Chapter 75: Frugality is a Good Habit |
"Best Friend's Doodle" was the very diary page Bai Mu had seen in the final scene of the Script evaluation. He took out the drawing, which featured a cartoonish sketch of himself. In a way, it was the first portrait of his life, making it highly memorable.
The skill provided by this portrait was also quite powerful. First of all, "Best Friend's Help" was a zero-cost skill without any usage conditions.
It should be known that summoning a Charger, a creature that only knew how to foolishly rush forward, consumed 30% of his Stamina. Crucially, the Charger could only exist for 60 seconds. In contrast, the Witch summoned by "Best Friend's Help" had no time limit and would obey his commands.
Judging from the skill description, the Witch he summoned was the very one Lucy had mutated into after being infected at the amusement park. Her combat prowess went without saying. Bai Mu had personally witnessed the field of corpses in that place. The Witch was at least an elite-level Mutant, specializing in strength and offense.
If it came to hand-to-hand combat, Bai Mu felt he wouldn't be her match even if he used Berserk. After all, looking at the description of the Berserk skill, it was originally an innate enhancement skill belonging to the Witch.
Possessing this skill meant Bai Mu had a permanent elite-level Summon that did not consume any of his resources. The skill would only go on cooldown if he actively canceled it or if the Witch's Health was depleted.
A 24-hour cooldown was neither too long nor too short. Considering the overall effectiveness of the skill, it was completely within an acceptable range.
And this was only one of the effects of "Best Friend's Help". Besides summoning the Witch, he could also summon Lucy.
'But it actually summons Lucy in a spirit state?' Bai Mu carefully studied the skill description. 'Does this mean that when I summon Lucy, she might astrally project to my side, like she's having a dream?'
If summoning the Witch was for combat, then Lucy served as a functional support.
By choosing to summon Lucy, Bai Mu was guaranteed to receive some random consumables from her doll backpack.
"The effects of the consumables should be similar to the Ofuo biscuits. They are probably just little snacks that can restore Satiety, Stamina, Health, or temporarily boost attributes. They'll be pretty good for emergencies," Bai Mu muttered. "But the skill description says I can make one request of Lucy each time. What exactly can she do?"
This was a point worth pondering. If Lucy was in a spirit state, did that mean she could pass through walls?
Could she touch physical objects?
If she could, wouldn't he be able to have her reach places he couldn't get to? For instance, she could retrieve hidden key items from narrow pipes where he couldn't even fit his hand.
Alternatively, she could scout ahead for him. Perhaps she even possessed skills that could provide him with buffs.
The skill description did not explain this in detail. He would just have to test it in practice to find out.
Bai Mu couldn't wait to test the skill's effects. Having placed "Best Friend's Doodle" into his inventory, he immediately gained an active skill called "Best Friend's Help".
However, to his surprise, the skill icon was grayed out.
When he tried to cast the skill, a notification chime from Paradise rang out.
[The level of this active skill is too high. It can only be cast within a Script or the Training Room.]
He couldn't summon Lucy within the community. It seemed Paradise imposed specific restrictions on certain skills in this area.
It was understandable. The community was a safe zone and resting area for Players. Since Paradise had to ensure absolute safety here, it naturally put some limitations in place.
It was just like in online games, which featured dedicated safe zones and combat zones. Generally, players could not be harmed in major cities. Even if a complete newbie was surrounded by high-level players spamming flashy, overpowered ultimate skills, it would just look like a fireworks display. Typically, PvP damage was only enabled when leaving the city or voluntarily entering a player arena.
In the context of Paradise, "leaving the city" was equivalent to participating in a Script.
'Looking at it this way, I suppose certain offensive items are also forcibly locked while in the community.'
'No wonder Community Time is so valuable. For every minute and second spent here, there is no need to worry about anything related to survival. With just a few Points, you can shop to your heart's content, and there are plenty of options for entertainment and leisure.'
Bai Mu mused that Great Northern Wilderness and Nancheng Port were probably drinking and eating barbecue in some bar right now. There were many shops downstairs in the apartment complex, likely run by Players who had acquired cooking skills.
However, it had been several hours since Bai Mu started the Lucy's Wish script. The two brothers might have also gone to enjoy themselves in some woman's bed.
'But I've never heard of this Training Room before. Could it be a feature only available to high-level Players?'
Pondering this, Bai Mu located Misty Rain Traveler in his friend list and sent her a message.
He figured the community administrator would definitely know the answer, but that guy charged for information. Having grown up in the countryside, Bai Mu had always been frugal. He would save every penny he could, so he decided to ask Misty Rain Traveler first to see if he could get the answer for free.
"Do you know how to get to the Training Room?"
A few seconds later, Misty Rain Traveler replied.
"The Training Room is a new module unlocked only for E-Grade Players. By the way, have you already cleared that Adventure Script?"
"Yeah, I cleared it," Bai Mu replied. "I got a new skill after the evaluation and wanted to test its effects, but it wouldn't let me."
"......" Misty Rain Traveler typed a string of ellipses. "This is the first time I've heard of a situation like yours. You actually got a high-level skill before even unlocking the Training Room. Out of my entire arsenal, only my Bloody Throwing Knife skill requires the Training Room to be used."
"Is there any way to access the Training Room early?" Bai Mu asked. "Like you opening one and pulling me in, or something?"
"No can do," she said. "Although the Training Room supports multiplayer, you have to unlock the module yourself before I can invite you."
"In other words, I have to clear another main Script and rank up to an E-Grade Player first before I can use the Training Room."
"Correct."
"Understood."
Misty Rain Traveler went silent for a moment before asking again, "You aren't planning to queue up for a Script right now, are you?"
"In a bit. I'll queue up after I check out the shop from the Adventure Script."
"Bro, are you seriously not going to take a break? You still have at least twenty days of Community Time left, don't you?" She couldn't comprehend his mindset.
"Using Community Time just to rest is way too wasteful," Bai Mu replied. "Can't I just rest inside the Script?"
In his eyes, Community Time was a currency just like Points. He felt that every second he spent lying in a bed within the community was money down the drain.
Misty Rain Traveler was left speechless by his words. She didn't type anything else, simply sending a thumbs-up emoji, followed by a bull head and a bottle of beer.