Chapter 306: The Plague City Activates!

Next time she encounters enemies, she should show some mercy; after all, she still needs to improve the proficiency levels of her other skills.

While it feels great to kill everything in one hit along the way, the active skills of her equipment don't have anything like proficiency.

If possible, she still wants to raise her skill levels as much as she can.

Of course, this doesn't mean she intends to stop using the active skills of her equipment, it's just that if she can avoid using them, it's better to do so.

After all, increasing skill levels not only grants experience points, but some skills also provide small additional attribute bonuses once leveled up; furthermore, the effects of the skills themselves are enhanced.

And compared to the speed at which skill proficiency levels increase within a Dungeon...

Practicing on one's own in the real world is much slower, and often, even after practicing for a long time, there is no guarantee that one's level will improve.

Or perhaps, even if one has made progress, there is absolutely no feeling of improvement, and one might even frequently doubt whether they are actually progressing at all; sometimes, it even feels like one is regressing. This feeling is truly quite distressing; effort doesn't necessarily yield results, and once such thoughts arise, it becomes very difficult to keep going.

How did that saying go again?

If I were given a progress bar that showed advancement every day, I think many things would surely be seen through to the end.

It is a pity that in Yun Mu's Game Panel, the proficiency level of each skill is not marked in detail.

So she cannot see any so-called progress bar.

However, she did not choose to give up practicing skills in the real world because of this.

In fact, Yun Mu sets aside time every day to practice the various skills on her panel, including drawing one Spiritual Painting daily to increase the Path level of 【Oil Painting/Manga】.

It's just, should she call it a lack of talent? Or is this just how normal practice goes?

She feels her rate of progress is quite slow, far worse than the speed inside a Dungeon.

She doesn't feel anxious about this, though, because before she transmigrated, the process of practicing painting was exactly like this, and she had long since grown accustomed to this feeling of slow progress.

Rather, she actually quite enjoys this process.

But since the speed of skill level improvement inside a Dungeon is significantly faster than in the real world, how could she miss such an opportunity?

She must definitely find a way to squeeze every bit of profit out of every Dungeon challenge! As a gamer who never lets any corner go unexplored, making the best use of everything is her life motto, damn it! "Huh, are we already at the next area?"

A familiar branching option appeared before her, and Yun Mu looked at the streets shrouded in fog on both sides, feeling somewhat surprised.

【Cat Paradise】 and 【Painting Spirit】, the two Dungeons she had previously experienced, both required going through a 'plot' when first entering.

Encountering a Dungeon like this where she doesn't have to worry about anything and just needs to keep her head down and move forward, she found herself somewhat unaccustomed to it for a moment.

【Combat Area lv28 (Expert)】

【Mysterious Merchant】

A Mysterious Merchant?

That's a special event she hasn't seen before.

Should she give it a try? Yun Mu was somewhat conflicted.

She only has 5191 Gold Coins in her game inventory right now; never mind buying things, it's not even enough to upgrade Lucy.

Under these circumstances, going to find that Mysterious Merchant doesn't seem to have much meaning.

But this is the first time she has encountered this event; if she doesn't go take a look, how will she know what that merchant is selling? What if the items they sell are very cheap and also very useful? Wouldn't it be a shame to just give up like this? "I'll go take a look." After hesitating for a while, Yun Mu made up her mind in her heart.

It is an event she is encountering for the first time, after all; she would truly be unwilling to let it go without taking a look.

Besides, only by being well-versed in all events can she choose the most correct path when she most needs to make a decision in the future, right? *Ahem*, having settled on a reason for herself, Yun Mu lifted her leg and stepped onto the path leading to the 【Mysterious Merchant】 event.

The gray-black fog shrouding the street dissipated the moment Yun Mu stepped in.

At the same time, a fresh scent of burning herbs flooded her nasal cavity.

Honestly, this smell isn't exactly pleasant, but having grown accustomed to the stench of rot within this city, smelling this relatively fresh scent is still quite moving.

It feels like finally coming back to life, or perhaps, finally being able to catch one's breath.

"Please wait a moment, my friend."

