Chapter 57
Chapter 57: Mister Bug the Quitter
Just as the old scholars expected, they did not get one of the Commander-level champions a.k.a the “Heavenly Spirits” or the “Earthly Fiends.” After all, if killing an alien minion meant earning one of the 108 champions from Water Margin, then Twin Dragon Mount did not need Ji Ye’s help to burn the Eagle Men’s settlement to the ground.
Of course, the same went for the enemy faction, meaning, they could not easily find good champions either. Otherwise, the competition would soon turn into a war among many powerful champions while the players would become cannon fodders under their might.
It was clear that “players” were the core pieces of the Land of Inheritance.
He’s an Elite, huh?
Still, Ji Ye wasn’t expecting to see this man’s level, which was higher and more formal compared to those random settlers such as Big Bull and Ducky. Their stats were slightly beyond Ji Ye’s expectations. As the master of the settlement, Ji Ye was one of the few people who could check the detailed attributes of a summoned warrior. The others being Lu Zhishen and Li Qing, who handled the offering item and the Heart of Enlightenment.
The “Eagle Man” whose head was crushed open by Lu Zhishen’s stone was only a general rank-7 enemy, which meant the Heart of Enlightenment dropped by it could only summon a general-rank warrior. The result turned out to be an elite instead probably because of the offering item added in the process.
And this man happened to know a general-rank art as well as formation tactics. He would be of great help when assisting Lu Zhishen in getting more settlement warriors into shape.
“It’s good to see you, brother!” The summoned subchief did a fist-in-palm salute toward Lu Zhishen gratefully. “Never thought I’d ever reunite with ya at this Twin Dragon Mount!”
Just like Lu Zhishen, this man also gained memories and enlightenment upon being summoned, so he knew that the “Heart of Enlightenment” was provided by Lu Zhishen and Ji Ye.
“It’s you, Pei San, my friend! Come. You shall drink with sajia today. We will not leave until we’re under the table!” Lu Zhishen’s large, bell-like eyes were filled with the look of joy. He even called himself “sajia” which he had not done in a long time.
According to the memory fragments he learned, this former henchman of his was later killed by a ballista shot right in the chest when they were attacking a city together. Of course he was thrilled to see the man well and alive in front of him.
“Twin Dragon Mount? Sajia? That’s Lu Zhishen??” “Mister Bug from Mian City” suddenly called out aloud from outside the shrine, after he heard the conversation between Pei San and Lu Zhishen. He had stopped calling people’s names when he was attracted by the summoning ritual.
As a citizen of self-proclaimed “high-status”, he had read a fair amount of books. He regarded Water Margin and Romance of the Three Kingdoms as his vocational guidance materials and used to study them better than common college students. Especially Water Margin. He could remember and count out the names of over 40 “outlaw heroes” in one go. Naturally, Lu Zhishen the Flowery Monk was no stranger to him.
“That-that-that big dude with tattoos I just offended, is Lu Zhishen? This settlement is the Twin Dragon Mount from Water Margin??” Mister Bug looked stupefied about what he did. Bean-sized sweat drops soon appeared on his forehead.
“Heh.” Hearing his words, An Quan gave him a side-glance and scoffed.
Meanwhile, Xu Xue, who had been keeping to herself, stepped into the shrine hall.
“Lu Zhishen is over there… So, is she Sun Erniang the Female Yaksha??” Mister Bug sounded weak. The arrogant attitude he showed at the beginning was nowhere to be seen.
He said so because Xu Xue had put up an archaic dressing style. Added with the old hairpin in her hair, she didn’t look like a player at all.
“Mister Bug” had read Water Margin more carefully than common readers; he knew more about Sun Erniang as well, whereas average people only remembered that Sun Erniang was a Liang Shan March warrior famous for her human flesh buns. This was why he was sweating even more terribly right now.
Dying in the Land of Inheritance was not so scary. However, there were many possible and different ways to die. Being chopped up into mashed meat and becoming the filling of buns sure sounded terrifying as hell.
Moreover, Mister Bug had more or less realized something when he was revived at a settlement controlled by Yang City. Something told him that he could not afford to die again.
“Master, I want to borrow the shrine for a moment.”
Without knowing that somebody had mistaken her as the “Female Yaksha” despite her good looks (also self-proclaimed), Xu Xue moved inside the shrine and spoke to Ji Ye with a smile, while her slim eyes that looked like willow leaves gleamed in the tallow candle light.
