Harvest Summary

Ding! Mission settlement.

Main Quest: Obtain World Source—Complete

Faction Quest: Achieve the final victory at the church—Failed

The Main Quest took priority over the Faction Quest, exempting the Faction Quest penalty.

Chen Yi looked forward to the Game World's mission rewards, hoping to improve further.

He had spent too long in this world, but the highest level of its demonic beasts was only 18, with most ranging from level 9 to 14.

At level 14, Chen Yi only gained single-digit EXP from killing many demonic beasts. On top of that, Fire Dragon and the Staff of Healing shared the EXP, severely slowing Chen Yi's leveling progress.

Fortunately, there were enough Royalty-raised Demonic Beasts. With such a massive base number, the Copper Coins they dropped were still considerable, and Gold Coins could be exchanged for Copper Coins.

His current Copper Coin balance had risen from 2,453 when he first entered the game to 125,640.

He also had fifteen pieces of Green Quality equipment in his inventory waiting to be sold. He had simply thrown away the White Quality equipment because he had nowhere to put it.

It could be said that, at this stage, Chen Yi did not lack Copper Coins or equipment.

Settlement complete. Player Yi's permissions have been elevated. Permission Level LV3!

Choose 4 of the following 6 rewards.

① Attribute Point +10

② Purple Quality Skill—Flame Demon Transformation

③ HP +700, MP +700

④ Pale Gold Quality Random Staff x1

⑤ Personal Guild Permission

⑥ Free Breakthrough Count x1

Chen Yi was somewhat surprised. "The rewards this time are actually this generous?"

Ding! Player Yi's confusion detected. Permission level verified.

A flood of information poured into Chen Yi's mind. Once he sorted through it, he finally understood why the rewards this time were so generous.

Entering a world that did not belong to the Game World was equivalent to pioneering unexplored territory.

Though difficult, the rewards after obtaining the World Source were exceptionally generous.

The most generous reward was not actually these claimable rewards.

It was the Game World's permissions!

Permissions represented more than just the information one could learn. They also meant the Game World offered players more conveniences, helping them accelerate their path to becoming stronger.

Returning to these rewards, Chen Yi first ignored Option ⑥.

As everyone knew, under the Game World's restrictions, a player's initial body had an Attribute Limit. Attribute values could only reach a maximum of 49. Breaking through to 50 required not only Attribute Points, but also a breakthrough of the body itself.

If breakthroughs were hard to understand, they could be considered evolution or Gene Optimization.

A breakthrough was not only for increasing Attribute Points later on; it also expanded one's Main Attribute.

But Chen Yi was only level 17. Mental Power was his only attribute that had reached its limit, and he still had plenty of room to grow stronger.

So he skipped that option outright. Temporary strength should not be built upon sacrificing the future.

Options ① and ③, which increased his basic abilities, were automatic choices. They were irreplaceable foundations.

Take the last battle alone. If Chen Yi's HP and Mana Points had not far exceeded those of ordinary players, he had no idea how many times he would have died during that fight.

A mage's power had to be built on having sufficient Mana Points!

So he would never miss an opportunity to increase his Base Stats.

Option ②, meanwhile, was rather interesting.

Chen Yi remembered this skill appearing in the Faction Quest, yet it had appeared here once again.

Considering the Game World's attitude toward players, could it be that the Game World wanted him to choose this skill?

He would keep it as a tentative choice.

Option ④ was tempting, but Chen Yi still gave it up.

At this stage, leveling was still quite fast, which also meant weapons were replaced frequently.

A level 17 Pale Gold weapon might not necessarily be stronger than a Purple Weapon obtained after level 20 or 30.

More importantly—random!

Chen Yi calmed himself down. To hell with random!

Fire Dragon watched Chen Yi curiously, wondering how he could be happy one moment and angry the next.

Chen Yi decisively chose ①, ②, ③, and ⑤.

Reward distribution in progress.

Without hesitation, Chen Yi put all ten Attribute Points into Constitution.

With the Attribute Points gained from leveling and the training from Effortless Meditation, his Constitution had also reached the maximum of 49 points.

