Chapter 279: The Firewood Gatherer's Sheep Horn Relic (2)

Chapter 279: Chapter 186: The Firewood Gatherer’s Sheep Horn Relic (2)

Seeing this, the Storyteller thought, ‘As expected.’ He said irritably, “Bro, this thing is obviously from a dynamic plot’s quest chain. How many other people do you think could even get a quest chain like that?”

At his words, Li Miao instantly realized what he meant.

‘That’s right! This thing is a reward from a dynamic plot, just like the Spirit Candle’s Blessing from before. It can’t be farmed.’

Take the Spirit Candle’s Blessing, for example. Other players definitely wanted it, but they couldn’t get it.

This game didn’t even have a way to spend real money. If a holder like Li Miao decided not to sell, then even a Krypton Gold whale like Black Mountain Little Demon could only stare helplessly.

So, the value of these two Combat Skills wasn’t in their power or practicality, but in their collector’s value.

At this thought, Li Miao’s eyes lit up. He quickly took out the two Combat Skills, which were written on paper, and examined them. The more he looked, the more he liked what he saw.

…

Seeing Li Miao’s reaction, the Storyteller shook his head, speechless.

After exchanging a few more words with Li Miao, he turned around, ready to head back to the Shadow Cave.

‘If the person for this wasn’t already set, I might have even been able to let Li Miao meet Ryan.’

“Hey, wait up,” Li Miao suddenly called out to him. Then, with a mischievous grin, he said, “Don’t be in such a rush. Wait for me to go buy an Applicable Curse Formula and a few pieces of equipment.”

The Storyteller froze for a moment, then quickly caught on. Grinning and pointing at him, he said, “Oh… you sly dog.”

“Alright, then. Go on.”

Of course, Li Miao was buying the Applicable Curse Formula so he could ask the Storyteller to deliver things to Ryan.

The reason for this was simple: to grind NPC favorability.

Who knows, maybe in the future Ryan could bring him other unique Combat Skills and Weapons!

…

“You’re back.”

Seeing the Storyteller reappear, Ryan, who had been minding the stall, breathed a small sigh of relief.

To be honest, he was still a bit anxious; after all, the Sheep Horn Relic was very important to him.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” The Storyteller nodded with a smile and immediately handed back the Sheep Horn Relic. “I couldn’t find anything about its origin, but I do have a piece of information that might help you.”

“This item of yours has two functions. First, it can serve as a Token to fulfill certain requirements. As for the second function, that’s currently unknown… It seems to require a special kind of energy to be activated.”

Hearing this, Ryan fell into thought before thanking the Storyteller.

“Oh, right. The Hero received your thanks. He’s very happy.”

“And this is a gift from him in return.”

As he spoke, Ryan watched in astonishment as the Wax Oil in the Storyteller’s hand slowly condensed into a black cube.

“This is called an Applicable Curse Formula.”

The Storyteller then explained to Ryan how the Applicable Curse Formula worked.

The more the Storyteller explained, the more shocked Ryan became.

‘Are… are all these “Candle Spirits”… so generous?’

Even though the Storyteller didn’t mention the Weapon’s Quality, Ryan didn’t need to be told. He could see that this Weapon was a massive upgrade over his current one.

‘A treasure of this Quality… and they’re just giving it to me?’

‘What did his own gift of thanks amount to in comparison?’

At this thought, Ryan couldn’t help but let out a wry smile.

“No… Please forgive me, friend, but I cannot accept this gift. It’s far too precious. My own item is worthless in comparison.”

Although he desperately wanted it, Ryan still chose to politely refuse.

A more straightforward player might have simply taken the gift back, but the Storyteller was clearly not one of them.

He still wanted to follow this connection between Li Miao and Ryan to dig up more lore, so it was obviously better if Ryan accepted the gift.

So, after a moment of consideration, the Storyteller began to persuade him.

“It’s not as precious as you think—at least, not to my friend. He’s one of the top players among us…”

“He’s giving you this gift both as an acknowledgment of your friendship and as a wish for you to grow even stronger…”

“So I really suggest you accept it…”

The Storyteller’s words flowed like a river as he earnestly tried to persuade him.

If this were some other game, a notification probably would have popped up…

[You have used the Skill “Maximum Oratory Skills” on the Firewood Gatherer Ryan.]

