Early the next morning, Liang Chuan was already up and directing the remaining six Hilichurls to work.
Thanks to the tireless labor of those creatures, the outpost's resources had increased—
thirty units of lumber, twenty units of stone,
and zero metal—since there were no mineral veins nearby.
The materials were still far from enough to upgrade the [Bioenergy Terminal],
but with the ability to summon players, Liang Chuan could now assign gathering missions to them, speeding up the upgrade process considerably.
After giving the Hilichurls their orders, Liang Chuan walked over to the [Workbench]
and began crafting [Basic Control Collars] using the level-1 workbench.
The materials dropped from the Large Electro Slime he'd killed last night were just enough to make ten collars—
perfect to replenish the labor force lost in the last battle.
The level-1 workbench could also produce a [Dull Sword] and [Wooden Armor].
However, he lacked metal for the sword,
and though he had enough materials for the wooden armor, its defense was poor and it restricted movement.
He hadn't planned to craft it—
but after almost being ambushed by Slimes last night,
Having some armor was better than none.
So while hammering out the collars, Liang Chuan also forged himself a set of wooden armor.
It consumed: Leather ×10, Electro Slime Condensate ×10, and Wood ×5.
"Too bad the workbench can't be upgraded yet.
I need to raise the [Bioenergy Terminal] to level 2 first.
For now, the only useful thing a level-1 workbench can make is the Basic Control Collar—
everything else is junk."
As he muttered to himself, a message flashed across his mind—
"Player online."
Moments later, a startled voice sounded behind him.
"Holy crap! This… this… this is a game?!"
Liang Chuan turned around. A tall, broad-shouldered player stepped out of the [Bioenergy Terminal],
his face full of disbelief.
"This graphics quality! The touch! The smell!
Li Huowang (BlazingFlame), pinch me—
I need to know I'm not dreaming!"
Smack!
BlazingFlame slapped him square in the face—
and then howled in pain, clutching his hand.
"Ow! What the hell—your face made of stone?! It's so hard!"
"That's what tank players are like…"
The big man rubbed his cheek, then grinned.
"Still hurts a bit, though. Damn, this game's realism is insane!"
"Tank player?"
Liang Chuan listened curiously and immediately brought up the man's player stats:
Name: IReallyEatBeef
Race: Human
Level: 1 (0%)
Class: Shieldguard
Constitution: 40
Strength: 5
Agility: 5
Spirit: 5
Remaining Attribute Points: 0
"Such a high Constitution? Must be linked to his class skill."
Liang Chuan opened IReallyEatBeef's skill list.
There it was—his class talent: [Mighty Physique].
A passive ability that doubles the Constitution.
Meanwhile, BlazingFlame, a Pyro Elementalist, had the talent [Condense Pyro Energy]—
but since he had no actual offensive skills and only moderate Spirit,
he could barely conjure a tiny flame in his hand.
"Mighty Physique, huh? I should be able to copy that too."
With a single thought, Liang Chuan accessed the player's skill.
Instantly, his own skill list updated—
[Mighty Physique] appeared alongside [Condense Pyro Energy],
and his Constitution shot up from 16 to 32!
His combat power skyrocketed—
He was now a hybrid mage-tank!
"Damn~ a talent that straight-up doubles stats? That's busted!"
Liang Chuan couldn't help but marvel.
"If I can get more talents like this later… my stats could all double!"
"Is he… an NPC?"
IReallyEatBeef, still awestruck by the realism, pointed at Liang Chuan.
"He seems like such a friendly NPC! Look at him smiling at us."
"Don't be fooled by appearances…"
BlazingFlame took a deep breath.
"Wait until he sells you a paper-thin slice of bread for ten copper coins—then you'll know."
"Food costs that much in this game?"
"Maybe just from this NPC..."
"Then can we, uh, take the NPC's food instead?"
"Not this one. Chuan-ge's our boss.
You don't rob from him—you grind his favorability.
If his favor drops below zero, you get banned and kicked from the game."
Thud!
IReallyEatBeef dropped to his knees before Liang Chuan.
"From today on, you're my sworn godfather!!!
I finally found a 100% realistic game—
Please, don't kick me out, godfather!"
Liang Chuan: "?????"
"Bro… grinding Chuan-ge's favor doesn't mean that kind of groveling…"
BlazingFlame facepalmed.
"Just do the quests he gives you."
"Chuan-ge! Got any quests for me?!"
"Actually… yes."
Liang Chuan handed the ten freshly-made Basic Control Collars to the two players.
"Go catch ten Hilichurls for me. If you find stronger creatures, even better."
As soon as he finished speaking, a quest notification popped up in their HUDs:
BOSS has assigned you a quest: [Capture Creatures]
Objective: Capture 5+ Hilichurl-level or stronger creatures and bring them back to the outpost.
Reward: EXP ×5, Copper Coins ×50
[Accept] / [Decline]
"Don't hesitate! Chuan-ge's quests are auto-accept, no thinking required."
BlazingFlame urged.
IReallyEatBeef nodded and hit Accept.
"Chuan-ge, we'll head out then—time to hunt."
Dragging his new teammate along, BlazingFlame hurried out of the camp.
His hunger meter was still dropping; if he didn't find food soon, this "launch-day player" would become the first casualty of the game.
IReallyEatBeef carried BlazingFlame on his back, heading north.
After nearly an hour of trekking through the forest, they finally spotted a wild boar.
It charged straight into IReallyEatBeef, knocking him to the ground—its tusks tearing a gash across his arm!
The two engaged the beast in a desperate struggle.
A creature that would've taken just one normal attack to kill in-game was now putting up a vicious fight.
Thankfully, IReallyEatBeef's Constitution was a whopping 40 points.
He could tank the boar's hits head-on.
Seizing the moment, BlazingFlame conjured a ball of fire and ignited the boar,
eventually burning it down.
They barely had time to celebrate when—
a stern voice echoed above their heads:
"Do you two have any idea you're not supposed to use fire in the forest?"
BlazingFlame looked up—his eyes went wide.
"Holy crap—Aerial Spear Flight?!"