Volume One, Chapter 19: Main Quest – Searching for the Key in the Forbidden Forest
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Crack! Snap!
Li Chuan hadn’t yet witnessed the ability of the green pine spirit, but Little Green had already cleaved it in two at the waist.
Then, even more ruthlessly, it uprooted the small tree, twisted it with vines until it shattered, gathered the broken branches, and piled them at its roots.
[Notification: Defeated level 10 Elite Pine Spirit *1, Experience +10]
Since Little Green made the kill, Li Chuan only gained half the experience points.
Judging from Little Green’s behavior, it seemed eager to seize the body and the Evolution Core of its kind.
It felt as though Little Green had grown taller.
Glancing again at Little Green’s status panel—
No major changes, but its experience jumped from twenty to eighty.
One green plant spirit could grant Little Green sixty experience points? Perhaps there were other hidden benefits too—no wonder it was so eager.
Li Chuan was naturally delighted by Little Green’s rapid growth.
He hurriedly sent plant spirits from the Photosynthesis Chamber to Little Green one by one.
Although the white spirits were of low grade, they were all level 20, so each could also grant Little Green sixty experience points.
After devouring three plant spirits,
[Notification: Your plant spirit “Miracle Tree” has reached full experience and leveled up.]
After devouring four more, Little Green’s experience reached 240 at level 2.
No matter—though Li Chuan was out of living plant spirits, he still had over a dozen Evolution Cores.
He gently stroked Little Green’s trunk and produced thirteen white Evolution Cores and three green Evolution Cores.
The Evolution Cores melted into Little Green’s trunk like jelly.
[Notification: Your plant spirit “Miracle Tree” has reached full experience and leveled up.]
[Notification: Your plant spirit “Miracle Tree” has reached full experience and leveled up.]
Little Green leaped two levels to level 4 with 180 experience points.
The status panel still showed little change, but to Li Chuan’s eyes, Little Green had grown into a towering tree five meters tall, too large for two people to embrace.
At this moment, Little Green’s largest flower bud had swollen to a meter in diameter, and even the vine connecting the bud was as thick as a waist.
Having absorbed so many Evolution Cores, Little Green joyfully danced with the flower bud, eventually stretching it out before Li Chuan for him to touch.
Nearby, the “Justice” players were stunned.
“How—how did that guy do it? How did his plant spirit suddenly grow so much?”
“The player manual says devouring Evolution Cores dropped from defeated plant spirits makes them grow. That killer must’ve slaughtered dozens, so he’s bound to have Evolution Cores.”
“Are Evolution Cores really that valuable?”
High above, Frostbreeze narrowed her eyes skeptically.
No, that plant spirit’s growth was definitely not achievable by devouring a single Evolution Core.
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By coincidence, she had also killed two ownerless plant spirits; Snow Plum Tree had devoured two Evolution Cores, but its growth was minimal.
Could it be that the guy didn’t just kill ten players—maybe dozens?
Elsewhere, players gathered.
Zheng Dekai leaned close to Xu Fengyun.
“Boss, this cold-blooded guy is something else.”
Hua Mingze joined them.
“Yeah, the few players with the Cold-Blooded title have all been cornered near the entrance. Only that kid dares to approach the light pillar, and he even suddenly made his plant spirit grow so huge.”
“Should we recruit him?”
Xu Fengyun pondered for a moment, then shook his head.
“Right now, everyone still resents the Cold-Blooded title. It’s not the time to recruit.”
“Besides, he hasn’t fully felt the pain of isolation yet. When he’s completely isolated, we’ll reach out. He’ll be grateful and loyal, doing whatever we ask!”
“The boss is right.”
“True to form, boss.”
...
[Game Announcement: Time remaining for Newbie Task 4 has expired. All players who failed to complete the task have been eliminated!]
[Elimination complete!]
[Congratulations, player! You have passed the newbie phase and gained all privileges of a full player.]
[Main Quest 1 released: Find the hidden key in the Forbidden Forest.]
[This is a cursed land. No one knows what secrets lie within the desolate gray forest. From the moment you enter, survival is a luxury! There are 100 keys hidden among the withered trees. Obtain them quickly!]
[Current key count: 0/1]
[Quest rewards: 500 copper coins, 500 experience points, 5 intermediate HP potions, 5 intermediate MP potions, 1 blue Evolution Core, 1 backpack expansion gem.]
[Quest penalty: Player qualification revoked]
[Time remaining: 3 days]
Li Chuan read Main Quest 1 carefully.
Only a hundred keys? That means among us, only a hundred people can survive to complete this quest?
How brutally merciless!
The quest rewards included essential copper coins and experience, plus two kinds of potions.
Additionally, a blue Evolution Core and a backpack expansion gem were included.
The blue Evolution Core would significantly boost the plant spirit’s power, but only if one could survive the quest.
The time limit had increased to three days, feeling less urgent than before.
The penalty had changed most drastically; Li Chuan could hardly believe it. Instead of elimination, it was now player qualification revocation. No more outright killing? Could the system be adopting a softer approach?
Li Chuan gathered some dry twigs and vines and made a fire, just like last night, skewering a long string of dog meat over the flames.
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A pity—no salt today.
Given his current reputation, it would be hard to trade with those “righteous ones” for salt.
Gradually, someone noticed the white mist barrier deep within the desolate forest was slowly dissipating.
Faint figures emerged from the thick fog.
Forbidden Zone regional chat channel:
Current surviving players: 214/1000
East River Flowing: “The white mist is clearing! Not sure if it’s my imagination, but I think I saw figures in the fog.”
Liu Haizhu: “I saw them too. Could they be monsters? Or some kind of zombie?”
Willow Slim Waist: “That killer is right at the fog’s edge. If they’re monsters, let him test them for us.”
One Eye Ding: “Right! Cold-blooded scum deserve to die!”
Next to the dissipating fog, Li Chuan silently put down his wooden stick and took his hand crossbow from his backpack.
So, moving closer to the fog barrier was indeed risky. The mist itself was harmless, but whatever lurked beyond was clearly something he’d face first.
As the white mist vanished completely, the figures revealed their true forms.
Li Chuan slowly lowered his crossbow.
Not monsters, but humans!
Players clad in mismatched clothing, just like him!
Why were there still living players inside the fog!?
For a moment, Li Chuan felt his scalp tingle.
At the moment the mist fully dispersed, the crowd of players rushed out desperately. Probably because of Li Chuan’s recent actions, many of them charged toward him first.
On the chat channel, someone rejoiced.
One Eye Ding: “The cold-blooded guy is being attacked by monsters, haha.”
Willow Slim Waist: “Serves him right for being reckless and planting his spirit in such a dangerous spot.”
Zhao Gao Distorts: “I think those charging out are people, not monsters.”
Morning Wind Rising: “They look like players wearing gear to me.”
Someone impulsively stepped into Little Green’s attack range. Li Chuan immediately waved his hand.
Boom!
The huge flower bud smashed onto the desolate grass like a meteor hammer, instantly creating a one-meter-deep crater.
“Anyone who comes one step closer dies!”