Then, a pillar of light enveloped Chen Yi. That warm sensation appeared once again. His cells seemed to absorb some kind of energy and grew stronger, while Mana accelerated through his body. Each time it circulated through his entire body, his Mana Points increased.

With his Constitution and Mental Power strong enough, he no longer needed sleep to complete his growth.

After rewarding him with Mana Points and HP, the pillar of light did not vanish. Instead, it became somewhat scorching. Blazing energy entered his body and continuously spread throughout him, as though boiling water had been poured into his veins.

This pain was even worse than when his Mana Points had been exhausted. Chen Yi collapsed to the ground and convulsed violently.

Fire Dragon anxiously paced in circles, wanting to drag Chen Yi out of the pillar of light, but Chen Yi stopped him with a look.

Pain accompanying the path to strength was perfectly normal. Power obtained cheaply usually came with a price, and Chen Yi had long since made up his mind.

It took a full ten minutes before his body finally adapted.

Chen Yi

LV: 17 EXP 5200/50000

Class: Mage

Constitution: 49 (HP +1300, Equipment Defense +14)

Strength: 26

Intelligence: 46 (+28 Equipment Attributes)

Agility: 29

Mental Power: 49 (MP +1300)

Attribute Points: 0

Talent: Fire Affinity. (Increases mastery of Fire Skills, Fire elemental damage increased by 10%)

Skills: Flame Demon Transformation, Effortless Meditation, Spell Analysis, Mental Power, Flash, Repelling Fire Ring, Fireball... (Other spells of various elements omitted)

Resistance: Fire Element Resistance 30%

Soul Energy: 2

Deduction: Available

Under the effects of Effortless Meditation, all of his attributes aside from Mental Power had increased to varying degrees.

After calculating it out, his HP and Mana Points had both successfully reached 1,790 in his normal state. Those reassuring numbers put him at ease.

The modification just now had been to allow Chen Yi to meet the conditions for mastering Flame Demon Transformation. Fire Element Resistance 30% alone had already made it worthwhile.

Flame Demon Transformation: Consumes a large amount of Mana to construct the body of a Flame Demon. The more Mana consumed, the larger the constructed Flame Demon and the higher its HP. HP equals Mana consumed x5. The Flame Demon's strength, speed, and armor are related to Mental Power intensity. (Current Flame Demon armor: 20–40)

Flame Demons were peculiar creatures that lived in lava. Their humanoid bodies were usually over three meters tall, and they possessed high Fire Element Resistance.

From what Chen Yi knew, many Fire Mages and summoners used Flame Demons as decent frontline summons.

Did the Game World mean for him to become a Flame Demon?

But the problem was, Chen Yi did not know how to fight in close combat...

From the skill description alone, it was somewhat like Second-Born's family's Susanoo. He would need to think about how to develop it further.

The final reward was Personal Guild Permission. Chen Yi could not bring himself to place his life in the mercy of others, so he had never considered joining a guild and did not understand what guilds were for.

Name your guild—

"..."

Chen Yi was terrible at naming things, so he looked at Fire Dragon.

After briefly explaining it to Fire Dragon, the one who fell silent became one person and one Pokémon.

No wonder people said that part of a Pokémon's personality would gradually lean toward that of its trainer.

Chen Yi agonized over it for a long time before finally entering: Casual.

The Casual Guild was thus born.

The mark beneath his collarbone connected to an unknown space, and the Guild Warehouse permissions opened before Chen Yi.

Looking at the Guild Warehouse's 300 slots, Chen Yi could not help falling silent. If he had possessed this warehouse earlier, would he not have needed to discard so much equipment?

At the thought of throwing away so much money, Chen Yi's heart bled.

No!

He could not be the only one suffering this pain, so he decisively told Fire Dragon.

Very good. Now it was one person and one Pokémon whose hearts were bleeding.

The Casual Guild was currently rated F, the guild's lowest rating, and it did not provide any attribute bonuses.

Completing missions would increase the rating's EXP, and only then would it provide attribute improvements.

The next game must begin within one month.

After the rewards were distributed, Chen Yi and Fire Dragon, both wearing pained expressions, were thrown back into Chen Yi's space in town.

He had not returned for nearly half a year, yet the room was exactly as it had been when he left, without a speck of dust.

