“This time’s VIP membership actually only requires spending 2500 points to unlock? And the introduction is starting with a knife, equipment all from scavenging, this…”
Ye Chui felt somewhat surprised and uncertain for a moment.
The previous games he had unlocked, each VIP membership required over ten thousand points to unlock, and the VIP unlocks all carried a strong flavour of domestic web games, but this time it was different, this introduction… was this a battle royale game? Though 2500 points was not much for Ye Chui now; he still had over eight thousand points remaining.
During those days preparing to enter the Crown Battlefield, Ye Chui had found ways to increase his points; now no one in the capital dared to fight him rashly, fortunately the castle had countless undead to serve as his opponents, Ye Chui summoned undead to battle them, using this method to hone his magic combat experience while accumulating points.
He hesitated slightly for a moment, then decided to activate this VIP service; since it was VIP, it surely would not be a bad thing, right?
Notification: You have spent 2500 points to activate the [Crown Battlefield] VIP membership service.
In the next instant, a flash of white light appeared in Ye Chui’s hand, and a black, rust-spotted iron knife materialised in his grasp.
The others noticed the oddity on Ye Chui’s side and hurriedly looked over.
“Eh? Ye Chui, where did you get that knife from?” Debbie asked in surprise; the cookware in Green’s [Storage Space], like dinner knives, frying pans, and such, would decay into flying ash the moment they were taken out, so how had Ye Chui produced such a knife? Though the blade was covered in rust, it did not seem like it would decay at any moment.
Could Ye Chui’s [Storage Space] be unaffected?
Ye Chui knew what his companions were thinking; he shook his head: “My [Storage Space] cannot preserve items either; this knife is condensed from my magic, however…” Looking at the rust-spotted iron knife, Ye Chui’s expression was somewhat peculiar.
This truly was starting with a knife, equipment all from scavenging; the blade was so blunt that he could rub his finger over it casually, what use was it?
Though [Storage Space] was ineffective, items and equipment carried on one’s person were unaffected; Guni’s fire ant greatsword was completely fine, Shilaisi’s carried shortsword remained intact, yet this knife of his seemed to have no redeeming qualities; this VIP service seemed somewhat scammy…
As Ye Chui felt this defamatory sentiment in his heart, he heard a whoosh, something scurried past his feet; Ye Chui jumped in fright, hastily leaping aside, and when he looked, he saw it was a small grey animal, resembling a rat, with a pointed nose and slender tail; it emitted a series of “squeak squeak squeak squeak” cries, likely having never seen a humanoid creature like Ye Chui before, unafraid, it scurried a short distance then reared up on its hind legs, screeching continuously at Ye Chui.
Ye Chui instinctively bent down and swung the rust knife; bang, though the rust knife was very blunt, Ye Chui’s strength was not small; this strange little beast was no magic beast, merely an animal of an unknown species, caught off guard, it was directly knocked dead by Ye Chui’s single strike.
Ye Chui straightened up, still feeling glum about this knife in his heart, but just then, a game notification on the iPad magic guidebook screen caught his attention.
After opening the game, it turned into a pixel-style map screen; on the map, one could see pixel-style avatars of Ye Chui, Debbie, and the others, and after Ye Chui activated the VIP service and obtained the rust knife, in the lower screen where the ordinary game showed the equipment bar, a new icon had appeared.
The icon was shaped like a knife; if Ye Chui focused his attention on this icon, an information box would automatically pop up on the screen: This is a rust-spotted iron knife (1/10).
The game notification Ye Chui received was: Using the rust-spotted iron knife, it will become sharper and sharper with each use; after nine more uses, it will become a sharp iron knife.
“This knife can actually upgrade!?”
Ye Chui was greatly startled, immediately followed by a surge of ecstatic joy: “No wonder this VIP service only requires 2500 points to unlock; originally it seems ordinary upon unlocking, but with usage, it upgrades bit by bit; this is the so-called starting with a knife! Then if it keeps upgrading, what level of divine weapon will it become?”
Ye Chui’s heart filled with anticipation.
However, the surprise this knife brought him was far from just this; soon, Ye Chui understood what “equipment all from scavenging” meant.
“What is this?” Green said in surprise, squatting at the spot where Ye Chui had killed the little beast; when the others looked over, they saw that though Ye Chui had killed the little beast, its corpse was gone, and what remained was… a piece of brownish meat, and a patch of fur!
