Chapter 51: Leaf of the World Tree

Red Beard violently gulped down a mouthful of liquor, his entire face flushing red instantly.

He sat directly on the ground with total disregard for his posture, looking nothing at all like a legendary dwarf who had just slain a half-step demon lord a moment ago.

Through his words, a story slowly took shape.

It was a very simple tale: a group of young people who had left their native planes and ventured across the myriad realms, relying on the Gods' Game, came together, laughing and bickering as they walked side by side for a long time.

But regrettably, joyful times always have a limit, and their adventures had an end; they could not go on indefinitely without stopping.

Either they had to shoulder the duties of their sects, bear the trivial burdens of their churches, lead their clansmen forward, or delve deeper into arcane knowledge. Even Red Beard himself had to inherit his old man's soon-to-be-bankrupt workshop and take on the responsibilities of a Chosen of the Forge God.

"I miss those days too!"

Chugging the fiery liquor in his hand, Red Beard wore a deeply nostalgic expression.

"But we all had to come to terms with one fact: the time to part ways had finally arrived. I won't forget those fellows, nor the things that happened back then, but ultimately, ultimately the time to part ways had come!"

"You know what, brother Xiaoyang? I once wrestled with dragons, but now back home I don't even dare to drink more than a single sip of wine. Damn it, I really married a dwarf wife as explosive as a volcano, but we've got several kids together already." As he said this, Red Beard kept waving his arms in an indignant tone, yet Xiaoyang could see a sweet, blissful smile on his face.

The drunken Red Beard kept rambling on about the past.

"Everyone was busy, and everyone had made peace with that. After all, it's just like drinking: drinking is great, but the wine eventually runs out; being drunk is wonderful, but you always wake up eventually. Yet Sophia seemed somewhat unable to let it go. She always missed the days when everyone used to gather for adventures."

"She felt that everyone drifting apart was her fault, but it wasn't! It was never her fault!"

At this point, Red Beard violently chugged another huge mouthful, then collapsed onto the ground with a loud thud and fell completely silent.

He had passed out drunk...

Xiaoyang's story was abruptly cut short right in the middle, leaving him feeling somewhat perplexed with a twitching expression. He glanced at the corpse-like Red Beard lying on the ground, and then at the Justice Squad chat group, where the atmosphere had fallen silent once again.

It felt like the experiences Red Beard and his companions had been quite epic and entangled, unlike himself, who had simply been grinding dungeons ever since entering the Gods' Game.

He shook his head. He no longer needed to work on his Strength attribute, as it had directly reached the cap in one go. Next up was Defense. He had originally wanted to ask Red Beard about the tier-advancement process, but Red Beard had knocked himself out cold. Still, there was no rush; after today, he probably wouldn't lack money, and by then he could just spend a few spiritual coins in the Gods' Game to ask around—it wouldn't be a big deal.

As expected of the active large-scale campaign phase, the demand for all kinds of weapons and equipment was truly massive. Xiaoyang had only just laid out a huge pile of miscellaneous skeleton warrior gear in his inventory when numerous people swarmed in to ask for prices. These guys weren't even buying piece by piece; they were preparing to buy in bulk. In a flash, Xiaoyang's enormous pile of odds and ends was completely sold out.

Six million spiritual coins suddenly appeared in his inventory. Collecting war dividends really hit different.

After selling all his goods, Xiaoyang looked back and saw that Red Beard was still fast asleep, having even switched to a new sleeping posture—hugging his decapitation blade and drooling as he snored away.

After running around for a while, Xiaoyang finally managed to buy a complete set of Thick-Hide Potions. After today, his Defense would reach a terrifying value of thirty-one points. By then, his stat panel would probably look something like this:

[Player: Screaming Emperor (Elite Assassin)]
[ID: 1]
[Affiliation: Plane No. 33214]
[Race: Ordinary Human]
[Level: 9]
[HP: 300 (200)]
[Strength: 25 (20)]
[Defense: 31 (20)]
[Agility: 27 (20)]
[Remaining Stat Points: 5]
[Talent: Dungeon Vanguard]
[Retinue: Skeleton Petty Thief]

This was quite alright. These stats were solid, but he still felt his spiritual coins weren't enough to spend. Moreover, Xiaoyang wanted to start a sideline business; he planned to raise that group of gem bugs to develop a sustainable breeding industry.

If he could really domesticate and farm these gem bugs, it would mean the beginning of guaranteed full meals every day. However, achieving this still presented a few unresolved problems.

First, he didn't know how to raise gem bugs; second, he didn't know where the best place to keep them would be.

Leaving these gem bugs wandering around the skeleton dungeon still carried some risks. The main issue was the potential changes that could occur within the skeleton dungeon. What if one day he woke up to find all the gem bugs had mysteriously vanished or kicked the bucket? His heart would ache to death! He really needed to move them out and place them somewhere safer.

He needed a Gem Bug Breeding Manual, but where could such a thing be found?

While pondering, Xiaoyang suddenly had a flash of inspiration. Right! Didn't he just join a chat group? Why not ask the big shots in there?

Although some awkward drama seemed to have recently occurred among those big shots, it had nothing to do with him anyway. He was a junior, a total newbie; speaking up more could also liven up the atmosphere. Come to think of it, that made total sense.

Furthermore, compared to the unreliable Red Beard, if he wanted to ask questions about the Gods' Game, he could just ask them directly in the group. Nothing wrong with that!

Just as Xiaoyang was thinking this, the Gods' Game suddenly popped up a notification for him.

["A Little Flower" has sent you an item via the Justice Squad group chat. Do you wish to receive it?]

Puzzled, Xiaoyang opened the panel of the item sent by the group's big shot.

[Leaf of the World Tree's Protection]
[Quality: Epic]
[Restriction: Can only be held by "A True Newbie!"]
[Effect: Triggers World Tree's Protection when the holder is on the verge of death; increases HP recovery by five]
[Description: This is a freshly fallen tender leaf of the World Tree, and also a blessing bestowed upon you. Hold it in your palm, and turn the leaf over; you will see the blessing inscribed upon it.]

This item was far too precious. Xiaoyang didn't even dare to accept it at first. Opening the Justice Squad group chat, he initiated a private chat with the big shot "A Little Flower".

[A True Newbie!: I can't accept this! Big Shot! This is way too precious!]
[A Little Flower: But I'm giving it to you!]
[A True Newbie!: But—]
[A Little Flower: But I'm giving it to you!]

Xiaoyang had considered many kinds of replies, wondering how he should refuse, but he had never expected such a simple answer—a reply delivered with such taken-for-granted certainty. Xiaoyang was momentarily rendered speechless.

After a brief period of silence:

[A True Newbie!: Then... thank you, Big Shot!]
[A Little Flower: You're welcome!]

The opposite party sent a big, smiley-face emoji. Xiaoyang chose to accept the precious leaf of the World Tree's Protection. Following the description, he held it in his palm and turned it over. Xiaoyang saw a short phrase inscribed there, accompanied by a large smiley face:

"Don't die!"