Chapter 40

Tang Yu didn’t know if he was lucky or unlucky.

On his final refresh, his prayer had fortunately worked. The Town Portal Scroll had appeared, but it had come with many other tempting items.

At least half of the twenty products were superb.

Really…

Tang Yu had an impulse to just buy, buy, buy.

In the end, through his powerful will, he was able to restrain himself. This was mainly… because even if he spent all his remaining Origin Crystals, he wouldn’t be able to buy everything. But there were two items that he decided to clench his teeth and buy.

Basic Knowledge of Origin Power, Price: 500 Origin Crystals.

Remarks: Describes basic knowledge on Origin Power and how to use it.

Remaining: 1

Increased Summoning Chance Scroll, Price: 2,500 Origin Crystals.

Remarks: When used in a tavern, it can increase the chances of a high-grade adventurer appearing (Note: There is still a chance of summoning a D-grade adventurer).

Remaining: 1

‘Basic Knowledge of Origin Power’ was a book. On the surface, it appeared no different from the textbook he had used in ninth grade.

This book was very cheap, a measly five hundred Origin Crystals.

The description had said that it was a book on Origin Power. In Tang Yu’s view, this was far more important than those items that cost tens of thousands of Origin Crystals.

The appearance of abyssal fissures had triggered the apocalypse, but the momentous shifts taking place throughout the world were closely linked to another substance.

Origin Gas!

Tang Yu had heard one theory that Origin Gas had already begun to appear before the apocalypse. Some scientists had discovered it and even claimed that they had discovered the secret to the creation of all life. But for various reasons, the discovery of Origin Gas was not announced to the public, and it was only after the apocalypse that people gradually came to learn about it.

There was another theory: that Origin Gas had come together with the abyssal fissures. To be more precise, abyssal fissures were connected to another world, and Origin Gas traveled through them to spread across the globe.

Tang Yu didn’t know which theory was correct—or maybe they were all wrong. But there was no doubt that Origin Power could serve as a kind of power source. However, that was not all. Its potential variations were limitless.

Whether it was Awakened humans, Origin Crystal veins, mutated plants, or other developments that had taken place after the apocalypse, they were all connected to Origin Gas.

But regrettably, this was a power that was completely distinct from the scientific system of the past.

The value of Origin Power was obvious, but humanity’s understanding of it was puny. This was a treasure chest for which they lacked the key, for which they did not even know the contents.

Some scientists still doubted the existence of Origin Gas.

Instruments could not detect it to prove its existence, and not even Awakened could sense Origin Power. Only ability users could sense some sort of substance floating about that seemed to be a good match for the special energy within their own bodies.

Only this could prove Origin Gas and Origin Power.

This made ability users even more impressive.

Similarly, Origin Crystals were packed with Origin Energy, leading Origin Crystals to become the most valuable currency in this world…

Even when Tang Yu had been an ordinary survivor, he had known about Origin Power, but that was the extent of it.

Researching how to use Origin Power? Impossible!

Medium and small shelters lacked the right conditions, and even ability users had only an instinctive control over the Origin Power in their bodies.

Tang Yu had once asked Yilian and Roger about it. They had some understanding of Origin Power, but it wasn’t much.

With Yilian, the two spells she had learned from that tattered magic book, Icicle and Hailstorm, were ways of using Origin Power. Though they were only basic ways of using it, it was still much better than relying on instinct.

While relying on instinct to use Origin Power sounded impressive, it was actually the result of insufficient practice. It produced little power and consumed energy inefficiently. If Yilian unleashed all the ice energy in her body to freeze her surrounding environment, she would probably be able to keep it up for only a few seconds.

That magic book spoke about ways to exploit and use Origin Power.

Tang Yu had looked at it before, but it had all been gobbledygook to him. Yilian seemed to read that book with great gusto every day, so why couldn’t he!?

Not even high-level mathematics was this bad!

The same was true for Roger. Although he had experienced much more than Yilian, Roger wasn’t a Wizard, and the profession of Fighter was akin to an ordinary Awakened. Tang Yu had practiced combat arts with Roger, and though he hadn’t been able to learn any, he had learned that Roger didn’t need to use Origin Power for the combat arts he knew. He could activate them purely using his blood energy.

Roger had very little understanding of Origin Power.

Holding this book called ‘Basic Knowledge of Origin Power’, Tang Yu began to slowly flip through it.

And then he froze.

Each page of this book didn’t have many words, and there were even images, but as he stared with wide eyes, he discovered that the words were wriggly and twisted, the images drawn in some bizarre style. It was clearly something he couldn’t comprehend.

Was this like the magic book, something he couldn’t understand no matter what?

It even said it was basic!

Tang Yu focused on the words, and suddenly, he understood.

‘Origin is the beginning of all things, the foundation, the most essential force…’

So long as he put his focus onto each word, the corresponding information would arise in his mind. The information was directly converted into a form that was easiest for him to understand.

Tang Yu completely immersed himself in the pages of the book.

Studying makes me happy!

…

“You are the first batch of fighters in the patrol team, and Chief Tang has already said everything that needs to be said. I have only two things to say: obey your orders and also… get stronger!”

A clearing in a valley at the back of the mountain had become the training ground for the patrol team.

Roger’s face was cold and aloof as usual as he looked at the tender and naive faces of the recruits before him.

There were nine people in total in this first batch of patrol team members: four Awakened and five ordinary people with battle experience.

This number was beyond Tang Yu’s expectations. Besides Peng Bo and Lu Xiaopeng, there were two other Awakened who had been survivors that Roger had rescued, and who had subsequently succeeded in awakening through use of the Awakening Circlet.

According to the accepted standard, they had been automatically made part of the patrol team, but it did not seem that they were unwilling. Otherwise, they would not have stood outside of the gate during the demon flood.

The nine people were all stunned by Roger’s words.

It wasn’t because of the training. In other shelters, the patrol team was responsible for keeping the peace and fending off demonized beasts. Training was normally impossible. The shelters didn’t have significant food reserves, and even Awakened normally couldn’t eat their fill every day. Add training onto that? Who would take responsibility for the additional food consumed?

Things were different here. The patrol team members knew that they couldn’t regard this shelter like a normal shelter. What shocked them the most… was that Ironface Roger had said so much. This was the first time they had heard so many words from him since they had entered the shelter.

They felt extremely flattered.

“The foundation of training is to fully exhibit each person’s fighting power. Seeing how slack your posture is, let alone guarding the shelter, could any of you win a one-on-one with a demonized beast?”

Peng Bo weakly raised a hand.

“Two? Three? Or perhaps a Tier 2 demonized beast?!”

Peng Bo weakly dropped his hand.

“But once you go through training, then when you face a demonized beast lacking intelligence, an ordinary Awakened will be able to take on three without a problem, and even an ordinary person will be able to cut off their heads in the melee.”

The breathing of the patrol team members became heavy.

Some of them had joined the patrol team to repay kindness, and some for better benefits, but after witnessing Chief Tang crush the demon flood with a wave of his hand, they were all filled with hope for the future of the shelter. Similarly, as people who had chosen to join the patrol team and live in constant company with death, they were people unsatisfied with their current state.

Even those ordinary people who were unable to awaken were unwilling to be like ordinary survivors and wait for death.

Lu Xiaopeng was the most affected. He was a natural Awakened, yet he couldn’t even beat an ordinary demonized beast. But once he went through training, he could take on three demonized beasts at once. Didn’t that mean that he could realize his dream of punching demonized wolves and kicking demonized tigers?

That was too awesome!