely without parents. Mother''s Shen seeded with her purpose, "But the world is just too cruel. They took his parents, and now they took his only dream." Mother''s Shen fell sick from overworking. She suffered cancer and after two years of battling the disease without a cure, she left him. Six yearster, the world took his feet. The child could no longer fulfill his dream to be the fastest in the world. Now he fell into a virtual world because of his obsession to be the fastest in the world. Auntie Jun was not cruel enough to give a wake-up call to the young man, "If God exists, why would you let such a good kid suffer like this?" Shaking her head, Auntie Jun returned to her shop. *** *** Shen was unaware of what Auntie Jun thought of him. As soon as he returned, he went to the bathroom for a quick bath to wash off his sweat. After that, he immediately got into the gaming pod and logged into the game. "I am back!" Shen yelled loudly at the sky. "Let''s see Let''s see What should I do now?" Shen tried to recall the n he had madest night. "First, let''s avoid the chicken and find a weaker monster. Yes, that''s it. Find a weaker monster to hunt. That chicken might be a Boss in the area!" Since he could not win against the chicken, he would avoid the confrontation against the chicken. He would save the chicken for thest, "People say revenge is best served cold!" With a fresh thought and a new idea, Shen went out of the vige to venture into the unknown area. Chapter 30: The Miserable Noob Chapter 30: The Miserable Noob Shen was standing at the entrance of the vige. If he went ahead, he would meet the same chicken monster. He observed the surroundings carefully. The vige was in the middle of a forest. Trees, grass, and boulders what he could see around. He looked over the minimap. The minimap was still dark since he had been fighting the chicken and getting used to the skill. The one thing he realized from the game was that this new game was totally different from the Universe Online he yed before. The game was mechanically different, it was so surreal that it even took him some time to get used to the skill. In Universe Online, it only took him a short time to adapt to the skill. "But a few people managed to reach Level 5 on the first day," He checked the level ranking before logging in. Seventeen people in China Server reached Level 5. Those seventeen figures were famous, and he saw one of them was Yue. She got to Level 5 on the first day. It was clear that the girl was not just having a pretty face to be the brand ambassador, but also a good yer in the game as well. "Let''s catch up, Shen," He encouraged himself before he turned toward the left direction. He felt good in this direction. Shen went on foot, slowly, sneakily walking forward. After a certain distance, he started to hide from one tree to another. He felt this was the distance where the monster would start to appear. If the chicken was amon monster around, then he would be one-hit killed by the chicken as soon as it discovered him. After a couple of minutes of walking, Shen found the first monster. It was the same ck-feathered chicken with two tiny hands, "Who designed the monster? It looks so weird," He muttered in a low voice as he took a half circle to avoid the encounter. Not long after the first chicken, he found another chicken a minuteter. At this point, Shen concluded that the chicken was amon monster around the vige. There was a certain pattern in a game where usually the weakest monster stayed near a safe zone like the vige or city. If the chicken stayed near the vige, that meant the chicken was the weakest monster around. "I hope it''s not the case for this weird area. I hope it''s the opposite pattern," Shen prayed that it was not the case. Sneaking around like a little thief, Shen continued his journey of finding hope. There was one time he encountered the chicken moving in a group, there were four of them. He hid behind the bush and stayed there for like fifteen minutes to let the chickens move away. He did not dare to take a detour because he had encountered a lot of chickens. Shen was afraid of meeting another chicken and he would get pincered, chicken on the back and chicken ahead. That was the least situation he wanted in. Especially after he was this far from the vige. He did not want to waste another fifty minutes to get back here. It was always better to be safe than sorry. Another forty minutes passed by, his effort paid off as he finally entered a new area. He could tell he entered the new area as he spotted different trees. The tree of the chicken area was lush with leaves and branches. But the trees in this new area were simr to a pine tree with the fewest leaves. The tree stood straight with sparse branches and trees. The area was pretty open and he hardly found a spot to hide. The tree trunks were not that big despite how tall it was. No bushes around but just red soils, it was an open area. Looking at the newly discovered area, Shen was hesitating to cross over. The red soil and the grass made a clear line, indicating the two sides were different areas. "I have arrived, I should check the area!" Shen muttered in a low voice as he entered the new area. He walked slowly, looking around to make sure he did not overlook any anomalies. He walked from one tree to another even though the tree could not cover him. Ten minutes into the new area, Shen did not discover any monsters around. It was just red soil and trees. He stopped next to a tree, scanning the surroundings once more. He tried to find something out of the ordinary about the new area. At this moment, he felt something coiling him. It was something big as he could feel it from the touch. Shen was brought down but he could not see anything coiling. "Urgh!" He grunted in pain as the thing was coiling him very hard. Having a hard time breathing, Shen''s vision started to blur. At the final moment before his death, he heard a clear bone creaking noise and saw the creature coiled him. The creature had scales like a snake and it was red in color. Then he cked out, he died again without knowing what creature killed him. Shen stood in a daze on the respawn spot. An hour of the journey went to waste as he died without getting any information. He tried to attack, but the creature coiled his body. He could barely move his finger, but scratching the scale did not do any damage to the creature. Hence Shen failed to identify the creature that killed him. "Hah, in the end, it''s the same pattern. The further I go away from the vige, the stronger monsters are," He let out a sigh, "No, this is too early to give up, Shen! There are more areas to be explored." Once he got outside, he opened his pitiful status window. Despite his abnormal dexterity and agility, he could not survive in this cruel and unknown area. "At least, I don''t need to look for food for my hunger," Shen muttered in pity. Health Bar, Stamina Bar, and Hunger Bar were back full again after he died. He did not need to worry about hunger. Shaking his head, Shen went in a different direction. He did not want to go back to the red soil area anymore. He was sure that he would die again if he went back to the area. He could not see the creature until it attacked. There were two possibilities. First, the creature was too fast for the naked eye. Second, the creature had camouge skills hence he could not see it. Shen was leaning toward thetter, "The monsters can camouge, it''s a suicide to go there again." This time he headed toward the right direction of the vige. He did the same as before, sneakily walking forward while avoiding the chicken. A little over an hourter, Shen stopped in front of a wide river. The river was around fifteen meters wide, it was impossible to jump to the other side. He walked over to the edge. It was not a shallow river as he could not see the bottom of the river. The calm stream made the river look dangerous. "Swimming? There are likely water monsters inside. It''s a suicide," Shen shook his head and looked to the upstream, "There''s might be a bridge" Shen did not finish his words as he heard the water sshed. He looked toward the water and saw a fish with a snout-like spearhead. The fish shot toward his chest from the water. He failed to react in time as the fish pierced his left chest. "Arghhh!" Shen screamed from the pain. He was not used to the pain tolerance in the game yet. -80 He lost 80 HP in one attack. Shen was about to pull the fish from his chest, but he fell into despair at the sight of the three same fishes in the air. He gave up and closed his eyes. Chapter 31: Even a Fish on the Land Is Stronger Than the Noob Chapter 31: Even a Fish on the Land Is Stronger Than the Noob "Oh, God! How can the developer create this kind of area!?" Shen almost screamed as soon as he got respawned. He had gone into all directions of the vige, however, there was no escape from this ce. He could not find a weaker monster as well. The two weakest monsters were the fish and the chicken. Both monsters needed to hit him two times to kill him. So far, those two were the weakest monsters while the other monsters instantly killed him. "How am I supposed to y this game? This is unyable!!!" Shen sat on the stair of the respawn spot andid down on the wooden floor. The thought of restarting the character shed in his head. That was his second n if he could not find a way to level up or get away from this ce. He restarted the character and he would jump into God Burial once again after he reached level 30 or even higher so he could get the Legendary ss back. That was a solid n for him, but there was a chance that other yers would find this ce, sooner orter. If that happened the chance of getting back his ss would be gone. He was in a dilemma, "Should I restart?" Shen had spent six hours looking around, but his effort was futile. He could not find a single solution to survive in this ce. He tried to email the developer, thinking this was another bug. The Sky''s service was quick with the reply. He got a reply in a few minutes, telling him that it was not a bug. They did not exin anything about the vige or help him. They just told him it was not a bug and asked him to explore the world. "...Maybe you can find the answer after exploring the world? Yeah, thanks for the tip, I died six times because of your tips," he muttered in a low voice. He rubbed his chin, thinking hard. He believed that the developer would not create a situation that could not be solved like this. There must be a way to get out of this ce or a way to y those high-level monsters. "Ah!? The fish, yes, that fish! There''s a chance for me to win against those fishes," Suddenly Shen''s eyes brightened as he found the solution to his predicament. The fish would leap from the water to strike at him. That was his chance to dodge the strike. If he dodged their attack, those fishes wouldnd on the ground. Fishes on thend, it was the same as pigs ready to be ughtered, "Maybe it will take me a long time to kill the struggling fish because of our gap, but this is my only chance!" With the n formted in his n, Shen rekindled his hope to survive in this ce. He suddenly got excited at the thought of killing the fish. He stood up and dashed out of the vige. He was so excited that he forgot the chicken''s existence. Thanks to his stupid impulse, the chicken feasted on his dead body. "Hehe, stupid Shen. How can you forget your mortal enemy?" He let out a sillyugh as he respawned back to the vige. Shen was quite happy to find the solution, he did not mind dying again. This time he departed from the vige cautiously. Thanks to the six hours he wasted exploring the area, he was quite familiar with the area now. The first time he went to the river took an hour, but now it took him less than thirty minutes. He had mastered the art of sneaking around, avoiding all the chickens with his soundless steps. "Fish! Here Ie!" Of course, he did not dare to say that out loud. He stood a meter away from the river edge, holding the spear. The spear provided him a long-range attack, so he chose the spear even though it would cost him a skill. The fish after all had a speartip-like snout. If he got too close, there was a risk he would get killed by the speartip-like snout before he could attack the fish. "Alright,e to me, fishes! I am ready!" He was ready to cast [Void Step] any time for a burst of movement. It wouldpensate for his slow reaction. The first step, luring out the fish to attack him. Seconds quickly passed, and minutes passed as well. However, no fish attacked him. Shen''s forehead creased as he squinted his eyes toward the river. The calm river remained calm. He could not see the fish in the water despite the clear water, "What? Does the fish know that I am prepared this time!?" Shen could not believe it, how could the monster be this smart? "Wait a moment, maybe there is something that may trigger the attack from the fish" Shen contemted for a moment as he recalled the moment where he was getting attacked by the fishes. He looked toward the river, then he looked down at where he stood, "Aha! That is the reason," he quickly figured out why the fish did not attack him. He was too far from the river so the fish did not attack him. However, Shen was hesitating toe forward. If he stood too close, he was afraid that he would not be able to dodge the spearfish. Shen gritted his teeth as he took the smallest step in his life as an adult, barely moving from his original spot. He waited for two minutes before he took another small step. Minutes passed, he was standing at the river''s edge. In the same position where his chest was pierced by the fish. "No matter where the fishe from, your only job is to dodge their attack, Shen!" He told himself while facing the river. His eyes were moving around to see if any fish came close to the edge. Shen could not see the fish in the water until he heard a ssh. He had been telling himself to dodge, so the moment he heard the ssh, Shen moved to the side. He did not bother to see where the fish came from in which direction as he rolled his body to the ground. The spear in his hand became a hindrance to his movement, but he managed to dodge the fish''s initial attack. "Yes!" He yelled out as he stood up from the ground. The first thing he did was to make some distance from the river. One fish was enough for now. He did not want to be greedy even though he was facing the fish on the ground. While distancing himself from the river, he looked toward the fish. To his surprise, the fist was looking at him too. He was surprised because the fish was staring at him calmly instead of struggling on thend. The fish was a meter long, it was simr to catfish but with a speartip-like snout. The mouth did not gasp for air just like a normal fish would do when they were on thend. That was weird for sure, but Shen''s judgment was clouded over by his excitement. In his thought, the fish in thend was powerless hence he made his way toward the fish while holding the spear tightly. When he got closer to the fish, Shen then found something that should not be on the fish, a pair of hind legs. The hind legs folded to the side, making it hardly noticed from a distance. As Shen was weirded with the discovery, the fish leaped toward him like a bullet. The fish elerated in the air toward his head. He was shocked by the discovery and failed to react in time. The speartip-like snout pierced his face and his vision immediately ckened. Chapter 32: The Noob Gets Frustrated Chapter 32: The Noob Gets Frustrated "GARGHHHH!!!" Shen screamed at the top of his lungs in frustration as soon as he respawned in the vige. He could no longer hold the frustration. "Who designed that kind of monster? A fish with a spearhead, and also hind legs? Are you kidding me!?" A game was supposed to be fun to y, but here Shen felt like he was getting tortured by the game developer. They gave him a sweet candy, the Legendary ss. But he could not enjoy the candy at all. He could not bring the Legendary ss to its full potential if he could not hunt the monster to level up. He then flopped down to the cold wooden floor and breathed out a long breath. The frustration was piling upon him. Since he entered the game, he had been unlucky. Getting recognized by a shitty streamer, bullying him, and also making content out of him. Now he was here, in a ce where he could not y the game. He had been stuck on Level 1, once even his level was negative. Now the second day had started, more than six hours into the game, and he made zero progress. Still level 1. It was as if fate was telling him that the game was not for him. "I am done for now. I will truly get depressed if I continue dying in the game," the time inside the game was twice faster, meaning three hours had passed in real-time. He logged into the game a little over nine in the morning, now it was twelve-thirty in the afternoon. Shen opened the gaming pod with more force than usual and he jumped out of the gaming pod without closing it. He stormed out of his room and threw his body on thefy couch. He breathed out a long sigh and closed his eyes. After calming his mind from the frustrating game, Shen nced at the clock. It was lunchtime for him. "Let''s eat something delicious to soothe my frustration Sushi? Chicken? Let''s eat fried chicken" Shen forked out the phone. He looked at the restaurant, there was a ce where he would buy fried chicken. A bucket of four fried chickens, a fresh sd, and avocado juice. Something crunchy outside and juicy inside, fresh, and cool would soothe him a bit from the frustration of the game. After ordering the food, Shenid down on the couch, doing nothing until his food arrived. It was a swift delivery, fifteen minutester his food arrived. He received the food, trying to wash away the frustration with the food. Shen devoured the food clean. With his belly filled, Shen rested his back on the couch, his index finger was tapping against the soft surface of the couch. "There must be a way There should be a way" he muttered as he recalled his miserable experience in the game. "Did I miss something? Vige with houses Legendary ss Maybe they make it harder because of the Legendary ss and maybe I can only work it out when other people find the vige?" "What should I do now? I don''t want to restart my character," he let out another long sigh. Shen brought the phone up and opened the forum. As soon as he opened the forum, a bright gold post came into his sight. [Breaking News! First three yers to reach level 6!] He immediately opened the post. Three profiles were included in the post. Rank 1 yer: ZhangQ Level: 6 Guild: Dynasty Rank 2 yer: Zhong Ye Level: 6 Guild: Royal Rank 3 yer: Yue Level: 6 Guild: - There were a bunch ofments below the profile. The poster exined who these three yers were. There was no guild formed in the game yet, but Dynasty was an e-sport team. ZhangQ was part of the Famous Dynasty E-sport Organization. The same for Royal, it was another giant e-sport org in China. The beauty was the mysterious one since she was not a part of any organization. But she had a contract with Sky. Shen was surprised that a brand ambassador game could catch up with two pro yers without backing. He admired the beauty, she not only had a face but also a skill to back it up. Shen closed the post. Below the golden post was a bright red post. If the golden post was an important announcement that had been read by many people. The red post was important news. [Qingdao''s Mayor''s Son threatened a yer in the game and immediately got instant karma!] He opened the post, there was only a short exnation. I will not say anything, just watch the linked video in order, you will know what I mean. There were two links below. Shen could not contain his curiosity as he opened the first link. The first link was an in-game clip. The clip showed that a group of five yers found the treasure chest inside a cave. However, he and his group were surrounded by another group of yers. Then there was one man from the surrounding group who came forward and imed to be a Mayor Son of Qingdao. Of course, the yers that surrounded the group did not care about the man''s im. They were about to make a move until the one who imed to be Mayor Son threatened the attackers. Mayor Son threatened to find the attackers in real life. There were a bunch of unpleasant words from Mayor Son, even a death threat. In the end, the threat did not prevail as the attackers attacked the group of five. The video clip then ended there. Shen then opened the second link. It was a video clip of someoneying down in the hospital bed. Gauze covered the man''s hand and legs, his face was ck and blue, and his neck was broken as there was a brace on his neck. The video then moved closer to the man and Shen managed to get a clear look at the man''s face. There was floating text on the video, saying he was one of Mayor Son''s attackers in the game. Then the video moved to a character in the game. It was in the same cave, one guy was holding a sword that had simr features to the man in the hospital bed. Without a doubt, the man on the bed was the same person as the one in-game since Sky did not allow the yer to modify the appearance. There was a reason for Sky to do this. It prevented the yer from ying the game with a fake ID Card. Shen then checked the third link. The third link was not a video, but an article. It was said that the Mayor Son of Qingdao City was under investigation as a friend of the man in the hospital reported the case to Sky''s Cyber Security Team. The post was still fresh, two hours ago. But the post had been viewed by over eight million views. Shen closed the post and turned on the tv. Sure enough, the media exploded as the same news was reported on the tv. This was the first case of Tribe Online since its release. The serious case after the bullying case. Chapter 33: The Noob Deals Zero Damage Chapter 33: The Noob Deals Zero Damage Tribe Online received worldwide attention, it was normal for a serious case like this to get in the news. Shen then looked back on his phone. He clicked thement section and found out that Mayor Son was cursed. More than two million usersmented and most of them were condemning Mayor Son. For some reason, Shen was curious and checked Yue''s forum profile. She addressed the bullying issue, he wondered what her take on this issue. However, Shen found that herst forum post was still the post where she defended him. It meant she said nothing about this issue. "But this is a serious issue for Sky for sure. Sky insisted that we can''t change our appearance then this happened," Shen recalled about this policy. Of course, there was no perfect policy. There was always a w in a policy. The difference was what Sky tried to achieve with policy. Maybe they aimed for something else by employing this kind of policy. If someone could change their appearance, a scam was another easy thing to do. If someone could not change their appearance, the yer could be easily found out in real life. Just like what happened to the yer in the video. The thing was how this case would end. If Mayor Son proved that he was not guilty by the authority, Sky should be ready to receive a big bacsh more than the game did not have a mage ss. For example the stock. The news on tv reported that Sky Corps''s stock plummeted slightly by this news even though this was not the game corporation''s fault "Not my issue, serve you right! This is karma," for some reason, Shen was happy by what happened to Sky. He turned off the tv, he just wanted to check the issue. The news was proof that the game was not any longer a game. There was a big stake in the game. Shen calmed his mind down and started to ponder his issue again, "Let me rethink again, what did I miss? There must be something to solve my issue. Is the fish the only answer? I died because it caught me off guard with those damn hind legs!" "Let''s try it again. Shen never give up!" After he gathered some determination, he cleaned up his mess. *** *** Shen returned to the game, and now he was standing next to the river where the spearhead fish was. "Dodge the first attack and the second attack. It would be better if I can lure the fish further from the river," with a new n in his mind, he walked toward the river bank. Shen was ready to activate his skill and dodged to the left. He observed the water surface. It did not take a long time before the fish took the bait. The water sshed and the spearhead fish shot toward him. Learning from his mistake, he put the spear in his inventory first. Dodging while holding the spear was not efficient. Shen ducked his head and pushed his body to the left, down to the ground. The fish passed above his body. He immediately further from the riverbank. At the same time, he observed the spearhead fish. The fish turned his head toward his direction with the hind legs. Shen did not take his spear out and he did not use his skill. That was a good start as he preserved his Stamina. Now the distance between him and the fish was three meters, however, the fish did not attack him. ''Wait a minute, the fish could not breathe properly onnd. Maybe I can suffocate the fish by luring it out further from the river?'' Shen''s eyes shone brightly, ''I should take the risk!'' Since the fish did not attack him, he decided toe closer. When the distance was two meters away, the spearhead fish pushed its body with the hind legs. Shen was underestimating the power of its hind legs. The fish was just too fast for him to react in time. For the second time, the spearhead fish burst his head open. Shen returned to the respawn spot, but he was not depressed even though he was killed by the spearhead fish again. This time he saw a glimmer of hope to solve his issue. He returned to the riverbank, he did the same trick, luring the fish to thend. The first step was clean. The second step, luring the fish further from the river. ''Two meters, that is the range of the attack. I will pre-activate my [Void Step].'' He activated the skill and shortened the distance. When the distance between them shorted to two meters, the fish lunged toward him. Thanks to his quick action by activating the skill, he avoided the spearhead. However, he merely avoided the spearhead barely as it grazed against his shoulder. -45 Shen suffered 45 damage even though the spearhead just grazed against his shoulder. He was surprised but he quickly epted it. The gap between them was just too big. He quickly got up and circled the fish, making sure the fish got further from the river. He had to be in the right position, it was just a repeat action where he would bait the spearhead fish to attack him and dodge the attack. This time, Shen made a perfect dodge. Without the spearhead fish realized, it was more than ten meters away from the river. "It''s time for the real battle!" Shen took out the spear from the inventory. Holding the spear with both hands, Shen shortened the distance with the fish. The moment the fish jumped at him, Shen moved to the right. It was another perfect dodge as he had gotten used to the fish''s speed. While the fish midair, Shen thrust the spear toward the fish''s side body. It was a hit, and he smiled widely. The fish was pushed to the side by him, but then his smile froze. He froze when he looked at the damage he dealt on the spearhead fish. The number floating on top of the fish was zero. Yes, he dealt zero damage on the fish despite a big hit. "What? How is this possible? Is the fish higher in level than the chicken?" That was the possibility, the fish should be stronger than the chicken. Since he attacked the fish, he got the information about the fist. Shen retreated to a safe distance and checked the information. [???] Tribe: - Level: 32 Skill:??? Chapter 34: The Monster Is Dead, But... Chapter 34: The Monster Is Dead, But... Shen could not believe that he dealt zero damage to the fish. Especially with the spear in his hand was not just a normal spear. It was a Grade-Rare spear with 20-30 Damage. Furthermore, the fish was just two levels higher than the chicken. The difference between the two should not be that big. As his mind was spinning, thinking of the possibilities as to why he dealt zero damage. He recalled something about the spear. "Arghhh! The spear!" He blurted out upon realizing the crux of the issue. [Gifted Spear] Grade: Rare Attack: 20-30 Damage Requirement: Level 3 Durability: 140% The requirement to use the spear was level 3 and he was level 1. Shen finally found out why he dealt no damage. Because he did not meet the requirement to use the spear. "But why allow me to use the spear if I don''t meet the requirement?" Heined. It might be his fault to forget the requirement. But if he did not meet the requirement, the game should not allow him to use it. However, there was no warning or whatsoever about that. Shen was about to swap the spear with the sword. He did not realize that the spearhead fish was getting closer by pushing its body with the hind legs. Without Shen realizing it, the spearhead fish leaped toward the air and burst his head. Head was a critical hit, he died instantly. Shen respawned while grumbling unhappily against the game developer. The game mechanism was totally different from Universe Online. Up to this stage, he felt that Universe Online was far easier to y with. Walking out of the vige, Shen massaged the space between his eyes, "I should have read the guideter." He skipped the guidebook that came with the game. He thought it would not differ much from the previous one. It seemed he was wrong about it. Shen returned to the river. He repeated the same steps. Luring out the spearhead fish from the river, and then luring it out further from the river so it could not escape once it was out of breath. He managed to lure the fish twenty meters away from the river. This was his chance to start the real battle. He was holding the Inferior-Grade [Rusty Sword] in his head. The only avable he could use until he reached level 3. Shen used the same tactic, he dodged the spearhead fish jab and shed his sword toward the fish''s body. -2 He inflicted 2 damage by a normal sh. He then looked at the spearhead fish''s health bar. The red bar looked the same to him. It barely suffered damage, meaning the spearhead fish was too tanky for him. Shen was not discouraged by the fish''s enormous health bar. This was a good start that he could deal some damage to the monster. The tactic was to let the fish attack him and he would counter the fish. He could not get any closer than two meters because the leap was too fast. If got too close, he would be impaled by the snout-like spearhead. ''Let''s try to use the skill now,'' He thought to himself as he baited the fish to attack him again. Swoosh! The Spearhead Fish lunged toward him, and once again, Shen easily avoided the attack. He then activated his skill, [Void Draw]. Sweng! The sword shed toward the side of the fish. -4 [Your attack triggers [Void Critical]!] -8 He got lucky to trigger a 4.5% chance [Void Critical]. For the first time, things started to go his way. A smile formed on his lips. However, the smile did notst long. The smile froze as soon as Shen looked at the spearhead fish''s health bar. He dealt 12 Damage in total, but the health bar was reduced only by a thin of hair. He knew that it would not be easy to kill the monster with a big gap level. At this point, he would have run out of stamina before he could kill the spearhead fish. By now, he had used two skills, [Void Step] and [Void Draw]. He had expended 20 Stamina Points (SP). Leaving only 80 SP, but he had moved around, now he only had 77 SP. "This is crazy! How am I supposed to kill the monster!??" Shen almost screamed, but he held back. "No, I still have a chance. My chance is to let the fish out of breath!" He did not give up, "Yes, that''s it. Don''t use skill unless it''s unnecessary." Shen fought against the fish for another half an hour. The spearhead fish forced him to use [Void Step] for the second time. His stamina was lowered to 33. He did see hope as he found out that the fish was gasping for air. Another ten minutes passed. It was a dodging game. At this point, Shen stopped attacking the fish to conserve his stamina. The dodging game continued until the spearhead fish stopped moving. "Yes! Hooray!" Shen jumped out excitedly as the fish died. He threw himself into the air, jumping here and there. But a few secondster, he stopped as he realized something. "Wait a minute! Where''s the notification? Where''s my exp?" He then dumbfoundedly looked toward the spearhead fish. The fish was not moving, it stayed still as the spearhead was sticking to the ground instead of pointing upward. "Is it ying dead?" Shen could not help but think so. The fish faked his death then attacked him when he got closer to it. It was possible since this fish was a level 32 monster. In the end, Shen stayed away from the fish and waited for the notification. He chose to wait patiently instead of approaching the fish. Another five minutes passed, but Shen still did not receive any notification. The spearhead fish alsopletely stopped moving. At this moment, he was sure the monster should have died, but why did he not get the exp? He braced himself and approached the fish. When the distance between them was two meters, the fish did not wake up and attack him. The fish remained on the ground. He then poked the fish with the sword, and it did not react either. At this point, Shen was a hundred percent sure that the fish was dead. In order to confirm it, Shen stabbed the fish with his sword. There was no floating damage above the fish. That meant the fish was dead. There was no health bar either. "But why?" Shen could notprehend the situation. The happiness and the excitement from killing the fish popped out as the frustration came back to him. Chapter 35: The Noob at Wits End Chapter 35: The Noob at Wit''s End Director Guan Mu Sheng wasughing hard from behind the desk. He was observing Runner, the first person to find the Legendary Tribe in the world. He was amused by how Runner suddenly got excited andter he was depressed because the idea did not work. It was repeated time and again. The recent one was quite funny as well when Runner tried to stab the spearhead fish with Gift Spear. The man forgot about the level requirement and was shocked when he dealt zero damage. Runner''s expression when that happened was so precious that Director Guan was so entertained. Now once again, Runner was in despair. The spearhead fish he fought for almost an hour died, but he did not get the exp. He wasughing hard from watching this. It was great entertainment for him, who was stuck in the office all day. "He should do a live stream, I bet many people will watch him because of how funny he is," Director Guan shook his head. The reason Runner did not get the exp was that he did not kill the monster. Yes, the monster died because it was out of breath. The yer could not get the exp by just luring the fish monster out of the water. Of course, there was a certain case that could be applied to get the exp. A trap for example. If a yer made a trap and the monster died in the trap, the yer could gain the exp. What Runner did to the monster would not gain him the exp. He had to kill the monster, not dodging around. "I am curious what he would do now?" Director Guan muttered while smiling by himself. He knew that Runner would not give up. Half an hourter, Runner found another unique way to defeat the spearhead fish, "That''s actually a good idea," Director Guan''s eyes brightened when he witnessed what Runner tried to do. The runner had his back on a big tree, standing there while the spearhead fish was walking closer toward him. The spearhead fish lunged toward Shen as he ducked down, dodging the strike. The spearhead fish''s snout struck the tree and it stuck. It was stuck on the tree. "That''s a brilliant idea, but he stillcked the damage," Director Guan shook his head. The game was made moreplicated than the predecessor. First, Runner had to kill the spearhead fish before his SP (Stamina) depleted or even before the fish was out of breath. Second, the thing that Runner overlooked now, the inferior grade sword''s durability. He fought against a monster that was a much higher level than him. To use that kind of weapon against the fish, the sword''s durability would be decreased much faster. On top of that, Runner was in the middle of nowhere. No cksmith could help him repair the sword. If the sword''s durability turned zero, then he would no longer have a weapon to kill the monster. *** *** Just like Director Guan predicted, it happened to Shen. Five minutes continuously swung his sword at the fish, he realized the issue. He looked at the sword in his hand. [Rusty Sword] Grade: Inferior Attack: 1-3 Durability: 72% The spearhead fish''s health bar was barely reduced after the continuous strikes yet he almost lost 30% of his sword''s durability. At this point, the sword would break before he could kill the spearhead fish. "Hah" Shen plopped down on the ground and looked toward the struggling fish. He could not kill it without a good weapon. If the sword broke, that would be the end of him. "It seems there''s no option but to restart the character" he was at the wit''s end. He had found a way to kill the spearhead fish, but he did not have the right equipment to kill it. There was no cksmith in this ce to repair his sword either. It meant killing the monster was not the way to get stronger here. Escape was not an option either. He had explored the surrounding area. The further from the vige, he would encounter an even stronger monster that practically instantly killed him. "There must be a way There must be a way" Shen was rolling on the ground while scratching his head. The frustration took over him. Rolling around on the ground did not help him. Heid down and looked at the sky, "What''s time now? Auntie Jun invited me for dinner. If I don''te, she wille for me." Shen checked the time, it was still two, he had at least four hours or eight hours in the game before he had to log out. "Wait a minute, what about the house? Maybe there''s something that could help inside?" He immediately got up, he was about to return by walking but stopped midway. Shen turned around and ran toward the river. He jumped into the river where the spearhead fish dwelled. Before he could reach the water, dozens of spearhead fishes leaped out from the river. It was obvious that Shen instantly died and respawned in the vige. Of course, he was not a masochist or addicted to dying. The reason was to reset his SP and Hunger. Also, it was way faster to go back as he had nothing to lose from death. As soon as he returned to the vige, Shen rushed toward Yosu''s house. He looked around, the house was empty. A bed, a set of a table and chairs, a bedside cab, amp, and a statue. If there was really something that could help him in this house, that thing should be inside the cab. Shen rushed toward the cab. It was a cab with two drawers. He pulled the first one, but the drawer was empty. A visible crease formed on his forehead. He was getting nervous since the first drawer was empty. The second drawer was just another hope for Shen. Taking a deep breath, he opened the second drawer, and it was empty as well. He was hoping to get something from this. Maybe he could find a miraculous potion that would boost one of his attributes or attack. If he had one, maybe he had a chance to kill the spearhead fish. "What are you doing?" An old voice startled Shen. He jumped out and stuck his body to the wall. His extreme reaction startled Yosu as well. "GAAAA!!!" Shen screamed but then he calmed down upon seeing Yosu. He caressed his chest, "You almost got me a heart attack!" "You are still too young and healthy to get a heart attack," Yosu rolled his eyes at Shen who reacted exaggeratedly, "What are you doing?" Hearing that, Shen plummeted to the ground weakly. He had been holding back his frustration for almost two days, and four days in the game. He finally had someone to talk with. On top of that, Yosu was an NPC. There was nothing to be embarrassed with since the NPC told no tales to the people in the real world. Shen poured everything as if he had been wronged. The misery he had experienced for more than two days in the game. Yosu shook his head, "Young man, you are trying to take a shortcut instead of training. I know people can get stronger by hunting the monster, but you need a foundation. That''s the training, you can''t skip this part if you want to be the fastest in the world!" Chapter 36: The Noob Rekindles the Hope Chapter 36: The Noob Rekindles the Hope "Training?" Shen repeated the word to make sure he did not hear it wrong. ''Is it a quest?'' He could not help but think so. Even though the motto of Tribe Online was, No Quest but Conquest. An individual quest was still avable, but there was no main story quest. "Come, follow me!" Old Man Yosu waved his hand at Shen as he walked out of the vige. Shen found another hope, he followed the old man out. Yosu walked around to the back of the house. Wooden closure covered the backyard of the house. Yosu pushed the door and Shen was surprised at what he saw inside the wooden closure. Various kinds of tools wereying on the back, simr to gym tools. There was even the weightlifting tool he often saw on the tv. However, the tool mostly used stone instead of iron. "Come here!" Yosu called him. Shen looked toward the old man. The old man was standing next to a stone that was about the size of his body. There were ropes attached to the round stone. "Before you start thinking of hunting the monster in the forest. You should build your body first," Yosu poked Shen''s upper arm and immediately shook his head. "Take this and run twentyps!" The old man pointed at the stone next to him. Shen looked at the stone then he looked at the old man. If this was a quest, there should be an interface for the quest. However, there was no such thing, meaning this was not a quest. He thought he would earn exp from finishing the quest, another way to level up but the old man was serious about the training. ''Does this really help me?'' Shen questioned himself. However, by the fact that the NPC was triggered and tried to take any action, there must be something behind this training. ''It''s not like I have any other way to help myself from the situation!'' "Twentyps?" Shen reached the rope and asked Yosu. "Yes, twentyps of the vige. Follow the fence and run! Finish it even if you have to crawl!" The old man suddenly became strict with his instruction. Shen nodded his head and picked the stone. The stone should be over ten kilos, quite heavy to have this while running. But it was still within his scope. Just like a back, he got the stone on his back and walked out of the vige. While the forest was filled with monsters, the vige''s perimeter was quite safe. Taking a deep breath, Shen started to run. Old Man Yosu did not ask him to run as fast as he could but he had just to finish without a time limit. This was not about speed, but endurance. In this case, he did not have to run fast but at a constant speed while maintaining his breathing. He could not be too slow, but he could not walk, it was jogging but with weight on his back. Shen then started to jog. He pulled the rope tight so the stone would not hit his back while he jogged. The first fiveps were easy, but in the nextp, he started to run out of breath. Since he was in the game, he thought it was about the Stamina Point. He thought he could not run out of breath as long as he had stamina. He was wrong in this regard. Shen could see his stamina was still 76, more than half. He was not supposed to be out of breath. But that was not the case. "So you Sky really tried to make the game close to reality, huh?" At the tenthp, Shen stopped jogging but a quickp. If there was something to learn, it was that when he was out of breath, he would lose Stamina faster. This was the tenthp but he only had 13 SP left. This was bad, he would not be able to finish the twentyps if this continued. Shen then remembered Yosu''s words. He had to finish the run even if he had to crawl. In the end, he kept running with the stone on his back. He expended the 13 SP to finish the eleventhp. [Your Stamina has been depleted!] [You can''t move for 10 seconds!] At the notification, his vision became blurry, and he felt the world was shaking. Itsted ten seconds as the aftereffect of running out of stamina was gone. [You have overworked your body, now you are in a weakened state!] The weakened state, meaning he lost half of his attributes for a certain amount of time. He became two times slower, and he noticed that the red bar of the stamina had turned pink, meaning he was in a weakened state. However, the pink bar was full, meaning he could continue running two times slower. He should be able to finish the twentyps within a three-quarter hour or even faster. But thanks to the penalty for depleting all his stamina, he finished the twentyps in two hours. As soon as he stopped in front of the entrance of the vige, he threw his body to the ground. [You have worked your body to the limit!] [Congrattions! You gained +1 Agility and +2 Endurance!] Shen just closed his eyes as he tried to stabilize his breathing. However, he immediately opened his eyes again after he heard that. He blinked his eyes a few times to make sure this was real. He looked at the interface again and again. What he heard was real, and what he saw right now was also real. Name: Runner Race: Human ss: Yosu Legatee Affiliation: - Level: 1 Experience: 0/400 Health Point: 50 Stamina Point: 12 Hunger: 47 Armor: 2 Status: (Weakened State) Strength: 10 (5) Agility: 31 (15) Vitality: 10 (5) Endurance: 12 (6) Dexterity: 45 (23) Status Point: 0 Skill: Void Sword Technique: Void Draw (Level 1) Void Step (Level 1) Void Critical (Level 1/Passive) Looking at his status window, Shen was smiling by himself. Everything was real, he could see his Endurance and Agility were increased. The hope, he saw hope again. Chapter 37: The Noob Is Working Out Chapter 37: The Noob Is Working Out The purpose of leveling up was to increase the status, to deal high damage, or even to tank the monster depending on your role in the party. Shen now found out that he could increase his status without leveling up. But what he needed the most was to deal more damage, but also stamina. He had found a way to increase his Endurance, now he needed to find out his way to increase his Strength to deal more damage. "Old Man Yosu No, I should call him Teacher No, Teacher is too modern, I should call him Master instead," with that in mind, Shen dragged his weakened body into the vige. He went to the backyard, but he could not find Old Man Yosu. He walked around and entered the house. Old Man Yosu returned into a statue. Shen wondered why the old man turned himself into a statue while he could live around normally. He then remembered that the old man was doing so to prolong his life. ''It seems I have to wait for the old man, not that I have enough SP to continue the training,'' with that in mind, Shen threw his body onto the bed. The bed was sofortable for his exhausted body. Even though this was a game, he could feel the exhaustion was real. The sensation was so real that made him wonder if he was still in the game or not. Fifteen minutester, the weakened state was wearing off. His status went back to normal but there was one thing that kept decreasing. The Hunger, if he did not fill his belly with food, would reenter the weakened state. If he did not relieve the hunger, he would be dead. Totally different from the stamina where he just needed to rest to recover. On top of that, he felt hungry as well. The hunger, he could feel that he was hungry, ''Will I still be hungry if I log out now?'' That was an interesting experiment to do. Shen shook his head and got up from the bed. There were two solutions to his hunger. First, he could loon for the chicken and suicide. Dying will reset hunger. Second, he could look at the fruits outside. "Let''s search for the fruit," for the long-term advantage, Shen chose to find the fruits. He could not keep dying, especially when he started to gain level. Shen had looked around the vige perimeter. He easily found berries. He found the berries on the way to the red soil area. The berries were orange-colored, it tasted weird for a fruit. Usually, fruit would taste, sweet, sour, or even bitter. This was abination of sweet and sour, it was refreshing that he did tire of eating the berries. Since the berry was safe to be consumed, Shen harvested a lot of them. He could store them in the inventory and it would not go bad. However, he made a discovery while eating the berries. The berries could not restore his hunger to 100 but 80. That was the maximum he could restore from eating the berries. "Maybe because this is fruit, not savory food" Shen deducted which most likely true. The more he yed the game, the more he found the game was moreplicated than it looked. Shen returned to the vige. Now he was thinking about what he should do next. He tried to wake up Yosu, but the old man could only wake up once a day or maybe once in two days. "Let''s continue the training instead," Normally yer should be busy hunting the monster. The game was still in the early stage. It was a race that could reach the top board. Shen was sure there were a lot of people who had reached level 6 by now. As he picked up the stone onto his back, he checked the ranking board. Sure enough, more than fifty people had reach level 6 in China Server. Since this was the only VRMMORPG in the world, all-pro yers should be joining this game. These more than fifty yers should the pro yers. "It should be easy for me to catch as long as I can start killing the spearhead fish" Shen muttered optimistically, "I need to raise my Strength to deal more damage, but I have to wait." It was not just blind optimism. Since the monster around was level 30 and above, he could level up pretty quickly. He justcked the damage. Taking a deep breath, he started the second round. While people were grinding for the level, Shen was grinding up for his attributes. Another two hours passed, Shen let off the stone to the ground. Before he threw himself to the ground. The sun was ready to set as the glow beautifying the vige and its surroundings. [You have worked your body to the limit!] [Congrattions! You gained +1 Agility and +2 Endurance!] Hearing the static voice, a slight grin formed on his lips. Even though he was the only one that worked his ass out in the game, there was a sense of satisfaction when he heard the increase of the attribute. Shen checked the time, it was three-thirty, "I can still have one more round and then log out. I have promised Auntie Jun toe over. Moreover, Sister Meimei alsoes back, I should greet her at least." He did not go inside to rest on the bed, he found the cool breeze and the grass bed were morefortable than the bed. Again, he made another discovery while waiting for the weakened state to wear off. Resting on the bed made him faster to recover from the debuff. It took fifteen minutes when heid down on the bed and it took him half an hour when heid down outside. "I have to rest on the bed next time," Shen muttered as he devoured berries into his belly. The more he worked up, the faster the hunger decreased. That was how it worked from his experience. After recovering, Shen then started the third round. He finished the third of twentyps in two hours. The improvement was that he could finish thirteenps without depleting his stamina. Learning his lesson, Shen dragged his exhausted body to the bed after he heard the notification. Heid down on the bed and logged out. He opened his eyes, there was something off. He felt so exhausted in the game, but he was fine now. Shen opened the gaming pod and tried to move his feet and his body. The sensation of being exhausted and becamepletely fine by now was weird. The technology was far more advanced than he thought, it must be the gaming pod. Shen shook his head and took out his phone. It was five-thirty, an hour before the dinner, "I can''te empty-handed, Ah, I remember Big Sis Meimei loves Red Velvet cake, let''s order that." After ordering the cake, he went to the bath. No evening jogging since he was not allowed by the Doctor. Chapter 38: Not So Harmonious Dinner Chapter 38: Not So Harmonious Dinner It was just a casual dinner so Shen dressed casually. He wore his long training pants and an orange shirt. By the time he finished, the cake arrived. He brought the cake and looked at the clock. It was six-ten, he could go now. He could help Auntie Jun to cook if he arrived early. Bringing a box of cake, Shen headed toward Auntie Jun''s house. Her house was next to the shop. All he needed was two to three minutes of walking. He rang the bell and the door opened quickly. Shuren was the one who opened the door. The guy was four years younger than Shen. The guy had a good look and copied the idol''s hairstyle he had seen often on advertisements. A wide smile formed on Shuren''s face as soon as he identified him, "Brother Shen!" If Shen did not raise the box in his hand, Shuren might hug him. "Yo, Shuren," he responded lightly as he handed the box to Shuren. The guy checked the box, "As I thought," Shuren muttered as soon as he saw what was inside the box. "Come in, Brother Shen. My mom has been nagging me to pick you up. If you don''te in five minutes, I will be sent to pick you for sure," Shuren helplessly shook his head as he told his mother''s antics. Shen smiled in return as he entered the house. It was a two-story house, quite big for a family of three. It was natural since their buns always sold out every day. The house was quite affordable since they were in the suburbs area. He entered the living room. Uncle Wen was sitting on the sofa while watching the news. The news was still about the mayor''s son who hired thugs to beat other yers. "How is it, Brother Shen?" Shuren asked him excitedly. Shen was aware that the guy was asking him about the game, "The game feel is so realistic and it moreplicated than Universe Online," that was his assessment for Tribe Online. He did not wait for Shuren''s response as he greeted Uncle Wen, "Good evening, Uncle Wen." "Oh, Shen you havee," Uncle Wen turned toward Shen and smiled, "Don''t be so formal with us, make yourself at home." Meanwhile, Shuren did not give up, he wanted to know more about Tribe Online, "Complicated, what do you mean?" This was not his first time at the house, Shen knew where the kitchen was, "It''s hard to exin, but if you search on the forum. You will know," he opened the phone and showed Shuren a referral code. Only yers who bought the game could ess the forum. However, the yer was given a referral code when they bought the game. Five referral codes so that those who did not y the game could also ess the forum if they had the code. For some reason, Sky put the restriction. The reason was still unknown until today. Some yers tried to sell their referral codes, but Shen did notck money. He still had his five referral codes. He gave it to Shuren, so Shuren could look about the game by himself. He was not an expert in the game, he did not want to give Shuren wrong advice. From Uncle Wen''s attitude, Shuren would have one gaming pod very soon. Shuren put the box on the table and immediately scanned the code with his phone, "Thank you, Brother Shen," Shuren thanked him with a wide smile. The young guy seemed to know what the code was. After getting ess to the forum, Shuren went to his father''s side. Shen smiled and went into the kitchen, "Evening, Auntie Jun. Let me help you" *** *** Quickly the time ticked and Big Sister Meimei arrived at six-thirty. Shen could hear the conversation from the kitchen. "Big Sis Meimei is here, you can go look for her, Auntie. I will look for the stew for you," Shen smiled at the middle-ageddy. "Hahh If only Shuren is as half sensible as you, I will have no worries," Auntie Jun let out a sigh, "Then I will leave the stew to you, Shen. We will have dinner in five." Shen gestured okay to Auntie Jun as he watched over the boiling stew. The voice was getting louder as they spoke. He was about to take his phone until heard steps from behind. His hand stopped mid-air and turned around, "Long time no see Big Sis," Shen grinned as he witnessed Meimei''s failed attempt to surprise him. "Tsk, you are no fun," in front of Shen was a beauty. She tied her hair into a ponytail and she wore a blue dress with light makeup. She pouted after her failed attempt despite being three years older than Shen. "You are being so loud yet you want to surprise," Shen rolled his eyes as he looked back at the boiling pot, "How''s work, Big Sis?" "I am doing good, maybe I will get promoted soon," a wide smile formed, meaning she was doing good in the city. "What about you, still ying the game?" Meimei took a ss and filled it with water. "Mnn, but the new game is very hard. I will have a tough time this time," Shen stirred the pot as he nodded. Both chatted for a while until Shen turned off the stove. He then brought the pot with him to the table. "Guys, dinner is ready!" Meimei shouted to her family who was in the living room. Shuren was still on his phone as he walked to the table. The boy was engrossed with his phone. Maybe he had trained that, he bumped nothing and sat on the table. Uncle Wen and Auntie Jun came together with a man. The man was tall, even taller than him, ''187? Or maybe 190?'' Shen estimated the man''s height. The manbed the hair to the side, his face was clean with a strong jaw and high nose bridge. He was not the most dashing man, still farpared to the dashing idol on the tv, but he was still good-looking nevertheless. Sister Meimei ran toward the man, she hooked her arm to the man''s and pulled the man toward him, "Let me introduce him to you, Shen. He''s your future brother-inw, Tao Qiao." The man called Tao Qiao smiled at him and Shen smiled back, "Hello, I am Yang Shen." "Hello, I am Tao Qiao," Tap Qiao''s hand circled to Meimei''s waist, "So you are that cripple!?" Shen''s smile froze, not expecting to hear that from the man''s mouth. He nced toward Sister Meimei, thetter also froze, looking at her boyfriend with an unbelievable gaze. Shuren stopped looking at the phone. He raised his head to look at Tao Qiao who had a smile. Auntie Jun and Uncle Wen frowned as soon as they heard that from Tao Qiao''s mouth. Chapter 39: The Noob Is Confused Chapter 39: The Noob Is Confused Tao Qiao seemed to realize the sudden change of atmosphere, "Ah, sorry, but you suffer a leg injury from an ident, right? Meimei talked about you a lot, so I know you." "Ah, let''s sit and eat. I cook a lot for tonight''s asion," Auntie Jun tried to defuse the tense atmosphere and tried to change the topic by bringing up the food. Shen nodded and took a seat next to Shuren. He did not say anything anymore afterward, but his mind was swirling. It was a lie if he was not bothered by that. The one he was concerned about was not because Sister Meimei''s boyfriend called him a cripple, but about Sister Meimei. She told her boyfriend a lot to the point his boyfriend called him a cripple. That meant, Sister Meimei called him a cripple behind him? The reason was simple, there was no animosity between him and Tao Qiao. This was their first meeting. There was no reason for Tao Qiao to be rude unless Sister Meimeiined about him a lot to her boyfriend. Tao Qiao indeed did tell him that Sister Meimei talked about him a lot. ''But why?'' Shen asked that to himself. Did he annoy Sister Meimei? Did I do something wrong to her? He was more concerned about this than being called a cripple. He did not care about that since that was the truth. However, he cherished the rtionship between him and her. He regarded them as his own family. He thought everything was going well, until now Shen was trying to figure out what happened during the dinner. Despite the awkward atmosphere earlier, Tao Qiao easily changed the atmosphere again as he began talking about his business with Uncle Wen and Auntie Jun. ''Was it because Auntie Jun and Uncle Wen put more attention on me than her in the past?'' Shen was randomly guessing the cause. He could not think of other things aside from this. Having a parent to give attention to you was a privilege, ''Maybe I took that privilege from her so sheined a lot about me? Now her boyfriend speaks for her?'' Especially after the ident where he lost his ability to run. Uncle Wen and Auntie Jun often visited him at the hospital. They cared a lot about him even after he was discharged from the hospital. ''Does that mean that her caring for me is also fake?'' He tried to remember the past where Sister Meimei often came to his apartment. Helping him to cook dinner, buying him favorite noodles and ramen. Shen was confused, he did not know which one was the real and the fake one. "... Shen? Shen!?" Someone called him, he looked up. Tao Qiao was the one who called him, "Yes?" "I heard you are a high school graduate Wait, I remember you did not finish your high school as well" Tao Qiao looked unsure. At least, that was what Meimei''s boyfriend showed on his face. "Yes, I did not finish my school," Shen admitted inly. That was also a fact, he dropped out after the ident. "And now you y a game? Nowadays, people y the game seriously. You have to join a studio if you really want to earn money from the game. You can''t earn money if you y the game alone. Especially the new game, Tribe Online. The game is moreplicated than a game you y for fun before," Tao Qiao spoke seriously as if an elder advising a younger generation. "I know that," Shen nodded as he replied shortly. He tried to understand what Meimei''s boyfriend tried to convey. "Since you know that, you should think about your future seriously, Yang," Tao Qiao truly acted as an elder to him. It was as if he never called him a cripple just now, "What about working for mypany instead and selling your gaming pod? At least you can earn a fixed sry instead of relying on the game. Of course, since you don''t have the qualifications for the other jobs, you can start as a cleaning service first. We can talk about the promotionter after you start to work. Thepany can provide the money for you to get further education as well." If it was another person who did not have money and was homeless, they would take the offer immediately. But not Shen for sure, his dream never wavered. It was silly but it was the desire to fulfill his mother''sst wish. That desire was so much stronger than the other desire he had. On top of that, he would not be starved for years even if he did not have a fixed ie for years. Shen was about to decline the offer, but Tao Qiao spoke first. "As for your gaming pod, I can actually buy it from you even with a higher price. I can buy your gaming pod for seven hundred thousand. My nephew is begging my brother to buy it, but since it runs out of stock, we can''t buy it for him," Tao Qiao smiled at Shen. For some reason, Shen could tell that broad smile was fake. He had seen that before. The police and also awyer came for him after the ident. They had the same smile as this Tao Qiao. Shen looked toward Sister Meimei, thetter looked at him as well. Then Shen looked toward Auntie Jun and Uncle Wen. Everyone was looking at him except for Shuren. The guy was busy devouring his food. Taking a deep breath, Shen looked back at Tao Qiao, "Thank you for your kindness and offer, Brother Tao. However, I have to decline your offer. I am grateful to you, really." Shen bowed his head slightly and stood up. He bowed his head to Uncle Wen and Auntie Jun, "Uncle Wen and Auntie Jun, thank you for inviting me to dinner as well. I am full, and I have to go now. Thank you for the dinner." Auntie Jun opened her mouth. She wanted to say something, but no words came out of her mouth. Shen only touched the rice on the bowl just a little, like two or three spoons. Clearly, he was still far from full. But she did not want him to stay either after what happened just now. Uncle Wen nodded at him. Without looking at Sister Meimei, Shen turned around and walked toward the exit. He could hear Tao Qiao say something. The stranger was talking about him. "Youngsters on this day can never appreciate a chance given to them" "I am full!" Shuren could not bear it anymore as he stood up, "Mom, Dad, I am going out for a walk," after saying that he chased after Shen. Outside, Shen put his hand into the pocket. It was autumn, winter was about toe so it was pretty cold outside. "Brother Shen!" Shuren called him out. Shen turned around and was surprised to see this younger brother, "What are you doing?" "Let''s go to the new mtang stall you talked about. It''s my treat!" Shuren tapped his chest, "I don''t ept refusal. You havee with me!" Shuren pulled Shen toward the mtang stall. Chapter 40: Continue the Grind Chapter 40: Continue the Grind Yu Mei was sitting in the living room with his parents. She came back to introduce her boyfriend to his family, but she did not expect her boyfriend to have that kind side of him. This was the first time she saw him acting like that. "Hah You are an adult, you decide it by yourself. As a parent, we can only support you, giving you a hand when you need us, and a shoulder for you to lean on," Yu Wen was the first one to speak. The dinner was over, Tao Qiao had gone back with her car while Meimei stayed with her parents. "However, if you ask me No, since you introduce him to us, that means you are taking this rtionship seriously, even to marriage. If you want to ask us about your boyfriend, I will say no. Leave him, he is not good for you," Yu Wen had a solemn expression as he spoke to his daughter. "Again, the decision is in your hands. You are an adult now, you will be the one who makes the decision for yourself" Yu Wen decided to stop midway. Bad words woulde out of his mouth if he continued, "We dislike your boyfriend. That''s my opinion of him." After saying that, Yu Wen spoke no more. He supported his daughter''s decision since his daughter told him that the man treated her well. The man cherished her daughter, he did nothing bad to her so far. However, after what happened just now. He was afraid that the man was hiding it well. The side the man did not want to show to his daughter. Yu Wen was afraid that his daughter would suffer if she married Tao Qiao. Auntie Jun looked at her daughter with a concerned expression, "Hon, did you call Shen a cripple behind him?" She was more concerned about this. She believed that her daughter would not do that. But what Tao Qiao did before causing her to doubt her own daughter. That was Shen''s dark past, the lowest point in his life she had seen so far. The ident changed Shen so much that the sunny and cheerful boy became a depressed and gloomy boy. It took him months to ovee that. If her daughter really called Shen a cripple, that was so cruel to Shen. "Of course not, Mom! Shen is like my little brother, how can I do that to him!?" Yu Mei subconsciously raised her voice as she stood up from the couch. "I also don''t know that Tao Qiao was like that. He has always been good to me all this time. I don''t know what got into him tonight," Yu Mei was helpless. Tonight was supposed to be a happy asion for her and her family. Yet her boyfriend skilfully destroyed the atmosphere. At this moment, the door opened, and a rush of steps entered the living room, "I told you, that man is a Jerk! You never listen to me now you see his jerk side! Good luck living with a jerk!" Yu Shuren burst out as he talked back at his big sister angrily. "Yu Shuren! Speak properly! Don''t you dare to talk like that to your sister!" Yu Wen rebuked his son, "What about Shen? Is he okay?" Uncle Wen was quite concerned as well. "Brother Shen is not that weak. He did not care about Tao Qiao, but he is more concerned about you. He thought you disliked him, Big Sis. Visit him if you have time or we may never see him visit our house again," After saying that, Yu Shuren went upstairs to his room. *** *** Shen was truly concerned about Sister Meimei. The lingering thoughts of her disliked him kept haunting him. He did not want to lose them or their rtionship became estranged with them. However, if she truly disliked him, he was not going to meet them again. It was not happiness if he was happy on top of someone''s difort. He rubbed his forehead in front of the mirror and said to himself, "It''s useless to think it by yourself, Shen. You should talk with Sister Meimei instead" "Nah, if she truly does not like me, the talk only makes things more awkward between us," Shen shook his head and walked out. He drank a ss of water before he decided to enter the game. He should stay dehydrated. Shen opened his eyes, he was inside the house, on the same bed. He opened the window status. Name: Runner Race: Human ss: Yosu Legatee Affiliation: - Level: 1 Experience: 0/400 Health Point: 50 Stamina Point: 160 Hunger: 80 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 10 Agility: 33 Vitality: 10 Endurance: 16 Dexterity: 45 Status Point: 0 Skill: Void Sword Technique: Void Draw (Level 1) Void Step (Level 1) Void Critical (Level 1/Passive) The debuff disappeared, his stamina came back full, and his hunger remained at eighty. He thought the debuff and the stamina would not recover until he logged in and took the rest. "It seems that logging out at a certain ce could recover the stamina and neutralize the debuff as well," Shen muttered as his eyes fell on his stamina. He now had 160 SP, it should be easy for Shen to finish three-quarters of theps without depleting the stamina. "I have the berries for two rounds, let''s continue the grind," Shen got off the bed and went outside. It was pitch dark outside, if not for the bright moon. He might not be able to see anything. He checked the time, it was seven-thirty in the evening. Meaning fours had passed since he logged out, "I can''t wait until the morning" Without a doubt that the vige became a lot scarier in the night. Outside the vige should be even scarier than inside. But since this was his second night, it was less scary. "Nah, I will just run and follow the fence! I am not going to wander outside!" Shen stepped out of the house and walked toward the entrance. The training stone was still there. He picked the stone onto his back and started another round of training. This was his only chance to keep his Legendary ss. He was not going to give up even though it exhausted him. He was not going to give up even though working out inside the game was not fun at all. Chapter 41: Its Just Another Day Chapter 41: It''s Just Another Day [You have worked your body to the limit!] [Congrattions! You gained +1 Agility and +2 Endurance!] Shen fell to the ground after the interface showed up, telling him that his training was not useless. He had been outside for like four and half hours to finish two sets of the training. Thanks to his growing Endurance and Agility, he finished the training quicker. After resting on the ground, collecting his breath for a while Shen stood up. He headed to the house despite the exhaustion. The feeling of exhaustion was so real as he walked sluggishly into the house. Shen sat on the bed and took out the remaining berries to fill his hunger, "Let''s eat the berries tomorrow when I log in instead." With that thought, Shen logged out of the game. He checked the time, it was nine-fifty. It was still early for him to sleep. He opened the forum once again. The forum ranking board was still on the top. It had been viewed for almost fifty million views. Shen could not understand why people kept checking the ranking board on the forum while they could check it from the game. "That must be the media who kept checking the post to cover the news" Shen muttered as he tried to reason behind the popr post. Tribe Online had entered the worldwide trending in the media, whether it was online or traditional tv. Most of the news covered Tribe Online. Shen opened the post once again and he was surprised that the highest level was still level 7. There were only two people who had reached level 7 by now, the two professional yers, ZhangQ and Zhong Ye. ZhangQ maintained his first ce but he saw a name disappear from the ranking. Yue was not in third ce anymore. She was not even in the top 10 anymore. "She must have work that prevents her from ying the game" he did a little search about Yue. She was an ex-actress, singer, and also model that retired very early and joined the game. She started with Universe Online with the in-game name, Xin two years ago. That was another reason why Universe Online became the number one VRMMORPG in China before Tribe Online. She brought a big wave into the game with most of them being her fans. Most of them wanted to meet their idol in the game. This was the main reason Sky Corps contracted her as the brand ambassador. Her influence was not something that could be underestimated. However, from the article, he read. The reason why the goddess of many decided to join the game remained unknown. Even the management that took care of her did not know the reason. She threw away her throne and joined the game. He found her name in rank 12 though, which was quite high. The first batch of gaming pods in China was a hundred million. Meaning she was ranked 12 out of 100 million yers. But he was surprised that none of them had reached level 8 or even level 9. They reached level 5 on the first day, but only two yers reached level 7. It was telling Shen that level grinding was not as easy as before. After the first day, hunting the monsters should be easier. They got levels and also better equipment after the first day. Yet it was still much slower for leveling. Shen shook his head and exited the post. He did not bother to read thement as it was too much. The second post was the mayor''s son''s case. It was an update after the mayor''s son was caught for assault. He was surprised to see the result. He thought the mayor''s son would be freed after a few hours of "investigation". However, the update was telling him that they would start the trial the day after tomorrow as the Cyber Police had managed to gather witnesses and evidence that indicated the major''s son was guilty. "It''s understandable since this is the first case that involved Tribe Online. If the case gets prolonged, the Sky Corps'' stock would plummet. The giantpany must be pressuring the police to quickly close the case," Shen assumed, but deep inside he was d that even the mayor''s son could be prosecuted and even would be punished. That meant, the official could not abuse their power, making people with no background like him relieved from the issue. Shen read the whole post that the mayor''s son might be imprisoned for up to 4 years. That was a ridiculous way to enter the prison because of a game. He closed the next and scrolled the forum. There was a yer who got their first skills. The yer posted the clip and also a screenshot that the yer got a skill. Only then Shen realized why the leveling became much slower. Skills, without a ss the yer could not learn a skill. As the monster got stronger, they did not have a skill that could kill the monster quickly. Of course, obtaining a ss was not the only way to get a skill. There were other ways yet to be found out. The yer must learn the skill through this one of many ways to obtain a skill. However, the post was hidden behind a paywall. Shen had to pay the forum currency, Skies Coin, or in short SC. This was just one of many methods to earn money from the game. Of course, not everyone could put pay on their post. It was said that Sky had a big team to manage this. The yer had to pass the screening before their post could be posted to avoid the scan. Inconvenient and it might be slow after many people tried to post more content. But this was the best way to avoid scan and troll. "Maybe I should make a post as well. Posting those weird monsters and my dying clip may get me some tips" Shen muttered in a low voice. From his perspective, it was suck to die in the early stages. But it might look funny to the others. He nodded his head as he browsed the forum. He did not bother to pay the post behind the paywall. The situation he was in was not rted to the skill. Paying now might not help him, at all but wasting his money. Maybe there would be an open post in the future about this. He was not that desperate for the skills since he had gotten a ss. Without realizing it, he spent more than half an hour browsing the forum. Of course, most of them did not help his situation. Shen came out from the pod and reached the water bottle. Staying dehydrated and healthy was important since he would be ying the game all day. Then he went to the bathroom and threw his body onto the bed. He set the rm to time with the in-game time, "Four hours sleep should be enough" Four hourster The rm was ringing. He opened his heavy eyelids and turned off the rm. He checked the time, it was two-thirty in the morning. Nevertheless, he still woke up and reached the bottle. There was a video that a ss of water in the morning could help to wake up his organs. He woke up and went to the bathroom. He washed his face and went to the kitchen. He microwavedst night''s butter croissant then he did a light stretch. Then he ate his favorite butter croissant. A light meal, half a ss of milk, and another ss of water. Shen was ready for another grinding. Chapter 42: New Day, Working Harder Chapter 42: New Day, Working Harder Shen came out of the house as the sun had already risen. He took a deep breath, no matter how long he had been, but this ce was so refreshing. The fresh air, the gentle breeze, and the serene atmosphere were to his liking. He never liked crowds anyway, he would avoid crowds if he could. "Alright, let''s find some food first," Shen started to search for the food. It was one of the preparations before he continued the training. On the way to look for more berries, he ate the berries in his inventory to restore hunger. He did not look for the other fruits because berries were easier and safer to find. "I need to learn to cook in this game so I can restore the hunger fully," Shen muttered as he harvested the berries. He did not wander around as he returned to the vige immediately, "It''s been a day, maybe Master will wake up today" he muttered hopefully. Surely, Endurance and Agility were good, but Strength was what he needed now. He needed to deal more damage to hunting the spearhead fish. Increasing Strength was his chance. Shen walked into the house and approached the statue, "Good Morning, Master," he greeted the statue. Shen was hoping that Yosu woulde alive, but that did not happen, "I have been doing the training as per your instruction, what should I do next?" He waited for the response and his eyes gleamed immediately as the crack started to appear on the statue. Shen took two steps back. Yosu observed Shen from top to bottom, "Good," the old man nodded his head and walked to the exit, "Follow me outside!" Yosu did not take him to the backyard, meaning the next training did not involve any tools. At least, that was what Shen could read. "Do you have a sword?" Yosu asked. Shen nodded his head and took out the sword from the inventory. Yosu seized the sword from his hand. The old man was quick with the hand that Shen only noticed after the old man was holding his sword. He looked at his hand and looked back at Yosu who observed his sword. "What the heck with this sword. This is a crappy sword," Yosu remarked after getting a quick look at the sword, "Nah, it does not matter since you will not use to hunt the monster," The old man was swinging the sword for a while. "Observe me, Runner!" Yosu raised his voice, but Shen never left his gaze on the old man. The old man was satisfied with how attentive Shen was. He nodded his head and demonstrated three simple strikes with a sword? He shed the sword downward then he shed the sword horizontally, and then he ended it with a straight stab. That was a simple move, at least that was what Shen saw from his perspective. Yosu then tossed the sword toward Shen. Thetter caught the sword clumsily, "Repeat my strikes!" The old man ordered. Shen held the sword with his two hands just like Yosu did. He was about to swing his sword, but the back of his head was pped by Yosu, "Wrong! Your legs are too tight, loosen and open them a little bit." Using his right foot, Yosu kicked Shen''s ankle, "Your shoulders, raise your shoulders, that''s too low!" Shen''s first impression of Yosu was a kind old man despite the scare. When it came to the training, the old man was strict. Not that he wasining, it was just unexpected. Shen swung the sword down, and he was about to sh the sword horizontally until he heard Yosu''s voice, "Wrong! You put too much power into your first, you will lose the momentum for the second strike. Again!" Shen repeated but it was still wrong, "Wrong! When I say don''t put too much power, it does not mean you don''t use your power in your strike. That''s too weak! Again!" Shen managed to get a good score in the first strike on the third try. However, the second strike was wrong again. It looked simple, but it was much harder than Shen thought it to be. It took him half an hour before he could execute the three strikes without a problem. Beads of sweat flooded his face. There would always be problems in his swing. He finished the first set, then when he started with the second set, his power would be off. Some time his stance would be wrong, and more errors were found as he continued. It was only after he finished ten sets with no issue that Shen gained Yosu''s approval, "Good, now you repeat that a thousand sets daily!" "What!?" Shen was shocked to hear that he had to repeat this a thousand times daily. As if it was not enough, "Don''t forget to run either, double theps. 