Chapter 5

4. Ideal Teammate

Although Li Ang had seen very little of the game's documentation, the main storyline was placed at the very beginning of the design proposal, so it was the part he had read in relatively greater detail.

The protagonist, originally intended to be controlled by the player, would be swept into a certain event at the age of sixteen, thereby beginning their journey of adventure.

Since the person Li Ang had encountered was the female lead, Zoey, it was unlikely that a male protagonist existed in this world.

As the true protagonist of this world, the things Zoey possessed that were far beyond what an ordinary girl could have now made sense.

Rank 3 equipment was quite powerful in the early stages of the game; it was likely a "newbie starter set" prepared by the planners, and the Swordmaster class was also chosen to reflect the protagonist's uniqueness.

Li Ang remembered that in the plot setting, she had been left on the small island by her parents.

Her parents had said they would "be back soon," and then they vanished.

The design proposal only stated that their "background was extraordinary," but due to the game being aborted, it was likely that even the plot writers themselves didn't know what that background specifically was. However, that treasure-grade weapon and the Swordmaster inheritance were definitely left behind by them.

That child... Li Ang looked from the window of the cabin toward the direction she had left. The cold island wind was raging across the plains, only to be blocked and dispersed by the tree canopy when it reached the forest.

She must have had her own place to stay; running to his cabin was just because she wanted to spend the night there.

Li Ang suddenly realized a problem.

Was it possible that he had only received the game system today because of Zoey? Because she was about to begin her journey, the game could be considered officially "online."

"Then what am I?"

Li Ang rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

As a transmigrator, he certainly had the thought that "I am the protagonist."

But now, a true protagonist of the world had appeared before Li Ang.

"If there is some kind of underlying will in this world, could it be that I am the guide prepared for the protagonist?

"Come to think of it, if I act as a novice instructor now, I'd be quite qualified, wouldn't I? With ten years of adventure experience reaching the pinnacle, pointing out the way for a little girl just starting out should be a piece of cake, right?"

Zoey was the fated protagonist of this world. Although Li Ang hadn't read the game documentation thoroughly and didn't know what made her powerful, she must have possessed high potential; otherwise, how could she be the protagonist?

He was just about to establish an air cavalry team; should he take advantage of the situation and trick her into joining the team?

Li Ang had some concerns.

What he wanted were calm, steady, and disciplined teammates, because with them, the team's development and various plans would be less prone to accidents.

If he teamed up with the fated protagonist...

As everyone knew, writing is like looking at a mountain—it doesn't like flatness. In order to make the story full of ups and downs, authors would constantly create difficulties and obstacles to place in front of the protagonist.

Li Ang hadn't seen the specific game plot, but he knew with more than just his brain that Zoey's path would definitely be filled with hardships and obstacles. Her journey of adventure was absolutely impossible to develop peacefully.

"Gathering a calm and steady team, utilizing my experience, and controlling the situation—that could be said to be a traceable path to returning to the pinnacle.

"If I get swept into the events the protagonist is destined to encounter, the road ahead will be a mess of chaos."

Li Ang rubbed his temples, unable to make a decision.

Sleepiness struck, and he decided to use the ultimate technique of a certain legendary e-sports player—ignore it.

Sleep first, talk later.

In the early morning, Li Ang was awakened by the chirping of birds in the forest. This feeling of familiarity and strangeness was like rain for a long-parched plant, and he felt a surge of motivation.

After washing up and eating a simple breakfast, he went straight out the door and stepped into the forest.

Today's plan was to test whether the system's class panel was truly that monstrous, and whether it could automatically advance in rank after the experience bar was filled.

He threw a few punches and kicks at random, but the Warrior class still showed 24/100 experience.

Since using Spirit-Manipulating spells increased experience, it seemed that Warrior experience also increased by using Warrior skills; ordinary exercise was ineffective.

And in this world, the characteristic of entering a class was learning a basic skill; for a Warrior, that was the "Weapon Cleave" skill on Li Ang's panel. To learn other skills, one needed tempering and insight.

Perhaps he had to perform a qualified "Weapon Cleave" to increase experience.

