Seeing that their prey was beyond dead, the two newbies couldn't wait any longer and jumped into the water to swim towards the monster, somewhat like a fisherman who had been fishing all day and was so frustrated that he had to use his own bait to fish.
The others also came to the shore, ready to assist them at any time.
With everyone's concerted efforts, the monster was finally brought ashore and placed in front of them.
It was a large fish about a meter long, with distinct scales on its body, a darker back and a whiter belly. These characteristics would match at least eighty to a hundred different things in the real world.
But the rest is the real highlight. Players will see that the fish's dorsal and ventral fins are very different from those of fish in another world. The fins have a strange proliferation pattern and have already begun to differentiate at the ends, like a fish trying to get ashore.
"What... what kind of fish is this?"
In the silence, a player with the ID [ Epic-Level Giant ] suddenly asked,
"I've been fishing with my dad since I was a kid, and I've never seen such an outrageous fish."
How do we know? Doesn't this game have enough custom-created monsters already?
Another player didn't seem to care much:
"Do Vine Sheep really exist in reality? They're hybrid monsters, so it's not surprising they have many different characteristics."
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot this was a game."
The man suddenly realized and said:
"Ignoring practical factors, it looks a bit like an arapaima, but its fins are almost evolving into claws..."
"Now that you mention it, it does seem a bit like it. Although it's a freshwater fish in reality, can it really live in a river like that?"
"Don't take this game too seriously. If I had to say, I think this fish isn't big enough. It's only a meter long; it couldn't even kill a person with its bite."
"So, the monster that made me feel someone grabbing me underwater was actually trying to pick my pockets..."
"Hey, does this game have a fishing system?"
The [ Epic-Level Giant ], who has extensive fishing experience in real life, suddenly felt an itch to fish.
"Haven't you figured it out yet? What system is this or that? If you want to fish, then fish. Don't blame the game for not implementing a fishing system if you can't catch any fish."
[ Epic-Level Giant ] Slapped his forehead:
"Damn, you should have said so earlier! Is the foreman here? I need to settle my wages; I'm changing careers."
[ Zhongde ]: "Dude, are you kidding me?"
[ Epic-Level Giant ]: "Foreman, I'm fishing for all of us. After all, we can't go without food after working so hard, can we?"
"Today's wages will be settled on time. I'll let everyone fish all day to improve our meals!"
[ Zhongde ] was speechless for a moment. He looked at the player whose eyes were shining, and he didn't know how old the other person was in reality.
Ultimately, " World of Disorder " is a game, and since it's a game, people play it for fun.
[ Zhongde ] finds joy in being a cyber foreman, while others find joy in cyber fishing, but...
He looked at the player who had already started searching for fishing rod materials and asked his concern:
"What if you join the Air Force?"
[ The Epic-Level Giant ] patted his chest and said:
"Don't worry, buddy, I'm not taking a single copper coin from the air force today!"
In less than three minutes, a seemingly mysterious and terrifying underwater monster was riddled with thorns, leaving the Midstream Village speechless with astonishment.
There's no way around it; the Midstream Village and Upperstream Village are like two nursing homes, and it's hard enough to find even a few people who can walk around on their own two feet, so they can't go down to the river to play an away game.
But the Elite Warrior were not only physically fit but also highly trained (and looked quite capable), easily accomplishing what the locals couldn't...
Seeking refuge with them seems like a really good option.
The Midstream Village and the equally astonished villagers discussed the matter, and everyone agreed that the castle was their promised land, as for the original Midstream Village...?
Sorry, it's just a temporary hotel.
But another problem urgently needs to be solved--
During their observation, the villagers noticed that the people here use metal currency for transactions.
They had been ruled by the Tree Worship Church for a long time, and people no longer used those things.
"That's right, Your Excellency... We would very much like to join your settlement here, but we have no money..."
Ed certainly wouldn't say something like, "If you don't have money, go to Seraphina for a loan." He looked at the several embarrassed old men and said:
"It's alright. In my territory, every mature tree can be exchanged for one silver coin. You can exchange any amount at any time as long as you're willing to move here, and..."
"It's time to pay out the rewards you received for reporting the 'traitor'."
Ed unleashed his carefully considered trump card:
"I will abolish your taxes in this new settlement, permanently."
Permanent tax exemption?
A casual remark seemed like a bomb from another world exploding in the villagers' ears. They preferred to believe that the bishop had misspoke rather than believe that they had heard such news.
"Your Excellency, you really..."
"I don't seem to have a history of breaking my promises, but that only applies to the 'seed tax' that the Holy See normally collects. If you go into other businesses in the future, the taxes that are due will still be collected."
Ed answered firmly, and the villagers nearly burst into tears. After all, survival was a problem, so who cared about paying taxes in the future?
"We are willing to join..."
The group expressed their opinions, only to discover to their surprise that they didn't even know the name of their new settlement.
Ed waved his hand and said casually:
"From now on, there won't be any more Upperstream Village or Midstream Village villages; let's just call it Riverside Village."
While the delegation from Midstream Village and Ed were discussing the specifics of the relocation, the players by the river had already dismembered the first " Claw Fish " and placed it in pieces next to the campfire.
This is a name they came up with randomly, and it has already been approved by [ Howling Pothos ] and will be added to the official website's encyclopedia after today's test ends.
Although people generally don't cook during the day, the amount of waste generated from processing wood is so great that there won't be a shortage of fuel for a long time. Besides, it's already evening, so it's time to prepare dinner.
The aroma of Claw Fish filled the area around the construction site, and the enthusiastic newbies began to gather near the grilled fish.
[ Dawn Ah ], who was demonstrating her culinary skills, smiled at everyone:
It will be ripe in about five minutes.
As a player with a great interest in biology, [ Dawn Ah ] volunteered to take on the task of dealing with the Claw Fish.
The fish scraps that few people ate were used as bait by the [ Epic-Level Giant ], while [ Dawn Ah ] was also observing the physiological structure of these in-game creatures while dealing with the monster corpses, trying to find even the slightest inconsistency.
The result was that no unreasonable things were found, but the fish looked really plump and delicious; I wonder what it ate to grow so big.
"Brothers, this is a hundred-pound behemoth, come help me!"
"Thump!"
Suddenly, a shout of "[ Epic-Level Giant ]!" came from the riverbank. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a cloud of blood mist rising on the river surface.
[ Dawn Ah ]'s smile froze on his face.
Now we know what it ate to grow up like this.