40ps daily!" Shen was rooted on the spot as he watched Yosu returned to the house. He felt that it was too much. Nevertheless, he had to listen to his teacher if he wanted to get out of this ce. Shen put the sword back to the inventory as he walked toward the entrance. He was going to start with the run first. He picked the weight and was about to start his run, but Yosu came out of the vige and ced a bigger stone next to him, "You will carry this one for running from today onward!" Sure the stone was not double in size as the current stone, but it was still bigger. He thought it was a few kilos heavier. However, when he reached the rope and tried to pull it on the back, his eyes widened because the weight was doubled for sure. Even though the size was slightly bigger than the one he used before, the weight was over twenty kilos, double the previous stone. He did not have a problem carrying the stone but running while carrying the stone was another matter. Nheless, Shen still did it. It was not like he had another choice. Chapter 43: The Noob Works Harder Chapter 43: The Noob Works Harder He finished the running within five hours. It drained him that he could not move his body because of the repeated Weakened State on him. Shen wasying at the entrance of the vige and his mouth gaped, opened and closed like a koi fish out of the water. He felt numb on his feet and his back. [You have worked your body to the limit!] [Congrattions! You gained +3 Endurance and +1 Agility!] "Hah Hah Hah" Shen looked at the interface, blinking his eyes a few times to make sure he did not see it wrong. He doubled theps and he added the weight. At least the attributes should be double, especially Endurance. He thought about the issue deeply, "Maybe the training bes less effective as my attributes grow" Shen made the conjecture that was most likely possible to happen to him. If he kept increasing the attributes constantly like that, there was no need to level up. There must be a certain limit to what this training could do. "Understandable the attributes from the training are not unlimited" Still, out of breath, Shen tried to get up. He dragged his body to the vige, "This game is frustratingly so real" This caused Shen to recall the day in the boot camp of the national team. The hell training for the internationalpetition to represent his country. This gave a simr vibe just like that time. As soon as he entered the house, he threw his body onto the bed. He closed his eyes as he stabilized his breathing. The soft bed was sofortable for his sore back. Without Shen realizing it, he fell asleep. Yes, he fell asleep in the game. *** *** Wen''s Bun "Will Shene to the shop, Mom?" Yu Mei filling the dough and closed the filling into a bun shape before she put the bun in the basket. "I don''t know, the new game is just released. Maybe he''s busy with the game. Why don''t you bring the buns to his apartment instead?" Auntie Jun shook her head. Lately, Shen only came two-three times a week. She was not sure either, especially afterst night''s dinner. "Doesn''t he always jog in the morning?" Remembering this, Yu Mei put back the dough and came outside. It was still five-thirty in the morning, the street was still empty. She stood in the middle of the road and looked toward Shen''s apartment. She hoped to see Shene out from the apartment building. "Shentely jogs in the evening instead of morning. You may not see him" Uncle Wen yawned as he rubbed his belly. He wore a white tank top and did a stretch in front of the shop. "Why don''t you visit his apartment instead? It''s not like Shen will drive you out. He is not that narrow-minded," he told his daughter as he stretched his legs. Yu Mei wanted to apologize forst night. She truly did not know that her boyfriend had that side of his. He never showed it once in front of her, rarely talking bad about someone behind as well. She thought he was nice hence she was willing to go out with him. Letting out a sigh, Yu Mei returned to the shop, ''Maybe I should consider my rtionship with Tao Qiao'' There were many stories online that their partner changed once they got married. She was afraid Tao Qiao was one of them. He would change once they married. *** *** Shen opened his eyes because of his dream. Yes, he was dreaming while sleeping in the game. He dreamed of his mother cooking him one of his favorite dishes, mapo tofu. Without him realizing it, tears trickled down from his eyes. Because his father died while he was still a few months old, he did not have memories of his father but a photo. That was why he had strong memories of his mother. "I can even cry in the game," Shen smiled wryly as he wiped away the tears. He remembered the sleep mode of the gaming pod. Of course, not all gaming pods had this feature. But the tinum one had this feature. If the system detected the yer sleeping in the game, the gaming pod would automatically enter sleep mode, and it was no different than actual sleeping. Shen woke up and sat, he stretched his body on the bed and checked the time. He slept for an hour, it was a good rest as the stamina had fully recovered. "Fortunately I only slept for an hour," He stood up, the exhaustion was gone. Shen was not used to such a feeling. The soreness from such heavy training usually would be gone in one or two days, after all. "It seems I will have mapo tofu for lunch," Shen came out of the house. Before he went out, he looked at the statue. He bowed his head slightly before going out. "Six in the morning, let''s see how long it takes for me to finish a thousand strikes," He took out the sword and went to the side house. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! He repeated the three strikes, following his memories with his best. *** *** Dok! Dok! Dok! "Shen! Shen! Are you home?" Yu Mei knocked on the apartment door. She tried to press the bell, but she received no response. She tried to knock on the door but to no avail. There was no response. Meimei panicked, ''Does Shen hate me now?'' She could not help but think so. She took out the phone from her pocket and called Shen. The call connected but he did not pick up the call. Of course, Shen was not intentionally ignoring the call. He was inside the game and he decided to shut off the phone with his gaming pod. He did not want to be disturbed during the training. There was something he was afraid to confirm, what happened if he stopped halfway? Would he need to repeat the whole process from the start or could he just continue the training from where he stopped? Would he gain less attributes or even gain nothing if he stopped midway? He did not know this and also he did not dare to try that. Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! "891 892 893" Shen whispered as his hand kept moving. Six hours had passed, but he had not finished it yet. The strikes became much slower and less powerful, but he kept in mind to push the strike to the limit. His clothes were soaked in sweat as his face was also flooded with sweat. Despite the numbness in his arms, Shen kept swinging the sword. Another half an hour passed "991 992 993" Shen kept whispering, he did not lose his focus as he was almost there, "...997 998 999.. 1000.!" Shen released the sword from his hand and let his body fall to the grass as he breathed roughly. He almost could not feel his hand anymore, but he finished the training given by Master Yosu. [You have worked your body to the limit!] [Congrattions! You gained +5 Dexterity and +1 Endurance!] Chapter 44: The Noob Is Relieved Chapter 44: The Noob Is Relieved Laying down on the grassy ground, Shen opened his window status while gasping for breath. Name: Runner Race: Human ss: Yosu Legatee Affiliation: - Level: 1 Experience: 0/400 Health Point: 50 Stamina Point: 27/220 Hunger: 14 Armor: 2 Status: [Weakened State] Strength: 10 (5) Agility: 34 (17) Vitality: 10 (5) Endurance: 22 (11) Dexterity: 50 (25) Status Point: 0 Skill: Void Sword Technique: Void Draw (Level 1) Void Step (Level 1) Void Critical (Level 1/Passive) A wide grin stered on his face while looking over his attributes. Endurance was doubled, one of the most important attributes in the game. It showed the fruits of hisbor in thest two days. "Hehe If I post my status''s screenshot on the forum, it will be a hit for sure," he mused by himself. Another way to cheer himself despite being stuck on level 1. Without a doubt, the attributes were abnormal for a level 1 character. And if he put the thread behind the paywall, it should not be an issue for him to learn ten thousand to a hundred thousand Yuan from a single post. "Let''s not do that. I don''t want to be targeted by others" That was merely his random thought, he was not doing that for real. He closed the window status and checked the time. It was nine-thirty in the morning. He had been online for six and half hours. "Let''s log out and work out for real," Shen dragged the exhausted character to the house before he logged out. He came out of the gaming pod and changed into sportswear. By the time he finished working out, it was already ten-thirty. Shen ordered the food before he went to wash his body. Five minutes after he finished bathing, he received a message that his food had arrived. He swiftly opened the apartment door. He was surprised to see someone else in front of his door. It was not the delivery but Sister Meimei. She was holding the box delivery with red eyes, "What are" Before he could finish his words, Yu Mei cut in, "Shen, are you avoiding me?" Her voice was a little coarse. Shen was not expecting to hear that from Sister Meimei, but then he shook his head, "No, what do you mean?" It was justst night they met. How he had been avoiding her? That did not make any sense. "Then why didn''t you open your door? Why didn''t you answer my call?" Her voice was sobbing that surprised Shen. She was crying as tears gathered in her eyes. He panicked a little, "I did not" before they attracted the neighbor, he pulled her into the apartment. In the living room, Shen prepared the food for his lunch while Sister Meimei was sitting on the couch. "So you are ying the game all this morning?" Yu Mei asked him, her eyes never left him once. "Yes, I was in a crucial step so I cut off my phone connection from the gaming pod. My phone is still on the bed right," Shen sat on the floor as he poured the mapo tofu into the bowl of the rice he had prepared. "Are you sure you don''t want to eat with me, Sister Meimei?" Shen raised the bowl. Yu Mei shook her head, "My mom is cooking for me for lunch and I will go back to my apartment afterward." Shen scoped the rice that was coated in the red sauce from the mapo tofu and delivered it into his mouth while nodding his head. "Shen!" Yu Mei called out and Shen looked at her. "I am sorry!" She lowered her head as she said, "I don''t know Tao Qiao is such a jerk, Shen. If I know, I will never bring him home." Shen ced the bowl on the table and looked at her, there was hesitation but he opened his mouth, "So you don''t hate me?" This time, it was Yu Mei''s turn to be bbergasted, "Hate you? Why would I hate you?" Then she remembered her brother''s words. Shuren did say that Shen might misunderstand her. "Of course not! You are my brother, why would I hate my brother!" Yu Mei immediately tried to clear up the misunderstanding. Did she hate Shen? No! She had regarded him as her little brother. Shen lowered her tense shoulders and ced his head on the table. He was visibly relieved to hear that directly from Sister Meimei''s mouth. "Why would you think that I hate you?" This confused her. "You know, your boyfriend talked like that to me. And he said you talk a lot about me to him, so I think you might oftenin about me with him so..." His words trailed off weakly. "Nonsense! I talk about you a lot, that''s indeed true. However, I talked about how you win your runningpetition" Yu Mei bbered about how proud she was. She was talking about his prime time before the ident. Frompetition to another one. Shen was not bothered by how Yu Mei talked about his past. She did not have ill-intention, at all. "I am relieved" Shen smiled as he continued eating his lunch. They chatted for another hour before Yu Mei left the apartment. Shen waved his hand as Yu Mei entered the elevator. Closing his door, he rubbed his chest a few times. He was genuinely relieved that his misunderstandings were cleared. He smiled by himself, silly. Shen went to the kitchen while humming his favorite song to do the dishes. After that, he was ready for more work out. That was his daily, quite boring. By the next day, Shen met with Yosu again. The old man gave him another new training. This time, it was weight lifting. A stone the size of his body, slightly bigger, wasying in front of his feet. "Raise this stone above your head! Do it two hundred times daily!" After saying that, Yosu went back to the house. Shen bent his body and picked up the stone. From the weight, it was around twenty kilos. About the same with the stone he carried on the back while running. It was just the stones were different in size. Two hourster "195 196 197 198 199 200" Shen immediately threw the stone as he tried to massage his arm. [You have worked your body to the limit!] [Congrattions! You gained 2 Strength and 1 Endurance!] Chapter 45: The Noobs Vengeance Chapter 45: The Noob''s Vengeance Just like people said, time passed quickly when doing something. That was what Shen felt right now. After one set each for the morning training, it was already twelve in the afternoon. Shen immediately logged out and prepared himself to go to the hospital. His next check-up should be in the next week since he had done a check-up three days ago. However, he made a promise to Eunha that he would visit her. Yes, his purpose in visiting the hospital was to visit the little girl. As someone who was half of his life grew up alone, Shen treasured the people close to him very much. He was not going to break the promise he made despite his situation in the game. Eunha was his priority. Shen spent his time with Eunha until six in the evening. They had lunch together, yed together, and walked around in the park. Seeing her big smile was contentment for Shen. Until finally the little girl was tired and slept on hisp. That was a quality break time to escape from the stressful game. Of course, everything never went smoothly and at ease. After sending Eunha to her room, Shen met with the head nurse, Sister Zheng. "Eunha''s family hasn''t visited her since two weeks ago?" He was stupefied to hear this. How can they leave the little girl alone in the hospital like this? Sister Zheng nodded her head in response. She also became uneasy with the situation. "So no one pays Eunha''s hospital fees now?" If her parents did not pay the bills, the little girl would be kicked out. Head Nurse Zheng shook her head, "The family leaves a deposit for her hospital bills. But that''s not the issue, Shen! If the family never visited her even once, this is not good for her mental health and might worsen her illness." Sister Zheng shook her head in exasperation. She was frustrated with the Eunha family, "This is not a yground for children but a ce for the sick people. She has no friends to talk with, no guardian around her. It would just be a matter of time" The head nurse did not finish her words. She could not bear it. If there was one thing Shen knew about sickness, people with a healthy and happy mind could help in the recovery. However, if the person was depressed or had no will to live, the chance to recover was lowered for sure. He had been there once, and Eunha was one of few that helped him pass through his darkest time. "Have you called her parents?" Shen still could not believe that Eunha was being abandoned by her family. He just could not think that there was a parent who would do that. "We did, but their numbers are not active anymore. The call can''t connect to them," The Head Nurse shook her head and let out a sigh. Shen had lost count of how many times Sister Zheng had been sighing. Of course, Shen was aware of why the head nurse told him this, "Then I will visit Eunha more often." "I am sorry, Shen. But this is the only way to distract her from her family," The Head Nurse smiled in response, visibly relieved. "It''s okay," It was not like he was busy or something. He could time it out when he would visit Eunha. For example, at night in-game time where he could not go out of the vige. They chatted for a while before he bid farewell to Sister Zheng. *** *** It was six-thirty in the evening when he arrived at his apartment. He immediately ordered dinner and washed up. Not long after he finished taking a bath, the food arrived. He ordered dinner from the nearby restaurant hence the delivery was quick. "I have washed my dishes, my dinner, and my water, let''s continue the training!" Training in the game, then he slept. The rm sounded, he woke up and continued the grinding. Ordering food, sometimes he would cook for himself for the meal. He arranged his time to visit Eunha as well. One visit every two days. That was his activity for the entire week. In the vige, Shen was standing in front of Yosu. The old man observed him with his sharp eyes before the old man gave him a nod, "Now you have the foundation, this should be enough for you to survive outside!" Shen''s eyes brightened up when he heard that. That was the best thing his Master had said in this entire week, "Even if you can kill the monster outside, it does not mean you can be cking! You have to continue the training, understand!?" "Yes, Master!" Shen replied firmly. "Good! Here, my first gift for you No, this should be the second This should be the third one" the old man mumbled as a sword appeared in his hand. ''Not only the yer has the inventory, the NPC as well,'' Shen thought to himself as he watched the sword. Yosu threw the sword at him, "Here you are, much better sword than the one you have." Shen caught the sword easily. The sword was not fancy-looking, no, it looked ordinary. He did not care about the exterior as he immediately checked the sword''s properties. [Training Sword] Grade: Common Attack: 7-11 Durability: 120% Even though it was just one grade higher than the one he had, Shen was still delighted with the sword. It was much much better than the newbie sword. Yosu smiled in delight as he watched his pupil appreciate the sword given by him even though it was just amon sword. The old man said nothing as he turned around, walking into the house. "Thank you for all your teaching, Master!" Shen bowed his head at the old man while Yosu waved his hand, "Just don''t die, young''un!" Shen grinned as he checked the status. Name: Runner Race: Human ss: Yosu Legatee Affiliation: - Level: 1 Experience: 0/400 Health Point: 100 Stamina Point: 650/560 Hunger: 80 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 41 Agility: 71 Vitality: 10 Endurance: 65 Dexterity: 89 Status Point: 0 Skill: Void Sword Technique: Void Draw (Level 1 Void Step (Level 1) Void Critical (Level 1/Passive) "Butthead fish! This time I am going to kill you for sure!" With a big smile, Shen walked out of the vige. He was about to have his vengeance against the fish who killed him on thend. Chapter 46: Finally... Chapter 46: Finally... As Shen headed toward the river where the spearhead fish resided, he advised his n, ''There''s no change of n, even though my other stats are increasing by a huge margin, my Vitality remains the same. I am still the same one-hit die if the fish hit my head.'' Yosu did not give him training where he could increase Vitality. That was understandable as he could not think of a way to increase his vitality. ''Maybe if I keep getting hit it can increase my Vitality,'' that was how the main character got tougher in the martial art story he read in the past. ''Silly, but can''t try it since I only have 100 HP. I may die before my stat could increase,'' Shen shook his head. He was still avoiding the chicken, but he traveled faster since he was familiar with the surroundings. Shortly after, he arrived at the river. It was two weeks ago since thest time he visited this ce. Nothing changed of course, since he was the only visitor that ever came to this ce. Despite the training and a big increase in his stats, Shen was still nervous inside. He died many times under the spearhead fish''s attack. That left a deep impression on him. He took out his sword from the inventory. It was not the sword gifted by his Master but the Inferior Grade sword. The newbie sword. The reason he used this sword was because of its durability. He wanted to use this sword until it broke before he would use the gifted sword. No cksmith could repair his sword in this ce. He could not purchase whetstone either. Whetstone was an item used to restore a weapon''s durability. Shen had done his research after his battle against the fish. The crisis was still looming over even though he had found a way to increase his stats by training. Taking a deep breath, Shen walked to the river''s edge. His eyes focused on the water, ready to make any move as soon as he detected the movement. Ten secondster, the water sshed. He let himself fall with his back, barely dodging the fish that flew above him. Bugh! ''That''s actually hurt,'' he felt his head hit something on the ground. Shen immediately stood up and ran toward the other side of the fish. The fish followed him, "Hehe,e fishy! Come at me," he could not help but get excited as he provoked the fish. The spearhead fish leaped toward him. The fish aimed for his head, and he would die in an instant if the fishnded a hit on his head. He took a light step to the left. A strong breeze hit his face as the fish missed its attack again. Shen''s eyes immediately observed toward the direction of the closest tree. He immediately moved there as the fish turned toward him as itnded on the ground. ''Everything went smoothly, I hope I have enough damage and stamina to kill the fish,'' he thought to himself. He did not use a skill to preserve stamina. He did not know many hits needed to kill the fish hence he did this. This spearhead fish was level 32, after all. "Yes, that''s right. Come closer to this brother" Shen was confident and at ease. That was because of the increased stats he had. Totally different from before who fought desperately. ''Two meters Two meters" deep inside, he reminded himself that the fish would jump when the fish reached its range of attack. As soon as the fish reached the range of attack, he ducked his head as the fish leaped forward. Shen rolled his body forward. Dunk! He heard a loud sound. It was the sound of wood getting pierced by the fish. He stood up and turned around. Sure enough, the spearhead fish was stuck and dangling on the tree. "Yes!" Shen clenched his fist as he seeded in the first step. The grip on the sword tightened as Shen approached the fish. The fish was shaking its tail hard, trying to break free from the tree. But the spearhead was firmly stuck on the tree. Shen arrived next to the fish and he raised the sword. The sword shed down to the side of the fish. However, Shen focused on the text that would appear above the spearhead fish. -35.69 Shen''s smile was getting wider when he saw the red floating number. He was beaming in happiness as he dealt real damage to the monster, for the first time. "Let''s do training with a target," he recalled the sword swing training and applied it with the fish as the target. A vertical sh followed by a horizontal sh and ended with a stab. His strike was fast and adapted as three floating damage appeared above the fish. -34.86 -34 -34 Shen checked the spearhead fish''s health bar. Still far from being empty but it had lost a big chunk of it. With a big smile, he repeated the training set on the fish. He did not count how many strikes to kill the spearhead fish, but the fish''s hp quickly depleted. The best part was where he triggered a critical strike. [Void Critical triggered] -71.38 -34 -35.69 Shen kept swinging his sword at the fish. He vented all his frustration on the fish. The frustration that had been piling up. Soon the fish died after his continuous brutal attack. [You have killed Guardian Fish!] [You gained 22,400 Experiences!] [You have leveled up!] [You gained 10 Status Points!] [You have leveled up!] [You gained 10 Status Points!] [You have leveled up!] [You gained 10 Status Points!] [You have leveled up!] [You gained 10 Status Points!] [You have leveled up!] [You gained 10 Status Points!] [You have leveled up!] [You gained 10 Status Points!] [You have reached Level 7!] "Finally! Finally! Buhahaha" viinughter escaped Shen''s mouth. He could not contain it anymore. While people were hunting the monsters, he was training alone. Bringing rock while running, lifting the rock, and also swung his sword into the empty air. All of those were paying off, he finally could enjoy the game. Chapter 47: Solution Chapter 47: Solution The first thing he did after he killed the Guardian Fish was to find a safe spot and sit down. He checked his window status. First of all, his HP was still full for sure as he was never getting hit. Then he checked the stamina bar. A grin immediately formed on his face at the sight of the stamina bar, 565/650. 85 Stamina used to kill one Guardian Fish. It was a lot more than he expected, but it was still in the eptable range. He could hunt six to seven Guardian Fishes. "This is weird, why does my stamina not recover? And also hunger?" It wasmon knowledge that when someone leveled up, everything would be restored. Mana and Health Point, at least how it worked in Universe Online. Other people should realize this by now, but this was Shen''s first time to get leveled up. After that, he looked over the status point. He leveled up all the way to level 7. Each level up granted him 10 Status Points for him to freely allocate to the attributes he wanted to focus on. "Hehe 60 Status Points, should I put them all on Agility?" His hand was itching to allocate that way, but he managed to hold himself back from doing so. "I can''t do that, this ce is abnormal. I have to think carefully about my allocation," Shen shook his head. But he had a n in his mind: +4 Agility, +2 Endurance, +2 Strength, +1 Vitality, and +1 Dexterity. That was the allocation he had nned upon knowing that he would get 10 Status Points for each level. He did not know what the use of this Dexterity for his ss was, but since that was the highest attribute for his ss, he could not ignore that. "Let''s do that!" Shen nodded and he looked back on the interface of his status. Just as he was about to distribute the Status Points, he noticed a change in his status. "Huh!? My Agility and Dexterity grow by themselves by leveling up?" His eyes brightened. Name: Runner Race: Human ss: Yosu Legatee Affiliation: - Level: 7 Experience: 10,000/25,200 Health Point: 100 Stamina Point: 565/650 Hunger: 61 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 41 Agility: 77 Vitality: 10 Endurance: 65 Dexterity: 101 Status Point: 60 Skill: Void Sword Technique: [Void Draw - Level 1], [Void Step - Level 1], [Void Critical - Level 1 (Passive)] He was sure that his Agility increased by 6, from 71 to 77. The same for Dexterity, it was increased by 12, from 89 to 101. That meant each level his Agility automatically increased by 1 while Dexterity increased by 2. This was a huge advantage for sure. Of course, he could not feel the benefit in the short term as the benefit would be umted. The difference could be feltter on when he reached the triple digits. "Hmm, let''s change the allocation" Shen thought differently after knowing the increase, "I should increase my Vitality by one and reduce the Agility by one." Shen mulled over a little longer. Deep inside, he wanted to keep the first allocation so he could have high Agility. More ability meant he became faster, but it was not the right time for that. He had to survive from this unknownnd first. "At least I need more HP so I will not get one-hit killed by the chicken or the fist," Shen was determined and immediately allocated the avable Status Points. Distributed Status Points: Strength: 12 Agility: 18 Vitality: 12 Endurance: 12 Dexterity: 6 That was how Shen distributed 60 Status Points. The smile on his face became wider as he checked the window status for the third time. Endurance was the most important after Agility, hence he prioritized it over Dexterity. As for Vitality, he would keep allocating two points in it until he reached level 10. By then, no monster could insta-kill him. Strength was for sure needed to increase his damage. He was the only one in the vige, he could not increase his damage by purchasing a good weapon. He had to allocate Status Points until he could find a better solution. "Alright, I am done with the status. The next concern is the weapon," Shen muttered as he brought his weapon closer. He opened the information to check the durability. [Rusty Sword] Grade: Inferior Attack: 1-3 Damage Durability: 22% The sword lost 50% Durability for killing one Guardian Fish. That was understandable since the fish was level 32 while the sword was just an Inferior Grade weapon. The sword was supposed to be used to attack level 1 to level 3 monsters, not level 32 monsters. In the next fight, the sword would be broken for sure. "Fortunately Yosu gave me a sword and I also have a spear. The reward from reporting the bug," Shen muttered in a low voice. Of course, he knew this was not the permanent solution. The backup spear and sword eventually would break if he could not find a cksmith to repair or get a whetstone to increase the weapon''s durability. Shen then turned his head toward the spearhead fish. It was general knowledge that the monster in Tribe Online did not drop items. yers could only get exp from killing monsters. However, yers could bring the corpses back to the city to be skinned. A certain beast''s fur could be sold at a high price. Some of the beast''s bones and teeth or tusks could be used as crafting materials. The meat also could be sold or the yer could cook the meat to fill the hunger. The concept brought many praises to the developer despite the inconveniences. This gave the yers the feeling of adventure just like in the novel. Shen read all of this on the forum. At the thought, Shen stood up and approached the dead fish. He pulled the fish from the tree and observed the spear-like snout. His eyes suddenly brightened as he got an idea, a solution for the weapon. Chapter 48: Noob Solves the Crisis Chapter 48: Noob Solves the Crisis Shen plucked the Guardian Fish from the trunk. He observed the spear-like snout before he looked at the sword in his hand. Then he touched the spearhead with his finger. It was sleek as it was scaly. He then nced at the sword in his hand once more and hit the snout. nk! The sound confirmed his conjecture that the snout was made of steel. His eyes brightened and looked at the body that was full of wounds. "Now now now how to skin cut the fish," Shen rotated the fish, observing the shape while projecting the inside fish through his head. "Nah, I don''t need the meat, so there is no need for me to be careful about the meat," Realizing this, Shen cut the fish''s belly. He pointed at the belly with the sword and pushed the sword. He then cut the belly open down to the tail. This time he repeated the action, but he did that from the top side of the fish. Shen cut the meat crudely from the outside. He cleared the intestines, the smaller bones, and the meat. In five minutes, the Guardian Fish only left with the bone, head, and the snout. The bone was about as big as two fingers. White, smooth, and around fifteen centimeters. It was somehow simr to a human''s bone in the picture. To his delight, the bone reached the head, and from the position, the bone seemed to be connected to the spearhead-like snout. Through the bone, he cleaned the head as well. The scale around the Guardian Fish''s head was tougher than the one on the body. It took him more effort to clear the fish''s head. Just as he predicted, the bone was connected to the spearhead-like snout. He held the bone he just cleaned and swung it a few times. It was like a dagger but instead of a de, it was a spearhead. "Can I use this as a weapon?" If he could use this as a weapon, he did not need to worry about the durability as he would use the bone for his weapon. The weapon''s crisis would be solved. He looked at the bone in his head to find more information. [Guardian Fish''s bone spear] Type: Material Description: A bone that could be harvested from Guardian Fish. It is steely and sharp, a good material for smithing, and a good material to make a spear! It did not indicate whether he could use the bone in a fight or not, "It seems I don''t have a choice but to try it out directly." Shen stored the sword in his inventory. He did not throw the sword away as the sword was his lifeline if the bone did not work. Holding the bone spear, he approached the river. He stood at the river''s edge, waiting for another prey toe up. It did not take a long time for new prey toe out of the water. The water sshed as Shen immediately sidestepped to the right. The timing to dodge the attack was perfect. Another Guardian Fish lured onto thend. Shen immediately ran to the side, attracting the Guardian Fish''s attention. What happened was just a repeat action. He baited the fish further from the river before finally standing in front of a tree. He chose a tree with a big trunk, making sure the Guardian Fish would not be able to break free from the tree. Having his back pasted on the tree, Shen waited for the Guardian Fish toe closer. When the two meters range was reached by the fish, Shen immediately ducked down. Swoosh! He could feel a gush of wind strike his hair and followed with a "Thud". He walked to the side and stood up. The second Guardian Fish was trapped on the tree. It did not matter even if the bone spear was very short. His target was the trapped prey. Holding the bone spear tightly, he stabbed the trapped Guardian Fish. He pierced the Guardian Fish''s side with the bone spear. -28.1 A red number floated above the fish. The bone spear was working even though it was not a weapon. Shen''s eyes shone brightly. The weapon crisis was solved quickly. "Kekekeke" Shen cackled happily by himself. After that, he happily, repeatedly stabbed the trapped Guardian Fish. -28.1 -28.1 [Void Critica!] -48.88 Sometimes he would trigger the critical strike. It took him longerpared to when he used the sword. He did not mind; rather than losing his weapon, he would take his time to kill the Guardian Fish. [You have killed Guardian Fish!] [You gained 22,400 Experiences!] [You have leveled up!] [You gained 10 Status Points!] [You have reached level 8!] Shen''s smile was getting wider after hearing the notification. This was his happiest moment since the first day he yed Tribe Online. He immediately allocated all the Status Points, +3 Agility, +1 Dexterity, +2 for the other status. He was now level 8, and Shen would not stop at any moment. He lured another Guardian Fish and trapped them on the tree again. On his third hunt, he realized the drawback of the bone spear. It broke when he was halfway killing the third Guardian Fish. He did not have any choice but to use the Inferior-Grade Sword to finish the Guardian Fish. He did not want the Guardian Fish to die from running out of breath. When he killed the third Guardian Fish, Rusty Sword''s durability was at 2%. A few strikes then the sword would break. [You have killed Guardian Fish!] [You gained 22,400 Experiences! Shen retrieved the dead bodies from the tree and started to cut the fish. He cut the tail and started from there. It took seven minutes to get the bone spear. Then he took out the second Guardian Fish he killed today. He spent over ten minutes retrieving the bone spear from the Guardian Fish. Just like that, he got two new weapons to kill more Guardian Fish. He continued the hunt as he killed seven more Guardian Fishes. [You have killed Guardian Fish!] [You gained 22,400 Experiences!] [You have reached Level 10!] [You can now choose a ss skill!] Chapter 49: A New Skill Chapter 49: A New Skill [Void Thrust: Launching a straight stab to a single target at an extremely quick speed. The thrust''s speed is affected by your Agility, the higher your Agility, the faster the thrust is. Damage: 220% Base Damage Cooldown: 60 Seconds Cost: 10 Stamina Point] [Void Evasion (Passive): Giving a chance for you to evade the enemy''s attack. Attribute Agility and Dexterity affect the evasion chance. Evasion Chance: 3%] [Void Echo: Launching quick multiple attacks in session. Attribute Dexterity affects multiple attacks. Multiple Attacks: Double Strikes Damage: 120% Base Damage. Cooldown: 60 Seconds Cost: 20 Stamina Points] Shen was sitting at Yosu''s house porch, facing the three choices. He was presented with three ss skills when he reached level 10, but he was in a dilemma now. All skills were tempting to Shen, but he was worried as well. Each skill had its pros and cons. Passive skill was good as he could preserve his Stamina Point. However, did he really need evasion? The chance to evade the enemy was so low as well, with only a 3% chance. The other two skills consumed his Stamina Points while dealing high damage. Again, he had limited stamina and he did not feel the need to use the skill to kill the trapped Guardian Fish. He was okay even without an attack skill as Stamina was what he needed the most now. Void Evasion was his choice, but again, the chance was too low and he did not need evasion to face the trapped fish. He was in a dilemma as he did not know which skill he needed the most. "Can I not choose the skill now?" He muttered by himself. As he did not know what to do, he opened the official forum. Since he had nothing to do while waiting for his Stamina to recover, he made his first thread. He was asking whether he could choose the ss skillter. But when he typed the post halfway, Shen deleted all the words he had typed. On the Level Leaderboard, rank 1 was still level 22. Yes, a week passed or two weeks in-game time. The highest level was still level 22. So far, only twenty-three yers had reached level 20, meaning only twenty-three yers that had a ss as the yer had to be at level 20 to get a ss. Of course, he was an exception. For sure, no one could answer his question because none of the yers encountered the same case as him, getting a ss skill after reaching a certain level. Shen searched the forum about ss skills. Sure enough, he could not find a single thread about the ss skill. However, amongst the three skills, he leaned more to Void Thrust. The reason was because of his focus attribute. His focus attribute was Agility, the skill got stronger with more Agility being invested. Choosing Void Thrust would be the best choice he felt. "Hah" Shenid down on the porch, gazing at the wooden ceiling. He was afraid that it would disappear or randomly choose if he did not make his choice right now. "A random selection what most likely will happen" he muttered. Shen scratched his hair as he opened the interface once again. After some thought, he decided to choose Void Thrust. [Do you want to learn Void Thrust? Yes. No.] He was still hesitating for a while before he chose yes. [You have learned a skill, Void Thrust!] Name: Runner Race: Human ss: Yosu Legatee Affiliation: - Level: 10 Experience: 12,800/302,400 Health Point: 260 Stamina Point: 123/810 Hunger: 80 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 57 Agility: 104 Vitality: 26 Endurance: 81 Dexterity: 115 Status Point: 0 Skill: Void Sword Technique: [Void Draw - Level 1], [Void Step - Level 1], [Void Critical - Level 1 (Passive)], [Void Thrust - Level 1] Shen opened his status interface. Looking at the number of his status, he smiled. It was no longer dominated by 10, and two attributes had surpassed 100. He could not help but be hopeful for achieving his purpose, bing the fastest in the game. He was for sure on the right track to achieve that. "Let''s try the skill first," Shen then got up and walked to the pathway between the houses. He needed to know and get used to the skill so he would not be surprised just like before. He did not want to repeat the same mistake, dying from casting a skill. That was silly even for a noob like him. So he needed to get used to the skill first to save himself from embarrassment. He took out the Inferior-Grace sword that left with 2% durability. Then he performed the skill. [Void Thrust] He made a motion of stabbing with the sword as his body rushed forward. He did not know how quick he was, but his surroundings were blurred when he performed the skill. At the end of the skill, he almost lost his bnce. Thanks to Void Step''s skill, he managed to keep his bnce and not fall. Shen kept trying the skill, in his fifth tries, he adapted to the skill as he performed the skill wlessly. However, he did not stop at the fifth try. He continued until he depleted his Stamina, leaving 6 Stamina points. Shen finished familiarizing himself with the skill. He then went back to the house, throwing his body on the bed. Resting on the bed gave him a quick recovery. He checked the time, it was six-thirty in the evening, "I think I am done for now. I promised Ming to treat him to dinner at Uncle Hou''s stall." [Do you want to log out? Yes. No.] Shen logged out of the game. He opened the gaming pod and came out. Stretching his hands upwards as he walked to the bathroom. In his third step, his phone rang. "That must be Ming," Shen walked over to the bed and reached for his phone. Sure enough, Ming''s name appeared on the screen, "Tsk, he is surely quick for free food." Chapter 50: Sharing Is Caring Chapter 50: Sharing Is Caring Zhong Ming was Shen''s friend since they were in middle school. They had known each other for ten years already. Both were going to the same middle school and also the same high school. While Shen did not graduate high school, Ming did but he did not go to the university. Ming was typically an average student with an average score. He could not go to the university as he could not score the schrship. His parents opened vegetable stalls in a traditional market, and could not afford to support him to the university. So after he graduated from high school, Ming decided to work instead of continuing his education. Ming was also known for his prideful mannerism in his circle of friends. Prideful and stubborn, not willing to receive any help even from his sister who had worked. Yes, the stubborn Ming refused her sister''s help for his university pay. Even so, he was loyal and also willing to help his friends. The guy had helped Shen on many asions. Tanned skin, having a crew cut, thick eyebrows, and also a big nose. Ming was unique in his way. Additional broad shoulders and toned muscle from working too much. He had been working on anything he could. "So how is it? Have you leveled up yet?" Ming grinned at Shen, mocking his friend for his zero progress. Ming was the only one who knew about Shen''s situation in the game so he asked. "I am good," Shen returned the grin with his, "I am level 10 now, and look at this!" He was about to show the screenshot on his phone, but Ming dropped the spoon in his hand. "What!? There''s no way you can reach level 10 in a few days," his voice was loud and attracted the other customer''s attention to them. "Ssshhh! You are too loud, too loud Ming," Shen had to apologize to the other customers for his friend. Instead of arguing against his friend, Shen showed a screenshot to stop his frantic friend. "Wha" Shen immediately covered his friend''s mouth as soon as he realized Ming was about to yell again, "Lower your voice! Lower your voice! You are disturbing others." Uncle Hou''s mtang started to gain more customers, he did not want his friend''s antics to drive the other customers away. After Ming calmed down, only then Shen pulled his hand off his friend''s mouth. "But Shen, this is crazy. How can you have that many stats already while being level 10?" Ming asked while lowering his voice. He was pointing at the phone with his finger, "Is it the Legendary ss thingy? Do you get that many stats because of your ss?" "Calm down! Calm down! I am afraid you will get a heart attack if you keep acting like this," Shen shook his head, "I will exin everything to you, so calm down first, okay?" He pushed the soda closer to his friend. Ming took the ss and drank the soda. The cold and tingling sensation in his mouth was enough to calm him down. But he was still surprised and at the same time, he was excited to hear the secret. First of all, while ying the game was fun for him, but his purpose for ying the game was not to have fun. He yed to earn money, so having fun was not an option for him. Knowing this secret would be crucial for him. Second, the status was abnormal, too abnormal that the gap between him and Shen was just too big. He got the gaming pod three days ago, he was now level 5. He had 100 stats in total for the five attributes. Level 10 was supposed to have 150 stats in total for attributes, but Shen had more than that. Ming counted the total attributes, Shen had 383 stats in total. More than double than he was supposed to have. It was natural for him to go wild. All yers would be dying to know the secret. Ming took a deep breath and released a long sigh, then he nodded his head, "I calm down now, so, how did you do it?" "The secret is" Shen did not hide it from his friend. He told Ming the pain-staking effort in the training under Yosu''s guidance. The hellish training straight for two weeks in-game time. "Is that working?" Ming was marveled at the secret of increasing the stats without leveling up. Working up in the game? No one would torture themselves to do that and Shenpelled to do that. "But isn''t it faster to increase the stats by hunting the monsters? I am not in your abnormal vige, after all," Ming felt that going hunting the monster would be faster, increasing his attribute instead of wasting his time working out as Shen did. Moreover, it was boring as hell, training that hard in the game. "Indeed, but think carefully Ming. This is for your benefit. Even though you will be left behind in level, your stats keep increasing. Moreover, this training only works when you are still low in level. When you reach a high rank, the training will be less effective. This is your chance! Don''t think about the short-term benefit, but look at the long-term!" Shen advised his friend. "I am the prime example, you can see that my stats are crazy higher than a normal yer in level 10. You should have a training center in your city, there must be a facility like that in the city. It is Tribe Online''s hidden mechanic, after all," he added to convince Ming. He was telling the truth, the higher your stats were, the less effective the training was. That was what he knew after doing the same thing for two weeks in the game. "Big Bro, do you y the famous Tribe Online game?" A childish voice interrupted the discussion. Shen turned to the side and smiled at Lin Lin, "Yes, we y the game." "You two must be rich. I heard the gaming pod is freaking expensive," with her cute voice, it sounded funny in Shen''s eyes. However, her mother disagreed with Shen as Lin Lin was getting yelled at by her mother, "Lin Lin! Watch your words!" Chapter 51: Noobs Way Chapter 51: Noob''s Way Ming snickered at the little girl, but then he focused back on the topic, "Shen, do you know how to arrive at your vige then? We can work together if I can get to your vige." Ming was hopeful about this. He also wanted the Legendary ss. Of course, he did not mind if Shen was not willing to share as well. Uncovering the hidden vige was a big thing, after all. Of course, Shen was more than willing if Ming could get to the vige. He did not have to suffer from being lonely in the vige with his friend. "I have a theory about how I ended up there, but I am not sure myself. Well, it started with that Ba Volt" He almost said something inappropriate in front of the little girl, "You should already know that I jumped into God''s Burial, right?" Ming recalled the bullying video that went viral. Indeed, at thest moment, his friends jumped off the gorge. One of the famous sites in the game. "I died from poison, but instead of respawning in Eternal City, I respawned in the vige. That''s how I ended up in that vige. You can try to jump into God Burial or maybe the other famous sites," Shen shared his theory with Ming. Aside from the God Burial, there were nine other famous gorges in the game. It was confirmed with people who shared the wonder of the game. Each site had different names, of course. Ming fell into a silence. Deep inside, he wanted to try it out. No, without a doubt he would try it if he was still level 1. However, he had to consider things carefully. Especially when leveling up was so difficult in the game. If he died and did not respawn in the hidden vige, he would waste his experience. He would lose 50% of his experiences if he ended up dead. The punishment for dying was very harsh, especially when leveling up was so difficult. "There is a famous site near my city. The Eternal Waterfall, but" but the theory was not confirmed. Maybe there were other conditions that needed to be fulfilled to respawn in the hidden vige. He did not want to waste his experience if the theory was wrong. Eternal was another giant gorge but the crevice became the final destination of twenty-seven rivers hence it was named the Eternal Waterfall. The site was famous, everyday many yers took selfies at the site. "You can try that or you cane to Eternal Wind City. Or you can continue trying if you are afraid of losing your level," Shen was well aware of his best friend''s circumstances. For someone who yed the game to earn money. Ming did not have time to waste his time experimenting with something uncertain. If they left far behind, it would take a long time before Ming could earn some bucks. While the Legendary ss was very tempting, the risk was too big. Especially if he had to cross the city to Eternal Wind. "I will pass, I can''t afford to test it out," Ming shook his head. He would rather continue his progress. "But Ming, I am serious about the training though. You should stop leveling up temporarily. The early training investment would pay off in the future, Ming. You should start it while you are still at a low level," Shen advised his best friend. "I know, I will try the training you talked about once I log in," Ming nodded seriously. He was serious about the training if the training worked as Shen said. "Hah, you are lucky that you are in the city. The city sells herbal remedies to recover your stamina and food to fill your hunger. I have to rest properly to recover my Stamina and look for fruits only to recover 80 Hunger," Shen shook his head while telling his friend about his experiences in the wild. By how he was killed by a chicken with hands, a weird fish that had legs, invisible monsters, and more. They continued chatting while Lin Lin listened to the story from the side. She was attentive and interested in the story. Soon they finished their meals. Ming had a big stomach as he finished three bowls while Shen only had one bowl. "Thank you foring," Lin Lin bowed her head toward the two after they paid the bills, "Pleasee again with more friends next time." Ming pinched the little girl''s cheeks before he ran out of the stall, "Ouch," Lin Lin rubbed her cheek and pouted, "I will forgive you once because you eat at my father''s stall. You have to eat two more bowls next time!" Shen merely smiled and rubbed her hair, "Goodbye, Lin Lin." Ming was waiting for him outside the stall, "Shen, I am confused why don''t you post about the training on the forum? You can earn a lot from that one post." Shen grinned at his best friend, "Ming oh Ming, I don''t want the secret to get revealed this early. We should take advantage of this so we can get ahead of the others. By the time everyone is already at a high level, the training will be less effective for them. Of course, if you want to make money with the training secret on the forum, I don''t mind. But I don''t think we will earn a lot from that. The pro or the famous streamer may pay to read the post then they will make their own post to earn more money. Since they are pros or famous streamers, people will choose to pay for their posts instead of ours. We will not earn that much, Ming." Shen expressed his thoughts, an additional reason why he did not want to post the training secret on the forum. The pros or the streamers would be more reliable in the other yers'' eyes than an unknown yer like Ming or even a noob like himself. "I like your n. You are quite evil, Shen," Ming grinned in response. He also acknowledged why he or Shen should not post the secret on the forum. It was a hot topic on the forum where a famous streamer reposting others'' content to earn money. The streamers had their established fanbase who would open their post instead of the original post. Many streamers were called out on the forum, but there was no clear TOS for reposting the post. After that, the two best friends parted ways. Ming went home and Shen walked home. Shen did not waste his time. As soon as he got back, he drank another ss of water before he logged into the game. It was still night in the game. Shen sat on the porch while gazing at the double moons in the sky. One was blue and the other one was yellow. ''I can now hunt the monster, but I should stop hunting for now. I have to maximize the gain from training before I continue with the hunt,'' Shen was considering the things. Even though he got less from the training, he still gained a lot of stats,'' Shen thought of his future n. "It''s not like I am in a hurry or anything. Yes, training is my way!" Chapter 52: ZhenZhen Chapter 52: ZhenZhen Luo Zhen Zhen or known as ZhenZhen in the game. While many enjoyed being an adventurer, building a nation, or even ying the game with a lofty ambition by bing a pro, she did not y the game for that. She yed the game to cook. Yes, her sole passion to join the game was to cook. Chef or Cook was one of many production sses in Tribe Online. Knowing how realistic Tribe Online was, she pre-ordered one gaming pod. Her luck was good as she could get one Gold Gaming Pod through her connection. Yes, she was someone who joined the game for her passion and hobby. While she was not a professional chef in real life, she was quite famous as she worked in a four stars hotel before she decided to resign as she felt bored with her repetitive work. She felt that she had stopped growing after a few years of working in the hotel. There was no impressive improvement for her cooking as well hence she resigned. She had earned enough for her to retire early as well, so she resigned and joined the game. Of course, ZhenZhen''s decision to resign earned her an earful scolding from her parents. She threw away her stable work only to y games. Her parents were furious, but she still joined the game anyway. Luo Zhen Zhen had done his research about Tribe Online. The developer had the ambition to make the second world through Virtual Reality technology and it worked. She had read the lists of how realistic the game was so she decided to y the game. The reason? She wanted to cook something she could not in real life, tiger meat for example. No one allowed her to butcher the tiger for its meat. She would be jailed if it was known by the officials or police. On top of that, this was a fantasy game. There was a mythical beast such as a dragon. She wanted to try to cook a Dragon''s meat even though it was fake. There were so many things she could do in the game which she could not do in real life. People would call her silly to make such a decision. Again, she had reached the point where she did not need to worry about money. She had enough for the next thirty years as long as she kept following her financial n. Moreover, she could also earn the game as a gamer had been acknowledged as a profession. This had been two weeks in real life or a month in-game time, but it was not as easy as she thought to be a chef in the game. In order for her to be able to cook, she had to get the ss. While thebatant ss needed to be level 20 to get their ss, it was not the same for the production ss. She needed to be an apprentice and learned cooking under an NPC. So as soon as she entered the game, she did not bother to hunt the monster. She roamed around in the city and did some research about all the restaurants in the city. After doing all her research, she found a decent restaurant. To her surprise, the game was not as easy as it sounded. She had been doing some research before she yed the game, but she failed in an interview six times before she was epted into one decent restaurant in the outer city. ZhenZhen thought she would start the apprenticement right after but she was wrong. She started from menial work first, became a cleaning service, dishwasher, and also carried the ingredients they bought from the market. She endured this for three weeks of in-game time before her effort paid off. ZhenZhen stood in front of the head cook, ady in her mid-forties with a stern expression, reminding her of her past mentor. "I have observed you all this time and you are doing well in your probation period so I will end your probation period a week earlier," The Head Cook said to her. ''Yes!'' In her imagination, ZhenZhen was jumping happily while she nodded seriously outside. It was not the right time to celebrate. "However, while your effort to learn is praiseworthy, I am not going to teach someone with no potential to be a cook!" Thedy sternly said, "Bring me three rare herbs that can be used for cooking then I will take you as my apprentice!" "But with two conditions. First, you can''t buy the herb from the market or any ce. Second, you have to obtain the herb from the wild. Anything else will be talked about after you bring me three rare herbs!" When thedy finished her words, a quest interface appeared in front of ZhenZhen''s eyes. [Apprentice Cook Quest] Description: Find three different rare herbs from the wild. Reward: Be Head Cook Gina''s apprentice Time: 3 days "Thank you very much, Head Cook Gina," ZhenZhen excitedly bowed her head toward thedy while a smile formed on her lips. The Head Cook smiled in satisfaction as she waved her hand, "There''s no need to thank me, this is your hard work. You deserve this chance, you can go now." ZhenZhen bid farewell to the Head Cook and immediately headed toward the north gate. She knew where to find these rare herbs, at Jade Gorge. She ran toward the gorge, causing her to run out of stamina when she arrived, "This game is too real that even the exhaustion is so real." She hadined about this many times and never tired ofining. Jade Gorge was a giant crevice. However, the crevice''s wall was covered by nts,pletely burying the cliff under the nts. She had read a lot about Jade Gorge. It said the gorge was filled with rare nts. If she wanted to find a rare herb, this was the right ce. Of course, she had to face a big challenge to get the herbs. There was a high risk she would fall into the gorge but she was not worried about it since she was still level 1 and she could also respawn in the city. There was a small path that led into the crevice. Some people tried to get the rare herbs for their purpose as well, hence the path was made. It was a path for one person to walk. Aside from being narrow, the path was also slippery. From the native of the city, the gorge had killed over a thousand people. The dread story was not enough to deter ZhenZhen. With great confidence and excitement, ZhenZhen took the path. s, the excitement caused misfortune. She was not careful and immediately stepped on the slippery part. "KHAAAAA!!!" Her scream echoed through the Jade Gorge. [You have died from poison!] That was the notification she got after free-falling for a while. When she respawned, she was greeted with a weird sight. She was not respawned in the city but a vige. And in the vige, she saw a man doing squats with a big stone on his back. "Huh!? Where am I?" ZhenZhen blurted out. Chapter 53: The Evil Noob Chapter 53: The Evil Noob In the bright and warm morning of an unknown vige, Shen was raising the round stone triple of his body in size. He was doing a squad with a stone that was three times bigger than his body. "478 479 480 481" He counted the squat. With his current stats, he needed 500 squats to get +1 Strength and +1 Endurance, "482 483 484" "Huh!? Where am I?" Shen stopped when he heard the female voice from the respawn spot. He stopped doing the squat and turned toward the voice. A woman with the same beginner clothes was standing there. The woman looked at him and Shen looked at her. ZhenZhen looked at Shen with a confused and strange gaze, ''Is he a yer or an NPC?'' What Shen did was something only NPC would do. No yers would torture themselves by doing what Shen did. Meanwhile, Shen was excited to see a new yer respawned in the vige. That meant he was no longer alone in this remote vige. "Wait, I have to finish my body training first," Shen then remembered he was in the middle of the training. 16 more squats then he would get the stats. He continued doing a squat and finished 16 more squats. When he finished the squat, he threw the stone down and leaned his back against the stone. He was waiting, waiting for the system notification but no notification rang. Meaning he failed his training. The training system was quite harsh. Shen had to finish the set without stopping or his stats would not increase. That was the harsh truth behind the training system. Then a shadow hovered above him. The female yer was standing next to him, "Hello, may I know where this ce is?" ZhenZhen asked politely. "I don''t know," Shen shook his head. He was still discouraged because of falling the five hundred squats. He was not lying though. Even until now, Shen did not know where was this. ZhenZhen was holding back from frowning. The thing she learned from ying games in thest month, she had to be polite to the NPC or she would have a hard time because of the NPCs. ''It seems this young NPC is not in the mood to talk. I will talk or maybe console himter, for now, I have to find where I am. I have to find my way back to the city or else all my effort would be wasted,'' with those thoughts in mind, ZhenZhen walked away from Shen. She was supposed to respawn in the city, but how did she end up in this vige? Since she had three days toplete the quest, ZhenZhen remainedposed. She followed the path and looked at the houses. She observed the sign and stopped longer at the sign of a fork, a spoon, and a knife, "Weird, who used all those three for a sign?" She muttered while shaking her head. "A vige with ten wooden houses? The symbol may signify things, but who cares. I have to find my way back to the city," ZhenZhen turned around and walked out of the vige. She wanted to figure out whether this vige was in the Jade Gorge or not. If this vige at Jade Gorge, she could climb her way back to the city, "That''s it, that''s the n!" What in her mind was toplete the quest and became the Head Cook Gina''s apprentice. She did not care about the other things. Meanwhile, Shen had ovee his discouragement and looked up. He tried to locate the neer but he could not see her. He furrowed his brow and stood up, "Hello!? Are you still here?" His call received no response, meaning the neer was not in the vige. Then he looked toward the entrance when his eyes widened, "Don''t tell me she went out of the vige?" The momentary shock changed into a smile before he let out a giggle, "Hehehehe The second victim of this vige has arrived," Shen walked back to the respawn spot and rested on the respawn hut. He was waiting for the woman to return through the respawn spot, "Finally I have someone who will share my misery, Hehehehe" heughed evilly. Sure enough, not even twenty seconds passed since he sat on the ground, a figure respawned. The same female yer. "Huh!? I died!?" ZhenZhen stood in a daze. She blinked her eyes a few times to process what happened to her just. She was walking in the forest before suddenly her vision cked out. She was sure that she did not see any monsters around. It was just her alone, ''Then who did I die?'' The cause of her death remained a mystery, ''Fortunately, I did not level up my level,'' she thought to herself as she walked toward the entrance. ZhenZhen stopped at the big stone, ''Where is he?'' She wondered before she shook her head and continued heading to the entrance. She did not notice Shen who was sitting behind her. She was upied with her own thoughts. Shen was about to call the female yer, but he decided not to do so, ''Huhuhu, I should let her experience her new environment first,'' maybe it had been too long he was alone to grow such a mischievous and evil side. However, when the female yer walked out of the vige, Shen realized that he made a grave mistake, "Wait, I can''t let her die again. She will lose her level." Shen assumed that the people in the city were at least around level 5 to level 15 on average. So he assumed ZhenZhen was around that level. He did not know that ZhenZhen never went hunting to level up. "This female yer will be my partner, I can''t let her weaken herself. I have to warn her before she dies again," Shen stood up and chased after the female yer. When Shen came out of the vige, ZhenZhen respawned back to the vige, "D*mn, how did I die again? I swear I did not see any monsters around." Chapter 54: Are You a Bodybuilder? Chapter 54: Are You a Bodybuilder? It was like ying hide and seek. Shen tried to look for the girl but he could not find her outside. Meanwhile, ZhenZhen had died three times already. Her figure formed in the respawn spot with an expression of shock. "What is this? I don''t see any monsters, how did I die?" She truly did not see what thing killed her. It was instant death. "There you are!" Then ZhenZhen heard a voice from the entrance. She looked up and saw the man who was doing a squat with the stone, ''Maybe he is the guide who will lead me out of the vige?'' She could not help but be hopeful. "Did you drop a level? How many times have you died?" Shen asked with concern. He tried to search for her to reduce her number of deaths. However, his familiarity with thend did not help him to find the female yer. In the end, he gave up and returned to the vige, waiting at the respawn spot to stop the girl from her doom. "Huh!?" ZhenZhen was taken back. She thought the young man was an NPC, but she was wrong. From the things he asked her, he was clearly a yer. On top of being a yer, this young man knew that she had died more than one time, "Are you a yer?" ZhenZhen asked the obvious. "Of course, I am," Shen nodded his head mixed with guilt, "So did you drop a level?" "No, I am still level 1 so I don''t drop a single level," ZhenZhen shook her head. Then her gaze turned strange as she looked at him. She looked at Shen then at the stone, back and forth. Who would expect a yer to do such a thing? "Are you a bodybuilder in the real world?" She had read once that a bodybuilder was a maniac working out to shape their bodies. The young man might not be satisfied with the t and no-shaped body of his game character hence he tried to shape his body. ZhenZhen nced at Shen''s upper arm that had formed biceps, big ones that easily noticed despite the short sleeve clothes. She nced at his chest, his chest was quite big as well. Shen was relieved to hear that. He truly felt guilty if she dropped a level because of his carelessness, "No, I am ying a game. That''s my profession, I guess," he did not say he was a pro yer or even steamer but ying a game. However, ZhenZhen thought Shen was one of the two, ''What a weird way to phrase it,'' she thought. There was a stone chair at the back of the respawn spot. ZhenZhen sat there, "So how long have you been in this vige?" Since he was a yer, he should know where this ce was, "By the way, I am ZhenZhen." "I am Runner," Shen took the chair next to ZhenZhen, "I have been in this vige since the first day of the game. If you look into the forum, you should know me." "Woah! Are you a famous pro?" ZhenZhen was not aware of the famous noob yet. While she browsed the forum daily, she only looked for the posts that rted to her passion. She did not care about the forum''s trend except for a few things. "No, I am not. Don''t you know the first viral video on the forum? I am the noob who was hunted down by the streamer, don''t you know that?" Shen looked at ZhenZhen, ''Does she pretend to not know me out of goodwill?'' It could be the case. "I don''t know," ZhenZhen shook her head while recalling her time browsing the forum. She did not recall that she had seen a viral video of bullying, ''Nah, whatever, I have to go back to the city. I hope he knows the way back to the city.'' ''But wait a minute, I want to know first what thing that killed me,'' she was curious about her mysterious death. "Do you know what kind of monster that lives around the vige? I was killed instantly but I can''t see the monster who killed me," ZhenZhen mumbled. A smile formed on Shen''s lips, "Do you want to know the monster killed you?" Even though ZhenZhen did not know what caused Runner to smile, she nodded her head. It was a lie if she was not curious. "Follow me," Shen brought ZhenZhen out of the vige. He knew why ZhenZhen could not find her killer. He brought her to the biggest tree near the vige and stopped eight meters away from the three. "Hide," Shen instructed as he hid behind a tree. Even though she did not know why she should hide, she followed the instructions. Runner pointed in a direction, upward to the big tree. ZhenZhen recognized the tree, that was the ce where she died earlier. Following Runner''s finger, she spotted a nest, a giant nest. Then she found two ck-feathered chickens with two little hands. One chicken was incubating in the nest. Most likely there were eggs in the nest. Another chicken, slimmer yet taller, standing next to the nest. As if it was the guardian of the nest. "You died from that guy''s attack. Despite their size, the chicken is quite fast. You must be ambushed from the tree," Shen exined. ZhenZhen''s eyes shone. She did not resent the chicken for killing her. However, there were many ideas in her head: how to cook the giant chicken, ''Giant deep-fried chicken?'' The simplest way to cook the chicken, and most people loved fried chicken. ZhenZhen snapped out of her wild ideas, ''I have to go back to the city and get the ss. I wille back for the chickenter.'' "So, Runner. Do you know how to go back to the city? I have to go back to finish my ss quest," ZhenZhen said in a hurry. She could not wait to start cooking, especially with the exotic ingredients in front of her. There must be some challenge to cook the giant chicken. She could not wait to ovee the challenge. Chapter 55: The Tribe Has a Cook Now Chapter 55: The Tribe Has a Cook Now Shen looked toward ZhenZhen, there was urgency from her tone. It seemed she was going to do something important. "Return to the city? Why do you want to return to the city?" He asked, curious what made the girl badly want to go back. From the moment she arrived here, she tried to get away from the vige even though she was killed repeatedly without knowing her killer. "I have been working in a decent restaurant in my city to be a cook. However, the Head Cook does not want to teach me immediately so I have to do menial work for the restaurant. After three weeks, she finally recognized my effort and gave me a chance to be her apprentice," ZhenZhen told the whole story for some reason. Shen listened to her attentively. There were a lot of yers who joined to be a chef, even a miner. Yes, there was a yer on the forum who dered he would be the best miner in the game. Peopleughed at the person, but Shen did not. Everyone enjoyed the game on their way, that was why Tribe Online gave much more freedom than the previous game. No quest or main story to bepleted, the yers could be and do whatever they wanted to do. Of course, for a production ss, they had to choose the city carefully. The city where they would stay. If it was a weak city that could be easily destroyed, their assets could be buried along with the city if the city fell. "She gave me a quest to bepleted to be her apprentice. I have to gather three rare herbs then I will get the ss. I still have three days though but I need to hurry as I haven''t gathered a single rare herb," ZhenZhen''s voice was almost to the point of begging. s, the girl had to face a harsh reality that her three weeks of hard work wasted. Shen would not lie to her either. He shook his head, "I don''t know and if I know, I will leave this ce already." ZhenZhen suddenly went nk when she heard the answer. Her eyes widened in shock as her stare was void and unfocused. "But don''t worry though, I have" he wanted to say that he had a better solution. The house with a spoon, fork, and knife sign. That house must be rted to chef ss. However, before he finished his words, ZhenZhen''s high-pitched voice rang, "What!?" The voice was so loud that the chicken on the tree overheard them, "There must be a way! There must be a way!" Shen noticed that the ck-feathered chicken jumped down from the tree and rushed toward them. He was about to pull ZhenZhen with him but the anti-harassment system got activated instead. His body was electrocuted. ''No! I am not going to lose my level." Shen thought to himself before saying to the girl, "I am sorry, ZhenZhen." After saying that, Shen escaped alone. He ran to the vige. Even though he had leveled up and had higher stats, he was not going to face the chicken with his current equipment. The reason he could kill the Guardian Fish was because of his trap, not a fair confrontation, and he was not going to do that until a certain point where he felt he could kill the fish. Five secondster, he looked back only to see ZhenZhen''s headless corpse was being dragged by the chicken. The chicken did not chase after him after killing ZhenZhen. "So it''s true,'' Shen muttered as he recalled a saying. When you get chased by a bear, you don''t have to run faster than the bear but you have to be faster than your friend. ZhenZhen died and he was safe, the saying held some truth even though it was kinda heartless. Again this was just a game, probably fine, Shen excused himself for not helping ZhenZhen. With his speed, he quickly returned to the vige. When he arrived, ZhenZhen was sitting at the pir that held the hut. She had her head leaned against the wooden pir with a dejected face. She had been working for three weeks, doing menial work that people thought she was crazy to do even in the game, and all of that wasted because she was trapped in the vige. ZhenZhen checked the map, and most of them were dark. The map only showed a ten thousand meters area around the yer. If it was dark, that meant she had not explored it yet. She hoped to see the city on the map but the city did not show up, meaning she was far away from the city. "Tough luck, I have to start everything from scratch by restarting my character," ZhenZhen muttered. "Don''t! Don''t restart your character!" Shen overheard her and called out. "Why not? There''s no hope in this ce. I can''t be" ZhenZhen did not finish her sentence as Shen interrupted her halfway, "You can still be a chef! Why don''t you listen to me first, Miss ZhenZhen?" He subconsciously raised his voice and toned it down immediately. "What do you mean? Can I still be a chef? Do you know the way back to the city?" ZhenZhen stood up immediately. There was hope. "No, I don''t know the way back to the city, but I know a method so you can get a Chef ss" Shen started to exin about the house and the meaning behind the sign. A few minutester, they stood in front of a house with a sign of a spoon, a fork, and a knife. "So this house contains the legacy of a legendary chef? If I enter the house and inherit the legacy, I can be a chef and get a chef-rted ss?" ZhenZhen asked for confirmation. "Yes, at least, that''s how it worked with my ss when I entered that house," Shen pointed at Yosu''s house. "Alright then. Since this is a Legendary ss, It would be stupid of me to restart my character," ZhenZhen nodded and walked toward the house. "Wait!" Shen almost reached ZhenZhen''s hand but he immediately pulled his hand immediately. He learned his lesson. ZhenZhen stopped and turned around, "What''s wrong, Runner? Is there something I need to know before I receive the legacy?" "No, that''s not it, but I have a question for you," Shen''s face turned serious. Chapter 56: Good Luck, My Friend Chapter 56: Good Luck, My Friend "May I know how you got here? What were you doing before?" This was what Shen wanted to know from ZhenZhen. He wanted to confirm the way to reach this vige, hoping to get his friend, Ming, here as well. ying with friends was certainly more fun than ying alone. Just like the old days where his friends supported his crazy idea. He wanted Ming to get his share of the Legendary ss. "Now you asked that" ZhenZhen recalled the incident and told Shen how she ended at this ce. "So you fell into Jade Gorge?" Shen muttered as he recalled the ten gorges in the game. He then scanned the house, ten gorges, ten houses, ten Legendary sses, "I see, so that''s how it is." ZhenZhen did not ask him why he asked her about how she ended up here. She could not wait to enter the house and get the ss already. She wanted to start cooking. "Is there anything I need to know about how to get to the ss?" ZhenZhen asked again to make sure she did not miss any clues from Runner. "Oh, the statue" Shen told her about the statue. The statue was an NPC so ZhenZhen would not experience the jumpscare. "Alright," ZhenZhen nodded and turned around. Taking a deep breath, she entered the dark house. *** *** Shen quickly checked his friend list. Ming was online, he immediately called him. The call was connected but his friend did not pick up the call, "Huh!? It''s rare for him to not pick my call" He then realized something. Both were choosing a crazy path to training. If Ming did not pick up the call, he must be in the process of training. Stopping the training midway was disastrous, he might not get the stats. "But this is more important than two to three stats," Shen muttered as he chose to send a message instead. [Answer my call, this is very important!] He typed a short message and sent it immediately. The status quickly changed from sent to read. Meaning the receiver had read his message. Shen immediately called his friend again. This time, Ming answered the call immediately, "Yo, what''s up, Shen?" Ming was speaking while panting at the same time, meaning the guy was doing his training. "Ming! I found it! I found it!" Shen was so excited that he spoke loudly. "C-calm down. Hey, calm down. You found what?" Ming breathlessly replied over the call. He was curious as well what his friend found. "I found the way to reach this vige, my vige!" Shen smiled widely as he informed his friend. There was a short pause from the other side, "Wait, Shen. Let me change a ce first" Ming replied in a low voice. This information was so important, he did not want to leak it. Shen waited for his friend to speak. He understood how important this vige was, "Yo, Shen. Are you there?" "Yup, are you ready to migrate?" Shen could not stop smiling. "So, how do I get to your vige?" Ming immediately got to the point. He could not wait to get to the vige as well. "Jump into the Eternal Waterfall, right now!" Shen told Ming without exining how it worked. "Are you sure this will work? I will lose my level if this does not work, Shen," Ming was still concerned. Not that he did not believe his friend, but he thought Shen was not sure about the theory. "No, this will work, Ming. Someone just fell into Jade Gorge and she respawned in this vige. If my theory is correct, each gorge will lead into this vige, but you have to jump to the gorge that no one has fallen into. Trust me and jump into Eternal Waterfall, Ming. This is your chance to get the Legendary ss, Ming. You should gamble this chance if you want to make it big!" Shen tried to convince his friend. It was not solely about ying together. Shen knew Ming put his future in this game, so he tried to help his best friend. Getting Legendary ss was just the first step, "Also, don''t worry about your level. You can easily reach level 10 or even level 20 if you reach this vige." There was a short pause before Ming gave his answer, "Alright, Shen. You convinced me to try this crazy idea. So I just have to jump into the Eternal Waterfall?" "Yes, do it, Ming. I am waiting for you down here. Good luck, I hope you can have a memorable freefall," he teased Ming before he closed the call. *** *** Training Center Ming closed the call. