The Arrival of a New Opportunity, Appraising a Pet Egg

"The Orc City is very well hidden; players can't find it at the moment."

"I only discovered it by following the chieftain of the Wolf Barbarians. Because I didn't choose to settle in the city, I only went inside once."

"Then tell me what happened that day."

Back then, One Sword Nine Provinces thought that his mission was complete after Chongxing the level 60 dungeon with Chong Xing.

Unexpectedly, one day I suddenly received a system notification: "Find the injured Wolf Barbarians Chieftain and escort him back to his homeland."

He was overjoyed; this was practically a free special mission! He immediately set off according to the provided coordinates.

Finally, near a sand dune not far from the Wolf Barbarians territory, they found the chieftain on the verge of death, with the system indicating that he was in a weakened state.

Upon seeing the adventurers who had come to their rescue, the chieftain said, "Adventurers, could you help me return to my homeland? I am willing to pay you a reward."

"Of course, of course! I always love helping others! Leave it to me, I'll have someone escort you back right away!"

"No," the chieftain shook his head and refused, "My homeland is secluded and outsiders are not welcome."

"If you are alone, I can take you in; but if there are many people, I cannot agree."

It seems to be a solo mission.

One Sword Nine Provinces was secretly delighted: Sorry, brothers, it's not that I didn't want to take you, but this mission only accepts me.

Unable to team up, he reluctantly bought a large number of player-made modified potions, feeling heartbroken as he looked at the money he spent.

"That's all money... If the reward doesn't cover the cost in the end, I'll suffer a huge loss."

After everything was ready, he helped the chieftain to his feet. "I'm ready, let's go!"

Even when alone, as a level 60 Swordsman, he still has some means to protect himself.

The clan chief struggled to his feet, grabbed him with one hand, and drew a magic circle under his feet with the other.

A faint light appeared, enveloping the two of them.

As the light shifted, their figures vanished from their original spots.

"Where... where am I?"

What was supposed to be a long and arduous One Sword Nine Provinces was suddenly transported to the edge of a forest shrouded in thick fog.

Earth Reading, this is not any known area, but the scenery alone suggests it's of a high level.

Could it be an open-world map for level 80 or higher?

Even a hundred of them combined couldn't get through! We were too hasty; we should have done our research beforehand.

If the mission fails and you lose half a level of experience for nothing, there's really no way to complain.

"Where do we go next?" he asked anxiously.

The chieftain coldly pointed north. "By passing through this Lost Forest, we will reach the grasslands inhabited by our orcs."

Lost Forest?

Just from the name, you can tell it's extremely easy to get lost.

Looking ahead at the thick fog shrouding the forest, their sense of direction would likely be significantly affected.

But this didn't stump him.

In addition to the equipment and materials from the game itself, the store also offers many player-made gadgets.

Some players earn a little extra money from these inventions; although it's not much, it's still quite useful.

For this type of maze-like terrain, in areas not visible on the system map, players discovered an auxiliary item called the "Northfinder Stone," which proved very useful.

The key to making the North-Seeking Stone lies in hollowing out the entire stone, carving directional marks inside, and finally inserting a special monster called the Northfinder Bug.

This insect is born with the ability to orient itself, always flying due north, making it a unique natural directional tool.

However, the production of the Northfinder Bug itself is scarce, making it quite expensive.

"The costs have gone up again... If the mission rewards aren't decent this time, we'll lose a lot of money."

Despite the heartache, "One Sword Nine Provinces" bought the North-Seeking Stone and then walked ahead to lead the way for the clan leader.

Upon entering the Lost Forest, he dared not relax his guard for a moment—the situation here was roughly similar to the previous instance of the Wolf Barbarian Escape.

He couldn't expect much help from the clan chief; he was already fortunate if his companion wasn't injured or harmed and didn't require his attention.

Of course, it's best if nothing unexpected happens.

However, things didn't go as planned. Suddenly, a dense buzzing sound arose all around, like the sound of a swarm of bees flapping their wings.

"Something's wrong, hurry and follow me!"

Seeing countless enormous flying bees swarming in from all directions, "One Sword Nine Provinces" immediately gave a low shout to the clan leader and sped forward.

The system indicated that these bees were called "Giant Devouring Bee," and although their level was not extremely high, only around level 60, their numbers were terrifying.

Even a large team would find it difficult to handle a bee swarm of this size.

When encountering monsters that are difficult to completely eliminate in the wild, players usually do not choose to fight them head-on, but instead use other means to protect themselves, or simply run away to avoid losing experience points.

For flying insect-type monsters, the Fire-Gathering Array that "One Sword Nine Provinces" purchased at a high price can come in handy—one has to admire the player's boundless wisdom.

