The System's Chicken Soup

Day passed, and night fell once more.

They only needed to stay in the cave for one more night before setting off early the next morning.

The temperature was still very low, but at least it wasn't snowing, which wouldn't affect their movement the next day. Because of the sun, the snow on the roads would melt, though the mountains would still retain their snow cover.

They slept soundly through the night, with no attacks from the demon race on the cave.

"I was a bit worried, worried the goblins would attack," Mr. Freli sighed in relief. Goblins weren't powerful monsters, but they were certainly troublesome. He had seen villages destroyed by goblins before.

"Don't let your guard down. Goblins are cunning creatures. They might be ambushing us on our planned route."

Goblins did not farm; they only plundered. They occasionally hunted, but goblins also stored food.

The carriage slowly made its way forward along the mountain path. After a week of rest, the Earth Dragon had regained its vigor.

Their progress slowed again because they were near dangerous ravines. If they fell in, they would be swept away by the strong currents.

However, it wouldn't take much longer for them to pass through this valley.

"We're almost out of the valley. It looks like there's a forest ahead. Goblins really like to make their nests in places like this," Kate reminded everyone. She then sat down by the carriage driver's seat, beginning to scan the surrounding bushes for danger.

The Earth Dragon slowly pulled the carriage into the forest. The trees in this forest weren't very tall, and there was plenty of light. Due to the melting snow, the air was still a bit damp and cold, which could impair judgment. Many scents were washed away by the flowing water.

The carriage stopped because a tree ahead blocked their path.

"I'll go take a look." Claire was about to get out of the carriage when rustling sounds came from the surrounding bushes.

With a sharp yell, an arrow shot out from the bushes, embedding itself directly into the carriage roof.

The sound was unmistakably goblin.

Mel Carlo immediately became alert. If the carriage roof hadn't softened the arrow's impact, it would have pierced right through and hit him in the head.

As more sounds emerged, the carriage couldn't afford to stay stopped. Turning back now would only slow them down further.

Kate drew her sword and dealt with a goblin that charged at them, but the surrounding goblins seemed to be increasing in number. She feared she wouldn't be able to handle them alone.

Another arrow, flying from who-knows-where, lodged itself in Kate's left hand. Just as annoying as in games, their numbers and attack frequency were high, and their positions were scattered, making them difficult to eliminate quickly. While you were dealing with other monsters, goblins would sneak in for sneak attacks, truly the tormentors of the early game.

"Get in the carriage!"

"Freli, drive through! I'll handle that tree!"

Mel Carlo issued two commands in quick succession. His life in this other world had just begun, and he didn't want to die at the hands of goblins like this.

Kate severed the arrow stuck in her arm and leaped into the carriage.

Freli cracked his whip, and the Earth Dragon accelerated forward. Mel Carlo quickly climbed onto the carriage frame, extending his hand and aiming at the fallen tree on the ground.

"Store!"

If the system space couldn't successfully store it, the Earth Dragon would directly crash into the tree, and they would then be surrounded and killed by the goblins.

Just as they were about to collide, the system successfully stored the item, and the fallen tree on the ground vanished into thin air.

Kate used her right hand to prop up a wooden board inside the carriage, blocking an arrow flying from behind. She then quickly moved to the front of the carriage and used her sword to block an arrow for Mel.

Cold sweat beaded on her forehead. That arrow had almost hit her head.

Mel Carlo felt the difference between this world and the game for the first time. If he died here, he wouldn't revive like in the game. There would be no second chances; one mistake and he would be permanently deleted from this world.

"This is hardcore mode!" Mel Carlo finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly retreated into the carriage.

The Earth Dragon soon passed through the forest and arrived on a flat grassland. Apart from a few stones, there were no trees on the grassland. The snow on the main road hadn't completely melted, but only some remained in the middle and along the sides of the road.

This wasn't a particularly northern region, so the snow wouldn't last long.

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Freli drove the carriage forward until they were completely out of the goblins' sphere of influence. Only then did they stop to check Kate's injuries.

The arrow had to be dug out, and then the wound needed to be cleaned and bandaged. If it became infected, it would be troublesome. They were still two days away from the next town.

Sweat began to bead on Kate's forehead. When she was first hit by the arrow, adrenaline had numbed her pain, but now that she was safe, the pain surged back instantly. She could only grit her teeth.

"Mr. Freli... please help me dig out the arrowhead."

"But I don't have any anesthetic. I only have some hemostatic medicine."

Mel Carlo stood quietly to the side, carefully examining his system points. He mentally called out, "System, can I draw medicine? Can the system be upgraded?"

But no matter how he tried, the system wouldn't respond. From the very beginning, he had been abandoned, and even this system framework was an unsuitable template for this other world.

"Let's try drawing everything."

Current Effort Points: 34991.

Every 10 points allowed one draw, and every 100 points allowed a ten-draw. With just 9 more points, these points would be enough for him to do 350 ten-draws.

But now wasn't the time to earn points; he could try drawing first.

"Please, there must be other things inside. Not instant noodles, water, chips, or cola. Give me some medicine!"

He prayed as he drew, but the more he prayed, the less he got what he wanted.

Looking at the points, looking at the items, his eyes gradually went numb. This was even worse than before. Even a single chocolate bean was worth a bag of chips.

I spent 30,000 Effort points and all I got was a bunch of chocolate beans.

[Chocolate Beans × 3000]

Current Effort points: 4991.

With only 49 more ten-pulls left, I had no hope left.

He wished the System would upgrade right then, even if it meant taking all the beans, as that would at least help Kate out of her predicament. It wasn't that he didn't trust the medicine in this world, but Mr. Freli hadn't prepared any proper medicine.

Compared to a scamming System, a System that gave its host the cold shoulder was even more terrifying. It existed without saying a word.

He clicked the ten-pull again and received [Instant Noodles × 10].

Closing his eyes, he threw all the remaining 30 ten-pulls into the draw.

Received [Alcohol × 10].

Received [First Aid Bandage × 10].

Received [YunX Baiyao × 5].

Received [Disposable Anesthetic Injection × 5].

Current remaining Effort points: 91.

Inventory: Wallet, Instant Noodles × 50, Cola × 50, Chips × 50, Mineral Water × 50, Severed Great Tree, Mountain Bandit's Sword, Alcohol × 10, First Aid Bandage × 10, YunX Baiyao × 5, Disposable Anesthetic Injection × 5...

System: You just focus on your efforts, leave the rest to fate!

As the System's prompt sounded, the System, who was vacationing on a sunny beach, simply edited a line of motivational speech on the system interface. "This line is really good. By the way, why is the host in such a hurry? Is he about to die? I really don't like working when I'm on vacation."

Mel Carlo stared blankly at the System interface. Had he gotten a response?

He mistook the System's simple motivational speech for an important hint.

Indeed, the System wasn't that simple. The System had been paying attention to me all along. My efforts weren't in vain!

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