Pfuyao!
"Puhaha~!"
Moss flopped onto Little Ball and let out a satisfied sigh.
I'm back!!!
She had finally returned to the cave where she had first crossed over!
After the Black Rats had slaughtered the entire tribe, they apparently hadn't lived in this cave.
Aside from the bloodstains on the ground, which had completely dried after five months, the cave's environment was just as it had been before.
In fact, since no living creatures had been around for so long, the cave smelled better than outside, aside from a slight mustiness!
Moss rolled onto her back and stared silently at the uneven rock ceiling overhead.
"..."
After a long while, Moss let out a deep sigh, and an odd sound escaped her mouth.
"Hmph! Hmph... ah~~~"
Moss collapsed onto Little Ball as if she had lost all her strength, but her mind kept replaying everything that had happened. She couldn't help muttering to herself:
"Adventurer's Guild, City Guard, sect..."
From the few words exchanged by the three people, Moss had already gained a rough understanding of the world's current situation.
The Adventurer's Guild was obviously a nonofficial organization open to the public. It had the most members, but its strength fluctuated the most as well.
The two official organizations, the City Guard and the sect, should be this country's police and military.
"Is the current country called Dragon Country? Its appearance and language are the same as the country I lived in during my previous life. It could be considered a parallel counterpart in another spacetime..."
However, after several centuries of being ravaged by monsters, Moss refused to believe that this country was anything like the peaceful one from her previous life.
The social system might even have regressed!
After all, once unequal power existed, there would inevitably be people who wanted to occupy the higher positions—even dictators!
"Come to think of it, what exactly is that special profession, Qi Cultivator? Why is this world such a complete mess?"
"An Eastern-style profession suddenly appeared, even though the eight basic professions are Western-style. I thought this would be a sword-and-magic world!"
"But this world actually went and combined the two?!"
Moss rubbed her forehead in frustration. For some reason, she had become deeply interested in the Qi Cultivator profession.
Of course, she wasn't planning to change professions and become a Qi Cultivator. Given her current circumstances, it was still uncertain whether she could even change to that profession.
What interested Moss was the meaning represented by the term Qi Cultivator!
Absorb the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth and draw in the essence of the sun and moon!
Qi Cultivators were among the earliest people to pursue longevity!
Refining qi—what exactly was the qi being refined?
Was it qi within the body? Or qi outside the body?
Did the term Qi Cultivator in this world have the same meaning as the one Moss imagined?
If the qi being refined came from Heaven and Earth, was that qi Mana Essence?
If so, that meant some people in this world had already mastered a method of absorbing Mana Essence!
In theory, the talent trees of the eight basic professions shouldn't differ too much, so there could only be one cultivation method: Meditation Body Refinement!
These special professions, however, might have mastered a second or even third method. They were far beyond what basic professions could compare to!
Moss had every reason to believe that the countries in this world that hadn't yet been destroyed by monsters definitely possessed special professions!
And these special professions unquestionably had cultivation methods different from those of the basic professions—methods that were faster and more powerful!
Without a doubt, special professions were better than basic professions!
That didn't mean basic professions were useless, but possessing a special profession was equivalent to having an extra shortcut!
So how could one become a special profession?
The answer was already obvious!
It was the cultivation method!
Simply put, the difference between a Qi Cultivator and an ordinary person was that the former had mastered a cultivation technique!
The difference in cultivation methods was the key to creating special professions!
"So, if I want to become stronger, researching a way to absorb Mana Essence from the outside world is essential..."
Moss muttered to herself, and she gained a new direction for the road ahead!
However, she wasn't in a hurry about these matters. Clearly, that was something to deal with after reaching Silver Rank.
For Awakened Ones, the Bronze Rank stage was probably the so-called beginner period.
"I really have to thank those three people. Not only did they deal with those Fire Lizards, but they also gave me more information about this world."
Moss sat upright on Little Ball, feeding it the Magic Power she had recovered while chatting with it.
'Thank? Thanks!'
"Yes. If we get the chance in the future, we'll have to repay them... Go watch the entrance."
Moss patted Little Ball, then ordered it to block the cave entrance and guard against any enemies that might appear nearby.
'Yes, Master!'
Pfuyao!
Little Ball happily responded and hopped toward the cave entrance.
Moss glanced at it, then turned to look around the cave. She raised her head toward the ceiling, which was only a few centimeters above her, and said softly:
"It still needs to be expanded..."
Moss didn't particularly like the low burrows dug by rats, so she began Burrowing!
With the Burrowing and Claws talents, digging the cave was incredibly easy for her.
In less than half an hour, Moss had finished expanding the original cave!
She dug the original cave into a roughly circular chamber one meter wide and raised its height by about half a meter!
In the very center, Moss left a stone pillar as support, though she had no idea whether it would actually help.
Moss used some of the broken stones and soil she had dug up to block part of the entrance.
She left only three seven-shaped passages connected to the outside, while Little Ball carried the rest outside and dumped it.
"Done!"
Moss stood in the large chamber and nodded in satisfaction as she looked at her handiwork.
Next, Moss began summoning the items stored in her Pet Space!
Aside from the small belongings she had brought when she moved, the most important things were the corpse of the Silver Rank Flame Marsh Lizard and that Magic Core!
Bang!
The half-meter-long Flame Marsh Lizard appeared in the cave, instantly taking up half of the spacious chamber!
The luggage and Magic Core Moss had brought appeared beside her as well!
"Phew—!"
Moss let out a long breath. Looking at the Flame Marsh Lizard, she couldn't help smiling!
Although its Magic Core and Claws had already been removed, the remaining parts were still extremely useful to Moss!
The meat alone was enough to give her a full meal!
She reached out and stroked the Flame Marsh Lizard. Feeling the corpse still radiating heat, a trace of excitement flashed through her eyes!
"What dense Mana Essence! It still hasn't dispersed even after death. As expected of a Silver Rank monster."
"I wonder what this thing tastes like?"
She hadn't eaten warm food in a long time, and Moss couldn't help wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth.
But she hadn't forgotten what she needed to do next, so she shifted her attention away from the Flame Marsh Lizard's corpse.
Moss turned to look at the fire-element Magic Core that had fallen to the ground!
"Can I eat it?"
Moss asked herself doubtfully, and her body gave her the answer!
The desire welling up inside her was constantly telling Moss:
You can eat it! Hurry up and eat it!!!
Moss picked up the Magic Core. Looking at the crystal block, which was as large as her forehead, she couldn't help feeling troubled.
"It's so big. How am I supposed to eat it?"
Moss examined it, then opened her mouth and tentatively bit down.
Crack!
A crisp sound rang out, and Moss felt a powerful energy surge from the crystal in her hand!
She felt her hand suddenly grow lighter. The Magic Core vanished instantly!
Shock!
An expression of utter shock appeared on Moss's face—not only because of the Magic Core's tremendous energy, but also because of the voice that rang out in her mind!
Talent: Golden Finger (Activated) Activation Effect: Talent Plunder and Adaptation Talent Plunder: Flame Manipulation (Constructing—67%) Warning: Insufficient energy. Please eat!
Hungry!
Before you continue