Chapter 25: Player Ambitions and Shipping Routes

Generally speaking, Li Ang would think about many things at the same time while doing one thing.

This ability came to him after his own system awakened. It was as if that system awakening had replaced the essence of his identity and life.

However, for Li Ang, this kind of thing was only something to be welcomed, not something to complain about. Upon experiencing the emotion of civilization constantly progressing and himself controlling everything, the strange changes in his own body seemed to become a matter of course.

After all, when one is not in that position, one has no way to discover one's own talent.

Li Ang previously only felt that his ability to multitask was more suitable for slacking off in class—pretending to listen while the teacher was lecturing, then complaining in his heart—but now that he had this system, he discovered, unsurprisingly, that he could organize and analyze various data while simultaneously manipulating his power to perform simulations.

For example, right now, Li Ang was mobilizing the Winds of Magic within his body. The state of "Attention of the God of Wisdom" was unexpectedly useful; it could even transform the Winds of Magic within him into a Source State.

In other words, he could now create the existence of magic in this reality that was completely devoid of magic.

However, this kind of ability had no meaning for Li Ang himself.

He did not like this world, which was now rotten and degenerate, relying only on the otherworld to break its own cage.

While fiddling with and exercising his magic in the room, watching terrain maps light up in the room like a galaxy, Li Ang was simultaneously eating an energy bar and comparing various data across three forum tabs.

And the most core among them was the paid post published by the leader of the Player First Guild.

That post used a very sincere tone to describe the current observations regarding players, as well as thoughts on the current environment. For Li Ang, who was still in the nascent stage, it had great reference value.

Of course, the more important reason was that he needed to move his body a little now; since he was idle anyway, he might as well look at intelligence while moving around.

"I am very sorry, the main purpose of the fee is to prevent people from causing trouble. After confirming everyone's identity, this fee will be returned.

As for the brothers in Norsca or the Northland, the Wasteland, the Mist Sea, and other desperate places, please believe after seeing this that we will absolutely not abandon you. Every player should fight side by side; we are the most reliable existences for each other in this world.

Alright, without further ado, let's get to the point. What is the current predicament of us players, and why must we establish a player kingdom, or at the very least a city? I will share my views here."

As Li Ang outlined the patterns of a psychedelic Crystal Maze in mid-air, the auto-scrolling forum outlined the thoughts of that player leader.

A player's status in the otherworld was, in reality, not as exciting as one might imagine.

For the current players, in three years, despite having all kinds of advantages, they had died a total of over one hundred thousand times in this dangerous otherworld, and the number was continuing to rise.

The advantage of players lies in the fact that, without harming the Soul, players can choose to resurrect on the spot within twenty-four hours. And as long as it is not a continuous death or the corpse itself is destroyed, players can resurrect quickly.

Even if the player's corpse is destroyed, they will gain another chance to descend after one year.

This is the source of the players' Undying Nature.

Moreover, with every descent, each player will randomly receive some strange talents.

Such as the Language Mastery that Li Ang possesses, and talents like Manual Dexterity and Ambidexterity. Currently, the recognized strongest talent is the Dragon Strength possessed by a player two years ago.

Although in a struggle on the Claw Coast of Norsca, this player with Dragon Strength was killed by a Norsca Giant Beast Hunter, who then sacrificed their Soul to the Dark Gods, the scene where they once broke a giant's thigh with one punch was still talked about with relish. So here, in reality, lay the problem for players.

Players certainly have advantages—they can resurrect, they can have talents—but their disadvantages are also very large.

Because of the random landing, it is very likely they will not arrive directly in civilized areas, and sometimes they might even fall from mid-air to their deaths, then resurrect on the spot.

And without Language Mastery, words cannot be understood between each other. Especially in this chaotic world, any strange face might be treated as a suspicious bandit; being killed or imprisoned can be said to be as common as a daily meal.

Coupled with the fact that players' talents are generally quite humorous, in a horizontal comparison, the vast majority of players are not even as good as ordinary Humans.

If one says the basic physical fitness of a player is 1, then an ordinary adult Human of this world is at least 1.5 to 2. Elves are 4 to 6, and Dwarfs might even reach the level of 8 to 10.

To be precise, the abilities of the vast majority of player Humans are not much different from those small, wretched Skaven who can only win by numbers. So, in the initial period, players could be said to be struggling everywhere in the world.

It was only recently that they gained a foothold in major cities, having the most basic footing and settlements.

But precisely because of this, players often obtain some strange secrets and news.

Just like the post before his eyes.

"Compatriots, players, we all know that this world is neither gentle nor beautiful."

"We once suffered a lot because of language barriers; we once encountered many pains and setbacks. But now, I have found an opportunity."

"As everyone knows, in reality, although the edge of the Norsca coast is cold and dangerous, it is full of opportunities. Inside those small fishing villages along the coast, there often exist many furs and bones. The skin and bones of these giant beasts can be sold for a hundred times the price difference in Altdorf and other corners of the world."

"However, because of the instability of the shipping routes, as well as the population and regional forces, very few people can normally conduct business in Norsca."

"But now, we have a chance!"

"We have found a shipping route that can normally reach the Eastern Edge Coast of Norsca! This route has to pass through the Sawtooth Mountains and the Terror Sea, and must pass through more than three reef areas to arrive."

"Through more than a year of hard work and the help of people from all walks of life, we have finally been recognized by the local Norsca Tribe, and we can build our city under the local mountains. We can use our own language, our own actions, and our own trade to make our own voices heard to this world!"

"..."

Eastern Edge Coast?

Isn't that the civilized area inside the innermost trade lane of the Frozen Sea?

The civilized people over there even farm; are they worthy of being called Norscan?

And isn't that place quite livable? Without the Chaos Wasteland and the Demon Legion coming to raid?

Recalling Wufuruike's disdainful popular science at the time, Li Ang looked at the post, and a question mark slowly appeared on his head.

(End of chapter)