"I don't believe it! This can't be real! Hurry! Tell me you're lying to me! Please!"
"Ahhh! This is so unfair!"
Lin Tang's miserable wails echoed endlessly through Calamity Base.
Cheng Shaofeng curled his lip. "Can't help it. I don't know why Phantasmal Illusion gave so much experience either. Maybe the female ghost's attack energy was too high? So the Clones could absorb more energy from it?"
Thinking about it that way, it did make some sense. Once the female ghost activated Phantasmal Illusion, dozens of Raiders had passed out on the spot.
Forgiveness Hat and Xiao Xiao had been able to break free from the illusion so quickly. They really had something going for them.
"Could it be that... the faster you break free from Phantasmal Illusion, the more experience you get?"
"Let Thin Dog and the others try it tomorrow."
Cheng Shaofeng had deliberately asked the female ghost to leave that illusion behind today so the players could all get a chunk of experience. It was just too good!
Two hundred points per run. They might not get that much experience even after farming Raiders for an entire day.
Cheng Shaofeng was currently drafting the dungeon description and preparing to release an update announcement tomorrow to inform all the players.
Meanwhile.
Thin Dog's group of three looked as if their parents had died.
They perfectly embodied the sentiment: not fearing that your brothers would suffer, but fearing that they would strike it rich first!
It was miserable enough that they gained experience slowly, but seeing their friends level up was even more agonizing.
"That female ghost deserves to die!"
Lin Tang shouted again.
Thin Dog and Demon Fox covered Lin Tang's mouth, and the group compared what they had gained today.
Thin Dog's group had obtained a mysterious jade item from the "Save the hunter's Son" side quest. They had also discovered a mysterious Cellar that spawned Skeletons, collected twelve mysterious skulls and one piece of Radiated Material, and hunted all the prey needed by the five players.
After returning from Salt Well Town, Forgiveness Hat had gone into the cave, found some Iron Ore, and hauled it back in a cart.
After returning, Xiao Xiao had gotten straight to work and made five high-quality stone spears for the five of them to turn in for the quest.
After acquiring some basic tools from Salt Well Town, she could craft even faster.
The group first went to Cheng Shaofeng to turn in their daily quests.
Completed "Hunting" quest. Reward: 50 Merit Points, 5 Iron Coins. Completed "Collect Metal Materials" quest. Reward: 50 Merit Points, 5 Iron Coins. Completed "Craft Weapons" quest. Reward: 100 Merit Points, 10 Iron Coins.
The five of them had worked together to complete all three daily quests, each receiving 200 Merit Points and 20 Iron Coins.
In addition.
Demon Fox pulled a Black Box from his clothes.
"Honorable Lord, I found another piece of Radiation Energy. Could you see whether the base can use it?"
Cheng Shaofeng was instantly delighted.
Another energy source had arrived!
He pressed his hand directly onto it, allowing the base's nanobots to begin devouring the energy.
Calamity Base charging.
A moment later, the absorption was complete.
Charging complete. This charge: 1%. Remaining base energy: 2.28%.
"Soldier, you did very well! The base cannot operate without energy. It is the foundation for producing Clones, dismantling loot, and viewing item attributes. We need more energy like this. This is your reward."
Completed "Find Energy" quest. Reward: 300 Merit Points, 30 Iron Coins.
Only Demon Fox received the reward for this quest.
"Hiss... This quest's reward is equal to all the others combined. Energy really is valuable. Tomorrow, let's see if those two Raider Camps still spawn this stuff."
The five of them all made contact with Cheng Shaofeng and backed up their body data.
After all, this experience... had not come easily.
Especially the two players who had reached Level 2. They had already made backups in Salt Well Town.
Next, everyone went off to do their own thing.
Xiao Xiao got the Iron Ore from Forgiveness Hat, then obtained permission to use the tools the Lord had just bought from the base's public warehouse. She was about to make a big move.
"First, make a furnace and smelt the iron! Tomorrow, we'll leap straight from the Stone Age into the Iron Age!"
After saying that, Xiao Xiao went to the riverbank to dig clay.
Forgiveness Hat, meanwhile, began talking to Thin Dog's group about the attribute panel.
"Earlier, my watch said reaching Level 2 would unlock the character attribute panel and Skill Tree panel, and that we could change classes. But after we came back, the watch showed that the feature hadn't been unlocked yet and asked us to wait for a version update. It's probably because this is a closed beta. I'll ask Sentinel, the designer, after I log off."
Thin Dog said, "Alright, we'll wait for your news!"
After that, Forgiveness Hat also went to help Xiao Xiao dig clay. It was nearly time to log off today, so there was no time to do anything else. What if he was forcibly kicked offline and lay out in the wilderness, only to get carried away by Mutated Creatures?
Only the seemingly absent-minded Lord and three combat-type players remained at the base.
Demon Fox took a skull from the cart and placed it on the Attribute Conversion Tower.
"Let me take a look at what this is."
Blue light swept over it, and a text description of the item appeared on their watches.
Vitality Skull A skull that has lost its vitality, yet energy still surged within it. Perhaps it could be dismantled into some decent loot.
"Eh? This is loot?"
Lin Tang took it and examined it, discovering that it did indeed have a certain sheen. It was especially noticeable as night approached.
"Then let's see what good stuff it can be dismantled into!"
Lin Tang placed it into the Loot Generator.
Beep, beep, beep~
The conveyor belt rolled out one piece of loot.
Shattered Skull Socketable Item (for chest armor and helmets) +2 Life Recovery Speed per second +8% Energy Recovery Speed
"Good stuff! Anything that boosts health recovery is good stuff!"
Thin Dog and the others had been able to use all of today's gains thanks to Life Recovery Speed. It could be said that they had recovered several lives' worth of health today.
Thin Dog said, "Socket one into my chest armor. My Life Recovery Speed will reach 8 points, and it also adds percentage-based Energy Recovery Speed. I'll be able to use my aura better without that bone off-hand item. It's very practical."
Lin Tang said, "This game's equipment system is pretty interesting. Different types of socketable items all have different functions, and they can greatly increase our combat power. Let me set a small goal first: collect every socketable item in this game."
Since it could produce loot, there was nothing more to say about the other eleven skulls. They threw them all in to generate loot.
Unlike prey, these things could not be eaten. Other than generating loot, they had no other use.
Ten pieces of loot rolled out along the conveyor belt.
Demon Fox looked at all the loot and frowned. "These skulls... can drop at most one piece of loot each. That's quite a gap compared to the one to three pieces of loot each Raider drops. Could it be because their level is too low?"
Among this batch of loot was a palm-sized square box.
Lin Tang spotted it first and picked it out.
Skill Imprint: Skeleton Revival The art of reviving Skeletons is every necromancer's first ritual, as well as their most basic ritual. Necromancers inject their will into the remains of the dead, driving them to serve. Active Skill Level 0/16 Next Level: 1 80 energy cost 18-minute Skill Cooldown Summons per cast: 1 Maximum summons: 1 Skeleton Warrior ability: Ancient Weaponry, dealing both physical and vitality damage to enemies. (Skeletons are affected by equipment that boosts pet damage. Minion strength increases with skill level.) Applicable class: Necromancer Required Necromancer Class Specialization points: 1
The three of them looked at each other.
They had gotten an absolute jackpot!
This was a skill!
Thin Dog imagined the three of them heading out to fight with three Skeletons. That would be way too strong!
At the start of the game, how was that any different from using cheats?
At the same time, Cheng Shaofeng, who was editing the next version's update content, received a notification from Zero.
"Master, the base has acquired its second Skill Imprint. Please record it promptly."
Before you continue