At this moment, a man with bandages wrapped around his wrists, his body wrapped tightly in a coat made of tarpaulin and leather, wearing a Bird Beak Mask and giant leather gloves, approached while carrying a burning incense burner.

"How can you walk around in this city without any protection?"

"Put this on; it's my spare mask."

The man took a Bird Beak Mask from his waist and handed it to Yun Mu.

"This is..."

Taking the mask from the man's hand, Yun Mu didn't rush to talk to him, but instead used her Game Panel to check the attributes of the mask.

【Bird Beak Mask (Green)】

【Defense +1 / Disease Resistance +20%】

【Precision Correction -20】

【Skill: Messenger of Death】

【It is said that where there is a Plague doctor, there is death; when wearing this mask, Death Resistance +15%.】

【A mask made of metallic silver, shaped like a bird's beak, with a large amount of herbs stuffed into the hollow part to filter the air; the inferior glass lenses make it impossible for the user to see the scene outside clearly.】

Hmm... it's a very lackluster piece of equipment.

Looking at the attributes of the 【Bird Beak Mask】, Yun Mu judged in her heart.

The attribute bonuses of Defense +1 and Disease Resistance +20% are quite nice, and since masks are not a common type of equipment anyway, wearing it on her face at least provides some defensive bonus, right?

But the negative effect of Precision Correction -20 is too painful; it's not worth it at all for that bit of defense and disease resistance.

If that were all, this piece of equipment would just be trash, and she would throw it into Xiaoqie's mouth without hesitation.

But... this thing actually has a skill effect of Death Resistance +15%! This is the first time she has encountered equipment that can increase Death Resistance. Fifteen percent Death Resistance is not a small amount; added to Brenna, that would be fifteen percent plus forty percent, a full fifty-five percent Death Resistance!

That's over a fifty percent chance of not dying! It can be used to gamble at certain critical moments, but it's completely useless in daily life, which is why she called it lackluster.

It's the kind of item that you wouldn't feel bad about throwing away, but it feels like it still has some use, so it's stuck in a state of not quite being worth discarding; it's a bit frustrating.

"Who are you?" Yun Mu looked at the man in front of her; based on his attire, she would tentatively call him the Bird Beak Doctor.

Could this guy be the Mysterious Merchant? "I am a doctor of the Red Blood Thorn, though I have been retired for many years; I am currently investigating the source of the Plague in this city, while doing my best to treat the sick and save lives," the man explained after hearing Yun Mu's words.

"Red Blood Thorn?" Yun Mu tilted her head in some confusion.

"You don't know?" Seeing this, the plague doctor was stunned for a moment before reacting: "Oh, right, looking at you, you shouldn't be a Heling Person."

"Red Blood Thorn is the medical unit of the Heling Empire. I was once a captain there, but due to some matters, I have already retired."

Pausing, he looked at Yun Mu and said: "And you?"

"What is the reason you chose to remain in this city?"

So this really is the Heling Empire, Yun Mu thought to herself after hearing the plague doctor's words.

Before entering the Dungeon, she had looked at the Dungeon name 【Plague Capital】 and had already roughly guessed the location and time of this Dungeon.

After all, when it comes to the God of Civilization and History Heral and the Plague, one can in no way bypass the Helier Plague Disaster that caused heavy casualties to the Heling Empire.

In other words, is this the Heling Empire from several thousand years ago?

"Hmm, my goal is the same as yours." Coming back to her senses, Yun Mu said casually.

Her goal was, of course, to clear the game Dungeon; no matter how the Plague here spread, it actually had nothing to do with her.

After all, the things happening here were just the past, an Echo of history.

Even if the final enemy was the yet-to-be-formed God of Fear and Plague, if she were to kill the opponent here in advance, would Luoye'er (God of Fear and Plague) in the real world disappear?

That was, of course, impossible.

However, if that were really the case, couldn't she recruit the God of Fear and Plague Luoye'er as a Partner? If she summoned Luoye'er in the real world then, she wondered what kind of reaction that real Luoye'er would have upon seeing it.

That scene is truly interesting just to think about... No, no, it feels so dangerous! She had better not court death.

