Chapter 224-4: Ninth-Generation Precognition, Ferocious Newbie (4) |
Half an hour later, Jiang Luo appeared at the teleport point of the fifth space node: Boundless Forest Domain.
Noise surged in like a tide.
Looking around, the space plaza was already jam-packed with dense crowds, with newbie players of different races gathered here.
A small-statured yet high-energy Green Sprite race player wove nimbly through gaps in the crowd, chirping nonstop, the sharp voice standing out amid the clamor.
Beside him, a towering and mighty Giant Stone race player was like a moving hill, his figure standing out among the newbie players.
“Make some room, make some room, my tail is stuck.” A cat-eared girl cried anxiously. Her tail had been accidentally pinched by the congested crowd, and her face flushed red with panic.
“Sorry, the starter village is too crowded.” Apologetic voices followed.
“Hahaha, from now on I’m a Destined One. Monster World, here I come.”
“Anyone forming a team? I have no friends-and-family group and want to find a strong organization to fight together.”
Some players chatted excitedly with strangers nearby, sharing their expectations for the game.
Some players looked anxious, circling helplessly in the crowd as they tried to find the way out of the village.
The lively pioneering atmosphere rushed in.
Jiang Luo at this moment summoned the map panel and, after quite an effort, arrived at the agreed spot.
Just as he was about to look for Mahua, a heavy pat landed on his shoulder.
“Great Luo.”
Turning his head, he saw his best buddy Mahua looking at him with excitement.
“Let’s form a team and head out first. It’s too chaotic here.” Jiang Luo immediately sent Mahua a team invitation, and the two slowly pushed toward the starter village exit with the congested crowd.
They ended up taking 18 minutes for this stretch.
Passing through the space barrier, after a brief sense of weightlessness, what spread before their eyes was a green world under the cover of night.
On the plains covered in greenery, all kinds of glowing spores drifted in the air.
Taking a deep breath of air rich in life particles, Jiang Luo felt his spirit jolt.
The air in the game seemed to carry a certain magic. Cool and moist, it flowed through his nasal cavity into his lungs and in an instant filled his whole body.
It was a sensation he had never experienced.
Breathing felt like eating. Each mouthful was filled with countless tiny life particles that awakened the slumbering cells in his body.
He often saw veteran players on the forum say that after staying long in Monster World, they simply did not want to log off.
Some even said logging off was torment, and they only wanted to get back online quickly.
He had not understood then, but this breath of life particle rich air made him see why.
What enjoyment this was. Qualified players really ate well.
Now, I am one too.
“Great Luo, let’s get to it.”
Mahua’s voice came. Great Luo turned to see that Mahua had already switched to the Gargoyle form.
“Right, should we play the fusion Vajra mode? The forum says that system is very suitable for newbie players to start with.”
“I have something better.” Jiang Luo grinned, and his body twisted.
He turned into a small sapling, then leapt onto Mahua’s shoulder.
“What trash Inherited soul did you pick? I have never even seen this in the forum.” Seeing that Jiang Luo’s Inherited soul form was a small sapling, Mahua could not hold it in.
In the early stages, the Three Phantom Gods were the mainstream. Even if you did not pick the Three Phantom Gods, if you wanted to hunt and level up quickly you had to pick a damage output and pair with a damage bearing player to improve battle sustain.
Having watched many livestreams, this was his first time seeing a newbie fight using a sapling form Inherited soul.
“You know nothing. My Inherited soul form is called Extraction. It is indeed weak in other scenes, but in this starter scene of Boundless Forest Domain, it is a T0 tier true god without question.”
“Really?”
“Nonsense. How could I possibly mess around with something important like the opening.”
Then Jiang Luo shared the information on the Extraction Inherited soul in the team chat channel.
[Extraction (First-Generation Inherited soul)]
Inherited soul Introduction: By decomposing plant-type lifeforms, convert them into pure plant essence (spirit plant essence). The essence contains plant life energy and traits and can be used for body tempering level enhancement, injury treatment, and potion making.
—
As a veteran forum cloud player.
Although he had never been able to obtain qualification, Jiang Luo’s understanding of Monster World was not shallow.
Star vein composition pairing, the usage of various functions, analysis of Inherited soul traits… including popular strategy posts on the forum, he had read them all.
He had prepared early for obtaining qualification.
Back in the day he had never studied as seriously as now, going through all the mainstream knowledge involved in the game.
It was precisely so that when he obtained game qualification, he could grow quickly.
In the introductions by research-party players on the forum, the Extraction Inherited soul was an ancient Inherited soul from the era of the Three Phantom Gods, but after its debut it always sat at the bottom of the version rankings, chosen by only a handful of players.
During that time there had been a wave of forum hype, but it quickly subsided.
Because for mainstream players, the Extraction Inherited soul could neither boost combat power nor provide support capability.
Only players from the Apothecary Alliance used it to develop special potions such as the gene seed.
Other Inherited souls’ version strength all had ups and downs. As for the number-one spot of a version, besides Qi Eater, other Inherited souls had also taken it.
Only the bottom spot of the version had always been firmly occupied by the Extraction Inherited soul, never shaken.
But in the post releasing that guide, Darkness Approaches also mentioned future prospects when introducing the Extraction Inherited soul.
It stated that if in the future the players’ enemies were a monster legion composed of plants, the Extraction Inherited soul would top that version until the plant legion was completely destroyed, then fall back again.
