Chapter 102: The Forensic Doctor's Ticket |
[Training Room session for ID K8017 has concluded.]
[Initiating teleportation to the Community.]
In the nick of time, the notification from Paradise echoed in Misty Rain Traveler's ears. To her, it was an absolute godsend.
A flash of white light blinded her. By the time her senses recovered, she had been teleported to the sandy shores of the Community, where gentle waves rolled in one after another.
She touched her neck and face. Finding no traces of blood or knife wounds, she finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Although she knew perfectly well that all Players possessed an invincibility barrier within the Community, the experience had still left a lingering psychological shadow. With a touch of resentment, she opened the chat box and sent a message.
"Don't ever look for me for this kind of 'good deed' again."
Bai Mu had also returned to his own room. Truth be told, he hadn't fully satisfied his battle cravings yet. It was rare to find an arena where he could unleash his abilities without any reservations. Furthermore, Misty Rain Traveler was undeniably a high-level player. On the surface, it looked like he had been relentlessly chasing her down, but in reality, he barely managed to inflict any damage.
Even without ever seeing the skill description for the Hand of Walrider, she had seemingly deduced some of its characteristics. After suffering a setback at the very beginning, she had immediately started darting through the building's labyrinthine stairwells and rooms.
She had likely been frightened by the floating kitchen knife. If she had been a bit bolder and turned around to cross blades, she would have realized that the chopping force behind the knife wasn't actually that strong. Given her physical attributes, she could have easily knocked it away.
Through this extended pursuit and skirmish, Bai Mu truly experienced the practical limitations of the Hand of Walrider in combat.
The ability was only optimal for an initial sneak attack. Once it was exposed from the shadows into plain sight, its threat level plummeted dramatically. Its flight speed simply couldn't be considered fast, and its physical strength was merely average.
Moreover, he could only play around like this in the Training Room where Stamina was infinite. If he were in a real Script, he would have to carefully calculate his Stamina consumption. Draining one percent per second was no small amount. Normally, it would be best utilized as a supplementary tool; if he genuinely wanted to use it for backstabbing, he had to aim for a one-hit kill.
All things considered, Misty Rain Traveler had still made an indelible contribution toward helping him test his new skill.
Bai Mu typed into the chat box, "Thanks for the help."
"What are you planning to do next? Don't tell me you're going into another Script already?" Misty Rain Traveler asked. She increasingly felt that Bai Mu was a complete freak—though in her dictionary, that was a compliment. Deep down, she genuinely thought he was incredibly formidable. Back when she was an E-Grade Player, she definitely didn't have an endless stream of tricks up her sleeve like he did.
Setting aside the levitating kitchen knife, the fact that an E-Grade Player managed to acquire a skill to summon an elite monster from a D-grade Script was utterly mind-boggling in itself.
"No, I plan on checking out the market first," Bai Mu replied.
"Want to go together? I actually have some business at the market as well," she offered.
"Sure," Bai Mu agreed. Since it was his first time visiting the Trading Market, having an experienced person accompany him was definitely a good thing. In his mind, Misty Rain Traveler was quite reliable. After all, back when he had to explore Lucy's house, she was the only one who volunteered to go with him.
Thus, the two formed a party and entered the player market together.
[You have entered the Trading Market. Current zone number: 203. Number of Players in zone: 8,753.]
Every time someone entered the market, they would be assigned to a random zone based on their player rank. A single zone could accommodate a maximum of ten thousand people; once full, a new zone would open up. Players could also manually select their zones. High-level players could choose to enter lower-level zones, but low-level players could not access higher-level ones.
Bustling crowds of Players walked to and fro. They wore all sorts of bizarre outfits, and some no longer even possessed a human shape. Most Players had their ID, title, and rank floating above their heads—these were display options that could be toggled at will.
Since the two of them consisted of one D-grade and one E-Grade Player, the zone they were assigned to was primarily populated by D-grade and E-grade individuals. It was nearly impossible to spot anyone of a higher rank.
Bai Mu had mainly come here to check the prices of class-change items, and also to sell off the Murkoff pistol he had drawn.
Within the market, there was an auction house feature. Players could toss items from their inventory into the auction house to be listed, allowing anyone entering the market to search for them.
However, if the item successfully sold, Paradise would take a five percent transaction fee.
If one didn't want to pay this fee, they could opt for direct face-to-face transactions in the free trade zone. This area was extremely lively, filled with the constant clamor of haggling.
As long as a Player found an empty stall, they could display whatever they wanted to sell. Passersby could immediately see the price and the item's effects.
Bai Mu and Misty Rain Traveler casually strolled around for a bit but didn't spot anything of interest. They also didn't find anyone peddling class-change items; it seemed those things were exceptionally rare.
He did manage to search up some class-related items in the auction house, some of which he was rather interested in, but he simply couldn't afford them with his current Points. Furthermore, he didn't meet their class-change requirements.
For instance, an item named "Ghost Swordsman's Proof" cost a whopping three thousand Points.
[Name: Ghost Swordsman's Proof]
[Type: Special Item]
[Quality: Rare]
[Effect: Upon binding this item, obtain the profession "Apprentice Ghost Swordsman".]
