Walking down the somewhat dimly lit corridor of the hotel, the [ Dark Archmage ] felt increasingly guilty.
I must have been out of my mind to take on so many Blood Corpse by myself. Even if I could hold them off, it would be difficult to kill them one by one. In the end, I was exhausted and bitten to death by the Blood Corpse. Even my equipment and items were lost in the danger zone outside my territory.
Having been resurrected, I could only go to the storage room dressed in white to retrieve a spare coat and items. The mission still needed to be completed, but I couldn't be as reckless as before...
The Dark Archmage stood in the room filled with various props, pondered for a while, and then, feeling a bit weary, lay down on the slightly damp, simple wooden bed.
Because I didn't really want to interact with other people, I chose the mission of exploring the territory and marking the Corpse Tide.
This time, just reviving after dying cost me one gold coin, and the loss of items amounted to dozens of silver coins. Just thinking about it makes me feel a little heartbroken, but teaming up with others would only increase the psychological pressure...
While thinking, [ Dark Archmage ] opened the forum to relax for a while, but after clicking into "One Hundred Ways to Use the New Plants", he never came out again.
Using Fluorescent Velvet Grass to mark Blood Corpse is indeed a good method, but the experience summary of [ Litang's Supremely Fierce Tiger ] and others clearly states one problem: wounds need to be created for the Fluorescent Velvet Grass to take root and sprout.
Capturing and marking a Blood Corpse requires at least two people. Is there a way for a single person to inflict wounds and mark the corpse?
The first thing the Dark Archmage thought of was a bow and arrow.
Bows and arrows have only appeared once in the current " World of Disorder," and that was with the archers who spawn in Dungeon Gloomy Sanctuary.
They like to stand on high ground or circle around behind the players, using their bows and arrows made of highly resilient wood and vines to relentlessly splash water and compress the players' space to move, then coordinate with their greatswords to leap and slash the priests one by one to kill them.
However, players have already tried it and found that even if they win the final victory and take the bow out of the Dungeon, the bow will quickly wither due to lack of nutrients.
This brings us to another characteristic of Directed Alienation: the items generated through Directed Alienation can only be matched with their creators.
Even if players are so close that they can share the same hand, this doesn't apply to items like fruit knives that have Directed Alienation.
Even the few plant-specialized players who allocate all their special attributes to Plant Compatibility cannot achieve this.
It's not that no one has thought about making their own bow, but even though there are many options for the bow body, there are very few materials that can be used as the string.
In other words, at least until one can Alienation a bowstring, the materials science of this world is insufficient to support becoming an archer.
The Dark Archmage lay on the bed, toying with the master key in his hand, when suddenly he brought the iron key in front of him.
Compared to those weapons and farm tools that still have burrs, this key is quite exquisite.
Because it is meant to be held in the hand, the surface of this key has been carefully polished, and the key itself is very uniform in thickness, showing that the craftsman who made it was exceptional.
This aligns with the innkeeper's account, so since there is such a blacksmith...
The Dark Archmage tossed the key around in his hand, thinking of a special weapon he had seen in real life.
A ranged weapon that requires no bowstring and is relatively quiet—the blowgun.
The Dark Archmage leaped out of bed, quickly changed into a spare set of clothes, and equipped himself with a large number of items, transforming himself back into a fully armed tea-serving soldier.
She left the storeroom, returned the key to the owner, inquired about the Dragonborn blacksmith's name, and then left the inn.
She had already decided what to do next: find the blacksmith to order a blowpipe, and as for the blowgun, she could make that herself through Directed Alienation.
Once she has all the weapons, she will return to the burial place of her previous life. Regardless of whether the corpse is still of any use, she will at least retrieve the items.
Stepping out of the inn, the [ Dark Archmage ] looked around, intending to find Dragonborn to ask about the blacksmith Cole again.
At the same time that her gaze fell upon a young female Dragonborn, the Dragonborn also saw her.
The two then walked towards each other with perfect understanding, which surprised the [ Dark Archmage ]—he didn't recognize this Dragonborn; did she want to see him?
After the two met, the [ Dark Archmage ] intended to ask what the other wanted, but unexpectedly, the Dragonborn simply smiled at her:
"You go first."
Since that was the case, the [ Dark Archmage ] didn't hold back and asked some questions about the blacksmith Cole.
The young female Dragonborn seemed to know Cole very well, and immediately began to introduce him in a familiar manner, recounting Dragonborn life story, his abilities, and then his scandals, seemingly opening his account right before her eyes.
The Dark Archmage soon learned that the Dragonborn was a somewhat eccentric one, living in a corner of the Dragonborn Village, much like the fat Dragonborn who liked to buy and sell clothes and fabrics.
Having learned what he wanted to know, the [ Dark Archmage ] looked at the person before him:
"So, what brings you here? We don't seem to know each other."
"Hehe, you must be Soul Returner?"
"Yes."
"Hmm, would you be interested in learning more about our services?"
Upon hearing this, the [ Dark Archmage ] felt his face turn pale with fright.
As someone with social anxiety, the pervasive sales pitches in real life have already made her somewhat apprehensive.
Whether it was the senior student who bought her pens in college or the cleaning agent distributor in the mall who knelt down to polish her shoes without saying a word, every sales pitch left her with a huge empty wallet.
She's terrible at dealing with these kinds of things. Even after so many years of experience, she can only refuse outright the moment she senses a sales pitch. Once the other party starts making moves, it's hard for her to escape.
Now, the Dragonborn in front of him was indeed showing signs of trying to sell, but the other party had just given him a detailed explanation of the Dragonborn's information. It would be a bit too cold-hearted to just turn around and leave.
Even though the NPCs in this World of Disorder are controlled by a group of AI, the official setting clearly states that these AIs can hold grudges...
As if frozen in place, the [ Dark Archmage ] listened with a troubled Dragonborn before him began to explain his business.
However, as the young Dragonborn descendant explained things, things seemed to start to get strange...
Two minutes later, the [ Dark Archmage ] looked at the Dragonborn before him with a twisted expression:
"Say it again, what are you trying to sell?"
"Madam, it's 'insurance' and 'body recovery'."