Once the Fire-Gathering Array is activated, a ring of flames will form around the user, and it will move with the player, similar to a mobile torch.

Although it cannot directly harm the monsters, most insects are naturally afraid of fire and dare not approach easily, which is enough.

At this moment, "One Sword Nine Provinces" is not aiming to wipe out the bee swarm, but to escape safely.

"Full speed ahead, get out of this forest as soon as possible!" The Fire-Gathering Array can only last for five minutes.

Along the way, One Sword Nine Provinces activated two more formations before finally shaking off the relentless swarm of bees.

"Hmph... hmph, these swindlers, I'll remember this... if it weren't for the time crunch and no time to haggle, I wouldn't have let you rip me off like this!"

"This Fire-Gathering Array is ridiculously overpriced. The people in the Showoff Guild... they're all shrewd businessmen!"

The two ran swiftly and finally reached the edge of the Lost Forest.

A vast expanse of grassland spread out before my eyes, with no sign of a town in sight in the vast expanse of sky and earth.

"Is this the Orc Prairie you mentioned? How far is it from your tribe?"

If the clan leader were to say at this moment that they needed to cross some dangerous place, "One Sword Nine Provinces" would probably be unable to resist pulling all the hair off his body.

"The grassland is now our territory; we can reach our destination by crossing it."

"That's good, let's continue on our way."

Now that we're inside orc territory, we shouldn't encounter any more danger, right?

Please, please don't let anything else go wrong, or he'll really be drowning in debt.

"Woo-woo-woo-woo-woo--"

Suddenly, a series of long howls came from afar.

"What's that noise now? Didn't you say this is your territory? Where did that wild beast howling come from?"

The Wolf Barbarians's expression visibly relaxed. "They are my people, not enemies."

Upon hearing this, One Sword Nine Provinces felt a sense of relief.

As long as they're not enemies, that's fine.

Several wolf-like or not-quite-wolf figures appeared ahead.

Their fur is not the typical gray and white of wolves, but a mixture of black and white, and they have three eyes on their faces that gleam with red light.

If the clan leader hadn't repeatedly assured him that there was no danger, One Sword Nine Provinces would almost have turned and fled.

The next moment, the beasts rushed forward, twisted and transformed, and stood in human form.

The tallest of the wolf-beastmen greeted the chieftain loudly, "Uncle Lang Man Barbarian, you're back!"

These wolf-beastmen, apart from being able to speak and stand upright, have the same color and appearance of fur on their faces and bodies as when they came running in their wild beast form.

Can all these orcs freely switch between animal and human forms?

One Sword Nine Provinces glanced quietly at the Wolf Barbarians Chieftain.

As if sensing his doubt, the other party explained, "Only orcs with pure bloodlines can transform into a complete Warcraft form."

The implication is that those of mixed blood do not possess this ability...

The background information of the Wolf Barbarians in "One Sword Nine Provinces" suggests that they are descendants of humans and Warcraft.

Judging from the atmosphere of their conversation, the two seemed quite welcoming of the Lang Man's return.

"Let's go back to the city! I need to inform the clan chief as soon as possible; he will surely be overjoyed!"

The Wolf Clan named "Lang Feng," the same one who had just greeted Lang Man, warmly invited the two to head into the city.

Following the wolf pack across the vast grassland, the outline of a distant city finally came into view.

The scenery here is completely different from that of Fragrant Cloud City. There is no exquisite humanistic embellishment, but instead, it exudes an unrefined and rough atmosphere.

The architecture seems to deliberately abandon neatness and prefer to follow natural forms.

For example, most of the houses in the city were actually hollowed-out tree cavities.

Those trees were so tall they reached into the clouds, and their interiors were even divided into several layers, which was quite unique.

It can't be said that they don't understand architecture; perhaps they have other uses for doing this.

Lang Feng turned to Lang Man and said, "Uncle, let's go see the clan chief first."

"My friend, feel free to wander around the city. We'll treat you to a proper meal when we return."

"Okay, you guys get back to work."

"One Sword Nine Provinces" was thinking of going to check out the shops on the street—many shops in the Orc City had huge eggs displayed in front of them, and he was really curious about what they were.

As Lang Man Barbarian and his group departed, the system notification in his taskbar finally lit up.

He couldn't help but grin as he scanned the reward details.

Now I don't have to worry about making a living anymore.

System prompt:

"Congratulations to the player for completing the final quest in the 'Wolf Barbarian Homecoming' series and earning the gratitude of the Orc Race."

"Rewards include a special pet egg, increased experience points, 500 Gold Coin, and the status of 'Outer Tribe Resident of Orc City'."

The rewards for special missions are indeed generous!

The materials for the potion cost less than 300 Gold Coin, and now not only have they recouped their investment, but they've also gotten an extra special pet egg, which they estimate will be worth quite a bit when they resell it.