[Binding Requirements: Base Strength greater than 30 points, possesses the special status "Ghost Hand".]
[Note: Today is yet another day full of hope.]
One glance was enough to tell this was a combat-oriented profession. However, the binding conditions were outrageously high for the current Bai Mu. It required thirty points of base Strength, whereas his base Strength was only at sixteen. Even factoring in the bonuses from his title and the piggy plushie, he only reached twenty-four
points. As for how to obtain that "Ghost Hand" status, it was a complete mystery.
The rest of the various class-change items all came with their own respective prerequisites.
After browsing around, he finally understood: any class-change item listed in the auction house inevitably had restrictions, and usually quite demanding ones at that.
The acquisition difficulty for these types of items was inherently high to begin with. They were generally only produced as rare drops for high-level players in high-level Scripts. Naturally, if the finder could use the item, they would just keep it for themselves; only the ones they couldn't use would be put up for sale.
"I'd better just use that Press Badge myself," Bai Mu concluded after getting a feel for the market.
At the same time, he listed the "Murkoff Pistol" he had obtained from his treasure chest in the auction house. He priced it at eight hundred Points, which was roughly fifty Points lower than the market average, hoping for a quick sale.
Afterward, he had intended to purchase some basic daily supplies—like water and food—from the auction house just in case of an emergency. But upon hearing this, Misty Rain Traveler offered him a suggestion.
"If you just want basic supplies, I actually have an avenue for that."
She pulled out a train ticket. The destination printed on it read: "Beika Town".
[Name: The Forensic Doctor's Ticket]
[Type: Special Item]
[Note: An unused train ticket. Upon use, it unlocks the Community roleplay Script "Everyday Life in Beika Town". A maximum of two Players can participate in this Script.]
"Actually, I came to the market just to retrieve this thing," Misty Rain Traveler explained. "It's an item I got from a Script a while back. It's been listed for quite some time, but it seems no one is interested. How about the two of us just use it?"
"I seem to recall that roleplay Scripts place restrictions on a Player's skills and equipment, right?" Bai Mu asked. When he previously used the key to the garden, he had experienced having his attributes, skills, and gear restricted. However, he had practically been dirt poor at the time, so the restrictions hadn't really mattered.
"This is a Community roleplay Script," Misty Rain Traveler clarified. "How should I put it... It's a completely harmless kind of Script. Players basically won't encounter any life-threatening dangers, and even if you do die inside, it doesn't matter. You'll simply be sent back to the Community."
"However, participating in this kind of Script requires a sufficient amount of Community Time. This admission ticket demands two hundred and forty hours of Community Time, which equates to ten days. The time we spend inside will also slowly drain our Community Time. If we die early and get kicked out, the time we paid up front won't be refunded."
"I didn't use it before because I figured I probably wouldn't be able to clear it by myself. After all, it's a Forensic Doctor's ticket. I don't really understand anything about autopsy procedures or corpse identification, so I thought I might as well sell it for Points."
"But I get the feeling you're actually quite knowledgeable in that field. Are you interested in giving it a try?" She waved the ticket teasingly in front of Bai Mu.
"What are the rewards like?" Bai Mu asked.
"The clearance rewards for Community roleplay Scripts are all fixed. It's somewhat similar to an Adventure Script, except there's no Script Shop. During the final settlement, you randomly receive Script treasure chests based on your overall rating."
"One look and you can tell this is a slice-of-life type Script. Our roles will likely be Forensic Doctors, so it should be quite easy to draw some basic daily supplies. If we clear it, we'll also get some items with rather unique utility, which should also be related to forensic work."
"Are you planning to sell this ticket to me?" Bai Mu inquired.
"It's an invitation," Misty Rain Traveler corrected. "I won't charge you any Points, but you have to use it with me. I figured this thing would definitely be a tough sell. After all, when it comes to other people's Community roleplay Scripts, it's usually stuff like 'Legal Double-Dating on Cyan Blue Island' or 'Maid Education.' Those sell like hotcakes. If it were me, I wouldn't want to spend my time in the Community digging through a pile of corpses either."
"Alright, let's give it a shot," Bai Mu agreed after a moment of thought. He felt he was just about fed up with all the bloody and perilous scenarios anyway. Taking a chance to relax wouldn't be a bad idea, and sacrificing two hundred and forty hours of Community Time was perfectly acceptable. "Though I can't guarantee we'll definitely clear it."
"That's fine, I trust you." Misty Rain Traveler chuckled. "Is there anything else you need to prepare? Since we're already in a party, should I just start it?"
"Give me a second," Bai Mu replied.
He took out the Press Badge and chose to bind it.
[You have bound the "Press Badge" and acquired the profession "Reporter". Please check the profession tab for detailed information.]
"Alright, let's go," Bai Mu announced.
Misty Rain Traveler nodded.
[Detected that your teammate "Misty Rain Traveler" has used the Special Item "The Forensic Doctor's Ticket". Two hundred and forty hours of Community Time have been deducted. Teleporting now.]