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Shen was right, this was his chance to make it big. He had to try it even if there was a chance to fail. Ming stood up and left the training center. When he was outside the training center, he attracted a lot of attention from the other yers. They were whispering to each other while the bolder one was pointing at him. Ming ignored them. Thanks to the training Shen told him, he had be a famous figure in the Eternal Water City. When he did the training, someone posted a thread about him and he became joke material. Some called him a training maniac. Some called him crazy. Some even called him M because he had been training for two weeks in-game time. Who was ying a game for working out? Thanks to this, he had be famous. Second after the famous noob. Because of him, Shen''s notorious fame resurfaced again. Just like that, he was titled as the second noob. Ming ignored all the yers and made his way toward the famous Eternal Waterfall. There were a lot of people around the Eternal Waterfall. He discovered many couples since this had be a famous spot to date in the virtual world. Ming stood alone at the edge of the Eternal Waterfall. He looked down. This was like his fourth time being here but the Eternal Waterfall always managed to amaze him. This was just too beautiful. The waterfall formed like a curtain, covering the surface cliff. He looked at the endless gorge and his heartbeat started to bear rapidly. He was nervous even though this was just a game. While Ming was hesitating, he did not realize that other yers gathered around, watching him and ridiculing him. Ignoring the surroundings, Ming closed his eyes and jumped into the Eternal Waterfall. Chapter 57: Cook Fiona; Whats Your Choice? Chapter 57: Cook Fiona; What''s Your Choice? ZhenZhen entered the house with careful steps. Thanks for Runner''s reminder, she was not surprised by the magical house. He said it was magical because they could not see what was inside despite no door. While it looked pitch-ck from outside, inside the house had enough lighting. Just like Shen, ZhenZhen was attracted to the source of light inside. She found amb on the bed table. She did not think too much about themp and as to how it existed. ZhenZhen''s eyes moved to the bed. A wooden bed with a white sheet. Runner told her about the bed as well, including the effect of the bed. She would recover Stamina faster if she was to rest on the bed. She then scanned the wooden wall. While Runner told her the house only had a bed, bed table, and stone statue, that was not the case for this house. She found various kitchen tools hung on the wooden wall. There was a wok with three different sizes, kettle, knives,dle, and more. ZhenZhen then searched for a stone statue. Runner told her as well the stone statue was not a statue, but a real NPC that could turn into a statue. She found the stone statue. It was an olddy statue. Her face was full of wrinkles and she wore a robe. ZhenZhen came over and bowed her head slightly. Runner did not tell her to bow to the statue, but she took the initiative. "This ZhenZhen greets Elder," She remained respectful. She had to be since she wanted to be taught by the olddy. "A decentss. You know how to respect your elder," ZhenZhen suddenly heard an old female voice ZhenZhen looked up. She had been told and she had prepared, but she was still surprised that the status came alive. She subconsciously swallowed mouthful saliva, "Finally I can have a sessor to inherit my legacy." The olddy stretched out and walked toward the bed, "Come here, Lass. Let''s talk." ZhenZhen followed the olddy and sat next to her. She had a gentle smile that calmed her as she spoke, "Since you entered my house, you want to learn how to cook with me, right?" ZhenZhen nodded her head enthusiastically in response, "Yes, Elder! I want to learn to cook!" She showed her enthusiasm and passion for cooking. Her eyes gleamed brightly like shining stars. The olddy smiled, "Heh, now not only that Old Man Yosu who gets a sessor, but now it seems I also have a sessor. But Lass, I am not just going to give my legacy to anyone." ZhenZhen tensed up when they reached this part. The reason she yed the game was to cook, it would be frustrating if she could not cook after all of this. "Before that, I didn''t know your name, yet. This olddy is Fiona," the olddy started by introducing herself. "Hello, Elder Fiona. My name is ZhenZhen," ZhenZhen said. This reminded her about her first interview. She was sweating bullets and very nervous back then. Of course, she was less nervous than that day but still nervous about what woulde for her. "Rx, we will just have a chat, like what passion pushes you to cook. What do you want to be after learning under me? Something like that," Old Lady Fiona smiled, "Ah, don''t call me Elder Fiona. That''s too formal. For now, just call me Cook Fiona, that reminds me of the good old days." "Yes, Cook Fiona," ZhenZhen nodded his head, "My passion? I don''t know about passion, but I think I have regarded cooking as part of my life. It''s like my life is iplete without cooking." That was true. Starting to learn from her mother when she was a kid. She started to take cooking seriously when she entered the cookingpetition in Junior High. "As for what I want to be after learning from Cook Fiona. I want to be the best cook in the world with or without you," That sounded arrogant but it came from her heart, "But I also want to enjoy myself with cooking, experimenting with new ingredients and also spices, herbs. Maybe learning more cooking techniques from the remote tribe and other countries and cities. I want to enjoy all new things about cooking and make them mine." When she expressed her thoughts, she had a longing expression on her face, causing Cook Fiona to smile even wider. The reason she did not want to be Royal Cook was because of the same reason. She did not want to be bound to the Royal Cook and caged in the ce called Eternal Wind City. No matter how good and luxurious the jail was, the jail was jail. It was meant to imprison a person in a limited space. She decided to walk into the giant crevice instead of being imprisoned and she made the right choice. While she could not fulfill her dream, she had freedom in this ce. Much better ce than a prison called Lord Castle. "I kind of started to like you, but we are not over yet, Zhen Lass. Are you willing to listen to my past?" Cook Fiona asked with a smile. ZhenZhen nodded her head. Not just because she wanted the ss but because she wanted to know how Cook Fiona ended up in this ce. She also wanted to know what kind of cook her potential teacher was. "My journey started from a city called Eternal Wind City" ZhenZhen listened attentively to Cook Fiona''s past. A humble born from the outer city, bing a thief to steal the ingredients to cook for her two little brothers and one little sister. Yes, her family was the one who inspired her to be a cook until one day, she became the best cook in the city. Even the Royal Family acknowledged her cooking skill and offered to be Royal Cook. That was when things started to go wrong for Cook Fiona. She refused the offer because she wanted to explore the world and wanted to know about the cooking from other cities with different cultures. However, the Royal Family was furious about her refusal. The Royal Family threatened her with her family and presented her with two choices. First, bing a Royal Cook for the lord and her family would be safe. Second, enter the giant crevice if she did not want her family to be killed. Because of her fame, the Lord could not just execute her. ZhenZhen frowned when she heard about how unreasonable the Lord was. "So here is my question for you, Zhen Lass. What would you do if you were in my position?" Chapter 58: Guru Spices Successor Chapter 58: Guru Spices Sessor ''Is this the test?'' ZhenZhen asked herself inwardly while digesting the question. What would she do if she was in Cook Fiona''s situation? The answer was she did not know since she was never in that position. However, that was not the answer Cook Fiona sought after, at least not that passive answer. But this was too weird for a test too since the answer for each individual would be different. She could say that she would make the same choice as Cook Fiona did in the past, but that was too false for the answer. What did Cook Fiona try to find from her answer? Did she have any regrets? Why would she ask this to her? ''Yes, I have to figure out her intention of asking me this question.'' ZhenZhen realized something as she thought about it, ''She asked me this question to find what kind of person I am. She wants to know about me, she is not seeking something from my answer. Stupid Luo Zhen Zhen. You almost made a fatal mistake.'' ''Since Cook Fiona wants to know about me, I will just give her my honest answer,'' with that thought in her mind, she was ready to give her answer. "To be honest, I don''t know what I would do if I was in your position back then. But I am sure that exploring an unknown giant crevice would be myst choice." ZhenZhen replied earnestly. "Hohoho Why is it thest choice? You don''t care about being ''ved'' by the city lord?" Cook Fiona asked with an intrigued expression. She showed that she was interested in ZhenZhen''s answer. ''Yeay, it seems it is a pass for me,'' ZhenZhen cheered up inwardly while putting a poker face outwardly, "Simple! If I choose to explore the unknown giant crevice, the chance of me losing my life is bigger. I don''t want to throw away my life, at least not until I achieve all my dreams. If I die that means I lose to the evil city lord. My choice will be to stay and be the Royal Cook." Cook Fiona smiled while nodding her head, "Your dreams? You have more than one dream, what is one of them?" "Cooking the Dragon Meat!" Her answer was the same as saying she wanted to cook dinosaur meat. Both were impossible to get as no one had seen a Dragon. The dragon was just a myth, but it was never wrong to have a dream. "What an ambition!" Eximed Cook Fiona while pping her hands. Before talking about cooking dragon meat, she had to find the dragon first. Finding the dragon did not mean she could cook the dragon meat. She had to kill it to obtain the dragon meat. Killing the dragon was much harder than finding it. That was a bold dream that Cook Fiona never expected from ZhenZhen. "Even though we just met, I almost like everything about you, Zhen Lass. Alright, let''s not waste your time anymore, I want you to inherit my legacy but with a condition!" Elder Fiona said seriously. Her smile vanished as her expression was reced with solemnness. "I am willing to listen to your condition, Cook Fiona," ZhenZhen nodded seriously. When it came to cooking, she took the matter very seriously. "I just want you to spread my name. I want the family of the City Lord of the Eternal Wind City to hear my name. I want them to know that the cook they threw away into the gorge back then has achieved her dream and also found a worthy sessor." Cook Fiona said as her gentle smile returned to her face. "I will do it even if you don''t ask me to. While I want to learn from others, I also want others to learn from me. That way, we, the cooks, could develop a better environment for the gourmet world and I hope a new technique or more things that are rted to cooking would be discovered." ZhenZhen said passionately as she closed her eyes, imagining she became the pioneer that changed the gourmet world. "Even loftier ambition than cooking dragon meat, but both are equally hard," Cook Fionamented with a smile, "Good, I am satisfied with you. Do you want to be my sessor, ZhenZhen?" [Fiona the Guru Spices has offered her legacy! ept/Decline?] [The Unknown Guru Cook''s Legacy] ss: Guru Spices Sessor Potential: Epic Potential ZhenZhen did not hesitate to choose "ept". By epting the legacy, she opened the gate to the gourmet world. This was the start of her eventful journey in Tribe Online. [You have epted the Unknown Guru Spices Legacy!] [Congrattions! You have inherited the Epic ss, Guru Spices Sessor!] [Congrattions! You have learned Guru Spices skill sets!] ZhenZhen stayed longer and chatted about cooking before she was sent out with one task by her Teacher. Now she was allowed to call the olddy Teacher Fiona as she was now officially Fiona''s sessor. *** *** "ARGHHHHHHH!" Ming screamed on top of his lungs. He had prepared for this but it was still too terrifying. Thanks to this, his heartbeat raced so quickly that he got a warning from the Gaming Pod. [Abnormality is found. You are advised to log out and do a check-up! Do you want to book a check-up at the closest hospital?] Ming, of course, ignored the warning as his heartbeat would return normal once he respawned in the hidden vige. [You have been poisoned!] [You have died!] Ming died mid-air of free falling. All this time, he had been closing his eyes. When there was a notification asked him whether he wanted to respawn or not, he immediately replied with a big yes. Even if somehow he failed to arrive at the hidden vige, he was not going to try this method again. Once was enough. Slowly, Ming opened his eyes while praying inwardly, ''Hidden Vige! Please let me respawn in the hidden vige oh Budha!'' With the hope that his prayer was listened to by Budha, Ming opened his eyes. Chapter 59: The Working Out Maniac - Second Noob Chapter 59: The Working Out Maniac - Second Noob "Ming!" Shen cheered loudly when his friend appeared in front of him. Since Sky did not allow them to change their appearance, he quickly recognized his friend. Ming was started and subconsciously took a few steps back. He did not know that there was a stone bench behind him so he tripped off. Shenughed hard when he saw his friend fell, "Ming oh Ming, your sense of humor does not change. You don''t have to hurt yourself to humor me," He smirked at his friend''s misfortune. "SHEN!" Ming ignored his friend''s remark. He stood up and dashed toward Shen, "Thank you, Shen. Thank you. You are truly my best friend!" Ming hugged Shen and kept shaking Shen''s body. "Alright, stop it. Stop it. You make me dizzy. Oi, stop!" Shen was ignored by Ming until he heard a female''s voice, "Is that your friend, Runner?" Ming''s movement froze as he saw a woman in starter clothes. He released and fixed his clothes. "Yes, he is my friend, Ming. She is ZhenZhen." Shen introduced the two to each other. Ming had been single since their high school. He never dated anyone for a different reason than Shen. The former tried to find a girlfriend but the standard he set was just too highs that only a few women amongst hundreds entered his eyes. Shen never nned to date anyone, not that he had not found the girl he was fond of. It was just that he was too busy with his career and it never reached the next step. From his friend''s reaction, Shen could know that ZhenZhen was his type, ''But isn''t she too old for him?'' He could tell that ZhenZhen was older than them. Of course, ZhenZhen was also a beauty, but after he saw Xue at that time. Any other women were less pretty in his eyes. "Hello, I am ZhenZhen," ZhenZhen was even more polite toward Ming before she looked toward Runner and let out a sigh, "Can you help me?" "I will do my best to help since you will be our Cook in this vige," Shen nodded his head he finally could eat the real food, "What can I do for you?" "I am given my first task by my Teacher. She told me to follow you for the morning routine. What''s your morning routine?" ZhenZhen asked. The task was ridiculous, what was the corrtion between cooking and training her body? It did not make sense, at all. However, since it was the task given by the teacher, she would do it. She was not going to give up in the face of the trial. "I see, that''s actually quite beneficial even if you are a production ss. It increases your Endurance for more Stamina." Shen nodded in agreement with ZhenZhen''s teacher, "My morning routine is running with weight, but since you are just started, we will start with the lightest weight." "Before that, I have to guide my friend first. He''s just arrived," Shen pped Ming who stiffened on the spot while looking at ZhenZhen. He pulled his friend forcefully and whispered forcefully, "Ming! You are so embarrassing. Get it together man, you will look creepy if you keep staring at her face." Fortunately, ZhenZhen was not affected by his friend''s weird antics. She merely smiled at Shen as they went away from the respawn spot. Ming snapped out from his trance as his cheeks reddened. Even in the game, the character could be this expressive, Shen thought to himself. "Did I look weird just now?" Ming asked concernedly. "Focus Ming, we have to choose your ss. Remember your purpose of ying this game!" Shen shook his head, "And yes, you look almost creepy. You almost look like a creepy stalker that stares at his target!" "This is bad. My father said the first impression the most important in courting girls," Ming let out a sigh, "It seems I just made a fatal mistake." Shen rolled his eyes, "Let''s talk about girls when we visit Uncle Hou''s stall next time. For now, let''s focus on your ss. So what ss do you want?" Only then Ming nodded and looked at his surroundings. After giving a quick scan, he muttered in a low voice, "How can you survive in this ce for one and half months alone, Shen? Maybe if you get thrown into an ind, you can survive." "Focus Ming! Focus!" Shen said exasperatedly, "Let''s discuss the ss. If you want to earn money, be a cksmith is a good choice actually. I heard that a sessful cksmith can be a millionaire even in Universe Online. But if you don''t like a production ss, you can choose thebat ss." Shen showed the vige and told him about the ss he knew about. The choices he had only made Ming hesitating to choose. He could not make the decision right away. After contemting for a while, Ming decided to get the Combat ss. He stood in front of the house with a bow and a dagger symbol. It was an Archer ss, at least, that was how Shen described the symbol. Archer used a bow as their main weapon and a dagger for closebat fight hence a bow and a dagger. "Are you sure? You have to restart your character and if you respawned in my city or her city, your chance to get back to this vige was just slim, Ming." Shen tried to remind him about the consequences. "Nah, This is Legendary ss, Shen. No matter how bad it is, it can''t be worst than the normal ss!" Ming confidently stepped onto the porch. He did not ask Shen what would he encounter inside the house as he rushed into the house. Shen did not have a chance to warn his friend but he just shrugged. He never nned to tell his friend about the stone statue. "Your friend looks familiar," ZhenZhen approached Shen as she looked at the house, "I have seen his face somewhere, but I don''t remember." ''Don''t say that in front of him or he will misunderstand.'' Shen did not say it out. "AH! I remember, he is the maniac working out. He recently gained fame on the forum and was titled the Second Noob by the other yers!" Chapter 60: Master Hunter Chapter 60: Master Hunter The Second Noob, that was what Ming called on the forum after his clip of working out got posted on the forum. People called him Maniac Working out and also the Second Noob. Why? Because people deemed him as useless for wasting his time by working out. The other yers were hunting the monsters and raced in the level ranking yet this one was working out every day. In other words, Ming got famous because of Shen''s advice. ZhenZhen showed the post through the game interface. Shen rarely read on the forum. Only when the yer he subscribed to posted a post as he got the notification. Aside from that, he rarely paid attention to the trend. He wholly focused on the training as well, just like Ming. Shen smiled widely when he read the post. There was a clip of Ming who kept running even though his face was red. In thement section, he could see that Ming''s face had be an emote too. It could be said that Ming was more famous than him now. "GHARHRHHH!" A scream resounded from the house. It was Ming''s scream. ZhenZhen and Shen looked toward the house. "Runner, you don''t tell him about the statue, don''t you?" ZhenZhen immediately realized what happened inside the house. If Runner did not tell her about the statue, she would scream too. "He ran inside before I could tell him anything. That''s his fault," Shen shrugged, pretending it was not his intention to not tell Ming about the statue. *** *** "What did you say, Brat? Ghost?" The shirtless old man scolded while pointing his index finger at Ming who was getting corned at the corner of the house. Ming''s eyes kept ncing to the door, trying to sneak out of the house. However, the shirtless old man did not give Ming a chance to escape. "How could you don''t recognize the greatest Hunter in the Eternal Wind City!" The old man''s voice was loud and echoed in the room. The old man had refined muscle with thick biceps. With the big six-packs and also broad chest, the old man had a strong build. The bronze skin told Ming that the old man was often being exposed to the sun. ''Wait, he is a Hunter, not an Archer?'' Ming realized that this might not be the ss he wanted. He scanned the old man from the top to bottom. The old man''s clothes reminded him of the Japanese''s kimono, but the old man did not close the upper part. "You really don''t know me, Young''un?" The old man toned down his voice and asked Ming with a solemn look. Ming shook his head fiercely as he truly did not know who the old man was. *** *** In the respawn spot, ZhenZhen and Shen were sitting on the bench while waiting for Ming. It had been twenty minutes but Ming had note out yet from the house. It took longer than ZhenZhen. "Do you think it''s possible for failing to get the ss? There''s some sort of test, right?" ZhenZhen asked worriedly. Even though it was not like a real test, but her Teacher asked something to know about her before she decided whether she was the right person to her sessor or not. She was worried that Ming''s personality was not the person inside the house''s liking and failed to inherit the legacy. Shen never thought about the possibility of failing to get the ss. He thought that once Ming chose the house, Ming would get the ss automatically. He started to get worried about Ming. "Did the Elder test you?" Shen asked ZhenZhen as he tried to recall what happened to him back then. There was no test, at all. Yosu just offered the ss to him after he heard the story from the old man. "No, It''s not an actual test, but she asked me about something before she decided to choose me to be her sessor," ZhenZhen exined, "Your friend is probably fine, don''t worry." Shen would roll his eyes if they were close enough, but they did not. She just said something that made him worry and now she said it would be fine. *** *** Meanwhile, Ming sat on the floor, listening to the boisterous old man''s story about his past. The old man''s name was Yomu. He boasted that he was the best hunter in the Eternal Wind City. Ming knew that the Eternal Wind City was where Shen respawned. The old man told how he hunted ten meters tall bear. Not only that, but he said that he had seen a giant eagle. But the old man said that he did not dare to hunt the eagle because he did not want to court the disaster for his party. "The giant eagle was around fifteen meters long and its wingspan reaches thirty meters!" The old man was mesmerized by his story. Ming was looked at the old man in a daze. It had been thirty minutes, yes, he had been listening to the old man for thirty minutes. "Its eyes showed the wisdom, meaning that eagle is an intelligent beast and to our surprise, it noticed us. It was fortunate that the giant eagle did not attack us back then. It just flew away," Yomu ended the story with a longing smile. "Where did you meet this giant eagle?" Curious, Ming asked. If the giant eagle was around this vige, they had to be careful to not piss it off. If they did, the giant eagle might wipe the vige. Based on Shen''s information, the vige was the only shelter in this ce. "I encountered the giant eagle in the north of the Eternal Wind City, The Forbidden Wind Forest!" Yomu told Ming with a serious look, "Like its name, it was forbidden for us to enter the forest but we went there anyway. Then the City Lord found out about it and I was taking all the responsibility hence I entered the God Burial!" Ming was relieved when he heard that. That meant they did not have to worry about a giant eagle attacked the vige. "How is it? Are you interested to be a Hunter? Young''un?" Yomu had a wide smile as he asked Ming. Ming''s eyes widened as a smile blossomed on his face, ''Finally, this is the time for my Legendary ss!'' he was screaming inside. "I am interested!" Ming nodded excitedly, causing the old man Yomu to smile while nodding approvingly, "You have the foundation, so I don''t mind taking you as my sessor." [Yomu the Master Hunter has offered her legacy! ept/Decline?] [The Master Hunter''s Legacy] ss: Hunter Sessor Potential: Epic Potential Even though Ming wanted to be an Archer, he did not mind having Hunter as his ss. From what he had seen, there was no archer ss in this vige. Hunter was his best choice. Hunting monsters to get the loot and money, his main purpose of ying the game since he had chosen thebat ss. ''But this is Epic ss, not Legendary ss?'' He thought to himself. Shen told him that his ss was Legendary Potentia. Of course, Epic was not bad too, it was just below the Legendary ss. Ming epted the ss without hesitation. Chapter 61: Training Together Chapter 61: Training Together When Shen saw his friende out of the house, he was relieved. He was relieved inwardly. He thought his friend would fail to inherit the legacy, but from Ming''s expression, he knew that his friend sessfully obtained the legacy. "Sh- Runner, it is not an Archer, but Hunter," Mingined to him as he approached Shen. He almost blurted out his friend''s name but managed to hold back after noticing ZhenZhen who sat next to Shen. People rarely used their real name in the game with a few exceptions, him for example. "Then did you refuse the legacy?" Shen realized the problem. Ming might not want the ss that caused him to take a long time toe out. "Of course, not. Why would I refuse a good ss?" Ming shook his head, "But my ss is Epic Potential not the Legendary ss like yours." "Huh? I thought all sses are Legendary ss," Shen muttered in a low voice before he turned toward ZhenZhen. He did not ask her as ZhenZhen voluntarily told them her ss, "Mine is Epic ss as well, Maybe only your ss with Legendary Potential." She knew how important potential was, but for her, the potential did not matter. As long as she could cook, then it was fine. "I am the lucky one, I guess?" Shen smiled in response. Not like he was trying to lie to Ming, but he chose his ss because he was more familiar with the sword than other weapons. It turned out his preference got him lucky to obtain the Legendary ss. "Alright, let''s start working out. If I don''t work out, my teacher won''t teach me about cooking," ZhenZhen was eager to start working out. Different from Shen and Ming, she inherited the legacy but she did not have a single skill from the ss but bonus stats in Dexterity and a little bit in Strength. She thought that she needed to finish working out first before her teacher taught her about cooking. "Oh, yes. My teacher also told me to continue the training with Yosu Legatee." Ming looked toward Shen, "Does your ss name is Yosu Legatee?" "Yup, that''s my ss!" Shen nodded and walked toward Yosu''s house, "Follow me then, I will get you guys the necessary equipment for working out." They headed toward Yosu''s house. "By the way, what took you so long inside, Ming?" Shen was curious about what his friend was doing inside the house. Ming let out a sigh, "I have been listening to my teacher''s story, about his glorious past as to how he hunted many dangerous monsters and his adventure." "That''s it? He did not test you or something? You just have to listen to his story?" ZhenZhen chimed in. She also wanted to know about the others who got their sses. "Yeah, there was no test. I just listened to my teacher''s story for more than half an hour before he offered me whether I want to inherit his legacy or not," Ming nodded and looked toward ZhenZhen, "What about you two?" He was looking at ZhenZhen but still asked about Shen as well, so not too obvious that he was trying to talk with her. "My teacher asked a question and she agreed to take me in after hearing my answer. It''s considered a test, I guess?" ZhenZhen told her what happened when he met with Cook Fiona. Then the two looked toward Shen, "What about you?" "About the same as Ming," Shen replied while recalling the conversation between him and Old Yosu, "He told me why he could end up here, about his past and also one request. I was asked to spread his name to the world though I don''t know how to do that." "Same!" ZhenZhen also nodded, "My teacher also asked me to spread her name to the world, but my task is easier. I just need to write a book about cooking and spread it out." She smiled. "Then we are all the same, my teacher asked the same thing." Ming nodded and turned toward Shen, "Oh, Shen, do you know that my teacher is rted by blood to your teacher? My teacher grumbled that your teacher is the cause of my teacher being targeted by the City Lord of the Eternal Wind City." "Oh, really? My Master did not tell me anything about his family being here," Shen shook his head. His Master said nothing about his family. As they chatted, they arrived at the backyard of Yosu''s house. Shen walked to the smallest stone-backpack. Yes, he called it a stone-backpack. It was simr to a backpack but made of stone and used to weigh their bodies in the training hence he called it stone-backpack. "Because you are new, let''s start with the lightest stone." Shen pointed at the stone that sized about their heads, "This stone weighed around three kilos. You will be okay with this, right?" He spoke to ZhenZhen, of course. He had a different stone-backpack for Ming. ZhenZhen nodded as she approached the stone. The stone was not that big and heavy, she should be okay, she thought. She reached the belt and picked up the stone while nodding her head. This was still bearable for her. "As for you, Ming. I don''t know how far with your training, but two weeks" Shen walked to a bigger stone that was about a human''s body size stone, "What about if we try with ten kilos first? You can increase the weight if you feel this was too lightter." Ming looked toward ZhenZhen who was trying to walk with the three-kilos stone on her back before he turned toward Shen back, he did not immediately agree with his friend''s rmendation, "What about you, Sh- Runner?" He almost blurted out his friend''s real name again. "Me? My stone is around thirty twenty-five kilos, around that. I am not sure since there''s no measurement and my Master never told me anything about the weight but he kept asking me to increase the weight." Shen was telling the truth. "Woah, you run with twenty-five kilos of stone on your back?" ZhenZhen was amazed by Shen''s dedication. This was just a game, why did he have to torture himself like that? ''But everyone is ying the game for different reasons, I guess? I am for my passion for cooking, and he has his reason too.'' Ming gritted his teeth and said, "Then get me the fifteen kilos stone. I am doing okay with fifteen kilos." The tone of his voice was confident that he would be able to finish the training with fifteen kilos of stone. "Are you sure, Ming? You two have to finish at least tenps to get the optimal effect," Shen advised Ming, just like a trainer teaching his trainee. He was well aware that his friend wanted to show off to ZhenZhen, but if he failed to finish the tenps, it would be embarrassing instead. "I am fine!" Ming ignored his friend''s advice as he picked the fifteen-kilos stone. That was something he would regretter. Chapter 62: The Mysterious Black Hoodie Chapter 62: The Mysterious ck Hoodie "Hah Hah Hah" ZhenZhen was out of breath as the notification of the weakened state rang in her head. She looked at the man in front of her with an incredible gaze. The man had a stone that was triple his body size yet he kept running at a constant speed. Meanwhile, she only had three kilos weight on her back, yet she could not catch up with Runner. He told her to took a long breath and released it out slowly as she ran. She tried the method but it did not work for her. This was just too much for her. Meanwhile, Ming was worst than her. He was running out of breath and entered the weakened state in his fourthp. She wanted to stop and threw her body on the cool grass. She wanted to get a break. However, Runner''s words rang in her head. "You can''t stop midway, you have to finish tenps even if you are in your weakened state or the training would be wasted and you have to repeat it. My Master can see my growth by just looking with his eyes, maybe your Teacher can do the same too," That was what Runner told her. If her Teacher found that there was no improvement in her physical training, her Teacher might be disappointed in her and retracted back the legacy. ZhenZhen did not want that to happen as Epic ss was too precious to be wasted. With great determination, ZhenZhen continued by walking. On the other side, Ming walked slowly with the fifteen-kilos stone on his back. His body was swaying to the right and left, was about to fall anytime. ''I regret it! I regret it! I regret it!'' Ming kept saying that in his head. He thought he would be okay since he had the foundation, but then he found out that his training was nothingpared to Shen. The training set provided by the training center was nothingpared to this. His purpose of picking up the fifteen-kilos stone was to show off to ZhenZhen. Instead of showing off, he was embarrassing himself in front of her, ''I should have listened to Shen''s advice.'' Ming truly regretted that he did not listen to his friend. *** *** "Shen, don''t you get boring by doing that every day?" Ming asked before he mped the tofu on his bowl and delivered it into his mouth, "While the exhaustion will be gone once we log out, but it was still too much for a game." Ming hade to Uncle Hou''s stall to treat Shen some food. This was the least thing he could do for Shen after what his friend had done for him. He could sell the information and got rich by himself, but he chose his friend. "Will you stop doing it as well?" Shen replied with a question too. They were talking about extreme training. The feeling of exhaustion was so real even in the game. Ming admired his friend for not quitting even after a month and a half doing the same exhausting thing in the game. "Of course, not. This is my chance to go big, I will face all the obstruction and prove to my father that he is wrong about the game." Ming replied instantly. Ming''s father was the old-fashioned type. Even though there was a profession of a gamer and streamer, his father believed in more a stable job in the office. Yes, Ming''s father wanted him to be an office worker. "The same for me. This is my chance to achieve my goal. I won''t stop with just this little hurdle," Shen shrugged as Ming nodded understandingly. "What about Dale, should we tell him about the hidden vige and ask him to move to our server?" Ming did not forget his other best friend, Dale. Dale was still in the UK, in hisst year of university. "Can he cross the server? He is still overseas," Shen was unsure about Dale. The reason he was not worried about Dale, the guy was from a well-off family. Even if he did not get into the hidden vige, he would be okay. "We should tell him. It''s been a long time since we yed together," Ming nodded and moved his chin toward Shen''s phone, "You call him." "Nah, we are in a public ce. I will call him once we back into the game." Shen shook his head. "But Shen, how did you know the way to enter the hidden vige? I thought the hidden vige can only be essed from God Burial near the Eternal Wind City. From my understanding of the elders, all of them were from the Eternal Wind City as well," Ming asked Shen. While their voice was not especially loud, but the other people from the other table could hear their conversation. "It''s okay, Shen. The uncles who ate here do not y the game. They don''t know what we are talking about," Ming reassured his friend with a wave of his hand. "It''s actually just a guess, but ZhenZhen''s appearance in the vige confirmed my theory. We have ten famous gorges, ten houses, and ten sses. I quickly connect the dot and thought that the hidden can be essed through the famous gorge. However, one gorge is only for one person. So if you try to jump into God Burial, you can''t enter the hidden vige as I have taken the quota from God Burial." Shen exined his thoughts. "Since Jade Gorge, Eternal Waterfall, and God Burial''s quota, we can only wait for the other yers to fall to the other seven famous gorges." Ming nodded understandingly. The two best friends continued chatting without Little Witch Lin Lin disturbed them. Of course, Little Lin Lin was still there, she was listening to the two''s conversation attentively while ying a ck pen in her hand. It was a rare moment for her to be quiet. Fifteen minutester, Shen and Ming left the stall. Lin Lin was still there. After making sure the two brothers had gone, Lin Lin jumped off the chair and walked toward the table at the corner fot the stall. There was a person sitting there, wearing a ck sweater with a hoodie covered the person''s face. Lin Lin sat next to the person, "Beautiful Sister, I have recorded everything they talked about." The little girl waved the ck pen in her hand. The Beautiful Sister was about to take the ck pen that turned out to be a recorder from her, but Lin Lin was faster, "I will not give this to you unless you promise something." She pulled the ck pen and hid it behind her back. "What do you want me to promise, Lin Lin?" A melodious and soft voice came from the person with a ck hoodie. From the voice, everyone easily identified the person as a woman. "Promise me that you will not hurt Brother Shen and Brother Ming!" Little Lin Lin raised her voice slightly. The person raised her head and showed her face to Lin Lin, "I promise I will not hurt Brother Shen and Brother Ming." Chapter 63: Its Time Chapter 63: It''s Time [You have trained your body to the limit!] [You gained +1 Endurance and +1 Strength!] Shen threw the giant stone to the side, causing a booming sound and the ground shook a little bit. He wiped his sweat and walked toward Ming who was sitting near the respawn spot. He was drinking the water and eating the berries to recover his Stamina as well. "I think I am done with my training. It''s 2000 squats and it only gives 1 Endurance and also 1 Strength. At this point, it will be a waste of my time to continue the training. My Master also told me that''s enough for my physical training. I will start hunting the monster from" Shen took out his own berries and started to eat. Even though they had a cook now, ZhenZhen did not have the main ingredient to start cooking. They did not have a farm to get vegetables. ZhenZhen said that she learned the farming skill, but it was useless without the seed. They did not have a seed to start a farm. So they had to wait longer to have real food. "Hah I will continue the training alone, I guess," Ming let out a sigh. It was a lie that he did not get bored working out in the game. However, he endured this well as he was also well aware that this was the key for him to seed. Just like Shen said, he would feel the sweet taste of his hard workter in the future. "By the way, did you see the Forum, Shen? Goddess Yue vanished from the ranking leaderboard!" Ming changed the topic. It was a hot topic on the Forum that Goddess Yue''s name suddenly vanished. People were specting about her disappearance, but it was merely spection. Some said that Goddess Yue was retiring to get married. Such a ridiculous assumption was barraged by angry mobs. Some said that Goddess Yue was restarting her character as she found a new secret in the game. Regardless of the spection, no one knew what happened to Goddess Xue. Goddess Yue''s official ount also did not give any statement. Even her friends in the game also did not know where Goddess Xue disappeared to. Her name disappeared from the top 10 rankings three days ago, since then, the forum went wild. Shen nodded his head. Goddess Yue was the only one he subscribed to on the forum. So of course, he knew about her disappearance as well. "What''s with that reaction. This is Goddess Yue we are talking about Shen, Goddess Yue!" Ming shook his head helplessly at his friend''s uninterested expression. Shen shrugged, while he liked her content but it was not the point to get starstruck. This Yue did not know about him, why should he care about her since she did not want the others to know where she went to. "By the way. Dale will go back in three days. He speed-runs his thesis because I told him about this hidden vige," Shen changed the topic. He had told Dale and that guy immediately decided to return when he heard about the hidden vige. Ming nodded his head, "He also told me about it. He asked us to pick him at the airport." "You can pick him up, I will go hunting the monsters," Shen replied to Ming, "You can drive your father''s car to pick him up." He could not wait to start hunting the monsters. It was time to catch up with the level. A month had passed since Tribe Online started. The number 1 in the leaderboard was still the same, ZhanQ from Dynasty and Zhong Ye from Royal. Both had the same level but ZhanQ was always ahead of Zhong Ye. Both were level 31 now. Goddess Yue was level 29, ranking 7 in the leaderboard before she disappeared. As the two chatted, ZhenZhen returned from gathering in the wild. She waved her hand excitedly as she ran toward them, "Runner! Ming! I found something good! We can have real food tonight!" As she arrived in front of the two, she showed her basket. Both saw various kinds of mushrooms inside the basket, "We will have mushroom stew and roasted mushroom tonight." Shen cast a dubious look at ZhenZhen, "Are you sure the mushroom is safe to be consumed?" He did not want to die silly from food poisoning. He would drop a level if he died. "The mushroom is poisonous if you don''t properly clean it. However, you can trust me. I will make a delicious mushroom stew." ZhenZhen hit her chest assuringly to convince Runner. "I can''t wait for your mushroom stew, ZhenZhen. I am sick of eating these berries." Ming said while maintaining a calmposure. Even after knowing ZhenZhen''s real age past thirty, Ming did not give up. His reason was quite simple, "Even though she is in her thirties, she looks like she was in her twenties." It was not something Shen could deny as ZhenZhen looked much younger than her age. Maybe the game filter that made her look younger. However, Shen did not try to stop Ming. As a friend, he would support his friend in his endeavor. They chatted a while before ZhenZhen went to her house. She said she wanted to clean the mushroom first. "Alright then. I will continue my training as well. I can''t wait to eat her first dish," Ming stood up and walked toward the stone. He was going for his squat routine. While Shen used forty kilos of stone, Ming had learned his lesson so he used twenty-five kilos for the squat. Meanwhile, Shen checked his stamina while checking his stats as well. This was the fruit after working out for two months in-game time. Name: Runner Race: Human ss: Yosu Legatee Affiliation: - Level: 10 Experience: 12,800/302,400 Health Point: 260 Stamina Point: 1250/1780 Hunger: 75 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 152 Agility: 189 Vitality: 26 Endurance: 178 Dexterity: 195 Status Point: 0 Skill: Void Sword Technique: [Void Draw - Level 1], [Void Step - Level 1], [Void Critical - Level 1 (Passive)], [Void Thrust - Level 1] Looking at window status, Shen grinned happily. Which character had this kind of status in level 10? No one but him. Shen stood up and stretched out, "It''s time to hunt!" Chapter 64: The Fourth Member!? Chapter 64: The Fourth Member!? -129.2 [Void Critical] -258.4 -129.2 -129.2 -129.2 The floating damage appeared continuously above the Guardian Fish. Despite his growth, Shen abused the same tactic. The fact that the developer did not patch or do anything about this. This might be a hidden mechanic in the game to hunt monsters easier. Of course, he had a reason for doing this. The weapon was the main problem. He could not use real weapons since no smith could repair their weapons, not yet. Using the Guardian Fish''s snout was the best weapon he had. However, the Guardian Fish''s snout was too short. With his pitiful 260 HP, he might die if he was hit by the Guardian Fish four times. Shen was not going to take the risk. He kept stabbing the Guardian Fish in the head. He wanted to maintain the meat so ZhenZhen could cook the fish for them. At least, they could get something meaty from the fish. [You have killed Guardian Fish!] [You gained 22,400 Experiences!] This was the tenth fish for today yet he was still level 10. Shen checked his experience bar and he needed 65,600 more experiences to level up. Of course, this was considered fast since he just started hunting twenty minutes ago. He could not imagine what kind of grinding the other yers had to face. The monster he killed was level 32 while the other yers had to kill the low-level monsters. Shen merely shook his head as he stored the dead fish into his inventory. He had a stack of ten fish and he would bring more fish for ZhenZhen to cook. The repeated grinding continued. He went to the river and baited more Guardian Fish to the ground. He then trapped them in one tree before he started to ughter them. [You have killed Guardian Fish!] [You gained 22,400 Experiences!] [You have leveled up!] [You gained 10 Status Points] This was the thirteenth fish and he leveled up. Less than an hour for one level, it was fast. Shen checked the Stamina Bar. He only had less than three hundred Stamina. That was enough for killing five to seven fishes. However, instead of continuing the hunting, Shen decided to take a rest to recover his stamina while eating the berries to recover his hunger as well. Sitting below the tree, he started to recall his hunting. The training increased his strength sharply which automatically boosted his attack damage. He now dealt 129 Damage with the fish snout. It took him 24 hits or even 20 if he was lucky enough to trigger Void Critical. Killing the Guardian Fish became much faster now. "I hope the Guardian Fish keeps respawning" The Guardian Fish was the only monster he could hunt now. He was not that confident in facing the ck-feathered chicken. At least he would not try until they had a cksmith, "Or maybeter when Ming finished his training." Shen continued killing the Guardian Fish after he recovered his stamina. He continued until he ran out of the berries to fill his hunger. Hunger decreased faster when you were doing something such as training or hunting. [You have killed Guardian Fish!] [You gained 22,400 Experiences!] The notification rang in Shen''s head. He checked the window status and nodded satisfyingly. He killed 163 Guardian Fishes in about five hours. His level increased by three, he was level 13. It was actually a lot as the other yers could only level up by one level in a day or maybe one level in two days. His progress was quickpared to the other yers even though the experience needed for the Legendary ss was quadruple that of a normal ss. Name: Runner Race: Human ss: Yosu Legatee Affiliation: - Level: 13 Experience: 1,565,000/2,419,200 Health Point: 320 Stamina Point: 412/1840 Hunger: 19 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 158 Agility: 201 Vitality: 32 Endurance: 184 Dexterity: 204 Status Point: 0 Skill: Void Sword Technique: [Void Draw - Level 1], [Void Step - Level 1], [Void Critical - Level 1 (Passive)], [Void Thrust - Level 1] Shen allocated the status point with his form, the 32221 form. Agility: 9 Strength: 6 Endurance: 6 Vitality: 6 Dexterity: 3 That was his allocation of status points. If he kept training the squats, maybe it would increase 2 Endurance, 1 Strength, in six hours. It was no longer optimal to focus only on the training. It did not mean he would stop the training, he just reduced the amount of his training. He would keep running with weight on his back to increase his Endurance. Running at a constant speed could also increase Agility. Even though it was only one Endurance and one Agility, he would continue the training until the training could no longer increase his stats. "Alright, it''s time to go back! I am quite worried to leave ZhenZhen alone with Ming," Shen muttered as he returned with a plentiful harvest. He had his own route so he would not encounter the ck-feathered chicken. When he arrived at the vige, Shen noticed his friend was standing in front of another house. It was not Hunter''s house. He approached him and looked toward the house. It was a house with an anvil and a hammer sign, "What''s wrong? Do you regret not choosing the cksmith ss?" "Oh, Shen, you are back," Ming did not notice his friend''s arrival as he shook his head before he grinned at Shen, "Nope, I don''t regret it. However, we have a new member of the vige. and that person chose a cksmith house. We will have someone to repair our weapon now." "This is good news, but I am worried about Dale now. With the new member, we only have six empty spots. We know Dale, he would not choose the production ss!" Shen was worried for his friend. If a new member came, then it was possible that six more yers woulde to the vige in the next three days. Ming shrugged, "It''s his bad luck then. It is not something we could prevent," He then looked toward Shen and asked, "How is it with the hunt? did you level up?" Chapter 65: WealthyGuy Chapter 65: WealthyGuy Shen smiled when his friend asked him about the hunting, "I am level 13 now." "Huh!?" Ming was surprised that Shen only got three levels. He knew that Shen was hunting a level 32 monster while he was still level 10. It should be more than just three levels, "Isn''t that too little?" "What do you mean too little? I have a Legendary ss, Ming. I need four times more experience than a normal ss. You should check yours too, Ming." Shen rolled his eyes at his friend. The developer should put some restrictions on the Legendary ss or other unique sses or the game would be unbnced. "Ah!? I did not realize that we need more experience to level up," Ming checked his window status and checked his experience bar. Just like Shen said, he needed more experience to level up. While Shen needed four times more experiences than a normal, Epic ss needed three times more experiences. "Where''s ZhenZhen? I have something for her," Shen remembered about the fish. ZhenZhen Might be excited about the fish so she could try more new dishes with more ingredients. "Why are you looking for her? And what do you want to give her? Are you giving her flowers?" Ming squinted his eyes at his friend. His gaze turned sharp as he cast a cautious look at his friend. Shen rolled his eyes, "What are you talking about? I don''t have that kind of interest in ZhenZhen. I regard her as a friend," he shook his head, "I am going to give her ingredients, I have 163 fishes for her." Shen ignored his friend and walked toward ZhenZhen''s house where she most likely was. Sure enough, ZhenZhen came out of the house while wiping the sweat, "Youe back? Do you have something for me, Runner?" "I indeed have something for you," When Shen replied, ZhenZhen''s eyes brightened, "What? What do you have for me? Quick take it out!" She urged him. Shen took one Guardian Fish and showed it to her, "Can you cook something with this? This will be our first meat dish though it''s just fish." ZhenZhen quickly took the food from his hand and observed the fish. She touched the belly and the side of the belly. She observed the fish attentively. Ming frowned at the sight of the fish, "What kind of fish is thi? This is gross. It has a weird snout and has legs?" This was the first time Ming saw a fish with legs. He never saw one like this before. It was gross for the first, Shen had the same reaction but he just got used to it quickly. While Ming felt gross, that was not the case for ZhenZhen. She touched the legs, moving them upward and downward. Shen could see the woman was excited with the ingredient. As a cook, she was not disgusted with the ingredients. "I don''t know, this is the first time I have had this kind of ingredient. A fish that can walk actually exists, but I never have a chance to cook it either. I need more fish to experiment with, trying the texture, the taste of it raw, and more things to do. Do you have more fish?" ZhenZhen asked Shen. She was bolder than Shen and Ming thought. "Are you sure you want to taste it raw? I don''t think it''s a good idea," Mingmented from the side. "I have many of them." Shen took out everything in his inventory, a hundred and sixty-three fish, "However, I need the snout. I need that to hunt. You can take a few though if you want to try to cook it." "Alright, leave the rest to me, Runner!" She was excited as she took everything into her inventory, "Maybe I will be ready to cook the fish in two or three days." She assured Shen before she turned toward the cksmith house, "How is it with the new people? Have you met the new guy, Shen?" "Nope, I just returned as well," Shen shook his head. ZhenZhen nodded her head and turned around, "Call me out when he is out, we should get to know each other since we will be ying together a lot." She waved her hand and went back to her house, "The mushroom stew will be ready in an hour. We can have real food soon!" "I will be waiting for the food," Ming replied loudly as he waved his hand excitedly even though ZhenZhen had her back on him. Shen shook his head helplessly as he went to the respawn spot. Resting in the respawn spot could recover his stamina faster. He was also waiting for the new member to get out. He stretched out his legs and had his back against the pir. "Are you not going to continue your training? You should continue your training so you can hunt monsters for ZhenZhen," Shen teased his friend. It was wrong topliment Ming as his friend took that seriously, "You are right, I can''t bezing around." Ming was about to sit next to him but he stood up again. He walked toward the stone and picked it up on his back. He was about to start the squat, but a figure came out from the cksmith house. That caused Ming to stop and put away the stone. He did not approach the figure though as he rushed toward ZhenZhen''s house. Shen shook his head as he got up. The new member was a man, from the face, the man looked like in histe thirties. He had a big frame and wide shoulders. Shen estimated that man was muscr in real life if his character''s build was like this. The man just needed to follow them to work out then he would be good. The man smiled at Shen and Shen returned it with his smile, "Hello, I am a new guy here," The man offered his hand toward Shen. Shen reached the man''s hand, "Hello, I am Runner. Nice to meet you." "Nice to meet you, you can call me WealthyGuy. But it would be too awkward to call me that," The man smiled awkwardly when he told his in-game name to Shen, "You can call me Jiang, that will do to avoid the awkwardness. The reason I chose the name is because I want to be wealthy from ying the game." The man was blunt and straightforward, Shen kinda liked this man already, "Alright then, I will call you Brother Jiang if you are okay with that." WealthyGuy was pretty much older than him. It was natural to call him Brother Jiang. Chapter 66: Finally We Have Real Food Chapter 66: Finally We Have Real Food Things were going well within the vige when a cksmith joined them. Shen was no longer worried about using his sword to hunt the monsters. When the night arrived, everyone gathered in front of ZhenZhen''s house. Wealthy Guy looked at the two guys and confused, ''Why are they so eager to eat the food?'' "You must be wondering why we are eager to eat the food, right, Brother Jiang?" Shen smiled at the older man. Thetter nodded his head, "Because we have been eating berries. I have been here for two months, and this guy has been here for a month. Can you imagine how excited we are to have real food?" WealthyGuy nodded his head understandingly. That made sense to him. He had seen that aside from these three, no one was around. The only NPC was the Elder inside the house, but they would not sell food or other things for them. "Must be hard for you guys," WealthyGuy sympathized with them, especially Tang Shaoyang who had been staying here longer than any of them. Staying alone in this ce for two months was kinda crazy. Especially since this was an RPG game, Runner would spend most of his time in the game as the RPG game was a time-consuming game yet he had no one to talk with. "But the wait is paying off. Now I have you guys here." Shen maintained his smile, "Especially you, Brother Jiang. Now I can use a real sword to fight the monsters." "What do you mean? You don''t use your sword all this time?" Brother Jiang could not understand Shen. "No, I can''t use the sword, or else it will break." Shen exined, "We don''t have a cksmith to repair the sword or an NPC who sells whetstone." "I see" WealthyGuy understood. The young man in front of him went through more hardship than he thought. Not only did Runner have to bear the loneliness in this ce, but he was also forced to hunt without using his sword. "Wait!?" WealthyGuy realized something strange here, "If you don''t use your sword, then what did you use to hunt the monster?" There was no way that Runner was using his fist to hunt the monster. It was unheard of even on the forum that no one had tried to hunt using their fist. Shen took out the Guardian Fish''s snout and showed it to WealthyGuy, "I have been using this to hunt the monster. While it can be used to hunt, it does not grant me bonus damage and I can''t use a skill with this as well." WealthyGuy reached the snout-like spearhead. It was a material, not a weapon. Just like Runner said, it did not give bonus damage if used as a weapon. As for skill, he did not understand that much about skill. He handed the material back to Runner. "Even if you said so, Runner. I can''t help you to repair your weapon," WealthyGuy shook his head, "I haven''t learned anything from my Teacher. He told me to join you guys with the training." "It''s okay, it will take no time before you learn it, Brother Jiang." Ming was the one who responded to WealthyGuy, "Just like ZhenZhen, she also joined the training with us. But in three days, her Teacher taught her something. It will be quick." "I see!" WealthyGuy was kinda curious as to what kind of training this was even though a cook was asked to join the training, "So what kind of training?" Ming exined the training he had gone through. As they continued chatting, an aromatic aroma assaulted their noses. It was so aromatic that the three immediately looked in the direction. ZhenZhen was bringing a steaming pot with her hand as she ran toward them. Ming immediately stood up and rushed toward her, "Do you need help? I can bring the pot for you." Looking at how Ming interacted with ZhenZhen, WealthyGuy looked at Shen with an inquiring gaze. Shen responded with a nod and WealthyGuy nodded understandingly. Ming was the one who carried the pot and ced it in front of the three. ZhenZhen returned with four bowls and four spoons. They could not eat the stew without the bowl. "Are we just eating mushroom stew? do you have rice or maybe bake some bread?" Brother Jiang asked ZhenZhen. It was weird to eat stew without rice, at least, that was what he felt. ZhenZhen shook her head, "Unfortunately we don''t have anything like that. Just bear with this for now unless you get us the rice grains or maybe flour if you want me to make bread." "I guess I will bear with this now." WealthyGuy nodded his head and took the bowl from her. ZhenZhen returned to her house while Shen scooped the mushroom stew. He did not care whether it was with rice or without rice. He just wanted to eat real food, no more fruits. The orange-colored stew looked tantalizing in his eyes as he took three scoops into his bow before passing thedle to Ming. Taking the wooden spoon, he scooped the first spoon into his mouth. As he tasted the stew, his eyes widened in surprise. The mushroom stew was freaking good. It was sweet and spicy, and the mushroom was soft yet chewy. He felt a little bitterness from the mushroom, but that was fine. No, the slight bitterness was good in fact. "Hey, wait for me!" ZhenZhen called out as she brought out a big te of skewer mushrooms. She rushed toward them but Shen ignored her as he could not stop eating the stew. He could feel that his face was heated as he kept eating the stew. [You have eaten the mushroom stew made by Guru Spices Sessor! You gain a temporary boost! +100 HP and +100 Stamina!] Shen''s eyes widened into a shock. He thought the purpose of the food was to recover from hunger. But it was more than that. The food could give a boost to those who ate it. This was a big deal, Cook was not just a normal production ss, not even inferior to a cksmith. Just imagine that there was a war between two forcester and one force ate the food that could boost the soldiers. This was more than food, it could be a key to winning a war in the future. Chapter 67: Abandoned Chapter 67: Abandoned Shen and Ming were sitting at the coffee shop at the airport. They were waiting for their friend, Dale. Their friend should arrive at three. "He''ste," Mingined as he checked the time on his old phone. It was three-fifteen now yet Dale had not arrived yet. "Maybe his flight is dyed, just wait. You are the one who dragged me to pick him up yet you are the oneining," Shen rolled his eyes at his friend as he slurped the milk tea. Speaking of the devil, Ming''s phone rang and Dale''s name came up on his phone. Ming immediately picked up the call, "Yo, Dale. Where are you?" Ming''s impatient voice rang. Shen could hear the weird ent from the phone, it was Dale''s voice. He was asking where they were and Ming told Dale where they were. It did not take long before Dale arrived. A man with blonde hair, white pale skin, and a high bridge nose called them out, "Ming! Shen!" The guy did not bring luggage but just a backpack on his back. He swiftly sat next to them but Shen and Ming stood up from the chair. "Hey! At least let me get the drink first and catch up with me," Daleined, causing Shen and Ming to grin at each other. "Your fault, you''re fifteen minuteste. I bet you were flirting with the stewardess." Ming squinted his eyes at his friend. Dale looked away from Ming and looked toward Shen, "Yo Shen, how is it going? Can you tell me now how to get to hidden" Ming rushed toward Dale and covered his mouth, "You can''t ask that here, what if the others listen to you? Do you want your spot to get taken?" He whispered to Dale to make sure no one heard him. However, Dale''s presence already caught the people in the cafe. Now the two made a ruckus, everyone in the cafe was looking at them. "Alright! Alright! Chill man," Dale winked his right eye at Ming, "We have to wait for my capsule to arrive too. Let''s chill here for a while while I get the drink, okay?" Ming nodded and let out a defeated sigh, "Alright! Alright! Go ahead," Shen looked at the time, "Quick please, I promise Eunha to visit her today." Dale nodded and rushed to get his drink. The two of them also knew Eunha and knew her condition as well. Shen''s little friend, they called her. They caught up at the cafe for fifteen minutes before Dale got a call from the delivery service that the gaming pod arrived at the airport. Ming drove his father''s pick-up car so they could put the gaming pod on the car. "Alright then, I will go to the hospital to meet Eunha," Shen left alone while his two friends got Dale''s gaming pod. He left by taxi and arrived at the hospital half an hourter. The little girl was happy that he visited her and did not mind that he waste. He yed with Eunha until seven at night. They had dinner together before he delivered her back to her ward. As he promised to the head nurse, he visited her like five to six times a week. He also spared his time for her and he was d that Eunha''s condition was getting better by the day. Shen waved his hand at Eunha who also waved her hand back at her from her bed before he closed the door. There was a nurse who would apany her in the room until she fell asleep, so Shen was not worried. The nurses were so kind to do that for Eunha. As Shen went to the first floor, many nurses greeted him. He was so famous in the rehabilitation center that almost all nurses knew him. He greeted them back with a nod and smile. When he came out of the building, someone pulled him over. He was startled that someone suddenly pulled him. Shen looked to the side, it was Doctor Lu who pulled him over. His doctor had been taking care of his injury, "Do you have time, Shen? I want to talk about Eunha with you?" It was rare for Doctor Lu to want to speak about Eunha. She was not his patient so he was surprised when Doctor Lu wanted to talk about Eunha. He nodded his head and wondered what Doctor Lu wanted to talk about, Doctor Lu brought him to the pavilion in the park, the ce where he often yed with Eunha. They sat there and Doctor Lu said nothing for like a minute, "I want to talk about her parents. We have been trying to call her parents but they never answered our call. Two days ago, our hospital number was blocked by them, and now we can''t reach them. Do you perhaps know where Eunha''s parents are?" "What about the registered address? Has someone visited their house yet?" Shen was kinda worried when he heard this. "We sent nurses there but the house was sold. It was upied with a new family," Doctor Lu shook his head. Shen''s mouth opened, wanting to say something but no words came out from his mouth. "Eunha''s condition has gotten better and she could be discharged soon," Doctor Lu scratched his hair and hesitated to speak. "Just say it, what happens if her parents can''t be contacted until the day she can be discharged?" Shen was aware of what Doctor Lu wanted to say to him. It was about Eunha''s future if her parents could not be found. "If we can''t find her parents, we are forced to send her to the orphanage," Doctor Lu lowered his head. At this point, they hade to the conclusion that Eunha was abandoned by her parents. Shen could not believe that her parents had the heart to do that. He massaged the sides of his head as he lowered his head too. If Eunha found out that her parents abandoned her, it would be bad for her heart. He could not imagine how hurt it would be for Eunha, he did not dare to imagine it. "Actually, I want to adopt her, but you know. She needed special attention, but I am working and my wife is also working too. We can''t be with her most of the time. I don''t think that is a good idea for us to adopt her," Doctor Lu shook his head regretfully. Chapter 68: A New Neighbor Chapter 68: A New Neighbor Ming and Dale were moving the gaming pod together. Fortunately, Dale''s gaming pod was the expensive bunch, the Diamond Edition. It was actually much lighter than the other gaming pods just like how Sky advertised it. They did not have to suffer to carry the gaming pod through the stairs as they could stuff it on the elevator. "Shen will be surprised when he sees you here," Ming let out a chuckle as he leaned his back against the cool stainless wall. Even though it was much lighter, it was still heavy for the two of them, "By the way, why don''t you hire people to move the pod?" Yes, Dale was moving right next to the same building as Shen. Coincidentally, the apartment room next to Shen''s apartment room was empty. He immediately booked the ce and rented it for a year. "I am actually in a hurry when you guys tell me there was a guy who joined the hidden vige three days ago. So I kinda forgot to make an appointment with the delivery service," Dale made a silly smile at his friend. "So how is it? Can you tell me now? You are so cautious to not even dare to talk it out in the car," Dale asked Ming. He was asking about the way to get to the hidden vige. "Can you wait a little longer? We are in the elevator right now, I am afraid there''s a recording tape in this elevator." Ming was looking around at the elevator cautiously. Dale rolled his eyes at his friend, but he gave up. He knew Ming well; the guy would not tell him no matter how hard he tried. He gave up persuading the stubborn Ming, they were close to his apartment anyway. Ding! The elevator door opened. As the two were about to carry the gaming pod, there was a woman standing in front of the elevator. The two guys recognized her and she also recognized the two. "You are Shen''s friends, right?" Yu Mei asked the two as she recalled these two often visited Shen when he was hospitalized. "Sister Mei!" Dale called her out while waving his hand excitedly at her. As for Ming, he bowed his head slightly, "Hello, Sister Mei." "Yes, I am Dale, do you still remember me?" Dale walked away from the gaming pod and was about to hug Yu Mei. Before he could reach her, Ming pulled his ear, "What are you doing, do you want to move your pod alone?" "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Dale tried to break free from Ming, but he maintained his smile at Sister Mei. Yu Mei smiled and gave them the path. The two guys then brought the gaming pod toward the direction of Shen''s room, "Is that Shen''s gaming pod?" She remembered that these two did not stay here. "No, this is my gaming pod, Sister Mei. I will be living next to Shen''s apartment from today onward!" Dale answered while carrying the pod. Yu Mei followed them and asked, "Did Shen with you guys? I tried to call him, but he did not pick up his phone." "Ah, Shen must be still in the hospital. He said he would visit Eunha," Ming was the one who replied this time. "I see," Yu Mei also knew Shen''s little friend. *** *** Meanwhile, Shen was in the taxi, on the way back to his apartment. He was looking at the window in a daze. He was still thinking about Eunha''s fate. He still could not believe that her parents abandoned her. ''Why?'' He kept asking himself. Why would they give birth to a little girl then abandon her like that? He thought Eunha''s parents were busy with their work and would pick her up after they were done with their work. However, they did not even pick up the call. Shen tried to call her parents'' number. The call connected but when he brought up Eunha, they immediately closed the call. He tried to call them again but his number was immediately blocked. At this point, Shen was pretty clear that Eunha was abandoned by her parents. "Hah" He let out a sigh and noticed that the taxi had stopped, "We have arrived, little brother." Shen heard the driver''s voice. Shen opened the door, but then the driver reminded him again, "You haven''t paid me yet, little brother." Only then snapped out of his thoughts and smiled apologetically at the driver, "I am sorry, Uncle. I don''t have cash-" Shen did not finish his words as the driver showed his phone with a barcode for Shen to scan. Shen scanned the barcode. After the scan seeded, the driver said something to Shen, "It''s okay little brother. There are many beauties outside there, don''t get stuck with one girl who does not appreciate you. You should look for the girl who appreciates you." After saying that, the driver closed the window. He honked once before the car left the area. The driver misunderstood him, maybe because he sighed too many in the car. Shen shook his head and looked up at his apartment building. He walked inside, when he was about to reach the entrance, he looked back. He noticed the ck sedan car was parked across the road, "I wonder whose car is that?" he muttered as he entered the apartment building. He always noticed the ck sedan car that was parked across the road. Shen had asked the other tenants and the owner of the building, but they did not know as well. It was a mystery why the ck sedan car could be found quite often across the road. It had been a few years. He tried to approach the car and the one who came out was a man with a big build, wearing a ck suit. The man was probably a retired fighter or even a soldier. After that day, Shen no longer dared to knock on the car. He was not going to trouble himself. Shen threw the thought into the back of his head as he pressed the elevator button. Eunha''s problem was still lingering in his head. The problem was not adoption or the orphanage, but how the little girl faced the issue of being abandoned by her parents. He was afraid that he would copse once she knew that her parents abandoned her. When Shen arrived on his floor, the elevator door opened and was a little bit surprised to see the three people beyond the door. Sister Mei, Ming, and Dale, "Yo Shen!" "Why are you guys here?" Shen was asking Dale and Ming. Dale grinned at Shen, "I am your new neighbor. Are you surprised?" "Oh." That was Shen''s reaction and nodded, "I am surprised." "What''s with that reaction," Dale was unsatisfied with the reaction, but Ming cut him off before Dale couldin any further, "Have you eaten, yet? Do you want to join us? Dale is going to treat us at Uncle Hou''s stall?" Shen shook his head as he let out a sigh, "I am pass!" he shook his head and walked past the three, "I am going to shower." Dale was about to call Shen but Yu Mei stopped him, "Let him be, there''s something that bothers him. He just returned from the hospital, maybe" Yu Mei walked into the elevator immediately as she took out her phone, "Do you want to go or?" Ming and Dale entered the elevator, both were starving. They would talk to Shenter. Chapter 69: Shadow Clan Successor Chapter 69: Shadow n Sessor The hidden vige started their morning with the usual workout, with more members. Dale had joined the hidden vigest night. The guy was very lucky to spawn in the city near a famous gorge, Fogged Gorge. The giant crevice was literally fogged and their sight was obstructed by the fog. The gorge-filled fog was the least favorite spot for the yers as it looked creepy. Dale was the first one to approach the gorge and jumped into the gorge voluntarily. Thanks to that, he made a headline for himself on the forum. There was a list of yers that jumped into the gorge by their own will. The first name was Runner, Shen. He jumped into the gorge to escape from the bully streamer Volt. yers could understand the reason behind Shen''s voluntary jump. However, not with the second and the third yer on the list. The second name was Ming, people said that he had been working too much in the game which caused depression which led to the jump. The third on the list was Dale. His name was not known since he just restarted his character and immediately jumped into the creepy gorge. The trios now were famous on the forum and if the others knew that the trios were also friends, then they would beughing stock for months and maybe became a legend on the forum. That was what happened on the forum, and Dale was the type who did not care about such a thing. He was not bothered even if he became aughing stock because he wouldugh at them when he revealed his ss to the other yers. By that time, he would be the one whoughed at them. Dale or Sneaky Banana was his in-game name, stretching his body, warming up before the workout, "You don''t need to carry the weight on your back?" Ming asked his friend as he prepared to pick up his twenty-five kilos stone. "I don''t need to, My Master told me just to run fiftyps with no break," Dale replied optimistically. He thought that was bearable since this was in a game. The NPC would not give him something impossible to do. Dale chose the house with Dagger-sign that turned out to be an assassin ss. His ss'' name was Shadow n''s Sessor. With that, it marked the thirdbat ss yer in the hidden vige. There was more than that, Dale''s ss was a Legendary Potential ss. "But why restart the character though? You are already level 20," Ming could not believe that his friend chose to restart the character rather than waiting for the process to move his character to China Server. "I can''t wait that long. What am I supposed to do in these three days while my friends are having fun in the game?" Dale waved his hand. Yes, it took three days the fastest to move the server. There were a lot of processes he had gone through, it was not as simple as it sounded. That was the fastest and the admin said it could take up to seven days. He was not going to wait that long as he was afraid that more people would join the hidden vige too. Dale would rather restart the character and on top of that, "Doesn''t Shen tell you that a low-level character is more effective for the training?" "What about your grandfather and grandmother? Don''t you want to visit them?" Ming was talking about Dale''s mother''s family. Since he returned here, Ming felt that he was obligated to remind his friend. "I will visit themter or else I will get an earful scolding from my father." Dale nodded his head, "Butter, I want to familiarize myself with the hidden vige for the time being. Anyway, where''s Shen? Don''t you tell me that he will be leading the workout?" "You live next to his apartment? Why don''t you go check him yourself?" Ming rolled his eyes at his friend. "I went to Sister Mei''s bun shop for breakfast, but I didn''t meet Shen there. I thought he would be there since I woke upte," Dale told Ming his morning activity. "Dale, listen to me. If you are serious with Sister Mei, I don''t mind but I have to remind you. Shen regards Sister Mei as his own big sister, if you yed her, you might ruin your friendship with Shen," Ming suddenly became serious. He was well aware of his friend''s behavior, fickle and overly easy-going, not to the point insensitive though. "Ming!" Dale''s face turned serious all out of a sudden. This was not the Dale Ming knew, "I have a secret that I haven''t told you and Shen. But I think this is the time I tell you." "Sorry guys, I amte," Shen''s voice rang from the vige. ZhenZhen and WealthyGuy followed him as they came out together. "What is it?" Ming hated the suspense, especially for something like a secret. However, Dale changed his mind and shook his head, "I will tell youter." After saying that, Dale turned toward Shen and waved his hand, "Shen! We have been waiting for you!" With Shen''s arrival, the group started their morning workout. Dale overestimated himself with the running. He was shocked to see that Shen with thirty kilos on his back managed to run along with him, ''Am I too slow or what?'' He turned around and saw the trios were left behind by them. He was not slow, it was Shen who ran fast as if the weight was nothing to him. Dale did not want to lose against Shen, it was too embarrassing to run side by side with someone who ran with thirty kilos weight. Dale picked his pace but the guy next to him effortlessly kept it up. He increased his pace but Shen was like a ghost that did not want to stay away from him. Even when he was slowing down, Shen was still next to him. "That guy" Ming shook his head. The scene reminded him of his first day in the hidden vige. He tried topete with Shen, which embarrassed him in front of his crush. He learned his lesson and realized that the current Shen was not someone he couldpete with. Because Dale was running without reserving his stamina, the trios managed to pass Dale in the seventhp. When the trios finished their twentyps, Dale was still in his fifteenps. "Keep it up, Sneaky!" Ming cheered for his friend as Dale passed by the entrance of the vige. Then Shen passed Dale again for many times they did not know. WealthyGuy aka Brother Jiang left early and returned to the house, leaving Ming and ZhenZhen alone. "What''s wrong with Runner?" As a woman, she was quick to notice the change with Shen. She could see that Shen was not as usual himself. ZhenZhen asked Ming since both were friends in real life too. "That''s been bothering me too. He has been like that sincest night" Ming recalled the time when he was in the cafe with Shen, "Yes, it startedst night. I also don''t know why." Usually, Shen would finish the training at the same time as they did. However, not for this morning. He was also aware that Shen was not as cheerful as before, his gaze was quite empty he would say. Ming now became worried for Shen. His friend had been like this since he returned from the hospital, ''Is it rted to his old injury?'' Chapter 70: Distraction Chapter 70: Distraction Shen continued the running, he did not know how manyps he had gone through. He only stopped when his stamina was below fifty. [You have trained your body to the limit!] [Congrattions! You gained +3 Endurance and +2 Agility!] "Oh, shet. Training is still effective for me," He was surprised that he got 5 Status Points in total. This was a rare moment as he usually only got 1 Endurance and sometimes it was 1 Endurance and 1 Agility. He released the weight on his back and looked around. Ming had started his squat training and Dale was still running. Sweat flooded his face as his mouth was opened wide, gasping for air, "How manyps, Sneaky?" Shen asked his friend. He did not see the graceful and dashing friend anymore. Dale mumbled something unclear in response while waving his hand. Shen shook his head and entered the vige. The other members were doing their things. He could hear the smashing sound from WealthyGuy''s house. That man was asked to tten steel for some reason. At least, a thousand a day. As for ZhenZhen, she just finished cooking to replenish everyone''s hunger after a morning workout. Shen got his share and went to his house. Resting on the bed for faster recovery. It was an open secret for everyone in the vige. ZhenZhen was about to call him, but her hand was hanging in the air and no words came out of her mouth. She was not that close yet to Shen to ask for a personal matter. After a few days of interaction, Shen was a typical person she enjoyed talking with. The guy was cheerful and positive, talking to him would make her think positively as well. Though he was not that positive inside, Shen was very cautious inside. He just did not show it outside, but ZhenZhen liked to talk with the guy even though he was younger. They often talked about food and ingredients. Even cooking in real life, so she liked conversing with the guy. Now she noticed there was something that bothered him. She wanted to help but was also afraid that she overstepped the line. He was afraid that the matter was too sensitive. In the end, ZhenZhen decided not to talk it out with Runner and let him be. He was a man, he could take care of his matters. *** *** Shen was unaware that he caused the people around him to worry about him. He was trying his best to not show it outside. Sitting on the bed, he ate the bowl of mushroom stew, "Working out is really working to distract my concern." That was true since the concern over Eunha disappeared temporarily while running. "I will be busy myself with the training, I guess" Shen scooped the second spoon. The menu was temporarily mushroom stew since ZhenZhen did not have the ingredients to cook something else. He finished his meal and rested on the bed to recover his stamina. It took longer since he had a lot of stamina now, but it did not waste much of his time as he was fully recovered in ten minutes. He realized the higher his Endurance was, the regeneration rate of the Stamina became higher as well. After Shen fully recovered, he went out and washed the dish. Then he returned to the ce where he usually did his squat. He was now using thirty-five kilos of stone for his weight. He tapped his index finger against the stone, "Let''s increase the weight, maybe it would increase the efficacy of my training. Let''s increase it to forty-five kilos." Shen brought the stone back to the backyard and returned with a bigger stone. Ming noticed his friend wasing back with a bigger stone, "I thought you were going to hunt the monsters?" "Nah, I will just continue my training. It turned out the training was still effective for me. I just need to do more than usual," Shen replied before he started his squat. This time, he did not count the squat, he would count his stamina instead. If his Stamina was lower than twenty, then he would stop the squat. In the middle of his squat, Dale returned with a dying face. His body swayed to the left and to the right. Even so, he did not throw anyints about the training. He found out that the training paid off. He got 12 Endurance and 5 Agility. It was more than Shen told him. Dale threw his body on the cool wooden floor. He did not even have an appetite to eat to recover his hunger. He just straight closed his eyes while his mouth gasped for breath. However, someone disturbed his rest. Dale opened his eyes and sat up. He saw his two friends doing squats with a big stone on their back. Looking at the two lifted the big stone, it encouraged him even more, "I can''t lose to them and I have to catch up!" Sneaky Banana took his portion of mushroom stew and ate it. His eyes shone when he tasted the food and raised his thumb at ZhenZhen who was watching his two friends, "The food is yummy though my mother makes better food." ZhenZhen rolled her eyes, "You should not tell me thest part. I already know that mother''s cooking is the best." As someone who grew up with her mother''s cooking, she understood Sneaky Banana''s sentiment. She was not that petty to get offended by such a remark. After finishing his meal, Dale rushed back to his house. His Master told him that he should return when he finished fiftyps. As Sneaky Banana entered his house, WealthyGuy came out of his house. He took his portion as well to recover the hunger. That was the activity of the hidden vige. While the other yers were racing for the ranking Leaderboard, they were training. Shen spent his day training, apanying Ming and the others. After the squat, he would swing his sword. Thanks to his effort, he got many Stats Points even though his level remained the same. Running: +3 Endurance +2 Agility Squat: +5 Endurance +3 Strength Swinging Sword: +2 Endurance +6 Dexterity Shen truly pushed himself to the limit. He would not stop unless he ran out of stamina. He stopped counting since then. After he finished the three sets of training, Shen logged out. He visited Eunha in the hospital. That was how he spent his days for the next two days. On the third day, the hidden vige received its sixth member. Chapter 71: Sixth Member - Dual-Wielding Phantasm Chapter 71: Sixth Member - Dual-Wielding Phantasm On the third day, Shen logged in to the gamete, and when he logged in and came out of his house, he noticed the others were gathering in front of the house with a dual-spear que. "Yo, what''s up, Ming? Is there a new guy?" He wondered why everyone gathered here. Even WealthyGuy, who usuallyposed, looked pretty excited. As for Dale, he did not need to describe it. The guy was in love-struck, he could see it through his expression. "Yes." Ming did not even look at him. The guy was staring at the void entrance even though there was nothing to see. "Does someone famouse here? What''s with all of you guys?" Shen asked but he received no response. There was one