Wu Shuang returned to the attic and sat on the bed, intending not to step foot outside for the rest of the day.
Having suffered injury after injury, with old wounds compounded by new ones, he still felt a lingering fear. He decided to wait until his condition was fully recovered before considering the second side quest; after all, he had more than enough time left.
He pulled out his Hero Handbook to check his gains from this outing.
Argus had been retrieved, and the balance in his account had broken past 5,000 Kingdom Gold Coins. Although he had swallowed the item whole, considering it had saved his life, he didn't dwell on it any further.
He flipped to the trading interface, intending to buy some food to restock, but was surprised to discover an additional shop. Its store name was displayed in colorful, glowing text, looking remarkably like those signboards that managed to be both tacky and high-end at the same time.
"What's this...?"
Genuinely surprised, he tapped on it and found that it offered an unusually large variety of goods, filling a total of fifty slots. Ordinary shops had only ten, making the difference staggering.
Furthermore, the selection was remarkably rich, no longer consisting of junk randomly scavenged from town. Many were unfamiliar items, primarily consisting of food, daily necessities and tools, and melee weapons. They were all brand-new goods with no signs of rust.
The weapons included daggers, straight swords, small warhammers, iron-bound wooden shields, and hunting bows, all bearing clear signs of hand-forging. They were all of Normal quality. There were even seasonings and fruits, albeit pickled ones.
【Name: Ghost Pepper Sauce】
【Quality: Crude】
【Description: A seasoning preserved with salt, crushed ghost peppers, and an appropriate amount of fresh water. It is salty and spicy, yet it already counts as a decent seasoning in the Holy Kingdom.
Because sugar is extremely expensive, this cursed, barren land can no longer grow sweet, delicious crops.】
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【Name: Salted Sour Persimmons】
【Quality: Crude】
【Description: Unpeeled sour persimmons soaked in brine and stored in an earthenware jar. They are salty and astringent, but they provide precious vitamins, making them an indispensable consumable for long journeys and voyages to maintain normal bodily functions.】
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In addition, there was a very eye-catching item with a quality of Fine, priced at 1,000,000. It was clearly not intended for sale, as the price was so absurd that it was purely on display.
【Name: Red Smelling Salts】
【Quality: Fine】
【Description: Smelling salts made by combining pungent spices with Humanity, usually packaged in dark bottles. Inhaling them stimulates emotions and carries a certain chance of converting current Humanity into Red Humanity.
They have a mild hallucinogenic effect. Long-term or excessive use easily leads to dependency, reduces mental sensitivity, and causes various mental ailments such as nightmares and mania. It may also render Humanity murky, and the required dosage will progressively increase, forcing the user to resort to stronger, higher-grade smelling salts.
Hero's Insights ⑬: Cheap emotions bring you cheap power. It is very useful, but in the end, it will make your entire self cheap as well.】
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"There's even something like this...?"
Wu Shuang was somewhat surprised. Seeing the stock count in the shop steadily dropping as if about to sell out, he decided to buy a few things as well.
These included twenty hard, dry loaves of black bread, ten liters of lamp oil, thirty liters of fresh water, as well as the hot sauce and pickled persimmons. He spent over 1,000 Kingdom Gold Coins in one go, though these items were generally cheap compared to other shops.
He also bought a small warhammer and an iron-bound wooden shield, both of Normal quality, spending another thousand.
Originally, he had wanted to buy a lightweight straight sword, but he was a step too slow. By the time he noticed only a dozen or so were left and tried to make the purchase, the system notified him that they were out of stock.
"Where did all of this even come from...?" Wu Shuang wondered aloud.
He bought quite a few items, but didn't spend all his money at once, keeping over 3,000 just in case.
Next, he switched to the chat channel, which was buzzing with excitement. It turned out an Official Hero from another area had arrived. He was even a high-ranking figure who claimed to be an official representative of the Hero Alliance, named Li Yan.
Although called "official," it was actually an organization voluntarily formed by Heroes. They operated a Hero Community where safety and living conditions were far superior to other places.
They had come this time to recruit members and brought back a wealth of information—at least things that a clueless novice like Wu Shuang had no idea about.
Doctor Zeng had also replied to Wu Shuang's message, saying she had pulled an all-nighter and just woke up. She thanked Wu Shuang for his concern and mentioned she planned to join the Hero Alliance, having already submitted her application.
Wu Shuang took a quick look through the chat history. The event had occurred over an hour ago when a Hero from outside who resided in Area 53 arrived. It was right around the time Wu Shuang was getting ready to head out, so he had just missed it.
"...Can assist in completing the Main Quest, but all Main Quest rewards, including drops, must be turned over, and you must relocate to live in the Area 53 Hero Community..."
Wu Shuang caught up on the information he had missed during this time. This visiting Official Hero had brought plenty of intelligence, such as the abnormal darkness and how it might occur frequently in the future.
This was because their mission had failed; they had been unable to halt the invasion of the Black Beast.
"Black Beast...?"
A Hero asked in the chat channel. It was also Wu Shuang's first time encountering these words—or something like that.
"It's a Demon King.
There are many Demon Kings in this world, and the Black Beast is merely one of them. It has no fixed form and no kin, but it is extremely troublesome. The reason your Humanity drains at night is also because of it. Only light can drive it away, but the illuminated area is very limited, as you all should have experienced last night."
The official representative explained, though he refrained from discussing specific details of the operation, only stating that many people had died and the mission was a failure.
Wu Shuang suspected that the several Official Heroes from Area 127 had also died in this operation.
Perhaps it was a large-scale quest issued by the system?
Wu Shuang speculated in his mind. Just then, he noticed the handbook flashing. Looking over, he saw that the visiting Hero named Li Yan had sent a friend request.
"What the heck?"
Wu Shuang was deeply surprised. He paused for two seconds, but ultimately chose to accept.
"Hello, you must be Mr. Wu. Someone recommended you to me, saying you're very skilled in combat.
Our Hero Alliance especially welcomes high-potential candidates like you. Would you be interested in joining?"
The other party got straight to the point, explaining his intention directly. Wu Shuang could roughly guess what had happened—it was likely Doctor Zeng's recommendation.
As for whether to join...
"Can you help me finish the Main Quest for free?"
he asked. A few seconds after sending it, the other party replied.
"My apologies, Mr. Wu. Assisting you with the Main Quest is inherently a high-risk endeavor, and we cannot expect other Heroes to work for free, so we cannot do that.
However, once you join, we can provide combatants like yourself with better material conditions and tailored training."
Li Yan replied. Instead of tricking people onto the boat only to exploit them later, he laid all the issues out clearly beforehand to avoid trouble.
From this, it appeared that the organization was relatively legitimate, possessing rules and order. However...
"I think I'll pass for now," Wu Shuang replied.
"Fair enough. If you change your mind, feel free to contact me anytime. We'll be operating in Area 127 all week."
Li Yan replied without pressing further, then went silent, likely inviting others as well.
Rate on N.U.
