So Ed merely set the question aside for the time being. There were only four players right now, after all, and he could still handle them. Once there were more, he might need to let Little Green gain deeper control over these artificial bodies to better monitor their condition, then create something resembling an experience bar.
But if an experience bar was an important yet nonurgent little issue, what came next was a major problem-
Just after [Zhongde] finished receiving treatment, [Good Times Don't Last] approached Ed with that newbie face of his and asked very earnestly:
"My lord, do monsters not drop loot?"
Ed's face remained expressionless, but inwardly, he heaved a sigh. Sure enough, this glaring bug had been discovered.
From the world's perspective, there was nothing wrong with that, of course, but from a game's perspective, it was a different story.
If monsters did not even drop gold or silver coins, the players' enthusiasm would certainly plummet. But for a monster like a deadwood vine to drop some gold, they could only hope that the last unlucky soul it ate had been carrying money.
Fortunately, Ed still had his NPC disguise. He looked at [Good Times Don't Last] with that harmless face, and the newbie and the bot stared at each other just like that. Two seconds later, Ed said very naturally:
"The noble character of the souls is renowned across this continent. I have heard legends of how they regard money as dirt..."
Seeing that the guide NPC had already begun singing hymns of praise, [Good Times Don't Last] was utterly baffled:
"What does that mean?"
"It means the monsters here don't drop gold. He's guilt-tripping you."
"Huh?"
[Good Times Don't Last]'s expression grew dejected. If monsters did not even drop gold, what was the point of the game?
"Don't worry. This is rare, but it's not unheard of."
[Howling Pothos] spoke up to reassure his newbie teammate:
"Some games do use this kind of design in pursuit of realism. It's like how killing a bear gives you its gallbladder, paws, and hide, but no currency. That's perfectly normal.
"So as long as the materials are useful, it isn't really a big problem."
At that, the four looked toward the wrecked battlefield, at the deadwood vine's body chopped into pieces by axes and short spears and scattered all over the ground, and began wondering how much material could still be salvaged.
It felt like finally managing to hunt down a bear, only to have hacked it to death in a flurry of blows. Every wound would lower the value of its hide; there was no question about that.
The four also soon noticed that a certain NPC who had shown up without pulling his weight seemed to have been collecting deadwood vine fragments all along, even specifically picking out the larger pieces.
Understanding immediately dawned on the players, and they began voluntarily joining in the battlefield cleanup.
The deadwood vine's body was soon divided up completely. Holding these things that looked like a chopped-up cross between wakame and vines, they did not know what to do for a moment.
In the end, [Good Times Don't Last], who was in charge of asking questions, took a piece of deadwood vine over to Ed:
"My lord, how can we use our spoils to maximize their value?"
Those words seemed to trigger some part of the plot. The white-haired NPC before them instantly entered teaching mode.
The four felt as though another cutscene had started. Just as he had introduced the deadwood vine's habits before, Teacher Ed was now beginning a lesson on how to use their spoils.
Should they eat them or sell them? Each had their own thoughts.
The next moment, they saw Ed place a length of deadwood vine in his left palm. The sapling protruding from his left eye seemed to grow a little sturdier, and the plant fragment soon withered away completely and vanished.
What followed, however, left all four dumbfounded as they watched Ed's fingers turn into the deadwood vine's barbed tendrils in an extremely short time.
After demonstrating the ability, Ed quickly restored his fingers to normal, then began explaining very carefully:
"This is a manifestation of the disorder in the world's underlying logic. Now that the demonic tide has descended, all living things can influence one another. That makes these fragments your best reward. As long as you can avoid being controlled by them, you can, in turn, use the deadwood vine's abilities to a certain extent.
"You needn't be surprised by rules like these. You should know that even your own bodies aren't constructed purely from flesh and blood. Plants played a part in them too."
As he spoke, Ed pointed at the sapling growing out of his eye socket, seemingly telling everyone there was no need to worry.
[Howling Pothos] nodded thoughtfully. He wanted to say something, then suddenly felt it would not be appropriate, so he could only shut his mouth sheepishly and wait to log out.
[Good Times Don't Last], beside him, clearly had not thought that much about it. He picked up a sizable deadwood vine fragment from the nearby battlefield that still needed cleaning, held it in his hands, and began exerting his own influence over it as Ed had just done.
Unlike Ed's, the piece of deadwood vine in [Good Times Don't Last]'s hands did not shrivel and wither. Instead, it regrew roots that took hold in his palm, then began furiously drawing nutrients from his body.
"Why does this feel wrong?"
As though a venomous snake had bitten his hand, [Good Times Don't Last] instinctively flailed his arm, trying to throw the deadwood vine away, but he could not shake it off no matter what. He stopped and looked at his hand again. To his surprise, the wildly growing deadwood vine was already as thick as his wrist. Seeing its host stop, it raised one end of its vine-
Smack, smack!
[Good Times Don't Last] covered his cheek with his other hand in surprise. If his brain had not bugged out, then perhaps he really had just been slapped twice by a plant...
Ed noticed this, but showed no unusual reaction. He grabbed a short spear and, with a swish, severed [Good Times Don't Last]'s wrist where the deadwood vine had taken root, then added the final point quite solemnly:
"Every living thing in this world can be used in a similar way, but you must be mindful of the limits of what you can withstand. Only when you hold an absolute advantage can these things be used perfectly.
"An evenly matched struggle or a one-sided defeat will only leave you dying a gruesome death."
After speaking, Ed resumed gathering nearby materials and supplies as though the cutscene had ended. After that battle, all four players' bodies had suffered some degree of damage. He still needed to gather some materials to patch them up after they logged out.
Behind Ed, the four had already begun discussing things in hushed voices.
Before this, they had already compared their base stats, and Ed's explanation just now had undoubtedly involved the use of the [Will] stat.