Listening to the Storyteller’s endless stream of reasons, Ryan was stunned. He hesitated for a moment, but finally, he could only nod, moved. With a solemn expression, he accepted the gift.

“This will be a great help to me. I will never forget this.”

“Thank you, my friends.”

Seeing him finally accept, the Storyteller let out a breath of relief.

No wonder they said he was a Granny Pig; some people are just born for this line of work.

“It’s no problem. If you need anything else or have any questions, you can find me at this stall in the Shadow Cave.”

“Okay…”

With that, the players had finally established a relatively stable channel of communication with the Firewood Gatherer.

…

The Storyteller had recently brought back many useful items and pieces of information from the Shadow Cave. The shop’s stock of Weapons needed replenishing, and the construction of Spirit Candle Buildings in various locations had to proceed at a steady pace.

After taking care of most of these matters, Luo Ge naturally turned his attention to the new dungeons.

He had the Wax Oil needed to draw in new regions, of course, but there was something else Luo Ge wanted to find even more.

The Broken Core.

As it was crucial for upgrading the Spirit Candle’s Tier, Luo Ge took the matter very seriously. He had already informed the player base by issuing quests and through dialogue.

However, even though the active players had been running plenty of dungeons, there was still no news of the item.

This couldn’t help but make Luo Ge sigh softly.

Trying to find one specific thing among the countless Dark Boundaries was no different from finding a needle in a haystack.

‘If I could find the Fire Element Divine Hall… there might be some news about the Broken Core. The problem is, the Fire Element Divine Hall is also incredibly hard to find.’

Therefore, there was only one method that Luo Ge was certain would be effective.

However…

BOOP BOOP BOOP~

Next to a small, pink shell, Xiaoluo was circling around it cheerfully.

After her shell had broken last time, Luo Ge had given her a new one, but it clearly wasn’t her own.

Fortunately, Xiaoluo’s shell could regenerate and repair itself, and a new one had already started to form. However, it was still tiny—not even big enough for her little tail to fit inside.

Seeing how happy she looked, Luo Ge didn’t have the heart to ask for her help again.

Besides, this newly grown shell was so small, it probably wouldn’t be of any use anyway.

‘I’ll have the Storyteller ask around in the Shadow Cave.’

‘First, I’ll go anchor the islands. Maybe I’ll get something useful…’

At this thought, Luo Ge stood up, and his figure vanished from the Spirit Candle Space.

…

「A week passed in a flash.」

Following the last major regional war, the Spirit Candle’s dark expedition was launched twice more, adding several new dungeons to the world.

This naturally expanded the selection of Skills and Fire Seed Equipment available to the players. The Xiaojuncai were having a blast; it was all about the Battle Bliss.

For Luo Ge, however, there was nothing particularly noteworthy. He’d found no trace of the Broken Core, nor any especially valuable lore.

The only thing worth mentioning, perhaps, was the desiccated monsters that bore the characteristics of the Burning Earth Race.

[Anchoring Island…]

[Anchor successful!]

[Anchor Reward Acquired: Sea Abyss Coral Staff (Treasure Collection)]

[First time anchoring a small islet. Anchor Reward Acquired: Apprentice Prayer Book x1]

Amidst the gasps of a group of newbie players, Luo Ge’s figure slowly vanished as he headed for the Spirit Fire Port.

This time, he had anchored all the available islands and regions, but unfortunately, he still hadn’t received the special reward he hoped would lead him to the Broken Core.

All he got were some Weapons and equipment he had no use for, but that would make the players drool—like that special Magic Staff of Treasure Collection Quality.

It was a Magic Staff, but he couldn’t be bothered to put it up for sale until it could be mass-produced. Otherwise, the players would just start nagging again. He could only save it to be used as a future reward.

It seemed his luck of getting whatever he wanted had run out.

However, this was well within his expectations, so Luo Ge wasn’t too disappointed.

The Apprentice Prayer Book was fairly useful. He’d go find Noxia after he finished what he was doing.

Xiaoluo’s shell still hadn’t fully recovered, so for now, Luo Ge could only pin his hopes on the “blind boxes” at the Spirit Fire Port.

FWOOSH!

The Traction Fire erupted into brilliance.

[Searching Region…]