Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Hera, do you know how many monsters there are around our camp?” Inside the camp in the City of Despair, Meng Yang asked Hera.
“I think Phoenix and Mr. Gussa might have a better understanding of the situation around the camp.”
Hera shook her head when Meng Yang wanted to learn about the external environment’s matters from her. Although she had awakened the Extraordinary Seed, she had always stayed inside the camp and rarely went out to assess the situation.
“Alright, I’ll go look for someone else to ask.”
Meng Yang nodded lightly. For him, Hera was currently one of the elders of the camp and was reluctant to let her take any risks. She was the healer as well as the alchemist, and also a teaching instructor. The importance of such a compound talent was self-evident.
However, the camp’s current movement mentioned by Hera that it might cause some trouble was very probable for Meng Yang.
From his perspective, the monsters in the Land of the Forgotten were almost instinctive in attacking humans. The reality was that this was not a game. The survivor camp had turned into a crowded, noisy area with a population in the hundreds; monsters around it probably would not stand by and do nothing.
Now that he had expanded the number of players and allowed them to explore the City of Despair, Meng Yang felt that he still had to be prepared.
After leaving Hera’s teaching site, Meng Yang was going to ask the newly-joined Gussa about it. He originally wanted to ask Phoenix about it but later decided against it. Plus, he remembered hearing Phoenix say that her activity area was mainly around the camp inside the Ninth District and that she did not know much about other places.
Furthermore, Gussa, as a subordinate who could not only fight but also enchant magic crystals, and had some sort of high-tech magical ability, Meng Yang felt that he should go there and try to get to know the guy.
Gussa was temporarily allocated into a small wooden house on the west side of the camp. It was probably due to it being a relatively off-site location that although many players entered, no one else was in the vicinity.
“Your Excellency, Meng Yang.”
As soon as Meng Yang’s figure appeared in front of the cabin, Gussa spoke up.
“Hello, Mr. Gussa.”
Meng Yang entered the wooden house and watched as Gussa sunk a short hatchet into a thick chunk of wood before replying in a friendly manner.
“I’ve enchanted the three weapons you handed to me, and their sharpness has improved quite a bit.” After Gussa placed down an iron sword, he pointed to the three weapons placed not far from him.
The three weapons were an iron sword and two axes. The iron sword was Meng Yang’s, and the two short axes were gained after the previous battle with the gnolls. The players had looted the battlefield after the war, and while they secretly stashed away some weapons, some were gathered by survivors in the camp.
Meng Yang grabbed his iron sword by the hilt and looked it up and down. The previously rusty iron sword before was now entirely new, with a faint shimmer about it. He stretched out his fingers and flicked the sword’s blade, and a sharp sound could be heard as it pierced the air.
“The main thing is that the iron sword was made of ordinary materials. This was the standard equipment used by the warriors responsible for the defense in the City of Despair. If we have any more iron swords, they will be of much better quality once they’ve been enchanted.” Gussa heard Meng Yang’s admiration, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
“It has greatly exceeded my expectations!”
Meng Yang looked at the iron sword in his hand with a feeling of admiration. He was delighted with the quality of Gussa’s work.
What he worried about the most now was that there was nothing to be given as a reward. Even though the players did not care about this as they cared more about the gaming experience, he still wanted to improve their combat effectiveness as much as possible.
“Mr. Gussa, if someone wants to learn enchanting skills from you, would you be willing to teach them?”
Meng Yang put down the iron sword in his hand, looked at Gu Sa, and asked again.
Enhancement was a great thing to learn. Although it needed to consume magic crystals, the cost of upgrading the weapon was completely worth it. The previous battle with the gnoll leader had made Meng Yang feel that weapons were indeed valuable.
The players’ ordinary weapons could not break through the gnoll leader’s defense, and most of the monsters in this world were sturdy and thick-skinned. If they did not have the appropriate weapons, they might have to continue sacrificing their numbers to win their wars.
“If someone is willing to learn, I can certainly teach them. I promised you before, Your Excellency Meng Yang, as long as you help me rescue the people in my camp, I can teach them fighting skills, and of course, there’s no problem with teaching them enchanting skills. It’s just that it’s not going to be easy to learn enchanting, as it’ll be necessary to have a full understanding and mastery of magic crystals. This is going to be a long process.”
“I understand.”
Meng Yang nodded in understanding. These skills were complex, and they could not be learned just by flipping through a skill book. This was a technical method that required repeated study and research to master.
This was no different from iron smelting repair techniques that were learned in real life. It was necessary to test a person’s perseverance, patience, talent, etc. It was just like the Extraordinary Seed awakening method taught by Phoenix; it would take hard work to gain something of that level.
Meng Yang naturally understood that it was impossible for someone to learn it right away. What he cared about now was only the preconditions for learning these abilities. As long as they were universal and could be mastered through learning, Meng Yang believed that players would eventually try some of them. After all, human learning and creativity were not just about fighting monsters and leveling up.
With Meng Yang’s understanding of Other World step by step, Meng Yang could feel that many other aspects of Other World were worth exploring in addition to the Extraordinary System. Similarly, he also needed some players to research this aspect.
After taking all of this into consideration, Meng Yang then asked the most concerning question. “Mr. Gussa, how much do you know about the monsters in the surrounding districts? Do you know the range of their distribution?”
“I can’t give you an exact answer.” Gussa shook his head and replied.
“You’re not aware as well?” Meng Yang was a little surprised by Gussa’s answer. According to Phoenix, Gussa should have been walking back and forth in the nearby two or three districts, so he should have been relatively well-informed on the situation.
Gussa reached out and grabbed a piece of magic crystal next to him. The initially dim magic crystal suddenly burst into a bright blue light in his palm. Then, he casually rubbed the blue magic crystal lightly on the surface of a hatchet in front of him, and then slowly replied,
“The Ninth District we’re in is actually relatively safer. I roughly know that there are a few powerful monsters in a couple of other districts, but I can’t say for sure.
The monsters in the City of Despair came in when the Magic Tide erupted before. Many monsters have been wandering about, and there is no fixed range. Some monsters may want to stabilize and establish their territory, like the previous saw-toothed tiger. But this kind of activity will not last long, because there will be stronger ones who will be invading and driving them out.”
As he said these words, Gussa paused, “The City of Despair is not the final destination for these monsters, and only a small portion of them were entrenched here. So, what I know is not necessarily accurate.”
“Then, what is the strongest monster in our neighborhood?” Meng Yang asked tentatively.
Gussa’s movements completely stopped, and just as he was about to answer, suddenly, a violent noise came from the direction of the camp gate.
“A monster is here!”
“The monster is attacking again!”
Players shouted nervously and excitedly.
“It can’t be that bad, right?” Meng Yang was shocked and hurried to the entrance of the camp.