Chapter 180 - 144: Why is the Safe Zone Only in Baijiang City?

Chapter 180: Chapter 144: Why is the Safe Zone Only in Baijiang City?

He walked forward, and rows of bookshelves came into view.

These shelves held all sorts of books, including humanities, geography, biographies, and more.

The most popular ones among the Dream Descenders were books closely related to the Nightmare World, such as "Curse Pattern General Knowledge," "Dream Material Encyclopedia," and "Detailed Geography of the Pale Ruins."

Many of these books were donated by the Countermeasures Bureau and the Baijiang Research Institute, but plenty were also printed by members who had compiled their own experiences.

Fen Huo said in a low voice, "This is the outer area of the lending section. The real core area is further inside."

Soon, the three of them arrived at the core area.

The place was quiet and deserted.

This was because Dream Descenders didn’t read the books here directly, but would take them to the Quiet Chambers next door to comprehend them in peace.

"Are these all... Spell Scrolls?"

"That’s right!"

One Spell Scroll after another lay quietly inside display counters, requiring a member to swipe their card to be taken out.

But even without taking them out, the two Extraordinary Powerhouses, Long Xingzhou and Chen Moxuan, could already feel the power contained within each scroll.

After all, Spell Scrolls were tomes that possessed a Profound Mysterious Power!

The scrolls weren’t open, but there were descriptions in front of each counter.

"Heavy Slash," "Curse Missile," "Taking Objects in the Air," "Roar"...

"Rising Dragon Slash," "Curse Armor," "Earth Element Armor"...

In addition to Ordinary Level Spell Scrolls, there were, shockingly, also Rare Level scrolls.

And quite a few of them!

"They even have Rare Level scrolls here?"

"As long as you have enough Contribution Points, you can freely exchange them for a chance to comprehend them? The amount of Contribution Points needed must be astronomical, right?"

Hearing this question, Fen Huo chuckled.

"They aren’t that expensive, actually. Many of the more senior members in the Safe Zone can afford to redeem them. For example, I exchanged for a chance to comprehend Curse Armor once, but unfortunately, I didn’t manage to learn it."

Rare Level Curse Arts were still a bit beyond the pale for someone in the Refining Stage.

Chen Moxuan felt this was a colossal waste.

’How many people in the Refining Stage could actually learn from a Rare Level Curse Art Scroll?’

’But it’s no wonder so many people in the Safe Zone’s Refining Stage are proficient with Curse Arts.’

’Still, these Spell Scrolls are ultimately consumables. Otherwise, this library could truly rival a Wonder Building!’

He marveled internally.

The reason a place he had visited like the Curse Hall was considered a Wonder was because the energy of the Curse Stone Monuments inside could recover on its own.

The number of people who could enter a Wonder Building was limited, but the operational cost of a Wonder Building was practically nil.

Back when he wasn’t yet in the Extraordinary Realm, he had learned a Rare Level Curse Art in the Curse Hall.

To this day, that Curse Art remained one of his primary techniques.

As for this library’s Spell Scrolls... yes, they were consumables, but he, Chen Moxuan, was truly green with envy!

Unfortunately, he was not fated to stay here. He wouldn’t be able to earn Contribution Points in the Safe Zone, which meant he would never be able to redeem a chance to comprehend the scrolls.

"Sigh~!"

’Speaking of which, this Safe Zone is clearly a camp in the Nightmare World, but how come it’s only convenient for Baijiang City!’

He of course understood it was because the Safe Zone’s main base was located in this region.

It was very close to Baijiang.

And very far from Celestial South.

What a pity. What a shame.

Chen Moxuan could only console himself with the fact that the library wasn’t a Wonder Building, after all.

...

’The library is collecting more and more Rare Level Curse Arts,’ Shi An mused, nodding slightly.

’The Curse Art Library is quite dependent on its foundation. The more people who use it, and the stronger those users are, the richer and more advanced the scrolls it can produce will be.’

’That "Earth Element Armor" was a new Curse Art derived by Chen Guardian after he comprehended Curse Armor.’

’Curse Armor combined with his "Hard Soil" branch could create an effect where the sum was greater than its parts.’

’Besides that, there are also the Rare Curse Arts "Flaming Hand," "Shadow Binding," and "Phantom Substitute." But these arts involve changes in elemental properties, which are actually very difficult for Refining Stage Dream Descenders to learn. Forcing it isn’t cost-effective; they’re more suitable for learning after becoming Extraordinary.’

’Arts like Curse Armor, Rising Dragon Slash, and Fleeting Shadows are among the easier Rare Level Curse Arts to learn.’

’As for the rest...’

’Although many Dream Descenders’ Lifebound Curse Arts also involve flashy elements like fire, frost, or gloom shadows, they still rely on their Lifebound Curse Art to use them.’

’In the future, when the Safe Zone has one Extraordinary Powerhouse after another, the Curse Art Library will finally reach its complete form. The library and powerful Dream Descenders have a mutually beneficial relationship!’

’But for now? The Curse Art Library’s abilities are still far from their peak.’

’Of course, the Curse Art Library has its limits. It can never produce an Excellence Level Spell Scroll.’

’This is due to the library’s Grade,’ Shi An figured. ’It’s just a Rare Level building, after all.’

’I wonder how a Rare Level building compares to a true Wonder Building in terms of strength?’

’But then again, Wonder Buildings are said to have different tiers.’

’No matter how strong the Curse Art Library becomes, it could surely never compare to a high-tier Wonder.’

’Oh, but my Safe Zone will most likely have Excellence Grade or even High Tier buildings in the future? Never mind then.’

...

Long Xingzhou and Chen Moxuan did not stay for long.

They were Extraordinary Realm beings, after all!

In an era where the power of the Extraordinary Realm was incredibly scarce, how could they possibly waste their precious time just wandering around the Safe Zone?

The two went their separate ways.

Long Xingzhou led the first squad to explore the Nightmare World near Baijiang City, hoping to find the Pseudo-Men’s encampment.

The Countermeasures Bureau believed that the Pseudo-Men must have a lair!

Chen Moxuan also used his own methods to investigate the Pseudo-Men.

The day after the two of them left, a notice was posted in the Safe Zone.

"The Training Ground will be undergoing updates and maintenance. Maintenance time is eight hours. It will reopen today at 16:00."

"Huh? The Training Ground is under maintenance? It’s true that with so many people using it every day, it’s bound to have some wear and tear, so maintenance is normal, but... If I can’t go to the Training Ground for even a little while, I feel like I have ants crawling all over me!"

The members were miserable.

What they didn’t know was that this was actually an upgrade for the Training Ground.

[System Prompt: You have obtained ’Training Ground Building Blueprint (Ordinary)’.]

[System Prompt: You already possess a Training Ground building. Do you wish to merge and upgrade it?]

Just like upgrading the workshop, the Training Ground now finally had the chance for an upgrade.

Upgrading from an Ordinary Level building to a Rare Level building.

’The buff from the Training Ground is getting weaker and weaker for High Tier Refining Stage members. Even so, the Training Ground’s value is already extremely high, not at all inferior to the Rare Level Curse Art Library.’

’Helping weaker Dream Descenders grow quickly is the Training Ground’s greatest value.’

’But what if the upgraded Training Ground could also provide significant help to the strong?’

Shi An looked forward to it.

「Eight hours later.」

[System Prompt: ’Training Ground (Rare)’ upgrade and modification complete. New buffs obtained...]