This impressed Jiang Luo deeply, because right after that sentence at the time, Darkness Approaches had also said: Facts prove there is no weakest Inherited soul, only the most suitable Inherited soul.
Before his midnight snack he had read forum players’ analyses of the new map, and among them some players mentioned that the version where the Extraction Inherited soul rises had arrived.
So this time entering the game, he insta-picked the Extraction Inherited soul from among dozens.
“Damn it, why didn’t you remind me.”
“If I reminded you, would you switch?” Jiang Luo looked at Mahua in Gargoyle form.
“Honestly, I still like melee. I definitely would not switch.”
“Enough talk. Hurry and kill monsters. Early leveling is the most important.”
“Charge.”
Mahua let out a chuunibyou style roar and charged toward the plains ahead.
Along the way there were newbie players everywhere.
As soon as a plant-type monster poked its head out, a swarm of players would pounce to snatch it.
The scene was a veritable dance of demons.
All kinds of disputes over interests also broke out. Interracial friendliness in reality erupted into conflict in Monster World’s unrestricted scene due to profit disputes.
The lively pioneering atmosphere, full of immersion, made Jiang Luo feel that this was how a virtual game ought to feel.
As they advanced, there were more newbies than monsters.
Passing through the greenery-filled paradise, a dreamlike landscape unfolded before their eyes.
In a scene woven of fluorescence, blue flowers unfurled feathery leaves, expanding and contracting their branches as if breathing.
Orange fireflies and countless glowing spores drifted in the air like tiny stars, while blue flocculent light clusters like meteors constantly fell from the sky, as if starlight lit up the whole night sky.
“Found one.”
Mahua’s voice came. Snapped back to his senses, Jiang Luo looked up.
Not far ahead, a plant over one meter tall with a surface covered in spines was slowly twisting its body.
Analysis swept across
[Thorns Grass]
Hunt Level: level 3.
Target Introduction: A plant-type lifeform unique to the Pale Continent’s Boundless Forest Domain. The spines on its body secrete a pain toxin, a spiritual toxin, upon striking a target, plunging the target into intense agony.
—
A hunt level of 3 was still too strong for the two who had just entered the game.
But thinking of how hard it was to come across a monster, Mahua decisively stepped forward, his pitch-black claws slamming straight toward the Thorns Grass.
The strike landed with a dull thud, and the Thorns Grass counterattacked instantly.
Countless thorny tendrils lashed at Mahua like whips, the air ringing with whooshing sounds.
Pa pa pa.
The thorny tendrils struck Mahua, who had not activated Petrification, and he was instantly whipped to the ground, crying out in pain.
Landing, Jiang Luo immediately cast the Extraction ability on the Thorns Grass.
The mental power drained away, a sensation akin to the emptying during urination. Dense green bubbles appeared on the Thorns Grass, and its body melted rapidly like butter in boiling water.
Before it could launch a second wave of attacks, it had vanished, leaving only a mass of plant essence formed from aggregated green bubbles.
“Holy crap, Extraction’s damage output is so high. Even overlevel kills are this easy. Amazing.”
At that moment, the Challenger Notification sounded in his mind.
Killing the Thorns Grass yielded only life evolution points, with no sacrificial power reward.
This was clearly due to the Extraction Inherited soul. The sacrificial power portion of the reward manifested in the form of a plant essence mass.
Jiang Luo switched to his primary form, stepped forward, and stowed the plant essence mass in his inventory.
Turning, he saw Mahua still rolling on the ground.
“Mahua, does it hurt that much? Does Gargoyle form also get poisoned?”
“Spiritual toxin. Try it yourself.” Mahua’s voice was hoarse, his eyes bloodshot.
“I am not trying it. It is said that 89% of players who play the tank build give up in the early stage. What are you thinking now?”
“I did think of giving up just now, but I snuffed it out. I will keep trying.”
After a long while, Mahua finally stood up, his expression full of fatigue.
Seeing Mahua’s state, Jiang Luo could imagine how fierce those veteran damage bearing players who had persisted until now were.
Heaven to the left, warrior to the right.
The forum did not lie to me.
No wonder damage bearing players in every team enjoy the best treatment.
After encountering just the first monster, even a die-hard tank-build player like Mahua felt like giving up. Just thinking about it was scary.
While they were chatting, a large number of players poured in from behind, and his field of vision was once again filled with newbie players.
Jiang Luo immediately switched to his Inherited soul form and followed Mahua forward to search for plant-type monsters suitable for hunting.
From the initial trial, the Extraction Inherited soul’s strength in the current scene was overtuned.
It was simply a hunting artifact. He had to seize the time to grow stronger so he could explore other regions in the future.
Colorful Mist Coast, Rimewinter Snowfield, cavern world… especially the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range battlefield that had stirred his blood during his cloud-player days. That was where he and Mahua belonged.
Before entering the game, he had set a small goal: join a guild within the united warband.
Preferably the God Temple Guild led by God King.
But before that, they needed the strength to prove themselves, because the God Temple Guild only recruited elites.
“Set out. The steps toward the Emperor’s Mound battlefield begin with hunting.”
Half an hour later, after successfully hunting another monster, Mahua lay on the ground gasping for breath, then turned his head to look at Jiang Luo, who was picking up a plant essence mass:
“Great Luo, let me discuss something with you.”
“Say it.”
“You play the Gargoyle. I will switch to the Extraction Inherited soul. How about it?”
“Get lost.”