I just don't know what will hatch.

In the game "God's Domain," the species of pet eggs cannot be predicted before hatching unless special methods are used.

I've heard that some players have the talent "Listening to All Things," which, while not very useful, allows them to hear subtle sounds that others can't, and even vaguely identify the type of pet inside an egg. They can earn some extra money this way.

Holding the unusual egg, he hesitated.

I already have a Stonecliff Beast, a high-level pet that I finally managed to raise to maturity. Is it worth getting a new one now...?

Never mind, let's keep it for now.

Since it's an egg given as a reward for a special mission, let's hatch it and see how it goes.

If it's truly outstanding, then it's not too late to change it.

He walked towards the shop with a giant egg hanging above its door.

There are quite a few shops like this in the city; it seems to be a pillar industry here, so it wouldn't hurt to take a look.

Upon entering, one's gaze is immediately met by a giant bear sitting upright at a table—the bear is intently doing needlework.

The scene struck "One Sword Nine Provinces" as somewhat comical.

"Um... sir, I'd like to just browse around."

It was impossible to tell whether this person named Xiong Ping was male or female. Judging from his figure, he seemed to be a male bear, but his kind appearance, with a cloth bag around his neck and needlework in hand, made it hard to tell.

Let's just not address each other by name for now.

"Please make yourself at home, guest." The voice was a deep male voice.

But your needlework posture is so unbecoming of a man...

He wandered around the store and saw that the shelves were densely packed with eggs of different sizes and patterns.

Are these all pet eggs?

Upon closer inspection, the system indeed displayed information about the pet egg.

Surprisingly, each egg was labeled with the name of Warcraft: a land monster, a flying Warcraft, and even a support Warcraft?

This is so convenient!

Support-type Warcraft have always been the most popular type among players.

Unless you team up with Priest, DPS classes always have to carry a lot of potions when going solo, which is both expensive and has cooldown limitations, making it quite troublesome.

The situation is much better if there is a support Warcraft by your side.

Rumor has it that Qin Xiao Youhui's Summoned Beast is a support type and has even evolved, perfectly matching his class, making many high-level players envious.

However, support Warcraft are rare, and both common and special varieties are hard to find.

Players usually prioritize using pet evolution pills on support Warcraft, only resorting to them as a second choice when there are no suitable alternatives available.

These auxiliary Warcraft eggs are openly displayed on the shelves—isn't this a windfall?

I bought them all!

Then they resell them to other players; with this buying and selling, they might just make a fortune...

You're almost certain you'll make a fortune.

If it were businessmen, they would probably have to resort to leverage at this point.

"Boss, how much are these pet eggs?"

Xiong Ping glanced at the row of support Warcraft eggs he was pointing to and said slowly, "Those are all ordinary-grade support Warcraft eggs, 500 Gold Coin each, no bargaining."

"Ah... you might as well just rob us."

His dream of getting rich overnight shattered instantly.

"Other shops are charging the same price. Support-type Warcraft are inherently more expensive. Our shop is one of the biggest in Orc City."

Xiong Ping explained in a gruff voice, clearly somewhat impatient.

It turns out that all the shops displaying giant eggs outside are pet stores. This Orc City has so many Warcraft eggs—is it locally produced and sold?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shudder.

He didn't have many Gold Coin on him.

He suddenly remembered that since so many eggs were being sold in the city and they were graded, there should be appraisers to identify the pet eggs and assess their attributes.

Otherwise, how can we say they are ordinary?

Doesn't that mean I happen to have one myself?

So he tentatively asked, "Shopkeeper, how much would it cost to have an appraiser assess a pet egg?"

"A thousand pieces of gold."

That's truly heartless.

However, this is indeed a place where the quality of pet eggs can be assessed in advance.

He finally understood: the streets were full of unscrupulous merchants.

Actually, it doesn't matter if we don't identify them. We'll know the details of the pets once they hatch; it's just a matter of time.

Xiong Ping seemed to see through his thoughts and grinned, "Are you thinking that the appraiser's price is too high, and that it doesn't matter if you don't appraise it, since you'll see the attributes anyway after it hatches?"

"Isn't that right? What could be different about an egg that has already been tested?"

Xiong Ping had an expression that seemed perfectly natural.

"Of course, otherwise why bother having someone authenticate it?"

"Unless they are wild Warcraft raised in nature, most of the ones hatched from pet eggs still have room to grow."

"Eggs that have been identified can unleash the potential of the monsters inside, making them significantly stronger than unidentified ones!"

Hearing Boss Xiong speak with such certainty, even One Sword Nine Provinces began to waver.

If it can truly make the hatched Warcraft more powerful, then it's definitely worth a look; it's just unknown how much stronger they will become.