Chapter 160: Key to the Mysterious Ancient Mansion |
After testing the effects of their new equipment, Bai Mu and Misty Rain Traveler found a casual juice bar in the Community to sit down and chat for a while.
It didn't take long for Great Northern Wilderness to send over a set of coordinates and a time, asking them to meet at a bar in half an hour.
The two of them relaxed for a leisurely thirty minutes before heading to the "Spinning Dragon" bar Great Northern Wilderness had recommended. Upon entering, it was surprisingly quiet, with only a soothing piano melody drifting through the air.
After all, they were here to discuss business; a noisy environment wouldn't have been ideal.
A faint scent of citrus and sea salt permeated the air. Surprisingly, the bartender was a robot. It was hard to tell if it was an overly modified Player or someone's summon. Regardless, the bronze-colored automaton, complete with exposed external bolts, retracted its hand. In its place emerged a spiraling blade that, with a series of swift metallic swishes, carved out a perfectly round ice sphere.
There weren't many people in the bar. Great Northern Wilderness was waiting at the counter, a bright smile spreading across his face as he enthusiastically waved them over.
It had been over fifty days since they last saw each other. His face hadn't changed much from Bai Mu's memories, but his equipment had undergone a complete overhaul. The construction hard hat and heavy-duty work clothes had been swapped out for a set of medieval-style chainmail.
A small round shield hung from his left arm, and a one-handed sword was strapped to his belt. At first glance, he looked exactly like a classic medieval knight. Great Northern Wilderness had always been quite burly, so he easily filled out the armor's bulky frame.
The three of them exchanged simple greetings and pleasantries before Great Northern Wilderness led them to a private room.
Sitting across from Nancheng Port was a girl Bai Mu didn't recognize. She had shoulder-length hair and wore a long white robe, clutching something that resembled a magic staff. The style of her clothing closely matched the two brothers, giving the impression that they had all acquired their gear from the same Script.
"Brother Bai, let me introduce you. This is Scattered Fireflies. She's a D-grade Player just like us," Great Northern Wilderness said.
"Sister Firefly, this is our new teammate, Bai."
"Hello," Scattered Fireflies greeted.
"Hello," Bai Mu nodded.
"Since everyone's here, let's get down to business." Great Northern Wilderness invited the two to sit, then pulled out a rusted key and held it up for Bai Mu to see.
[Name: Key to the Mysterious Ancient Mansion]
[Type: Consumable]
[Quality: Rare]
[Note: A forgotten key to an ancient mansion. Upon use, it unlocks the Adventure Script "Haunted Ancient Mansion".]
"Haunted Ancient Mansion" was a D-grade Script. Great Northern Wilderness explained that he had stumbled upon this item during their last run in the Village of Mist. "Village of Mist was a Script packed with monsters. The moment we dropped in, we had to fight off a horde of zombie-like creatures," he recounted. "We followed the mission prompts, tracked down the boss in the center of the mist, and took it out. Once the fog cleared, the Script was cleared."
"Usually, tickets to an Adventure Script share the same theme and style as the Script they dropped from. So, there's a high chance that Haunted Ancient Mansion will follow a similar flow."
"Even though we weren't all together at the same time, all five of us have successfully collaborated to clear a D-grade Script. Plus, Brother Bai even carried us to a Hidden Ending once," Great Northern Wilderness continued. "Because of that, I firmly believe our team is more than capable of tackling the Haunted Ancient Mansion Script."
"We're all friends here. By agreeing to come along, you're doing me a huge favor. Of course, any loot we find inside the Script will be distributed based on individual contribution."
"Let's put it to a vote today. Who wants in?"
"My schedule is flexible, so it mainly depends on what you guys decide," Bai Mu was the first to speak.
"I'm okay with it too." Misty Rain Traveler didn't hesitate this time. Having just been utterly decimated by Bai Mu in the Training Room, she felt incredibly secure joining a team with him on it.
After barely surviving her last new Script, she was absolutely certain of one thing: their relaxing stroll through the Death Journey wasn't because the Script was easy. It was purely because they had someone hard-carrying the team.
While struggling through that recent Script, she had caught herself yearning for the days when she could just turn off her brain, follow the flow, and collect her rewards. Now that she had a rare chance to team up with a Script fanatic like Bai Mu again, there was no way she was passing up the opportunity to ride his coattails.
Scattered Fireflies shot Bai Mu a subtle glance. She had vaguely noticed that the moment this man arrived, the entire atmosphere of the team shifted dramatically.
When the five of them gathered to discuss matters last time, Misty Rain Traveler had been visibly hesitant, likely feeling that their current lineup would struggle against a D-grade Script.
But this time, both her demeanor and body language were entirely relaxed. Plus, the fact that she walked in alongside this guy proved they knew each other quite well.
On top of that, Great Northern Wilderness and Nancheng Port were exceptionally warm and friendly toward this newcomer. She clearly remembered that Great Northern Wilderness hadn't bothered waiting at the bar counter for anyone last time.
The four other members of the team hadn't changed, yet this one addition had catalyzed such a massive shift. It could only mean that anyone who had partied with him had absolute faith in his strength, believing that a D-grade Script would be a walk in the park for him.
In truth, after their last meeting, even Scattered Fireflies had considered backing out. She was terrified of dying and refused to take unnecessary risks. She had only survived this long thanks to her sheer cowardice, which gave her an incredibly sharp intuition for sniffing out danger.
But this time, the vibe felt entirely different. With the addition of this seemingly ordinary man, the group didn't sound like they were discussing a life-or-death Script—they sounded like they were planning a casual gaming session.
After observing quietly for a while, she decided that this guy must be truly capable. "I don't have a problem with it either," she declared.
Great Northern Wilderness beamed, eagerly raising his beer. "That's fantastic! Come on, let's toast!"
With the matter settled, they spent the rest of the time drinking and enjoying the skewers in the private room, the atmosphere lively and convivial.
Bai Mu chatted with them about his fifty days in the Abandoned City of Doppelgangers, and in turn, listened to their harrowing tales from their newest Scripts.
"Let's leave it at that, then. We'll regroup in three days," Great Northern Wilderness announced. "In the meantime, everyone make whatever preparations you need. Plus, Brother Bai just cleared a Script, so he definitely needs some time to rest. Once we're all fully stocked and recovered, we'll head out together."
Bai Mu actually wanted to mention that he had already rested plenty during his Script. However, seeing the satisfied, food-drunk expressions of the other four, who clearly just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep, he decided to swallow his words.
After the gathering concluded, he and Scattered Fireflies added each other as friends. She sent him a smiley face, and he replied with a thumbs-up. With that, the five of them parted ways, each heading back to their respective homes.
'I have nothing better to do anyway,' Bai Mu thought, so he made a solo trip to the Trading Market.