“Sure.” Ji Ye gave her a blank look without having any particular feeling about this popstar lady. He more or less knew what she wanted to do.
“I want to claim my starter gear!” With a slightly proud look, Xu Xue moved to Ji Ye’s side and called toward the ceiling.
Whizz!
As her words were heard, a white light beam emerged from her body, inside which a white, stone-like object appeared, which seemed to be quite different from the Heart of Enlightenment.
Next, the yellow light that represented the power of fortune came and became two dragon heads again. They unleashed a single, golden beam at the stone.
The stone grew blindingly bright for a moment. When the light died down, a small vial the size of a human finger that appeared much like a perfume bottle landed inside Xu Xue’s hand.
“That’s…”
Ji Ye failed to see the bottle’s information even as the master of the settlement, because it was supposed to be Xu Xue’s starter item, which was bound to her. Though he knew it must be something good, telling from Xu Xue’s happy look brought by both surprise and joy.
All starter items for players tended to hold superior powers after all.
“Thank you very much, master. Being with you must have brought me good luck!”
While keeping her delighted look, Xu Xue thanked Ji Ye, which was clearly an excuse for talking to him.
She probably meant to show off to the other new players too, since she was the first one to obtain her starter item.
Ji Ye was sure that Xu Xue was not the only player here who could ask for their starter items, which only required 1 Honor point. For example, Li Qing And Qin Yueyu had killed more than enough monsters to earn a few points. Even An Quan, who mostly did errands in the settlement, probably earned a point as well.
As for the two old men, who were tasked to teach knowledge to the settlers, Ji Ye assumed that they could have gained over 10 Honor points already.
Yet none of them chose to be the first one to exchange their Honor points into items. Why?
The answer was obvious; they were still observing. They wanted to know whether gathering more Honor points would affect the quality of the starter items they received.
Unfortunately, Xu Xue wasn’t so smart, just like “Mister Bug” who recklessly logged in again as soon as his first death timer ended.
Now Ji Ye didn’t feel like reminding the woman of the many problems she would bring if she went into the mountain woods while wearing perfume. He had done enough for these new players. During their two-day stay, he helped them learn what they needed about the Land of Inheritance and adapt to the new environment as fast as they could. From this point, they had to go with their own ways.
He was not obliged to assist them hand-in-hand till the end like a babysitter.
“You’re Xu Xue? For real?? I’m your fan, man! And my dad, my big bro… My whole family is your fanbase!”
As if people of a similar level of intelligence would get attracted to each other, “Mister Bug” managed to see Xu Xue’s face clearly using the candlelight in the shrine and happily called her name, while still being restrained by his captors.
Obviously, he had believed that Xu Xue as a superstar should be someone important in this settlement. It would be nice if she would put in a good word for him.
“Em, master?” Xu Xue looked at Ji Ye in an uncertain way.
Though narcissistic, she was aware that she did not do well at the early stage of her stay. Plus the fact that Ji Ye never reacted particularly to a famous star like her, she knew that her words wouldn’t weigh much.
Personally, she would have completely ignored the tattooed young man. But now that the man claimed to be her fan, she was no longer sure whether that was the right decision. She feared that she would look bad in front of cameras once she returned to Earth and had this matter exposed.
“Let him go. In this Land of Inheritance, you’re a human player. Your profession and status back home do not matter. Starting from tomorrow, you will show your usefulness and contribute to the settlement’s development. Otherwise… Let’s just say that the Twin Dragon Mount does not need loafers,” Ji Ye spoke in a plain tone while walking to the tattooed man.
He was not trying to help Xu Xue. It was just that, he as a player couldn’t kill “Mister Bug” just because this man was acting up.
“Sure, sure! I LOVE all the heroes in Water Margin! This Jaipenese tattoo on my arm is nothing important. It’s just the name of an actress I liked before. I’ll get it off tomorrow!”
That was a perfect lesson to show how to bitch out. Compared to his earlier attitude, it was as if “Mister Bug” just became a different person. His apology looked so sincere.
“Find a bed for him in your barracks. And find something to treat his bruises. Tomorrow morning, you will take him to train together.”
Ji Ye found two big, armed settler guards who would “escort” the tattooed man away, before he dismissed the group.
He rejected Lu Zhishen’s invitation for a drink and walked back to his new “master’s chamber,” which was just redecorated under the supervision of Hu Feng.
During the battles in these two days, he had gained enough EXP to improve his strength to the next level.