Daybreak

Now that she had enough food reserves, Wu Yao planned to continue exploring the area. After arriving at a new location, how could she not map it out? That would be a disservice to the development team's hard work in creating such a massive map!

As she passed by her Moon-Silver Wood Bed, a bold idea suddenly popped into her head.

The freedom in this game was so high that she could even store Earth Walls in her Inventory. Could this bed actually be portable too?

She reached out, pressed her hand against the hard wooden bed, and stored it in her Inventory.

Success!

Wu Yao's eyes lit up. She placed the bed back down, lay on it to confirm that the Mana recovery function was still active, and then stored it again. She ran outside the cabin, placed it down, and lay on it. The Mana recovery worked perfectly there too!

“My mobile fountain!” Wu Yao spun around in excitement and rushed straight out of her territory.

She placed the bed right in the middle of the corrupted Moon-Silver Wood and lay down on it.

Controlling a Waterball to purify with one hand, she rested her other hand behind her head and thought leisurely.

Under the buff of the Moon-Silver Wood Bed, her Mana recovery speed was much faster than usual, restoring 9 points per minute.

Although it couldn't compare to the speed inside her territory, it was already enough.

When a person is repeating mechanical tasks, it is very easy for their mind to wander.

Wu Yao usually liked to speedrun games, but for a game still in closed beta, she didn't mind digging for more playability. From the looks of it, this game had quite a bit of ambition.

The massive forest map was crafted with great detail; at a glance, every single tree looked unique.

Although there was no response when interacting with NPCs, their expressions were incredibly well-done, barely distinguishable from real people.

The game content was also very rich, dabbling in all kinds of elements, allowing players to choose based on their preferences.

The area that needed the most improvement was actually the tutorial, which was practically non-existent.

The quest system also felt unfinished, lacking a cohesive, interconnected design.

...

A strange draft of air suddenly rushed toward her face, like a heavy object tearing through the air and falling rapidly.

Wu Yao's body reacted faster than her brain. She rolled off the bed, landing on her back as her vision shook violently.

In the next second, a dark shadow the size of a half-grown person slammed down onto the spot where she had just been lying with a resounding boom.

The Moon-Silver Wood Bed let out an overburdened creak. Wood splinters flew as a visible dent was smashed into the bedboard.

Wu Yao's face contorted in sheer pain for her loss. What kind of thing dared to destroy a player's property?! Unforgivable!

The creature slowly raised its head from the bed. It was an owl—or rather, it used to be one.

Its feathers had completely fallen out, replaced by a layer of slimy, grayish-black gelatinous skin that clung tightly to its skeletal frame. Its blood-red eyeballs looked ready to pop out of their sockets, and its beak was lined with jagged, black, backward-facing barbs.

【Corrupted Owl (Elite)】

【HP: 400/400】

Wu Yao immediately cast Appraisal. The moment the spell hit, the owl let out a low, guttural growl.

【Traits: Dive Bomb, Sonic Screech, Night Vision】

“I ran into an elite monster?” Looking at the monster with ten times her HP, Wu Yao quickly conjured a Fireball in her palm.

The owl hadn't expected its prey to dodge. It tilted its neck, its deformed head swaying on its shoulders, and then opened its beak to unleash a sharp screech.

“Hoo—!”

The invisible soundwave slammed into Wu Yao's head like a hammer. She didn't feel much pain, but her HP instantly dropped to just 5 points. Her ears rang with a sharp, noisy screech, and a crimson hue blurred the edges of her vision, even obscuring the system notifications.

【Hit by a sonic attack. Entered a Stunned state. Unable to move in this state. Duration: 1 second.】

A monster with crowd control is just too cheap! Wu Yao roared in her mind.

One second was but the blink of an eye, but in battle, this brief window of helplessness was fatal. The Corrupted Owl spread its wings and lunged, its sharp talons aiming straight for her face, its foul-smelling saliva about to drip onto her—

【Successfully Loaded Save!】

Time wound back to ten seconds ago.

Wu Yao bolted up from the bed, stored the Moon-Silver Wood Bed in her Inventory, and began channeling Fireball in her palm.

This time, she would definitely redeem herself!

The familiar dark shadow crashed down once again. She dodged the attack with ease, and after launching the compressed fireball in her hand, she quickly followed up with three regular Fireballs, each aiming straight for the owl's head.

The moment the owl raised its head, a face full of fire hit it head-on.

【-41】

【-36】

【-37】

【-36】

The burning effect was still active. Its grayish-black gelatinous skin sizzled, emitting foul-smelling white smoke.

Wu Yao inappropriately found herself craving barbecue. Those massive wings...

The owl let out an angry screech and flapped its wings, trying to take flight.

But how could Wu Yao give it the chance? Raising her hand, she cast Waterball. The lingering droplets clung stubbornly to the owl, further slowing it down.

Wu Yao threw two more Fireballs to finish it off. The Corrupted Owl's remaining HP was emptied, and its massive body plummeted from the air, turning into ashes the moment it hit the ground.

【Successfully Purified Corrupted Owl】

【XP +144, Level Up! Current Level: Lv. 2 (125.8/600). Obtained 3 free attribute points】

【Obtained: Rotten Flesh ×5, Corrupted Core ×1】

She casually allocated her attribute points—again, +2 to Mana and +1 to Intelligence—bringing her maximum Mana to 168.

At some point, the faction on her status screen had changed to "Witch."

The font was a faint silver-white, the same tone as her "The Eternal Moon" title.

It was yet another baffling setting, so Wu Yao put it out of her mind.

The eastern horizon began to pale, and the light of the two moons visibly dimmed. The smaller Silver Moon vanished first, while the larger Bright Moon also grew blurry, leaving only a sickly pale outline.

Her Mana recovery speed had noticeably slowed down. What was originally 10 points per minute had now dropped to 8, significantly reducing her efficiency.

The first ray of sunlight pierced through the layers of twisted branches and fell upon her.

What should have been a warm golden light appeared here as a sickly pale hue.

Disgusting pustules began to sprout on the grayish-black tree trunks. The dark bark was stretched translucent, and she could faintly see gray mist swirling inside.

Some of the pustules burst, spraying a small puff of grayish-black mist that condensed in the sunlight into floating flocs, hanging between the branches like clumps of dirty cotton.

Rustling sounds echoed from all directions, like creatures crawling through dead leaves and humus, creating a dense and noisy clamor.

Meanwhile, her HP in the top-left corner was inexplicably ticking down: -1, -1...

A poison icon had appeared on her status bar, with the source listed as the corrupted Moon-Silver Wood.

“What kind of stupid setting is this?! Why does daytime feel even more dangerous?!”

Wu Yao jumped off the bed, quickly storing it back into her Inventory just in the nick of time. In the very next instant, a pack of grayish-black shadows pounced out from the bushes.