Chapter 92: Gathering

In a small village, Lingyun was talking with an old man.

"Young man, thank you so much. This child's parents went to the Town to earn money to support the family. Ever since the wild beasts here went berserk for some unknown reason, I have been worried about my child's personal safety. Now that you have driven away the wild beasts here, I can rest easy," the old man said, holding Lingyun's hand.

"It's nothing, just a small favor," Lingyun said with a smile, waving his hand.

The old man looked Lingyun up and down, then walked into the house. When he came out, there was a golden crystal in his hand, and he placed this crystal into Lingyun's hand.

"The reason these wild beasts dared not enter our home was all because of this Crystal. Now that these wild beasts have been driven away by you, this Crystal is of no use to us anymore, so we will give it to you."

Lingyun took the Crystal and thanked the old man. To be honest, he was also very interested in this Crystal; after all, wild beasts eroded by the power of the Underworld King of the end were extremely violent, yet they were actually scared off by a single crystal, which was enough to show that this Crystal was extraordinary.

"Young man, are you heading back to the Town?" the old man asked.

"Yes, we still have companions there, and we are going there to meet up with them," Lingyun nodded.

In order to complete this quest, he and Lingqi had not returned to the Starting Town for a week. Today, having just finished the quest, he and Luo Yexi and the others had agreed to gather at a tavern in the Starting Town. At the same time, Busujima Saeko also wanted to introduce the new member of her team to the others.

"I see. Then, could I trouble you to take this letter to the Town and give it to my son?" The old man took a letter out from his bosom.

Lingyun nodded and took the letter from the old man's hand. This was just a normal errand quest in this world, and since he was on the way, he might as well take the opportunity to complete the old man's commission.

"Let's go, Lingqi, it's time for us to head back," Lingyun called out to Lingqi, who was to the side.

"Okay." Lingqi nodded slightly, but there was a hint of loss in her heart.

Why exactly did she feel lost? Lingqi asked herself in her heart, but even she could not find the answer.

When Lingyun and his companion returned to the Starting Town, the Starting Town was already bustling with people, which was much better than the deathly silence it had at the beginning.

During this period, although many people chose to wait for death in this world, some people pulled themselves together and chose to clear this damned world and return to their original world. Because of the realism of this world, bloodshed and pain eliminated another portion of people, leaving behind only a group of players who truly had the ambition to clear the game.

According to the information given by the old man, Lingyun quickly found the shop belonging to the old man's son and daughter-in-law. After handing the letter to the two of them, they obtained some information from them regarding the mutated monsters in this world.

Pushing open the door of the tavern, Lingyun saw the direction where Luo Yexi and her group were at a glance. The reason was none other than that their group was simply too dazzling; they were completely the focus of this tavern.

"Master, you guys are too slow," Luo Yexi stood up and pulled Lingyun to the table.

"Sorry, we went to complete a quest earlier and got a bit delayed," Lingyun explained.

"I see, then never mind," Luo Yexi waved her hand.

"Saeko, who is this?" Lingyun found a seat and sat down, his gaze falling on the girl beside Busujima Saeko.

"This is the Leafa I mentioned to you before," Busujima Saeko smiled.

"Hello everyone, my name is Leafa, please take care of me," Leafa stood up nervously and bowed to Lingyun and the others.

To Leafa, the feeling Lingyun and his group gave her was only one thing: unfathomable. Leafa had practiced swordsmanship for eight years, but compared to Busujima Saeko's swordsmanship, this kind of swordsmanship could only be completely crushed. Busujima Saeko had once told her that her own swordsmanship had improved in Luo Yexi's hands, and Lingyun was Luo Yexi's master. By extension, Lingqi, who was by Lingyun's side, was naturally not a simple person either. Facing so many great masters at once, she couldn't help but be nervous.

"Relax, we aren't some kind of ferocious beasts," Lingyun smiled at the nervous Leafa.

Seeing Lingyun's smile, Leafa's nervous mood also began to slowly relax. After Leafa relaxed, this gathering continued happily.

"Lingyun, I wonder if you have noticed that the wild monsters in this world that have been eroded by the power of the Underworld King actually have certain markings," Busujima Saeko said softly to Lingyun.

"Markings?" Lingyun was stunned for a moment. Although he had killed quite a few Berserk Monsters during this time, because he was in a hurry to do quests, he didn't even look at the health bars every time he killed them, and he hadn't noticed any obvious markings on these monsters.

"It seems Lingyun really hasn't noticed," Busujima Saeko covered her mouth and chuckled. "I only confirmed it a while ago. On the red markings of those Berserk Monsters, a trace of grayish-white has appeared. Moreover, as the grayish-white area expands, the monster's strength will continuously increase. If the grayish-white area reaches half, the monster's strength will increase by about double, and its attacks will be more varied."

"Double? Then what if it exceeds half?" Lingyun's fingers tapped on the table.

"We haven't encountered that yet," Busujima Saeko shook her head. "There is one more thing: although the strength of these Berserk Monsters has increased, the experience and Col gained from killing them will also increase significantly."

"It seems I've found a shortcut for leveling up," Lingyun's eyes lit up.

"However, the intelligence possessed by this kind of monster has also greatly improved, and they will exhibit various behaviors like fleeing, ambushing, and calling for help. We spent quite a bit of effort when we eliminated that Goblin leader in the forest," Busujima Saeko recalled that battle and reminded him.

"Got it. Ye Xi, did you have any gains on your side?" Lingyun turned to Luo Yexi's direction.

Although Luo Yexi's level was not as high as Busujima Saeko's group, the equipment on her body far exceeded that of the others present.

"Yes, I found a cave, and the monsters in the cave are a type of pangolin that can gnaw on metal. A special forging material can be dropped from these pangolins. The most famous blacksmith in the Starting Town collects this material without limit. After submitting this material to him, he can make you custom-fit equipment. This equipment should count as the best equipment in this game right now," Luo Yexi opened the map and marked the location of the cave on the map.

"This place is indeed a good place. If we have time, we can go there and grind for a set of equipment," Lingyun nodded.

"What about you, Master?" Luo Yexi asked curiously.

"I grinded a bunch of ingredients, we can have an extra meal. Although this tavern has the best food in the entire Starting Town, it can only fill one's stomach, and the price is extremely expensive. When the time comes, I'll go learn some culinary arts, and we can cook for ourselves."

Lingyun smiled and showed his item inventory, which was full of ingredients, with all kinds of different raw materials.