person who was missing, it was ZhenZhen. He did not see her in the group, "Where''s ZhenZhen? Don''t you guys want to start the training?" "You can go training alone, we will do itter!" Ming waved his hand as WealthyGuy and Dale did not even respond to him. Shen shrugged and walked to the entrance. When he reached outside, he saw ZhenZhen wasing from the right side. She had increased the weight of her stone to ten kilos, "Good Morning, Runner. What are the others doing? Are they still watching the house?" "Good morning, ZhenZhen," Shen walked toward his stone and picked it up, "Yeah, they are still there," He replied as he picked up the stone, "Do you know who''s the neer?" He asked her when she arrived next to him. "I don''t know. They are already like that when I logged in," ZhenZhen passed him and continued running. Shen nodded and started to run. Instead of overtaking ZhenZhen, he followed her pace and ran side by side. Even after ZhenZhen finished her twentyps, the guys were still on the same spot. While ZhenZhen was curious, Shen was not interested in wasting his time for that. When he finished his training, only then did he find out why the guys acted like that for the neer. The neer was standing at the entrance with Ming and Dale actively tried to speak with her. Yes, the neer is a female and the famous one, the only one Goddess Yue. Shen nodded at her, and thetter responded with a nod and smile as well. She wanted to speak but he did not stop running. He had checked his stamina, it was still 374. He could do seven to tenps with the stamina he had. So he was not going to stop now. Goddess Yue''s smile froze as she did not expect to be ignored by Shen, "Oy, Shen! What are you doing? Goddess Yue wants to speak with you!" Dale called him out. Shen raised his right hand and waved his hand at them, "Later after I finish my running! I can''t stop now!" "I can''t believe him, how can he do that to Goddess Yue" Ming muttered under his breath. WealthyGuy understood Runner and exined to Goddess Yue, "He can''t stop his training because if he stops right now, he will get fewer stats." "Ah, I see," Yue nodded understandingly. She thought she was being ignored and relieved inwardly. "Mnnn, Yue. Can I ask for your picture? My son is your fan," Yue nodded her head and smiled at WealthyGuy. Then both took a picture together, and after that, WealthyGuy started his morning training. Of course, after WealthyGuy, Dale and Ming also asked for a picture. Yue did not mind as she was used to this kind of thing. Since there were not many people around, she was willing to take a picture together. Then the three were conversing, Dale and Ming were happy to talk with their idol as Shen continued his running. The reason why Yue was waiting for Shen was that she needed to ess Yosu''s backyard to get her own stone. Just like everyone else, she was asked to join the training. However, she did not have her own stone and no one could open the backyard but Shen, hence they were waiting. Shen finished his training after twelveps. He was left with 12 Stamina by the end of the training. He threw the forty-kilos of stone from his back as stretched his shoulders. [You have trained your body to the limit] [You gained +5 Endurance and +4 Agility!] Boom! The ground was shaking slightly from the impact and Yue looked at Shen with surprise. The man was running with that heavy stone? She was astonished and subconsciously looked at his arm. She could see the biceps formed through the starter clothes. Even though it was just an in-game character, she still admired the sight. "Do you look for me?" Shen approached Goddess Yue as he wiped the sweat, "And hello, my name is Runner." "Hello, I am Yue." She responded with a smile as well, "Yes, I need your help to get my own stone. I was asked by Master to follow your training as well, so please guide me with the training." "Alright," Shen nodded and entered the vige, "Follow me, let''s get your stone first," He headed toward the backyard. Yue followed him and of course, Ming and Dale followed them as well. "Do you have a rmendation for the weight?" Yue started a conversation. The question was directed to Runner, but Sneaky Banana answered for her instead, "Since you just started, the lightest stone might be the best for you. The lightest stone we have is around five kilos of stone, you can start with that." Yue nced at Sneaky Banana before looking back at Runner. Clearly, she was waiting for Runner''s answer, "Just like Sneaky said, starting with the lightest stone might be the best for the starter." Runner opened the backyard and led her to the smallest stone in the backyard, "This is the lightest stone." Yue was about to pick it up but Ming moved quickly, "Let me help you with that." However, Goddess Yue immediately refused the offer, "Thanks but let me carry it. I need to get used to the weight before I start running with it." Yue picked the stone with her right and followed Shen outside, "So the first training is running with weight. Then after running?" "If you want to follow my training set, you will be doing a squat with weight and swing a sword. Wait, but you are a Spearman, maybe you can ask your Master for your third one," Shen exined his working out routine. "Alright," Yue smiled in response, "And I am not a spearman, but Dual-Wielding Phantasm. That''s my ss." Chapter 72: Roasted Fish Chapter 72: Roasted Fish The monotonous day continued, it had been ten days since Shen heard the thing about Eunha. He stopped in front of the hospital. He just met Eunha''s doctor that Eunha''s condition had been stable and it would be best for her to be discharged instead of staying in the hospital. Staying longer in the hospital might affect her mentally, it was not good for a healthy person to stay in the hospital. The hospital decided to send her to the orphanage. There was a thought to adopt Eunha by himself but he had been looking for the requirement for the adoption and someone as young as him was not qualified for adoption. The hospital side had tried to call Eunha''s parents every day but the result was not good, "So you have been down because of Eunha, Shen?" Dale stood next to him. Shen let out a sigh, "I can''t imagine what if Eunha knew that she was abandoned by her parents. That would hurt her so much. I think it is more painful than losing your parents to an illness. Both are suck though." Dale was choked when he heard those words. As someone with aplete family, he could not say anything to encourage Shen. He had never been in his friend''s ce, who grew up alone since junior high. And if he had topare the situation, Eunha was more tragic indeed. "The best thing we can do for Eunha is to look for a good orphanage for her, Shen. How is it? Should we do some research for a good orphanage tomorrow and suggest that to the hospital?" Dale offered a solution rather than leaving his friend depressed like this. "I guess that''s the best I can do for Eunha," Shen nodded and looked at the phone in his hand. The taxi online''s driver messaged him that he was in front of the hospital, waiting for them, "The taxi is here, let''s return." The two friends returned with the taxi online. Dale found out that his friend had been training hard to distract himself from the issue. Shen told him when he asked about it hence he came together to visit Eunha today. They had dinner together with Eunha, so when they returned home they immediately logged into the game. In-game time was early in the morning, a good time to start another training session. Shen walked out of the house and saw Ming was still doing his squat. The guy was working even harder since Goddess Yue joined the hidden vige. Ming noticed Shen as well and called him out, "Yo, Shen. Have you returned from visiting Eunha?" "Mnn, we just returned," Shen nodded and looked around. He could hear a loud noise from across from his house. That wasing from Brother Jiang''s house. The man was still working hard. No one actually knew what he was doing, but he asked what training he had. The WealthyGuy said that he was tempering the steel or something. This game was too real for the production ss since the yer had to learn it thoroughly before they got the skill. Thebat ss was luckier since they immediately learned the skill. Of course, this kind of thing only happened in this hidden vige. The continuous training they had and so on. Shen checked his hunger stats and it was quite low 29, "I have to eat something first" As soon as he said that, ZhenZhen flushed out of her house with a wooden te, "Finally! I made the Guardian Fish into real food! Does anyone want to try?" Shen noticed that Dale just came out of his house but he immediately went back when he heard Guardian Fish. Ming suddenly became wholly focused on his squats, he looked so focused that seemed to not hear ZhenZheny''s voice. Shen shook his head and raised his hand at ZhenZhen, "Let me try it!" The Guardian Fish was hard to cook, it was not as easy as throwing the fish into the pot or fried it into the pan. There was a sticky substance that made the fish''s texture weird in the mouth. And the sticky substance was actually very bitter in the mouth. It was as if the fish was not meant to be cooked. As Shen walked toward ZhenZhen into the table in front of the respawn spot, the nking sound at Brother Jiang''s house stopped. The guy then came out of the house and walked toward ZhenZhen and Runner, "Have you seeded cooking the fish?" He asked ZhenZhen. "I don''t think I have seeded but I made the fish more edible and I don''t think it tastes as bad as before. Do you want to try?" ZhenZhen was happy that she had more people to try the fish. The happiness of the cook was when someone tried her food and told her about the food she cooked. "Let me try as well!" Yue, who just returned to the vige, expressed her willingness to try. Her existence brought many surprises and Shen did not expect that the famous Goddess was friendly to everyone, "I just finished my running. I need some food to fill my hunger." "Girl, you should stop the training, or your body will be bulky like these guys!" ZhenZhen pulled WealthyGuy and Runner over then she pulled up their short sleeves, showing the big muscle that naturally formed from the training. There was no harassment announcement since everyone agreed to list everyone from the harassment system so they would not get electrocuted from simply touching identally. Shen had experienced that once. However, Shen immediately broke away from ZhenZhen as he was embarrassed with this. "Don''t worry, Sister ZhenZhen. I have made a setting so my character does not change even though I am working out," Yue came over and smiled at ZhenZhen, she sat next to ZhenZhen right across from Brother Jiang. "Wow, you should tell me how to set that. I don''t want to have a muscr brother from all the training I have gone through," ZhenZhen asked Yue, "It''s our luck to have an ex-ranker and also the ambassador of Tribe Online." "I will after we taste your food. So, what do you make, Sister ZhenZhen?" Then everyone looked at the table where a whole Guardian Fishy down on the wooden te. The burned skin told them that it was just a roasted fish, but the golden-brown colored skin was actually looking good to the eyes. "Then I will try first," Shen was the first one to volunteer to try the food. He took the fork and ripped the meat from the fish. The white and juicy flesh of the fish looked good and perfectly cooked. Shen delivered the piece of meat into his mouth and tasted it slowly. He chewed the meat, it was soft but he could still feel the sticky substance. It was much less than the beforehand Guardian Fish, it was at the level of could be eaten. He could feel the bitterness from the sticky substance but it was not overwhelming as there was a sweetness to bnce the bitterness. The taste was quiteplex as he could feel the sourness and a little bit of spiciness afterward, "Much better than before, but still, that sticky thing is unpleasant on my tongue. But this is actually good, you just need to reduce more of that sticky thing," After saying that, Shen pulled the fish for himself, "You can cook two more fish for them, I will eat this one by myself. I need to recover from my Hunger." "Hey, me too. I need to eat to fill back my hunger," Brother Jiangined while Yue merely smiled, "That''s why I ask ZhenZhen to cook more fish. One fish is not enough to recover the hunger for three people," Shen replied as he took the second bite. He was not that picky eater. As long as it was not something he was not allergic to or something he hated like goat cheese, he would eat anything that was edible and of course, human food. Shen ate the whole fish and a screen appeared in front of him. [You have eaten the Roast Guardian Fish made by Guru Spices Sessor! You gain temporary boosts! +30 Agility, +15 Strength, and +10 Endurance for ten minutes!] "This is actually a good boost! ZhenZhen, from now on, I want to eat fish before I start the training!" He shouted at ZhenZhen who was about to enter her house. Chapter 73: Relieved Chapter 73: Relieved Despite the weird sticky texture with the fish, it quickly became everyone''s favorite before they started running. The Agility boost would help them in running for sure. Shen finished his night grinding and called it a night before he logged out. He came out of his gaming pod and walked out of his room to get a ss of water before he went to sleep. Ring! Ring! Ring! The rm rang, he always set six hours of sleep for himself. Lack of sleep would not be good for his day so he made sure to have at least five hours, but awarded himself a six hours sleep because he would be looking for the potential orphanage for Eunha today. Shen reached the phone and turned off the rm. He sat up and stretched out, it was seven-thirty in the morning. He jumped out of the bed and went to the bedroom. Washing up and getting dressed, he was ready to hunt some orphanage. He had done his research while he tried to sleepst night and he had a few names. He just needed toe over and do some checks. "Let''s have some buns before we start our day, shall we?" Shen walked out of the room and headed out. He skipped his morning workout and headed toward the bun shop. He nced at the door next to his room, he was going to wake his friend, but then he shook his head. This was his personal thing, he did not want to bother his friend. Shen went down alone and headed toward the locally famous Wen Bun. Seven-thirty, it was quitete so the shop was not crowded. The people who went to work were no longer around as they must be on their way to their workce. He was about to call Uncle Wen until he saw a small figure sitting on the table closest to the entrance. The small figure was a girl and she had her hair tied into a twin tail. The girl was eating the bun with the fork in her hand, a weird way to eat a bun. That was not the main problem though because the small girl was so familiar to him. "Eunha!?" He called out and the little girl raised her head. Yes, the little girl was Eunha, but how could she be her? Wasn''t she supposed to be in the hospital? "Brother Shen!" Eunha jumped down from the seat and ran toward him, calling him out excitedly. Shen subconsciously squatted and opened his arm, but then he realized that Eunha should not be running around like this. He was about to warn her, but it was toote as the girl jumped into his embrace. Shen picked her up and rebuked her with a gentle rebuke, "You should not run around like that!" The little girl was so excited that she held onto his neck tightly and hummed. Shen rubbed her back and brought her to the table, "Why are you here? Did the head nurse bring you here?" "No, Mother Jun brings me here," Eunha replied as he put her on her seat, "Huh!? Auntie Jun brought you here? Wait, Mother Jun? What happened?" Shen was confused about the situation. "Brother Shen! Listen to me first!" Eunha''s excited voice pulled him down back to his seat. Shen was about to go find Auntie Jun. He wanted to know what actually happened but he sat back when the little girl called him out, "Yes, what''s it, girl?" It was rare to see Eunha''s serious face. After a while, the little girl spoke, "Actually I already know that my family has abandoned me." When he heard that from the little girl''s mouth, he was stumped. He wanted to say something tofort her but no words came from his mouth. He just did not know what he should say. "I know they will abandon me after two months, They never visited me even once or even gave me a call, so I knew this would happen," The little girl added. He truly did not know how tofort the poor little girl. He wanted to hug her and told her that even though her family abandoned her, he would always be here for her. He would love her more than her family but the little girl was stronger than he thought. "I am fine, Brother Shen. I have you! I have the nurses to take care of me and now I have a new family that cares about me," Eunha smiled sweetly. At this moment, Auntie Jun and Uncle Wen came out from the kitchen, bringing a new steaming basket but Uncle Wen merely brought an empty basket with him. A mere gesture for him to see. He rolled his eyes and pulled him over, "Now, can you tell me what happens, Uncle Wen?" "Don''t you know already, Eunha has told you, right? We adopted her," Uncle Wen said as if it was nothing major. If Uncle Wen was his friend, Ming or Dale, he would hit him on the head for sure, "That''s it?" Thanks to Auntie Jun, she hit Uncle Wen on the head for him, "Can you speak properly a little bit? You are too old for that," Then Auntie Jun sat across from Shen, "We know that Eunha is about to be discharged and her family could not be contacted, Mei Mei told us about that so we decided about her. Of course, the decision was made after careful consideration." "We are old and lonely, Mei Mei is working in the city and Shuren will follow her to the city for his university, having and taking care of Eunha will make our days. Of course, we also have asked her if she wanted to be adopted by us or not, and she agreed." Auntie Jun made it short. Were they adopting Eunha for Shen? Of course, adoption was not a simple matter and the responsibility for that was not a joking matter. They were taking this seriously, moreover, they were fond of her as well as they often met her during their visit when Shen was injured. After that, they regrly visited her once or twice a month. When Shen heard the story, it was as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulder. While they said they were old, they were still healthy and strong. They were capable of taking care of Eunha. She was sensible, it would not be hard for the two to take care of her. "What are you saying, Mom? I am not going to live with my Big Sister. I would rather live with my cute little sister here," Shuren came out of the kitchen and kissed Eunha on her hair, "Good morning, Eunha." "Morning, Brother Shuren" Eunha replied while chewing the cabbage bun. She liked the bun a lot, "Have you eaten yet?" Shen was happy about this, it was not tragic as she found a new family to stay with and he was d it was Uncle Wen''s Family too. He had known this family for years and he knew that they would take care of Eunha well. Shen decided to stay longer and chatted with Uncle Wen and Auntie Jun. They were talking about Eunha''s future. Eunha was five years old and she was at the age that should y a lot with the children at her age and Auntie Jun nned to look for a nearby kindergarten for her. Shen agreed but they had to be careful as Eunha needed special care because of her weak heart. "Do you have the names of the kindergarten, Auntie Jun? I can visit the kindergarten since I have free time today. I nned to take a break today so might as well do some research for a good kindergarten," Shen agreed to help them to look for a kindergarten. "I am free too, I will follow you, Brother Shen," Shuren agreed to follow as well as the little girl raised her little hand as well, "Me too! Me too! I want to walk together with my brothers!" Just like that, Shen spent his time with Eunha and Shuren. Chapter 74: Last Training Chapter 74: Last Training Shen spent his days with Shuren and Eunha. They were visiting four kindergartens and ate outside. Of course, they did not forget to stop by the cake shop for Eunha''s favorite Tiramisu. Of course, Shen did not forget their main purpose, it was to choose Eunha''s kindergarten. While they were visiting the Kindergarten, Shuren, and Shen would also look for more information online. There was a lot of information they could get online, the good things and the bad things about the kindergarten. About their facility and the teachers as well. At the same time, they informed Uncle Wen and Auntie Jun. It was them who would decide the best kindergarten for Eunha. They were their new parents, after all. The three returned at five in the evening, Uncle Wen and Auntie Jun greeted them. However, Eunha was too tired and she was sleeping on Shen''s back. Shen did not immediately return to his home and chatted longer with Uncle Wen about the kindergarten. After a moment of discussion, Uncle Wen and Auntie Jun agreed to send Eunha to the nearest kindergarten. The kindergarten was in the neighborhood of their street and it was around five minutes by walking to reach the kindergarten. Mainly, a lot of parents in the neighborhood sent their children to the same kindergarten. They thought it was better to send Eunha there so she could have friends in the same neighborhood. On top of that, it was highly rmended by the parents as well. Shen and Shuren found no problematic affair had happened there. Actually, even without Shen''s rmendation, Yu Wen and Aunti Jun would still send Eunha into the same kindergarten. Shuren and Mei Mei entered the same kindergarten, after all. So they knew that the kindergarten was good. However, they let Shen do that so he could y with Eunha. "Nope, you can''t return yet, you must have dinner with us or Eunha may be disappointed her brother Shen is not having dinner together with her," Auntie Jun used the most effective weapon in her arsenal. By bringing up Eunha, Shen could not refuse the invitation, "Alright, but I need to go back first and take shower." Shen returned to take a shower and change his clothes. After that, he returned to Uncle Wen''s house. By the time he returned, Eunha had woken up and worn new pajamas. She was ying a cardboard game with Shuren. When he arrived, the little girl waved her hand at her, "Brother Shen, help me! Brother Shuren bullied me." The little girl''s excited voice rang the room, lightening the mood in the house Uncle Wen was watching them from the side while having his newspaper in his hand. It was a pleasant night for the family. Shen spent his time there longer until nine in the night before he returned. He stayed until Eunha fell asleep. The little girl was exhausted and quickly fell asleep after two hours of ying together. Shen returned to his apartment and closed the door. He leaned his back against the door and breathed in relief. After watching and ying Eunha all day, he was d that the little girl was not that affected much by the news of her parents abandoning her in the hospital. "One concern is gone, it''s time to return to my track. I have to catch up with the training and start hunting the next day. Ming said that he would be done with his training today and start hunting tomorrow," Shen rushed to his room and jumped into his gaming pod. He rushed out of his house and saw Dale was eating his fish on the table with WealthyGuy, "Yo Shen, have you found the orphanage?" Dale asked him while WealthyGuy looked toward Shen. Brother Jiang had heard what happened to Shen from Dale. The Sneaky Banana had a loose mouth and told everyone what happened to Shen these days. As a married man and also a father, WealthyGuy admired Shen. Eunha was not rted in any way to him yet he was willing to spend his time with the little girl. "Nope, I end up searching for kindergarten instead. Eunha does not need an orphanage anymore, she has a new family now," Shen was happy and willing to share the story on the table. "I see" Sneaky Banana aka Dale muttered in a low voice mixed with guilt, "I feel bad for ZhenZhen and Goddess Yue," "Huh!? Why?" Shen was confused with his friend''s confession. Why would he feel bad for the two girls? "I told them why you were taking a break today, then they volunteered to search for an orphanage too," As soon as Dale finished his words, Yue came out of her house. When she saw Shen had logged in, she approached them. She sat across from Shen and spoke, "I have found the best three orphanages in Shanghai, do you want me to send the data to you, Runner?" "The best orphanage in Shanghai?" Shen was stupefied when he heard that. He understood if she said it was the best school since there were clear indications about the best school, but the best orphanage, what''s the indication to be the best orphanage? Adoption rate? "Thank you, Yue. However, I don''t need to look for the orphanage anymore. The girl has been adopted by a family," He informed her with a sorry tone while sending a re to his friend. Dale looked away from him, pretending to not notice the re, "I am sorry that I have worried you." "I see, that''s a relief," Yue pet her chest in relief before she smiled at Runner, "It''s okay, you don''t need to feel sorry. I volunteer to help you, anyway." After Yue, ZhenZhen also came out of her house. She yelled his name, saying she found many good orphanages as well. "I am done eating. I will start my squats now," Sneaky Banana openly escaped from the scene and ran next to Ming who was doing his squats. Shen was catching up with ZhenZhen, WealthyGuy, and Yue. After that, he walked out of the vige. He was going to start his training again, maybe thest training for him as he would focus on hunting and exploring the area around the vige. It was time for exploration and gathering more materials since they had a cksmith and a cook now. He once again increased the weight of the stone a few days ago as it helped him to gain more stats. The same with the squats, he increased the weight up to fifty kilos. He was doing two sets of training for each training, paying off for the time when he took a break. First running: 2 Endurance and 1 Agility First Squat: 3 Endurance and 2 Strength First Sword Training: 1 Endurance and 3 Dexterity Second running: 1 Endurance Second Squat: 2 Endurance and 1 Strength Second Sword Training: 1 Endurance and 1 Dexterity "Alright, the training should be enough. It''s time to start tomorrow," Shen muttered as he checked his progress for his training. Chapter 75: Current Status Chapter 75: Current Status The next day, Shen woke up earlier in the morning, six in the morning. He got up and changed into training pants and went jogging. Doctor Lu allowed him to jog again but he could not put too much work on his injured feet. As long as he did not force himself like before, it should be fine. He followed the river path in front of his apartment for fifteen minutes before he turned around, returning with the same route. By the time he returned to the front of the apartment, it was around six-thirty in the morning. "Let''s eat breakfast first," He did not return to his apartment and continued toward the Wen Bun. It was Saturday, the shop was not crowded as usual this early with no workers around. Shen entered the shop and he saw the little girl was bringing a basket of steamed buns with her two hands. Behind her, Shuren was following closely. From the look of it, Eunha must want to help but she could not do much with the making process so she tried to help by bringing the cooked buns to the counter, "Ooo, Eunha is working hard," Shenmented but the little girl did not budge. Her eyes focused on the basket in front of her. She made sure that the basket did not fall. He shook his head as he took a te and started to walk to the counter. He got himself two cabbage buns, one chive bun, and one meat bun. Shen ced the te on the table and he got a cup of soymilk. By the time he finished taking up the buns for his breakfast, Eunha had finished her mission. The basket was safely delivered to the counter and she returned to the same table as him. She had her te with two buns on it. Her favorite was the same as Shen''s, the cabbage bun. "Good Morning, Brother Shen," Eunha greeted him with her sweet smile as she climbed up onto her chair. Shuren wanted to help, but she refused by saying, "I am not a little girl, I can climb by myself." Both ate their buns together, "This is so yummy, right, Brother Shen? I am fortunate that Mama Jun adopted me so I can eat the yummy bun," the little girlmented as they ate the buns. "Tonight, Brother Shuren will bring me to Uncle Hou stall for dinner. Do you want to join, Brother Shen?" When he heard the invitation, Shen furrowed his brows. Mtang was oily food, he thought it was not good for Eunha. Shen looked toward Shuren, "It''s okay, Eunha will not eat mtang. Uncle Hou also made fried rice and crispy fish soup. Eunha can eat them," Shuren exined, "I want to bring her to meet Lin Lin so she can make a new friend." "Ah, I see. Then let''s have dinner together," Shen agreed to have dinner together. As they finished their buns, Sister Mei Mei entered the shop, "I am back! Where''s my little sister?" Eunha climbed down from the chair and turned around, she was about to rush over, but Mei Mei was faster than her. Sister Mei Mei scooped Eunha and picked her up, "What are you talking about? Dinner together? Can Big Sister Mei join too?" "Of course, you can join us too," Eunha replied with a giggle. Sister Mei Mei sat on the chair and put Eunha on herp, "What about lunch? Do you want to eat with Big Sister Mei?" "Mnn, let''s have lunch together," Eunha readily agreed with the offer. Shen smiled as he looked at the three siblings. He was really d that Auntie Jun adopted Eunha. After he had his breakfast, he returned to his apartment. He took a shower and was ready to dive in. He had made a promise with Ming to hunt the Guardian Fish together. The fish''s stock started to run out, they needed to hunt more to stock up. Shen logged into the game. He found Ming was on the table with an empty te, chatting with ZhenZhen. He did not see Dale, but he could hear the nking noise from the house across from him. WealthyGuy was working hard. As for Yue, he did not see her. Upon noticing his arrival, ZhenZhen ran to her house and brought the roasted fish. After working on the fish for days, she managed to get rid of the sticky substance in Guardian Fish. The fish tasted better than before. "This is your breakfast, Shen," She ced the te in front of him. Shen nodded, "Thanks." "What took you so long to log in? You have promised to hunt together," Mingined while in fact, Shen was notte. It was just Ming who logged in too early. Shen merely rolled his eyes at his friend and looked toward ZhenZhen, "Can you prepare more roasted fish for us? We will be hunting all day so we need supply," "Alright, leave it to me," ZhenZhen nodded and rushed back to her house. "How is it? Have you made some progress, Ming?" Shen changed the topic so his friend would stop grumbling at him. The way he changed the topic was on the spot. Ming immediately forgot about theints as he made a saddened expression and shook his head, "I don''t even dare to ask her number so I made zero progress. You should help me, Shen?" If Ming did not make a serious expression, he might think Ming was joking. Shen once again rolled his eyes at him, "You are asking my help who is also inexperienced with this love thingy? You must be joking, Ming!" He never dated even a girl for once yet this guy brazenly asked for help from him. "But she is so different when with you. She bes enthusisatic or something but that was not the case when she was with me. Maybe you can set us up for a date?" Ming''s expression brightened at the idea. "Nope," Shen tly refused his friend''s request, "Dale is here, you should ask his advice instead. As for why she became enthusiastic with me because we talked about food. You should learn a thing or two things about food if you want to have a smooth conversation with her," After saying that, Shen ignored his friend. He ate the roasted fish and while eating he checked the status window. Name: Runner Race: Human ss: Yosu Legatee Affiliation: - Level: 13 Experience: 1,565,000/2,419,200 Health Point: 320 Stamina Point: 2860/2860 Hunger: 100 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 196 Agility: 253 Vitality: 32 Endurance: 286 Dexterity: 268 Status Point: 0 Skill: Void Sword Technique: [Void Draw - Level 1], [Void Step - Level 1], [Void Critical - Level 1 (Passive)], [Void Thrust - Level 1] ''Mnnn,'' This kind of status was not someone for his level to have. The hard work he put into the training was paid off. He was done with the training and now he would focus on his level. [You have eaten the Roast Guardian Fish made by Guru Spices Sessor! You gain temporary boosts! +30 Agility, +15 Strength, and +10 Endurance for ten minutes!] Shen finished his food. At the same time, ZhenZhen was done preparing the supply for them. Chapter 76: The Optimistic Ming Chapter 76: The Optimistic Ming With supply in their inventory, Ming and Shen departed to the river to hunt the Guardian Fish. On the way out, they encountered Yue who was jogging with the stone on her back. They exchanged greetings before Ming and Shen truly left the vige. On the way to the hunting spot, Shen told Ming the way to hunt the Guardian Fish. Luring them out from the river, trapping them into three, and the Guardian Fish''s range of attack, "Even if they are onnd, you should be careful. They can leap to you so fast. Let me demonstrate it first for you or else you may die if they manage tond a critical hit," Shen was afraid that his friend would die from the fish. Ming''s level dropped one to arrive at the hidden vige, he did not want to lose all his exp again. "Alright, let''s do that," Ming nodded. Even though it sounded so easy, he would let the expert demonstrate the method to him. He did not want to die in a silly way. He would be embarrassed since there were more people in the vige. Following Shen''s route, they quickly arrived at the hunting spot where Shen usually hunted the fish. Ming could see holes on the trees, the traces of Shen''s hunting before, "Don''te too close to the river or you will be attacked by the fish. Just stay away from me, I don''t want you to agro the fish when theynd on the ground," Shen briefed his friend. "Oh, Shen, should we create a party?" Ming asked. Forming a party could share the experience, but then he remembered something, "Ah, there''s no need I think. This is easy hunting, let''s not share the exp," In order to share the exp, he needed to contribute as well. Without contribution, the exp would not be shared. "Then watch me, Ming," Shen approached the river. He stood at the edge of the river for ten seconds and the Guardian Fish sshed out from the river, not one, but two Guardian Fish. Just like Shen said, the fish was fast. Ming could tell that by just watching, ''Two? Does Shen need my help?'' he considered helping his friend since the fish was level 32 Monsters. He thought it would be hard for Shen to handle two at one time. However, he did not dare toe over since Shen did not ask for help yet. Sure enough, his noob friend had be an expert in hunting the fish that could walk the ground. His friend did not need his help at all. After avoiding the first strike from the two Guardian Fish, Shen ran to the other side. He lured them further from the river and then he leaned against the tree. Ming was aware that this was the crucial moment for him to learn, "The Guardian Fish''s range of attack is two meters, remember to prepare to dodge when they reach the range." That was what Shen told him before. Ming squinted his eyes, estimating the distance between two fish and his friend, "That should be two meters" Sure enough, the two fish leaped toward Shen with the help of the hind legs they had. He noticed that Shen was the first to make his move before the fish could jump onto him. Just like Shen said, this was even faster when they jumped out from the groundpared to when they jumped from the water. Shen ducked his head before he rolled the right, dodging the attack. Dak! Dak! The sound was an indication that the fish''s snout pierced through the tree''s trunk. The Guardian Fish''s snout fully entered the tree and now they were stuck, waiting to be ughtered. Everything looked so easy, but Ming was aware that it was not that easy as it looked. "Ming! Come over!" Shen waved his hand at Ming who was analyzing the strategy. It was a quite smart strategy. How could Shen think about it? Ming asked himself as he headed toward his friend. If he was in Shen''s situation, he doubted that he could think of this strategy to face the Guardian Fish. "I got lucky with two fish, get one for yourself," Shen shared his harvest with him. It actually did not matter that he gave his friend one of the catches since a little over twenty thousand experiences amounted to nothing to the experiences he needed to reach level 14. Ming was not polite with that as he epted the gift for him. He took out his dagger, the weapon given to him by his Master, "Do you want me to deal the damage first so you can kill the fish faster?" Shen was dealing more damage since he had been training longer and higher in level as well. "Nope, I will do it by myself. I don''t want to share the exp with you," Ming said as he approached the struggling fish with his dagger. To reach level 5, he needed 2400 Exp, there was a lot considering the level 5 monster only gave him 30 exp. Shen shrugged as he took out the sword given to him by his Master. The good news for the hidden vige was that WealthyGuy now was able to repair their weapon so there was no need for them to worry about breaking down their weapon. On top of that, Brother Jiang was working with the Guardian Fish''s snout. He said that he could make something out of it as well. Everything went well within the vige. Ming was about to stab the fish in the belly, but Shen stopped him, "Don''t! Don''t ruin the meat, ZhenZhen needs the meat intact!" Ming stopped midway and nodded his head. He then aimed for the head. -167 The red floating damage appeared above the fish as the dagger hit the head. It was quite a big damage. Just like that, the two were stabbing the fish at the head repeatedly until it died. Shen killed his fish first and Ming killed his fishter. [You have killed Guardian Fish!] [You gained 22,400 exp!] [You have leveled up!] [You gained 10 Status Points!] [You have leveled up!] [You gained 10 Status Points!] [You have leveled up!] [You gained 10 Status Points!] [You have reached level 7!] Ming''s eyes widened in surprise that he jumped into level 7 by killing one monster. He looked at Shen, "Shen, we can enter the leaderboard if we keep hunting the fish!" The Ranking Leaderboard was determined by the level. That was what Ming talked about. However, Shen waved his hand at his friend, "Don''t get too happy, Ming. You should know that we need more exp to level up as our level gets higher. Simply hunting the monsters in level 32 might not be enough when we reach level 20 or above," He was not optimistic about entering the ranking leaderboard. Even for him to reach level 14 needed 2.4 million exp. "Man, you are killing the mood. But the same for the others, Shen. They would be stuck too at a certain point. It would be hard for them to look for a stronger monster to hunt but our ce is filled with high-level monsters. we still have the advantage," Ming maintained his optimistic vision about the future. Chapter 77: False Alarm Chapter 77: False rm Name: Runner Race: Human ss: Yosu Legatee Affiliation: - Level: 15 Experience: 6,829,000/9,676,800 Health Point: 320 Stamina Point: 681/2860 Hunger: 12 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 196 Agility: 255 Vitality: 32 Endurance: 286 Dexterity: 272 Status Point: 20 Skill: Void Sword Technique: [Void Draw - Level 1], [Void Step - Level 1], [Void Critical - Level 1 (Passive)], [Void Thrust - Level 1] Shen looked at the experience bar, he needed more than nine million experiences to reach level 16. He thought that after he found out a way to get himself stronger to hunt, the future would be easier for him since he got a Legendary ss. But it was not as easy as he pictured it to be. Of course, he was halfway to level 16 but what about level 17? The experience would double and he needed eighteen million to reach level 17. The future was not as bright as he thought. He must focus his time on the game for farming the exp or else he would be left behind by the others. A Legendary ss without the level was still weaker than the high-level yer with a normal ss. He then looked at his inventory; there were fifty stacks of Guardian Fish''s bodies with each stack of ten Guardian Fish, meaning he had killed over five hundred Guardian Fish. If he had to include the fish he had dismantled to get the snout because the durability of his sword had reached three percent, it would be over five hundred and fifty Guardian Fish. A low-tier weapon lost the durability too fast to face level 32 Guardian Fish. So they were forced to dismantle the fish by themselves to use it as a weapon. In the end, the solution was to get a better weapon. He still had the Gifted Spear, the reward from reporting the bug. However, he did not use it since he had to aim at the fish''s head that was stuck on the tree. The spear was kinda hard as it was too inconvenient to use in this condition. Shen let out a sigh as he allocated 20 Status Points. He still used the same form, 3 2 2 2 1 form, with that: Agility: 6 Strength: 4 Endurance: 4 Vitality: 4 Dexterity: 2 After allocating his status point, he looked toward his friend, "What about you, Ming? How many levels do you get?" His friend turned toward him, he was grinning at him, "I have reached level 14, Shen. I told you, it''s not impossible to catch up with the top ranker. What about yours?" It was understandable why Ming was so happy. Normally, yers could only level up for a level each day and as they got higher, it became a level for two days. It was that hard to level up in Tribe Online. "Me? I am level 16," Shen told the truth and Ming was surprised to hear that, "What? You are joking, right Shen? You killed more fish than me!" Ming could not believe that. He had lower stamina and lower damage. He used more stamina than Shen as it took him longer to kill one fish. Shen at least doubled the kill. Ming checked his inventory, and there were twenty stacks of fish there. Meaning he had killed over two hundred Guardian Fish including the fish he had dismantled. He estimated Shen at least killed four hundred fish yet Shen only leveled up twice while he got ten levels. Ming checked his status window. For him to reach level 15, he needed 3.6 million exp. He recalled that Shen once said to him that the Legendary ss needed four times of exp to level up. That meant his friend needed around 4 to 5 million exp to reach level 15. While Epic or Legendary ss was good, it was hard to grow it up as well. Once Shen reached level 20, it would be even harder for them to level with the high-level monsters around. Ming now understood why his friend was pessimistic to enter the leaderboard. It was indeed hard for them to reach the leaderboard. The drawback of having one of the best sses in the game. "I am not joking," Shen shook his head, "We have run out of the supply, let''s head back to the vige," The sun was halfway to go down as night was about to arrive. No one had tried to hunt at night so Shen would continue the training at night. Hunting by day and training by night, the new schedule for him. When they returned to the vige, everyone was gathered at the dining table. The table was Brother Jiang''s craft. He made them the table and the chairs for everyone to chat when they took a break from training or eating to recover the hunger. "You guys back, how''s the hunt?" Dale was the first one to ask upon noticing his two friends returned. "That''s good, but we have an emergency, guys. Especially for the production ss," Ming sat next to ZhenZhen while Shen sat next to Dale. Ming then told them about the experience thingy. The production ss was the one who had it hard since they only got the experience from crafting instead of hunting, "So that''s why I propose we make a party and hunt together, especially for ZhenZhen and Brother Jiang," "I don''t think that necessary" ZhenZhen checked the window status, "I am about to reach level 11, no, I will reach level 11 after I cooked for your supplies tomorrow. Cooking and experimenting give me a lot of exp, so there''s no need to bring us with you guys. What about you, Brother Jiang?" "I am level 6 by now but ZhenZhen is right, we got a lot of exp. I will be starting to catch up if I manage to forge a piece of equipmentter, so you guys don''t need to worry about us," WealthyGuy nodded in response. "Yeah, there''s no need to worry about them. More importantly, Tribe Online lowered the exp for the production ss by ten times to level up if I am not wrong. Hunting the monster is not effective for them as they got ten times less experience than thebat ss," Yue interjected to clear the worry for the production ss. Ming breathed in relief when he heard that from Yue, "It was just a false rm then because I need 3.6 million exp to reach level 15 and Shen and the other Legendary sses need more than that," when he said that, everyone was looking at Shen. They were curious when Ming said that. "I am level 16 now and I need 9.6 million to reach level 17," When he said the number, everyone was shocked. Especially Yue, her obsidian-like eyes widened in surprise. She was the only yer that almost reached the level 30 threshold before she reset the character. She was well aware of the difference exp between the normal ss and the Legendary ss when Shen said that. "Alright, guys. See youter, I am going to have dinner," Shen stood up and bid farewell to the others. "Wait, let''s have dinner together," Dale called out. "I am going to have dinner with Eunha, so you should ask her permission if you to join the dinner," Shen responded with a shrug, "Eunha is a good girl, she must want to have dinner with this handsome brother," Dale headed toward his house while Shen headed toward his house. The two friends logged out together. Chapter 78: Making A Deal With A Witch Chapter 78: Making A Deal With A Witch Shen had dinner together with Sister Mei, Shuren, Eunha, and Ming. The guy shamelessly followed them to Uncle Hou''s stall. Of course, no one was going to drive him away when he followed them. "Hello, my name is Eunha. Nice to meet you," Eunha bowed her head toward Uncle Hou''s daughter. For the first time, the little witch was at loss. She did not know what to do with the overly polite Eunha. Lin Lin looked toward her father and her mother behind the counter. The duo did nothing but encourage their daughter to return the introduction, "H-hello, m-my name is Huo Lin. Nice to meet you too," the little witch became fidgety. The reason Eunha was overly polite was that she finally met someone at her peers after months of staying in the hospital and living with the adults. She was trying to make a good impression on the potential friend and did not realize that it caused Lin Lin at loss. "I think she does not like me" Eunha muttered in a low voice as she hugged Shen''s thigh. Lin Lin heard that, she wanted to say that was not that the case. Little Witch Lin Lin opened her mouth but no words came out from her mouth. She truly did not know what to do. Shen shook his head and rubbed Eunha''s hair, "Silly girl, who says Lin Lin dislikes you? She just shy, right Lin Lin?" Eunha took a peek at Lin Lin. Thetter was nodding her head and said, "Y-yes," Both usually interacted with the adult, so they did not know how to treat their peers. "I have ordered everything, let''s eat. Do you want to join us too Lin Lin?" Yu Mei came over and broke the awkwardness between the two little girls. Under her mother''s encouragement, Lin Lin joined them at the table. They chose the corner table since the stall was quite crowded, almost full. Of course, the awkwardness between the two girls did notst long. When they tried to converse slowly, they started to get familiar with each other and naturally got closer. Mostly it was Lin Lin who asked Eunha about the hospitalization. Little Witch Lin Lin was curious about life in the hospital. Just like that, they ended up staying until nine-thirty. Both were too excited to share their stories until they yawned. It seemed both could get tired as well. While Yu Mei and Shuren brought Eunha back, Shen stayed behind to speak with Lin Lin. He squatted in front of the little girl and smiled, "Lin Lin, do you want to make a deal with me?" As Eunha was no longer here, Lin Line reverted to her old self, acting like an adult again, "A deal?" she rubbed her chin, pretending to be in deep thought, "I am all ear," "Do you know that Eunha will enter the same kindergarten as you the day after tomorrow?" Shen asked the little girl. Lin Lin''s round eyes widened in surprise as a smile started to form on his lips. She shook her head. "Now you know. Let''s make a deal, can you watch Eunha for Brother Shen? Don''t let other kids bully her or let her run around, you know right, Eunha has a disease so she can''t get tired," Lin Lin nodded her head. She had heard that from Eunha directly since she asked her new friend why did she get hospitalized. "You help me to watch Eunha, in return, I will bring a cake every week. Eunha likes Tiramisu, what about you?" Shen offered the deal. When Lin Lin heard the word cake, her eyes shone brightly. However, she did not respond to him as she nced at her mother and father. Noticing none of them looked toward her and Brother Shen, only then she replied, "I love tiramisu, but I love chocte cake and cheesecake as well. I like cupcakes and strawberry cake as well, I love cakes." Lin Lin responded enthusiastically. "Then I assume we have a deal?" Tang Shaoyang offered his pinky finger toward Lin Lin. Once again, Lin Lin looked toward her father and her mother. Noticing they did not look toward her, she reached Shen''s pinky finger, "Deal!" Shen smiled widely and Lin Lin also smiled widely. Dale watched everything from the side and shook his head. His friend was pretty good with a kid. After making the deal, Shen and Dale bid farewell to Uncle Hou and his wife. *** *** Shen returned to his apartment and took a ss of water with him to the room. Then he logged into the game. When he arrived at the vige, No one was there. However, he could hear the nking sound from Brother Jiang''s house. He looked toward ZhenZhen''s house and saw smoke came out of her house. She was doing something and maybe experimenting with the new menu. Tang Shaoyang came over and knocked on the wooden wall since the house did not have a door. "ZhenZhen, can I have my food? I am going to start the training," He needed to fill up his hunger and also need the Endurance and Agility Buff. "Coming! Coming! Just wait at the table, does Sneaky want the food as well?" ZhenZhen''s voice rang from the house, "Yes, please make an extra for him as well." After that, he returned to the table. Not long after he sat, Dale came out of his house, "Have you ordered the food?" Sure enough, he asked about food as soon as he came out of the house. Shen nodded, "Mnn, ZhenZhen is cooking the food." Dale got into his seat and started chatting with Shen. They had a lot to talk about, mostly Dale who boasted that he had several girlfriends when he was in the UK. Shen was not interested in the story, but he did not have another person to talk with. Fortunately, ZhenZhen''s cooking speed was fast as they did not have to wait too long before she served the roasted fist. Shen immediately finished his meal and started the training again. Even though he said he would focus on hunting the monsters, but it was night. He did not want to wander around at night only to be killed by the monster. He would rather spending his time increasing his status with training. That was how Shen filled his days, farming exp at the noon in-game time and training status at the night in-game time. Chapter 79: The First Tribe Chapter 79: The First Tribe The days continued and so with the grinding. Shen and Ming had been farming the Guardian Fish for seven days in a row. In those seven days, he only increased his level by four levels. Seven days, meaning fourteen days in-game time and he only increased four levels. He was now level 21 while Ming had surpassed him in level. Ming had reached level 23, bing the only person with the highest level in the hidden vige. Of course, it was so slow even if he had topare himself to the top-ranking yer such as ZhanQ who just reached level 35. He and the ranking 1 had the same progress but ZhanQ''s level was higher, he was supposed to have slower progress since his level was much higher than him. Yet ZhanQ managed to gain four levels in a week while Shen who was level 17 only managed to get four levels as well in a week. The Legendary ss truly slowed him down in leveling up even though he hunted higher-level monsters. Of course, there was a difference between the two, the amount of time they put in the game. ZhanQ was a pro-yer who spent his time in the gaming pod eighteen to twenty hours a day. Meanwhile, Shen spent his time like ten to fourteen hours. Sometimes he even yed for less than ten hours. Shen was eating his meal while waiting for ZhenZhen to prepare the supply for him to hunt. Today, he was hunting alone since Ming went to his grandfather''s ce with his family. Yue was wholly focusing on the training and Dale was the same. The two most hardworking in the vige, Yue, and WealthyGuy. Shen could hear the nking noise from Brother Jiang''s house. The man was currently working with the Guardian Fish''s snout. He said something overlyplicated about smithing and Shen understood nothing about it. It seemed he needed to experiment more before he would start making the equipment for them. That was big progress from the cksmith. ''I should work hard as well. I can''t be left behind by them,'' Shen muttered as he chewed the soft meat of the Guardian Fish. He then checked his window status. Name: Runner Race: Human ss: Yosu Legatee Affiliation: - Level: 21 Experience: 24,149,800/76,545,000 Health Point: 440 Stamina Point: 3180/3180 Hunger: 100 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 219 Agility: 286 Vitality: 44 Endurance: 318 Dexterity: 286 Status Point: 0 Skill: Void Sword Technique: [Void Draw - Level 1], [Void Step - Level 1], [Void Critical - Level 1 (Passive)], [Void Thrust - Level 1] When he looked at the number of exp he needed for the next level, Shen subconsciously let out a sigh again. Seventy-six million exp to reach level 22, this was a crazy number. "You should not sigh too often or you will get old soon," ZhenZhen''s voice rang as she ced two trays before him. Four roasted fish on each tray. Shen reached the roasted fish and put them into his inventory, "Do you have something in your mind?" "Nope, I ammenting my exp for the next level. This is going to be hard to catch up with the other yers and the yers that y the gamete could easily catch up to my level," Runner shared his thoughts as he finished the fish. The buff notification rang in his head and ZhenZhen took the tray with her. She returned to the house and brought back two trays of roasted Guardian Fish again, "But once we form a tribe, we can earn a lot of exp actually. Don''t you read the forum?" The first tribe established by the yer had appeared in the game. Founding a tribe was not easy as it sounded, but there was the main requirement to do that, it was the Token Tribe. If one had a Token Tribe, they could imnd without an owner, not in the city territory or kingdom''s territory. To get the Token Tribe, they could get it by defeating a boss monster. A random boss monster held a token tribe, the yers could get that by killing a boss. Or if one was lucky enough to find a Token Tribe from the treasure chest. Or there was a way to establish a tribe even if the yer did not have a token, it was to raid an existing tribe and seize it. It could be a yer''s tribe or an NPC''s tribe. The first tribe was founded by an unknown yer. The lucky yer managed to find a Token Tribe from the Treasure Chest. Many rich yers tried to buy it from the yer, but the yer decided to build the first tribe on the server instead. The unknown yer gathered more yers through the forum and established the tribe in the middle of the wilderness. Fifty yers gathered and established the tribe. The result? It was a disaster, three days after they founded the tribe, it was destroyed. The unknown yer shared his experience of how the tribe was destroyed. Finding the Token Tribe was just the first step. It was easy to establish the tribe, but it was hard to defend the tribe. Yes, there was a horde of monsters attacking the tribe periodically. They had to defend the tribe from being destroyed. The main problem was, the fifty yers were allbatant ss. None of them could cook food so they had to scavenge for food while defending the tribe. Another issue was they did not have a builder. If they had a builder, they could build a fence to increase their survival against the horde. Potion, they did not have enough potion stock to survive and they were far from the city as well. They managed to survive the first three days without all of those, but the fourth day. That was a disaster. The nearby tribe, the Dark Orc Tribe attacked them. Yes, the nearby tribe dered war against them hence the tribe had to defend the tribe from the horde and also attack the other tribes. Just like that, the tribe was razed. The first tribe in the game was destroyed. Of course, the unknown yer also shared that if they sessfully defended the tribe, they would get a bonus exp based on how many monsters they had killed. It was a big boost to their levels. Even though the tribe was destroyed, this unknown yer did not regret it as he managed to reach level 32 in the first three days. The unknown yer managed to enter the top 50 leaderboard ranking, his in-game name was Winter. He was now not an unknown yer anymore. Even though the tribe was destroyed, Winter gained fame and now the guy became a celebrity in the forum. Now he also streamed his gamey and had ten thousands of viewers. ZhenZhen was telling him to not get discouraged that once they established a tribe, it would be easier for him to level up as well. "But we need at least ten people and we don''t have the token tribe yet," Shen shook his head. "Take it easy, once we areplete, we can hunt the boss monster too! We might get lucky and get the Token Tribe too," ZhenZhen smiled as she took the tray and ran back to her house. She brought another two trays out and gave them to Shen. With that, Shen had 24 roasted fish for his supply. Now he was ready to hunt more fish. Chapter 80: Boss Monster Chapter 80: Boss Monster Complete meant when all ten yers gathered in the hidden vige. They had six people now, fourbat sses and two production sses. It would not take long before the vige had ten yers. They predicted that they would beplete in a month or two months at thetest. However, Shen did not have a hope to build the tribe with just ten people. He did not think that they could make it even if they managed to establish the tribe. Lasting for a day might be good already for them. Especially with the monster around the vige being much stronger. He did not share his pessimistic thoughts with ZhenZhen as the girl tried to encourage him, "Alright then, I will be going now," He stood up from the chair and walked toward the exit. Halfway toward the exit, he heard a familiar shout, "Shen! Wait for me! Let''s hunt together!" Shen halted his steps and turned around. Ming rushed out of his house and waved his hand toward him. He was surprised as he thought that Ming was visiting his grandfather in Hangzhou, but why was this guy here? He stopped for Ming as the guy caught up, "Let''s hunt together, Shen!" "I thought you were visiting your grandfather? But why are you here now?" Shen asked his friend. He thought that Ming should go together with his family instead of grinding with him. They could grind the levels any time but it was once a while to visit his grandparents'' ce. "I am in Hangzhou," Ming nodded his head. "Then how Don''t tell me you bring your gaming pod with you?" Shen remembered that Ming''s father had a pick-up car. He could bring the gaming pod with him. "I am not that crazy, Shen. We only visited my grandfather for three days," Ming shook his head, "I am ying at a gaming cafe near my grandfather''s ce. After hearing that I decided to y Tribe Online as my career, my grandpa actually supports me," He said that with a bright smile. He was genuinely happy that someone supported his passion. "Gaming cafe?" Shen was familiar with this term. From the history of the gaming industry, people yed games on PC. A gaming cafe was a ce where people rented PCs to y the game. It was until VR technology took the world with a storm. People started to leave the game on PC and choose the gaming Pod instead, giving a sensation that people could not get by ying the game on PC. The game developer also started to focus on creating games for VR. He never heard that term again after that. "Yes, it''s a ce that rents the gaming pod," Ming nodded his head, "Sky released a Public Pod that can be used by everyone. There are actually a lot of Gaming Cafes that rent gaming pods." Shen nodded his head. Sky did not want to miss the big business by releasing the Public Pod. So the people who could not afford to buy, they could rent the gaming pod to y. "But it must be expensive!?" Recalling the price for the gaming pod, the rent price should be expensive. Before Ming could reply, ZhenZhen called him out, "Ming, this is your food. You can eat this slowly as I made more fish for your supply," Ming thanked ZhenZhen as he took his seat, "You are right about that. Can you believe that the price for an hour''s rent is 20 Yuan? It''s a two days meal for an hour renting the pod." "That''s actually expensive" Shen agreed with that. 200 Yuan for ten hours, it was not worth it. He felt that the owner of the gaming cafe was overcharging the fee. Just like Ming said, it could be a meal for two days depending on what they eat. That would defeat the purpose of renting the gaming pod as it would be more worth buying the exclusive gaming pod. But 500k Yuan for the cheapest Gaming Pod. It rivaled the price of a house and luxury car. Of course, it was just a small house and the cheapest luxury car. But it was still unbelievable that Sky would sell their gaming pod at that price. While many could afford to buy one, many also could not afford the cheapest one. Renting the gaming pod was an option for those who could not afford to buy it. They chatted as Ming finished his fish. By the time he finished his meal, ZhenZhen had prepared the supply for Ming. Less than Shen''s supply, but he could share itter if Ming needed more. After Ming got his buff, the two friends headed out of the vige. Outside the vige, Yue and Dale were running together. They exchanged greetings as Ming grumbled, "Look at Dale, how dare he make a move on Goddess Yue?" Shen wanted to say why Dale could not make a move on Yue? One was a man and the other one was a girl. It was a normal thing, especially a beauty such as Yue. He did not say as Ming was a fanatic fan of Yue and he might be jealous as he made no progress with ZhenZhen. It was just jealousy, he did notment lest his friend triggered. "What about you, Shen? Don''t you have an interest in Yue? Why don''t you try to get closer to her? I would rather have you with Yue and that yboy Dale," Ming looked at Shen. "Me and Yue? She is indeed pretty but I don''t think we are in the same ss as her. I would rather maintain our rtionship as a friend," Shen shook his head. It was not realistic for him to pursue her. If he wanted to date or even marry a girl like Yue, he needed to raise his ss as well at the same level as her. He did not have the qualification for that. She was famous, wealthy, well-educated at least, she finished college, and he heard that she was an official daughter and her grandfather was a retired General. Her background was quite daunting for the unknown Shen. Dale might suit her instead of him actually. He just did not say it aloud. "But I noticed that Yue seemed to be interested in you, Shen," Ming looked at Shen weirdly. For some reason, he felt that way. "Oh, really?" Shen looked at his friend suspiciously, "How do you know that? I don''t feel that way and I don''t think she would be interested in me. I feel that she has been treating everyone the same," "No, that''s something different when she talks with you" before Ming could finish his sentence, Shen cut him off, "We are here, it''s time to hunt, Ming," "Tsk, you are a weirdo for sure. How can you don''t even have a fantasy for someone like Yue?" Ming shook his head as he prepared his dagger and Shen took out his sword. The two had been moving around the river to search for the Guardian Fish. After seven days of farming the Guardian Fish, the number of the fish had been reduced. If they stood at the edge of the river in the first days they hunted the Guardian Fish, no fish would attack them again. Since then they had been exploring downstream. "Let''s check it first, Ming. Maybe the Guardian Fish has respawned," Shen walked toward the edge of the river. They were at the area where they hunted the Guardian Fish on the first day. Ming nodded and followed Shen, they stood there for two minutes, but no fish attacked them. "Let''s go upstream, Shen. we haven''t gone there yet," Ming pointed toward the direction and Shen nodded. They followed the river upstream, of course, they did not walk at the edge of the water. The two were cautious not to get a surprise attack from the fish. After ten minutes of walking, they stopped, "I think this is a good hunting spot. There are a lot of trees here," Shen pointed to their surroundings. Even though they had leveled up to level over 20, they still used the same trick to hunt the fish. It was way easier to hunt that way than wasting their stamina to dodge the Guardian Fish''s strike repeatedly. "Alright, then." Ming put some distance from Shen and walked toward the edge of the river. He needed to have some distance so the fish would aggro toward him instead of Shen. Shen did the same. Usually, it would take ten to thirty seconds for the Guardian Fish to attack them. Twenty seconds quickly passed but no fish attacked them. Just as they thought they might not get far enough from the original spot, a huge wave sshed from the water as an enormous fish jumped out of the river. The fish leaped toward Shen. He immediately activated [Void Step] and lunged to the side. He rolled on the ground and immediately got up again and regrouped with Ming. Ming was shocked as well by the size of the fish. The fish was two times bigger than them, having silver scales, golden snout, and silver crown on top of the head. It was simr to Guardian Fiss but bigger. Instead of two legs, this one had four hindlegs and three pairs of silver whiskers above its snout. "It''s a Boss Monster!" Ming shouted. He ced his dagger on his waist. Then he pulled the bow and the arrow on his back. He aimed the arrow toward the belly as it tried to move toward their direction. The arrow hit the belly and the floating text appeared above. -34 Chapter 81: King of Guardian Fish Chapter 81: King of Guardian Fish The reason Ming shot his arrow was to find out more about the Boss Monster. Sure enough, after he did damage on the monster he saw an interface about the information about the Boss Monster. [King of Guardian Fish] Tribe: - Level: 68 Skill:??? "Shen! It''s level 68, what should we do?" Ming reported his discovery to Shen. All this time, Ming had followed Shen''s instruction without realizing that his friend was a noob in the game. But it was his subconscious thought since Shen had been helping him, growing dependent on his friend. "I don''t know! But I think we should run! We can''t trap this thing unless we can find a bigger tree," Shen replied as he panicked slightly. He was not expecting that the boss monster would emerge from the river. He was not ready yet for this one. As the two friends exchanged words about what they should do, the King of Guardian Fish had sessfully turned its massive body toward them. It pushed its massive body with the four hind legs on the back as it tried to get closer to Shen and Ming. "Be careful, Ming. A normal Guardian Fish''s attack range is two meters, this one" Shen had not finished his words as the King of Guardian Fish lunged forward toward them. The distance between them and the fish was around seven to eight meters. Shen reacted quickly and rolled toward the left. Ming followed him albeit a bitte. The King of Guardian Fish was too fast as its body managed to graze over Ming''s body. -223 Their bodies just grazed at each other but it dealt 223 damage on Ming, "Ouch, shit. We should run now, Shen. That thing just grazed me and it took half of my HP. We can''t fight this thing, let''s run!" There was no need for Ming to say it as Shen never nned to fight the Boss Monster. He stood up and ran toward the vige direction as Ming followed behind him. As they ran away, Shen felt the vibration from the ground. It was like a big creature''s steps. He felt a bad premonition about the vibration. Ming sensed the vibration as well. He subconsciously turned his head around as he felt the vibratione from his back. His eyes widened in terror when he found out what happened. The King of Guardian Fish was the cause of the vibration. Ming noticed that the King of Guardian Fish grew two pairs of forelegs. The fish now had eight legs and it was chasing them. It was not slow either, it was quite fast, faster than him for sure as the distance between him and the King of Guardian Fish shortened. "Shen! Wait for me! The fish is chasing us! Help me, Shen!" Ming yelled desperately. He did not want to die. It took him a week to reach level 23. He did not want to die and lose a level here. Shen heard his friend''s cry but nothing he could do to help. He turned his head around. He made a quite distance from Ming. Thanks to his ss that gave him a bonus Agility and also he focused his status point on Agility. Shen ran much faster than Ming. Then he remembered a saying, the way to escape from a bear. "You don''t have to run faster than a bear, but you must run faster than your friend," Those words were kinda true. To escape from the King of Guardian Fish, he did not have to outrun it. He just needed to run faster than his friend. However, Shen had no heart to abandon his friend. He stopped running and turned around. Ming saw his friend stopped running. He thought Shen had a way to get away from the monster so he did not stop. He kept running. Shen stayed there before he dashed toward a different direction. However, to his surprise, the King of Guardian Fish kept chasing Ming instead of chasing him, "Ming! It keeps chasing after you!" The aggro was still on Ming. Shen quickly realized why the King of Guardian Fish was still chasing after Ming. It was because Ming attacked the King of Guardian Fish earlier so the monster''s aggro was still on Ming. He dashed toward the King of Guardian Fish with the sword in his hand. He shed the sword downward toward the side belly of the fish. -97 97 Damage that was quite a good damage considering the monster in front of him was a Boss Monster. However, when he saw the health bar above the King of the Guardian Fish. He shook his head, the health bar was barely reduced. Thanks to his attack, the King of the Guardian Fish came to a halt. Shen immediately turned around and escaped toward the north direction. He was not going to wait for it to turn its body toward him. He immediately dashed toward the north without looking back. But then, a shadow hovered above him. Shen looked up and found the King of Guardian Fish was above him. He looked at the spot where the King of Guardian Fish was. The distance between that spot and him was around eleven to twelve meters. But the King of the Guardian Fish managed to jump at him. [Void Step] He immediately activated [Void Step] and ran even faster. Fortunately, he could control his speed as he easily avoided the trees and other obstacles in front of him. At the same time, he managed to avoid being crushed by the massive fish, barely. He dashed forward with all his might without looking back. He kept running even though he did not know where he would end up. *** *** Ming looked behind him, Shen and the King of Guardian Fish were not behind him, "Huh!? Where are they?" He stopped running and muttered in a low voice, "Don''t tell me Shen lures the Boss away from me?" He then realized what his friend was doing. "This is bad, I should help" Ming was aware of how difficult it was for a Legendary ss to raise their level. He could not let Shen die, dropping a level was a disaster for them. If he knew this would happen, Ming would rather sacrifice himself for Shen even though his level was higher. Ming tried to message Shen, but he got no reply. He kept sending the message but received no reply. Just as he was about to call Shen, he sensed movement from the bush behind him. He turned around and saw a tall bush was shaking. His hand moved toward the dagger on his waist, ready to fight the monster behind the bush. Fwoosh! The ck-feathered chicken dashed out of the bush, leaping toward him. The yellow beak was about to peg him on the head. Ming ducked down and rolled forward. His reaction was much faster and he avoided the chicken''s first strike, ''Should I try to fight the chicken? No, Shen is my top priority!'' With those thoughts in his head, Ming turned around and ran toward the vige. As Ming ran toward the vige, he tried to call Shen but thetter did not answer his call, "Did he die?" He muttered and ran toward the vige. He dashed into the vige and found Brother Jiang and ZhenZhen on the table while Dale and Yue were doing squats, "He''s not back yet?" He called out. Ming returned in a hurry and the others immediately looked at him, "He? Who are you talking about?" Brother Jiang asked back, then he realized that Ming went hunting with Runner. So he must be asking about Runner, "Are you talking about Runner?" "Yes!" Ming nodded his head. Brother Jiang and the others made a confused expression, "What are you talking about? Didn''t you go hunting with Runner? He should be with you," Ming released a long sigh while he was slightly relieved. If Shen had not respawned yet, that meant the King of Guardian Fish had not killed him yet. That was good news but now that guy went missing. Ming came over to the table and told them what happened, "Boss Monster?" ZhenZhen blurted out. "Yes, maybe we hunted too many Guardian Fish so the boss appeared," Ming nodded, "He does not respawn yet so Runner is still alive. I will try to call him," he took the initiative to call Shen. He felt bad if his friend died for him, especially since Shen had been helping him a lot. [The yer "Runner" has added you to his block list! You can''t call him until the yer "Runner" unblock you!] Ming was shocked when he heard that, his eyes widened in shock, "He blocked me, my call can''t get through Does he hate me?" *** *** Of course, Shen did not hate Ming. The reason he blocked Ming was that the message notification and the call were annoying to him. He was still trying to escape from the Boss Monster and despite the speed booster from his skill, [Void Step], he could not get rid of the King of Guardian Fish. The reason for that was because of the continuous leap of the King of Guardian Fish. That giant fish could make a continuous leap and easily shortened the distance between them each time he managed to make some distance from the boss. At this moment, the interface screen popped out. This time it was Sneaky Banana who called him. The interface blocked his view, and he immediately rejected the call and put Dale on his block list too. "I don''t have time for you guys now!" Shen screamed even though no one could hear him. He thought he could shake off the Boss Monster with his speed, but he was overestimating himself. Chapter 82: Golden Chance or A Suicide? Chapter 82: Golden Chance or A Suicide? Shen lost track of time as he kept running away from the King of Guardian Fish. It was fortunate that he did not encounter any other monsters on the way, but he still could not get rid of the King of the Guardian Fish''s pursuit. He then opened the window status and saw 921 Stamina left. He could not keep running or else he would die when his stamina reached zero. By that time, he would be impaled by that huge spear, and he was sure that it would be instant death. He was still wearing starter clothes. He did not have armor, not until Brother Jiang started making it for them. ''What should I do? What should I do?'' Shen was panicking inside. He had been running zig-zag, changing direction abruptly, and even tried to use the big boulders or tree as his advantage. Yet none of them worked. The big silver snout blew down the trees, and it crushed the boulder easily. As his mind was spinning crazily, thinking of a way to survive from the Boss Monster. He kept running with all his might while using [Void Step] on cooldown. The stamina was ticking down until it reached below 500. At this moment, he panicked even more as the King of Guardian Fish was still chasing after him. Then Shen felt something off. He sensed that the vibration was not as strong as before. With high hope, he looked back. The King of Guardian Fish was still chasing after him. However, instead of running, the Boss Monster was walking with its eight legs. Yes, it was no longer using its leap or even running. The Boss Monster was walking, following after his track. Shen stopped as well and waited for the Boss Monster. The only possibility was that the King of the Guardian Fish was exhausted. He managed to outrun the Boss Monster with his stamina, "Wait a minute, this is so sus That thing is a Boss Monster, level 68 at that. How could a level 21 yer outrun the Boss? Surely I gained a lot of Endurance from the training, but I don''t think I can bepared to a level 68 Boss monster yet," "I don''t care, this is my chance to escape. I have to escape from that thing" He checked his mini-map. He could see that he was far away from the vige, farther in the north of the vige. His chance to return to the vige was to follow the bright path on his mini-map. There was a line that formed in his minimap while the other areas were still dark. He was not going to take his chance to explore the dark area as there was a big chance that he would encounter a strong monster. His only chance to return to the vige was to run back on the same path on the mini-map. However, there was the Boss Monster that blocked the path. He had to take a detour to avoid the Boss Monster. He was about to create a path for him to return until a thought struck him. He looked in the Boss Monster''s direction. The giant monster was still walking, and it was very slow. "Wait a minute" Shen had an idea in his mind. Even though the Boss Monster could walk and even run on thend, it was still a fish, an aquatic creature, "Then is it perhaps running out a breath instead of stamina?" The fish was onnd too long after all. Badump! Badump! Badump! That was just a wild assumption from his side but if that was what happened to the Boss Monster then this was his chance. This was a golden chance for him to kill the Boss Monster, that sounded crazy but it was worth a try. Instead of taking a detour from the Boss Monster Shen approached the Boss. The Boss also approached him, but very slowly. When the distance was around fifteen meters, Shen stopped his advance. He recalled that the Boss Monster was capable of taking a twelve meters leap. This was a safe distance for him to find out if the Boss Monster could still fight or not. The Boss Monster dragged its body and he would take a step backward from the King of Guardian Fish. He wanted to know if the Boss had thest burst of power to kill him with its leap or not. So the same thing repeated for two minutes. Each time the Boss Monster came closer, he would take a step back. After the first two minutes, Shen confirmed his suspicion. The Boss Monster was running out of breath because it was on thend too long or even exhausted. He did not care which one was true, now he only needed to think of a way to kill the Boss Monster as fast as possible before it died by exhaustion or out of breath. Shen checked his inventory. Weapons, he was checking if he had enough weapons to kill the Boss Monster. He had a sword, a spear, and ten stacks of Guardian Fish''s snouts. He did not know if this would be enough to kill the Boss Monster or not but he was going to try it anyway even though he would lose all his weapons. Below level five weapons against level 68 Boss Monster, they would lose durability quickly. That was why he was worried about whether he had enough weapons or not. Returning to the vige to retrieve more fish snouts was not possible. He was afraid that the Boss Monster would die first. He was racing against the time. Shen took out the sword and approached the Boss Monster. He was not going to attack the Boss Monster directly but he wanted to make sure that the King of the Guardian Fish could not fight back first. He quickly shortened the distance to six meters, and there was no reaction from the Boss Monster. However, he could feel its gaze seething with hatred. The gaze was so real and disturbing so he avoided the fish''s eyes. He walked to the side of the fish, and it still had no reaction. He confirmed that the Boss Monster could not fight back. A grin formed on his face as Shen raised his sword. Then he shed the sword on the belly side of the massive fish. Chapter 83: The Misery Continues Chapter 83: The Misery Continues "He''s now blocking both me and Sneaky, and he does not even ept Yue''s friend invite. Is he really angry with me?" Ming was still concerned with this issue. Dale tried to call Shen but was blocked too as a result. "Maybe the Boss Monster is still chasing after him, and the call is disturbing him so he blocked us. It''s not like you don''t know him, unless you do something really terrible then he will not hate," Dale shook his head at his overly concerned friend. He knew Shen well, that guy could never hate his friends. "Sneaky is right. He must be fighting the Boss Monster so he does not want to get disturbed with our call and message," ZhenZhen agreed with Sneaky''s words. Runner was not going to hate his friend over something like that. Especially, it was the Runner''s decision to help Ming. It was not like Ming trapped or tricked Runner either. It was not something big but Ming exaggerated it. Yue and WealthyGuy nodded their heads as well. "But I want Shen to kill the Boss Monster. I want the King of the Guardian Fish''s body. Four meters tall fish, I wonder what the meat tastes like," ZhenZhen was eager to get a rare ingredient for her kitchen. "Now you said it, I want to get that silver snout as well. Maybe the bone can be used for materials as well," WealthyGuy followed up, "Maybe the bone can be used for materials as well since it is a Boss Monster," "Nope, the bone is for me. I can make a soup with the bone," ZhenZhen immediately refused to give up the bone though they did not know whether Shen could kill the Boss Monster or not. "Share it with me. It''s not like you can use all the bones for one serving of soup. I just want to see whether the bone can be used as a material or not," WealthyGuy looked at ZhenZhen, "Nah, never mind. I just want to find a mine to mine the ores," Brother Jiang had learned a lot under his Master, and he got the skill for smithing as well. The main problem was that he did not have enough material to start making equipment. While he could the Guardian Fish''s snout, he needed the other minerals as well to make a weapon. *** *** As his friends were worried about him, Shen was concerned with the thing in front of him. He had been attacking the King of Guardian Fish for some time, and its health bar had been reduced to one-tenth. However, he ran out of the Guardian Fish''s snout and his sword''s durability was at three percent. He checked the inventory, and there was one weapon left for him, the Gifted Spear. The reward he got from reporting the bug. He once used the spear before but dealt zero damage because his level was too low to equip at that time. This time, the same tragedy would not repeat as he had reached level 21. He then took the spear out of the inventory. [Gifted Spear] Grade: Rare Attack: 20-30 Damage Requirement: Level 3 Durability: 140% "Rare Grade and 140% durability, I hope this will be enough to kill the King of the Guardian Fish" Shen muttered under his breath. He walked closer to the fish and checked the Boss Monster''s condition. He then found the Boss Monster was no longer breathing. "No! No! No!" He had been hitting this guy for like twenty minutes and spent a hundred Guardian Fish''s snout. It would be a disaster if it died like this. He might get the body for materials, but the exp was what mattered to Shen. "Argghhhh!" Shen snapped out in frustration and pushed the spear toward the King of Guardian Fish''s body. He did that out of frustration. -153.72 He still dealt damage, meaning the Boss Monster was still alive. His eyes gleamed excitedly. On top of that, he dealt almost double damagepared to when he used the Guardian Fish''s snout to attack the Boss Monster. He then delivered the second stab. [Void Critical triggered! You dealt 351.4 Damage on the King of Guardian Fish!] -351.4 -153.72 -153.72 -153.72 -153.72 -153.72 When did not care whether the spear would get destroyed with his continuous attack. Killing the Boss Monster was more important for him. He repeatedly stabbed the Boss Monster as quickly as he could. As the Boss Monster''s health bar was reduced, the durability of the Gifted Spear was decreasing too. However, since it was a Rare Grade spear, it was more durable than the sword. [Void Critical triggered! You dealt 351.4 Damage on the King of Guardian Fish!] -351.4 -153.72 -153.72 -153.72 It was just unfortunate that it was a spear. If it was a sword, he would use the skill, "But wait, my new skill might work with the spear," He remembered that [Void Thrust] did not specify the weapon he should equip to use the skill. Then he cast the skill, [Void Thrust]. His hand then blurred as he thrust the spear toward the King of Guardian Fish. -338.14 The skill was working. He was assuming that all the skills could only be used if he used a sword. However, [Void Thrust] was not limited to that requirement like [Void Draw]. Shen did not care to preserve his stamina, he used the skill on cooldown as his hand was moving as fast as he could. The barrage of damage floated above the King of Guardian Fish but his eyes locked on the Boss Monster''s health bar. The one-tenth health bar was quickly decreasing as the skill used and critical was triggered. The damage kept appeared above the Boss Monster, and then, under his watch, the health bar was emptied. [You have killed a Boss Monster, The King of Guardian Fish!] [You killed the monster 40 levels above you. You get a double exp!] [You gained 31.400.000 exp!] Shen stared at the interface longer with a shocked look on his face. He was soloing the boss alone and it still did not help to level up. He felt that the misery just continued. Chapter 84: Encounter Chapter 84: Encounter Exp: 55,549,800/76,545,000 That was his current exp. Gaining 30 million exp did not bring him to the next level, and here he was expecting to gain several levels for soloing a Boss. He was utterly disappointed. "Hahhh," Shen sighed out, this was getting harder than he thought. Despite the advantage of the skill and the bonus stats, the Legendary ss was much harder to level up. This would take years to max the level, level 100. He shook his head and was about to store the Boss Monster into his inventory. This body was worth a lot. Especially the big silver snout. That might be a precious material for Brother Jiang. He was about to take the corpse until he heard the sound of the bush behind him. Shen turned around with his spear pointing at the noise. The bushes in front of him were shaking. His heartbeat skipped a beat. He checked his window status, and he was left with 121 Stamina. Then he checked the spear''s durability, and he was left with one percent durability. His sword was left with less than five percent durability, and the spear might break apart anytime. No matter what monster would appear in front of him he had no chance to win against it. He did not have a weapon to use, ''My only chance is to bring the body with me and run away,'' Shen was about to store the King of Guardian Fish''s body into his inventory but then three white small figures jumped out of the bushes. He subconsciously sidestepped to the side. Grawl! Grawl! He looked toward the voice then he found that the three small figures were white cats, small cats. Slightly bigger than kitties. White fur with ck stripes over the body, and cyan eyes. The three cats were growling at him. Shen tensed up. He was aware of where he was. The area where the high-level monsters gathered. He was not going to underestimate the three cats based on their size. They might be a dangerous predator in this area. The three white cats and Shen looked at each other. He carefully observed the three cats and noticed that their eyes kept ncing at the King of the Guardian Fish''s body. He understood why the three cats came to this ce. They were attracted by the Boss Monster''s blood. They wanted the body but he was not going to give the body to the three cats. Shen slowly approached the King of Guardian Fish''s body. When he was close enough he quickly extended his hand toward the body. The Boss Monster''s massive body disappeared into his inventory. He was about to dash out of this ce and got away from the cat until he heard a long growl from the three cats. It was long and sounded sad? He stopped his steps and looked toward the three cats. They should know that he got the body. Instead of attacking him, the three looked at him with a pleaded gaze? He was not sure but he felt that way when he met the three cats'' gazes. The low yet long grown sounded sad and along with their gazes, for some reason, it stung his heart. ''This is a game, Shen! They are just monsters in-game, not pitiful cats in real life. You should leave and bring back the precious body. Don''t risk it or you will lose all the exp,'' he kept looking at the three cats. The three kept gazing at him with their puppy eyes. Shen looked and walked away but then he heard the growl again. He let out a defeated sigh and turned toward the cat, "Fine, you win," He checked his inventory. There was a stack of the Guardian Fish there. He took out three Guardian Fish''s bodies. Sure enough, the three cats'' gaze intensified and locked on the fish in his hand. "You can have this," He threw the three fish a few meters ahead of him. Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh! The three cats'' movements were so fast as he only saw a blur of white streaks lunged into the three fish. He subconsciously took a step back as he was not expecting they would be this fast. However, the three small cats did not attack him. They got the fish into their mouth and turned around. They carried the fish away instead of eating it right away. It was not the behavior of a starving cat, right? So why did they want the fish? Curiosity got him there as he immediately chased after the three white cats. He passed through the bushes as he barely kept up with their speed. The three small cats went through the hill and entered the giant cave. He stopped in front of the giant cave. Ten meters tall and eight meters wide, that was the mouth of the cave, and it was so dark inside. Shen was hesitating to follow the three cats, ''But I am already here'' He checked his stamina and hunger. The hunger was reaching 17 points, "Let''s take a break for a moment to recover some stamina and also the eat the roasted fish," Shen sat at the mouth cave and ate the roasted fish. By the time he finished the fish, his stamina recovered up to three hundred and his hunger rose back to ny-seven, "This should be enough," He then entered the cave. To his surprise, the cave was not as dark as it looked from the outside. Seven meters into the cave, he was directed to the left. He stopped a moment at the turn as he found the source of the light. Despite its size, the cave was not that deep as he saw the source of the light at the end of the cave. He walked into the cave as he tried to make no sound. He was afraid that he would alert the creature that lived in this cave. At his fifteenth step, he heard a fierce female voice echoed inside the cave. "If you don''t want to die, you should leave the cave, Human!" Shen subconsciously took three steps back at the voice and tried to find who was talking to him. He was not paying attention to the ground and stepped into a pool of liquid water. He subconsciously raised his right foot and looked down. There he saw a pool of blood instead of water. Shen squinted his eyes and looked toward the source of the light. He felt that the voice came from there, ''She warned me instead of attacking me, and there''s a pool of blood,'' He connected the dots and realized what happened. There was a high chance that the one who spoke to him was injured so that was why she threatened him instead of attacking. ''She could not fight,'' Shen braced himself to take steps forward, "I am here not to fight, we can talk it out!" "Hahahaha" The femaleughter rang in the cave, "Do you think I will believe what you say, Human!? Don''t be ridiculous! I would rather believe in the demon''s words than a human!" The hostility in her voice was so clear but he did not intend to fight her even though she was injured, "I am serious with my words. I am here because I am following the three kittens. I just want to check on them. Also, you are injured. I might help you with that," Shen tried to talk it out with the female voice as he stopped his steps. He would not get closer unless she allowed him to. He needed to gain her trust so he could see her. "You met with my children!?" The female voice questioned him, "Don''t joke around, human. If you meet them, there''s no way you will allow them to leave just like that! Don''t try to lie to me. Youe to catch my children! Leave before I change my mind, Human!" "No, I am serious. I give them my fish. Why would I give them my fish and leave them free if I really want to catch your children?" Shen then took out one Guardian Fish and showed it forward, "This is the same fish I give them. I am just curious why they carry the fish instead of eating it. I thought they were starving. That''s why I am following them here, and I know now why they carried the fish with them instead of eating it," There was a momentary silence after that. He did not hear the reply again but he stayed still. He was not going to antagonize the voice. It would be better to settle this thing amiably. "Alright then, you cane over," After some time, he heard the female voice again. The voice allowed him to enter the cave. Chapter 85: Blizzard Tiger - Vales Chapter 85: Blizzard Tiger - Vales Shen walked deeper into the cave and got to see who he had been talking to. It turned out that the source of the light was the creature he had been talking to. It was a giant version of the three little cats. The tiger wasying down with its head up. Within this posture, the creature was around three meters tall. He could not imagine how tall the creature was if she stood up. The white fur was glowing, and it became the source of the light inside the cave. The deep cyan eyes looked at him. When their eyes met, his body stopped moving. [You have been intimidated by Epic Rank Beast, Blizzard Tiger!] [You have been stunned for 10 seconds!] Shen froze on the spot with his eyes opened wide as he felt a chill at his spine. That feeling was so real that it was as if he met this creature in real life. Even though he was stunned, the massive beast did not attack him. She opened her forelegs and three little cats came out from her snow-white fur. The three little kittens stood between their mother and Shen. The three looked at Shen before they looked back at their mother. When the tiger mother looked away from him, he was relieved from the stunned state. Even so, he did not dare to make any move. He would stay still until she gave further instruction. The mother and the three children seemed to bemunicating. "You were telling the truth, human," The mother tiger spoke to him. He could tell the astonishment in her tone. He seemed to be surprised that he was telling the truth and did not catch the three little cats. Little did she know that Shen was afraid of the three little kittens. "No reason for me to lie," Shen replied as he looked at the side of the Blizzard Tiger''s body. The blood-red on the fur was so contrast to her white fur. He could see a pool of blood as well below the mother tiger. The wound was still bleeding, "Do you need something to stop the bleeding? I can help you," For some reason, the thought of killing the Blizzard Tiger never crossed his mind. The first thought in his head when he found the bleeding wound was to find a way to help her instead. Maybe the game was so real that he started to take everything in the game seriously. The mother tiger looked at him instead of replying. She had her eyes on him for like twenty seconds before it spoke again, "What do you want? You must want something from me?" The Blizzard Tiger was still suspicious to Shen which was understandable, "Just you know, I will not give you even one of my children. I would rather kill you and die!" Shen scratched his head as he did not know how to answer this. Should he create an excuse to be more believable? If he was telling the truth, he was afraid that the mother tiger would not believe him. But again if he wanted to gain the mother tiger''s trust, honesty was the best way to gain her trust. "Do you want to listen to the truth? That''s kindame though," He let out a silly smile. "Of course, I want to hear the truth! Don''t be a ridiculous human!" The Blizzard Tiger raised her voice. Shen smiled and sat down, "It would be a long story but I will make it short" he then told the mother tiger about his past. Knowing the mother tiger was an AI in the game. He did not mind sharing his past. It was not like the mother tiger would use that to attack him in real life. He told the mother tiger how his mother fell sick from overworking and died, "I could not do anything at that time but watch my mother slowly swallowed by her sickness. It is so painful even now when I remember that time. I can''t do anything but watch my mother passed away," He shook his head and looked at the three kittens, "It can be said that the reason why I want to help you is so your three children will not suffer like me," There was a momentary silence in between before the mother tiger replied, "But why do you want to help my children? They are not human. They are the descendants of the strong beast that one day, they might prey on you and the other humans! Why do you care about my children whether they suffer or not?" Even though the Blizzard Tiger was still suspicious her tone was softened. Again, he scratched his head and looked toward the three kittens, "I don''t know about that too but that''s my feeling. I am telling you the truth. But do you need a reason to do a good deed?" "But you know right that by healing me, there''s a bigger chance that I will hunt the other humans. Don''t you feel about the humans that I kill in the future?" The Blizzard Tiger kept asking him questions. He did not mind sharing his thoughts with the mother tiger, "I will feel bad of course, but again, I am sure there''s no human''s establishment around here so you will not be able to kill humans in the future," He grinned at the Blizzard Tiger, "So I will not feel bad about healing you," "Do you really not want anything from me? I am willing to make a deal with you. I can give you something that humans desired when they came to Vales," The mother tiger offered something to Shen. "Wait, Vales? Is this ce called Vales?" Shen was more interested in thest part of the Mother Tiger''s words. He and the others were clueless about where they were, causing them to have a hard time locating their location. There was a big map, a general map of the Tribe Online. They could find their location and think of a way to get to the city. "Youe to Vales without knowing Vales?" For the first time, The Blizzard Tiger cast a strange look at Shen. Chapter 86: Friendship Chapter 86: Friendship "Vales? So this forest is called Vales?" For the first time, Shen finally got to know this ce''s name. "You really don''t know?" The Blizzard Tiger asked again for the second time. There was something weird with the human in front of her. Shen shook his head, "I don''t know until you told me just now," "Then where do youe from?" The Blizzard Tiger questioned Shen. She still did not believe Shen. Things be even more suspicious for the mother tiger. "I" Shen looked at the minimap, trying to locate his vige, "Ie from the vige in the south," "Vige in the south" There was a pause for a moment before the Mother Tiger continued, "Do you mean the Legendary Vige?" "The Legendary Vige? Is that what you guys call the vige?" Shen muttered in a low voice, "Yes, Ie from the Legendary Vige, and I am Yosu''s disciple. Do you know him, My Master, Yosu?" He thought the mother tiger knew more about the vige and the people living in the vige. He mentioned his Master''s name. "I don''t know him but I do know about that vige. That vige is quite famous in the Vales and no one dares toe there because the beasts that came near the vige will be hunted down though we don''t hear much about the Legendary Vigetely," The Blizzard Tiger lowered her gaze to Shen, "So you are part of that vige?" "I guess I am," Shen nodded his head. He was not sure what the Legendary Vige was known for but since he lived in the vige and became Yosu''s sessor, he was now part of the vige. "But that still does not exin why you don''t know about Vales," The Blizzard Tiger did not put down his suspicions. "I know this sounds ridiculous but I don''t know about the vige being a Legendary Vige and this forest called Vales. I know nothing about it as this is what happened to me" Shen exined to Blizzard Tiger that he fell into a gorge and ended up in the vige when he woke up. "So are you saying that you fell into a very deep gorge, and your master saved you and brought you to the vige?" the mother tiger squinted her eyes, "Eternal Wind City? Is that where youe from?" "Yes," Shen nodded his head. "I never heard of this city before" The Blizzard Tiger muttered in a low voice. "Let''s continue the talkter. We better do something about your wound. How about this, I will help you to heal your wound. You just need to tell me what I need to do. In exchange, can you exin more about Vales?" Shen offered something else to the Mother Tiger, an offer that benefited both sides. "That''s it? You just want that?" The mother tiger did not ept the offer immediately. "Yeah, that''s it. There''s nothing more important than a friendship with a strong beast like you," Shen smiled sincerely as he replied the Mother Tiger, "As you know, the forest is very dangerous for me, having a friend like you will help me survive in this dangerous ce," "I see" The Blizzard Tiger still had some suspicions but she had epted Tang Shaoyang''s words, "I will ept your goodwill and even your friendship if you have no ill intentions toward me and my children," "Then what do I need to do now? Do you need anything? Do you need herbs to stop the bleeding? The wound does not show it will stop bleeding anytime soon," Shen expressed his concern. "That''s fine, I can still survive for a week with my condition. First of all, I need food. The three fish my children brought to me is not enough as I have not eaten for three days. Can you bring me more food, Friend?" The Blizzard Tiger voiced her request, "I need to regain some energy," Shen furrowed his brows and looked at his inventory. The King of Guardian Fish might be enough for the mother tiger but he was thinking about ZhenZhen. The cook might want this exotic ingredient for her to experiment, ''I will just defeat another King of Guardian Fishter. It''s quite easy to kill as I only need to kite it away from the river,'' With those thoughts in mind, Shen took out the King of Guardian Fish''s body. While it was smaller than the Blizzard Tiger, it should be enough for her, "This should be enough for you, right?" "What is this? Where do the fishe from?" The Blizzard Tiger asked curiously at the sight of the massive fish. It just came out of nowhere. "We humans have the thing called inventory, and we can store items there. It''s something like a separate space so it does not burden us with the weight," Shen exined to the Blizzard Tiger. "How convenient to be a human. I kinda envy that inventory thing," The Mother Tiger muttered in a low voice, and she sounded envious. She then looked at the fish then looked at Shen, "You are quite something, huh? I don''t think you can hunt the King of Guardian Fish. You look weak to me," "Not something I can be proud of," Shen shook his head and told her what happened between him and the King of Guardian Fish, "Basically, I only have more Stamina than the King of Guardian Fish, not a feat I can be proud of," "I see," The Blizzard Tiger nodded her head as she pulled the massive fish with her paw, "I can picture how you met with my children now. My children are attracted to the blood of this fish, and you met with my children there," "That''s right, that''s what happened. I can''t give your children the King of Guardian Fish''s body because my cook in the vige will be upset so I give them the three smaller fish instead," Shen nodded his head but then he noticed the Blizzard Mother stopped midway as she was about to take the first bite. "That''s fine, you can eat it. I will hunt another er, so you can have this one," he was aware that she stopped because of him saying that the cook would be upset. "I can help you with that. I will hunt three King of Guardian Fish for you when I recover," The Blizzard Tiger added. She did not like to owe something to others hence she said. "That''s fine, you don''t need to," Shen shook his head, "I am more curious about what happened to you though. You are strong but who managed to injure you to this extent?" Without a doubt, the Blizzard Tiger was strong as she managed to stun him with just her gaze. He was curious as to what kind of creature managed to injure the Blizzard Tiger. But then he noticed a change of look on her face, "If you are ufortable with that, you don''t have to tell me," He immediately added. "That''s okay. I don''t mind telling you who turned me like this. I was just still upset to him," The Mother Tiger shook her head while chewing the fish meat, "It was my children''s father who did this to me," Chapter 87: Tsundere Tiger Chapter 87: Tsundere Tiger The Blizzard Tiger told Shen what happened to her. It was a dark scheme to seize the Chief Position of the Blizzard Tribe. Yes, the mother tiger was a Chief of the Blizzard Tribe that consisted of over two hundred Blizzard Tigers. The husband of the mother tiger tried to seize the position for himself and ambushed her when he said that he wanted to take them for a walk. She was not expecting that her husband would do that and fell for the trap. While she managed to save the three children she suffered a grievous wound and escaped. Going back to the vige was not a choice for her. If she returned in her condition, her husband would challenge her for the position of the chief tribe. That was the Blizzard Tribe''s tradition to choose the chief tribe. The strongest warriors within the tribe would fight and the strongest amongst the strongest would be the chief tribe. Of course, one could also challenge the current chief to seize the position. The winner would be the chief tribe. If she returned to the vige now her husband would just challenge her. She was stronger than her husband but there was no chance for her to win with her condition. The only choice was to heal outside the vige ande back with her full strength to seize back what was hers. That was a tragic story for sure. The mother tiger''s story sounded like a political issue in ancient times where the family stabbed each other instead of helping each other. "So that''s what happened to you" Shen muttered in a low voice. As he listened to her, he also handed the Guardian Fish for the three cubs. The family of four was eating while he listened to the Blizzard Tiger. "So what do you need to heal your wound?" He was concerned that the mother tiger would suffer from blood loss. He felt that he needed to do something for her right away, "I need three things for you to heal me while the first thing is easily obtained I am afraid that you can''t get the remaining two," The Blizzard Tiger looked at Shen with a little hope, "The first item is Rotka Fruit. That was amon fruit that grows in the Vales. There''s a Rotka Tree not far from here. However, I don''t think you can get the remaining two because the two were guarded by a stronger individual, even stronger than the King of the Guardian Fish," Shen swallowed mouthful saliva. If the monster was stronger than the King of the Guardian Fish then there was no way he could defeat them. The only way was to sneak his way around and steal the thing he needed. "I don''t need to defeat them. I just need to take the things to heal you and run away," He was not going to stop halfway. Since he decided to help her, he would help her until she''s healed. "You need to retrieve the Frost Lotus from the Frosty Lake but thatke is guarded by Ice Boa. That snake is as strong as me when I am at my peak. You have no chance against him. Then you also need to retrieve Ice Dew from the Frozen Hill. That ce is even scarier, Ice Vulture lives there," The mother tiger was trying to intimidate Shen, and added something scary at the end of it, "Ice Vulture is thest one you want to annoy or else they would annoy until your death," "Let''s think of a way to get thest two itemster. We need this Rotka Fruit" Before Shen could finish his words, the Blizzard Tiger cut him off, "No, you need to retrieve Rotka Fruit atst. That fruit easily goes bad. Once you pluck the fruit from the tree, it will go bad within twenty-four hours. Unless you are confident to retrieve the Ice Dew and the Frost Lotus within twenty-four hours," "Also, the order should be like this: Frost Lotus, Ice Dew, and Rotka Fruit. Frost Lotus canst for five to seven days depending on the quality of the lotus while Ice Dewsts for three days. Honestly, just give up. I will do it myself once I recover from my exhaustion" the mother tiger did not want to owe a big favor to the human by saving her life. However, once Shen said that he would do something he would do it, "No What about if we do it together then? Since the Ice Vulture does not especially guard the Ice Dew. I think I can sneak my way around to get the Ice Dew. For the Frost Lotus, we can work together with that. You can distract the Ice Boa and I will steal the Frost Lotus. I think it''s doable. Once I get the Frost Lotus we will escape," "How do you know the Ice Vultures don''t guard the Ice Dew?" The Blizzard Tiger was surprised. She never told the man about that. "You said it," Shen looked at the mother tiger weirdly, "You said that Ice Boa guarded the Frost Lotus at the Frosty Lake while you said that the Ice Dew was in the Frozen Hill where the Dark Vultures live. I figured it out that the Ice Vultures don''t guard the Ice Dew unless" "No, you are right. The Dark Vultures don''t guard the Ice Dew but they guard their territory. If you encroach into their territory, they will attack you. They don''t wee guests," The mother tiger look at Shen, "You are quite smart for a human to deduce that," Shen smiled and said, "Thank you," even though he did not know whether it was genuine praise or just sarcasm from the mother tiger. But who did not like being praised? He just epted that as praise. "Then I assume you agree with my n? I will first retrieve the Ice Dew from the Frozen Hill then we will work together with the Frost Lotus," Shen''s smile widened. "We will continue the discussion when you manage to retrieve the Ice Dew," The Blizzard Tiger did not say that she agreed even though she obviously agreed with the n, or else she would stop Shen from going to the Frozen Hill instead of saying those. ''Tsk, a tsundere tiger,'' He thought to himself and maintained his smile. "Then I need this Frozen Hill''s location, and also what Ice Dew looks like?" Chapter 88: Wrath Troll Chapter 88: Wrath Troll Shen sneaked around behind the bushes and the trees, making his way toward the Frozen Hill. He had to pass two tribe''s territories, the Green Monkey and Wrath Troll. He was now in Green Monkey''s territory, hiding behind the bushes. He looked at the tree five meters ahead of him. There was a group of five green-furred monkeys on the tree. The monkey was bigger than a normal monkey around a meter tall with a long tail. At the end of the tail was a triangle head made of steel. He could see that green gas oozed out from the triangle steel. The Blizzard Tiger told him that the monkey was agile and venomous. He had to be careful with them. Not like Shen nned to confront the green monkeys. He waited behind the bushes, waiting for them to leave before he continued the journey toward the Frozen Hill. He did not know how strong the monkey was but since this was far from the vige, the monkey should be stronger than the chicken that he could not kill yet. Shen was not going to risk it. Patience was the key to achieve his mission to get the Ice Dew. He waited there for three minutes before the green monkeys left the tree. He looked around to make sure that no monster was around before he left the hiding spot. That was what he had been doing for thest three hours. This was truly an arduous task for him and a boring task as well. However, he had been doing this kind of thing since the start of the game. Exploring the area around the vige by sneaking around to find a way out of the vige. So he was quite good at sneaking around. Shen continued his journey. He kept looking at the trees above him. The monkeys loved to stay on the tree so he had to watch above him. Walking from a tree to another tree, bush after bush, he slowly got away from the Green Monkey''s territory. Half an hourter, he entered the Wrath Troll''s territory. He could tell that as the trees in the two territories were different. The trees in the Green Monkey''s territory were taller, averaging around eight to ten meters. While the trees in this new territory were around five to six meters tall. Shen was doing the same, sneaking around between the trees until he heard the sound of branches snapped. He halted his steps and ducked his head. He put his ears, trying to listen to where the noise came from. Cracked! His heartbeat spiked up. The voice came from the other side of his tree. He had his back on the tree. He did not dare to peek toward the noise. It was fortunate that the tree trunk was big enough to cover his body. There was no bush to cover him as well. He squatted there and waited. He was waiting for the troll to leave as he assumed the one who made the noise was the Wrath Troll. Shen did not know the difference between the normal troll and Wrath Troll. He was curious what Wrath Troll looked like. In the previous game, the troll was a green-skinned monster with two big tusks on the mouth. Famous for their high regeneration and their big strength. That was the only thing he knew about the troll. He knew nothing about this Wrath Troll aside from that this troll was a subspecies of a troll and stronger than a normal troll. That was what the Blizzard Tiger told him. The fortunate thing about the Wrath Troll was that they moved alone instead of in a group. So if the creature on the other side of the tree was a Wrath Troll, it must be alone. He could try to outrun the troll or wait patiently. ''I will wait for now. If the Wrath Troll finds me then I will run,'' Shen wanted to y it safe. If the Wrath Troll was faster than him then he would be screwed. If he died here he had to return from the vige. This ce was too far from the vige, so he could not die here. The sound of the branches snapped kept ringing as he heard the steps go away from his tree. He made sure that the Wrath Troll was away from the three then he dared to peek at the creature. The Wrath Troll had its back on him. To his surprise, the Wrath Troll was different than the troll in his previous game. Instead of green skin, the Wrath Troll had red skin. The Wrath Troll was around two and a half meters tall and was holding a long pike. The wide shoulders and buffed body were quite intimidating to less than two meters Shen. The unfortunate thing was that the Wrath Troll was heading in the same direction as his destination. When the troll was around ten meters away from him, he started to follow the troll. He made sure to not make any sound and slowly walked to another tree. The Wrath Troll walked so slowly, and he had to follow its pace. Each time it walked for twenty meters, it would stop and look around. He did not know whether the Wrath Troll was hunting or just patrolling in its territory. ''Should I throw something in the opposite direction?'' He thought of throwing a stone to make noise, hoping the Wrath Troll would go away so he could travel faster instead of following its pace. If this continued, it would be dangerous when the night arrived. He did not know what kind of monster he would face at night. As for hunting the troll, that never crossed his mind. First, he did not have a weapon to fight. Second, he could kill the Guardian Fish and the King of the Guardian Fish with his cheap trick. That would not work on the Wrath Troll. He was not going to risk his level to fight the troll. Shen picked up the stone and threw the stone at the bushes that were far away from him. At the sound of the bushes, the Wrath Troll looked toward the bushes. The n was working as the Wrath Troll approached the bushes. When the troll was far enough, Shen walked out of his cover. Crack! Shen''s heartbeat spiked up as he stepped on a branch. He subconsciously turned his head toward the Wrath Troll. It stopped its steps as well and turned around. He finally managed to satisfy his curiosity to see what the Wrath Troll looked like. However, he did not want this to happen as well. This was thest thing he wanted. There was no second thought as he immediately activated [Void Step] and dashed away from the Wrath Troll. Fwoosh! "KUWOOOO!" The Wrath Troll screamed as it raised the pike and chased after Shen. Shen did not dare to look back. He dodged the obstacle in front of him and ran as fast as possible. At this time, he felt that the training was paid off. He ran fast without running out of breath and his speed was constant. After a minute, Shen looked back and found that not just one Wrath Troll that chased but three. "What the" Chapter 89: The Slippery Noob Chapter 89: The Slippery Noob "Hah Hah Hah" Shen had been running away from the Wrath Troll for an hour. He was thankful that the Wrath Troll was not as fast as the King of Guardian Fish. He turned his head around and found that the number of the Wrath Troll that chased after him increased. There were three Wrath Trolls at first, but now there were dozens of them. The distance between him and the trolls was around twelve meters away. The distance was slowly getting further each time he activated [Void Step]. It consumed his stamina faster but it worked to get away from the Wrath Troll. "UWOOOO!!!" He suddenly heard a scream from the front and when he looked forward, there was a Wrath Troll in front of him. The Wrath Troll''s mouth opened wide, showing the big tusks and big chunks of green teeth. It raised his club and was about to smash him. Shen was running at his full speed. There was no way he could stop in time. He threw his body to the side. Thanks to his quick reaction, the club smashed the empty ground where he just stood now. He rolled on the ground quickly with his momentum. He could not stop the roll until his body hit the tree. -7 Maybe it was too quick that his body hit the tree hard, and he suffered damage. He did not sit on the ground too long and quickly stood up again. The Wrath Troll caught up after it missed the first hit. It swung the club horizontally around his chest level, forcing him to throw his body to the side. This time he was not as lucky as before as the club grazed against his back. He felt the slight pain in his back. -57 It just grazed against his back yet it dealt 57 damage. He might lose half of his health if the club hit him. He immediately stood up and activated [Void Step]. His feet burst out with an explosive movement as he dashed away from the Wrath Troll. Shen managed to escape from the danger. He did not dare to look back again as he focused entirely on running away this time. Using the tree to his advantage he managed to make some distance from the troll. Five minutester, Shen breathed out in relief at the sight of the frozen area. Thend and the trees were covered in white snow as the temperature drastically decreased. He did a quick scan of the new territory, and he did not find any monsters around. He did not stop and entered the snowy territory. [You have entered the frozen area!] [The low temperature affects your movement by 25] Shen then felt the slight vibration on the ground. The Wrath Trolls were still chasing after him even though he had entered into the Ice Vulture''s territory. He immediately looked for a tree and hid behind it. Thedy luck was on his side as there was a tree near him. He quickly hid= behind the tree. Shen waited there for a few seconds until the Wrath Troll''s steps stopped and peeked back. Dozens of Wrath Trolls were still in their territory as there was a fine line that separated the snowy area and the troll''s territory. They stopped there and looked around, looking for him. He breathed out in relief that the trolls did not dare to enter the Frozen Hill or else he would get screwed for sure. Shen''s shoulders slumped down in relief as his gaze returned to the snowynd. Everything was white, thend, the trees, the boulders, and the bird? He looked up at the tree that was seven meters ahead of him and there were three white-feathered hanging on the tree. The three birds tilted their heads to the side, and Shen followed their movement as well. He tilted his side to the right as well. The bird was simr to the vulture on the animal documentary he watched years ago. The bald head and neck had no feathers but the skin was white in color. Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw! After a staring contest for a while, the three Ice Vultures let out cries. There was no way for Shen to understand what they said but he knew for sure that this was bad. Sure enough, not long after the bird cawed at him, more vultures came toward this direction. He saw dozens of Ice Vultures in the sky. Badump! Badump! Badump! Badump! His heartbeat was spiked. A group of cold Ice Vultures was ahead of him, and a group of raging Wrath Trolls behind him. This was a dead-end for him. He could run to the side but he did not know if he could outrun the flying creature. Different from the troll who chased him on the ground. The sky did not have obstacles such as trees and boulders. On top of that, his movement was slowed down in Frozen Hill. ''I am dead! I am dead! I am dead for sure this time!'' Shen could not think of a way to survive this situation. His mind was nk for a moment until he thought of something crazy. He looked at the group of the Ice Vultures and then he peeked at the group of the Wrath Trolls. The trolls seemed to notice the Ice Vultures as well. Instead of backing out, the trolls were screaming at the Ice Vultures in the sky. There was no hesitation as he came out of his hiding ce. He then dashed back toward the group of Wrath Trolls. Yes, his n was to make the Wrath Troll and the Ice Vulture sh. He would take the advantage of the chaos to sneak into Frozen Hill. That was a solid n, and hopefully, the two would sh as he expected. As he dashed back toward the troll territory, the Ice Vultures chased after him. The troll nced at him but then they ignored him as the trolls focused on the Ice Vultures. Shen''s eyes brightened. His n worked if the Wrath Troll focused on the Ice Trolls instead of him. He dashed into the group of the Wrath Trolls. A few of them tried to attack him but he managed to escape from the hit. He ran around and escaped the group of trolls. He hid behind the tree as heaved out and in. It was a nerve-wracking situation for him, and he somehow managed to escape. Shen let out a long relieved sigh and took a peek. The trolls'' scream and the vultures'' caw rang in the atmosphere as the Ice Vultures dived into the group of the Wrath Trolls. Things went well as the two creatures shed. A big smile formed on his lips, ''This is my chance,'' He looked around, trying to find a way to sneak into the Frozen Hill. He took a detour and avoided the spot where the two creatures shed and entered the Frozen Hill. This time Shen carefully checked the trees. The Ice Vulture was white, and he failed to detect it because they were white-feathered. Who would expect that the vulture would have a white feather? When the Blizzard Tiger mentioned the Ice Vulture, he thought that the vulture would have a ck-feather instead of white. Chapter 90: Crazy Idea Chapter 90: Crazy Idea Shen managed to sneak into the Frozen Hill unnoticed by the Ice Vultures. He did not bother to look back. He only needed to find one thing. It was the Ice Lotus where he could get the Ice Dew from it. An arctic blue-colored flower, that was the thing he needed to heal the Blizzard Tiger. She said specifically that the flower grew around near the tree, and it was not a rare flower. However, it grew in the middle of Frozen Hill so he had to go deeper into the Frozen Hill. [The frozen temperature has affected your movement. Your movement decreases by 40%!] "What!?" He stopped for a moment and hid behind the nearest tree. He scanned around to see if there were any Ice Vultures around. In this situation, he would be dead, dead, and dead if there was an Ice Vulture around. With his slowed movement speed, the Ice Vulture would easily catch him for sure. [You have suffered frostbite!] [You will lose 5 HP/10 seconds!] The bad news did not stop there as another notification rang in his head. Shen''s eyes widened a bit, "I have to go fast. I don''t care even if I die as long as I can get the Ice Lotus," he was thinking that as long as he could get the Ice Lotus, he considered the mission was over. It would just be arduous that he had toe back to the cave to bring the Ice Lotus. He picked up his pace and searched around. Just like the mother tiger said, the Ice Lotus was not a rare flower, it was just that the flower was growing in an extreme ce. -5 Shen watched his health bar decreasing consistently every ten seconds. He frantically looked around and his eyes brightened as he found the arctic blue flower. He rushed over and was about to pull it up but his hand stopped midway. The game was so detailed that it was almost like living a real life. He could not be careless to pull the Ice Lotus like pulling the wild grass. Shen squatted at the flower and cleared the snow around the flower. After he cleared the snow, he dug the ground and slowly pulled the Ice Lotus along with its root. He could feel the freezing cold on his palm. That was too cold for him to hold the flower, and he immediately stored the flower in his inventory. "Should I return now or should I look for more?" He was clueless which part they needed to use so he did not know if the flower in his inventory was good quality or bad, "I will look for at least two more flowers," It seemed that the Ice Lotus was amonmodity in this ce as he managed to find the next two Ice Lotuses in two minutes. After he managed to find three Ice Lotuses, he immediately rushed back. He was not going to stay any longer in this ce or he might die from the frostbite. At the time he returned to the border between the Frozen Hill and the Wrath Troll''s territory. The fight between Ice Vulture and the Wrath Troll was getting even more intense than before. More Ice Vultures and Wrath Troll poured out from their perspective territory. Shen took another detour to avoid the battle. He was afraid of getting pulled into the battle. The scale of the battle was not on his level at all. He saw that the Ice Vulture was breathing out the ice breath, freezing some part of the Wrath Troll''s body. The Wrath Troll was smashing the Ice Vulture''s wings, breaking the wings apart before they smashed the head. Shen entered the Wrath Troll''s territory, and he hid in another tree. He leaned his back against the tree and sat there. Entering the Frozen Hill and continuously running away from the Wrath Troll consumed his hunger. He then took out the roasted Guardian Fish and started to eat it. As he ate his food as he watched the battle from afar. The brutal fight unfolded in front of him but then he remembered something as he ate the fish, "Maybe I can bring some carcasses for the Blizzard Tiger?" Shen then scanned the battlefield. Trying to find the corpses but then he noticed one thing. There were rarely corpses on the ground. What was on the ground was the wounded Ice Vulture and Troll. The Troll that had been frozen was justying around, groaning in pain. The Ice Vulture cawed weakly at the other side, bleeding profusely. He finished the roasted fish and thought of something. [You have eaten the Roast Guardian Fish made by Guru Spices Sessor! You gain a temporary boost! +30 Agility, +15 Strength, and +10 Endurance for ten minutes!] "Wait This is actually my chance" Shen had a crazy idea, killing the injured Wrath Trolls and the Ice Vultures to farm the exp. This was his chance. He could see that the Wrath Troll''s and the Ice Vulture''s health bar reduced slowly from the injuries they suffered. He could sneak into the battle, take thest hit, and farm the exp. That was a crazy move but so tempting to not try it. Especially for him who was desperate to gain more exp, "But I don''t have a weapon" He then realized that he did not have a weapon to kill the trolls and the vulture. His sword was 3% durability and his spear was 1% durability. He could not get thest hit with no weapon. Shen was about to throw away his crazy idea, but he noticed the wooden club scattered around on the ground. The club was quite big for him but it was worth a try. Badump! Badump! Badump! He was seriously considering his crazy idea. The monsters might turn toward him but the battle was too chaotic, "Or I could pull them one by one out of the battlefield and kill them! That''s a decent idea!" Chapter 91: Friendly Troll Chapter 91: Friendly Troll Shen was going to try it. He got up and sneaked at the backside of the Wrath Troll, walking from one tree to another tree. He quickly arrived at the backline of the Wrath Troll. The first thing he did was to grab one of the wooden clubs on the ground. [Wrath Club] Grade: Rare Attack: 50 Damage Requirement: Level 20 Durability: 210% Shen checked the information about the wooden club. The wooden club was surprisingly good. Much better than his normal sword for sure. The only drawback of the wooden club was that this was too heavy for him. ''It''s fortunate that my target is not a moving target or else I would have a hard time hitting them with this heavy wooden club,'' he thought to himself and looked around. This time he was searching for a target to kill. The first target should be the closest one to him. He then found a wounded Wrath Troll. It lost both legs, and there were many holes around the chest area as the blood profusely bleeding from the holes. The Ice Vultures pecked the chest and let the Wrath Troll die like that. ''This is my chance,'' Shen looked around. He was making sure that the Wrath Trolls would not notice him or else. He would be done for. Sneaking around between the Wrath Troll''s legs, he managed to arrive at his target. The Wrath Troll was breathing weakly. Since the Wrath Troll was having a monster appearance. There was no pity in Shen''s eyes. Totally different when he looked at the Blizzard Tiger. He pulled the dying troll with him, dragging the heavy body with him. The troll was whimpering weakly but he ignored that. When he reached a seclusive area, he pulled out the wooden club from his inventory. Shen raised the wooden club with his both hands and mmed the wooden club at the Wrath Troll''s head. Bam! -165 Blood spurted out from the nose and lips of the Wrath Troll. He did not stop with one hit, of course. Hended another on the face of the Wrath Troll. [Void Critical triggered] -330 -165 -165 At the same time, Shen looked at the Wrath Troll''s health bar. It kept dwindling until zero. [You have killed level 63 Wrath Troll!] [You gained 264000 Experiences!] Shen''s eyes shone when he heard the number of the exp he got from killing Wrath Troll. He just needed to kill a hundred Wrath Trolls then he would reach the next level, ''This is it! This is my chance!'' he kept encouraging himself with the same words over and over again. Shen immediately stored the evidence into his inventory before the other Wrath Trolls noticed that he had killed one of them. He did not want hundreds of Wrath Trolls turned toward him all out of a sudden. After storing the body of the Wrath Troll his eyes immediately turned toward the battlefield again. He would be starting the farming exp now. This time, Shen discovered the Ice Vulture that was so close to him. He sneaked his way into the battlefield once again and pulled the Ice Vulture to the side. He made sure that no one looked at him. When he arrived at the same spot where he killed the first Wrath Troll, Shen took out his wooden club. Shen made sure to aim at the head and repeatedly bashed the head until he killed the Ice Vulture. [You have killed level 68 Ice Vulture!] [You gained 314000 Experiences!] His eyes widened in surprise again for the second time. Ice Vulture gave him more exp than the Wrath Troll. Normal considering that Ice Vulture was five levels higher. He was about to store the Ice Vulture''s body until he sensed something from behind. Shen looked back and saw three Wrath Trolls were looking at him. The three Wrath Trolls just came out of the forest as they were about to join the battle. The three looked at the wooden club in his hand then they looked at the Ice Vulture''s corpse below him. After that, the three trolls looked him in the eyes. Shen''s heartbeat skipped up. He was ready to activate [Void Step] the moment the Wrath Trolls chased after him. He still wanted to stay and farm the free exp. He hoped that the three Wrath Trolls would prioritize the battlefield instead of chasing him. However, the three Wrath Trolls responded with an unexpected reaction. The three trolls growled at him but it was not a hostile growl. The three Wrath Trolls raised their wooden clubs and pointed at the battlefield. Even though he did not understand what they tried to say to him, he could tell that by their gestures. They invited him to join them to fight against the Ice Vulture. This was a shocking reaction from the trolls. He thought they would chase him for sure. "Groooo! Grooo!" Shen tried to imitate the Wrath Troll''s growl as he raised his club and hit the Ice Vulture''s head once again even though he had killed it. After watching Shen hit the Ice Vulture''s corpse, the three Wrath Trolls rushed toward the battlefield. He was relieved that the Wrath Troll did not attack him or else he had to throw away this golden chance to farm the exp. "This meant I only needed to target the Ice Vulture. I am going for the Ice Vultures anyway since they give more exp," Shen muttered in a low voice as he stored the Ice Vulture''s body into his inventory. He then turned toward the battlefield once again. If he looked from this side, he could see that the Wrath Troll was losing the fight. However, they kept pouring out their numbers against the Ice Vulture. Shen scanned the battlefield and tried to find the closest target. This time he was going to target only the Ice Vulture. Then he found an Ice Vulture with broken wings and a broken beak. The two meters long bird limped away from the battlefield, heading toward him. The bird tried to save its life. "Another prey" Chapter 92: Farming Exp Chapter 92: Farming Exp Shen made his way toward the limping Ice Vulture. He sneaked around and hit the Ice Vulture on the head. The smack with the big club caused the Ice Vulture to fall on the ground. [Void Critical triggered! You dealt critical damage!] -312 The first hit was critical damage. He took the chance of the falling Ice Vulture and smashed the club on the head. He hit the head repeatedly as he looked at the health bar above the Ice Vulture. The hp dwindled quickly, and it was emptied in his eleventh hit. [You have killed level 68 Ice Vulture!] [You gained 314000 Experiences!] Shen immediately stored the Ice Vulture''s body into his inventory, and he scanned his surroundings afterward. He was looking for his target and quickly found a new target. This time the Ice Vulture was in more miserable condition than the one he just killed. The Ice Vulture had its wing torn apart and its neck bleeding out profusely. The same as before, he was no longer bothering to bring the dying Ice Vulture into a quiet ce as he smashed his club on the head. This time it only took three hits to kill the Ice Vulture. [You have killed level 68 Ice Vulture!] [You gained 314000 Experiences!] Shen checked his window status for the experience bar. He had gotten over a million exp from killing four monsters. He just needed to kill around seventy monsters to reach level 22, "This is doable!" He encouraged himself as he looked for more Ice Vulture. Actually, he could see more wounded Wrath Trolls than the Ice Vulture but he had no choice but to target the Ice Vulture, or else he would aggro the trolls onto him. That was thest thing he wanted to do. Fortunately, it did not take a long time for him to discover his prey. He saw a Wrath Troll with a big slingshot shoot down an Ice Vulture. As soon as it fell on the ground, the trolls swarmed to the Ice Vulture and ripped apart the wings. They also swung the wooden clubs at the pitiful Ice Vulture. After ganging up on the Ice Vulture, the Wrath Trolls dispersed and looked for more Ice Vultures. They left the dying Ice Vulture. Shen could see that the health bar above the Ice Vulture was dwindling very fast. He rushed over and mmed his wrath club on the Ice Vulture''s head. -165 -165 He hit the Ice Vulture in the head two times to kill it. [You have killed level 68 Ice Vulture!] [You gained 314000 Experiences!] This was just the start for Shen as the battle truly just started between the two monsters. As the fight between the Ice Vulture and the Wrath Troll continued, more of them kepting out. More Ice Vultures came from the Frozen Hill, and more Wrath Trolls poured out from the forest. The roar of the Wrath Troll and the screech of the Ice Vulture filled the atmosphere. Amidst the sh between the two monsters, Shen kept killing the dying monsters around him. Of course, he focused on killing the Ice Vulture since he made sure that he was in the Wrath Troll''s territory. After killing one Ice Vulture, he would store the corpse in his inventory. He did not know how many Ice Vultures had been killed by him. In thirty minutes, he could no longer find the dying Ice Vulture around because the number of the Wrath Trolls that ganged at the Ice Vulture were too many. ''Is this the end of my farming?'' Shen looked around, unwilling to stop the easy experiences. At the same time, he checked the window status to check how many experiences were needed to the next level. 70,571,800/76,545,000 Six million, that was the number he needed to reach the next level, around twenty Ice Vultures or around thirty Wrath Trolls. While not many dying Ice Vultures, he found many Wrath Trolls on the ground. Growling in pain as half of their bodies were frozen and a bloody hole on their chest. He could change his target to Wrath Trolls instead of the Ice Vulture, "That means I have to drag the Wrath Troll into the Frozen Hill and finish the troll there," Shen made a n in his mind. He did not want to drag the troll back to their territory only to be found out by the other trolls. If that happened, the Wrath Trolls might aggro toward him instead of the Ice Vulture. "Change of n. I just need to endure the cold of the Frozen Hill" With that in mind, Shen made his move. He was running past the dying Wrath Troll into the Frozen Hill. [You have entered the frozen area!] [The low temperature lower your movement by 25%] That was the main reason Shen did not want to stay in Frozen Hill. His speed would be slowed down in this frozen area. But his greed to reach the next level did not stop him. He found a dying Wrath Troll on top of the snow. He rushed there and held the Wrath Troll''s remaining feet. Then he dragged the Wrath Troll deeper into the Frozen Hill. [You have killed level 63 Wrath Troll!] [You gained 264000 Experiences!] Shen brought the Wrath Troll behind the tree and there, he started smashing the Wrath Troll''s head. The Wrath Troll was tankier than the Ice Vulture, it took him twelve hits to finish the dying Wrath Troll, "Do I need the troll''s body? Does the Blizzard Tiger want to eat trolls when she has Ice Vultures?" He had limited space for his inventory. He could not bring all of them with his inventory. Five grids had been filled with five stacks of Ice Vulture''s bodies. He had killed forty-seven Ice Vultures in total, he had one Wrath Troll. The troll he killed for the first time. "Let''s bring a stack of Wrath Troll as well, maybe the Blizzard Tiger will like it," Shen stored the Wrath Troll''s body before he looked for more prey. Chapter 93: Magic!? Chapter 93: Magic!? [You have killed level 63 Wrath Troll!] [You gained 264000 Experiences!] [You have leveled up!] [You gained 10 Status Points!] [You have reached level 22!] Shen finally heard the level-up notification of leveling up after he killed twenty-three Wrath Trolls. In the end, he decided to bring the Wrath Troll''s corpses with him so he could tell how many trolls he had killed. Of course, he also picked up the Wrath Club. That was an amazing weapon for him, and the others could use it as well. Maybe it could be a good material for Brother Jiang as well. 3 2 2 2 1, that was how he allocated the status points. 3 to Agility, 1 to Dexterity, and then he distributed evenly for the rest status points. After distributing the status points, he looked back at the battlefield. The battle continued and showed no sign that it would stop soon. "Should I leave now?" Shen looked at the sky. The sun was still above him, meaning he had still had time to hunt. This was a golden chance that would not happen quite often. He had to take advantage of the chaos and got the maximum benefit from the situation. With that in mind, Shen went back to the battlefield. It was too chaotic that the monsters did not notice a small human amongst them. Shen managed to kill 127 Wrath Trolls and 73 Ice Vulture after one and half an hour into the battle. That earned him 56 million experiences, halfway to reach level 23. Shen did not continue to hunt for more as he was exhausted. The exhaustion on his body told him that his stamina had reached the bottom. He checked the window status, sure enough, he had 27 Stamina left out of 3200 Stamina. He searched for a hideout and took a rest there while filling his belly as well. The exhaustion caused the hunger to go down a lot. Fortunately, ZhenZhen prepared a lot of roasted fish for him. He had enough to survive for a week as long as he did not go hunting like crazy. As he ate the roasted fish, he noticed something within the battlefield. The Ice Vultures and the Wrath Trolls suddenly stopped fighting. For the first time in two hours, the two sides moved away from each other. The curious Shen stopped eating and watched the thing unfold before his eyes. There was a reason for them to stop the fight. Dump! Dump! He suddenly felt a slight vibration on the ground. Something big was approaching as the vibration on the ground got stronger. Then he got to see the thing that caused the vibration. A giant troll, around five and a half meters tall, had two horns curved upward from the forehead, and it had four harms. Each of its arms was holding a weapon. The two right arms were holding two big battle-axes, and the two left arms were holding two giant swords. At the same time, there was a shadow hovered from the side of Frozen Hill. The shadow covered a big area. He looked up and saw a giant vulture in the sky with a twelve meters wingspan. The wings were releasing of cold aura, even him who was in the Wrath Troll''s territory could feel that the temperature around him was affected as well. "Boss Monsters!" Shen muttered in a low voice. These two monsters were bosses without a doubt, "Are they going to fight?" "If they truly fight, should I stay and watch? Or leave?" He was contemting his choices. If the fight stopped, he could not take advantage of the chaos to farming the experiences. If it was Boss Fight, he could not take advantage of it either. It was not like he could get thest hit of the boss. The boss fight and the mob fight were on a different scale. Shen contemted for a while before he came up with a decision, "Let''s stay for now! I need to recover from my exhaustion and hunger as well. If I have a chance to butt in then I will not waste that chance. If I can''t take advantage of the fight then I will return to the cave," He thenter found out that it was not possible for him to stay and watch the fight unless he wanted to lose his life. The Boss of the Ice Vulturended at the border of Frozen Hill. There was a singr horn on the forehead that was made of ice, and there was a crown made of ice as well on top. The white feather looked like it was made of snow. Shen immediately felt a tingling chill on the surface of his skin. The frozen blue eyes of the Ice Vulture Boss locked on the over five meters tall trolls. He could feel that animosity in those eyes from afar. If it was him that was being looked at by the Ice Vulture Boss, he would run away immediately for sure. The intimidation he felt from afar was enough to scare him. However, the Wrath Troll Boss did not cower in front of the Ice Vulture Boss. It roared while raising the four weapons made of ck steel. All of a sudden, the Ice Vulture Boss pped its wing toward the Wrath Troll Boss. The frozen air formed and swept into the Wrath Troll Territory, freezing the ground, trees, and even the Wrath Trolls. It was just a p of wing, and it killed dozens of the Wrath Trolls. Shen''s eyes widened in shock as he observed the impact of that p of a wing. Thend was frozen, at least a hundred meters of the area were frozen by the Ice Vulture Boss. It was his estimation. Maybe it was more than a hundred meters. While the Wrath Trolls were frozen to death, the Wrath Troll Boss was fine. The Wrath Troll Boss'' red skin released hot steam. And suddenly the frozennd started to melt. "Sky Corps says there''s no magic in the early phase of the game but what is this?" Shen muttered in a low voice. This was clearly magic. Chapter 94: Battle of the Bosses Chapter 94: Battle of the Bosses Roar! The Wrath Troll Boss released a roar toward the Ice Vulture Boss. It was not just a normal roar as a hot aura invaded Frozen Hill, melting the snow. At the same time, a few Ice Vultures fell from the sky. As the Ice Vultures fell off the ground, they stopped moving. They were dead just from the roar. The fight had not started but it already showed Shen how scary the Boss Monster was. "This ce is not for a newbie yer like me," Shen shook his head. If he was in the range of the roar or even the frozen wing, he might be dead like those Wrath Trolls and Ice Vultures. However, this first exchange only made Shen more determined to stay and watch the battle between the Ice Vulture Boss and the Wrath Troll Boss. "I can record the fight and post it on the forum under the paywall. I might get a lot of money from this," Shen got a new idea. These two monsters showed him that magic existed in this Tribe Online. If he posted the battle on the forum, there would be many yers who would pay to watch this. Yes, he had nned to post his clips under his official ount. There was a lot of good content since he came into this hidden vige. The scary chicken, the walking fish, and clips of where he died by the invisible monsters. He nned to post a funny video of him ying, thinking it would generate him some pocket money since he did not have a fixed ie until the trading system was opened. "I have to stay!" Shen decided to stay even though he could die from the impact of the battle. He then focused on the two bosses. The Wrath Troll Boss was the first one to make its move. It leaped forward into the Ice Vulture''s territory. The Wrath Troll Boss aimed the two swords and two battle-axes toward the Ice Vulture Boss'' head. The Ice Vulture Boss folded its wings. As the two spears and the two swords were about to hit the Ice Vulture Boss, it opened its wing. It discharged a frozen aura, pushing back the Wrath Troll Boss who was in the air. After it sent back the Wrath Troll Boss, it pped its wings and flew upward. The Ice Vulture Boss opened its beak and shot swirling frozen breath. The range of the frozen breath was so wide that it swept into the Wrath Troll''s territory. Shen felt the chilling bite from the frozen breath. The scale of the attack was wide, and the attack almost reached him. [You are affected by the frostbite!] [Your movement is slowed down by 30%!] [You are losing 10 hp/ ten seconds!] Shen''s eyes widened in shock. There was still some distance between the frozen breath and him, around four meters. However, he was still affected by the skill. Yes, he assumed that was a skill of the Ice Vulture Boss. He snapped out of his shock and immediately got away from where he was. The frostbite status was gone when he was ten meters away from the frozen breath. He was not willing to leave even after all of that. Not until he gained some footage from the battle between the two bosses. Shen looked back at the Wrath Troll Boss. The center of the attack was the Wrath Troll Boss. He wanted to know what happened to the troll. To his surprise, the Wrath Troll was not affected by the frozen Breath. The Wrath Troll Boss''s red skin was glowing in red as it discharged hot steam. While the Wrath Troll Boss survived the attack, the other Wrath Trolls were not as lucky as their Boss. A quarter of the Wrath Trolls were frozen to death. The Wrath Troll Boss looked back at his people and roared at them. It seemed the boss was telling its people to leave as Shen saw the Wrath Trolls retreating into the distance. Shen assessed the distance between him and the ce where the battle took ce. He was far from the battlefield but he was still closer to them than the Wrath Trolls that just retreated, "Should I get some distance too?" Before he could decide that, the Wrath Troll Bossunched its attack. It threw the two battle-axes into the air, right above the Ice Vulture Boss. Yes, instead of aiming at the Ice Vulture Boss, it aimed at the empty space above. The two battle-axes were covered in me as they shot toward above the Ice Vulture Boss before the two battle-axes exploded. Boom! Boom! The two big explosions swept the Ice Vultures, killing dozens of them. But the explosion was not the end of it. From the explosion, eight meteor fireballs formed and rained down onto the Ice Vulture Boss. It seemed the opposite party was not expecting the meteor fireballs as the eight meteor fireballs hit the back of the Ice Vulture Boss. The Ice Vulture Boss released a hissing screech as the meteors hurt it. Thanks to the explosion, it heated up the cold atmosphere. The Ice Vulture Boss lost its bnce and fell. "This is magic for sure!" Shen was sure that those two bosses were executing a magic-rted skill. The Wrath Troll Boss charged into the Frozen Hill tond a hit with the sword. However, the Ice Vulture Boss managed to maneuver in the air and gained its bnce. It pped its wings and made the distance from the ground. At the same time, it released the frozen breath. The swirling frozen breath hit the Wrath Troll Boss before it spread out. This time, the frozen breath''s scale was much bigger as it almost reached Shen. "What the!" [You are affected by the Frozen Breath!] [You are affected by the frost breath!] [Your movement is slowed down by 60%!] [You are losing 25 Hp/ 5 seconds!] His body stiffened as he could feel the chill in his bones. This was too real as if he was in the north pole though he had never been there before. Chapter 95: Lyra Chapter 95: Lyra "I have to leave this ce immediately!" When Shen heard the notification, he immediately decided to leave instead of continuing watching the battle between the bosses. He would die from watching the battle between the two bosses. He would lose 25 Hp per 5 seconds, and he only had 440 Hp. That meant he would die within a minute and a half if he stayed in the range of the frozen breath. Moreover, this was just the start of the battle. The Ice Vulture Boss wouldunch a stronger frozen breathter, and he would die even faster if that happened. On top of all that, his movement was slowed down by sixty percent. If somehow he survived after the battle was over, and the boss noticed him. He would die for sure with his slowed-down movement. "I have gained enough footage for my content, I have leveled up and farm a big exp as well, I have gathered the Ice Lotus, and with bonus as well," Shen muttered in a low voice. The bonus he talked about was the Ice Vulture''s bodies, the Wrath Troll''s bodies, and the Wrath Clubs. "This is enough, let''s not risk it," He then turned around and left the battlefield. If he died, he would lose all the exp or even drop a level. While it was tempting to watch the two bosses fight, his level was more important than that. With that in mind, Shen turned around and left. He followed the minimap and headed back to the cave. The trip back to the cave was faster than the trip to reach Frozen Hill. When he reached back to the cave, the mother tiger let out a gasp of surprise, "You are back!?" Before Shen could respond to her, the Blizzard Tiger continued, "Or you did not go to the Frozen Hill?" There was a doubt in her tone. She predicted that Shen would be back at night at the fastest and tomorrow night was her estimation since he had to pass the Wrath Troll''s territory and also the Ice Vulture''s territory to get the Ice Lotus. "Nope, I got your Ice Lotus!" Shen smiled and took out three Ice Lotuses from his inventory. He ran toward the Blizzard Tiger and ced the three Ice Lotuses in front of the mother tiger, "This is Ice Lotus, right?" The Blizzard Tiger looked down at the arctic-colored flower then she looked at Shen''s nervous face. Thetter thought he was plucking the wrong flower since he received no response from the mother tiger. "Did I get the wrong flower?" Shen recalled if there was any flower other than the one he got but this was the only flower he found in Frozen Hill, ''Wait, it says it''s Ice Lotus. That should be the right flower,'' "No, you got the right Ice Lotus though it''s not the best condition this will be enough to make the potion," The Blizzard Tiger shook her head, "I am baffled by how fast you return from Frozen Hill. I thought this will be a tough challenge for you but it seemed I have underestimated you too much, Human," Shen smiled awkwardly, not because the Blizzard Tiger underestimated him openly like that but because of how it addressed him. He was not used to being called human, which rang weird in his ears. Cough! He let out a small cough and spoke his mind, "Can you call me by name? Even though I am a human, it''s really awkward to be called that. You can call me my name, Runner or Shen," "Hmm," There was a momentary silence from the Blizzard Tiger, "Runner? That''s a weird name for sure, let me call you Shen instead. As for my name" there was a slight in between as the mother tiger was contemting should she tell her name to Shen or not, "My name is Lyra. You are the first human to know my name, you should be proud, Shen!" Even though the Blizzard Tiger was wounded and needed Shen''s help, it did not lose its arrogance. Of course, Shen did not mind as she was an individual that much stronger than him, an apex predator in this dangerous forest, Vales. "Actually I got lucky so I could return quickly" Shen told the Blizzard Tiger what happened between the Wrath Troll and the Ice Vulture, "I could go back quicker but I did not want to miss the chance of killing them so I stayed there for a few hours to hunt the dying Ice Vultures and the Wrath Trolls," After that, Shen took out four Ice Vulture carcasses and four Wrath Troll''s carcasses, "I brought them back so you can replenish some energy before we fight Ice Boa. I don''t know what is your taste so I bring them all with me, and I still have more if you want," The Blizzard Tiger''s blue eyes shone at the sight of the Ice Vulture''s carcasses. The three small tigers also came out from their mother''s embrace as soon as they smelled the blood. The three small tigers immediately came over and dragged the corpses to their mother. The three small tigers were prioritizing their injured mother instead of eating it for themselves. "We certainly want the Ice Vulture for sure. The Ice Vulture has frost energy within their body that is beneficial to me," Shen could hear the delight in her voice. "What about the Wrath Troll?" The Blizzard Tiger did not mention anything about the troll yet. Since the Blizzard Tiger was a carnivore, he thought she would do anything. But he was wrong about that. As soon as he mentioned the troll, he saw disgust in her eyes. "Don''t mention that gross thing. The troll tastes horrible," Lyra shook her head and blew the four Wrath Troll''s bodies away with a wave of her paw. "Fortunately, I only brought two stacks of Wrath Trolls," Shen muttered in relief. There were twenty-five grids for his inventory. One grid for his sword, one grid for his spear, two grids for his roasted fish, two grids for Wrath Troll''s carcasses, ten grids for the Ice Vulture''s carcasses, and nine grids of Wrath Club. Then he took out six more Ice Vultures for the family of four. From the look of it, even the three small tigers were having a big appetite for the Ice Vultures. Chapter 96: Self Reminder Chapter 96: Self Reminder Shen watched from the mother tiger and the kitten tiger devoured the ten Ice Vultures. One small tiger only ate one Ice Vulture as the mother tiger ate the remaining seven Ice Vultures by herself. He observed the tiger family eating their fill for a few minutes. Then an idea crossed in his mind. If the Blizzard Tiger liked the Ice Vulture, did it mean the Ice Boa would like the Ice Vulture too? If so they could use the Ice Vulture to lure the Ice Boa out of its nest. That was a solid n in his mind. Unless the Blizzard Tiger could defeat the Ice Boa then luring it out was not necessary. After the mother tiger finished her meal, Shen approached her and asked, "Does the Ice Boa love to eat the Ice Vulture as well?" The mother tiger nced at Shen and answered with a question, "Why do you ask? Do you want to make a deal with that snake to exchange the Frost Lotus and the Ice Vultures? Don''t even think about it. I don''t know why the Ice Boa is obsessed with the Frost Lotus but that snake will not do a trade," "That''s a better n but unfortunately, the snake is not willing to trade but that''s not my n. We don''t do a trade with the snake, but we can use the Ice Vulture to lure it out from its nest. We can ce a few stacks of Ice Vultures if needed and ce them near its nest. When ites out of the nest to get the Ice Vultures, we can steal the Frost Lotus. It should be easy for you to steal the Frost Lotus if the Ice Boa is not there, right?" Shen shared his solid n with the mother tiger. Since the Blizzard Tiger was still injured it would be better to avoid an unnecessary fight, or else it might worsen the mother tiger''s condition. Of course, the n would work only if the Ice Vulture was the Ice Boa''s favorite food. "That''s why you ask I see" The mother tiger contemted Shen''s n while the three small tigers kept looking at him and their mother, back and forth. "We can try that. We, the beast, love to eat food that has the same element as us. Aside from being tasty, it can make us grow stronger as well," Lyra gave a positive reply to the n. "Let''s give it a try, and if it does not work we can always change to our original n," Shen nodded his head, "So when will we make our move?" "Now! Let''s not wait any longer. I need to return to my vige before my husband can take control over my tribepletely," Lyra responded instantly. Shen was about to agree to execute the n but his gaming pod reminded him that he had been logging into the game too long. It reminded him of lunch and the negative impact of ying the game for too long. Of course, he could choose to ignore the reminder as the gaming pod would not forcefully log him out unless the gaming pod detected a critical condition on his body. However, Shen agreed with the gaming pod. He at least must have lunch before he continued to y. It was unhealthy if he waste to eat. He prioritized his health first, "Can you let me sleep first? I am totally exhausted after the long journey to Frozen Hill. You know, a human''s body is not as strong as a beast''s body," Fortunately, Lyra was not an unreasonable beast. She listened to him and agreed with his request, "Alright, you can sleep for a few hours," Shen was relieved and nodded his head. He immediately looked for a spot to sleep andid down there. As soon as his butt touched the ground, he closed his eyes. Lyra was baffled by how fast the human slept. He just put his body down but he instantly slept. Curiosity hit her as she stood up. Blood still dripped down from her wound but it did not stop her from approaching Shen''s body. When she arrived near Shen, Lyra used her paw to nudge Shen''s head. "What a pig, he does not even wake when I nudge him," The Blizzard Tiger shook her head but then she did the unexpected. She carried Shen''s body with her as she sat on her original spot. Then she ced Shen next to her body, letting his body lean on her body. The thick and smooth fur was much morefortable than the hard ground for sure, "He did not even wake when I carried him," Lyra muttered in a low voice, "What a careless human," Meanwhile, Shen was not aware of what happened to his avatar inside the game. As he came out of the gaming pod, he searched for his phone. He wanted to order food at the restaurant near his apartment so he could eat faster and continued the quest. It was not an official quest but he regarded it as a quest. Just as he unlocked his Orange Phone, he noticed there were a lot of messages and also missed calls. Amongst the missed call and messages, he noticed a number without a name, "Huh, who is this?" He ignored Ming''s and Dale''s messages and calls as he opened the message from an unknown number. "Hello, Runner~ I am Yue (^.