Having your throat slit and drowning seemed like two completely different things! When I dragged those people underwater and drowned them earlier, I couldn't see their bodies, so I didn't really feel anything. Even seeing corpses floating on the sea only made me a little sick! But just now, seeing blood spray from those slit throats scared me out of my wits. If I hadn't forced myself to hold it together, I probably would've made a fool of myself right there! Heh, looks like a newcomer to Rodos World like me still has a lot to get used to!
Only after quite a while did Zhang Yao recover from that awful feeling. Looking at his own somewhat bedraggled state, he smiled bitterly to himself. As he recalled how everyone else around him had behaved, he immediately felt the gap between them. It wasn't a gap in strength, but in their state of mind-the difference between being accustomed to life and death and being comfortably settled into pleasure.
Ah! Zhang Yao sighed inwardly and shook his head helplessly.
The principle was easy enough to understand, but putting it into practice was anything but simple. Without enduring countless dangers and trials of life and death, achieving it was nothing but a pipe dream! For Zhang Yao, a student born in peacetime whose most violent act had been cracking someone's head with a brick, it was harder still.
"No matter how hard it is, I can do it! I already killed so many people earlier. The Plachy Brothers just sprayed a little more blood afterward, and I wasn't used to it yet! Once I get used to it, everything will get better! I'll definitely make it out of this place alive!" Zhang Yao gently patted his cheeks, giving himself a pep talk.
In truth, the main reason Zhang Yao had felt so little after killing all those people earlier was that he had been too excited. As he drowned those naval soldiers and pirates, his experience kept climbing in chunks, gaining him a level every little while, until he forgot his fear entirely.
Dragging his exhausted body along, Zhang Yao struggled over to the large bed in the room, then flopped straight onto its soft surface.
The battle at sea when he first arrived, the ten-kilometer swim afterward, and the distress following his fight with the Plachy Brothers had left Zhang Yao exhausted in both body and mind, despite the foundation provided by his increased stats from leveling up. Thus, shortly after he reached the bed, he fell into a deep sleep.
An unknown amount of time passed before Zhang Yao woke.
Slowly opening his eyes, Zhang Yao looked around in a daze. Only when he saw the ring on his index finger did he fully come to his senses.
"This is Rodos, not my old world anymore! What a terrifying place!"
Zhang Yao shook his head, casting aside his worries, and opened his notifications to check them. After his fight with the Plachy Brothers, he had been so tense that he hadn't heard the notifications Rodos had given him at all. Now that he had woken up, he finally remembered the rewards he was due.
"The Plachy Brothers were pretty generous! They gave me not only 500 experience, but also 50 gold coins. Too bad they didn't throw in a couple of pieces of equipment!" Joy rose in Zhang Yao's heart as he read the notification about his experience and gold coins.
Then, after glancing at his level of 7 and his experience bar of 1600/6000, Zhang Yao propped up his chin and began considering things carefully. He was thinking about how to improve his strength safely and efficiently next.
Although the battle just now had made Zhang Yao realize that his mental resilience wasn't up to scratch, it had also shown him that he now possessed some ability to protect himself. He was confident that, by combining the Concealment Technique with the Afterimage Technique built into his equipment, escaping would be no problem as long as he didn't run into someone as formidable as Lancelot.
Naturally, however, Zhang Yao wouldn't be satisfied with this small achievement. After all, great strength was the foundation that decided everything.
"Equipment and skill books can improve your strength as quickly as a pole casts a shadow, but getting them depends entirely on luck! Looks like working hard to gain experience and level up is more realistic!" Zhang Yao settled on a provisional plan to increase his strength quickly.
In Rodos, there were only two ways to gain experience and level up: kill or defeat enemies, or complete quests. With no quests available to him now, Zhang Yao could only choose the first route-killing or defeating enemies.
But enemies weren't so easy to find, either. Although Rodos World forcibly classified anyone a Chosen One attacked as that Chosen One's enemy, that classification applied only from the Chosen One's perspective. Take killing pirates and killing civilians, for example. Both the pirates and civilians under attack counted as the Chosen One's enemies, and killing either awarded experience. But after killing civilians, the Chosen One would very likely be wanted by the local government! Killing pirates wouldn't have that consequence; someone might even come forward to thank the Chosen One for ridding the people of a scourge!
Zhang Yao was neither a fool nor a madman. Although he badly wanted to grow stronger quickly, he still couldn't bring himself to do something as insane as slaughtering civilians and then facing endless manhunts and pursuit.
Looks like I'll have to find people like pirates to improve my strength! Zhang Yao thought silently.
"Huh? Spacetime Shop!" Lying in bed and repeatedly scanning his character stats, Zhang Yao spotted the copper-coin icon again.
Enter the Spacetime Shop: yes/no?
Zhang Yao selected yes without hesitation. He had deeply regretted not going inside last time because of Luo De. This time, he could take advantage of his rest to have a look and satisfy his curiosity.
After selecting yes, Zhang Yao felt his vision swim. When he came to his senses again, he found himself wearing the clothes of a native resident of Rodos and standing somewhere unfamiliar.
The carpet, crystal chandelier, and large bed had vanished. In their place stood an old counter a little over half a person's height, with various objects hanging on the walls around it. Behind the counter, a man reclined comfortably in a wooden rocking chair, his eyes closed as he rocked back and forth.
The man looked to be around fifty, with a small, thin frame. A loose robe draped over him made his already scrawny figure look even smaller. He had high cheekbones, a gaunt chin, and a flat nose, on which rested a pair of black crystal glasses.
Although the man lay there with his eyes closed, Zhang Yao kept sensing a sly, crafty air about him.
"Kid, have you looked your fill yet?" While Zhang Yao was still studying him, the reclining man spoke with his eyes narrowed.
"Hello. May I ask if this is the Spacetime Shop?" Believing caution was the best policy, Zhang Yao asked politely.
"Obviously! If this isn't the Spacetime Shop, what is it, your house?" the man replied irritably.
"Hehe, this is my first visit, and there's a lot I don't know. I hope you won't hold it against me!" Zhang Yao continued smiling as he spoke, without the slightest trace of anger at the man's dismissive attitude.
Zhang Yao's temper wasn't exactly good; when he dug his heels in, he could be as stubborn as a mule. But however stubborn he might be, he understood that this was someone else's turf. He was newly arrived and knew nothing, so it was best to watch his step. Otherwise, if the man deliberately put him in shoes a size too small later, he would have nowhere even to cry about it.
"Oh? Another newcomer." Hearing Zhang Yao's words, the man finally opened his eyes. He slowly rose from the rocking chair, walked over to Zhang Yao, and began looking him up and down.
"Well, since you're new, I'll explain the rules here. My surname is Sun. You can call me Old Sun or Shopkeeper Sun, whichever you like. As the name suggests, this is a place for buying and selling things. If there's anything you want, take a look yourself!" Just as the scrutiny was giving Zhang Yao goosebumps all over and making him wonder whether the old man had some peculiar tastes, the man finally withdrew his gaze. After that exceedingly brief introduction, he waved a hand, and an item window appeared before Zhang Yao.
There were plenty of things in the item window, from weapons and armor to luxury goods. It was a dazzling assortment with every category represented. But Zhang Yao noticed that while there were many items, few were any good. Most were white equipment, and the only blue piece was a low-grade pair of boots, nowhere near the same league as the gold Siren Boots on his feet.
After giving the equipment window another couple of glances, Zhang Yao looked away and turned back to Shopkeeper Sun. Smiling, he said, "Shopkeeper Sun, this is my first visit, and I don't know anything. Could you recommend some things to me?"
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