“...That should be all for now!” Wu Yao listed everything she could think of. Finding nothing left to add, she finally stopped. “How much can you get?”
Tiechui looked at the notebook, which was filled to the brim for three whole pages, and quickly estimated the total value in her head.
Aside from the Elemental Core, the most expensive items were definitely the Mana Crystals.
It was already the Golden Ear Month, and the Topaz Trading Company's stock of Mana Crystals had long been reserved. Siphoning from that batch would certainly cost them quite a bit, but with Niveya's Stones in hand, none of that was a big deal.
Transporting live animals into the Cursed Forest was actually the most difficult part...
Tiechui shook all these thoughts out of her head, closed her eyes, and replied, “As long as we have enough time, we will definitely gather everything for Your Ladyship! It's just...”
Wu Yao raised an eyebrow.
“The cost of these materials... I'm afraid it will be astronomical.”
Tongque carefully watched Wu Yao's expression. The total price of the basic materials alone reached a thousand gold coins, and the magical materials were priceless items that money couldn't easily buy.
“Magical materials have become increasingly hard to find in recent years, and there are some materials we have never even heard of. We can only do our best to gather information about them...”
Wu Yao didn't expect them to gather everything either. There was no way the game would make things that easy for her. Thus, she waved her hand dismissively.
“Just bring whatever you can get. Once you've gathered fifty Mana Crystals, one hundred common ores, and one hundred iron ingots, deliver those to me first. I'll pay for everything with Niveya's Stones, and I'll buy any information you have as well.”
“Rest assured, Your Ladyship!”
Tongque clutched the notebook, her face flushed with irrepressible ecstasy. If they could pull off this transaction, forget becoming Three-Star Merchants—they might even have a shot at becoming Four-Star Merchants!
Tiechui thumped her chest hard, making a solemn vow.
“We will return to the trading company immediately! Even if we have to turn the continent upside down, we will gather these materials for you! We can deliver the first batch in ten days at the earliest. Bringing live cargo like seeds and livestock into the Cursed Forest is quite difficult; we'll need to gather manpower to build custom transport carriages, which will take at least a month. As for the other materials, as long as our company has them, they will be prioritized for Your Ladyship. We will do our best to—”
Tiechui felt that promising to do it “as soon as possible” was too vague. Gritting her teeth, she set a hard deadline: “Within half a month, no matter how much we manage to get, we will definitely return with the first batch of goods!”
Looking at the Affection values of 53 and 65 hovering over their heads, Wu Yao nodded in satisfaction.
The NPCs in this game were indeed much smarter. Although the other games she had played before were also connected to “Wanxiang,” only their dialogue was flexible, while their movements and expressions remained stiff and mechanical.
In contrast, these two NPCs were so lively and realistic that she couldn't help but feel a brief sense of disorientation when interacting with them, as if they were real people.
She highly suspected that the game's development team had broken through some technical barrier and was just using this game to show off.
After a moment of thought, Wu Yao tossed them two more Niveya's Stones. “A little bonus for you. Don't forget to send word to the Path of the Silver Moon.”
Tiechui scrambled to catch them, so deeply moved she almost threw herself at Wu Yao's feet. “Your Ladyship! Your generosity is as brilliant as the full moon! Topaz Trading Company will surely give you a satisfactory response! Your business is our business, and we are willing to go through fire and water for you!”
The two goblins showered Wu Yao with a flurry of compliments before leaving in a rush. The Mole Type III Automatic Tunneling Machine rumbled to life and quickly disappeared into the depths of the earth.
Wu Yao rolled her wrists and turned to face the twisted, dark forest outside her territory. “Time to work!”
She currently had 472 pieces of wood in her Inventory. She planned to grind until she had a thousand to craft Refined Wood, and once day broke, she could level up along the way.
For the first time in hundreds of years, the silent Cursed Forest was bustling with activity. The magic brought by the flowing elements rippled out in the direction of Wu Yao's advance.
The wind bustled to carry this news further away. Specks of green began to sprout from the long-corrupted earth, and the Moon-Silver Wood greedily absorbed the long-lost moonlight.
As the moon of the fourth day gradually faded, the system, which had been dead silent except for the occasional territory upgrade notification, suddenly popped up.
【Congratulations, player, for unlocking the achievement: Timber Tycoon】
【Accumulated 1,000 pieces of wood. A walking logging machine has nothing on you!】
【Rewards: Free Stat Point +1, Random Magic Plant Seeds ×50】
【Special condition met. Triggered Side Quest: The Trust of the Moonlight Forest】
【Quest Description: This forest, once favored by the Moon Goddess, has languished in a curse for three hundred years. The wailing of the Moon-Silver Wood has never ceased. The forest longs for rebirth, and the moonlight yearns to shine again. Please cleanse all corruption and let the silver radiance illuminate every inch of this land once more.】
【Quest Difficulty: Epic】
【Quest Objective: Cleanse the entire Moonlight Forest and eliminate all corrupted creatures within the forest (Current Progress: 3%)】
【Quest Rewards: Title [Guardian of the Moonlight Forest] (Unlocks after completing phase objectives), Moon-Silver Stone ×500, Moonlight Essence ×20, Random Legendary Material ×1】
Before Wu Yao could even read the details clearly, she accepted the quest. Another entry was added to her long quest list. Exploring the map and leveling up were already part of her plans, and now there was an extra reward on top. The player wins twice this time!
“Time to grind!” Wu Yao had nothing but time on her hands. She had played countless grind-heavy games, and by comparison, the grind level of this game was only average.
During the day, she chased after corrupted creatures, leaving elemental remnants of her spellcasting everywhere. Her experience points shot up like a rocket, pushing her level to Lv. 12 and earning her another All Stats +1.
At night, she didn't idle either, pushing forward steadily. Wherever she went, the twisted Moon-Silver Wood straightened out once more, leaving a silver path through the dark, corrupted forest.
As a player, she had no need for sleep; the rising and setting of the sun and moon in the game were merely events to her.
Although a full day had passed in terms of game-time sensation, it equated to only an hour in reality. She ground away without any burden, getting more and more hooked.
When the sun rose once again, there were no more greyish-black, twisted tree trunks before her eyes.
At the absolute edge of the forest, the land just a few steps away was no longer pale. Instead, an open, gentle slope stretched out, carpeted with lush, dense vegetation and even swaying wildflowers.
A gentle breeze swept down the slope, brushing against her face and carrying the fresh scent of grass warmed by the sun. The sunlight was no longer pale; warm, golden rays cascaded over her, wrapping her in a cozy, comfortable warmth.
Wu Yao checked her map and found that she had reached the boundary of the Cursed Forest. Her quest progress had reached 5%.
I ground day and night for two days, and it only went up by two percent?
Just how big is this Cursed Forest?
Wu Yao didn't bother thinking too much about it. She took a few steps forward. Her boots stepped onto the grassy field, feeling soft and springy—a completely different texture from the forest floor.
Finding the flattest, most lush patch of grass, she collapsed onto it, enjoying a free sunbath. This was the beauty of a high-fidelity game.
The tips of the grass tickled the back of her neck slightly, but she didn't want to move at all. The sunlight draped over her like a plush blanket, warming her until she grew drowsy.
Rate on N.U.