The little nest he had bought for Fire Dragon when he was still a Charmander could no longer be used.

"Fire Dragon, do you want to sleep first or go eat?"

They had not rested after the great battle, and once they relaxed, drowsiness quickly flooded their minds.

After a simple wash, one person and one Pokémon squeezed onto a single bed and fell fast asleep.

Recovering Mana Points did not mean their minds had also recovered completely. Just because HP was full did not mean a player would not be tired.

They slept until noon the next day, for nearly twenty hours in total.

With his picky tastes, Chen Yi browsed back and forth through the restaurant. A small number of players with Culinary Skills Talents had entered chef-type worlds. The dishes they made not only tasted good, but often came with special effects.

The Omelet Rice he had previously fed Fire Dragon had been bought here.

The restaurant owner, Xiao Liu, had a cute appearance and the standard body of a little girl. Watching Chen Yi choose back and forth without ordering, she immediately became annoyed. "Yi, are you buying anything or not?!"

Then she shoved Chen Yi aside with her butt, turned to Fire Dragon with a fawning expression, and deliberately softened her voice. "Isn't this Fire Dragon? Whatever you want to eat, Xiao Liu will definitely make it for you! Slurp~ All you have to do is give me a hug, Fire Dragon~"

That was right, she was a Fire Dragon fanatic. Whether it was Charmander, Charmeleon, or Fire Dragon, they were all her favorites.

The young girl's affection in the Omelet Rice's previous evaluation had actually been directed at Fire Dragon.

Chen Yi had not flinched even when facing so many mages from the Mage Association, but Xiao Liu's affected voice made him shudder.

How could this woman be so greasy?!

That was right, Xiao Liu merely looked like a little girl. In reality, she was already nearing thirty.

People who lacked the will to fight but had Talents in other areas could sign special contracts with the Game World and avoid participating in games, but they had to pay the Game World a sum of Copper Coins every month.

There had never been few people like that in the Game World. Chen Yi had even heard of someone writing erotic stories in the Game World and making quite a lot of money from it.

There would never be a shortage of perverts, no matter where they were.

If this woman were not genuinely skilled at cooking, Chen Yi would never have entered this restaurant.

Fire Dragon behaved differently from when he was younger. Back then, although he had been happy that Xiao Liu liked him, he had looked as though he would rather die than submit.

Now, he happily held Xiao Liu in his arms and even fulfilled her other requests.

There she was, Xiao Liu with a besotted look on her face, wrapped around Fire Dragon like an octopus as she panted heavily.

Unlike during battle, Fire Dragon was very gentle in everyday life. Even the corners of his eyes were soft.

Perhaps it was because he had spent so much time in the library with Chen Yi.

After a long while, Xiao Liu returned to the kitchen with a flushed face and swore that she would definitely make Blue Quality food today to repay Fire Dragon.

"You don't need to be this nice to that woman."

Fire Dragon shook his head. "Roar..."

He said he was very happy that someone liked him.

Chen Yi thought about it and decided to let it go. Fire Dragon was his Pokémon, but that did not mean Fire Dragon had to depend entirely on him.

Just like in battle, he had the ability to fight independently.

However, they still failed to get Blue Quality food afterward. Xiao Liu broke down in tears on the floor, repeatedly mumbling apologies to Fire Dragon.

Fire Dragon could not bear to see Xiao Liu like that, so he ingratiatingly poked Chen Yi. In Fire Dragon's heart, there was nothing Chen Yi could not solve.

With no other choice, Chen Yi sighed. "I don't know much about Culinary Skills, but it probably comes down to knife work, heat control, ingredients, and food quality. Xiao Liu, figure out what isn't good enough, then improve it accordingly."

Xiao Liu suddenly understood. The quality of the ingredients must not have been good enough. Such food was unworthy of her Fire Dragon. Her passion ignited once more.

Chen Yi casually tossed down 600 Copper Coins and left amid Xiao Liu's fawning voice. "Welcome back anytime, boss~"

For chefs with limited sources of Copper Coins, 600 Copper Coins was already a large sum.

But it still could not compare to the price of Omelet Rice.

It was Game World-certified Omelet Rice with a recovery effect. In Chen Yi's view, it was indeed quite worth it.