Near the castle, Gray's mobile fortress.
"The transactions with your people are complete. What are your thoughts, my lord?"
Upon hearing Gray's greeting, Ed, who was examining the rare artifacts, turned around and said:
"There are indeed some good things."
This means that most of it is junk.
It's no wonder Ed gave such a polite refusal; it's simply because what Gray had here was indeed unreliable.
At first, Ed was somewhat interested in the so-called pure-blooded demon's remains, but Little Green said that the thing had been dead for at least seventy or eighty years, and even if it ate it, no useful information could be extracted.
As for the other junk, it was mostly useless; the only thing worth looking at was probably that inconspicuous flail.
As the description says, this thing, having been soaked in a sea of blood for a long time and corroded by the Demonic Tide, has been tainted with an intense and irresistible resentment, making it far superior in quality to ordinary daggers or spears.
Ed pointed to the flail placed in the box:
How much is this?
"The boss really has an eye for talent."
Gray rubbed his hands together like a fly and stepped forward, about to launch into a long explanation, when Ed interrupted him:
"Name your price."
"5 gold."
"Make a deal."
The hunt by the three masters and disciples of [ Evergreen Tree ] went very smoothly. Under the command of [ Dawn Ah ], his adopted son charged through the forest like a wild dog. By evening, the three of them had brought back a total of six Aberration corpses, completing the novice quest.
In response, [ Dawn Ah ] could only say that his previous thinking was too limited. He was indeed worried that the monsters in the wilderness would be wiped out, but based on what he saw today, as long as the number of players did not reach tens of thousands, there would always be lively monsters in those vast forests.
This is actually a good approach. Using the forest and river as boundaries effectively divides safe and dangerous areas, which is very important for players.
On their way back, they encountered Aoda, a guard riding Hoofed Beast toward the castle. Oda very politely dismounted and helped them share some of the prey, and [ Evergreen Tree ] took the opportunity to strike up a conversation with him.
One was a hot-tempered guard from another world, and the other was a highly respected old professor in the real world, but they had no barriers when they talked. On the contrary, they both felt like they were broadening their horizons.
When the group arrived at the foot of the castle, they had gone from strangers on the same side to acquaintances, and [ Evergreen Tree ] had also subtly learned some of the basic settings of this world from the other party.
Although the seemingly composed old professor maintained a cheerful demeanor, a turbulent undercurrent was brewing within him.
This simple NPC guarding the borders could definitely pass any Turing test at this stage, as it doesn't resemble an artificial intelligence at all.
While some teams in the real world can certainly do similar things, the AI's answers still carry the risk of being exposed and require a considerable amount of time to develop.
But this guard Aoda Oda, or Gray whom they met that morning, and Ed who woke them up—each of them was so vivid, their movements natural and their thoughts fluid, showing no trace of design, as if everything was perfectly natural...
And this was only a preliminary exchange. More importantly, it was about learning ability. In just over ten minutes of conversation, [ Evergreen Tree ] could feel that uniquely human temperament manifesting in Aoda. He also had joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, and he would feel confused when he didn't know the answer to a question. Sometimes he would even ask the question back to the questioner, which is unimaginable in reality.
As for the remaining two tasks, he had already found the answers in his heart.
Regarding the first task—observing whether the game matches the rampant hype online—the professor stated that it wasn't hype or praise at all, but rather humility! The real World of Disorder is far more authentic than those people describe.
For the second task, which involved observing the game's ecosystem and technology, he kept recording the entire process.
The ecosystem of this world is difficult to describe in words, yet it forms its own system. At the same time, technology seems to have become more radical and wild due to issues with the world's rules.
When his students told him that in this world, you could buy new limbs if you lost them, the old professor already sensed a strong biopunk vibe. The mobile fortress he'd seen that morning, in particular, seemed to use some kind of engine that required Aberration corpses as fuel...
On the final stretch of the road leading to the assignment, the old professor discarded the rigid rules and regulations of the task, and abandoned the layered thinking that resembled stacking boxes, simply focusing on enjoying everything before him.
His eyes were no longer blurry, his muscles were full of power, and he was full of fighting spirit, as if he had returned to the feeling of thirty or forty years ago, which was incredibly intoxicating. He didn't know if those people would give him such a test opportunity again tomorrow, but he knew that he would definitely follow their arrangements, as it was his duty.
So enjoy it all while you can...
At 8 PM in the World of Disorder, the one-day test ended, and both [ Evergreen Tree ] and [ Backstabbing Expert ] reluctantly left the game.
At this moment, Duolin found Ed and reported that two more Soul Returner had fainted during practice that day.
This was good news; Ed knew it meant two more players were about to level up, and his own player strength was steadily increasing.
But the news that Aoda brought back was not good. Duolin and Ed both knew what the smell of blood in the White Wax Town Church meant.
Even as they plotted their counterattack, innocent people continued to die from the cruel experiments of the Tree Worship Church.
Ed knew this matter couldn't be delayed any longer; he had to make a decision as soon as possible, both from a practical and moral standpoint.
The occasional Shattered sounds of breaking things echoed around him, Ed ignored them and looked at the outline of White Wax Town that Aoda was sketching on the paper, then asked Duolin:
What's the largest number of people you've ever commanded in a battle?
Upon hearing this question, Duolin lowered his head somewhat awkwardly:
Ten people.
He's just a garrison squad leader; this question is too difficult for him.
This answer was exactly what Ed had expected. He thought for a moment and then asked:
"How many people do you think you'd need to take down the White Wax Town Church?"
Duolin didn't rush to answer, but thought for a moment before saying:
"That depends on the skill level of our people."
"That's about the level of the Soul Returner."
Ed immediately said:
You can estimate based on the level of those Soul Returner have never been in a slumber.
Never been asleep?
Duolin thought of the first unconscious [ Howling Pothos ] and the fighting performance of the Saint who were not even as good as him, and felt that he was about to say something offensive.