Chapter 17: Drinking Hot Water is a Hometown Tradition, and the Faith of the Six Great Gods

Pfft!

Tang Zheng thrust the tip of his sword in and gave it a light twist; the wild boar’s final breath dissipated instantly.

Blood welled up along the wound, but it did not spray out; this was the reason Leier had reminded him to strike at this specific spot.

"Experience gained: 15 points!"

A message flashed across his attribute panel.

[Ability Sheet]

Innate Talent: [Player]

Overall Level: 2

Experience Bar: 95/100

Profession:

Basic Profession: Genius 1lv (Warrior, Priestess/Priest)

Intermediate Profession: Sword Saint 1lv

Skill Points: 0

Passive Skills: Item Box, Slash Enhancement (1%)

Active Skills:

Warrior—Instant Reflex, Four-Light Combo Slash, Rapid Slash

Magic—Minor Wound Healing (Tier 1)

…………

Tang Zheng swept his gaze over the attribute panel that only he could see; he was only 5 experience points away from leveling up, which was much faster than he had anticipated.

He had only killed a few wild beasts, after all.

But that was normal; his level was simply too low, and as his level continued to rise, leveling up would likely become increasingly difficult.

"Hmph." The satisfied expression that had been on Grandmother Liji’s face just a moment ago had now vanished.

She had originally thought Tang Zheng had taken her words to heart, but now it seemed he hadn't paid them any mind at all!

Tang Zheng pretended not to hear her at all.

Once humans in this other world reached level 29, they stepped into the realm of heroes and were considered top-tier powerhouses among the various human nations.

However!

Even with higher talent and tireless effort, the limit a human could reach was only around level 40, a level known as "Awakened."

This was no longer a matter of talent or effort, but the limit of the race!

Even the four "Awakened" that existed among humans had, to varying degrees, a "tendency to stop being human," which was the only way they could achieve such feats.

And a level of around 40 was, for Tang Zheng, merely a beginning!

This also meant!

In the future, when he became hostile toward the "Great Tomb of Nazarick," no one among the humans would be able to be his companion.

When Tang Zheng first transmigrated to the Royal Capital, he had struggled with whether to choose a magic profession or a warrior profession first, rather than focusing on one series of professions; this was part of the reason.

Without companions, a pure magic or warrior profession would easily be targeted by those from the Great Tomb.

"You're much more skilled than when you started."

"But let me remind you, magical beasts are different from ordinary wild beasts."

Seeing Tang Zheng’s clean and efficient movements, Leier grinned, picked up the lifeless wild boar again, and began to process it quickly.

"One has to go through a process of getting used to it." Tang Zheng smiled faintly, picked up the porcelain jar he had borrowed from Enfierea, and poured all the water from his waterskin into it.

Then.

He placed the porcelain jar over the campfire.

This porcelain jar had originally been used to store herbs, but it was currently idle, so Tang Zheng had asked for it to use as a kettle.

"You seem to really like drinking hot water." Enfierea watched Tang Zheng’s movements, thinking of how for several days in a row the other had poured clear river water into the jar to boil before drinking it, and couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

"Oh, I wouldn't say I love it that much."

Facing Enfierea’s curious inquiry, Tang Zheng sat cross-legged again and smiled as he spoke, "Actually, it’s a tradition from my hometown." Enfierea looked a bit enlightened and did not continue to press the matter.

In this world, different places had various beliefs and customs; prying into someone else’s customs and beliefs was something that needed to be avoided as much as possible.

Currently.

The mainstream religion of various nations was the Six Great Gods.

The humans of this world did indeed need to be grateful to this first batch of descending players.

According to the plot shown in the anime and the light novels, everything basically happened within the territory where humans resided.

It looked like the human territory was not small, but in reality, this continent was extremely vast. Humans were merely huddled in the northwest corner of this continent.

The central part of the continent was occupied by demi-humans and heteromorphs, where humans were nothing more than slaves or even food.

In this other world, whether it was demi-humans or heteromorphs, their lifespans and level caps far exceeded those of humans, a short-lived race with limited potential.

Logically speaking!

With a weak race like humans, they should have gone extinct long ago as time passed; it should have been impossible for them to occupy the northwest corner of the continent, let alone survive there.

=9+Shu_Ba

And in reality, that was indeed the case; 600 years ago, humans were indeed on the verge of extinction.

But just at that moment, the first batch of players known as the Six Great Gods descended!

The Six Great Gods used their powerful and unrivaled strength to rescue humanity and relocated them to the northwest corner of the continent to survive.

This was also the reason why the Six Great Gods were the mainstream religion of the human nations.

But unfortunately!

Among the Six Great Gods, except for the one known as the God of Death, the other five were human, with short lifespans, and they died one after another within a hundred years.

And the only survivor, the God of Death, was also killed 500 years ago during the battle that occurred after the Eight Greed Kings descended.

Compared to the Six Great Gods.

The "Eight Greed Kings" were more like the typical behavior of players; one could tell from this title alone how the Eight Greed Kings had wreaked havoc across the entire continent.

According to records from various races, although most of the Eight Greed Kings were demi-humans or even heteromorphs, they were surprisingly quite fond of the human race.

This led to the fact that even now!

For an "evil" existence like the "Eight Greed Kings," there were surprisingly no legends about their evil deeds in human society.

"600 years ago the Six Great Gods descended, 500 years ago the Eight Greed Kings descended, 200 years ago a large number of Demon Gods appeared, the Thirteen Heroes emerged, and there is other unknown information, possibly players who also descended on the central continent."

"Plus the 'Great Tomb of Nazarick' that will descend in the future."

Several thoughts flashed through Tang Zheng’s mind.

Almost every 100 years, players descended into this other world.

Calculating based on this information, those True Dragon Lords were likely aware that players would soon be descending into this world.

"Compared to the suddenness of the previous times and the limited information available."

"This time, the True Dragon Lords should have already made preparations, but compared to the 'Six Great Gods,' the 'Eight Greed Kings,' and the only player among the 13 Heroes."

"The overall strength of the 'Great Tomb of Nazarick' far exceeds the previous three batches of players."

Tang Zheng fell into deep thought, and at the same time, a thought emerged in his mind,

"If I could make the True Dragon Lords fight the Great Tomb in advance, perhaps I could reap the benefits as a third party."

Even if the True Dragon Lords lost in the end, it would only benefit Tang Zheng and cause him no harm, while also consuming the foundation and most of the strength of the Great Tomb.

(End of chapter)