Green carefully picked up the meat and fur, examined them, even sniffed the meat under his nose, then turned to Ye Chui: “It seems edible… Guild leader, what is going on? Could it be that animals and beasts killed in this place turn into things like this?”
“No, absolutely not!” Ye Chui said, his voice excited. “It is only animals killed with this knife that turn into meat chunks and fur; it… it can actually drop equipment!”
“Drop equipment?” The others all expressed confusion.
Ye Chui looked around, searching for other animals; soon, he spotted a black bird perched on a nearby black tree; that bird looked like a crow but was much larger; Ye Chui directly used the [Wind God’s Legs] spell, leaping to the branch and swinging the knife at the black bird.
The black bird let out a shrill “screech,” its body tumbling down; before it hit the ground, a layer of white light swiftly enveloped it, then dispersed it into two chunks of meat and several beautiful black feathers!
Ye Chui walked over and picked up the meat chunks and feathers; hmm, according to typical game tropes, this was equivalent to drops from beginner-level small monsters; he spotted another black bird, and for verification, Ye Chui this time directly used the [Lightning Strike] spell to kill it; the black bird was instantly slain, but upon falling, it did not turn into meat and feathers.
“This knife actually has such an effect too!” The companions all gathered around Ye Chui; Debbie was especially eager to try it herself. “Can we use it too?”
“Yes, it should be possible, but you must first join my team.” Ye Chui thought for a moment and said; [Crown Battlefield] allowed forming teams of nine; Ye Chui thus verbally invited them, and upon receiving their agreement, the avatars of the other seven appeared on one side of Ye Chui’s magic guidebook; to Ye Chui’s delight, this time he also received a notification never seen before: You have formed a team; you can now check team members’ statuses at any time, conduct team chats, and gain team damage immunity (requires spending points!).
Team damage immunity!
This was a new ability not present before; under this effect, even if they attacked each other, no harm would come, but it required spending points to offset the damage.
“What should we do next?” Green asked.
“First, let us figure out where we are.” Ye Chui replied, taking the lead to explore this forest; along the way, they encountered more strange little beasts, and after Ye Chui killed them, turning them into meat chunks and fur, meanwhile the rust-spotted iron knife, after ten uses, successfully upgraded, its form changing somewhat.
Notification: Your knife has become an ordinary knife; after 50 more uses, it will become an uncommon knife!
And Ye Chui also verified that anyone in the team using this knife could help it upgrade.
Those meat chunks dropped by the knife were also edible; though the texture was somewhat dry and there were no seasonings, after simple grilling, they were barely palatable.
As for the fur, feathers, and some shattered bones dropped by the animals, they were all kept; these things would have other uses.
About ten minutes later, Ye Chui’s group reached the forest’s edge; they discovered that beyond the forest was an endless expanse of desert!
They thus shifted direction again, and after two hours, Ye Chui finally determined that the forest they were in was a circular area about five kilometres in radius, surrounded on all sides by desert; those deserts seemed to harbour other dangers.
The ordinary knife, by this time, had also successfully become an uncommon knife; its previously rust-spotted appearance had turned into a sharp and gleaming blade, and he received a notification: After 500 more uses, it will become a “very sharp knife.”
“Guild leader, shall we enter the desert next?” Jacob inquired.
“Of course not; it seems this secret realm trial is set up very reasonably; if we rashly enter the desert now, we might go a long time without finding food and ultimately starve in the desert; teleporting us to this woodland is likely to let us first stockpile enough food before heading to other areas.” Ye Chui analysed. “In other words, this forest is a starter village; we stay here to develop stealthily first, and once prepared fully, then explore other areas.”
“…”
Though Ye Chui’s words left everyone baffled, starter village, stealthily developing, and such, the meaning was understood by all.
“If entering the desert, food is essential, and we also need to prepare some tents, bedding, and the like.” Shilaisi seemed quite familiar with wilderness survival. “In the desert, a place to sleep and rest is very important, but this forest has no large animals at all; how shall we prepare these things?”
“On this, everyone can rest assured.” Ye Chui revealed an utterly confident expression. “For this situation, I have a foolproof method!”
“What method?” The others looked to Ye Chui.
Ye Chui had already looked to his magic guidebook: “It seems I must summon the man at the top of the food chain…”