^). Ming and Dale are worried about you so they asked me to message you. Please return their call if you read the message," The unknown number belonged to Yue. Without Shen realizing it, a smile formed on his lips. He was ttered that the famous Goddess Yue was messaging him. There was no second thought as Shen immediately saved the number and replied to the message, "I will return the call soon but I am on a quest right now," Then he sent the message. "Hehe" Shen let out a giggle but then he immediately shook his head, "Remember your ce Shen, you and Yue are in a different ss. It''s not possible between you two. Don''t put your hope too high or else you will get hurt," He reminded himself and pped his cheeks. The happiness was gone immediately as he released out a sigh, "Throw away those useless thoughts and order the food instead," Chapter 97: Ice Boa - Part 1 Chapter 97: Ice Boa - Part 1 Shen ordered his food, his favorite mapo tofu with rice from the nearby restaurant. Simple to eat and quite fast too. His food arrived in fifteen minutes and finished his lunch in ten minutes. He wanted to login into the game directly but he knew that it was not good toy down inside the gaming pod after lunch. He was not going to do that even though he wanted to continue the quest as soon as possible. "What should I do?" Shen brought the empty bowl to the skin and washed the bowl. After washing the bowl, he looked at his room, "I will do some chores, nothing wrong to clean the room two days in a row," Shen made sure that he was doing something in the next one and half an hour. After doing the chores he washed up before he logged into the game. He opened his eyes and felt something different for sure. Since when sleeping on the ground was thisfortable? It was soft and smooth. He was about to get up until he felt a weight on his belly, shoulder, and thigh. He looked down and found the three small tigers were sleeping on him. One baby tiger leaned its head on his shoulder, one was resting on his belly, and thest one had its head on his thigh. He turned his head and found out that he was notying down on the ground but white snow fur. "You have woken up, Shen?" a gentle voice entered his ears. Shen looked toward the voice and realized that he was leaning onto the mother''s tiger body. He was confused with the situation as he remembered that he was sleeping on the ground but how could he end up in this position. But it did not take long for Shen to think of it. The Blizzard Tiger must be the one who moved him when he logged out, ''Ah, so will my character stay even when I log out?'' This was new knowledge for Shen. He thought that the avatar would disappear if he logged out but it was not the case if the mother tiger could move his body. Shen did not aware that the avatar only disappeared if he logged out in a safe zone such as the city and vige or any other posts that categorized into a safe zone where monsters could note. He was not aware that logged out in the wilderness would leave his body vulnerable and could be killed even he was not online. "I am. Thank you for protecting me," He then held the kitten on his belly, was about to move it away but it woke up when his hand touched the kitten. Rawr! The kitten let out an immature roar, waking up the other two kittens. The kitten on his shoulder was licking his cheek while the kitten on his thigh was following its brother to roar at him. "I am ready to get the Frost Lotus," Shen moved the kittens and stood up. "But I am not ready. Do you still have the Ice Vulture? I need to regain more energy before we start the n. I need to prepare the worst to face the Ice Boa if our n to lure it out of the nest fails," Lyra shook her head. Shen had logged out for two hours, meaning four hours had passed in the game. He did not know if it was normal to feel hungry just after four hours. The three kittens seemed to understand their conversation as the three kittens cast an anticipation look at him. He did not mind about it and took out five Ice Vultures this time. The three kittens went for one and their mother ate four Ice Vultures. The tiger was a quick eater. Lyra finished four Ice Vulture within six minutes while the three kittens finished their shared meal in three minutes. "I am ready!" The mother tiger stood up and stretched out her forelimbs. Shen was about to give his response but Lyra used her paw to pick him up and put him on her back. The same for the three kittens. She brought her children up and put them on hisp, "Hold tight! I am going at full speed!" Shen did not have a chance to speak as the mother tiger was not joking with her words. She dashed out of the cave, and he was about to get thrown away. His hands immediately held onto her fur tightly. He barely could see his surroundings as the mother tiger was so fast. It was just a blur. However, what surprised him was that he did not get thrown away even though Lyra moved so fast. He did not have a saddle to keep his position on the back of the Blizzard Tiger. Only then he realized something when he looked on hisp. There was a reason for Lyra to put her children on hisp. It was to keep him on her back. He thought that she was asking him to keep them but it was not the opposite. The three kittens put their weights on hisp, making sure he did not bounce off. "We have arrived!" He felt it was not even two minutes passed but they had already arrived at their destination. Shen looked around, it was a snowy field with the trees covered in snow as well. However, it was not as cold as Frozen Hill. "Where''s the Ice Boa''s nest?" Shen scanned the surroundings but he could not find a ce that could be called a nest for a monster. He then hopped down along with the three kittens. "The Ice Boa''s nest is a hundred meters ahead. Its nest is in the center of Frosted Lake. We can''t get near to it or else it will notice us but we can put our bite here. The wind is blowing toward Frosted Lake. This is the right spot to put the bait," Lyra pointed in a direction with her paw. Further toward the north. Chapter 98: Ice Boa - Part 2 Chapter 98: Ice Boa - Part 2 Shen and the three kittens were hiding behind bushes next to a tree. He was staring at the bait he put at the center of the snowy field. Fifteen Ice Vulture corpses were stacked there. As for Lyra, she was taking a detour to get to the other side of Frosted Lake. As soon as the Ice Boa left the nest she would get the Ice Lotus. That was the n. For now, it was a waiting game. They were waiting for the Ice Boa to get lured here. If the Ice Boa took the bait, he and the three kittens would immediately leave this ce to safety. Shen shook his right foot. It was how he showed nervousness. He did not know how strong the Ice Boa was. Since Lyra wanted to avoid the fight that meant the Ice Boa should be as strong as Lyra. The clock ticked down as he kept looking at the time on the screen. He had put the Ice Vulture in for three minutes and forty-three seconds yet the Ice Boa had note yet, "Did the bait fail?" If the bait failed then Lyra had to face the Ice Boa, and he would be the one stealing the Frost Lotus. "No, it''s just a few minutes. Let''s wait longer," Shen did not give up. If the n failed, he would have to retrieve the corpses and regroup with Lyra for the backup n. A minute after minute passed, and it had been twelve minutes since he put the Ice Vulture carcasses but the Ice Boa did note. "It seems the Ice Boa will not leave the nest for Ice Vulture" Shen muttered in a low voice and looked at the three kittens. They were sleeping next to the tree. This was a boring task for sure, and the kitten did not have patience for this hence they went sleeping instead. "Fifteen minutes Let''s wait for another three minutes" Three minutes passed, and the Ice Boa did note. "Hah" He let out a sigh, "It does not work. There are no other choices" Shen''s words stopped midway as he felt a slight vibration on the ground. He ducked his head and pushed the bush slightly to get a clear look at the bait. Soon he saw a big head popping out from the thick bush. The head was around three meters wide, it was an enormous head for sure. His heartbeat spiked up as the Ice Boa came out of the bushes. He swallowed mouthful saliva at the sight of the Ice Boa. It was gigantic and very long as well. The ice-blue skin, five horns made of ice on the head, and blue eyes. Yes, the eyes only had one color, ice-blue. It looked weird as it did not have irises just like the snake normally did. The eyes looked like the snake was dead for a long time. The moment the Ice Boa arrived at the Ice Vulture''s carcasses Shen still could not see the tail of the Ice Boa. He estimated that the Ice Boa was at least ten meters long or maybe even longer than that. The Ice Boa opened its mouth that stretched out up to seven meters. Yes, the mouth was like a cave in Shen''s eyes rather than a mouth. Just like that, Shen witnessed the Ice Boa swallow the fifteen Ice Vulture''s carcasses in one go. It was a snake so it did not chew its food. The Ice Boa immediately swallowed the fifteen Ice Vultures. He could see the bulging part on its body. The Ice Boa was so massive that Shen was forgetting one thing. If the Ice Boa took the bait he had to leave immediately. He forgot about that as he was stunned by the size of the snake. It was until the blue eyes met with his gaze then he remembered that he had to leave this ce. Shen froze on the spot as he was sure that the Ice Boa found him. He was about to turn around to escape but he remembered the sleeping kittens. There was one thing that was still the same for the game between Tribe Online and the previous game. If NPCs died then they would be dead, dead. It was still the same within Tribe Online. If he escaped now there was a chance for him to survive but he had to sacrifice the three kittens for that. Shen looked at the sleeping kittens. Three of them were still sleeping and unaware of the situation as the Ice Boa barely made a noise. It was the same for the Ice Boa. It should not be aware that there were three kittens next to him, "Then" There was no hesitation in his action. Shen dashed out of the bushes. He rushed to the side. Before he did not have a chance to see the Ice Boa''s tail but now he saw the tail. The Ice Boa''s tail''s pointy end was aiming at his chest. [Void Step] Shen activated his skill and moved to the side. However, the tail was too fast for him and hit his left shoulder, "ARGGHHHH!" He screamed in pain. The pain was real. He had lowered the pain tolerance at level two but this was still painful. it was as if a real de sliced through his flesh. -321 [You suffered "Bleeding"! You will lose two hp per second!] Shen lost his bnce and crashed to the ground before his body hit the tree. He immediately tried to stand up but the pain and the feeling of losing one of his arms threw him off. He could not keep his bnce and fell once again. Then a massive shadow hovered above him. His heart skipped a beat and realized that the Ice Boa was right above him. Shen gave up to escape from the Ice Boa and turned his body around. The Ice Boa''s blue eyes locked on him. "I am dead for sure," Shen muttered in a resigned tone. He epted his death, ''I hope Lyra cane in time and save her children," he was guilty that her children were in danger because of him. If he retreated in time, he and the three kittens would be safe. Shen closed his eyes and let the Ice Boa swallow him. However, as soon as he closed his eyes. He heard immature roars. Rawr! Rawr! Rawr! Chapter 99: A Close Call Chapter 99: A Close Call Shen opened his eyes and found the three Blizzard Tiger kittens were standing in front of him, facing the Ice Boa. A panic struck his mind. His thought was racing, thinking of a way to save the three kittens. He was sure that these three kittens were not a match for the Ice Boa. He looked up to find the Ice Boa was now staring at the three kittens. ''This is bad!'' Shen thought to himself. He remembered what Lyra told him that the beast would rather eat a creature with the same element as them as it could be a form of nourishment. The Blizzard Tiger and the Ice Boa had the same element, frost or ice. He was sure that the Ice Boa would prefer to eat the three small kittens than him. Shen did not know where the energy came from but he jolted up and rushed toward the three kittens. He swooped the three kittens with his right hand and embraced them. After that, he turned around and activated [Void Step]. His figure dashed away from the Ice Boa. "I have a chance to esca" Shen did not finish his word as he felt a sharp pain on his back and his body was flung to the side. The Ice Boa used its tail to attack him. His body flew to the side but he was protecting the three kittens. He embraced the three white-furred creatures tightly as he turned his body around. Shen was making sure that his backnded first, "Arghhh!" his back hit a boulder. -80 Despite the pain, his head was sober. He calcted the damage that Ice Boa dealt on him. He soon realized that he lost 401 Hp. Then he looked at the missing arm, it was still bleeding. Meaning the bleeding status was still applied to him. He was losing 2 Hp per second, death was certain at this point, "But I have to ensure these three guys'' safety first," "But how?" Shen leaned his back against the boulder, supporting his body. He could barely stand with the support of the boulder let alone escape from the Ice Boa who was much faster than him when he activated his movement skill, "I am doomed," The Ice Boa was getting closer toward them. Its ice-blue eyes looked at the three kittens in his embrace. The three kittens were roaring with their immature roar while trying to break away from Shen''s embrace. Maybe that was an instinct of the Blizzard Tiger to fight their enemy instead of running away. "Yes, you are doomed if I am not here with you, Shen!" Suddenly a female voice rang. Shen then noticed a shadow hovered above the Ice Boa. Lyra attacked the Ice Boa from the back. However, the Ice Boa could avoid the attack. It dodged Lyra''s w and immediately made a distance from the Blizzard Tiger. Lyranded right in front of Shen. Her purpose was not to hit a sneak attack but to reach Shen. She looked at Shen''s body who lost his left arm, and she then looked at her children in his embrace. She quickly found out the situation even though Shen told him nothing about it. "Thank you for saving my children, Shen," Lyra then lowered her head and blew cold air to Shen''s left shoulder. Lyra''s breath immediately stopped the bleeding. Shen checked his window status and noticed that the bleeding status was gone. He was no longer in bleeding status, meaning he would not lose Hp anymore. That was good news for sure but they still had to face the Ice Boa, the Boss level monster for sure. Lyra was still injured Huh!? Shen then noticed that Lyra''s wound was covered by the cold around that was released by Lyra''s fur, ''Ah, that way the Ice Boa does not know that Lyra is wounded. Then the Ice Boa will be cautious of attacking them,'' That was a brilliant idea from Lyra. Sure enough, when Lyra turned around to face the Ice Boa. Thetter hissed cautiously but did not dare to get closer to them. Lyra opened her mouth and roared. That was not just a normal roar as she released cold air that covered a twenty meters area. The Ice Boa retreated further from the cold air. At this moment, Lyra turned around and swooped Shen onto her back. At this point, Shen discovered that Lyra never had an intention to fight against the Ice Boa. She was intimidating the snake to retreat then she would escape too. The n was a big sess as the Ice Boa did not chase after Lyra. *** *** "Damn! That was so close" Shen could not but cussed out a little bit. He almost died, no, he would die if Lyra did note in time. More than that, the three kittens would die as well with him. "Thank you for saving my children, Shen," Once they returned to the cave, Lyra bowed her head toward Shen once again. She was truly grateful that Shen was protecting the three brats for her. "No, don''t thank me," Shen waved his only hand toward the Blizzard Tiger, "If not for my carelessness then your children will not be in danger," He then recounted what happened back then. He was expecting that Lyra would be angry at him but to his surprise, she was not angry. "No matter what, it does not change the fact that you are using yourself to save my children. That''s enough to earn my gratitude, Shen," The Blizzard Tiger showed her smile for the first time. "Hehe" Shen merelyughed while scratching his hair. Then he remembered something, "What about the Frost Lotus? Did you get it?" "You are still worried about me even though you are losing an arm," Lyra shook her head and opened her mouth. She put the Ice Lotus below the tongue. The Ice Lotus looked the same as the normal lotus. It was just that the petal of the lotus was made of ice. "About my arm" Shen paused, ''Can I grow back my arm? Or should I die to regenerate the missing arm?'' That was a good question as a missing arm was not possible in the previous game. If a hitnd on his arm, he would lose health not the arm. ''Wait What if I can''t have my arm back?'' Shen suddenly got scared at the thought. Chapter 100: A New Member Chapter 100: A New Member Shen was panicked inside but he tried to maintain his calm facade outside. He did not want to make Lyra guilty that he lost his arm, "It''s fine. I can grow it back once I return to the vige," "Ah," Lyra nodded her head, "I forgot for a moment that you areing from that miraculous vige. I heard there''s a sage that could heal anything from that vige. There''s no need for me to worry about you," ''Huh? A sage?'' Shen tried to recall all the sses in the vige, and he was sure no ss rted to sage, ''Is she talking about the alchemist?'' That was the only ss that could make a healing potion. Shen shook his head, "Now we only need Rotka Fruit," He stood up and looked toward Lyra, "Can you tell me where to find this Rotka Fruit? I will get the fruit for you," "That''s enough, Shen. You have done enough for me," Lyra shook her head, "Rotka Fruit is not rare and can be found nearby. I can retrieve Rotka Fruit by myself," After saying that, the Blizzard Tiger turned toward her children. She seemed to talk with her children but he could not understand as Lyra was roaring at her children instead of talking like she talked to him. After that, Lyra left the cave, leaving Shen and her three children. Shen then found out what she talked about to her children. She was telling her children to protect him. As soon as the mother tiger left the cave, the three kittens stood in front of him. The three kittens were standing in guard, scanning the surroundings with their eyes. Shen shook his head and took out an Ice Vulture carcass. He threw it toward the three kittens. At the sight of food, the three kittens abandoned their posts and savored the Ice Vulture. At the same time, Shen also took out a roasted fish. The food might not be a healing potion but he hoped it could heal him. Of course, he still had a healing potion. One healing potion was given to a new character when they started ying. It was a package with the Inferior Grade sword he had broken. However, he was not in a dire situation where he immediately needed to use the potion. Moreover, the inferior grade potion only healed thirty Hp. He felt that using the healing potion now was a waste so he saved the potion forter. Shen ate the roasted fish quietly with just one hand. He was not used to doing things with one hand. It was so ufortable for sure but he bore it. The three kittens finished their meal faster than him, and then slept next to him. Looking at the three kittens, the ufortableness was washed away. He felt that losing a hand was worth it. Just like the Blizzard Tigger said, the Rotka Fruit was not something rare in the Vales. Lyra returned in less than minutes with a bunch of orange-colored fruits. The size of the fruit was double his fist. At the sight of the fruit, Shen was relieved that they managed to gather the threeponents to heal Lyra, "What should we do with the threeponents? Do you eat it directly?" "Of course, not," Lyra answered with a smile, "You sit there and watch. I allow you to watch the secret of the Blizzard Tiger Tribe, and I also have a reward for you," Without waiting for Shen''s response, Lyra gathered the threeponents, "It''s good that you brought three Ice Lotuses" He heard the mother tiger''s mutter The first thing Lyra did was to pluck the Ice Petal on Frost Lotus. There were nine petals, and she plucked three of them. She ced the three ice petals at one spot and opened her mouth. She breathed out frost breath but that was not normal frost breath. The frost breath swirled around on top of the Ice Petal. After that, Lyra brought up the Ice Lotus. She squeezed the Ice Lotus, and he saw a drop of dew fall into the swirling frost breath. Then she squeezed three Rotka Fruits. The orange-colored juices fell into the swirling frost breath. This time there was a change in the color of the frost breath. It was no longer arctic-blue and turned a bit yellowy. Then he witnessed three ice petals from the Frost Lotus absorb the yellowy frost breath. Slowly, the ice petal also changed its color into yellowy-blue. He could not describe the color correctly but he could see the ice-blue and the light yellow. "It''s done. I will eat this first then I will make more for you, Shen. This will benefit you a lot, my reward for you," Lyra smiled at Shen. *** *** On the table in front of the respawn spot "Runner replied to my message. He said that he was on a quest so he could not return to the vige," Yue told Ming and Dale who were taking a break from the training. They were eating fish soup, the new menu developed by ZhenZhen. "What? He replied to you?" Ming''s focus was on the wrong thing. He was not asking about the quest but was more upset that Shen replied to Goddess Yue instead of him or Dale. "You focus on the wrong thing, Ming," Brother Jiang shook his head and looked toward Goddess Yue, "Did he tell you about the quest? I meant we are in the middle of nowhere but how did Shen manage to find a quest?" "That''s what I want to discuss. If Shen was on a quest, that meant there was a city or a settlement in this ce," Yue nodded her head as she scooped the fish soup into her mouth. "Then we need to wait for his return. I hope there''s another settlement or even a city so I can sell my dishes to earn money," ZhenZhen smiled as her finger formed a coin shape. "I hope that''s the case. The production ss like us is more suitable in the city. Not only we can earn money but we need material as well or else we can''t do anything," WealthyGuy agreed with ZhenZhen. "Can you message him" ZhenZhen did not finish her words as she heard a burst ofughter from the respawn spot. "Buahahahahaha!" The maleughter rang in the vige, "My research is not in vain! I guessed it right there''s a hidden ce like this Buahahahaha" There was a new guy who arrived at the hidden vige. Chapter 101: Liu Zhong Chapter 101: Liu Zhong Liu Zhong was a high school student in hisst year. The exam was over, and he was epted into the best university in Shanghai. Thanks to that his parents were willing to buy him the gaming pod. With his spare time until university admission, Liu Zhong spent his time ying Tribe Online. His father and mother did not prevent him from ying either. They allowed him to y as long as his ytime did not pass ten hours a day. Liu Zhong had used his quota to y the game today so he was sitting behind hisputer. Behind his monitor, there was a big poster. A woman''s picture under a tree, smiling brightly. The woman in the picture was Goddess Yue, Sky''s brand ambassador. He had followed her since her debut until she retired to y the game. Liu Zhong was not a fan of the game but because Yue was interested in the game. He decided to y too with hope. He hoped that he would meet with Goddess Yue in the game. That was the reason why Sky chose Yue to be their brand ambassador. Yue''s charm was so big that she could draw her fans into the game even though they did not like ying the game before. Liu Zhong was surfing Tribe Online''s official forum. He was investigating Goddess Yue''s disappearance. He wanted to know where she was going, "I am sure that she is not retiring from the game or else Sky will remove her as the brand ambassador. Her Official Social Media ount also never said anything about retirement. This cheap gossip is fake. She is not retiring to marry," Liu Zhong gritted his teeth as he found an article about Goddess Yue. If Yue decided to retire she would post something on her official ount, "What most likely happened is that Goddess Yue found a secret of the game that forced her to restart her character, but what is that?" Liu Zhong closed the forum and opened his PowerPoint. He had collected a lot of data and one of them was an article about the Working Out Maniac who jumped into the Eternal Waterfall. It happened before many people so there was an article about it. "He had been working out for days so why did he suddenly decide to jump into that waterfall?" Liu Zhong tapped his index finger against the desk as he tried to uncover the mystery of why The Second Noob jumped into the Eternal Waterfall. He had looked for the Eternal Waterfall that was part of the Ten Wonders in Tribe Online. There were nine other same gorges as the Eternal Waterfall. While they looked different externally, the ten wonders were the same essentially. The deep gorge. "After he jumped into the waterfall, the second noob was never seen again in the city," The tapping sound was getting louder, "There''s no way he quits the game after spending a lot of money to buy the gaming pod. On top of that, not only the gaming pod is expensive but it''s hard to get as well," "Getting a new character? If so, someone will recognize him. The second noob is free content. Many people would cover him to get views. He is a famous clown on the forum," Sky had set that the yers could not change their appearance. Creating a new character changed nothing as people would still recognize him. Liu Zhong shook his head as he moved down the PowerPoint. It was an article about bullying where the streamer Volt bullied a famous noob from the previous game, Universe Online. People on the forum called him the First Noob after the Working Out Maniac. "What about him? He fell into God Burial then he also disappeared," Liu Zhong caressed his chin as he thought of the simrity between the two cases. Both fell into the deep gorges that were part of the Ten Wonders then they disappeared. People believed that The First Noob stopped ying after the bullying. That was most likely what happened to the First Noob. At least people believed so. However, Liu Zhong did not believe that Runner stopped ying the game. Just like he said, the cost of the gaming pod was too expensive for someone to stop ying Tribe Online this early. Liu Zhong had investigated Volt and watched the stream a lot. Volt might suffer a bacsh because of the case but Volt also gained a lot. He was now streaming with fifteen thousand views on average while he only streamed with five hundred views with his peak views being a thousand. Liu Zhong even paid a few bucks to enter Volt''s private server to chat. Heter found out that Volt was searching for the first noob. Yes, the bacsh was nothingpared to the gain. Volt wanted to look for the first noob to continue bullying the first noob. The streamer had gained a lot of support for that since the first noob was like amon enemy for many. However, even until now, Volt still could not find the first noob. Runner could not be found anywhere. However, his assumption that Runner did not quit the game was right. There was an ount called Big Noob on the forum. Big Noob acknowledged that he was Runner. He even posted his window status that he was the real Runner. The Big Noob had been posting ten to twenty edited videos about his failure hunting monsters. Liu Zhong opened the Official Forum once again and found a Big Noob ount. He watched one of the videos where Runner was killed by a monster. The monster was a chicken with small hands. It looked like a T-rex with a feather. The Big Noob posted the montage of him being killed by monsters without being able to do anything. Yes, other yers upload a video where they made a sick y and watched by thousands. But this Big Noob uploaded a montage where he was killed by the monsters in a funny way. Surprisingly, the video took a hit. Now it has three hundred thousand views, meaning at least fifty thousand people paid five Yuan to watch the video if the other viewers watched the video repeatedly like him. Of course, the number could be less or maybe even more than that. "But where is he now? Volt still could not find him," Liu Zhong muttered in a low voice. Volt was asking his viewers to search for Runner but they could not find Big Noob, "Where the giant chicken with hand spawned at? Fish with legs?" Liu Zhong had tried to search hunting fields with these kinds of monsters but he could not find the ce. The other yers also searched the ce where they could find those kinds of monsters but no one would be able to find the ce. "Where is he? Where is he?" The tapping noise was getting louder, "There''s a chance that Goddess Yue is in the same ce as him. I should find that ce to meet her," He was thinking hard when he noticed that Big Noob was uploading a new video. The new video was different from the beforehand video where he uploaded a funny video where he got killed. This time the title was eye-catching, which might be a clickbait title. [First Tribe sh? Ice Vulture Tribe Vs Wrath Troll Tribe!] The video was locked behind the paywall. Liu Zhong needed to pay five Yuan to watch the video, "No, let''s wait for the others to watch it. I want to see thement first," Big Noob had five thunder thousand followers on his ount. Those five hundred thousand followers were quickly being notified that Big Noob uploaded a new video. In five minutes, the view soared up to ten thousand views. That was a quick raise for sure. Then Liu Zhong paid five Yuan to open thement section. [yer A: Damn! I thought the title was clickbait but it was real! It was a real fight between Ice Vulture and Wrath Troll!] [1.2k likes] [yer B: @yer A Me too, I thought the title was clickbait but it was a real battle. I can''t wait to watch the continuation.] [713 likes] [yer A: @yer B Same! I want to watch the continuation. Please upload the continuation @Big_Noob or else I will stalk you in real life!] [3.4 likes] It was rare that the viewers did not roast the Big Noob. Usually, they would make fun of the Big Noob but not this time. It was a rare moment where people gave Big Noob positivements. Most of them were asking Big Noob to upload the continuation. This piqued Liu Zhong''s interest to watch the video. He then yed the video. The intro was the usual noob where he was being chased by a group of giant trolls. "Is that Wrath Troll? They are truly unusual for a troll," Liu Zhong muttered in a low voice. Troll normally had green skin not red, and the troll was around two meters but this one reached three meters on average. Liu Zhong observed the surroundings as he tried to find something unique about the forest. But with how fast Runner ran he could barely see anything, "He is quite fast, don''t tell me that he did the same when he was ying Universe Online? Maxing the Agility again?" Liu Zhong was about to criticize Runner until the scenery changed. The green forest was gone as a snow-coverednd unfolded on the screen. "Snowy Area Snowy Area" Liu Zhong muttered in a low voice and mmed his desk as he thought of something, "I know that ce!" Chapter 102: ZhongL Chapter 102: ZhongL There was a snowy area to the north of his city. After doing some research, he found that that was the only snowy area near the city. No other cities were close to the snowy region aside from the city where he was at. So as soon as Liu Zhong saw the snowy area in the video. He immediately guessed that the Big Noob was taking the video in that area, "No one is willing to venture into the snow area as the cold slowed down their movement by ten percent," "I will check it tomorrow" Liu Zhong sat back and continued the video. He did not have quota time to y the game anymore. He had no choice but to continue his investigation and finished watching the video. As Runner entered the snowynd a screen notification popped. Liu Zhong was shocked when he saw the notification. [The low temperature slows your movement by twenty-five percent] "This is now the Snow Hill. The Snow Hill only slows down our movement by ten percent," Liu Zhong paused the video and opened the forum. He then searched for information if there was a certain part of The Snowy Hill that slowed down the movement by twenty-five percent. No one wanted to hunt in that Snow Hill. However, there was someone who explored Snowy Hill. The yer posted the story of what he encountered in Snowy Hill. There was a discovery of one of the Ten Wonders, The Deep White. Just like the name, the gorge''s wall was covered in white snow hence it was named The Deep White. Liu Zhong skimmed over the story, but the yer never told anything about the area that slowed down the movement by twenty-five percent. There was an area with a lower temperature than the other area but it only slowed down the movement by fifteen percent. "Huh!?" Liu Zhong was confused a little bit. He checked over all the story if the explorer had not visited all the areas. However, the poster marked that all parts of Snowy Hill had been explored by him. He posted a picture of The Deep White which was pretty. The explorer also sold the map of Snowy Hill. [If you want to buy theplete and detailed map of Snowy Hill please send me a message. Price: 100 Yuan (Non-Negotiable)] That was a quite smart way to earn money, selling maps. This yer was not the only one who did this, of course. Many explorers explored the area of high-level monsters to sell the map. "Don''t tell me it''s not in Snowy Hill," Liu Zhong muttered in a low voice. He was excited that he finally found a lead; the only clue he had so far was gone. He was wrong about the snowy area. "Hah" Liu Zhong let out a sigh and continued the video. From the amateur editing, he could see that Big Noob cut the scene. After Runner entered the snowy area, he encountered the white vulture. Instead of fighting the Ice Vulture, Big Noob turned around and ran back toward the Wrath Troll''s group. "Ah, I see" Liu Zhong quickly guessed what happened next. Runner was luring the Ice Vulture toward the Wrath Troll, "That''s a smart decision. Is he really a noob?" Liu Zhong muttered in a low voice. Then the scene skipped toward the part where the Wrath Troll and the Ice Vulture shed. It was an intense sh. Even though the editing was amateur, it added a close shoot as well that made the video a lot better. Looking at the battle on his screen, Liu Zhong forgot the purpose of watching the video. He was engrossed with the battle. The video suddenly shook and Liu Zhong heard footsteps. From the sound, it was the step of a giant. He watched the video on full screen so he thought it was an earthquake, "What!? An earthquake!?" He almost ran away from his room until he realized that it was the camera video that was shaking. He mocked the editor as an amateur but the video seeded in scaring him in that part. After that, the screen turned ck. This time, he thought hisputer crashed. Sometimes hisputer would crash so he thought hisputer crashed. But then a sentence appeared on the screen. [Next Episode: Boss Vs Boss!] "What? it''s over?" Liu Zhong felt that the video was too short. He then looked at the duration. It was thirteen minutes and forty-seven seconds long. It was a normal ten minutes long video. "I finally understand the feeling of these guys," Liu Zhong recalled in thement section where they asked Big Noob to post the next episode. He too wanted to know what happened next. What The Ice Vulture Boss looked like, and what the Wrath Troll Boss looked like. "Ice Vulture and Wrath Troll!? This is a big clue!" Liu Zhong opened the forum once again and searched "Ice Vulture". If he could find where this Ice Vulture''s territory was then he could find Big Noob. Maybe he could find Goddess Yue as well. However, he could not find anything regarding Ice Vulture on the forum but the video posted by Big Noob. Then he changed the keyword to "Wrath Troll". A lot of results appeared but most of them were a talk about a normal troll instead of a Wrath Troll. That meant Big Noob was the first one to encounter Ice Vulture and Wrath Troll. Bang! Liu Zhong mmed his palm down to the table. All the leads puffed out into smoke as his guess about Snowy Hill waspletely wrong. He began tapping the desk with his index finger again. "First Noob Big Noob Runner Maniac Working Out Second Noob Both fell into the Ten Wonders and disappeared afterward" Liu Zhong paused for a moment as he thought of something crazy, "Don''t tell me there''s another area inside the Ten Wonders? But I will die if I fall into that deep gorge" Liu Zhong''s character had reached level 11 after a lot of difficulties. The reason he was low in level was that he just received his Gaming Pod a week ago. A week for level 11 was quite fast in fact. He did not want a drop level after knowing how hard it was to level up in Tribe Online. "But it''s worth a try since there''s a chance that I can meet Goddess Yue if she''s in that hidden world inside the gorge," The determination of meeting his idol was much bigger than his concern over dropping a level. "Let''s look for more information before I try that crazy idea" Liu Zhong continued his research untilte at night. Thanks to that he woke upte the next day. He woke up at twelve. If not for his mother waking him up he might sleep until the evening, "I can''t sleep again. I will test my crazy theory today," Liu Zhong made sure that he ate first so his parents could not find his addiction ying the game or else her parents would confiscate the gaming pod. At one am, Liu Zhong purchased the map from the explorer who explored Snowy Hill. After getting the map, he logged in. He did not waste his time in the city. He did not even bother to re-stock his healing potion. Liu Zhong directly headed toward The Deep White. Fortunately, the map was so detailed as it included a path to reach The Deep White without encountering the monsters. After a half an hour journey, Liu Zhong found the famous The Deep White. He realized that there were a few couples around The Deep White. Most of them were taking pictures and enjoyed the amazing view. The picture posted by the explorer was amazing but looking at The Deep White directly was much more amazing than he thought. The explorer had measured that The Deep White was around four hundred meters long. Curious about what The Deep White looked like, Liu Zhong approached the famous gorge. The explorer warned him not to get too near to the gorge but he did not care about that until he reached the edge of The Deep White. The freezing wind hit his face and he felt that his face was freezing as well. Liu Zhong immediately got away from The Deep White and held his cheeks. It was freezing cold, much colder than his hand that had been exposed to the cold snow for half an hour. "I might die before I can reach the bottom of this gorge," He muttered in a low voice, "Let''s wait for these people to leave," Liu Zhong did not want the other yers to see him jumping into the gorge. He was afraid that he would bebeled the third noob that jumped into the gorge. That was thest thing he wanted. Since Snowy Hill was too cold, people soon left The Deep White, "This is my chance," Liu Zhong looked for an empty area and came closer to the gorge. He took a deep breath as he was seven meters away from the gorge, "I should close my eyes too," He closed his eyes and ran into the gorge, "For Goddess Yue!" *** *** "That''s how I reach here," Liu Zhong or he introduced himself as ZhongL. ZhongL was his in-game name. He told everyone in the hidden vige how he reached this ce. His intention was to show off that he was smart enough to find this ce. "You are quite smart," Brother Jiang praised the young man. Liu Zhong''s smile got wider as he heard the praise. "Our official guide is not here so I will be your guide instead, ZhongL," Ming stood up and tried to be a good senior. Liu Zhong raised his hand, "Before that, can I take a picture with you, Go- Yue?" Chapter 103: Exalted Sentinel Chapter 103: Exalted Sentinel After taking the picture together with his idol, Liu Zhong followed Ming. His senior was kind enough to exin anything to him. About the hidden ss and also the master inside of houses. "We are not sure about these three sses," Ming pointed at the house in the line of the production ss''s houses. The hammer symbol, and the two houses'' with a vial symbol with a different mark. "I know about this one," Liu Zhong pointed at the house with a hammer sign, "This house should be a production ss, Builder," As someone who had done a lot of research about Tribe Online, he had investigated all avable sses within Tribe Online. Builder was a ss in this game. However, who would pick aborer ss? It was the weird part of the Sky as they ssified a builder as a ss. "I will not pick this one," Liu Zhong shook his head. Ming nodded his head, understandably. From how young ZhongL was, Ming knew that the young man was ying the game for fun, not the typical person who picked the game as their profession like him. The young man would choose the ss he deemed to be fun to y with. Liu Zhong then looked at the other two houses. The two remaining production sses should be rted to alchemy, but he was not sure either. "Can you enter the house and check the ss?" He then turned toward his senior and asked. "We can''t." Ming shook his head and exined the situation. "If you have chosen a ss, then you can''t enter the other houses. Master of the house does not allow someone aside from their disciple to enter the house. You have to choose the ss carefully, Zhong." "We can''t change the ss if we don''t want the ss?" ZhongL found it weird why these people did not try to find out each ss in the house. That was valuable information. "I haven''t told you?" Ming looked at the young man. "First, we don''t know what will happen to the ss if you try to change your ss. There''s a possibility where the Master of the House will not choose another disciple, so we will not take the risk. We are talking about the Epic ss and Legendary ss, Zhong. Not just a rare ss, so we will not take the risk. The six people in the vige agreed that you are not allowed to change the ss once you have chosen it," "That makes sense." Liu Zhong epted their reasoning and nodded his head. If the Master of the house was not willing to choose another disciple, then thest person to arrive in the hidden vige would not stay. If theycked a yer, then they could not form a tribe. The requirement of establishing a tribe, one of them, was ten yers minimum. "Then I will choose the Knight ss." Liu Zhong took thestbat ss in the hidden vige. The reason he inquired about the three production sses was to find out which ss to be more useful for his Goddess. In the end, he decided to take the Knight ss, the tank of the party. He would tank the monster for Goddess Yue. ZhongL nodded his head. "Then you can enter the house. Good luck," Ming tapped ZhongL''s shoulder two times as a smile stered on his face. Liu Zhong was about to head to the house but he stopped midway, "Wait, Brother Ming" Liu Zhong furrowed his brow and observed Ming''s face, "You look familiar" Now Liu Zhong realized that Brother Ming''s face looked familiar. He had seen that face, but he forgot where he saw Ming. The frown deepened, ''Is he a famous pro yer?'' When the word famous rang in his head, he remembered, "The Maniac Working out and also the Second Noob!" Liu Zhong immediately covered his mouth with his right hand. It shocked him to meet the second noob instead of the first noob. ZhongL truly did not expect to meet the Maniac Working Out here. Ming''s smile stiffened when someone recognized him as a Second Noob. ZhongL realized he had offended his kind senior by saying that aloud, but it was a spontaneous yell. He was about to apologize for that remark, then he remembered something else. The absent yer, the sixth yer of the hidden vige that was not present, "Don''t tell me the guide you are talking about is The First Runner?" "You will know soon. Just go inside already," Ming waved his hand at ZhongL, "We will brief you about something after you get the ss." Liu Zhong nodded his head understandingly and turned around. He entered the ck entrance. The kind senior that he just offended told him about the statue. The statue was a real NPC. He skimmed the surroundings. The wooden wall was decorated with shields and weapons. Yes, he could see various kinds of weapons; sword, spear, battle-ax, halberd,nce, and more. The Equipment did not interest Liu Zhong as he headed toward the statue directly. When he was five steps away from the statue, he heard an old man''s voice, "Finally I got my disciple." The voice was gentle and well-spoken. Liu Zhong halted his steps and stared at the statue of an old man who was wearing a piece of linen cloth. The statue cracked, and the old man came alive just like his senior told him. "Hello, Sir! My name is ZhongL, but you can call me Zhong. And yes, I want to be your disciple and be a powerful knight!" Liu Zhong said that in a determination. Despite his young''s face, it was masked with the solemnity of someone with great determination. "I see," The old man nodded his head and stroked his white beard, "then you have to answer my question. Don''t worry, this is just a basic question." The old man smiled when he noticed that the young man flinched slightly when he mentioned the question. Of course, Liu Zhong was not expecting to receive a question as a test. Normally, the NPC would tell him to do something to inherit the ss. A chain quest before he could get the ss, but it seems that was not the case. "This disciple will answer Master''s question with honesty and integrity," Liu Zhong bowed his head shamelessly as if the old man already epted him to be a disciple. "Very good," The old man did not mind that as he proceeded with the question, "Can you tell me why you want to be a knight?" That was a straightforward question for sure. He could answer it with his noble answer, and he might get the ss easily. Liu Zhong was about to answer the question. He opened his mouth, but no word came out of his mouth. Liu Zhong''s gaze observed the old man''s gentle expression, and for a reason, he wanted to answer the question truthfully. The reason he wanted to be a knight. "I know the question sounds simple, but it''s quite hard, you know," the old man smiled kindly at Liu Zhong, "take your time." "I want to protect someone. That someone is so precious to me, and I want to protect her from the danger, from anyone, anything that may hurt. That''s the reason I want to be a knight. I want to be part of her life as well!" Those words flowed from his mouth. That was the truth. Her song helped him to pass a hard time in his life. Her movie entertained him to pass his tough past at his lowest point. She was like a real Goddess to him. Of course, he knew he could not be her dream man. He was aware of the gap between them. Not just the status but the age as well, so he just wanted to be useful for her and be a part of her journey in her life. Liu Zhong just wanted his idol to remember him. That was what he wanted. "I see," The old man nodded his head, "I will break my promise about one question, but can I ask you one more question?" "Ask away, Master," Liu Zhong nodded his head. "What if the person you want to protect no longer needs your protection? You know, at some point, that person will have someone that will protect her. If that time arrives, what will you do, Zhong?" That was a deep question for sure. There was a long pause as Liu Zhong was thinking about the answer. However, no matter how hard he thought about it, he could note up with an answer. Yes, he never thought that far. "I don''t know." In the end, he came up with ame answer, "But I will think about the future in the future as well. For now, my goal is to be useful to her. I want to fight alongside her. That''s what I want for now!" "Hehe," The old manughed. From the old man''s reaction, Liu Zhong thought that the old man was satisfied with his answer. He was relieved, not just because the old man was satisfied with the answer, but because he brought out what was in his heart. [Ramsey the Exalted Sentinel has offered his legacy! ept? Decline?] [The Unknown Exalted Sentinel Legacy] ss: Exalted Sentinel Potential: Epic Potential There was no hesitation as Liu Zhong immediately epted the legacy with a big smile on his face. *** *** Meanwhile, in the far north of the hidden vige, Shen was watching Lyra make the same thing with the same ingredients. The difference was that she doubled the ingredients now. "Done!" The Blizzard Tiger announced and pushed the six yellow Ice Petals toward Shen, "This is your reward for helping me, Shen," Chapter 104: Reward Chapter 104: Reward "That''s my reward?" Shen looked at the yellowy-blue Ice Petal, then he looked at the Blizzard Tiger. He noticed that Lyra''s wound was closing as the bleeding stopped as well. There was no need to ask Lyra about the use of the Ice Petal. It was the same as a healing potion, but more potent? Then he looked at his missing hand. "Can the potion regenerate my arm back?" He felt no pain but just a cold. Yes, the wound was freezing because of Lyra''s freezing breath. The Blizzard Tiger shook her head and smiled. "No. While it can heal my wound, it has a different effect on you. Eat it, all of them!" Shen walked over and observed the Ice Petal. The Ice Petal was releasing the cold air. He was about to pick one of the Ice Petals, but his hand stopped midway as Lyra stopped him. "Before you consume it, I want you to promise me one thing." Shen looked toward Lyra and nodded his head. "I want you to keep this secret about the Ice Petal and its ingredients. Actually, thetter part is unnecessary because only the Blizzard Tiger can concoct this concoction, but I still want you to promise me to not tell anyone, anyone!" Lyra emphasized that seriously, he could tell that by her tone. "I promise you," Shen nodded his head. It seemed the concoction was the secret of the Blizzard Tiger Tribe. "But do you trust me? Don''t you need something like a contract or magical vow just in case that I will spread your secret?" "If I can''t trust someone who saves my life, then no one can be trusted in this world." Lyra shook her head. She believed that as long as he promised her he would not reveal the secret to anyone, then he would tell no one. "Thank you for trusting me," Shen smiled and nodded. "I promise I will tell no one about your secret.." "I trust you, Shen." Lyra nodded her head. The man tried to save it by retrieving the Ice Lotus in Frozen Hill. He also saved her children from the Ice Boa by sacrificing his arm. All of his actions were enough to buy her trust, even though they recently just met. "Eat it now. I will keep a guard for you." Shen did not understand thest part. Why did she need to keep a guard? That was a confusing part to Shen, but he did not ask. Just like how Lyra trusted him, he also trusted her by not questioned the effect of the Ice Petal. He tried to grab all six Ice Petals, but Lyra told him to eat one by one, "Eat them one by one." Shen followed the instruction. He picked the first Ice Petal and put it into his mouth. To his surprise, the Ice Petal melted right away on his tongue. His tongue was freezing, and he could not feel it. He could not feel his tongue. That was just the start as the cold sensation came down to his throat. The feeling was so real that he felt like freezing from inside. The feeling left him in shock, but he snapped out of his trance when he heard Lyra''s voice, "Don''t stop or the gain will be minimum! Get the second one!" Even though he felt his throat was freezing, Shen still followed the instruction. At the worst was dying and dropped a level. He took the second Ice Petal and put it into his mouth. The same as the first one, the Ice Petal instantly melted inside his mouth. The cold sensation was getting stronger and spreading out down to his chest this time. However, under the Blizzard Tiger''s guidance, he took the third Ice Petal. After the third, he took the fourth, and so on. Soon he consumed all the Ice Petals, and he felt like his flesh, bone, and organs were freezing. It was so cold. He then noticed that his skin turned blue as well. Maybe because his body was freezing, his lips turned stiff. He felt he was shivering, but his body stiffened so much that he could not even move his legs and hands. Shen rooted on the spot, and then he lost his bnce. As he was about to touch the ground, Lyra caught him. "Endure it, Shen. You can do this," she put him next to her and let him lean against her body. The three kittens surrounded Shen as they looked concerned over their friend. Shen was wide awake, but he could feel nothing. He felt like only his awareness of staying while his body was gone. It did not hurt him, but it gave him a weird feeling for sure. Time quickly passed. He did not know how long he was in this state. He could not even open his window status. The long waiting was over as warmth returned to his body. It started with his finger. He could move his finger slightly at first. A few minutester, he then could move his two hands again. He moved his hands around so he was sweating and heating his body a little. Slowly but surely, Shen regained control over his body again. There was no way Lyra would kill him. Thirty minutester, he gained full control over his body. He immediately stood up and moved around. He punched forward, jumped over, and squatted down and up. "Huh!?" Shen felt something weird with his body. It was as if his body was getting lighter than usual. He was about to try running until he heard a notification and a screen popped out before his eyes. [Congrattions! You have awakened the Frost Elemental Force!] [You have unlocked a new stat, Intelligence!] [You have unlocked Mana!] [You have learned a new skill, [Frost Assault (Passive)]!] [You have learned a new skill, [Frost Bolt]!] [You have learned a skill, [Frozen Spear]!] Shen rooted on the spot as he looked at the screen in front of him. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. However, his mind was processing a lot of things. ''Elemental Force, Intelligence stat, and Mana,'' The three things that are rted to magic, and he got it. "Shit! Magic exists, and Sky is lying!" Shen was not happy with the magic discovery. If it was other people, they would be happy to discover the magic. However, that was not the case for Shen. He hated magic as the magic was his bane in his previous game. In Universe Online, he was fast enough that almost no one could catch him until they used magic. The reason he could not achieve his dream to be the fastest in the game was because of the magic. There were a lot of things that could be done with magic. They could use magic to slow him down. They could use magic to trap him, and they could use magic to chase him. Magic was the ridiculous thing that stopped him from being the fastest. So the fact that magic existed in Tribe Online was bad news for Shen. Without a doubt, magic would be his biggest obstacle to achieve his goal. "What''s wrong? Why do you look not happy? Humans are dying to get the things you just eat, but you look unhappy." Lyra was not expecting this kind of reaction from Shen. She thought the human would be happy with the reward she gave him. She seemed wrong about that. "Hah" Shen let out a sigh and sat in front of the Blizzard Tiger, "Do you want to hear my story now?" That piqued the Blizzard Tiger''s interest. She had told him about her, and it was a lie if she did not want to know more about her new friend. "If you don''t mind telling the story to me, then I am willing to hear your story." Shen told the Blizzard Tiger. He regarded the beast as his friend, so he told her about his mother''sst wish, about being the fastest runner in the world. He told everything, including the injury, even what happened in Universe Online. How magic ruined his dream. That was weird to tell Lyra about a real-life story, but he told her anyway. She was not just a mere NPC to him, but also a friend. He even told her he lost his mom at a young age, very young for a human''s age. As Lyra listened to the story, she then realized the reason Shen helped her was to help her three children. Then she truly realized Shen had been telling her the truth since their first meeting. He did not want the three kids to live without their mother. Lyra realized a kind human such as Shen existed. Greedy, evil, and crafty; that was what she knew about humans all this time. But Shen was an eye-opener to her that not all humans were evil, ''I choose the right person to trust,'' "I see, but you will get stronger with Frost Elemental Force. You can still be the fastest in the world by interrupting your opponent with the Frost Elemental Force. It''s still a big win for you." Lyra realized she was giving something he hated. "You are right" Shen did not finish his words as he felt a vibration on the ground. He looked toward the entrance and saw a creature blocking the entrance. The Blizzard Tiger also looked up. The Ice Boa wasing after them and managed to find them. The Ice Boa looked unhappy as it hissed at him furiously. The snake realized that the Blizzard Tiger was the one who stole the Frost Lotus from its den, and it now came to get it back. Chapter 105: The Quest Completed Chapter 105: The Quest Completed "Hoho, you came?" The Blizzard Tiger let out a chuckle. Shen was surprised when he heard the easy-going chuckle of Lyra. He then checked her wound and realized that she was fully recovered. There was not even a trace of blood on her fur. The Ice Boa kept hissing at them as its eyes darted around. It seemed it was looking at its nine petals flowers that ended in his and Lyra''s stomach. "I have one more reward for you to bring back, Shen," Lyra turned her head toward him. "Please protect my children for ten- no, five minutes should be enough. Protect my children inside the cave. I will kill the snake that dared to eat my friend''s arm." After saying that, Lyra charged toward the Ice Boa. At this time, Shen could do nothing. He was too weak to do something. The only thing he could do was to protect the three kittens. He then noticed that the three kittens were about to follow their mother to the outside of the cave. Shen was panicking a little and immediately caught the three kittens. The three kittens were trying to break free, but he sped them tightly. "We can''t burden your mother while she fights the Ice Boa. We have to trust and wait for her, understand?" He scolded the three kittens. He was not expecting the three kittens to understand him. However, to his surprise, the three kittens stopped their attempt to break free from him. Then he heard an unexpected voice. He heard a boy''s voice in his head, "But what if Mother needs our help?" Shen looked at the three kittens in his embrace in shock. His eyes opened wide and observed the three kittens. "Who''s speaking with me?" Then a kitten in the middle raised its front paw. "It''s me. Can we at least watch the fight from afar, Shen? If Mother needs our help, we can help her immediately." The boy''s worried voice rang in his head once again. "Before there was magic, and now I can hear the beast''s voice?" While he grumbled, Shen brought the three kittens to the entrance of the cave. As he was getting closer to the entrance of the cave, Shen felt cold air invading the cave from outside. When he reached the mouth cave, he stood there in a daze. He blinked his eyes a few times, then he rubbed his eyes as well, "Am I seeing wrong?" The reason he said that was because the peripheral cave had changed. It was no longer a green forest, but snowynd. There was a strong blizzard as well outside the cave. Everything was white now,pletely different from half an hour ago. "You are not seeing wrong, Shen. It''s Mother''s power!" The boy''s excited voice rang in his head. Of course, he knew that this was Lyra''s doing but just did not expect that her power was this strong. He looked around to find Lyra and The Ice Boa. He did not see them outside the cave. Lyra might lure the Ice Boa away from the cave so the impact of the battle would not affect them. Shen tried to approach the blizzard under the kitten''s persuasion. He was about to step into the blizzard until an enormous shadow hovered above him. He took two steps back subconsciously and looked up. Shen was relieved and shocked at the same time. He was relieved because the enormous shadow was Lyra. He was shocked because Lyra brought the Ice Boa in her mouth. The Ice Boa was no longer moving. It was dead, no longer breathing. "What are you doing?" Lyra asked Shen. "Thank god you are safe," Shen released the three kittens and let them run toward their mother. He then pointed at the kitten, who admitted speaking to him in his mind, "Your boy asked me to watch the fight so he could see you fight. If the Ice Boa corners you, we can help. I think that''s a good idea since you have just recovered, so here we are." "My boy?" Lyra then looked at a specific kitten that was pointed by Shen before she looked back at Shen. "How do you know Wait, she spoke to you?" "Yes." Shen nodded his head, "He spoke to my head directly. From the voice, I could tell that he is a boy," Lyra nodded her head, "I see." After that brief exchange, the four returned to the cave. Lyra said nothing about her son that could talk to Shen after that. She dragged the Ice Boa. The Ice Boa was around fifteen to twenty meters. The three kittens tried to eat the Ice Boa, but their mother did not allow the three gluttons to eat the Ice Boa, "Nope, you can''t eat that. That''s for Shen!" "It''s okay. You don''t have to give this snake to me. This Ice Boa might be more useful to you guys than to me," Shen refused to take the Ice Boa. He then observed Lyra, from head to tail, "Anyway, are you okay?" The Ice Boa was a Boss ss monster. It was certainly very strong even though it was not capable of speaking. Lyra had just recovered, so he just wanted to make sure that Lyra was not injured after the fight. "I am fine, Shen. If not for my husband ambushing me, he could not injure me either. You don''t have to worry about me and please take the Ice Boa with you. I have promised to give the Ice Boa to you. Take it!" Shen looked at the three kittens. The three kittens were looking at the Ice Boa to the point of drooling. He could not bear to take all of it with him. "What about if we split it? No, I want to give half of it to them." He pointed at the three kittens. He changed his wording, giving half of the Ice Boa to the three kittens, so Lyra could not refuse it. That meant he received her gift, but he wanted to give half of the gift to her children. "It seems I am not wrong about humans, Shen. You are crafty as well." Lyra smiled as she said that. After saying that, she split the Ice Boa. "We will take the tail part, and you take the head part." "Agreed." Shen took the head part and stored it in his inventory. He himself did not know what to do with the Ice Boa remnant, ''I will give it to ZhenZhen. She said she loved to cook exotic ingredients. Maybe Brother Jiang can find a part that can be used for smithing as well. Everything went well. Lyra recovered from her injuries, and his quest was over. Of course, even though he hated the magic, he could not deny that the reward was huge. The Frost Elemental Force, though he did not yet know how to apply that to the battle. He needed to do a few experiments first for that since Tribe Online was uniquepared to the previous game. His experience with magic in the previous game might be useless in Tribe Online. "I think it''s time for us to go our separate ways," Shen concluded his ident journey. For some reason, he was thankful that the King of Guardian Beast chased him to this ce, or else he could not meet with Lyra and her children. This was an amazing journey, even though he lost one of his hands. "Wait, Shen," Lyra called him out, "From your story, you reach this ce because the King of Guardian Fish chased you. Can you return on your own to your vige? I am sorry to say this, but you are quite weak to venture this deep into Vales." "What do you mean? I just need to follow the path where the King of Guardian Fish chased me. I did not encounter any monster on my way here, but that King of Guardian Fish. I think I cane back safely." Shen nodded his head with confidence, but Lyra shook her head. "No, the reason you did not encounter other monsters was because of the King of the Guardian Fish. The monsters are scared of that fish or else you will encounter not just one but many dangerous monsters," Lyra exined. "What?" Shen was surprised to hear that. However, Lyra''s exnation made sense. The reason he did not encounter any monster was because of the King of Guardian Fish. Normal monsters were scared of the Boss Level monster, and the other Boss Level monster would not confront the King of the Guardian Fish unless provoked. "Don''t worry, Shen. I will deliver you back to your vige." Lyra assured him with a smile, "I can do this much after all you have done to me." "But what about your vige? What if your husband takes control of your vige while you are not there? You need to return to your vige as soon as possible." Shen felt bad if Lyra dyed her matter for escorting him. Both were concerned about each other. "It''s okay, Shen. He could never take control of my vige easily. A few hours dy will change nothing. Let me escort you back after those kids finish their meal." Lyra waved her front paw as if her matter was not urgent at all. At this point, Shen did not refuse her offer anymore. There was no need to waste their time arguing about this. After the three kittens finished their meals, Shen and the three kittens rode Lyra. With Lyra''s speed, Shen arrived at the vige in fifteen minutes, or maybe even less than that. Ming, Dale, ZhongL, and Yue were looking at Shen in awe. They were doing their running training and saw the massive Blizzard Tiger. They stopped at what they were doing and looked at the tiger. Chapter 106: One-Armed Noob Chapter 106: One-Armed Noob Lyra was kind to Shen, but not to the others. After she dropped him at the entrance of the vige, she nodded at him and left immediately. The Blizzard Tiger did not even spare a nce at his friends. Shen waved his hand at the four tigers. The three kittens on Lyra''s back returned his wave with their immature roar while trying to copy his movement. Soon Lyra vanished from his line of sight. "Runner, what was that?" The first one to snap out of his trance was Ming. The guy rushed toward him and held his shoulder. He shook his body, demanding an answer from Shen. "What are you doing, Ming!?" However, there was an angry voice calling Ming out. That voice belonged to Yue. She rushed over and shoved Ming away from Shen. "Can you see this?" She pointed at Shen''s missing arm. Only then the others realized that Shen only had one arm. Only then Ming realized his hand was cold. That cold was from Shen''s left shoulder, which was frozen. Ming''s eyes widened in shock after he realized his friend lost his left arm. He did not angry that Yue shoved him away. He immediately stood up and approached Shen, "What happened to you, Shen?" Ming was panicking and calling his friend by his real name. Dale, aka Sneaky Banana, also came over and looked at Shen''s missing arm. The curious ZhongL also came over to see. "I lost my arm, of course," Shen shrugged his shoulder as if it was nothing important. "Do you know how to regenerate my arm back?" "Don''t you feel any pain?" Yue asked with a concerned tone. She fairly knew about the pain tolerance of this time. Even though the yers could lower the pain tolerance, it still gave a surreal sensation of pain. Just imagine the pain of losing an arm. It could be painful, even with low pain tolerance. "I am fine. Lyra''s freezing breath removed the pain, though it''s a bit cold." Shen shook his head, "So what about my arm? Do you know any way to regenerate it back?" Yue was the only one who knew about most of the game mechanics in Tribe Online so, he asked her. "I don''t know." Yue shook her head. This was a rare case. If someone lost their arm, usually they would end up dead. If they died, then they would spawn with aplete arm. "Maybe a potion could regenerate your arm, or maybe a skill No, Magic does not exist in this game. There will be no skill that can regenerate your arm. A potion is the only choice." "Who says magic does not exist?" Shen rolled his eyes and extended his right hand forward to the tree that was seven meters away from him. He then cast his newly gained skill, [Frost Spear]. A spear made of ice formed above his right hand, and it shot toward the tree. The spear pierced the tree and froze the tree. He had tried all the skills he gained from the Frost Elemental Force, but [Frost Assault (Passive)]. It was a passive skill so he could not try unless he fought monsters. Once again, Yue, Ming, Dale, and Liu Zhong were shocked to see this. Without a doubt, it was magic, but how? Sky announced that there would be no magic in the game. The four then looked at him with their eyes opened wide. Shen grinned at them. "Let''s get inside. I will tell you guys about my short adventure in Vales." ZhenZhen and WealthyGuy were also shocked when they saw Shen''s condition. However, they were quite relieved when they knew Shen did not feel any pain from it. Just like that, seven members of the hidden vige gathered at one table and listened to Shen''s story. *** *** Sky China Branch Headquarter, Director Office "Bahahahaha" Director Guan Mu Shen let out a burst ofughter as he mmed his desk. It was as if he found something funny and could not stopughing. Of course, it was funny. The yers kept calling him the Big Noob, The First Noob, and so on. People mocked him from time to time, but he was the first one to get the Legendary ss. People bullied him for ying the game without following the guide and meta. However, he was the first one to find about Magic in Tribe Online. Did Magic not exist in Tribe Online? No, Magic existed in the game. A fantasy game without magic was boring. However, Sky decided to hide magic from the yers, and let the yers discovered magic by themselves. There was a reason for this. The reason was so the game could be a newbie-friendly game. Sky wanted the people that yed the VR Game for the first to adapt to the game first before introducing the magic. So the old yers and the new yers had the same startter on. It was an attempt, so the new yer did not quit the game if an old yer bullied them with magic. Then his office door was opened as his assistant entered his room. "Sir! This is an emergency. Someone discovered Magic!" Guan Mu Shen tapped his forehead as he realized something. It was Olympus'' calction about how long until the yers discovered magic. Olympus predicted that the first yer would find about magic in ten months and sixteen days. It was a specific prediction from the most advanced Super Computer. If Olympus failed with the prediction, Sky would be the center of attention of the world. The media could use this to gain attraction for them by saying bad things about Olympus. The shareholders would have their asses on fire because Sky''s value could drop. "There''s no need to panic," Guan Mu Sheng stood up and smiled at his assistant, "We will hold another press conference to congratte Runner to find magic. We can use this to promote Tribe Online to those Magician fanatics." *** *** Shen had recounted everything he experienced to everyone, about the Blizzard Tiger and the Ice Boa. The video he posted on the forum as well, and how he killed the King of the Guardian Fish. "Shen, you are missing one detail," Ming dagger-stared at his friend, "What about that magic? You haven''t told us how you get the magic!" He demanded Shen tell him how he got the magic. That was the most important information that was not included in the story. "I am sorry, Ming. But I can''t tell you how I get the magic. I have made a promise that I will tell no one about the magic, no one." Shen shook his head. It was not just because of a promise with Lyra. He had another reason to hide how he awakened the Frost Elemental Force. In order to make the Ice Petal concoction, Lyra lost a few years of her life force. If he told them about this, or if other people knew about this. They would hunt Lyra and her tribesmen to make that Ice Petal Concoction. He would tell no one, even if these people were his friends. "The only thing I can tell you is, explore Vales. You might get the answer if you adventure deep into Vales, but I can''t tell you guys about how I acquired magic. I am sorry." Shen bowed his head slightly. "You don''t have to be sorry, Shen. You don''t have the obligation to tell us how you acquire magic. That''s your luck and effort. Don''t be sorry!" ZhenZhen was the first one to respond. She emphasized thest part about he did not have to be sorry. "ZhenZhen is right. You don''t have to tell us. You don''t have to share everything with us. That''s yours, not us," WealthyGuy agreed to ZhenZhen. In the first ce, they did not have the right to demand something from Shen. They were friends in-game, not Shen''s superior. Ming also dropped the issue. He felt bad for demanding that, "I am sorry, Shen." "It''s fine, Ming." Shen shook his head and looked at the new face. "So who is this? We have a new face here?" he then looked at Liu Zhong. "You are Runner, right?" Liu Zhong did not start with an introduction, but a question. He recognized Shen''s face immediately that he was Runner. "That''s my in-game name," Shen nodded his head. Liu Zhong opened his mouth. He was about to say something nasty, but he held back. It was rude to call Shen with First Noob or Big Noob in front of the others. "I am ZhongL, and yes, I am the new member. Nice to meet you," Liu Zhong started with a polite introduction. They would y together from now on, so they should get along instead. "Nice to meet you." Shen knew what ZhongL wanted to say, but he still smiled. "Have you chosen your ss yet?" He did not mind that the others called him Big Noob. He had embraced the title, and it became his brand now. "Yes, my ss is Exalted Sentinel." Liu Zhong pointed at the knight house. "Save the chatter." Yue suddenly interrupted them. "We need to find a way to fix your arm, Shen." "That''s indeed a problem, Shen. We should fix your arm, or else it will be hard for you." ZhenZhen looked at the missing arm with a concern as well, "Or you can suicide, Shen? If you die, you will spawn with aplete arm?" "Nope, Never! I just reached level 22. I will rather lose an arm than drop a level." It took him a lot of effort to level up. He would not kill himself to get his left arm back. On top of that, he could still fight normally, even without his left arm. Chapter 107: Pro Championship Chapter 107: Pro Championship When Sky China Branch announced they would open the second press conference, the media flocked into the Sky Headquarters. Director Guan Mu Shen told the media that a yer had discovered magic, and he told the media as well that Olympus'' prediction slipped. He exined to the media that Olympus was notpletely wrong about the prediction. Olympus predicted that there was only less than one percent chance a yer discovered magic in two months and eight days. The media asked the yer''s in-game name who discovered magic, but as always, Sky kept their silence regarding that. "We will not disclose the yer''s identity unless he or she agrees to. In this case, we never asked the yer and never intended to disclose the yer''s identity." That was Guan Mu Sheng''s answer when the media asked about the yer''s identity. Of course, the magic discovery was not the only bomb in the press conference. Sky was using this chance to announce the most important thing in the E-sport''s scene. "We have good news for the pro yer. Sky will hold the first PVP Tournament, Pro Championship, and Rookie Championship! We will hold an open qualifier in a separate server from the main server, and the y-off round will be held at Shanghai International Dome!" That was indeed big news, especially to pro yers who were living from the game. While most of the pro yers got a sry from their contract with the organization, a bonus prize from a tournament was big for them. The inspired yer also needed such an event to get noticed by the E-Sport team. Thanks to the Press Conference, the Official Forum became the most visited site during this time. First, many people were looking for the first yer that discovered the magic. They hoped the yer would share the way to learn magic. Second, yers were looking for the tournament rules as well. Sky posted the rules and policies of the tournament on the forum. Almost all yers registered for the tournament after Sky announced the total prize for the tournament. The prize was 60 million Yuan for China Region, 50 million for the Pro Championship, and 10 million for the Rookie Championship. The two categories were ssified based on level. The Rookie Championship''s level cap was level 30. yers with level 31 and above could not take part in the Rookie Championship. Those yers could only take part in the Pro Championship. *** *** "We have to level up if we want to take part in the Rookie Championship!" Ming was one of the most excited in the group when he heard about the tournament. It was understandable as he had to show the result to his parents that he could live by ying the game. Winning the tournament was a way to win his parents'' approval. "You are level 24 already, it''s us who need to raise our level, or else it''s hard for us to reach the y-off," Dale rolled his eyes at his friend. He, Yue, and Liu Zhong were only training all this time. Even though they received a bonus stat from training, it was not enough if they wanted to reach the y-off. "I think I will pass the first tournament. I still need training, and I will not raise my level for now." Liu Zhong told everyone that he would take part in the Rookie Championship despite the tempting prize. He would not ruin his character by raising his level which made training less effective. "What about you, Yue?" Ming then asked their Goddess. However, thetter was in a daze. She did not listen to them and what they were talking about. "Hoi! What are you thinking about, Yue?" ZhenZhen shook the girl''s hand, only then she snapped out of her daze, "What? Yes, what?" ZhenZhen shook her head. "They are talking about the tournament. Will you take part in the Rookie Championship?" "Ah, the tournament. I don''t know yet, I will think about it," she smiled at everyone. Her smile was an effective weapon as they returned her smile with a smile as well. At this time, Shen logged in and came out of his house. He waved his hand at everyone and greeted them with a smile, "Good morning, everyone!" Of course, his left arm was still missing. There was nothing they could do unless getting a potion from the city. However, they were nowhere near an establishment or a city. Shen had tried to get into the respawn spot, but that did not regenerate his missing arm. "What about you, Shen? Will you take part in the tournament?" Ming immediately asked. Shen sat next to Dale and shook his head. "I don''t know, but I think it will just waste my time if I take part in the tournament with a missing arm. I would rather hunt the monsters instead." When he brought up his missing arm, everyone looked worried as they looked at his missing arm. Shen quickly noticed that. "Don''t feel bad. This is not your fault. However, I will try to participate. I have a big advantage that everyone does not have, my Frost Elemental Frost." Shen grinned at them, showing his white teeth. When he brought up about magic, Ming''s face soured. That was indeed a big advantage for Shen. No, it could not be considered as a big advantage, but a cheat instead, as he was the only one who could use magic in the tournament. "Why don''t you take part in the Pro Championship instead, Shen? I think you might win even against the pros with your cheat." Dale proposed a good idea. The first ce''s prize for the Pro Championship was 20 million Yuan, five more timespared to Rookie Championships'' first ce''s prize, which was only 4 million Yuan. "That''s a good idea, actually." ZhenZhen agreed with Dale''s idea. She had seen the magic. Shen had a chance to win first ce with his magic. "Guys, don''t forget that I have a handicap. On top of that, I can only use my magic one time with my current mana. I don''t think that''s a good idea." Shen shook his head. He was mechanically noobpared to the pro. He was not going to embarrass himself by joining The Pro Championship. "I think you should just die and get your arm back. It''s 20 million, Shen, not 2 thousand Yuan! I think it''s worth it!" Ming encouraged Shen. Of course, there was a selfish reason he encouraged Shen to join the Pro Championship. So they would not meet at the Rookie Championship. "I will think about itter." Shen waved his hand. "I need to reach at least level 30 if I want to join the tournament." He then looked at ZhenZhen. "Do you have any Wait, I still have some leftovers from yesterday." Shen then remembered that he still had a lot of roasted fish. He took out the roasted fish and filled his hunger. Even though he said that deep inside, Shen was contemting joining the Pro Championship. 