The problem was, he had no weapon.

Before he had gone far, Li Ang found a long, straight tree branch. He played with it in his hand for a while, then began to lash at the surrounding bushes and tree trunks.

After hitting for a long time, no matter how hard he tried, the Warrior experience did not increase.

It seemed the system's standard required a proper weapon to count.

Originally, he had wanted to take a set of low-level equipment before returning, but his personal bank account had been frozen by the team leader on the grounds of embezzling team assets. In the Holy Capital, the guild's series of regulations guaranteed a team's right to change members, but they also protected departing members from being harmed in the dark. The Soul Apex leader wanted to trip him up but didn't dare go too far, so he used this method to drag him down.

He had enough money on him to buy some low-rank equipment, but he didn't look down on them at all; dealing with them later would be troublesome, and the Floss Airspace was a place with relatively low danger, so he had just traveled light.

The top priority now was to get a weapon.

Yesterday, he had flipped through the panels again and found that in the equipment panel, there was actually an Equipment Manufacturing sub-page.

【Profession: Equipment Manufacturing】

【Rank: 1. Next Level: 0/100 Experience】

【Unlocked Blueprints: Basic Standard Weapons 【All Categories】, Basic Standard Armor 【All Categories】, Basic Magical Artifacts 【All Categories】, Basic Magical Robes 【All Categories】】

【Hint: More blueprints will be unlocked based on experience and rank improvement】

After clicking on the blueprints, it explained things in great detail.

【Blueprint: Basic Standard Iron Sword】

【Rank: 1】

【Required Materials: Iron Ore】

【Required Tools: Workbench 【Anvil, Forging Hammer, Forge】】

【Operation: Once materials and equipment are prepared, the system will assist in completing the manufacturing】

Needed iron ore; where could he find it?

Sartus Island should have minerals; to be precise, all floating islands had minerals, which was a characteristic of this world.

Whether the many floating islands that made up the world above the clouds were fragments of the earth or had always floated in the sky, the historical truth was unknown, but the interior of every island was filled with various minerals, many of which contained powerful energy.

Researchers in the Magic Capital believed that it was the repulsion between the energy in these minerals and the Scarlet Earth beneath the sea of clouds that allowed the floating islands to float.

Throughout the ages, various intelligent races had used minerals to forge equipment; for them, using equipment was of the same nature as magical beasts using their claws.

As a rural small island, Sartus Island certainly had no precious minerals, which was why it was peaceful, but iron ore was definitely present; Li Ang just didn't know where it was.

And later, he would also need to find an anvil and those things. The villagers here hadn't fought in a long time; ten years ago, he hadn't seen any weapon shops.

Surely he wouldn't have to take a boat off the island just to make an iron sword, would he?

Just as he was thinking this, the system seemed to respond to his needs, popping up a panel showing a detailed miniature map of Sartus Island.

【Searching: Resource Points, Merchant Locations】

【Map: Sartus Island】

【Exploration Rate: 84%. Conditions met, Resource Points and Merchant Locations opened. Continue increasing exploration rate to unlock hidden locations】

This is?

The system's functions were too comprehensive, Li Ang sighed.

But considering that "Nubis Fantasy" was intended to be played on both mobile phones and web browsers, some "idiot-proof" guidance systems were normal.

It seemed that as long as one increased the exploration rate of an area, one could at least obtain a radar-like miniature map, and further on, there were hidden locations—he didn't know what that meant.

The exploration rate showed 84%; Li Ang hadn't walked that many places, so the system must have counted his previous activities.

He followed the flat areas in the forest, moving toward the nearest iron ore resource point on the map.

While walking, he also collected the herbs and various materials he saw; they could serve as spellcasting materials for a Spirit-Manipulator.

After walking about halfway, he stepped out of the forest, and in front of him was a whole meadow of tall grass with purple, pale yellow, and white flower clusters.

And the rustling sound that had been vaguely present since just now could no longer be hidden because of the meadow, turning into clear footsteps.

He turned around, and the girl who had been quietly following him was startled, jumping behind a tree like a little deer to hide.