"... Are you a Transcendental?" The plague doctor heard Yun Mu's words, fell silent for a moment, and asked after looking her up and down for a while.

"That's right, I am a Transcendental," Yun Mu admitted without hesitation.

"Is something the matter?"

"This... since you are a Transcendental, I will speak plainly." The plague doctor hesitated slightly and said: "I said earlier that I came here to investigate the source of the Plague, while simultaneously searching for a way to treat the Plague."

"If possible, could you help me collect some tissue samples?"

"My strength is insufficient to deal with those creatures that have gone into a state of Mania after being infected by the Plague, but I need a large amount of tissue samples to conduct research..."

【On the road ahead, you meet a former Red Blood Thorn captain who is investigating the Plague. The other party requests that you bring them a large amount of tissue samples from animals infected with the Plague for research. Regarding this, you decide—】【1. Accept. (It's just a side task anyway.)】【2. Refuse. (I just want to see what happens if I refuse.)】【3. Become my Partner! (Are you really going to invite every NPC you meet?)】 "Isn't this a matter of course?"

Looking at the three options popping up in the Game Panel, Yun Mu chose to recruit the plague doctor in front of her as a Partner without hesitation! "Eh, do you hope for me to accompany you?"

"What, that's not what you meant?"

"Oh, oh, I see..."

"Apologies, may I be excused to refuse?" The plague doctor said without much hesitation: "Thank you very much for your invitation, but until the Plague here is resolved, I will not leave."

"I see... then what if I resolve the Plague here?" Yun Mu did not give up on the idea of recruiting and continued to speak.

Lucy's Blood Healing not only increases pressure, but the amount of health restored is also completely unfixed, and it even inflicts a Bleeding debuff on people.

Now that she had finally encountered a doctor teammate who could be recruited, she could not give up easily no matter what! "Hahaha, if you can truly resolve the Plague, then of course there is no problem, I only hope that you won't look down on me when the time comes." The plague doctor laughed heartily.

"Good, then it's a deal!"

Yun Mu revealed an expression of having victory in her grasp; it was merely a Plague, as long as she followed the plot of the game Dungeon and pushed forward, she would definitely be able to resolve it in the end.

It was just a matter of time.

Come to think of it, wasn't the event in this area the mysterious merchant? Where is the merchant? Yun Mu had already confirmed that this guy in front of her was not the merchant; he should be an important NPC within the 【Plague Capital】 Dungeon, and no matter which path she had chosen to take just now, she should have run into this guy.

And the mysterious merchant... is likely a bit further ahead.

"I am going to leave here." Yun Mu looked at the plague doctor: "How should I hand those tissue samples to you?"

"Do not worry, I will act together with you." The plague doctor explained: "You only need to defeat those creatures in a state of Mania; after the battle ends, I will go and extract the useful tissue samples from within."

"Then let's do that."

After Yun Mu and the plague doctor discussed the strategy, the group continued forward along the road.

Come to think of it, I don't know if it's because the other party is a Dungeon NPC, but when the plague doctor was talking to Yun Mu, it was as if he had never noticed Lucy, the Scarlet Knight, and the Gatekeeper following behind her.

The two's conversation seemed to have taken place entirely as if only the two of them were present.

This gave Yun Mu a very strange feeling, but she couldn't describe the specific sensation for the time being.

However, this didn't count as an important matter, and she soon cast it to the back of her mind.

And after three minutes passed, Yun Mu finally arrived at the location of that mysterious merchant.

That was a merchant wearing a Deer-Antler Mask, draped in a linen robe, whose gender could not be determined, and whose entire body exuded a scent of soil.

Ah, rather than saying it exuded a scent of soil, it would be better to say that this guy's body was covered everywhere in dry soil.

Whether it was on the Deer-Antler Mask or inside the vine armor under the linen robe, there was soil smeared everywhere.

It made one unable to figure out if this was some special custom, or a special hobby of this mysterious merchant.

Of course, it also did not exclude the possibility that the other party had simply tripped in the mud and had not cleaned it off.

(End of chapter)