Chapter 43: Discovery of a Primordial |
Qi Sheng sat cross-legged atop the altar, several split-screen panels floating in front of him, displaying live footage of players engaged in fierce battles inside the Shadowed Cavern.
After two consecutive days of assaults, players had successfully pushed down to the third subterranean level.
The number of Iron Shell Bugs here had noticeably increased, along with large numbers of Burrower race creatures roaming about under control, significantly ramping up the difficulty.
The frequency of player deaths had risen, but so too had the rewards.
To the players’ delight, the quality of the spiritual ore on the third level was far superior to that found in the first level.
The first level primarily produced level-1 spiritual ore, Enerstone, while the third level yielded level-2 spiritual ore, Primordial Energy Stone, directly mined from the rocky walls. Each one sacrificed to the Emperor’s Sign provided over 10 sacrificial power points in return.
The only downside was the increased mining difficulty.
The rock walls on the third level were far tougher, and ordinary mining shovels could barely scratch them, requiring players to purchase more advanced mining tools from the shop.
Battle expenses, resurrection costs, equipment upgrades, monster drops, after the purification mission was issued, Qi Sheng’s income saw a clear boost.
The total sacrificial power deposited into the Sacrificial Power Pool each day was around 200,000, but aside from his cut, he generally didn’t touch the portion belonging to the players unless special circumstances arose.
Before launching the player recruitment plan, he had carefully considered whether or not to use the players’ sacrificial power.
Essentially, what the players saw as their sacrificial power balance was just a string of numbers; sacrificial power wasn’t stored on the players themselves. Whenever they used sacrificial power, it was drawn from the Sacrificial Power Pool beneath Emperor’s Mound Village, converted into energy or items, and transmitted to the players.
So, all sacrificial power earned by players was effectively under his control.
However, this sacrificial power was constantly being used, whether for purchases in the shop, Star Vein upgrades, or Body Tempering advancements.
Overextending this resource could result in situations where players wished to make purchases but couldn’t because Qi Sheng had dipped too deeply into the reserves, leaving insufficient funds.
The Sacrificial Power Pool he managed functioned much like a bank. Sacrificial power could be understood as real-world currency.
Players depositing sacrificial power still depleted the pool. The difference was that he couldn’t loan it out for profit; whatever was spent had to be replenished.
To avoid overconsumption problems, his rule was simple: unless absolutely necessary, he would never touch the players’ portion of sacrificial power, using only his cut.
[Boss, another battle’s breaking out!]
The Guide’s voice interrupted Qi Sheng’s thoughts.
He looked up at one of the screens. The footage showed hundreds of players clashing with Burrower creatures commanding swarms of Iron Shell Bugs. The fight erupted instantly.
Players switched into monster forms and charged head-on into the Iron Shell Bugs.
Over the past few days, Qi Sheng had observed that players used sound tactics in small-scale battles, but as the battles scaled up, all strategy dissolved into chaos, with everyone blindly charging forward, attacking whatever target stood before them.
The regional voice channel during battle was a mess.
“Hey, whoever’s throwing fireballs, can you stop? If your eyesight’s bad, get someone else to aim. Do that again and I swear I’ll retaliate!”
“That brother up front was insane, rushing into the Iron Shell Bug swarm and using Taunt. He didn’t last three seconds before turning into smoke. Pure suicide, hahaha.”
“Stop pushing me! I’m low HP and need to heal. If you keep shoving me forward, I’m really gonna die!”
“Hahaha, looted three Iron Shell Bug essences, worth dying for!”
—
Such chaos naturally led to accidental injuries.
In reality, players would politely apologize for minor collisions, but in a game world without restrictions, players let their true natures loose: shouting, swearing, or even physically fighting over grievances.
Furthermore, while sacrificial power and evolution points were awarded instantly upon monster kills, Iron Shell Bug body essences needed to be manually picked up.
When faced with loot on the ground, no one asked who it belonged to, everyone simply grabbed what they could.
As conflicts intensified, players often fought each other while simultaneously battling Iron Shell Bugs and Burrowers.
Despite these internal scuffles, the players’ main focus remained on their external enemies.
The Iron Shell Bugs, under the Burrowers’ control, fearlessly fought back, and casualties on both sides continued to mount.
The players’ advantage lay in their endless reinforcements, fallen players were quickly replaced by fresh ones filling the ranks.
From a macro perspective, the player advance underground resembled a massive queue. Although the third level had multiple forked paths splitting the forces, players on the first two levels were essentially waiting their turn to fight.
While waiting, players passed the time browsing the forum, watching livestreams of those fighting at the front, or simply picking up mining picks to harvest ores while in line for their turn to charge.
This steady flow of reinforcements allowed for consistent and stable progress underground.
As one group fell, another immediately took its place, slowly grinding away at the Iron Shell Bugs and Burrower creatures.
While their infinite resurrection had limited value against overwhelming foes like Evil Spirit Warriors, it was absolutely dominant in a war of attrition against evenly matched enemies like the Iron Shell Bugs.
At this pace, it was only a matter of time before they secured the Shadowed Cavern.
The current battle lasted less than 20 minutes before ending, clearing the way forward at the cost of 692 player deaths.
Ahead was yet another fork, and players split into new groups to continue advancing.
A new follow-cam panel automatically appeared in front of Qi Sheng.
[Boss, we found a Primordial!]
Hearing the Guide’s report, Qi Sheng turned to one of the panels on his right.
The image showed a creature, bound and imprisoned inside the cave by specially crafted iron chains, resembling a giant salamander with a thick tail. Its head was rounded, its body covered in glistening mucus, and it was baring two rows of sharp teeth at the players with a fierce expression.
Analysis data quickly flashed into Qi Sheng’s mind.
[Qi Eater (First-Generation Primordial)]
Hunt Level: 12
Trait Ability: Qi Eater
Trait Description: Can automatically filter energy particles from the air through breathing, replenishing mental power and vitality consumption.
Guide’s Note: The replenishment effect is influenced by the concentration of energy particles in the area. For example, regions with stronger lunar phases typically contain more energy particles, allowing faster mental and vitality recovery through breathing.
Containment Notice: Killing a Primordial Monster automatically completes containment; all participants share generous rewards.
—
Seeing that it was a Primordial Monster, Qi Sheng instantly perked up.
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