20 million was too big for him to miss that. After finishing his meal, everyone was starting their morning routine, the training. ZhenZhen was the second person to stop the training. Her master said that it was enough for her. Ming decided to hunt the monster by himself, leaving Shen, ZhenZhen, and Brother Jiang. "Ah, I forgot to give you guys this yesterday." They were brainstorming, thinking of a way to regenerate his arm without killing him. After hours, they got no result, and Shen decided to log off since he had been ying a lot. He forgot to give the monster''s carcasses to ZhenZhen. Shen took out Ice Vultures, six stacks of Ice Vultures, and one big Ice Boa. "A new ingredient, and might be new material as well." The first one to approach the carcasses was ZhenZhen. She immediately inspected the Ice Boa. The enormous size of the Ice Boa filled the open space in the vige. ZhenZhen inspected the part where the Ice Boa was cut. She was inspecting the texture of the meat. WealthyGuy overcame his shock and approached the Ice Boa''s body as well. He rubbed the Ice Boa''s skin. It was a weird scene as Brother Jiang closed his eyes as he felt the snake leather. This was a game. The cksmith should have the ability to appraise the material, so it was weird when Brother Jiang did it. "Huuu, I can make armor I don''t think I can without minerals," Brother Jiang shook his head dejectedly. "But I can make you guys new clothes with this. There''s a chance that the clothes will increase your armor as well." "I have more for you, Brother Jiang." Shen smiled and took out the Wrath Club. It was a big wooden club, but it was a much better weapon than everyone else''s weapon in this vige. "Can you do something about this? Maybe make a new weapon from this?" Shen wished that Brother Jiang could make a sword with the Wrath Club. Brother Jiang''s eyes widened in surprise when he inspected the Wrath Club''s information. He inspected the Wrath Club carefully, just like what he did to the Ice Boa''s skin. "I don''t know if I can make something for you with this, but I will try my best. I need to do some experiments first. Do you have more of this Wrath Club?" Brother Jiang asked Shen with hopeful eyes. The cksmith was so happy getting new material. "I have ten stacks. I will give you three stacks, and share the remaining Wrath Clubs with the others." Shen took out seven stacks of Wrath Club and gave all of them to Brother Jiang. Chapter 108: Proposal Chapter 108: Proposal Shen gave the loot to ZhenZhen and Brother Jiang. He let them do experiments with those new materials and ingredients. After WealthyGuy packed up the Wrath Club, he came to Shen. "Are you okay giving me those Wrath Clubs, Shen? Do you want me to pay for that?" Brother Jiang felt bad, as he was always the one who received things from Shen, and he never gave him something valuable. "It''s okay, you don''t have to pay me anything, Brother Jiang. If you want to pay me, I hope you can make an excellent sword for me. My current weapon sucks. I can''t use them to hunt high-level monsters as the durability decreases so fast." Shen smiled and shook his head. He never expected ZhenZhen and Brother Jiang to pay him for what he gave them. There would be only ten yers maximum in this Vales until they found a way to reach the cities and other establishments. So he felt they had to work together with no money involved. When money was involved, things could really go bad between them when one side was not satisfied. WealthyGuy nodded his head. "I will work harder so I can be useful for our settlement." Just like he said, Brother Jiang felt useless amongst the members of the vige. He contributed nothing while the others were working hard. ZhenZhen made food for them. Shen and Ming were hunting the monsters for the ingredients. Yue, Sneaky Banana, and ZhongL were new members. It was just a matter of time before they contributed to the vige. "Just work at your pace, Brother Jiang. We have the Wrath Club for now." Shen felt weird when he gave encouragement to Brother Jiang. Thetter was older than him, almost a whole ten years older. "You have contributed a lot as well. You can repair our weapon as well." Brother Jiang shook his head. "Even though a cksmith can repair the equipment, that''s not my primary job. I have to create something for you guys. Something that is good enough to hunt those high-level monsters." Shen could say nothing about it. If he tried tofort the older guy, he felt it was too fake. He just smiled in return as he took the sword and the spear from Brother Jiang''s hand. After that, ZhenZhen and Brother Jiang returned to their respective house, leaving Shen alone at the table. Shen put the weapon into his inventory and rubbed his chin. "I need a new hunting ground. I should leave the Guardian Fish for Dale and Yue so they could reach level 30." "Let''s organize my stats first." He had not allocated 10 stat points from the previous level up. He opened the window status. Name: Runner Race: Human ss: Yosu Legatee Affiliation: - Elemental Force: Frost [Elementary Stage] Level: 22 Experience: 56,548,800/95,681,250 Health Point: 460 Stamina Point: 3200/3200 Mana: 100 Hunger: 100 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 221 Agility: 290 Vitality: 46 Endurance: 320 Dexterity: 289 Intelligence: 10 Status Point: 10 Skill: Void Sword Technique: [Void Draw - Level 1], [Void Step - Level 1], [Void Critical - Level 1 (Passive)], [Void Thrust - Level 1] Elemental Force Skill: [Frost Assault (Passive)] [Ice Bolt - Level 1] [Frozen Spear - Level 1] Shen skimmed over his stats. He now had an additional stat to think about. He could not use the same allocation 3 2 2 2 1 this time. Careful consideration was needed since he had six stats now. He felt 10 Stat Points per level were too little now. "Should I reduce my Agility allocation to 2, and put no stat point on Dexterity?" Shen considered this. He got +2 Dexterity and +1 Agility each time he leveled up. By doing so, he had 2 stat points spare for Intelligence. However, he felt that Dexterity and Agility were too important for his ss to be sacrificed. From the information he found on the forum. Agility was not just for his movement, but it would increase crit damage as well. The same for Dexterity, it did not just increase his attack speed, but it increased the critical chance as well. Those two stats were very important since had a passive skill critical, [Void Critical]. "Should I sacrifice the stat point for the Vitality? As long as I run fast enough, I can''t be hit. If I can''t be hit, then a high HP is useless." Shen rubbed his chin. "But I have to make sure that I have enough HP so the monster or other yers one-hit me." From the option of all he had, Shen was inclined to sacrifice the stat point of Agility and Dexterity. He thought about it longer, and then he decided to allocate his ten stat points. He followed his thoughts and allocated zero stat points to Dexterity. Strength: +2 Agility: +2 Vitality: +2 Endurance: +2 Intelligence: +2 Dexterity: 0 After allocating his stat point, Shen checked his skills. He tested the new skill, but he had not gone through what the skills did. Now it was time to check it, so he knew the timing when he should use the skill, and when he should not use the skill. [Frost Assault (Passive): Imbuing your basic attack with Frost Aura! The Frost Aura gets stronger when your Elemental Force is in a high stage! Effect: Stiffen the enemy''s movement by 15% (1% slow for one attack thatnds on your enemy) Cooldown: No Cooldown] Shen noticed that his Elemental Force was still in the Elementary Stage. His Elemental Force would get stronger if he could grow the Elemental Force to a higher level. "That''s a lot of work. I have to do it on my own since I am the only one with Elemental Force." [Ice Bolt: Shooting an Ice Bolt to the targeted enemy. Damage: 300 Magic Damage Additional Effect: Stiffen the enemy by 10% Cost: 70 Mana Cooldown: 30 Seconds] Shen furrowed his brows at the skill. This skill might be good for PVP, but it was not effective for hunting. Especially when he only had 100 Mana. 300 Damage was nothing to a high-level monster. "But the Stiffen status is good. No, it is still not effective since I have [Frost Assault] with the same effect." [Frozen Spear: Forming a spear made of ice and shooting it at the targeted enemy! Damage: 200 Magic Damage Additional Effect: Freezing the enemy for three seconds and stiffening the enemy by 10% afterward. Cost: 90 Mana Cooldown: 45 Seconds] Frozen Spear was more op than Ice Bolt, even though the skill dealt less damage than thetter. The stun and stiffen status afterward was the best status effect, especially for PVP. After reading all the skills, now he thought he could reach the Pro Championship''s y-off. The Frost Assault and Void Step were the bestbos as well. "I need to reach level 30 and learn more skills as well. I should learn [Void Echo]." [Void Echo] wasunching multiple attacks continuously. Combining the skill with the Frost Assault, he could reach the maximum stack in a short time and defeat his enemy. The more he thought about it, the more confident he became. "It''s still three weeks until the open qualifiers. I will think about it, but the Rookie Championship is in my grasp since the pro yers have surpassed level 30." Shen was in a dilemma. "Do you n to take part in the tournament, Shen?" As he was in a daze, he heard a melodious voice enter his ears. He looked at the voice. Yue was walking toward him from the entrance. "You have finished your running?" Shen was surprised. It was too quick. Yue nodded her head and sat across from Shen. "If you want to take part in the tournament, I can help you. I can be your sparring partner if you want to take part in the Pro Championship. I have fought many pro yers, and I know a bit of their fighting style. I can assist you in that part." Shen was about to agree with the proposal. It was too good to be refused, but then he realized he could not be that selfish. If she helped with the sparring, what about her? He would hinder him, especially with her leveling pace. Yue was still level 1 after the reset. She needed to catch up, and her ss was a Legendary ss as well. "What about you? If you help me with the sparring, I will hold you back with your leveling pace. There''s no benefit for you if you help me." Shen could not agree with this proposal. He could not be selfish just because she pitied him as he lost his left arm. Yue smiled and shook her head. "We will not start sparring now, of course. We have three weeks until the qualifier. Within these two weeks, I will hunt the monster to raise my level. We will start sparring in thest week before the open qualifier. Also, don''t think that I don''t have a benefit from helping you. There''s a big benefit for me, it is to familiarize myself with the magic. That way I can adapt if I have to face a yer with magic in the future." Just like he thought, this proposal was too tempting to be refused. Yue was one of the top yers. She knew a lot of gambos mechanics. He could learn a lot from her, on top of that, she was a beauty. It was not bad spending time with beauty even though she was an unreachable beauty. He would be satisfied with just this. "Alright then, we will start our sparring training program a week before the open qualifier. I need to level up my character to level 30 as well." Shen agreed with the proposal. Chapter 109: Yosus Training Chapter 109: Yosu''s Training Shen chatted a little longer with Yue before he went back to the house. As he entered the house, he went directly to Yosu statue. It had been sometimes from thest time Yosu came alive to meet him. If there was someone who knew about magic, Yosu might be that person. He wanted to know how to advance his Elemental Force. He stood in front of the statue and muttered in a low voice. "I need your help, Master." Even though he said he needed help, he did not have hope that his Master woulde alive. "Hoho, you need my help, Lad?" It was unexpected that the old man came alive under his wish. Shen looked up and was surprised to see his Master came alive. This never happened before. Yosu quickly noticed that his disciple lost his left arm as his eyes moved to the missing arm. "You seem to have a new story than hunting that stupid fish?" The old man took the first step and stopped as he sensed something else from his disciple. There was a foreign power that resided in his disciple. "You have be a lot stronger than I thought, Lad? I am interested to listen to your story now." The old man pulled Shen with him to the bed. Both sat on the edge of the bed as the old man grinned toward Shen. "Tell me, how do you awaken the Frost Elemental Force?" Shen recounted everything that happened to him yesterday. Encountering the Blizzard Tiger, helping the Blizzard Tiger, until the Ice Boa ripped off his left arm. He told his master everything. "I see, but I miss a single detail from your story, my disciple. How did you awaken that Frost Elemental Force?" Yosu squinted his eyes. "I am sorry, Master. I promised to not tell anyone how I awakened my Elemental Force to the individual who helped me to awaken my Elemental Force." Shen shook his head. He promised to tell no one, and he held to the promise, even to Yosu. "Nevermind, I know who helps you awaken that Frost Elemental Frost." Yosu smiled even though he did not get the answer as he already had the answer the moment Shen told him he encountered Blizzard Tiger. "I have been living here longer than you thought, so I know everything about Vales." The old man winked his right eye at Shen. "All in all, that''s a good start for you, Lad." The old man then looked at the missing arm. "You don''t need to worry about your missing arm. When that old man''s sessor appears, you will have your arm back." Even though Tang Shaoyang did not know who was that old man, but he could guess it. It must be the old man with the alchemist-rted ss. There were two houses with a sign that rted to Alchemist. That old man in Yosu''s mouth must stay in one of those two houses. "Is that why you want my help, right?" Yosu smiled at Shen. However, Shen shook his head. "No, that''s not what I want to ask about, Master. There''s another matter I want to know about, and it''s about Elemental Force. I want to know more about Elemental Force, and how do I advance my Elemental Force from the elementary grade?" "Ah, that''s why you call me out." The old man nodded his head. Elemental Force was notmon knowledge even in Eternal Wind City. Most of the people in the Eternal Wind city did not know about Elemental Force. "Unfortunately, My Disciple, you have to find it out by yourself. You can''t ask anything you want to know from me. This is your path, not my path. The world is too vast for you only to follow one path, my path." Yosu shook his head as he pointed his index finger at Shen''s chest. "Furthermore, even if I tell you about Elemental Force, you can''t do anything about it because you are too weak. You can''t advance your Elemental Force, but your answer lies within Vales. Keep exploring Vales, and you will find out the answer." Yosu grinned at Shen. The old man was happier than usual. There was a reason for that, and that reason was his disciple. He was surprised to find out that his disciple awakened the Frost Elemental Frost. But then he thought about it, the Frost Elemental Frost, and his Void Sword Technique. Both werepatible, strengthening each other. Yosu was excited to see his disciple''s future. Shen got his answer, even though it was not a direct answer. The answer lied within Vales, so he needed to explore Vales to find out more about Elemental Force. There was nothing he could do if the old man did not want to tell him now. "Alright, then. You have grown a lot stronger than in ourst meeting. It''s time for the next training. Follow me." Yosu went out of the house. Shen immediately followed his Master. When they reached outside the house, ZhenZhen just finished preparing a meal for Yue. She made roasted Guardian Fish. "Lass, prepare me three roasted Guardian Fish as well. I kinda miss your cooking." Yosu made a request to ZhenZhen. Yes, sometimes the other Masters also came out of their houses to taste ZhenZhen''s cooking. Yoru was not an exception. Yosu brought him to the backyard. When they reached there, Yosu picked up a wooden sword and turned around. The old man pointed the wooden sword at him and opened his mouth. "Take your sword out. From today onwards, you will fight against me from morning until noon." Shen did not expect this to happen. He thought his Master would teach him a new training method instead of sparring. He looked around, but he could not find another wooden sword. That wooden sword was the only wooden sword in the backyard. "I can''t find another wooden sword, Master." "Who told you to use a wooden sword? Take out your actual sword!" Yosu smiled, "There''s no but or I will start the fight now." While Shen was hesitating, the old man made his move. His movement was fast, and Shen was caught off guard. The wooden sword stabbed in his belly, and he was sent backward with a single strike. Bugh! Shen''s back hit against the wooden wall as he felt a sting of pain on his belly. Then he noticed floating damage above his head. -1 "Take your sword out and fight me!" Yosu''s smile disappeared. The old man was being serious right now, and Shen took out the sword given to him by Yosu. "Let''s start the fight now." This time, Shen was prepared, but it was all the same. His eyes could see his Master''s fast movement, but his body failed to react to the attack in time. He tried to parry the wooden sword, but the wooden sword reached his body first. The sword hit the side of his belly, and he fell to the side. -1 He suffered 1 damage. Even though it was just one damage, he would die for sure if he received another 478 hits. Shen immediately stood up again. Shen could see the movement, but his reaction was alwayste to react. After getting hit eight times, he realized he could not face his Master head-on, ''Tsk, Stupid Shen. Why would you even try to face your Master head-on?" Shen changed his approach this time. Instead of trying to block the attack, Shen tried to dodge the wooden sword. He got the right idea, but his reaction time was still toote, ''What is this? Is he trying to dominate me with his high stats?" Even though he kept falling under Yosu''s strike, he stood up again and again. Shen even used his movement skill, [Void Step]. However, even with the skill, he failed to dodge the attack. That was so frustrating as Shen failed to dodge a single attack. It was starting to feel hurt all over his body. Yosu kept hitting on the different spots. On his belly, side belly, back, chest, even his forehead. That was a one-sided miserable spar. He was beaten ck and blue by his master. Time quickly passed, and the sun reached above his forehead. Shen was lying down with all four, looking at the sky. He was hit on the neck now. That was so hurt. He almost said "give up" until he heard his Master''s voice. "That''s for today. We will continue tomorrow morning. We will not stop the sparring until you cannd at least ten hits. Name: Runner Race: Human ss: Yosu Legatee Affiliation: - Elemental Force: Frost [Elementary Stage] Level: 22 Experience: 56,548,800/95,681,250 Health Point: 43 Stamina Point: 3200/3200 Mana: 100 Hunger: 100 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 221 Agility: 290 Vitality: 46 Endurance: 320 Dexterity: 289 Intelligence: 10 Status Point: 0 Skill: Void Sword Technique: [Void Draw - Level 1], [Void Step - Level 1], [Void Critical - Level 1 (Passive)], [Void Thrust - Level 1] Elemental Force Skill: [Frost Assault (Passive)] [Ice Bolt - Level 1] [Frozen Spear - Level 1] Chapter 110: Unexpected Gain Chapter 110: Unexpected Gain Shen checked his HP bar and saw that he only had 46 HP left. He was dying and if the sparring continued, he would die for sure. His Master showed no mercy nor he slowed down even though he could not even dodge the attack even once. His Master wrecked him. Shen stabilized his breathing, and he also felt sore all over his body. ''What''s that training for? It does not increase my-'' [You have trained your body to the limit!] [Congrattions! You gained 10 Vitality and 1 Endurance!] His eyes widened in surprise when he heard the notification. The lowest stat among the other stats, Vitality. He gained 10 Vitality. This was a big discovery, and now he finally found out how to increase Vitality through the training, ''Then, should I let Master Yosu hit me?'' ''No, I can''t let him hit me. The training must have another purpose, and Vitality increase is just one of them. I have to work harder, and this kinda helps me too for the PVP battle.'' With all the soreness all over his body, Shen got up and went out of the backyard. Fortunately, even though the game was so realistic, his skin did not turn ck and blue after getting hit repeatedly by his Master. When he got out of the backyard, his Master was enjoying the roasted fish by himself while Yue was squatting by herself. Tang Shaoyang went to ZhenZhen''s house and asked for a meal. "Also, can I get more supply? I will hunt the ck giant chicken from today onwards. I have to find a new hunting ground, so Yue and Sneaky have enough Guardian Fish to hunt." Ming discovered that after Shen killed the King of Guardian Fish, the normal Guardian Fish spawned again. That meant the Guardian Fish was not spawning endlessly. After they killed a certain number, the boss would spawn, and they had to kill the Boss, so the normal Guardian Fish would spawn again. Of course, he could defeat the King of Guardian Fish with the same method, but it would be better to let Dale and Yue level up first. He had to give that easy hunting ground to the level 1 Yue and Dale. When Shen said that he would hunt the giant ck chicken, ZhenZhen''s eyes shone. That meant she would get a new ingredient. "Don''t worry, I will prepare a lot of supplies for you, but don''t forget to bring back a lot of chicken too." An unusual grin formed ZhenZhen''s lips. Shen nodded and was about to turn around, but ZhenZhen called him. "Wait, Shen!" At this point, everyone in the vige called him by his real name instead of his in-game name. It was weird to call him Runner, after all. Shen did not mind though since they had be closer after ying the game together. "Yes?" Shen looked at ZhenZhen in the eyes. "You said you killed the King of Guardian Fish, but where''s the meat? I want to do some experiments with Boss Monster''s meat too." ZhenZhen asked Shen eagerly. Shen pped his forehead, "Did I forget to tell you what happened with the King of Guardian Fish?" He tried to recall yesterday''s story while ZhenZhen shook her head in response. "Lyra, the Blizzard Tiger, ate all the meat of the King of Guardian Fish. I only have the spearhead with me. I am sorry, ZhenZhen. But I will try to hunt for another King of Guardian after Ming, Yue, and Sneaky hunt all the Guardian Fish." Shen promised to give the next King of Guardian Fish. "But that Ice Boa is a gift from Lyra, though. Just take it as an exchange." "I see." ZhenZhen nodded understandingly and smiled at Shen. "You don''t have to be sorry, Shen. That''s your loot, you can give it to anyone. I am just asking. However, I will hold on to your promise to give me the next King of Guardian Fish." The older girl smiled slyly. "Then what about the establishment? You did not tell us anything about the establishment. Did they sell some spices?" Shen''s missing arm and the tournament distracted everyone. They forgot to ask about the establishment and the quest. "Huh!? Establishment?" Shen furrowed his brow. "Did I tell you guys about the establishment?" He did not recall telling them about the establishment. He never even once mentioned the establishment. "Huh!?" ZhenZhen was confused as well. "Weren''t you on a quest? We thought you found an establishment in the forest. Didn''t you tell Yue that you were on a quest yesterday?" "Ah!?" Shen pped his forehead for the second time. They assumed he discovered the establishment because he told Yue that he was on a quest. He understood now where the misunderstanding came from. "The quest I was talking about is healing the Blizzard Tiger. It''s not an official quest, but I take that as a quest. There''s no establishment or anything, and I don''t think there''s even one here." "Ah." ZhenZhen nodded her head understandingly as the misunderstanding was cleared. "Alright then, I will prepare your meal and your supplies. You might have to wait for half an hour." "Okie Dokie. I will visit Brother Jiang first. I need to give him the spearhead from the King of Guardian Fish. That thing might help him craft new equipment for us." Shen left the house and headed toward the cksmith''s house. The nking sound never stopped. Brother Jiang was one of the most hard-working members in the vige. Shen gave the giant spearhead, and Brother Jiang was hesitant to receive it. WealthyGuy kept looking at the giant spearhead next to his door and Shen, back and forth. "Are you sure I don''t need to pay you, Shen? This Boss'' level monster material must be worth a lot. I can''t ept this free, Shen." The older guy cared a lot when things involved money. Maybe because he was old, or maybe he did not want to owe too much. But no matter what the reason was, Shen would not receive the money from the older guy. He knew Brother Jiang''s circumstances, so he would not receive his money. "It''s okay, Brother Jiang. I told you before, make me an excellent sword if you want to pay me." Shen grinned. "Just take it" He then turned his head and noticed ZhenZhen went out of her house in time with a tray of food. "My food is ready. I will leave it in your care, Brother Jiang." Shen left the giant spearhead and headed toward the table. He left Brother Jiang with no choice. As long as Shen did not give WealthyGuy his bank info, then WealthyGuy could not send money to him. When he arrived at the table, Yosu had finished all his food. The old man closed his eyes as he bathed in the sun. He enjoyed the warmth of the sun. Shen was about to dig in with his food until he heard his Master''s voice. "What will you do, my disciple? Are you going to venture into the deeper part of Vales?" Shen''s hand stopped midway and answered his Master. "No, I will hunt the ck-feathered chicken around the vige first. After I get stronger, I may consider venturing into the deeper part of Vales." After that, he delivered the fish meat into his mouth. ZhenZhen was getting better at handling the slimy Guardian Fish. The meat was smooth and melted in his mouth. The marinating was perfect as well. This was ten out of ten, for sure. "You make an excellent choice there, my disciple. You are eager to get stronger, but you are patient as well. There''s nothing good about rushing it, you should do it slowly. You will never regret having a good foundation." After saying that, Yosu stood up and waved his hand at Shen. "Let''s meet again tomorrow morning, my disciple." "Thank you, Master." Shen bowed his head. He was truly feeling grateful to the old man. Even though the old man was an NPC designed by Sky, his feeling was genuine, as if the old man was an actual person. Without that old man, there would be no present Shen. Shen finished the meal quite fast. However, he could not go hunting as he had to wait for his supply, and also he needed to wait for his HP to recover. It took longer to recover his HP than his Stamina. Half an hour passed quickly. After ZhenZhen finished preparing his supply, Shen checked his HP. His HP had notpletely recovered yet. It was still 507/580. However, Shen did not wait for his HP topletely recover as he left the vige to hunt the ck-feathered chicken. "It''s time for my vengeance," Shen muttered with determination as he headed toward where a chicken usually stayed. It was close to the vige where a certain chicken stayed. He quickly found the chicken who was scraping the ground, maybe looking for a giant worm. "Let''s have fried chicken for tonight''s dinner!" Shen took out his sword and headed toward the chicken. Chapter 111: Revenge - New Member Chapter 111: Revenge - New Member "Hehe, it''s time for my revenge." Shen let out a chuckle as he gazed at the giant chicken. He did not attack the chicken immediately as he thought of a n. Even though he had gotten a lot strongerpared to the past when the chicken easily killed him, he did not lower his guard. The chicken was not aware that someone spied on it. It was scraping the ground, and then it found something. It used the beak and pulled a big worm. Not just big, it was long too. The chicken ate the worm as if it was spaghetti. It slurped the long worm until the worm disappeared into its mouth. "Chicken is still chicken, they still eat the worm, but not a normal worm, of course," Shen muttered in a low voice as he formted a n in his head. He would not confront the chicken head-on. It was still a level 30 monster, not a low-level mob. Shen walked around to the back of the chicken. He could actually use [Frozen Spear] to stun the chicken. However, he could only use [Frozen Spear] one time. He wanted to save the skill for the emergency. The chicken continued searching for the worm, and he was already at the back of the chicken, seven meters away. Shen was hiding behind the tree and peeked at the chicken. He knew that what he was doing was too cowardly, but he did not care. Shen took out the Wrath Club. Thanks to the training with his Master. He was a little bit used to his missing arm. It was still weird, but he could handle it after the sparring against Yosu. [Void Step] Shen started it with a burst of movement. The chicken seemed to notice his presence, but it was toote. He was right behind the chicken and the Wrath Club was on the way to reach the chicken''s head. Before the chicken could turn around, the Wrath Club hit the chicken''s back of the head. Void Critical! -518 It was lucky that his first strike triggered a critical. The chicken fell forward from the impact. Shen will not miss this golden chance as he took a big step forward andnded a continuous blow with his Wrath Club. Void Critical! -518 Void Critical! -518 -227 -227 -227 Shen hit the head twice, and he hit the body thrice. He learned something from the first wave of the attack. Hitting the Chicken''s head was a critical strike, and the body was not. Three hits on the head and three of them were critical strikes. Afternding the blow, he then looked at the chicken''s health bar. His eyes widened in surprise when the chicken''s health bar was reduced to half. "I deal around 2200 Damage, that means the chicken''s hp is around four thousand. This is easy. I just need tond ten normal strikes, or I can kill it with four critical strikes." The fact that he could reduce the chicken''s hp by half so quickly boosted his confidence in facing the chicken head-on. "No more sneak attack,e at me!" Shen grinned and motioned the chicken toe over. The chicken rushed toward him, and then he realized something. The chicken was not as fast as it was to be. He could see clearly the chicken movement with his eyes. Instead of waiting for the chicken toe over, Shen rushed forward as well. The chicken jumped off, but Shen used his skill, [Void Thrust]. He thrust the club toward the chicken''s chest. Crack! The sound was so realistic. From the voice, he broke the chicken''s bone with his club. The chicken flung backward after that and crashed into the tree. -623 Shen dealt 623 damage with his [Void Thrust]. That meant he only needed to deal another 1400 damage to kill the chicken. That just got Shen even more excited. He could kill the chicken finally. Despite the excitement, he remained cautious. Shen did not chase for the chicken but stayed still. [Void Step] was wearing off. He could not be careless by blindly chasing after the chicken. He waited for the chicken, and when he saw the chicken was trying to stand up. It took a great deal of effort for the chicken to stand up. "Huh? What happens? Don''t tell me it''s rted to the cracked bone?" Shen was confused about the situation. If that was what happened to the chicken, he just discovered a new game mechanic. Breaking the bone might affect the monster or even the yer''s movement. Then he saw something else. He noticed the floating damage above the chicken''s head. -10 -10 -10 -10 He did not hit the chicken, meaning it was bleeding status. "Internal Bleeding!?" He eximed in shock. Who would expect there would be an internal bleeding status in this game? Shen did not waste his time. He rushed over when the chicken fell off again. It could no longer stand, and he would not watch the chicken suffering like that. This was his vengeance, but he did not enjoy torturing the chicken. The ck chicken truly could no longer stand up, even with Shen near to it. Shen finished the chicken bynding three hits on the head. Void Critical! -518 Void Critical! -518 Void Critical! -518 His conjecture about the critical strike was true. If hended the hit on the head, he would trigger the critical strike. "Is the head the chicken''s weakness?" There was another possibility, the weak spot. It was general knowledge thatnding a hit on a weak spot would trigger the critical strike. [You have killed T-Bone Rooster!] [You gained 17600 Experiences!] When he heard the notification, Shen let out a sigh. It would take forever to level up if he kept hunting the chicken. However, it was not like he had another choice. He might die if he hunted the stronger monster. T-Bone Rooster was the safest choice. "It''s not the time to whine, let''s continue the hunt instead of whining like a baby." Shen continued his hunting. He stored the first chicken into his inventory and looked for more chicken. After the first kill, Shen was confident in facing the T-Bone Rooster. That was a weird name, but he cared little about the name. Maybe it really had a T-shaped bone in its body. The second chicken was a lot easier even though he did notunch the sneak attack. He killed the chicken after less than two minutes of the fight. He just needed to wait for his [Void Thrust]''s cooldown. As long as he hit the rooster on the chest with [Void Thrust], it was done for. "Huhu, the second chicken." Shen grinned happily as he stored the second chicken. If this continued, they would have many chickens and more varieties with their food. Shen continued with his hunting, and when he noticed the five stacks of T-Bone Roosters. He decided to go back to the vige, even with many supplies. The T-Bone Rooster spawned around the vige, so he was close to the vige. When he returned to the vige, no one was around. He did not see Yue, Dale, and Ming. He still could hear the nking sound from Wealthy Guy''s house. Even the new member, Liu Zhong was not around. He went directly toward ZhenZhen''s house and knocked on the wall. "ZhenZhen! I have something for you!" "Coming! Coming! Coming!" He heard the reply from inside the house. ZhenZhen wiped the sweat on her forehead. "What''s up, Shen? You return earlier than usual." "I am going to log off and grab lunch. While at it, I am going to drop you this." He then took out the five stacks of the T-Bone Rooster. ZhenZhen''s eyes shone brightly with the new ingredient in front of her. She came over and inspected the chicken. But then, a frown formed on his forehead. She seemed to be displeased with the goods. "What''s wrong? Did I handle them too rough?" He thought he was ruining the chicken with his [Void Thrust]. "Now, even though I love cooking with the exotic ingredients. It''s gross to see a chicken with two small stick hands like this." ZhenZhen moved the small hands. It was like T-rex''s hand. The hand was too small for any use. "You shouldin with the developer instead. It''s not me who designed them." Shen shook his head and waved his hand as he bid his farewell. "Then I am going off. See youter." "Bye Bye, have a good lunch! Don''t eat junk food, it''s not good for your body!" ZhenZhen yelled at Shen. *** *** While everyone was busy with what they were doing, a figure spawned on the spawn spot of the vige. The figure had newbie clothes on him. He looked around in confusion. "Where is this? Why am I respawning in this ce? Is the game bugged?" A disgruntled voice flowed out of his mouth. "This billion dors game project. I can''t believe there''s a bug. They even sell the gaming pod at an unreasonable price, forty million? This is not worth forty million!" The man was about to log off and filed aint to thepany until a voice called him. "Doctor Lu?" Shen, who just logged in and came out of the house, noticed there was someone in the spawn spot. He felt the face was familiar, and upon closer look, he recognized the face. Doctor Lu Weiyan, the doctor who was in charge of his knee surgery, and the Doctor who was in charge of his rehabilitation as well. He was not expecting to meet Doctor Lu in the game. Doctor Lu looked toward the voice. "Yes? Do you know? Are you my patient?" Chapter 112: Doctor Lu Yao Chapter 112: Doctor Lu Yao "Huh!?" It was Shen''s turn to be surprised. They were close, and a character in the game should have the same appearance in real life. Doctor Lu should recognize him, but from his voice, Doctor Lu did not recognize him. "You don''t know me, Doctor Lu?" He came closer to the spawn spot as Doctor Lu also came out of the spawn spot. "I am Shen, Yang Shen." He told Doctor Lu his full name. Doctor Lu looked at Shen''s face. He squinted his eyes and observed the man''s visage. "I have never met you before, and I am sure you are not my patient." He would remember his patient, especially if his patient visited him periodically. "But weird, how do you know my name if you are not my patient." Doctor Lu realized this point. There was no way for the younger man to know him if they never met before. From the way the younger man talked to him, they seemed to be close, too. Shen was even more confused. The man before him had the same face as his Doctor for sure. He did not see it wrong, especially when he just visited Doctor Lu for a check-up a few days ago. "Ah!?" Doctor Lu pped his forehead. "You must be my brother''s patient, Doctor Lu Weiyan, right? I am not Doctor Lu Weiyan, I am Doctor Lu Yao. I am his twin brother." The dots connected, and Shen went with "Ah!" The man in front of him was Doctor Lu Weiyan''s twin brother. He had heard about that from Doctor Lu Weiyan himself. "Ah, so you are that Yang Shen." Doctor Lu Yao nodded his head. "My Brother said a lot about you." He looked at Shen''s right knee. "What about your knee? Is it okay now? I heard you have a rpse?" Shen nodded his head, and he was surprised inside. He did not expect Doctor Lu to tell his family about him. Maybe it was not just him, but the other patients as well. Of course, he did not mind that Doctor Lu Weiyan talked about him to his family. It was not like Doctor Lu Weiyan used his identity to make a profit or something bad. "I am fine, but" Shen wanted to say, "I don''t know if you y the game too". The wording was quite weird. It was as if he said a Doctor could not y the game. He did not say that out loud. Doctor Lu in front of him was not the Doctor Lu he was close to. "But why does a doctor like me y a game?" Doctor Lu Yao grinned. He could read what was in Shen''s head. "I have saved enough money for retirement, and I am tired of being a doctor. It''s time to poison people instead of healing them!" Shen shivered when he heard those words from the doctor. If other people heard that, they might misunderstand Doctor Lu Yao, for sure. The first impression of the twin brothers was quite opposite. "I heard that there''s a specialized ss that makes poisons. I want to get that ss and poison the people." Doctor Lu Yao said that with a big grin. "Do you know something about that ss? I have searched around in my starter city, but I can''t find any information about the poison maker ss." "A specialized ss in making poison? I never heard about that bef-" Shen paused as he recalled something. He turned around and motioned Doctor Lu Yao toe with him. "Follow me, I think I know something about that." Doctor Lu Yao followed Shen, and they stopped in front of the two houses. The two houses with a vial-shaped carving on the sign with two different symbols on the vial. One vial with a (+) symbol and the other one with a skull symbol. "If there''s a ss that specializes in making poison, I think this is the one you are looking for, Doctor Lu." Shen pointed at the skull symbol house. After hearing what Doctor Lu Yao told him about the ss, he finally understood what the symbol meant. The plus symbol was for the potion maker ss and the skull symbol was for the poison maker ss. "What do you mean?" Doctor Lu Yao did not understand. He just arrived in this hidden vige, so he knew nothing about the ss inside the house. On top of that, this was his third day ying the game. He knew little about the game. Doctor Lu Yao only searched everything rted to poison maker ss before he entered the game. That was the only thing he knew about the game. The poison maker ss. "Ah," Shen nodded his head and smiled at Doctor Lu Yao. "Wee to the hidden vige, Doctor Lu Yao" After the greeting, he told Doctor Lu Yao where they were. He told them everything, including the house, the ss, and the NPC inside the house. "So, I can get the ss that is rted to poison making if I enter this house?" Doctor Lu Yao was pleasantly surprised when he heard that. He thought this was a shitty game that spawned him in nowhere. However, he did not know that the game moved him to the ce where he wanted. "In the end, this is still a pay-to-win game." He bought the most expensive gaming pod, and the game guided him to this ce. Of course, this was just his assumption. "No, there''s some test or something. You have to pass the test in order to get the ss. Don''t worry though, the NPC will ask you about something, and you just need to answer that. I think you can pass the test easily." Shen exined about the mechanic to get a ss. He said there was a test, but he did not receive any test from Yosu. The old man just told him a story about the past, and the old man offered him the legacy. However, everyone else received a test, so he told Doctor Lu Yao. "I see." Doctor Lu Yao nodded his head and looked toward the house. The older man was not nervous in the slightest before he looked back at Shen. "Do I need to know about something else? I am going to take the ss now." "Nothing." Shen shook his head. He had told Doctor Lu Yao about the statue, so he had nothing else to tell Doctor Lu Yao. "You can go now, I think." "Alright, then. I will enter the house now." Doctor Lu Yao stepped onto the porch of the house and entered the ck door. He had the same reaction as everyone else when he entered the house. He was surprised there was a light inside, even though it looked so dark from outside. Doctor Lu Yao turned his head and was surprised that he could not see Shen. The entrance was dark, and then he realized it had something within the door. He nodded his head and scanned the room. It was not like what Shen told him. The house was not empty at all. He saw a bed with a ck bed sheet at the corner of the house, but the interior was creepily decorated. There were many kinds of skulls hung on the wooden wall. There were various kinds of ck pots, various kinds of spats. To his left, there was a bookshelf filled with books. And one thing that was unpleasant to him was the smell of the house. He did not like it. But he liked the decoration, though. It was fit for the ss. Doctor Lu Yao located the statue and approached the statue. He stopped a meter away from the statue. It was an old man statue with a thick beard and mustache. The old man had the same attire as the Japanese men''s kimono, but he let it slide, so it showed the old man''s firm abs. "This Lu Yao greets, Master." Even though he was over thirty years old, he did not mind bowing his head to someone in the game. "Hahaha, Finally!" The statue cracked and the old man came alive. The old man burst out inughter with a big smile on his face as he looked at Doctor Lu Yao. "Lu Yao is it? I will not tell you my name until you pass the test." The old man looked Lu Yao in the eyes. "Don''t worry, Lad. The test is just a simple question, if your answer can satisfy me, then I will inherit my legacy to you, Poison King." ''That''s kinda cringed. Who named this ss? Poison Master is much better.'' Doctor Lu Yao grumbled inwardly. Of course, he did not say it out, or else he would fail the test instantly. "This Lu Yao will give you my honest answer, and I hope I can satisfy you." Lu Yao bowed his head once again. "Good! Now tell me the reason why you want to inherit my legacy? Why do you want to make poison?" The old man asked with a wide maniac grin. Hearing the question, Doctor Lu Yao subconsciously let out a wide maniac grin as well. *** *** Shen did not leave for hunting. He stayed in front of the house and waited for Doctor Lu Yao. Since he was Doctor Lu Weiyan''s brother, he felt he had to help Doctor Lu Yao to familiarize himself with the hidden vige. Also, he had to warn him to not wander too far from the vige. "What are you doing, Shen?" ZhenZhen who just came out of her house noticed Shen was standing in front of another house. She approached him and stood next to him. "Do we have a new member?" Chapter 113: Poison King Chapter 113: Poison King Shen nodded his head. "Yeah, we have a new member." "So the new member chooses the skull symbol one?" ZhenZhen looked at the house with a worried expression. "Does the new member know what ss it is? I am worried the new member will reset the character when the ss is not up to his or her liking." "There''s no need for you to worry. He knows what it is." Shen assured the cook. "Hoo, so you know what ss it is?" It was a mystery what ss behind this house was, since no one knew it. It included the house with a hammer sign. "It''s a poison maker-rted ss. The new member seems to have a peculiar hobby. He is a doctor in real life, but he said he is tired of healing people, so he wants to poison people in the game." Shen was telling the truth. That was what Doctor Lu Yao told him before. ZhenZhen scrunched her forehead when she heard the motive of the new member to choose the ss. They got another weird member again. "But are you sure he is a doctor? I mean, he has a stable job and a high-earning job. Why would he quit the job for the game?" This was still noon, and she assumed the people who yed at this time were the people who focused on the game. That meant it was the people who did not have a job in real life. Shen shrugged his shoulders. "He said he saved enough money for him to retire early, so he did not y the game for the money. Speaking of him, what about you, Miss ZhenZhen? Didn''t you boast you are a professional cook as well? Why did you quit your stable job and y the game instead?" He rolled his eyes at the girl. Once, ZhenZhen proposed for all of them to have a gathering. She invited all of them to her house as she did not forget to boast that she once worked in a high-end restaurant with something stars. She told them to not worry about food. As soon as Shen brought that up, ZhenZhen looked away from Shen and looked toward the house instead. At this moment, the others had returned. Ming returned from hunting. Yue and the others just logged in after lunch break. "Do we have a new member?" Ming came over and asked out. Shen repeated what he told ZhenZhen to the others. Sure enough, everyone but Dale and Yue had a strange expression when they heard the new member''s background. *** *** "Bwahahahaha" The old manughed aloud after he heard a long answer from Doctor Lu Yao. This was the first time the old man heard someone said that he was bored healing the people, so he wanted to poison the people instead. That was a crazy motive for sure, but the old man did not care. The answer satisfied him, and that was enough. "My name is Ori. You can call me Old Man Ori, or Master Ori. I don''t mind. And I like your answer, a little chaos for the word is not bad." "I will not kill everyone, Master Ori. I am not a crazed murderer, but I will the people who I deem worthy of being killed." Doctor Lu Yao straightened things up. He indeed wanted to kill the people, but those people were his enemies. Master Ori grinned ear to ear. Of course, he understood that, but lived in this world. He would have made many enemies. Especially for the Poison King. Everyone was afraid of the poisons, whether it was his allies or enemies. [Ori the Poison King offered you his legacy! ept? Decline?] [The Infamous Poison King''s Legacy] ss: Poison King Potential: Epic Doctor Lu Yao immediately tapped the ept option. Luck was on his side as he managed to find this ss within a few days. [You have epted The Infamous Poison King''s Legacy!] [Congrattions! You have inherited the Epic ss, Poison King!] [Congrattions! You have learned Poison King set skills!] [Reminder! Don''t let the others know your ss, or you will be banned from entering the city!] [You have unlocked Fame!] [You have unlocked Infamy!] Doctor Lu Yao did not know anything about fame and infamy, and he did not care either. If there was a second choice, he would still pick the same ss. He did not care about fame and infamy. Doctor Lu Yao continued chatting with Master Ori for another hour. Most of the time, he was just a listener. He listened to the old man''s tales, what he did in the past, and how he ended up in this ce. It was a tragic story. The old man was working for a family. He had used his poison for this family to kill the enemies. However, after the enemies disappeared, he became the family''s target. They immediately got rid of him as soon as he had no use for them. The reason was quite absurd as well. That noble family said they were afraid he would poison them to take their authority. After listening to the old man''s story, the old man returned to a statue. He witnessed how the old man''s skin hardened from the bottom up to his torso. Before the old man''s face hardened, Master Ori smiled at him. "I will meet you every day during this time. Don''t bete, or I will have you taste my poison." Doctor Lu Yao''s heart tightened when he heard thest part. From the old man''s disposition, Master will feed him poison if he is reallyte. "I should set up an rm every day from now on." After giving himself a little reminder, Lu Yao opened his window status and checked his new skills. He had three skills, [Herb Appraisal], [Herb Gathering], and [Elementary Poison Concoction]. Lu Yao checked the skill one by one to understand what his skills did. It was pretty self-exnatory from the skill name. "What should I do now? Master Ori does not tell me to do something specific." Chapter 114: The Retired Doctor Blends In Chapter 114: The Retired Doctor Blends In Doctor Lu Yao left the house. Shen promised to brief the vige''s situation after he got his ss, but the guy left. Maybe he took too long inside the house. He checked the time, and he realized he spent an hour inside the house. While Shen was not around, he saw a girl and a young man doing squats with a stone on their back. The woman lifted a bigger stone on her back than the young man''s stone. If it was him, he would stop doing it and log out. It was so embarrassing that a woman could lift a bigger stone. He did not mean to be sexist, but men were just born naturally stronger than women. ''But again, there''s nothing to be embarrassed about. Genders mean nothing in this game but stats.'' Lu Yao then remembered that they were in the game where stats matter. ''But what are they doing? Do the squats have a special effect or something? Why would they work out in the game? Work out in real life, so you have a healthy body.'' When he stepped out of the house, someone called him. "Oy, new member." Lu Yao subconsciously looked at the voice. He had just recently arrived in the vige. He knew the voice was calling him. A woman in histe twenties called him out. He assumed the woman was in herte twenties from her appearance. She sat on the table in front of the spawn spot. He came over and greeted the woman. "Hello, I am the new member, Lu Yao." Lu Yao used his real name in the game. Since he could not alter his appearance in the game. He might as well use his real name, too. It did not matter since he was good-looking, too. "Hello, I am ZhenZhen. Nice to meet you." ZhenZhen waved her hand in response. "Are you looking for Runner?" "Nice to meet you." Lu Yao responded formally before a frown formed on his forehead. "Runner? I am not looking for Runner. I am looking for Shen." He did not understand what this woman talked about. Why would he look for a runner? "Shen?" ZhenZhen was surprised that the new member knew Shen''s real name. ''Were they acquaintances in real life? Or a friend? No, this man is too old to be Shen''s friend.'' "Yes. I am looking for Shen. He said he would brief me about the vige." Lu Yao nodded his head. "You are too long inside the house, so Shen logged out to y with his little sister while waiting for you," ZhenZhen replied and opened her contact. She received Shen''s number just now, as he asked her to call him when the doctor finished. She sent him a message instead. "He will login in ten minutes." ZhenZhen got the reply fast. "Oh, and Runner is Shen''s in-game name. He does not use his real name in the game, though everyone in the vige already knows his real name." "I see" Lu Yao nodded his head and took a seat across from ZhenZhen. "What about this vige, anyway? Where are we?" "I am not sure either, but this is a unique vige with ess to a hidden ss. If we follow the game''s rules, we can''t get the ss until we reach level 20. As for where we are, I don''t know either. But Shen recently discovered this ce called Vales." ZhenZhen exined. "Don''t you remember how you got here?" "Now you said it, it was actually unlucky I don''t think it was unlucky, but more luck. I mean, I fell into a gorge, and I spawned in this vige." Lu Yao changed his statement midway. It was lucky because he could get the Poison King ss. "There''s a famous site near my starter city. It is called Garden II because rare herbs grow on the gorge''s wall. I came to check the site, but I was too daring and slipped into the gorge instead." He recalled what happened to him. It was an unlucky event if not for the vige discovery. However, it was his luck to fall into the gorge. "I see." ZhenZhen nodded her head. How they fell into the gorge was about the same. She wanted to find a rare ingredient while the man in front of him was sightseeing. "Anyway, what does Shen want to brief about? Can you tell me instead?" Lu Yao did not know what to do now. The only thing he could do was to wait until tomorrow to meet Master Ori again. He would ask the old man what he should do in his spare time like this. "I can tell you what it is about." ZhenZhen thought about it, but she would waste Shen''s time waiting for the man. "But what about Shen? I mean, he is waiting for you But it will be fine too, I guess." "He must want to brief you about Vales and the situation in the vige." ZhenZhen continued. "First, we are alone. The only human settlement in Vales, for a production ss like us, this is bad. We have to search for the ingredients and material by ourselves. We can''t buy them." "That''s not that bad, actually. If we are the only human settlement in this territory, then we don''t have apetitor to fight over the resources." Lu Yao thought about it, and it was not as bad as ZhenZhen pictured out. "Yeah, you can say that because you never go outside before. The monster around the vige is a high-level monster. You can go alone outside, but not allbat sses can fight too since they are still low level." ZhenZhen smiled wryly. The saying was true, ignorance is bliss. "How high? No matter what, this vige is still the same as a starter city, but this is a vige instead of a city. The developer should spawn a monster that a newbie like me could hunt, or else it will be a disaster. Having an Epic ss yer that is stuck at a low level means bad for the game. We are their content, after all." Lu Yao felt ZhenZhen was exaggerating things. Chapter 115: Retired Doctors Concern Chapter 115: Retired Doctor''s Concern "You are right about that. That''s what those trios are doing, working up to raise their stats so they can hunt the monsters." ZhenZhen pointed with her chin at Yue and Zhong, who were doing squats. "They have been grinding the stats for weeks." Even though Lu Yao was new to the game, but he understood the basics. He furrowed his brows when he heard they were grinding stats instead of levels. From his understandings of the game, people were grinding levels to get stats, and each time a yer leveled up, they got ten stat points. ''Things are different in here, huh?'' Doctor Lu Yao turned back toward ZhenZhen. "You haven''t told me how high-level monsters around here are?" He was now getting curious. "The lowest one is level 30, but we can easily hunt level 32 monster with a simple trick. You need to ask Shen or Ming for that trick if you want to go hunt, but I advise you to work up to build up your stats if you want to go hunt." ZhenZhen exined. The production ss got exp from making items, but they could also go hunt. However, they got fifty percent less exp from hunting. That was why WealthyGuy and ZhenZhen decided to focus on the mastery of their ss instead of hunting. They felt it was not worth the risk since they could die, and they did not havebat skills too, at that. Lu Yao furrowed his brow when he heard that from ZhenZhen. The lowest monster was level 30, and that was shocking for sure. There was no way a level 1 yer could hunt that high-level monster. He rubbed his chin and went through some calctions in his head. It had been over two months, less than three months, since the game started. The other yers were approaching the level 40 boundary, but what about the yer in this vige? Lu Yao found out that he was not lucky as he thought. It was nice to find the ss he wanted, but it was useless if he could not develop his ss. With no one who could hunt the monsters around the vige, he could not go out to search for the ingredients. The monsters would kill him if the monsters around the vige were high-leveled monsters. The future in this vige was not bright as he thought, and this was a big concern for him. "There''s no need to worry about that. Shen and Ming are level over 20, and they will soon catch up." ZhenZhen sensed the concern from the man in front of her and pointed her finger at Yue, Dale, and ZhongL. "I told you, right? We have a trick to hunting the level 32 monster. They just need to grind enough stats to kill level 32 monsters, and then the level should not be a problem for us." "Also, we just need three more members to establish a tribe. By that time, the level should not be an issue for us. Doing tribe quest gives a lot of experiences." ZhenZhen assured the new member, and she understood the new members'' concerns. "What about us, the production ss? We can''t do anything if we don''t have any materials or ingredients to work with." Doctor Lu Yao''s concern was not relieved after hearing about the extreme condition around the vige, even though ZhenZhen tried to assure him. Sure, he got the ss, a better ss than the normal ss. However, he had to pay it at a big price. He had to work harder to develop the ss, and he did not take that positively, especially for a newbie like him. "Don''t worry about that. Shen often traveled outside, and he brought back a lot of stuff. You just need to tell him if you are looking for something specific. Even if he can''t retrieve the thing by himself, he can mark the map and lead you to the ce. The game developer will not put us in extreme conditions without a way out." ZhenZhen assured the doctor once again. She did not want thetter to restart the character, or else they could not establish a tribe. "That''s true. If you are looking for something specific, you can tell me the item''s characteristics, and I will search for the item for you." Shen just came out of the house and overheard ZhenZhen and Doctor Lu Yao''s conversation. The two turned around and looked toward Shen. "Have you told him about our vige''s situation, Sister ZhenZhen?" Shen sat next to ZhenZhen, joining the two at the table. ZhenZhen nodded her head. "I told him already, you are not angry, are you? You are waiting for him-" Shen cut her midway while shaking his head. "What do you take me for? A kid? Why would I be angry over something like this?" After saying that, Shen turned toward Doctor Lu Yao. "So, what your Master asks you to do, Doctor Lu Yao? Did he ask you to join our training too?" "Training?" Doctor Lu Yao did not get what Shen tried to say, but he was quick to understand when Dale and ZhongL''s rough breathing entered his ears. Working out must be part of the training. "First, stop calling me doctor, I am not a doctor anymore." Lu Yao did not like being addressed as a doctor when he had retired. "You can call me Brother Lu, Brother Yao, or even Uncle Lu. I don''t care, but not Doctor Lu Yao!" He deepened his voice, showing his dislike of being called a doctor. Shen nodded his head, even though it was weird. If it were other people, they would like to be called a doctor since they got the title through hard work, and it seemed Doctor Lu Yao was an exception. "Second, my Master did not instruct me to do the training or anything, and he just told me to meet him at the same time tomorrow." Lu Yao looked at the trio, who were working out. "Shall I work out too?" There was a hesitation in his tone. "Personally, I advise you to join our workout. Even though your ss is a production ss, having more stats will do more favor than harm. Sister ZhenZhen, our cook, and Brother Jiang, our cksmith, are also doing a workout at the start. Of course, the training is not as intense as thebat ss, but it should be enough to raise your stats high enough to do a lot of stuff. For example, Endurance, you need to increase your Endurance so you will not get exhausted quickly." Shen exined the benefit of training, and he went on with the use of the Endurance and how stamina worked out in the game. That was basic stuff every yer should know. Doctor Lu Yao did not cut him midway, meaning the older man was willing to hear him. He continued how skill worked out. To use a skill, he would have to consume the stamina point and so on. "Of course, you don''t have to follow my advice." Shen grinned ear to ear as he scratched his hair. "I am the famous noob on the forum, after all. That''s just my personal opinion, so you don''t have to follow what I say." Chapter 116: Encouragement Chapter 116: Encouragement "The famous noob on the forum?" Lu Yao creased his brow and nced at ZhenZhen. He did not understand what Shen talked about, and he thought Shen was an amazing yer based on his conversation with ZhenZhen. The young man did a lot for the vige, more than anyone. How could a yer that could hunt a level 32 monster be a noob? That did not make sense at all. "You don''t know?" ZhenZhen smiled while shaking her head. The famous noob was a title Shen brought with him from the previous game. She did research about her friend and got to know why Shen got the title. It was ridiculous to call someone noob for not following the meta. ZhenZhen nced at Shen and asked. "It''s okay if I tell him about you, right?" She asked the person directly. This was an ufortable topic for sure, but she still asked. She was not insensitive, but because she felt that the title was ridiculous, she felt Shen was not a noob. "I am okay with that, and I have embraced that title as part of myself. Thanks to that title, I earned a lot of money from the forum." Shen shook his head with a big smile on his face. He was not ashamed, no longer ashamed, or to be exact, he could never get rid of that title. Since he could not get rid of that title, he embraced it as a part of himself. ZhenZhen showed a post on the forum to Doctor Lu Yao. Mostly it was the posts from Shen''s haters, and they tried to tell the yers of the Tribe Online that came from other games than the Universe Online that Shen was a big noob. The threads often insulted Shen and so on. ZhenZhen even showed the past hot topic when Volt and his friends bullied Shen. When Doctor Lu Yao reached that part, he could no longer hold it back as a frown formed on his forehead. Volt was around twenty-six to early thirties by his appearance. Lu Yao could not believe that someone that old would stream something like this. Bullying was an extreme case, especially for young people in middle and high school. A tumor that was almost impossible to get rid of, but this man streamed the bullying. The young people who watched his stream might copy what he did since their idol bullied someone in the live stream. He just could not believe this and shook his head. "It seems I have found a target for who to use my poison for. This kind of person deserves to be poisoned to death!" Lu Yao muttered in a low voice, but Shen and ZhenZhen could hear it clearly. "I agree with that." That was ZhenZhen''s response. "You have to make a unique poison for this man only." Shen shook his head and stood up. "It seems I am not needed here. You two continue, I am going to hunt the chicken." He waved toward Lu Yao and ZhenZhen as he headed out of the vige. However, Lu Yao caught and put his hands on Shen''s shoulders. "Shen, don''t listen to these people. You should y whatever you like, as long as you have fun; that''s what matters." Shen''s eyes widened in surprise, but then he smiled. He appreciated the encouragement, as Lu Yao was the first one to encourage him. Even Ming and Dale tried to persuade him to follow the meta instead of bing the fastest in the game. He grinned in response. "Don''t worry, Doc- Brother Lu. Following what those people said will not give me the sense of achievement or even money to fill my belly, and I am still doing whatever I like. I will still be the fastest in the game until no one can kill me in the game!" Lu Yao nodded his head and tapped Shen''s shoulders. "It seems I am doing an unnecessary thing. Good luck with your hunting." After saying that, Lu Yao turned around and returned to the table. When he returned to the table, his eyes were still on Shen. After some time, he noticed something weird about Shen. He noticed Shen had a missing arm. "Huh? What''s wrong with Shen? He does not have a left arm?" the retired doctor asked the retired cook in a surprised tone. *** *** The routine continued. The new member did not cause any change in the vige, and each of them was still doing what they had to do. There would be no significant change until the tenth yer arrived in the vige. Shen was doing his arduous grinding. He would spar against Yosu in the game''s morning time and hunt the chicken after finishing the training. He did not stop the training, even though he focused on hunting the monsters to level up. Of course, the training became less effective for Shen, and he only got like 1 Endurance and 1 Agility, or sometimes 1 Strength. Just like that, another week passed. "Hah Hah Hah Hah" Shen breathed heavily as he sprawled on the ground. A brand new day, but still the same beating. Yosu kept beating him, as he still failed tond even a single hit on the old man. [You have trained your body to the limit!] [Congrattions! You gained 12 Vitality and 2 Endurance!] The onlyfort was the notification after the beating. To his surprise, he kept getting more and more Vitality as the sparring continued. Yesterday, he got 11 Vitality, today he got 12 Vitality. Of course, sometimes he would get 8 or 9 Vitality. "You have improved a lot, and you can read many of my feints as well. That''s a huge improvement." The old man sat next to him and looked at the same sky. "You don''t have to cheer me, Master. I am not that weak-willed to give up halfway. We will continue the spar until I cannd, at least a single hit on you!" Shen said it with determination. He thought Yosu was cheering for him so he would not give up halfway, as he did not see any improvement. "Silly Boy, I am not cheering you or anything else; I am telling the truth. You can''t feel the change, but I can see it." Yosu shook his head. "You are not wrong thatnding a hit on me is an improvement, but it will take you years to do so. If you cannd a hit on me just after a few months of practice." The old man did not finish his words, but Shen could guess the remaining words by himself. Shen realized he was too arrogant for thinking ofnding a hit on his Master. His Master was not a normal NPC, a named NPC who gave him Legendary Potential ss. If hended a hit on his Master, then it would be crazy. Silent followed afterward as the Master and Disciple exchanged no words. After a while, Yosu got up. "That''s for today. We will continue the sparring at the same time tomorrow. I am going to eat my breakfast. Thatss is catching up with that old hag.." Shen stayed behind, still looking at the same sky. It was two weeks away until the Open Qualifier for Tribe Online''s first official tournament. "That thing will open today." Shen was talking about a separate server that Sky just opened. A server dedicated to PVP, Battle Arena Server. Sky would hold the tournament on a different server while the primary server was still running as usual. Sky opened the server today, letting the yers test out the server. The yers could also use the server to have a friendly battle. Even if you die in the battle arena, the yer did not lose the experience. "I have to set the rm. I promised Yue to have a spar with her." Shen muttered in a low voice. He was afraid that he would forget that. "But I don''t think this will be a fair fight since my level should be higher than her." Yue just started hunting the monsters a week ago. Even though she was more experienced and mechanically better than him, he had a big advantage. He had higher stats since he started the training earlier, and Yue''s level was lower than his. On top of that, he had something that other yers did not have, the Elemental Force. Shen opened his window status and checked his progress so far. From the amount of the experience for him to level up, he was sure Yue was still a few levels below him. Name: Runner Race: Human ss: Yosu Legatee Affiliation: - Elemental Force: Frost Level: 25 Experience: 37,892,200/149,502,00 Health Point: 2870 Stamina Point: 3520/3520 Mana: 160 Hunger: 12 Armor: 2 Status: Strength: 230 Agility: 298 Vitality: 287 Endurance: 352 Dexterity: 310 Intelligence: 16 Status Point: 0 Skill: Void Sword Technique: [Void Draw - Level 1], [Void Step - Level 1], [Void Critical - Level 1 (Passive)], [Void Thrust - Level 1] Elemental Force Skill: [Frost Assault (Passive)] [Ice Bolt] [Frozen Spear] Chapter 117: Fried Chicken Chapter 117: Fried Chicken Shen observed his window status, and he noticed the insane increase in his Vitality in thest week. Vitality was catching up with the other stats; that was unbelievable. He recalled his training in the previous week and soon realized the cause of this significant increase. It was the beating from his Master. He did nothing but get beaten up ck and blue by his Master. Soon he realized his Master beating was getting harder and harder, and it was more painful with each day. "So this is the way to increase my Vitality, through beating? Or Master Yosu used some special technique, so my Vitality increased this many?" Of course, he had to pay a big price, and he had to go through all the suffering of the beating from the beating. It was worth fourteen days of suffering, which means two weeks in the game. Sometimes he felt the pain in real life as well; that was the price. There were so many possibilities that could happen in this game. Not all yers had discovered all the game''s hidden mechanics. "I wonder if other yers have discovered anything new?" He opened the forum as he recovered from the beating and went through the hidden mechanics. Many yers shared the hidden mechanics for the money. He typed hidden mechanics, and a lot of threads appeared. Most of them were selling the same information, and many yers were scammed over this kind of thing. He fell to this trick once and lost five Yuan, not a big loss for a good experience. He would not fall for the same trick once again. Shen typed the specific keywords, "How to Increase Vitality without using stat point?" There was nothing about it on the forum. Most of the threads were the tips of the Vitality allocation for each ss, and there was nothing about the alternate way to increase the Vitality but the stat points. There were two possibilities for this. The other yers found the way, but they did not want to share it, even for money. The second possibility was no one knew the alternate way to raise Vitality. "Maybe I am the only one who knows about this now. Should I share it for money?" Suddenly an evil smirk formed on Shen''s lips as he thought of something. He could share itter after the Pro Tournament. That way, he was the only one with high Vitality in the tournament aside from the tanky ss. Shen got up and stretched out. The soreness was all over his body, and Master Yosu basically hit every part of his body during the spar. "But it''s worth it, and let''s continue the grind for now." He came out of the backyard and saw his Master was eating the fried chicken. Yosu had a giant drumstick, and his teeth ripped apart the sulent meat. The juicy meat under the crispy skin showed up as the fragrance of the chicken meat spread out. The chicken had a strong aroma. Shen rushed over and sat across from his Master as he took the wing part. Two days ago, ZhenZhen managed to make flour, and thanks to the flour, she now could make the crispy fried chicken. [You have eaten Fried Chicken made by The Guru Spice Sessor! You gain a temporary boost! +500 HP, +700 Stamina, and 10% movement speed!] Not only was the fried chicken delicious, but it gave a lot of bonus as well. This was his inspiration for hunting the chicken, even though it gave less experience than the Guardian Fish. He ate two more fried chickens even though he had filled his anger. "Your cooking has gotten better and better. It would be much better if you could mix some spice in the flour, like something spicy." Shen raised his thumb at ZhenZhen as he gave her his input for the improvement. Spicy fried chicken that was nuts for someone who loved spicy food. "That''s my thoughts as well, but I need a certain spice to do that. Can you find me this?" ZhenZhen came over and shared the nt needed to make the spicy vor with the chicken. There was a picture that was easier for Shen to look for the nt, but he did not expect it was a leaf instead of chili. The leaf was read, around two fingers big and around ten centimeters long. The nt was called Red Uddirrel, and it was quite a weird nt. The n grew up with one stem, around fifty centimeters tall, and the leaves directly grew from that stem. Simr to a flower, yet this one did not produce a flower but red leaves. "I haven''t seen this kind of nt, but I will search carefully this time." Shen nodded his head as he memorized the picture of the nt. This was not just for ZhenZhen, but for him too. He would be the one who enjoyed the end product. "What about drinks? Do you have any recipes for drinks? I am tired of drinking this in water." After the food, he asked for drinks, which was just human nature, which could not be satisfied. He was carving for proper food before ZhenZhen arrived. Now he got proper food, so he asked for drinks now. "Don''t worry about that. I am working on one." ZhenZhen smiled in response, not annoyed by Shen''s request. This was a win-win situation for both of them. More things she could make, she could get more experiences and level up faster by making various kinds of things. "Alright, I am off to hunt the chicken more." He stood up and waved his hand at ZhenZhen. By this time, Yosu had returned to the house. The old man only came alive for the sparring against him and the food. Aside from this time, he would return to the stone statue. "It is rted to the life force or something, right?" Shen muttered in a low voice. He remembered that the old man was doing so to live longer. "Maybe I have to find a way, so Master does not have to be stuck in that stone statue anymore. I can ask Lyra if I meet her againter." Chapter 118: PVP Server Chapter 118: PVP Server By the time the sky darkened, Tang Shaoyang had returned to the vige. He avoided hunting in the night, not just because he was afraid of the night predator but also because of his limited vision. The moonlight barely helped their vision in the night. Unless with a skill rted to night vision, Shen did not have a n to hunt at night. The others had the same thought at him. They returned to the vige before the dark and were having a meal together. The new menu fried chicken was the most popr as everyone was tired of the mushroom soup and the fish. Shen joined the other with three big trays of fried chicken on the table. They shared their progress and recounted what they encountered during the hunting. Ming, Dale, and Yue also gave the prey from hunting. Brother Jiang had a lot of use of that Guardian Fish''s snout, and he said that he was on the verge of breaking through to make something through the fish snout. "I can make a bone bow from the Boa''s carcass and make the arrow from the fish snout, but Ick the material to make the shaft." When Brother Jiang said this, everyone was looking at Ming. Only Master Hunter could use the Bow, and he had archer-rted skills too. "What kind of material do you need, Brother Jiang? I will search for it for you." Ming was excited as he was about to get a new weapon. He had been using the Wrath Club all this time, the most powerful weapon they had. WealthyGuy shared information about three trees, ck Oak, Red Willow, and Arch Elm. Everyone looked at the picture of each of the trees, and Shen recognized one of them. "I have seen this tree. Red Willow can be found toward the east of the vige." "Really? I will stop hunting the fish for now and go to the east tomorrow." The excited Ming immediately responded. The guy was impatient to get a new weapon for himself. "But I don''t think you should go there, though. I have been there once early in the game to find my way back to the city, but I died." Shen recalled the early event where he got killed. "The problem is, I don''t know why I died. I felt something coiling around my body, and then I died." Ming was terrified when he heard the story from Shen. A monster that could not be seen with naked eyes was the worst opponent in this kind of environment where a high-level monster spawned. Another problem was they could not steal the tree as they had to chop it down as well. "I think it was a snake and two times bigger than my arm." Shen showed his arm as he guessed the monster that killed him. "Or maybe three times bigger. I am not sure either as I can''t see it." He shook his head. "I think we can start looking for ck Oak and Arch Elm first. If we can''t find those two trees, then we can go together to get the Red Willow." Yue gave her opinion on the matter. "What about me, Brother Jiang? Can you make a dagger from that bone as well?" Dale asked Brother Jiang. Because the dagger was small, he thought it would be easier to make a dagger than the other weapons. "I am working with it as well, and if we find one of those three trees, then I can make a spear as well for you, Yue." Brother Jiang nodded his head. He was getting closer and closer to making a weapon with the materials given by Shen. He suddenly made a sorry look on his face and looked toward Shen. "I am sorry, Shen. I don''t think I can make a sword yet with theck of material. I feel bad since you gave me all the materials, but I can''t make you anything." Shen shook his head and waved his hand at Brother Jiang. "Take your time, Brother Jiang. I am fine with what I have right now." Talking about the spear, he suddenly remembered that he had a spear. He took out the Gifted Spear and handed it over to Yue. "As for Spear, I think you can use this for a while, Yue." Yue looked at the spear and looked at Shen. She took the spear and looked at the spear''s information. It was a decent spear for a starting weapon, actually. "Are you sure you''re giving me this spear, Shen? This is a decent spear, actually." "Yeah. That spear is in better hands right now. As you know, my main weapon is a sword, and specific skill needs me to be equipped with a sword or else I can''t use the skill. So yeah, the spear is useless to me." Shen smiled and nodded his head. "Do you need me to pay you? I think the spear is too-" Yue had not finished her words, but Shen cut her off. "It''s okay, and you don''t have to pay anything. Since we are trapped in this ce, we should help each other." "I think I am going off, take a shower, and have dinner." Shen stood from the bench and waved his hand at everyone. "I am not going back as I am going to try to log in at PVP Server. See you tomorrow, guys." After Shen went offline, one by one, everyone was going off as well. It was time for everyone to log off to take care of real-life stuff. Everyone usually got back around one or two hours, but Shen would try the PVP Server as it opened today. Coming out of the gaming pod, Shen stretched out his stiff body. "I need to find a gym, so gaming will not ruin my body." He found out that he was gettingzier to work out as he focused on grinding, and that was bad because his body would lie down inside the gaming pod all day. "I will look for a gym tomorrow. It''s alreadyte." Shen looked at the window, and outside was dark already. He took his phone and checked the clock, and it was six-thirty pm. He was about to get his towel until a message came in. He looked at the phone, and it was a message from Yue. "Let''s meet in the PVP Server at seven-thirty for our friendly fight." Chapter 119: PVP Arena Chapter 119: PVP Arena After taking a shower and dinner, Shen was chilling on hisfy couch. He turned on his tv that broadcasted about the Tribe Online. The channel was documenting one of the pro yers'' gamey. One of the benefits of being a pro yer was getting a contract from the tv and having your gamey broadcasted. Of course, the pro yer was just showing the general stuff like tips and tricks to level up quickly, amon trick that could be found on the forum. There was no something like a secret or hidden mechanics as the pro yer would keep such a thing for himself. The reason the tv contracted the pro yer was that the yer usually had a big fanbase. The yer he watched, for example, this man, was extremely handsome. Yes, the pro yer was so handsome that he had to add extremely before the handsome. The tv wanted that attraction; hence he got to appear on TV without showing high-quality gamey. Shen watched the tv for a while before he opened the forum out of boredom. The pro yer on TV just showed the constant grinding, which was boring. It had been a week since he posted the video of the Boss Battle between the Wrath Troll and Ice Vulture. He checked the view and was shocked to see the number of his video''s views. "It''s not a bug, right?" He refreshed the page, and the number was still the same. The video had reached 17 million views, halfway to 18 million views. He could not believe this because he put the video behind the paywall. Of course, he did not charge that much, but he still earned that much. 1 Yuan to watch the video. Once you unlocked the video, it would remain open. There was a chance for people to watch the video repeatedly, but he still earned a lot even though most of them watched the video repeatedly. Shen opened his forum wallet and was stunned when he saw the number in his virtual wallet. He earned a little over 21 million Yuan, but the earning was split between him and the forum. It was 70:30, and he got seventy while the forum got thirty. Even with the split, he still had almost 15 million Yuan, 14.819.867 Yuan, to be more exact. Shen let out a silly smile as he scratched his head. "I have earned back the cost of the gaming pod." And he earned that much by just posting a few videos on the forum. "This is why everyone wants to y the game to earn money." If you made it big, you would earn a lot. Of course, many also failed to earn a penny. "The saying is right," Shen remembered some random talk show he watched in the past where the guest gave a tip to be famous as a celebrity. "Either you look extremely attractive, or you look extremely ugly." At that time, there were a few big names with "Extremely ugly" looks. He was that extremely ugly celebrity. Despite his ugliness, people still watched him, which in this case, he was terrible at the game. The number one noob in the game, that was him, but he earned a lot. If those haters knew how much he made, they would hate him even more. Shen then checked the previous video. Thanks to the Boss Battle, people started to watch his previous video as well. "Wait, I got this much just from two videos?" He realized that he only had two videos locked behind the paywall, and the first locked video had almost ten million views. "This is insane." Shen shook his head, but he kept smiling. "Let''s celebrate this with Eunha and Uncle Wen. Sister Mei Mei should know a good restaurant." He took out his phone and called Sister Mei Mei. He checked the clock, and it was seven-twenty. "She should be at home right now." The call quickly connected, and Mei Mei immediately answered the call. "What''s up, Shen? It''s unusual of you to call me first. Do you need anything? I will return home Saturday night." "Yes. Sister Mei Mei" Shen told her his n about dinner. The main issue was that he wanted to bring Eunha to have a good ce. She must be stuffy to stay at the shop and kindergarten all day. He could not y with her that often since the grinding and the sparring. "How much?" That was Sister Mei Mei''s response. "How much what?" Shen thought Sister Mei Mei was asking how much he earned. He was about to tell her the actual number, but she spoke first. "The budget, of course, and I need to know the budget before looking for a ce to eat. "It does not matter. Get the best ce, but I don''t want the food to be too oily or too much meat, and it''s not good for Eunha." Greasy food was not good for someone with heart disease. He did not want the celebration to turn into a misfortune. "In that case, I know a good ce with seafood, and that ce also has the best unagi." Shen could hear the droll from the other side of the phone when Sister Mei Mei mentioned unagi. "It''s grilled unagi, so we don''t need to worry about the oily food. And seafood should be good for Eunha, ah, that ce also has a big aquarium." The more he listened to Sister Mei Mei, the more Shen felt this might be an excellent ce to eat. "What about Uncle Wen and Auntie Jun? Do they have seafood allergies?" "Don''t worry about that, Shen. They are fine with seafood, but this ce may be too costly. Thest time I went to this ce, we had to pay three thousand for four people." That was too expensive for a dinner, a month''s wage for a particr profession. However, three thousand was nothingpared to how much he earned. "That''s fine, Sister Mei Mei. I earned a lot from the game, and I can afford that much." Shen was not stingy when it came to the people close to him. "I should invite Dale and Ming too." He muttered in a low voice "Then I will book a table for eight. Is that alright, Shen?" Mei Mei overheard him. "Okie. Do we need to pay upfront for the booking? Should I transfer the money to you, Sister Mei?" Since it was a high-ss restaurant, he thought they needed to pay for the booking. "No worry. Your Sister Mei still can afford the booking fee, and I will message you the appointmentter." Yu Mei would not allow Shen to pay for everything when he was the one who paid for the food. "Alright, see youter, Sister Mei." After that, Shen closed the call and looked at the time. It was seven-thirty past three minutes, and he waste for the appointment with Yue. "Oopsie, I will bete." Shen turned off the tv and hopped off from the couch. He drank a ss of water and headed toward the bathroom to pee. After that, he rushed toward his room and hopped into the gaming pod. As he logged in, the interface showed two options now and an announcement. [Open World] [PVP Arena] [More Featuresing soon!] Chapter 120: Setting Chapter 120: Setting "More features, huh?" Shen rubbed his chin. "Will they open a Market?" Because Sky tried to make the game so real, the game did not have a market where yers could sell an item server-widely. yers had to meet face-to-face to trade, or go to the shop opened by NPC, or go to the shop opened by yers. "But it''s kinda weird to open another server that is dedicated to trade items. Nah, who cares. It''s Sky''s problem, not me. But if they open a Market, that may be good news for ZhenZhen, Doctor Lu, and Brother Jiang. Not only could they buy the materials and tools they wanted, but they could also sell their finished product to earn money. Shen shook his head and entered the PVP Arena. While people called it PVP Server, Sky named it PVP Arena. [Wee to Arena~] The robotic announcement rang in his head as his field view changed. His first impression of the Arena was noisy as his ears buzzed with the noise of people talking. He looked around and realized that he spawned around other yers. It was an open area with the paved ground. He looked up and saw a big stadium. Yes, there was a big football stadium in front of him. At least, that was what it looked like to him. "Is there any guide or tutorial?" Shen looked around and realized that most yers logged in with their friends as they gathered in a group. He looked around and found out there were twenty stadiums, and there''s a number above the stadium, one to twenty. He was about to message Yue only to realize he had a message in his inbox. The message was from Yue, fifteen minutes ago. "Oh, my! I made a girl waiting for me." He scratched his hair and opened the message. "Come to No 17 Arena. I have opened a room for us." Shen blinked his eyes and read the message repeatedly. He scratched his forehead. "The wording is kinda weird." He did not finish his words because it was his head that was dirty. "No 17 Arena." Shen turned around and searched the stadium with the number 17. It did not take long for him to find it. He then headed toward the arena. "So, where should I find this room she talked about?" He observed the other yers around the arena and found out most were walking toward the arena entrance before they disappeared. Shen then headed toward the entrance. Early, no one paid attention to him, but people started to look at him as he headed to the entrance. He knew they were looking at his missing arm, and the yers around him began to whisper while secretly pointing at his missing arm. ''Shit, at this rate, I will be famous again on the forum. The one-armed yer entered the PVP Arena.'' Shen could imagine what kind of thread would appear on the forum. Shen picked up his pace and arrived at the arena entrance. As he stepped into the entrance, a menu interface appeared in front of his eyes. He finally understood the meaning behind the room. There were 500 rooms in total in this arena, room meaning an individual arena. Most of the rooms were set private, with a maximum of ten yers per room. He was about to search the room one by one until he noticed a red exmation mark on the top right corner. He tapped the exmation mark. [Yue invited you to room No.97! (ept) (Decline)] Shen was ufortable being stared at by many people, so he immediately epted the invite. His vision blurred for a moment before he appeared in the middle of an arena. He looked around and found Yue was sitting at the edge of the arena. She swayed her legs at the edge of the arena as she looked down, not noticing his arrival. Shen approached her slowly and was about to apologize, but he identally looked at what she was doing. Yue was watching a video, and he recognized the video, and it was his video with almost 18 million views. He scratched his hair, did not know what to do. It was awkward because she watched his video. After a while, he coughed lightly. "Ahem. You should tell me if you want to watch the video. I can send you the video, so you don''t have to pay." Yue was startled and immediately stood up. Because he was standing too close to her, their faces were so close when she stood up, and their noses were a few centimeters away from touching each other. Shen was startled as he instantly backed up from her. At the same time, he reminded himself of the status difference between them. ''We are just sparring partners, not more than that. Just a friend.'' He said that a few times in his head before he calmed down. Meanwhile, Yue just smiled as if nothing had happened between them. There was indeed nothing that happened. Why would he get flustered? Shen smiled embarrassedly while rubbing his nose; his cheeks slightly turned red. "I am sorry, I amte." "Mnnn, It''s okay, and I should ask you instead of deciding our meeting time by myself." Yue shook her head. Looking at Shen, who was standing awkwardly like that, Yue continued the conversation. "Before we start the friendly battle, let me exin how the arena works unless you already know." Shen nodded his head. "We can start with that first." Yue smiled and started exining about the arena. "First, we can change the setting here." She showed him an interface about the setting. She showed him the friendly battle, but there was the Death and Life Battle next to the friendly battle. "In the friendly battle, we will lose if our HP reaches ten percent or lower, but don''t worry about using your skill even though my HP is low because I can''t die in a friendly battle. We can also set our armor and weapon so we can have the same weapon, or we can use our original one." "Also, this is an interesting feature in the arena. We can modify our stats, and you can lower your stats, but you can''t surpass your original stats." She had learned a lot about the PVP Arena, while Shen came without knowing anything. This was him. He would instead learn directly by trying the arena. "So, should I lower my stats to match with yours? It would be unfair since I am a few levels higher than you." If that were the case, Shen was afraid Yue would gain nothing but be bullied by him from the sparring. "It''s okay. We have to fight with our actual stats in the tournament, so it will be better to get used to fighting a high-level yer like you. The setting I rmend is about the weapon and our armor. So far, the best equipment has 32 armor, and the best weapon has 137 bonus Damage. With our limited item, I rmend modifying our armor to 25 to 30, and we use a weapon with 62 Damage. We need to get used to fighting a high-armored yer and use Wrath Club as our preference." Yue voiced her thoughts about their friendly battle. "Let''s do that." Shen nodded his head. Chapter 121: Against Yue Chapter 121: Against Yue They agreed with 30 armor and a wooden sword with 62 damage. Shen checked his stats, and he calcted he had 292 damage in total. ''Wait, if we use the original stat, does that mean I can kill her in four hits?'' He had been in Yue''s position before, and he believed that her hp was around six hundred, or at max a thousand. ''Wait, no. 30 armor is about 25% damage reduction, that means I need to hit her five times, then I will win the fight.'' "Remember, Shen. I don''t need your pity. I want you to fight me seriously!" Yue reminded him with a serious tone. Shen responded with a nod. "Alright then, let''s start the fight!" As the host room, Yue started the battle. The countdown appeared between them, starting from three, two, and one. As soon as the countdown reached zero, Shen immediately cast his skill, [Void Step]. Shen''s figure dashed forward with incredible speed. It was clear that Yue did not expect that Shen would be this fast. She could not react in time and froze on the spot. Shen then executed the next skill, [Void Draw]. A quick movement followed by a quick sh from his skill. -482 Yue subconsciously stepped back after the first hit. However, Shen followed up with another skill, [Void Thrust]. He thrust the wooden sword to her stomach. Shen was just too fast, and Yue could only watch helplessly the wooden sword hit her stomach. -438 [You Lost!] Then a big screen with red text appeared before her eyes. At the same time, Yue plopped down on her butts. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked at Shen. He defeated her in two hits. ''As expected, you can''t trust the inte today. How can someone like him be a noob?'' Shen looked concerned as he immediately rushed over toward her and offered his hand. "Are you okay?" Yue shook her head and reached his hand. She got up and replied with a smile. "I am fine, I just did not expect you would be that fast." "Ah, that''s my skill. Since you are more experienced than me, maybe you can adapt to my speed soon enough." Shen shook his head. He believed he won because he caught Yue unprepared with his skills. In a few rounds, he believed Yue would break hisbo. "That was a nicebo. You can catch the pro-yers off guard with thatbo. Unless you meet a pro yer in the qualifier, you can save thatbo until then." Yue voiced her thoughts. That was a nicebo, but it would not work for the second time to the same person because the movement was too straightforward. Shen agreed with that, but he was unsure if he could defeat other yers with his movement without using skills. "But I am not that confident that my normal movement can defeat the high-level yers." "I see," Yue rubbed her chin and nodded her head. "What about if we fight without using skill first? Maybe I can give you some input if you want to?'' "Alright, let''s do that." Shen agreed with that. Fighting without skills was necessary because skills had a cooldown. He could not depend on his skills all the time, so he must learn some basic moves. They returned to the position. Yue held her spear tighter as she felt the pressure. She proposed to teach Shen the experiences of fighting the pro yer, but she was instantly lost in the first round. She was embarrassed since she was the one who proposed this. The countdown started once again. As soon as it reached zero, Yue was the first one to make her move. She rushed toward Shen, she used her weapon advantage that was a spear. She thrust the spear toward Shen''s chest. However, Shen felt that Yue''s movement was too slow. When she was about to thrust the spear toward him, he moved to the side. He avoided the spear before it could even reach him. By the time Yue thrust the spear forward, Shen had dashed forward from the side. He thought he had this, but Yue maneuvered her spear to the side with a wide swing, to his surprise. The spear''s shaft his shoulder, and he fell to the side. -78 Yue did only half of the damage since she attacked Shen''s with the spear''s shaft. Right after that, she leaped backward to make a distance from Shen. She did not expect that Shen would read her attack and react to her attack that fast. ''Am I being too cocky to teach him? He has a good reaction, and I think he is good enough.'' Yue thought Shen was a total noob since peoplebeled him a big noob. Because of his title, she did not expect that much from Shen. ''I have to be serious, or else I will embarrass myself in front of him.'' She held the spear tightly and regained her stance. ''I can''t match his speed. The best way to y this out is to counter him instead of attacking him aggressively.'' Just like that, Yue got serious from the start. She nned to go easy on him, but if he was this good, she had to go all out. This was no longer a friendly fight but a battle for her pride. She boasted that she had been fighting the pro yer, on top of that, more reason not to lose. Shen also regained his footing after the unexpected swing that came from her. He thought it was a hundred percent hit, but she reacted well to counter him. ''As expected of a High Ranker. High stats are not enough to win against an experienced yer.'' He slowly approached Yue. The n was to catch up with Yue with his speed. A simple maneuver was not enough to win against Yue. He knew that, so he had toe up with a new n. Since Yue went into a defensive position, Shen took the initiative. When the distance between them, he rushed forward. Shen expected a quick reaction from her as she thrust the spear toward him. Learning his lesson from the first exchange, Shen took the light step to the right, avoiding the spear aimed for his chest. Then he made a motion that he would rush over to her, but it was a feint. Sure enough, Yue swung the spear toward him again. Shen rolled in the opposite direction, thinking he would catch Yue in surprise. After he rolled down and got up, Yue was already in motion tounch a kick toward him. He recalled that her kick was simr to a move in taekwondo. Shen wanted to catch her in surprise, but it was the opposite. The kick was unexpected to Shen, but he quickly reacted by crossing his sword on his chest. The kicknded on the wooden sword, but he blocked the kick perfectly since his stat was higher than Yue''s stat. ''This is my chance!'' Shen''s eyes brightened as he saw a chance. One of her feet was in the air, and her footing was not stable. A slight push, he could push her down. For some reason, the thought of copying Yue''s kick crossed his mind, and he did it. Shen turned his back against Yue andunched the kick. He was about to raise his foot, but her wooden spear hit his back. She knocked him down with another unexpected kick, and he fell forward. -79 When Shen turned around, he saw Yue was smiling at him. It was not a mocking smile but a victorious smile. As if she was telling him that she knew all his ns. Chapter 122: A Few Martial Arts Chapter 122: A Few Martial Arts "You should not try the move you have not done before. If you did not try that fancy kick, you might hit me there." Yuemented on Shen''s decision to copy her movement to counter her. He might get the right idea, but his kick was too clumsy, so she quickly countered him. Shen learned his lesson and heeded the warning as he got up. She was right about that. He should not make a fancy move if he had never practiced it before. ''I should focus on my biggest advantage, which is speed.'' They continued the fight, and surprisingly, he could only hit her once. Yeh, time flew quickly as they fought, and he realized that the stats did not matter when he could notnd a blow on his opponent. Shenid down on the center arena, looking at the sky with a red screen before his eyes, saying [You Lost]. He was speechless for failing tond more than one hit after four hours of fighting. Yes, one hit in four hours, most of them was, he almostnded a blow. Yeah, it was just almost a hit because Yue could pull something out of nothing. When he thought he would hit her for sure, she would make an unexpected maneuver and countered him, every time. "There''s a reason why they are a pro, I guess," Shen muttered in a low voice as Yue came over and sat next to him. "That''s not true. I guess this could happen in this Tribe Online only. If it is Universe Online, it would be hard for me to dodge your attack." "I don''t know what Sky does to this game, but you can move more freelypared to the other VR games. I can say that their gaming pod might be the factor for that, but it''s actually not that different from a real-life movement." Yue tried to exin to Shen the difference between the two games. "Just like my spinning kick, you tried to copy. It''s an actual movement from taekwondo. So yeah, you can apply the real martial art into the game. Maybe you can." Yue was about to say something, but she shook her head afterward. "Nevermind." Shen was curious about what Yue wanted to say, but he did not pursue it further since thetter did not want to speak about it. "Applying martial art movement into the game? I have never heard of it before." "Yeah, because it could only happen in Tribe Online. Many people tried it in the other games, but there is always an issue. I happened to discover this when I tried to hunt a monster." Yue replied. "Hmm," Shen hummed in acknowledgment. "Should I try to learn a martial art too?" "That''s a good idea, actually. By learning a martial art, you can train your perception, too, you know. Just like what I did, reacting to your movement when you cornered me. I guess that can happen because I learned a few martial arts." Yue nodded. "Nah, I will pass for that. I don''t think I can learn a martial art in real life." Shen shook his head while letting out a smallugh as if it was nothing. Of course, Yue continued to ask. "Huh, why?" There was silence between the two for a moment, and regret shed in her eyes for asking that. After a moment of silence, Shen replied with a low voice. "I am a limp. There''s an issue with my right knee where I can''t do a heavy activity with my right leg. If I force myself to learn a martial art, I may get amputated." Yue widened her eyes in shock, but then she quickly apologized. "I am sorry, I don''t know you are." Before she finished her words, Shen got up and waved his hand at her. "You don''t have to apologize. You did not do anything wrong." "Anyway, you learned a few martial arts?" There was a surprise in his tone. He was genuinely surprised that Yue learned a martial art. He thought he was not the type of girl that was into something like that. This was also his attempt to change the topic, so the air between them was not too awkward. "Yeah. I learned Wushu, Taekwondo, Judo, Karate, Boxing, Kickboxing, and Jiu-Jitsu." Yue mentioned one by one the martial art she learned. "I have been learning martial arts since I was twelve? At first, I tried to learn Boxing for self-defense. But then I continue to learn more because of my beforehand line of work. I am afraid of stalkers, so I try to learn everything I can." Shen swallowed a mouthful of saliva as he secretly took a mental note, ''Don''t piss Yue or else I will die!'' The few martial arts in her mouth were not just two or three, but seven. "I want to learn Muay Thai, but I can''t find a decent teacher in our country. I will pass for that since I am toozy to learn something new now." Yue smiled at Shen. Her smile was beautiful, but it was terrifying for him. Who knew that behind that beautiful and delicate smile, she was someone who mastered seven martial arts. If some bastards tried to harass her, they were done for. There was nock of harasser for a beauty like Yue. "Ah, how about if you learn Taekwondo from me? I can teach you Taekwondo in this game, and that may work. Do you want to try?" Yue suddenly got an idea to teach Shen martial arts in the game. "Just telling you, I am a ck belt in Taekwondo and Judo, and also a brown belt in Karate. I think I can teach you that if you want to." Upon hearing that, Shen''s impression of Yuepletely changed. It was not changing in a bad way. It was just that he viewed her as a city girl that lived in a protected environment. Someone who was born with a golden spoon, but it seemed she was more than that. If she could get that ck belt, that meant she took the martial art seriously. Chapter 123: Noob Learns Martial Art Chapter 123: Noob Learns Martial Art ''Learning Taekwondo in the game? That''s a new concept for sure.'' Shen looked at his right knee. "But will it help me? If it helps me, then sparring like this is no different than learning Taekwondo, right?" "That''s true, actually, but you can''t learn and apply the creativity of Taekwondo in the fight if you don''t understand them. The same for other martial arts as well, so learning the martial arts gives you more advantages than just training your reaction." Yue replied with a smile. "Do you want to give it a shot? I actually don''t know if that could happen. If so, Sky truly hides something big from us." Yue was saying this not from the gaming aspect but from the other aspects. If the gaming pod could be used to teach someone martial art, it could be used for many things. The era where people did everything from home woulde true through Virtual Reality. Of course, Shen did not understand that far about technology. He thought about it for a moment before replying. "Let''s give it a try." He agreed to learn a few tricks of martial arts. "Then let''s start now!" Yue immediately stood up excitedly and looked at Shen with a big smile. "We will make a fixed schedule for the sparring and the martial arts. Can you send me your empty schedule so that we can match our schedule?" "I am free every day. I have nothing to do but y the game anyway." Shen did not have a thing such as a schedule because he was free every day. "However, I prefer if we start the lesson at the same time as today. During the night of in-game time." "That''s my thought as well." Yue nodded her head. "Then we don''t need to schedule if you are that free. I will be your sparring partner and also teach you a few martial arts every day. I am also free every day." "Good. There''s a significant advantage if I teach the lesson in Arena. You will be able to refresh your stamina, and I can teach you without taking a break. This is a big advantage of Virtual Reality." Yue seemed to be more excited than himself, who was about to learn a cool martial art. ''Maybe she is a martial art maniac?'' Shen thought to himself. He got up and reset his stamina, following her instruction. "Wait, don''t we get more advantage if you teach me on the main server? Who knows, we might increase our stats." "That''s actually a good idea." Yue nodded her head. "But we need to find a better ce for the lesson. I don''t want to teach you in front of others, so can you keep this a secret between us? It will be quite awkward if I teach you the martial art and not the others too. I am not that confident to teach many people for my first coaching. For now, let''s start the lesson in the Arena." Yue started from the basics, the stance. She taught him the basic stances such as; the fighting stance, the ready stance, back stance, and so on. He just realized there were so many stances in one single martial art. Amongst those stances, it was divided into more stances as well. For example, the back stance had five different stances to form the back stance, and each stance had your feet positioned differently. It was hard to remember everything, but Yue told him this. "I am not going to teach you that stance yet. We will start from the very basics and advance slowly. You don''t have to memorize it because your body will do that job for you. I can''t exin it, but you will understand what I sayter." After the stance, she taught him a kick, Front Snap Kick. Yue demonstrated the kick first to him, and he could hear a snap in the air from her kick. "Huh!? What''s that?" The kick could make a sound like that, making Shen''s body shudder slightly. On top of that, he saw how high she aimed the kick for. If he were standing in front of Yue, that kick would hit his throat. Shen subconsciously covered his throat with his hand as he swallowed mouthful saliva. Stupid enough, he tried to imagine what it felt like to be hit by a kick that made a sound like that. He shook his head immediately and found out that Yue looked at him with a surprised expression as well. "Did you hear the snapping sound, Shen?" Yue asked him. From her tone, Shen could tell that she did not know that her kick could make that sound. She asked just to make sure that she did not hear a thing. "Yes, I did hear the snapping sound you made." Shen nodded his head. "This is amazing!" Yue''s eyes shone brightly. "I don''t think we can apply martial arts in a game like this. I don''t know the damage, but I think it''s quite deadly. What do you think, Shen?" "Yes, that''s very deadly." Shen nodded his head repeatedly. Then she saw she performed the same kick, but she lowered the target. Snap! Her kick made a snapping sound once again. If he positioned himself in front of Yue, that kick would hit his crotch. His balls went cold while shaking his head. ''Make sure not to offend Yue. Not like I have a n to piss her too p! Yue pped her hand. "Alright, you can try the kick now. I want to see if you canprehend from seeing me." She smiled at him. Shen copied her movement as he raised his right foot forward. The kick was quite simple in his eyes, kicking forward. "That''s wrong, Shen. That''s not how you do that. That''s not a Front Snap Kick, but a random kick." Yue approached him and tapped his thigh with her palm. "You raised your knee like this." Yue performed the kick again, but she did it step by step. "And then you snap your lower leg like this." Snap! The sound was smaller than the previous demonstration, but it was still terrifying nevertheless. "Try it again." Shen nodded his head and followed her step by step. However, when he performed the kick. He could not produce the cool snapping sound as Yue did. "That''s a good start. If this is a reality, I may think you need some training on your legs, but since this is a game where stats matter, there''s no need for training like that. I see; this is another benefit of learning a martial art in the game." "Let''s try a few more kicks. I will teach a new trickter, but we have to perfect this move first. Step by step, maybe you can get a ck belt like me." Yue looked proud as she looked at her disciple. Just like that, they spent their night sparring and learning (teaching) Taekwondo. He did not know how long he had been staying in The PVP Arena. He could not tell the time when he enjoyed sparring fighting and learning a cool martial art. He did not bother to look at the time when he logged out. When he was out of the game, he looked at the right top corner of his gaming pod''s monitor, and it showed two-twenty, which meant he was spending seven hours or fourteen hours in the game with Yue. He did not feel like it was that long. Shen turned off the gaming pod and came out. He immediately grabbed his Orange when he was out of the pod, and he had three missed calls and two messages. Out of three missed calls, two were from Dale, and one was Ming. The message was from Dale, asking him to go out for dinner. He closed the message and opened the next message from Sister Mei Mei. [I have booked the ce, Sunday, at seven. We will go together from my home, and I will rent a car for us. Don''t you regret it, Shen :)] Shen smiled and replied with, [Okay (Thumb up emoticon)]. After that, he put back the phone and threw himself to the bed. Even though he was not physically tired from ying them, he was still exhausted from ying the game that long. He closed his eyes, and a light snore came from him not long after heid down on the bed. *** *** Just like that, Shen spent his days grinding his level by hunting the chickens and sparring against Yue by night. It was consistently like that, his days. It was not boring for him, because he got to spend his time with his friends. Quickly Sunday arrived. "What are you doing, Shen? Get on!" Ming yelled at him from the car, telling him to get onto the car. His friend was so excited about the free food. Shen shook his head and messaged Yue. [I can''te for the sparring tonight because I have to go with my Uncle for dinner.] Chapter 124: Aquas Chapter 124: Aquas Sister Mei Mei took the driver''s seat, driving for everyone even though Ming volunteered to drive the car. She said Ming was still too young for this, though he would be twenty-four this year. Shen took the middle seat together with Auntie Jun, Eunha, and Lin Lin. Yeah, they happened to add one more little girl because Eunha invited her. However, there would be a minor problem because they booked for eight people instead of nine people. Sister Mei Mei said she would talk it out with the restaurant. Of course, if the restaurant did not allow them to enter, Dale said he would go somewhere else to eat. The big brother Dale would sacrifice himself for Lin Lin. The little girl sat on hisp instead of her seat, and Lin Lin stood next to him, looking outside the window admiringly. For someone who spent her time in a rehabilitation facility most of the time, just looking at the glittering building and street was enough to amaze her. Shen was happy and also sad to see her like this. It was sad that she was happy over something simple like this. Her eyes went round, shining as she looked at the street and the crowd at the side road. ''I can''t wait to see her reaction when we arrive at Aquas.'' Aquas was the name of the restaurant they booked. It was a restaurant and also an aquarium for thousands of fish. It took them one and half an hour because of the traffic jam, but they arrived in time. "Fish!" Eunha excitedly pointed at the board at the entrance to Aquas. "Yah, there will be a lot of fish inside. Do you want to see the fish?" Shen smiled at Eunha. Her eyes got even bigger, making her look even more adorable. The shining gaze in her eyes did not fade away that easily. After they parked the car, the little girl was too excited to see the fish. She opened the door and was about to jump, but Shen caught her. "Hoit! You can''t go alone or run around like that, Eunha. You have promised me." "Alright! But quick, quick carry me inside." The little girl nodded. While Eunha acted spoiled, Lin Lin was moreposed and acted sensibly. Even though everyone could see that she was swaying her feet, she could not wait to see the fish. Shen got off with Eunha in his chest. Lin Lin was about to hop off, but he picked her up. He carried both of them with him. Rather than a brother, he was like a father to them. "Let me carry Eunha, Shen. Even though they are small, they are still quite heavy." Auntie Jun was concerned when she saw Shen carrying the two girls with him. "It''s okay, Auntie. I am fine." Shen smiled in response, though there was a little who asked to be put down. "I am not a kid anymore; put me down." "But what if I insist on carrying you?" Shen smiled at the Little Witch. The little girl looked away and said in a low voice. "If you insist on carrying me, then I don''t have a choice but to let you carry me." "Hehehehe. Tsundere~ Tsundere~" Eunha let out a smallugh and teased her friend. "You dare to repeat it, Eunha? Thisdy will fight you!" Lin Lin was embarrassed being called out like that. The two girls were messing around, but when they entered the building, Shen whispered to them. "Don''t be noisy, or else we will be kicked out, and we can''t see the fish." That was very effective in making the two kids tone down their voices. He was not wrong either because they might get kicked out if the two kids disturbed the restaurant. Sister Mei Mei talked with the attendant, discussing the booking issue as the others waited in the lobby. "Where the fish?" Lin Lin asked in a small voice. She looked around and could not find the fish. Eunha also had been looking for the fish since they entered the waiting room. ''As expected of a high-ss restaurant. They even prepared an exclusive waiting room, and this is too luxurious to be waiting. The expensive couch, the snacks for free as he even saw an ice cream stand. They did not need to pay for the ice cream as long as they booked a table in the restaurant. Of course, one person could only get one ice cream. Soon, Sister Mei Mei returned with a big smile while gesturing an okay signal with her hand. "They allow us to bring the ninth person, but we have to pay the penalty, 100 Yuan." "That''s good." Shen was relieved that they could still get the table. However, Uncle Wen''s train of thought was different from Shen''s. "What? 100 Yuan for an additional seat? Are you crazy? That''s a lot, this is too much. Fine, I am not going so you don''t have to pay another 100 Yuan. This is ridiculous." "It''s okay, Uncle. I have the money. Let''s go together." Shen persuaded Uncle Wen, but it was not effective as thetter was about to walk away. However, Auntie Jun pulled her husband''s hand and scolded him. "Did you know that you make the kids ufortable? Look at them!" She was whispering to Uncle Wen''s ears. Sure enough, Eunha and Lin Lin were panicked slightly with the sudden outburst. Especially for Lin Lin, as she was aware that she was the cause of the trouble. If she did not follow them, then the problem would not ur. "It''s okay, Grandpa. I will just stay in the car." Lin Lin''s voice was small, but everyone could hear her. Only then did Uncle Wen realize that the two kids were more sensitive than the normal kids. "We will pay 100 Yuan, but I will be the one who pays, understood?" The old man gave in and took out a 100 Yuan bill from his wallet, and he gave it to his daughter. "Yeay!" Shen offered a toss to the two little girls to lift up the atmosphere. Lin Lin was serious with her words, and she did not know what to do with the toss. When she saw Brother Shen winking at her, she tossed against Brother Shen''s palm. Eunha also followed afterward, tossing her tiny hand onto Shen''s big palm. "Yeah~" Sister Mei Mei actually already paid the penalty booking, but she received the money anyway and winked at Shen secretly. Even though Uncle Wen took out the bill, the ten times amount would be transferred to his bank ountter. It did not matter if Uncle Wen paid or not. The attendant came for them, guiding them to their table. Their table was on the third floor, and Mei Mei booked the table next to the window so they could see the scenery outside from the third floor. Of course, this spot was more expensive than any other regr table, but since it was a rare moment where they gathered. Shen did not mind paying more for a good view. This was Eunha and Lin Lin''s first time getting to a ce like this. They admired the view with their eyes shining. They were standing next to the window for like three minutes before they remembered about the fish. "Fish! Fish! Fish! Fish!" The two girls shouted in rhythm. "I will order the food, Shen. You can bring them to the Aquarium." Sister Mei Mei grinned ear to ear as if she was saying I would order the most expensive food in this restaurant. Shen did not mind; that was why she wanted to treat everyone with the best, so she handed the duty to order the food to her. "Text us when the food arrives." Shen brought the two little girls to the first floor. Yes, the aquarium was on the first floor, next to the waiting room. However, they had to enter the aquarium through the elevator from the second floor or above. There was an exclusive elevator for the customer to enter the aquarium. They had to use this elevator to enter the aquarium, so in other words, only people who ate in this restaurant could visit the aquarium. Of course, there was a door connecting the waiting room and the aquarium, but only staff could use the door. "What a weird restaurant," Shen muttered in a low voice as the elevator reached the first floor. Shen stepped out of the aquarium, and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw what the aquarium looked like. He thought it was just a random aquarium with rows of fish tanks with fish in it. But this aquarium was just like the other big aquariums he had visited before. Shen brought the two girls to the giant fish tank. The wall of the aquarium was the fish tank itself. The two girls put their hands on the ss, and their eyes followed the fish''s movement. Lin Lin seemed to remember something as she turned around toward him. "I want to see a Shark! I want to see a Shark!" "Me too! Me too!" Eunha also nodded her head furiously. "Shark! Shark! Shark! Shark!" ''But why the shark? I thought kids like dolphins more or whales more than sharks?'' Shen could not help questioning the two little girls'' taste. ''Of course, there''s no way a small-scale aquarium like this has a shark or even dolphin. Ah, in the first ce, Aquarium is not allowed to have dolphins.'' "I don''t think they have a shark-" Shen''s words cut midway as a female interrupted him. "We have sharks here, Sir." He raised his head and saw a female attendante to him. "Of course, it''s not the great white shark, but we have three hammerhead sharks in our tank. Please follow me if you want to see the shark." "Shark! Shark! Shark! Shark!" The two girls were excited to see sharks. Shen had no choice but to follow the female attendant. The female attendant guided them to the other side aquarium, and sure enough, three hammerhead sharks were swimming together on the tank floor. "Woah!" The two girls opened their mouths in awe as they saw the shark. The two little girls seemed to be attached to the sharks as they asked him to follow them. Midway, Lin Lin pointed at the top. "ne Fish! There''s a ne fish!" "ne fish?" This was Shen''s first time to hear that type of fish. He looked up and realized the meaning of the ne fish. "Whoa! ne fish, Brother Shen. There''s a ne fish!" The ne fish was the stingray, and there was a medium size of stingray above the shark. Shen was amazed that the aquarium managed to gather them into their collection despite their small scale. ''The rich always have their way.'' "Put me down! Put me down! I want to see the other fish!" Lin Lin and Eunha asked him to put them down. Shen nodded and put them down. "However, you have to promise me that you can''t run around!" The two little girls nodded their heads and walked on their own. The center of the aquarium also had a tube-shaped fish tank, and they walked in that direction. They followed his words and did not run around. They walked side by side, holding their hands as their eyes looked around the fish tank. Shen was relieved that the two girls listened to him. He also enjoyed the view of the aquarium until he heard a yell from the front. "Darn, Kids! Can''t you see while walking! You spill juice in my expensive suit! Do you know how much the suit costs?" Shen looked toward the voice. Lin Lin fell on her butt as orange juice spilled over her head. At first, she did not cry from falling or spilling, but she immediately cried when the man started to yell. Her body was trembling as tears flowed down from her eyes, but she did not make that loud cry. She was suppressing her cry. Chapter 125: Aquas - Part 2 Chapter 125: Aquas - Part 2 "Uncle! You are the one who bumped into us!" Eunha immediately stood up for Lin Lin. For some reason, the little girl was brave enough to confront the adult. "Youe from that side, and wee from that side. We can''t see youing, but you should see us!" Eunha pointed in the direction where they came from. The uncle only bumped into Lin Lin because he came from their right while the two little girls looked forward, so they did not see him. When Eunha yelled back, the other visitors looked toward the noise and started whispering. Most of them were pointing their fingers at the adults. No matter who was at fault, the adult was not supposed to yell at the kids like that. On top of that, when the onlookers heard Eunha''s words, it was clear who was at fault. The Uncle''s face turned red from embarrassment as he was getting scolded by the kid. At this moment, Shen arrived next to Lin Lin. Even though her clothes were wet from the spill, he picked her up and embraced her. He rubbed her back and put her face on his chest. "It''s okay~ It''s okay~." When Shen picked up Lin Lin, the uncle''s attention changed to him. He red at Shen, but then she was surprised to see Shen. "Are you their guardian!? I demandpensation for my suits!" The man grinned at Shen. Shen was also surprised to see the man and furrowed his brow. "You are. Sister Mei Mei''s ex?" That was right. The man in front of him was Tao Qiao. The man Sister Mei Mei brought back to see her parents. Tao Qiao''s face turned ugly when he heard those words from Shen''s mouth. However, Shen did not give him to speak and asked, "How much?" "What!?" Tao Qiao did not understand what Shen was saying. "How much for your suit?" Shen looked at the spots on the suits. The man was angry with the kids over three spots of orange juice on his suit. ''As I thought, this man does not deserve Sister Mei Mei.'' At the same time, Shen waved his hand at the attendant, who brought a tray with juices. The attendant was confused and did not want to get involved with this conflict. He knew that the people who coulde here were rich. It was better to stay out, but he could not refuse it since this was his job. "1000 Yuan! I bought this suit for 1000 Yuan!" Tao Qiao shamelessly said it out aloud. Of course, he was not asking for realpensation for real. It was to embarrass the kid in front of him, thinking that Shen might not have 1000 Yuan in his pocket. Shen took out his wallet from his pants and got ten bills of 100 Yuan. He pulled Tao Qiao''s hand and ced the ten of 100 Yuan. At the same time, the attendant arrived with the juice. He reached for the same orange juice and poured it over Tao Qiao''s head. "This is for spilling juice to my sister." Tao Qiao''s eyes widened in shock as the orange juice spilled over his face and clothes. When he snapped out of his shock, he raised his hand and was about to hit Shen. Before the punch could hit his face, Shen grabbed Tao Qiao''s wrist with his left hand. "What? Do you want to fight now?" He gripped the wrist harder, and Tao Qiao''s expression changed. "Arghhh!" Tao Qiao screamed as he fell on his knees. "I am sorry. Please let me go." Shen released his grip and added. "Now, give me your suit." He extended his hand to Tao Qiao. "I have paid you; that suit is mine!" Tao Qiao looked at Shen''s cold face and gulped out. He could still feel the ache on his right wrist, reminding him not to do something stupid. He took off his suit and threw it at Shen. Shen caught the suit and headed toward the elevator. The two little girls would not want to see more fish after what happened just now. When they reached the elevator door, he looked at the suit in his hand. ''Hah, what an expensive suit.'' He knew that this suit was not 1000 Yuan, but he paid for it anyway so he could pour the juice on Tao Qiao. Shen then opened the rubbish bin and threw the suit into it. When the elevator door opened, he saw Sister Mei Mei in it. She was about to call him out but stopped midway when she saw Lin Lin soaking in juice. "What happened, Shen?" "Just a senseless adult with no shame." Shen shook his head. "Do you know where we can get a new cloth for Lin Lin, Sis? She can get sick if she does not change her clothes." "I-it''s okay, Brother Shen. I can''t get sick, so I don''t need to change." Lin Lin replied in a small voice. She did not want to trouble them more than this, causing a conflict between Brother Shen and that uncle was enough already. "Nonsense. You have to change into new clothes." Sister Mei Mei scolded Lin Lin. "We can get new clothes in the next building. There''s a department store there, and we can get new clothes there." "Money is thest thing you should worry about, Lin Lin. Your brother Shen is rich. I have millions in my bank ount." Shen got his phone and opened his bank ount. "I will let you take a peek, but don''t tell anyone, okay? This is a secret between us." Lin Lin buried his face on his chest, but when Shen showed his phone''s screen, the little girl really took a peek. Her eyes went round when she saw the number. With her shocked face, Lin Lin looked at Shen''s face and said something absurd. "Do you want to marry me, Brother Shen? I will learn to cook and make you delicious food." "Sssshhhh!" Shen covered Lin Lin''s mouth and whispered. "Don''t say that Lin Lin, or else the uncle police will catch me." "I want to see it too. I want to see it too!" Eunha nagged him on the side. "You are pretty good with children, Shen. I wonder which lucky girl will marry you?" Sister Mei Mei teased Shen. "Yeah. I wonder who will marry this man who never touches the grass?" Shen responded with a joke as well. He meant he was staying at home all day, so who would marry him. Shen and Yu Mei brought the two girls to the department store. When they came back to the restaurant, the two girls were wearing shark outfits. Yes, the little girl chose the shark outfit when they found there was one like that. "Huh!? What happens? Did you buy new clothes?" Auntie Jun asked as she noticed Eunha and Lin Lin had a new outfit. "Yeah, they spilled the juice over their clothes, so Shen bought a new one for them." Yu Mei winked her eyes at Lin Lin. She knew that the little girl did not want to cause trouble, so she lied to her mother. "What? How could you let Shen buy the clothes for them? You should use your money." Uncle Wen scolded his daughter. Eunha was now his daughter, so it was inappropriate to let Shen spend his money for their daughter. Especially when it was Shen who treated them to dinner in this fancy restaurant. "What are you talking about, Dad? Shen is rich, and your daughter is poor. It''s normal for the rich to pay." Yu Mei grinned and sat next to her mother. "He earned a lot from the game." "Do you think how much he could earn from the game? He also should start to save for his future-" Before Uncle Wen could finish his words, Yu Mue showed her five fingers to her father. "Five Thousand?" He guessed, but Yu Mei shook her head. "Fifty thousand?" Uncle Wen frowned as he could not believe that Shen could earn that much from ying a game. It was unbelievable for Shen to make that much. "Wrong. Shen got 15 million by just uploading two videos." Yu Mei whispered to her father. "So you don''t need to worry about your Eldest Son. He has a lot of money." "Nonsense. How could he earn that much from ying a game?" Uncle Wen raised his voice subconsciously, thinking she was lying. But then he looked at Shen, and thetter nodded his head. "This." He did not know what to say as it never crossed his mind that ying a game could earn that much. ''Maybe I should really buy a gaming pod for Shuren.'' Uncle Wen subconsciously looked at his son, who had been nagging him to buy a gaming pod. After the aquarium incident, the dinner went smoothly. No one exactly knew what happened, and they enjoyed the dinner. If Auntie Jun or Uncle Wen knew what happened, those two would not sit down still until scolding the culprit. If they found out it was Tao Qiao, it would not stop peacefully. Looking at the two girls eating a lot, Shen smiled. He felt it was worth it to bring them here, and he was relieved that Lin Lin was not traumatized by the incident. By the time they finished eating, Eunha and Lin Lin had fallen asleep. They ate a lot, but their belly''s capacity was far lower than the glutton Ming and Yu Mei. Yu Mei asked for the bill, and Uncle Wen insisted on seeing the bill. "I am not going to this ce again even if you ask me to, Shen?" That was what he said after seeing the number on the bill. The food was undoubtedly delicious, but he felt that it was not worth it, 22,760 Yuan. Chapter 126: Heartfelt Talk - Part 1 Chapter 126: Heartfelt Talk - Part 1 Aside from the ruckus from Uncle Wen and Auntie Jun after they saw the bill, the dinner ended with a smile on everyone''s faces. Even the two girls were smiling in their sleep. It was Sunday night, so they had to drive Yu Mei to her apartment as she had to work tomorrow. After bidding their farewell with Sister Mei Mei, they headed home. Mainly, it was because Eunha and Lin Lin were sleeping. If they were awake, Sister Mei Mei wanted to get them to y more. As they drove through the road, Ming, Shuren, and Dale slept as well. It seemed they ate too much, so they were sleeping not even five minutes after driving Sister Mei Mei back to her apartment. Only Shen, Auntie Jun, and Uncle Wen were awake in the car. "Shen." After a momentary silence, Uncle Wen spoke. Shen looked toward Uncle Wen. "Yes, Uncle?" There was a brief silence followed before Uncle Wen continued. "I know that you have a lot of money, but I don''t think you should waste that on something like this. You don''t have to invite us to a ce like that again. It''s not worth spending that much for dinner. If you want seafood, you can tell your Auntie Jun. You can buy the ingredients if you want to, and Auntie Jun will cook. You should know your Auntie''s cooking is divine." Uncle Wen ended his words with a joke as he smiled at Shen. Of course, Shen knew Uncle Wen meant well for him. He was not annoyed, but he would still spend the money whether it was worth it or not. He still got what he aimed for, anyway. It was to make Eunha happy. "To be honest, I am doing this for Eunha, Uncle," Shen replied as he leaned his back. "You should know about Eunha''s condition before you adopt her, Uncle. She was stuck in a rehabilitation center for almost two years. When she was returned to her home with her parents, she spent most of her time with her caretaker. I figured that sometimes I should take her out to y, and coincidentally, I got my payment from the Game, so I might as well treat her to a good ce. And I think It''s worth it by looking at how happy she is, and she is even smiling in her sleep." Shen smiled by himself as he looked at the mirror. Lin Lin and Eunha were resting their heads on Auntie Jun''sp. Uncle Wen and Auntie Jun were stunned when they heard Shen''s answer. They did not expect to hear that from Shen at all. Especially, they were now Eunha''s parents, and it was their duty to think for her well-being. However, looking at Eunha every day in their shop and kitchen, they regarded her as a normal child in their eyes and overlooked her past. "Of course, we will not go to that kind of ce every day, and we can''t go that often as I am afraid it might not be good for her too. However, once in a while, I want to bring her to a new ce. Maybe we can visit the zoo tooter. Eunha was so happy when she saw the fish. Didn''t you notice too, Auntie? She was so delighted when she saw the lustrous street lights with the crowd." Shen turned his head and smiled as he looked at Eunha''s sleeping face. "Sometimes, Ipare myself with Eunha since our situations are kinda simr, but she''s more pitiful than me actually." Shen paused and shook his head. "She is also the one who helped me to pass my darkest time. Her smile did not fade even though she was stuck in that ce, and her strong side is the main reason I am still here. I mean, if she can ovee the sickness she was born with, I, as someone older than her, should be able to go through my issue as well. That''s what I said to myself every time she visited my room back then." Auntie Jun and Uncle Wen listened to Shen''s heartfelt words without interrupting him. "One day, she said she woulde out of the rehabilitation center with a strong heart, and she would tour around the world. I want to realize that for her." Shen closed his eyes as he remembered the little girl borrowed a globe from the nurse and dragged the globe with her. She mentioned which countries she wanted to visit one by one. She did not lose to her illness and kept her spirit despite what she had gone through. "She was so marvelous, and she is my hero." "Of course, I am not going to bring her to tour around the world right now. I think we can start with something smaller like touring around the city." Shen opened her eyes and smiled. "Maybe I should try to get my driver''s license first." Uncle Wen was stupefied to hear that from someone younger than him, but then he smiled. "Maybe you are a better father than me, Shen. I did not think through and somehow neglected Eunha in a way. Talking about her, she never asked anything from us either." "Hehe, if I meet the qualifications to adopt her. I will adopt her for sure, Uncle." Shen replied yfully as if he was joking. However, he was not joking, that thought crossed his mind, but he buried that thought when he found out the qualification for adoption. "And maybe, she never asked you anything because she has what she needed the most, a family. You two are the best gift she had, I think." "And you too, Shen." Auntie Jun interjected. "I think you are her best gift." "Also, let''s n it out, the outing. We should do a regr outing with Eunha every weekend." Auntie Jun added. "But we don''t have to go to a ce like Aquas. What matters are not the ce but the outing itself." Shen turned toward Auntie Jun as his eyes shone. "Let''s do that. I will try to search for some good ces for an outing, and let''s n it out." Chapter 127: Heartfelt Talk - Part 2 Chapter 127: Heartfelt Talk - Part 2 The car went silent for a while before Uncle Wen started another conversation. "Shen, did you really earn millions from the game? If ying the game can earn that much, I will consider buying Shuren a gaming pod." Uncle Wen looked at the rearview mirror as he said that, looking at the sleeping Shuren. "Yes, I did earn that much by posting a video of my gamey. However, if you are asking me if Shuren can earn as much as I did, the answer is I don''t know, Uncle Wen." Shen replied bluntly. "The reason I can earn that much is because of my bad fame in the game. Just letting you know, I am being famous for the wrong reason, but I used that bad fame to post a funny video or how ridiculously I died in the game." "It was fun to watch so many people watch it, and I tried to make an amazing video, and it worked...." Shen told them what he posted on the forum and how he could earn that much money. "You can say this is just a temporary sess. Later, many other yers will upload the same type of video, but these creators will upload their video with professional editing. I don''t think I will be more popr than them by then. But there are other ways to earn money from the game aside from uploading the video on the forum. First, Shuren can try to be a professional yer. Just like a football athlete, Shuren can join a team and get paid. If Shuren wins the tournament, he will also get a share of the prize. However, just like a football yer, thepetition is very fierce. And most of the professional yers retired young, like in theirte twenties. If you are a sessful pro, Shuren will retire with a lot of money, but if he is just an average yer..." Shen did not finish his words and shook his head. Auntie Jun and Uncle Wen could fill the remaining nk in Shen''s words. "Second, Shuren can earn money through streaming. He can stream his gamey and get people to pay him. If he is entertaining, good at the game, and fun to watch, he can seed by streaming. Shuren also has a good look. There''s a fair chance for him to earn money from streaming, but I don''t know much about streaming. I can only tell you that much about streaming." Shen continued. "Streaming?" Auntie Jun did not know about the streaming industry. Both husband and wife were the old-fashioned people who thought gaming was not something one had to take seriously, let alone be a career. Such a thing never crossed their mind until they witnessed how much Shen earned from ying the game. Shen started exining what streaming was to Uncle Wen and Auntie Jun. The streamer earned their money, a contract through the tform, a donation from the viewer, and sponsorships. "Of course, I don''t know how all of those things worked for the streamer. I don''t have any insider information about those." He added at the end. "Third, Shuren can sell in-game items to earn money, exchange the game currency for money, and so on," Shen told them the third way to earn money through the game. "Oh, we can actually open a restaurant in the game and make money from it actually, and also..." He told the husband and wife about the production ss in the game. They were surprised by that and not expecting they could earn money through something like that. After a while, Uncle Wen nodded his head understandingly. "No wonder Shuren keeps saying that he can be sessful by ying the game. You can make money by doing something you enjoy." "But we will not buy him the gaming pod now. At least not until he finishes college." Auntie Jun insisted not to buy her son a gaming pod. She was afraid Shuren would y the game more and neglected his study if they bought their son a gaming pod. "I am just afraid that our son will do something foolish to buy the gaming pod if we don''t buy it for him." Uncle Wen was concerned about that. "What if Shuren gets involved with drugs to make money? What if he joins the gangster?" Uncle Wen made a point there, and Auntie Jun realized the issue. Even though they trusted their son, the environment was the most significant factor that could change people. Especially if all his friends had the gaming pod, and Shuren did not have one. Shen did not expect that the topic would turn this heavy, but he could not deny Uncle Wen''s concern as it might happen. He looked at the mirror, and Auntie Jun made a concerned face. She was worried as well. "Or you can buy Shuren the cheapest gaming pod, Uncle. However, you can''t let Shuren bring the gaming pod with him, and it has to be installed at home so you can monitor Shuren lest he ys the game too much." Shen voiced his idea. "Of course, you don''t have to buy it now. You can do something like: if he gets high scores, you promise to buy him a gaming pod or something like that." "Mnnn," Uncle Wen nodded his head as he considered Shen''s suggestion. He looked at his wife and said, "Let''s talk it out at home." Auntie Jun nodded in response. Shen felt it was always faster to go homepared to when he went out to Aquas. Not just this trip, but he felt the same for any other trips as well. When they arrived at Uncle Wen''s house, Ming and Dale volunteered to send the rented car back by themselves. Shen carried the sleeping Little Witch and waved his hand at Uncle Wen, who was carrying the sleeping Eunha. Lin Lin''s house was not that far from his apartment, after all. It took him less than five minutes of walking to reach her house. Shen pressed the bell, and Lin Lin''s mother opened the door. She smiled at Shen and said, "Thank you for bringing Lin Lin to a trip, Shen." while taking Lin Lin from Shen. "No, it''s me who should apologize, Auntie." Shen bowed his head. "I can''t protect Lin Lin well." Chapter 128: New Day, New Morning Chapter 128: New Day, New Morning Shen told everything about what happened to Lin Lin in Aquas. Since he took Lin Lin with him, he felt responsible for that, and he could not protect the little girl. Even though she did not suffer any injury, the event could cause trauma to her. "There''s no need for you to apologize, Shen. It''s not your fault, but that j*rk!" Uncle Hou came out from Lin Lin''s room while shaking his head. "I have heard everything, and I never thought that such a person exists." He sat on the sofa next to his wife and smiled. "Also, Lin Lin is smiling in her sleep. You must have brought her to a good ce, and that was enough." Lin Lin''s mother also smiled. "I also appreciate that you don''t hide it from us, just like my husband said, Shen. You don''t need to apologize when you are not at fault." Shen let out a relieved sigh that Lin Lin''s parents did not get angry at him. He was ready for anything that awaited him, and he did not mind if they scolded him for what happened to Lin Lin since it happened under his watch. "You seem to want us to scold you, Shen?" Uncle Hou squinted his eyes weirdly as he looked at Shen. "You should not feel guilty about it, and it''s not like Lin Lin is hurt. No, she looks so happy that she is smiling in her sleep." Then a wide grin formed on Uncle Hou''s face. " This might be shameless, in fact, I want you to take my daughter to go out with Eunha more often since we can''t take her anywhere. You know, we just opened the shop recently, and we can''t just close the shop on a day when people start to get to know our shop." "Oh, in that case, you should talk about it with Auntie Jun. Auntie Jun ns to make a weekly outing together with Eunha, and we can take Lin Lin with us." Shen nodded his head. He did not mind since Eunha would have a friend her age to y with. "However, you need to spare your time too, some time, Auntie and Uncle Hou. You know, Lin Lin also wants to spend her time with you two as well." "Of course, Shen. We want to spend time together with our daughter too, but we will need to n it ahead for that." Uncle Hou nodded his head. "I will talk about it with Wen then." "I guess it''s time for me to get back." Shen got up from the sofa while yawning. Uncle Wen also got up and sent him out while Lin Lin''s mother stayed. When he arrived in front of the building, he saw the same ck car parked across from the building. He nced at the car for a moment before entering the building. As soon as he returned to his apartment, Shen took a shower and threw himself on the bed. He was open about Lin Lin''s incident, but he did not dare say anything about Tao Qiao to Sister Mei. He was afraid that there would be a conflict in Aquas between Sister Mei and Tao Qiao if he told her what happened. Shen positioned himself on the bed and closed his eyes. Even though he just went out to eat, he felt so tired. Without realizing it, he fell asleep. It was a dreamless night for Shen, and when the clock ticked to six, he opened his eyes. His hand moved to the nightstand next to him, reaching for his phone. He unlocked the phone and checked the time, and it was right six in the morning. Shen immediately got up from the bed, washed his face, brushed his teeth, and changed into training clothes. He did not want to miss his morning routine, no matter howzy he was right now. When he got outside of his building, thest night ck car was no longer there. Shen ignored the minor detail and went jogging. Following his usual route, he finished his morning jog within forty minutes before ending up in Uncle Wen''s bun shop. "Good morning, Uncle Wen." Shen raised his right hand as he greeted Uncle Wen, who was putting the basket of buns in the storefront. He got the stic cup and took the soy milk by himself. He looked around, looking for Eunha. "If you are looking for Eunha, she should be at the house, taking a shower." Uncle Wen brought the empty basket back to the kitchen and tapped Shen''s shoulder. Shen nodded his head and headed to the storefront to pick up his breakfast. "Let''s get two meat and one cabbage for today." Bringing his breakfast with him, Shen looked for an empty seat, but he could not find any. As usual, Uncle Wen''s bun shop was so crowded that all seats were taken. He was about to stand next to the soy milk stand until one of the customers called him out. "You can take my seat, Shen." A middle-aged man in a suit stood up from his chair while motioning to Shen. "Thank you, Uncle Su." Shen smiled and headed toward the empty chair. He ced the te on the table and started with the meat bun. The meaty juice mixed with the soft yet chewy bun, with the addition of the lower crispy bun, "I just can''t never get bored with Auntie Jun''s bun." "Right? I have been eating this bun for ten years, yet I stille here up until now." The middle-aged man next to Shen responded with a smile. The uncle next to him was someone who lived in the neighborhood for over ten years, a regr of this shop. Shen smiled and chatted with the uncle as they ate breakfast together harmoniously. The chatter of the other customers filled the shop, and it did not sound noisy or annoying. He might feel weird if he did not hear the chatter. When he was at thest bun, Eunha entered the shop with slightly wet hair, her kindergarten uniform, and a blue skirt. The little girl paused at the entrance and scanned the shop carefully until she spotted Shen. The other customers greeted the girl cheerfully, and she nodded and smiled, greeting the adult back with her irresistible smile. Eunha walked toward Shen''s table, putting her hands on the table, and tiptoeing to see Shen''s te. "You have finished your breakfast, Brother Shen?" Eunha''s cheerful expression dimmed, and she pouted slightly. "But I haven''t had my breakfast yet." The code was obvious to Shen, "I want to eat breakfast together with you." That was what she tried to say. Shen smiled and rubbed the little girl''s hair. "Okay then, can you get me another three buns? Two cabbages and one meat." Eunha''s eyes brightened, and she immediately turned around. She was about to run, but Shen reminded her. "Don''t run!" She did not run, but she walked very fast. The little girl picked five buns and walked back to Shen. Shen raised the little girl and put her on hisp, and they enjoyed breakfast together. "If I don''t know Yu Wen and you for years, I might think you are blood-rted brother and sister." The Uncle next to themmented as he looked at how Shen and Eunha got along well. Shen and Eunha smiled ear to ear as they took it as apliment. After finishing their buns, Shen asked the little girl. "When does your kindergarten start? Do you want to go to the kindergarten with Brother Shen?" Eunha immediately nodded her head repeatedly and almost threw up the soy milk in her mouth. "Yes, but you have to go to work. Is it okay to go with me?" The little girl was being considerate of him. Shen pinched the girl''s cheeks slightly. "Of course, absolutely no problem. I can go to work anytime, so it''s okay. So, when does the ss start?" "The ss starts at eight-thirty, but I usually go together with Eunha at eight." Eunha''s smile got wider since this was the first time that Shen took her to the kindergarten. She was so happy that she could not stop smiling. Shen took out his phone from his pocket, and it was seven in the morning now. He still got an hour. "Then Brother Shen will take a shower first. I am sweating and smelly." "You should, but you don''t smell bad, Brother Shen." Eunha hopped off on her own from Shen''sp. "I will help Daddy and Mommy with the shop, but you have toe back at eight." After saying that, Eunha brought the empty te with her to the kitchen. Shen got up and took out a ten Yuan bill from his pocket. He gave it to Uncle Wen, who was sitting at the cashier. "The change is a tip for Eunha for apanying my breakfast." Uncle Wen rolled his eyes. "My daughter is not that cheap. I will save the change into your tab instead." Shen often paid more than what he ate so that Uncle Wen would record the change into Shen''s tab. Shen waved his hand as he headed back to his apartment. Chapter 129: Noobs Awkward Moment Chapter 129: Noob''s Awkward Moment Shen promised to take Eunha to the kindergarten, and he still had fifty minutes before the promised time. Instead of taking a shower, Shen continued his workout for another thirty minutes before taking a shower. Coming out of the shower room, Shen went toward the wardrobe. He was about to take the training pants, but his hand stopped midair. "Should I wear something decent?" He did not want to embarrass Eunha by wearing the training clothes. His hand changed direction and took the blue jeans instead. After rummaging his wardrobe for five minutes, Shen stood before the mirror. The blue jeans, ck jacket, and white shirt underneath. "Not too formal, but not too shabby either." He nodded his head before checking the time on his phone. It was seven-fifty-three, and he still had seven minutes to walk to Uncle Wen''s shop. When Shen arrived at the shop, Eunha was not alone anymore. Lin Lin was with her, waiting for him in front of the shop as they were chatting andughing together. It seemed they were talking aboutst night''s trip to Aquas. "We are ready, Brother Shen." Eunha noticed his arrival and looked at him with a wide smile. Shen was surprised by how happy Eunha was. He was just taking her to the kindergarten, but she was this happy. ''I have to do this more often. The kindergarten is not that far too.'' He made a mental note for himself that sometimes, something simple was more meaningful than a nned thing. Shen nced inside the shop and saw Uncle Hou was chatting with Uncle Wen. He waved his hand to Uncle Hou, and thetter immediately came out. "Can you take Lin Lin with you too, Shen? My wife and I have to get the Ma La Tang''s ingredients from the supplier." Shen raised his right hand and made an okay gesture. "It''s okay. I am going to take Eunha to the kindergarten anyway." While he was not that close with Uncle Houpared to Uncle Wen, he knew a little about Uncle Hou''s situation. They had to get the ingredients from the suppliers by themselves instead of getting delivered to save some money. "Thank you, Shen. I will treat you to a free Ma La Tang if youe to my shop tonight or any night." Uncle Hou smiled widely as he was relieved his daughter was in the right hand. Shen grinned ear to ear when he heard the promised free food. "You can''t take that back, Uncle Hou. I wille to your ce tonight." After a short conversation, the two little girls said goodbye to their fathers. Shen held the little girls'' hand, walking on the side street. There were not many cars traveling around here, rtively safe, but Shen still held their hands, but better safe than sorry. Also, he did not want Eunha to run around. The kindergarten was just a fifteen minutes walk from the shop, and they walked as they chatted. Shen asked the two little girls what kind of kindergarten it was, how many friends they had, and things like that. The two little girls had many friends, and they said noints about the kindergarten. ''That ce is indeed good.'' Shen was relieved that he heard noints from the two little girls. When the kindergarten came to their sight, he looked down and asked. "Do you want me to pick you upter? When do you finish?" Eunha''s round eyes brightened as a wide smile formed on her face. "Can you? But don''t you have to work, Brother Shen? You don''t have to force yourself to pick me up." She then shook her head. Eunha felt that she was happy enough with this. "Hmm, I can pick you up after lunch, or I can pick you and have lunch together. I have to take a break too, you know." Shen smiled. "So, when do you finish?" "We can''t have lunch together because we will have lunch with our friends and teacher together. We finish the ss at four." Lin Lin was the one who answered that. She knew that her best friend wanted this Brother Shen to pick them up, so she spoke for her friend instead. "I see." Shen just realized that kindergarten nowadays was a full program day. He then remembered that the children also had a nap period, but he did not remember if it was after or before lunch. "Then I will pick you two at four, okay?" After the promise was made, they arrived in front of the kindergarten, and a teacher greeted them at the entrance. The teacher looked young, at least, young for a teacher. In herte twenties? Or maybe around twenty-seven. She had a sweet smile on her face as she greeted Eunha and Lin Lin. "Good morning, Eunha and Lin Lin~" A sweet voice flowed out from her mouth. The first one she greeted was the children instead of the adults. Not that Shen was offended as he felt that was a great attitude. That meant the teacher prioritized the children. After Eunha and Lin Lin greet her back, only then does the teacher look at Shen. "Are you Brother Shen?" Teacher Ling was what the two little girls called her. Shen was surprised when Teacher Ling knew him. Teacher Ling smiled. "Eunha often talks about her Brother Shen. You are indeed good-looking, like Eunha said." Thepliment was unexpected for Shen as no one had everplimented him about his look openly like that. Those were two unexpectedbos, and he did not know how to react to this. Shen opened his mouth, but he closed it again as he did not know what to say in response. "Alright then, I will bring Eunha and Lin Lin inside." Teacher Ling waved her hand at Shen as she brought the two little girls with her. They waved their hands at Shen. He subconsciously waved his hand back at them, but his mind was somewhere else. ''Stupid Shen, you are embarrassing yourself in front of Eunha.'' Shen thought to himself while shaking his head. ''You could, at least, say thanks in return.'' He turned around while looking down. Shen returned to his apartment, changing into short pants and drinking some water before logging into the game. By the time he logged into the game, everyone had finished their run. Everyone was sitting on the table in front of the spawn spot, waiting for their food. "You arete, Shen." Dale was the first one to greet him. "It''s so unusual of you." Everyone looked at him, waiting for his answer. Shen was usually the first three people who logged into the game. "I was taking Eunha to the kindergarten first," Shen shouted as he ran toward the backyard of his house. "I amte. See youter, guys~." His routine had changed now, and he was no longer running as much as before, as sparring against Master Yosu was his top list for his training. By the time he arrived in the backyard, Master Yosu was waiting for him while holding the wooden sword. "You arete!" The old man''s stern voice rang, and it was clear that Yosu was displeased with histe arrival. "I am sorry, Master. I have to do something before I cane here." Shen did not know how to tell his real-life situation to an in-game character. There was no way that Master Yosu understood kindergarten and stuff, especially for those things that did not exist in this game. "I see," Fortunately, Master Yosu was understanding of his situation and suggested a change of schedule. "Then, let''s start sparring at this time for tomorrow and onwards." "That''s perfect." Shen immediately agreed as he took out the sword from his inventory. Holding the sword with his only hand, he opened his mouth. "I am ready!" Yosu made an evil smirk. ''Do you think I overlook your tardiness that easily?'' The old man thought to himself. He did not say anything and made his move. First, Shen barely saw Yosu''s movement. Second, he was not prepared for the attack as usually, Master Yosu would give him a signal to start the sparring. Yosu struck Shen''s back without holding back. Shen''s face paled as he fell forward with his face first. Yue told him to increase the pain tolerance to 3 as she said it would help him in something. However, he had not experienced that help yet, and instead, the hit from Master Yosu had gotten even more painful. Despite the pain in his back, he immediately got up and turned around. Master Yosu was right in front of him, swinging the wooden sword toward his chest. Shen immediately raised his sword and ced it horizontally in front of his chest. He thought he managed to block the wooden sword, but Master Yosu changed the direction. The wooden sword twisted in a strange way and struck toward his left leg. "Urgh!" Shen grunted in pain as he fell on his left knee. He was about to stand up again, but Master Yosu struck his right leg. Just like that, Master Yosu took him down easily. Shen knelt and looked at Master Yosu. Thetter had an evil smile on his face, and he felt something bad was about to happen. Sure enough, Master Yosu raised his right knee and struck him on the chest. Shen clutched his chest in pain as his body flew backward. ''What? I thought he was teaching me swordy? Why does Master Yosu use his knee?'' He was surprised because this was the first time that Master Yosu used something to attack him aside from the wooden sword. Chapter 130: Exploring New Area Chapter 130: Exploring New Area [You have trained your body to the limit!] [Congrattions! You gained +23 Vitality and +4 Endurance!] Shen did not bother to see the popped-out screen in front of him. Heid down on the ground, breathing heavily, and closed his eyes. The pain from the beating was all over his body. The arm, the legs, the shoulder, his back, the thigh, all parts of his body were in pain, with the face being an exception. Master Yosu was standing next to Shen, smirking evilly. However, deep inside, he was surprised that Shen endured all the beating until the end. He thought Shen would give up halfway, and then he would go easy, but his disciple never stopped trying. His disciple tried to block his attacks, but all his disciple''s attempts failed. Then, his disciple tried to dodge instead of blocking, and his disciple dodged hisst attack. That was a big improvement to dodge his sword when he was serious, and he was proud of the disciple he chose to inherit his legacy. "Good job. This is it for today, and we will continue the training tomorrow at the same time, and I hope you don''t gette tomorrow." Yosu put the wooden sword back in its ce before leaving the backyard. "See youter, Master." Shen replied with a small voice. He did not even bother to open his eyes as he tried to stabilize his breathing. "I think I understand why Master shows me no mercy today." He muttered in a low voice as he figured it out when his Master told him not toete. "Fortunately, Master relents by changing the schedule, or else I will get beaten up ck and blue by Master every day," Shen made amitment to take Eunha to the kindergarten more often. If Master Yosu did not agree with the schedule change, this was what would happen to him each time he waste. Shenid down on thewn as the pain slowly wore out. After ten minutes, he recovered a bit of his Stamina, and the pain was also gone. He opened his eyes and looked at the clear sky. "What should I do today? Keep grinding with the chicken? Or explore a new ce to look for a stronger monster?" "I don''t think the chicken helps me that much to level up, but exploring a new area is not a good idea either." Despite his training and high status, Shen was not confident in his skill. "However, exploring a new area is better because I have to get Ming the wood to make the arrow shaft and the poisonous nts for Brother Lu. Their growth will be stuck if I don''t get them the new materials to work with." Shen was thinking about his friends. He thought it would be better to have fun together instead of just him, who kept growing stronger. As the pain was gone, Shen checked the notification that rang earlier when he finished the sparring. Then he smiled wryly after looking at how much his Vitality increased after the beating. ''This is telling me that Master is indeed going harder because I waste.'' Shen thought to himself. "However, this is a good sign. I thought I had reached the limit to grow my Vitality, but as long as Master beat me hard enough, my Vitality will grow faster." Shen stood up and stretched out his hands. He was hoping to hear the cracking noise from his body, that would be satisfying, but this was a game, after all. He did not hear the cracking noise. "Let''s ask Brother Lu what kind of herbs he needs for his poison. I also need an ax to chop down the tree, and I have to ask Brother Lu how to retrieve the herb. I heard there''s a technique to harvest the herb." He muttered by himself as he walked out of the backyard. When he got out of the backyard, most of his friends had continued the training. Ming was surprisingly doing a squat with Dale, ZhongL, and Yue. He thought the guy would be toozy to do the training after grinding his level. Brother Lu, Brother Jiang, and Master Yosu were still at the table. "What''s wrong with you, Shen? You look paler than usual." As a retired Doctor, Lu Yao quickly noticed Shen''s pale countenance. Shen shook his head and sat across from his Master. "I am fine." If not for his Master was still here, he would like to share his suffering in training. He was smart enough to keep it secret in front of his Master. "It seems Fried Chicken has be your favorite, Master Yosu," Shenmented with a smile as he looked in ZhenZhen''s direction, who had juste out from her house, bringing a te of fried chicken. "Can you get a portion of Fried Chicken too, ZhenZhen? Also, I need supplies too. I am going to explore the east today." ZhenZhen raised her right hand, making an okay gesture with her finger as she ced the te of fried chicken in front of Master Yosu. After that, she ran back to the house. "Brother Jiang, do you have an ax? I need an ax to chop the Red Willow Tree. I think there''s a Red Willow Tree in the east." Shen hoped Brother Jiang would have an ax, so he did not need to use his sword to chop the tree. He did not want to waste the sword''s durability by chopping trees. Brother Jiang''s eyes brightened when he heard Red Willow Tree. "I have axes. I will get you ten axes. Wait a second." The older man got up from the chair and rushed back into his house. While Brother Jiang took the axes, Shen looked toward Doctor Lu Yao, or now Master Poison Lu Yao. "What about you, Brother Lu? Do you need herbs? Can you tell me what kind of herbs are useful for you? Maybe I can find one or two herbs that are useful for you." "Hmmm, the east side, huh?" Brother Lu made a thoughtful expression while rubbing his chin. "I think there''s a herb called Viper Petals and Krait Rose." Lu Yao told Shen the characteristics of the herbs. Viper Petals was a seven petals leaf, dark green but had red spots on it. As for Krait Rose, it was a flower, a yellow flower that was simr to a rose, beautiful but poisonous. "Remember Shen, just picked the bright yellow one; anything else is useless for me." Brother Lu Yao reminded Shen. "Okay, is there anything else for me to know about these nts? Is there a certain technique to harvest them, or do I just need to root them from the ground?" That was the important part that Brother Lu did not tell him. He was afraid of dying because of how hard it was to recover from losing the level or the experience. He did not want to die by plucking a poisonous nt. "Thank God, you remind me of this, or else you will die if you try to harvest them randomly." Brother Lu took out something from his inventory and gave it to Shen. "Use this, don''t try to touch the nt with your hand. You shovel the herb with the soil and don''t take it out from the soil, or else it will release poisonous gas." Shen let out a relieved sigh and nodded. "It''s fortunate that I ask you." Brother Lu nodded as he was relieved as well. "Yeah, or else, you will resent me if you die from harvesting those nts. I have heard how hard it is for you to level up, and I will feel guilty as well." They avoided the disaster. At this time, Master Yosu stood up from his chair and looked at Shen. "If you encounter an enemy or monster, you can''t see. Use your ears to hear their movement, and if you are focused enough, you could hear their movement no matter how subtle the movement is." After saying that, Master Yosu walked back toward the house. Shen smiled ear to ear when he heard that from Master Yosu. That cleared his suspicion about the monster on the east side. ''That means there''s indeed an invisible monster on the east. That''s why Master reminds me of that. Hear the movement.'' At this moment, Brother Jiang returned by running toward the table. He then took out ten axes and ced them all on the ground. "This the ax, Shen. I have made a lot of axes for my practice, and now ites to use." "Alright, I will take the axes." Shen nodded and put all the axes into his inventory. He thought the axes would be stacked up, but they did not. Ten axes filled the ten slots of his inventory. "I think I will just take one ax with me, Brother Jiang. I have to bring a lot of stuff back, and these axes take a lot of slots." Brother Jiang nodded and took the nine axes with him. After that, ZhenZhen came out with his food and supplies as well. After finishing his meal and with all his preparation, Shen departed toward the east of the vige alone. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!